July 11, 2025
Ivan Trevino, Assistant Professor of Practice in Percussion at the University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music, has been awarded the prestigious Teaching Excellence Award for the 2024/2025 academic year. Trevino shares the honor with fellow faculty member Yevgeniy Sharlat, in recognition of their contributions to student learning and teaching innovation.
For Trevino, the award is deeply personal. “I have always wanted to be a teacher, and I love teaching in different capacities,” he said. His approach to teaching differs from traditional percussion instruction. One key distinction is his integration of composition into the percussion curriculum. “When I’m not teaching, one of my main areas of focus is composition,” he explained. “Creating music is becoming part of the percussion experience. I have seen it in my own career, and in the careers of many of my peers. Our percussion studio has embraced this spirit, and it has opened up new opportunities and pathways for our students.”
This passion for composition and percussion culminates in an end-of-year concert where the percussion ensemble performs entirely original works, students playing each other’s compositions.
End-of-year percussion ensemble concert
This unique process reflects a personal musical journey that began when Trevino was just three years old, playing drums in his father’s band across Texas. “It was this fun mix of Texan music, from Tejano to country-western,” he recalls. “No one in the band had formal music training, and everything was composed, played, and learned by ear.” Touring the state with his father’s band remains an experience he still credits as foundational to his musicianship. It gives him a perspective distinct from the classical tradition. “I learned that music making can be approached and experienced in different ways. This mindset shows up regularly in my teaching, from collaborative songwriting to improvising with my students.”
A very young Ivan Trevino playing with his dad's band
Trevino’s musical path wasn’t always smooth. In middle and high school, he played saxophone in the school band because drum set wasn’t an option. “I was a very serious saxophonist for a long time,” he said. That changed during his junior year of high school, when percussion teacher Phillip Mikula introduced him to the world of percussion ensemble. “Saxophone was a great musical outlet for me, but the connection I had with percussion was different,” Trevino said.
Coming from a working-class family, lessons and instruments weren’t always affordable. “When I told my parents I wanted to switch from saxophone to percussion, they were worried,” he said. “Beginning a new instrument at that age was a challenge, especially with college auditions on the horizon, but they supported me.” That support drove him to work hard and play catch-up. Even now, Trevino admits, “I still think I’m a better sight reader on saxophone than percussion.”
Butler students performing at KMFA
Ultimately, Trevino says the most rewarding part of teaching is watching his students discover their artistic selves. “When a student finds meaning and connection in the music they are making, there’s nothing quite like it.”
The Teaching Excellence Award recognizes not only his technical skill, but also his deep commitment to fostering creativity and individuality in his students, a philosophy that continues to shape the culture at the Butler School of Music.
A student shows the marimba at one of Ivan Trevino's garden community concerts
About Ivan Trevino:
Ivan Trevino is Assistant Professor of Practice in Percussion at the University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music. A former U.S. State Department music ambassador, Trevino champions community engagement, collaboration, and creative exploration in music education. His teaching emphasizes performance beyond traditional recital halls, encouraging students to connect and explore genre-crossing and composition. Through initiatives like home concerts and innovative ensemble projects, Trevino fosters a culture of experimentation and citizenship, preparing students to be open-minded, community-driven artists.