September 5, 2017
BASSOON
Laura McIntyre (D.M.A Bassoon Performance, 2016) is the newly appointed bassoonist of the U.S. Air Force Band of the West in San Antonio, TX. McIntyre is also a member of the wind quintet QuinTexas, which is comprised of five UT Austin alumni, and winners of the Silver Medal at the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and first prize in winds at the 2015 Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition.
ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
Students received numerous awards to support summer 2017 research on Latin American music including a Rainwater Music Innovation Grant (Kevin Parme), a Continuing Fellowship (Julianne Graper), Tinker Field Research Grants (Sarah Lahasky and Jeannelle Ramirez), and E.D. Farmer International Fellowships (Julianne Graper and Kevin Parme).
GUITAR
Harrington Fellow Celil Refik Kaya has been given the Dumbarton Oaks Early Career Musician Fellowship from Harvard University. He was chosen (without application) and is only the third musician (and first performer) to receive this award. He also released his first recording for Naxos and has recorded his second CD. Kaya’s performance schedule this season included concertos with the Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Ankara, Turkey, the Izmer Symphony in Istanbul, Turkey and solo performances in Miami and Buffalo.
Henry Johnston (freshman student) won first prize at the Texas A&M international Classical Guitar Festival and Competition as well as 2nd prize at the Florida International Guitar Festival and Competition held at the Frost School of Music, University of Miami. Nicolas Emilfork (D.M.A. student) won 3rd prize at the Colorado International Guitar Competition, held at the University of Colorado, Boulder and 4th prize at the Texas A&M International Classical Guitar Festival and Competition. Matt Gillen (D.M.A. student) won 2nd prize at the Great Lakes Guitar Festival, Syracuse, NY. Anthony Mariano (M.M. student) won 4th prize at the Dallas International Guitar competition held at UT Dallas in Richardson, Texas. Recent D.M.A. student Joseph Palmer was one of four prize winners of the Classics Alive Music Competition held in Beverly Hills, CA in October 2016.
Professor of Guitar Adam Holzman has been named director of the Classical Guitar Program at the Brevard Music Center in Brevard, NC. This is the first time in over 80 years that Brevard has included a classical guitar performance program as part of their festival. He also performed and taught in Boston, Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Dallas and throughout Virginia last season.
HARP
The Butler Harp Studio hosted the American Harp Center’s Winter Conference for Competition and Audition Preparation with international teaching artist Sivan Magen in January 2017. In March 2017, UT Harp Ensemble put on a concert that raised over $1,200 for Whole Planet Foundation. This amount will provide one microcredit loan per ensemble member to women-based businesses in 16 countries.
Butler School graduate Haley Hodson Packman (M.M., 2017) was a finalist in the Young Texas Artists and Lyon & Healy Awards music competitions and performed Gabriel Pierné’s Concertstucke with the University Orchestra in March 2017.
JAZZ
AIME (Alternative Improvisation Music Ensemble) were the winners in the “Small Jazz Combo/Graduate College Winner” category in the Downbeat Magazine 40th Annual Student Music Awards issue.
UT Jazz Orchestra toured to the Montreux and North Sea jazz festivals in July 2017, performed at the TMEA conference in February 2017 and participated in the Longhorn Jazz Festival with Cyrus Chestnut in April 2017.
OBOE
With regard to current students, Bethany Lawrence (D.M.A. student) was winner of the Butler School of Music concerto competition and finalist for three teaching positions at UW Madison, Kansas State University, University of Alabama Tuscaloosa. Kristen Bundy (B.M. student) was accepted to University of Missouri - Kansas City with a substantial scholarship to pursue a master's degree in oboe performance. Jillian Kouzel (B.M. student) was accepted into the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Matt Lengas (D.M.A. student) was a finalist for principal oboe in the Austin Symphony.
With regard to alumni, Emily Moscoso (B.M., 2016) was winner of one-year second oboe position in the Colorado Symphony and accepted for graduate studies at the New England Conservatory, the Mannes School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Freddie Blood (D.M.A., 2016) won a position with the Navy Band of the Southwest and a silver medal at the 2016 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition as a member of QuinTexas.
