Alumni Spotlights

Following the release of Fears' (B.M., Music Performance, 2013) powerful new six-song EP, "Canopy," Jeff McCord from KUTX called it "intimate, intense and sublime." 

In this role, Sidey (B.M., Music Education, 2005) will be responsible for launching the inaugural Music Education Partnerships Grants program. This new funding opportunity is designed to support partnerships between community choruses and schools to increase access to choral music education and promote non-arts learning and cultural literacy, all while upholding the principles of access, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Taylor (B.A., Woodwinds, 2000) is currently a PhD student at UT Tyler studying human resource development with a focus on the effects of gender bias on the workplace. The mission of the Pat Tillman Foundation is to unite and empower remarkable military veterans and spouses as the next generation of public and private sector leaders committed to service beyond self.

Muñoz (B.M., Trumpet Performance, 2018) is one of the the 35 Black and Latinx music professionals who are pursuing or considering academic careers. The fellowship will prepare them with the skills, insights and networks to flourish professionally and influence generations of musicians.

LOLA, or Local Opera Local Artists, will present a free online concert featuring soprano Dr. Nicole Taylor (M.M., Music, 2006; D.M.A., Music, 2011) performing songs by Black Composers. Pianist Nikki Birdsong accompanies. The concert is at 4:30 p.m. CDT on June 5 on LOLA’s YouTube Channel.

Sencalar's (B.A., Jazz Studies, 2017) album features BSOM alumni Daniel Dufour, Dr. Utah Hamrick, and Dr. Pete Rodriguez along with esteemed saxophonist, Roxy Coss. Reconnected will be available Friday August 27th, 2021.

Rachell Ellen Wong  (B.M., Music, 2013), a rising star on the historical performance and modern violin stages, was recently named concertmaster to the Seattle Baroque Orchestra. She was the recipient of a prestigious 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant (the first baroque recipient in the respected program’s history) and Grand Prize winner of the inaugural Lillian and Maurice Barbash J.S. Bach Competition in 2019.

F. Mack Wood (B.M., Music and Human Learning/Music Education, 2005) is completing his first year as the associate director of Bands and director of the Big Red Marching Machine at Illinois State University. Photo by Dr. Rachel E. Wood

Diana Burgess (B.M., Strings and Harp, 2015) launched a solo career with the release of her debut album, You Run. The album contains 12 songs, all performed by Burgess, and is available on all music platforms. The title track was recently featured on NPR Music's All Songs Considered. Photo by Marshall Tidrick

In 2019, Dr. Marisa Ishikawa (M.M., Strings and Harp, 2017) became the second violinist of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, an internationally recognized string quartet based in Columbus, Ohio. On May 15, the quartet will be releasing An American Story, a project presented by PNC Arts Alive. The project is an interactive multimedia experience, with music composed and performed by Carpe Diem and animation created by Janet Antich. Ishikawa’s story follows her grandfather, the son of two Austrian immigrants, and will be available for viewing on-demand following its premiere. Photo by Janet Antich