April 16, 2025
Ellen Sirower, a Ph.D. student in Piano Performance at the Butler School of Music won the Outstanding Creativity Award at this year’s Empower Your Pitch competition. Sirower captivated judges and audience members alike with her presentation, “Strange, Beautiful Music: Teaching Musical Interpretation of Post-Tonal Piano Repertoire.”
Held on April 9, 2025, the competition celebrated the research and communication talents of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars across disciplines. Sirower was one of four standout participants recognized at the finale. Four award winners, including Sirower, were selected by a panel of expert judges and each received a cash prize.
Empower Your Pitch is a redesigned, fast-paced version of the traditional 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, developed in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University. It challenges scholars to clearly and creatively present complex ideas in just three minutes.
Ellen Sirower presents Strange, Beautiful Music: Teaching Musical Interpretation of Post-Tonal Piano Repertoire.
This year’s competition unfolded in three stages. In the first round, participants worked with a panel of coaches who provided personalized feedback to help sharpen their presentations. Contestants then presented again in an elimination round before a panel of judges. Thirteen finalists advanced to the final round, where they delivered their refined pitches in front of a live audience.
The final panel of judges included industry and academic leaders: Lindsey Derrington, Executive Director at Preservation Austin; Nina Golder, Vice President at Emerson; Matthew Karch, CEO and Co-Founder at Saber Interactive; Ezinne Udezue, Principal at ProductMind; and Jim Zook, Vice President of University Marketing and Communications at the University of Texas at Austin.
Hosted by the Graduate School Office of Career and Life Design and co-sponsored by the Graduate Coordinators Network, Empower Your Pitch is a campus-wide skill-building initiative. Leading up to the event, participants attended info sessions and received targeted resources to practice and perfect their presentations.
2025 Empower Your Pitch Winners
Ellen Sirower’s award-winning performance stood out for its originality, insight, and creative expression—bringing music theory to life in just three minutes.