OPERA
With regard to current students, Kihwa Kim (M.M. Opera Directing student) spent the summer with the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival as assistant director of productions of Suor Angelica and Stabat Mater. Margaret Jumonville (M.M. Opera Directing student), spent the summer with the Emerald City Opera in Steamboat Springs, CO directing Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and assistant directing Handel’s Alcina. Stephanie Doche (M.M. Opera student), performed the role of Dorabella in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte with Opera Neo in San Diego. Rachel Lamphier (M.M. Opera student), performed the role of Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro with Opera in the Ozarks. Junsuk Park (A.D. Opera student) performed in the Opera Viva program in Verona, Italy and was a national finalist in the New York Opera Theatre competition. Seunghee Lee (D.M.A. Opera student) performed the role of Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro with the Miami Summer Opera program. Suzanne Lis (M.M. Voice Performance student) performed the role of The Fairy in Massenet’s Cedrillon at the Trentino Summer Music Festival in Mezzano, Italy.
With regard to alumni, David Toro (D.M.A Opera Directing), staged the early music opera Giasone for Opera Neo in San Diego this summer and is currently working for Minnesota Opera. Joshua Miller (D.M.A. Opera Directing) was the assistant director for the Fort Worth Opera production of The Barber of Seville. Keenan Bosewell (D.M.A. Opera Coaching) has been named the musical associate at Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton, NY.
MUSIC & HUMAN LEARNING
Lani Hamilton (Ph.D. Music and Human Learning, 2017) accepted a tenure-track position as assistant professor of music education at the University of Missouri—Kansas City Conservatory. Andrew Strietelmeier (Ph.D. Music and Human Learning, 2016) begins his appointment as assistant professor of music education at the University of Oregon in fall 2017.
MUSICOLOGY
Early Music ensemble Austinato alumni Yi-Hsuan Lin and Rachell Wong have been accepted at Juilliard Historical Performance program, Chiharu Shimano has been accepted at the Amsterdam Conservatory, and Andrew Davis and Laura Miller will enter the early music program of the Hochshule für Musik in Munich, Germany.
SAXOPHONE
Saxophonist Nathan Mertens (D.M.A., 2017) was awarded the Monbukagakusho Research Student Scholarship by The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in Tokyo, Japan. Mertens will relocate to Japan for studies at Kunitachi College of Music, where he will be the first American to formally study saxophone in Japan. Furthermore, he was a prize winner in the 2016 Busan Maru International Music Festival's Concerto Competition in Busan, South Korea.
Calvin Wong (A.D. student) was selected as a semi-finalist in the First Asian Saxophone Congress Solo Competition, held in Chaiyi, Taiwan, and Christopher Padilla (M.M. student) was invited as a semi-finalist in the William Byrd Young Artist Competition in Flint, MI. Bryant Anderson (B.M. student) was featured in performance at the 2017 TMEA Convention with the Quid Nunc Saxophone Quartet, performing for a large and enthusiastic audience. The UT Saxophone Studio traveled together to the North American Saxophone Alliance Regional Conference held at Oklahoma State University where the saxophone ensemble, Modus Quartet, and soloists gave performances, including a world premier by Jack Roberts (B.A. Composition student). Most recently, the UT saxophone ensemble was invited to perform at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago during the winter of 2017.
THEORY
Last spring a number of recent graduates of the music theory doctoral program enjoyed success in winning tenure-track faculty positions across the United States. Scott Schumann (Ph.D., 2015) was hired as an assistant professor of music theory at Central Michigan University, while Allison Wente (Ph.D., 2016) joined the faculty at the State University of New York-Fredonia, also as an assistant professor. Meanwhile, a former student in the program, Jennifer Iverson (Ph.D., 2009), left the University of Iowa to join the music theory department at the University of Chicago, one of the premier theory programs in the nation.
Students currently enrolled in the graduate program in music theory had a remarkably 18 months professionally. At the national meeting for the Society of Music Theory, held in St. Louis in November 2015, three doctoral students in theory presented papers: Matt Bell, Eric Hogrefe, and Allison Wente. Ellie Boisjoli presented a paper at the Haydn Society of North America conference in Vancouver, BC. Closer to home, three current students (Eloise Boisjoli, Bree Guerra, and Steve Rahn) and one former student (Scott Schumann) presented their research at the annual meeting of the Texas Society for Music Theory in February 2016, and one current student (Catrin Watts) and three former students (Scott Schumann, Rachel Mitchell, and Joshua Albrecht) presented in February 2017. At the annual meeting of the Music and the Moving Image conference—the premier scholarly conference for the presentation of research on music and media—quite a few students from Professor Jim Buhler’s fall seminar on film music gave papers, including four theory graduate students (Stefan Greenfield-Casas, Tatiana Koike, Steve Rahn, and Catrin Watts) and a graduate student in composition (Troy Armstrong). Other conferences at which students have presented their work in the past year include the Mozart Society of America, the North American Conference for Video Game Music, the Prokofiev and the Russian Tradition Symposium held at Louisiana State University, the Semiotic Society of America, and GAMuT Graduate Student Conference at the University of North Texas.
TROMBONE
The UT Trombone Choir won second place honors in the 2017 ITA Remington International Trombone Choir Competition. Other finalists included Northwestern University (winner), Hannover Germany Trombone Class (third place) and the Juilliard Trombone Choir (fourth place). The choir presented a showcase concert at the 2017 International Trombone Festival in Redlands, CA that featured several works by UT composers (faculty member Donald Grantham, current student Austin Ali, and UT alum Jack Wilds).
Two UT students were selected to compete in national competitions at the 2016 Southeast Trombone Symposium in Georgia. Dillon MacIntyre (B.M. Trombone Performance student) won 1st Prize in the STS Orchestral Excerpt Competition and 2nd Prize in the STS Solo Competition, and Evan Williams (M.M. Trombone Performance student) was the 3rd prize winner in the STS Solo Competition.
Steven Vogel (M.M. Trombone Performance student) was named winner of the 2017 Big 12 Conference National Tenor Trombone Solo Competition in Lubbock, TX. Tim Maines (B.M. student) was selected as a finalist in the 2017 ITA Van Haney tenor trombone orchestral excerpt competition (final round, June, Redlands, CA). Nat Hsu (B.M. student) was named a finalist in the 2017 American Trombone Workshop National Tenor Trombone Solo Competition (Arlington, VA) for musician aged 18 and under. Evan Sankey (D.M.A. Trombone Performance student) was hired as adjunct low brass professor at Texas Lutheran University.
With regard to alumni, Darren Workman (M.M. and D.M.A. Trombone Performance, 2014) won the US Air Force Band of Mid-America bass trombone audition in St. Louis, MO. Li Kuang (D.M.A. Trombone Performance, 2015) toured China and presented masterclasses at several of the country’s top conservatories during June 2017. Jeriad Wood (D.M.A. Trombone Performance, 2014) won the US Air Force Band of the West trombone audition in San Antonio, TX. Dillon MacIntyre (B.M. Trombone Performance, 2016) was selected as an emerging artist by the Victoria Bach Festival, presenting solo recitals and outreach performances during the June festival. Dillon was also a finalist in the 2017 Zellmer Minnesota Orchestra Trombone Orchestral Excerpt Competition.
Visiting trombone artists included James Markey, bass trombone for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and professor at the New England Conservatory. He was in residence at UT in late January 2017 when he performed a recital, taught lessons and presented masterclasses. David Garcia (UT alum and solo trombone for the Zurich Opera Orchestra) and Zach Bond (trombone professor at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore) presented a masterclass and recital for UT students in February 2017. Bill Thomas (UT alum and 2nd Trombone for the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich) and Nathan Zagonc (2nd trombone, Atlanta Symphony) taught lessons and presented a masterclass and recital for UT students in February 2017.
TUBA & EUPHONIUM
Keith Packman (M.M. Tuba Performance student) won the Artist Division Solo Competition at the South Central Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference. At the same conference, M.J. Jadeja (Freshman student, Euphonium) won the Student Division Solo competition and the Level Quartet, a group comprised of Music Studies majors Joe Anderson (Junior student, Euphonium), Jose Flores (Sophomore student, Euphonium), John Flores (Junior student, Tuba), and Aaron Morgan (Freshman student, Tuba) won second prize in the chamber music competition.
Additionally, recent graduate Ben Vasko will be pursuing his Master of Music in Tuba Performance at the University of Georgia. He has also been appointed as a graduate assistant for the Redcoat Band. Keith Packman (M.M. Tuba Performance) has been awarded a teaching fellowship at the University of North Texas where he will pursue his D.M.A.
VIOLIN
Sandy Yamamoto’s violin studio performed a recital which showcased violin encore pieces in conjunction with Professor Epperson’s collaborative piano students.
With regard to other current violin students, Douglas Kwon (D.M.A. student) won the both the Gold Medal, string division, and the Grand Prize at the 2017 Young Texas Artist Competition. He also won the UT Symphony Concerto Competition with the Bartok Violin Concerto. 2017 Rainwater Innovation Grants were awarded to Sean Riley (D.M.A student) for "Dharma at Big Sur: 3D Cross-Art Collaborative Design Project" and Marisa Ishikawa (M.M. student) for Austin Camerata. Camille Schiess (M.M. student) soloed with the Austin Civic Orchestra as a winner in the Texas Rising Stars series, a collaboration between the ACO and the string division at the Butler School. Ellen Piazza (B.M. student) received funding from the UT College of Fine Arts to underwrite an internship with Austin City Limits. Elsewhere around Austin, Magdiell Antequera (B.M. student) was a featured guest artist at a KMFA “Tasting Notes” benefit. Douglas Kwon (D.M.A. student) is a member of the Austin Symphony, Austin Opera and a regular substitute with the Houston Symphony.
Chu “Luna” Chu (D.M.A. student) has been selected to be a teaching fellow for violin at the Interlochen Arts Camp this summer. Kimberly Zielnicki (B.M. Music Education student) developed and taught curriculum for the UT String Project’s fiddle class and traveled to Ireland to participate in traditional Irish sessions at The Cobblestone. Sophie Verhaeghe (A.D. student) was appointed fellow and assistant concertmaster at the National Repertory Orchestra in summer 2016, as well as director of marketing and co-director of community engagement for Austin Camerata, a Rainwater Innovation Grant recipient. Haeni Lee (D.M.A. student) won the Austin Civic Orchestra’s Concerto Competition, and has received a position in the Austin Lyric Opera orchestra. Sara Sasaki (A.D. student) received a Rainwater Innovation Grant for her Pierrot Lunaire project with the prismatx ensemble.
Antonio Cevallos (M.M. student) received government funding from Ecuador to found “Mitad del Mundo Music Festival,” which will have its inaugural event this summer. Elizabeth Kilpatrick (B.M. student) founded the Butler School Collage Series, a fully scheduled and calendared series that begins in fall 2017. As a result of his study of the “Butterfly Lovers' Concerto” by co-composers He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, Beibei Sheng (D.M.A. student) arranged a face-to-face meeting with Mr. He to speak about his music.
With regard to alumni, Audrey Lee (M.M., 2016) is a violinist in American Dreamer and will be performing in the Old Settlers Festival, May Fest, and the Kerrville Folk Festival; she is also development manager for The Hispanic Alliance. Matt Kufchak (A.D., 2016) is now marketing and engagement assistant for KMFA in Austin. Blake Turner (M.M., 2016) was named assistant principal viola of Austin Symphony. Andy Liang (A.D., 2016), a former member of the Cordova Quartet, won a section violin position in the Seattle Symphony and First Place, Collegiate Division, at the Coltman Competition as member of the Casa Quartet. Niccoló Muti (A.D., 2016) is assistant conductor with Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle and artistic director with Incontri Musicali.
Quinton I. Morris (D.M.A., 2008), presently a tenured associate professor of violin at Seattle University, just completed a world tour to promote his film The Breakthrough. Anna Luce (M.M., 2011) has been playing violin in the Broadway hit Hamilton; she also performed with the production on Saturday Night Live in the fall. Rachel Shapiro (M.M., 2011) has been concertizing around the world to critical acclaim with the Aeolus Quartet. This year, she had a residency at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and also partnered with the Chamber Music Society of Detroit and NYU’s MUSED Lab to create an entirely new app-based educational music residency experience for schools.