Convention Preview — Here's Your Sneak Peek at Our Exciting Lineup!

MUSIC

One O’Clock Lab Band

A jazz combo made up of members of the internationallyacclaimed University of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band opens the convention on Wednesday evening. The premier ensemble of the UNT jazz program, the One O’Clock Lab Band boasts seven Grammy Award nominations and over 80 recordings Directed by Alan Baylock, the group has performed around the world and with major jazz artists. The jazz program at UNT, the first in the nation, celebrated its 75th anniversary this season.

Convention Chorus

The Convention Chorus will be directed by Francis Cathlina (Phi Tau, Dallas Alumni), director of choral activities in the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis, where he conducts five ensembles and is in-demand as a guest clinician from Pennsylvania to Texas. To his Mu Phi Epsilon brothers and sisters, Cathlina says, “Come participate in the incredible Convention Chorus through our heart-filling repertoire, committed music-making and community bonding. No singing experience required!”

Faces of Eve

Pianist Mary Au (Mu Nu, Los Angeles) and flutist Rik Noyce (Gamma Sigma, Los Angeles Alumni) will perform a concert titled “Faces of Eve” featuring music by Mu Phi women composers.

Mary Au and Rik Noyce

The premiere of a newly-commissioned composition by Deon Nielson Price will be among the selections for this concert. Noyce has enjoyed a varied career including orchestral and solo performances and current collegiate positions as senior lecturer in music at Loyola Marymount University as well as lecturer in music and supervisor of Winds & Brass at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is co-founder of Whole Musician, a collaboration of four flutists who offer university residencies and workshops addressing the mental, physical and musical demands placed on the 21st century performer. Au, an ACME honoree, has performed as a collaborative artist with esteemed performers including opera singer Christine Brewer and cellist Nathaniel Rosen. She has presented master classes at music festivals, universities and music conservatories and she has taught in the United States and China. She currently serves on the faculty at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Sessions

The Baker Sonata

Kristin Jonina Taylor (Alpha Kappa, Lincoln Alumni) performs a lecture-recital titled “The Baker Sonata: A Masterwork from a Legendary American Piano Professor.” Joanna Baker won the Mu Phi Epsilon Composition Competition with her sonata which she premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1954 on a live national radio broadcast. Baker served on the faculty of University of Missouri, Kansas City for 49 years. Jonina Taylor is an Icelandic-American pianist who has performed widely in the U.S. as well as throughout Europe. Jonina Taylor is a two-time Fulbright grant recipient and has released several professional recordings. She is an associate professor of piano and keyboard area coordinator at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Jonina Taylor is a Steinway Artist and a member of the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame.

Exploring the Archives

Two presentations will assist our members in preserving historical documents. “Saving Your Stuff,” best practices for archiving, will be the topic of Mu Phi’s international librarian and archives chair, Wendy Sistrunk (Mu Mu, Kansas City Alumni). Sistrunk recently retired as the music catalog librarian at the University of Missouri, Kansas City after over 25 years of service. Danielle

Kuntz (Mu Phi, Cleveland Alumni) presents “Mu Phi in the Archives.” Kuntz is associate professor of music history and Riemenschneider Bach Institute (RBI) Scholar-in-Residence at Baldwin Wallace University. She has served as the faculty adviser to the Mu Phi Epsilon chapter since 2017, and in 2020, she was named a Mu Phi Epsilon ACME Achievement Honoree.

Get That Money Honey!

Foundation Board members, Kira Dixon (Phi Mu, Palo Alto Alumni) and Zack Carlson-Giving (Zeta Lambda, Minneapolis Alumni) present “Get That Money Honey” about best practices in applying for Foundation grants and scholarships. Dixon has been the director of choirs at Christopher High School and South Valley Middle School in Gilroy, California, since 2016. Carlson-Giving is the vocal music director at Buffalo High School where he leads all curricular and extracurricular choirs, directs annual musicals and teaches Unified Music.

Effective Chapter Leadership

Tanner Wilson (Beta Alpha, Fullerton Alumni) shares his knowledge gained as a PSW1 District Director in “It Starts With You: Tips for Effective Chapter Leadership.” Wilson currently works as an academic advisor at San Diego State University, where he helps students see their potential and aids them on the path to graduation. His inspiration to choose this as his profession came directly from supporting Mu Phi’s collegiate leadership. Wilson currently sings with the San Diego Master Chorale.

Generation of 50

Po Sim Head (Omega Omega, Kansas City Alumni) will present “Generation of 50: The Peruvian Sounds in Francisco PulgarVidal’s Piano Works,” highlighting this lesser-known composer’s excellent repertoire for intermediate and advanced pianists interested in Latin American culture. Sim is a musicologistpianist and a passionate piano teacher. She is a regular presenter at national and local conferences such as Music Teachers National Association, Kansas Music Teacher Association and College Music Society. Sim is an adjunct instructor at Metropolitan Community College, Kansas City.

Applying Agile Methodology to Music

Wanda Yang Temko (Eta Eta, Atlanta Alumni) will present “Applying Agile Methodology to Music.” She will share how the Agile methodology used in software development has great potential for musicians including helping us stay organized in our creative work. Yang Temko is a respected singer, voice teacher and arts advocate. She is sought after as a recitalist and soloist and recently performed the role of Evangelist in David Lang’s Little Match Girl Passion with Kinnara. Yang Temko maintains an active private voice studio in Atlanta.

Seven Essentials for Developing Voices in Choir

Backed by historical literature and modern scientific studies, Francis Cathlina (Phi Tau, Dallas Alumni) presents tools to build the seven tenets of healthy vocal production: posture, breathing and support, tone, semi-occluded vocal tract exercises, laryngeal position, resonance, choral blend, the conductor’s model and gesture in his presentation “Seven Essentials for Developing Voices in Choir.” A Vietnamese-American conductor, Cathlina, serves as director of choral activities at the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music. He guides a choral area of five ensembles, leads the doctoral and master’s choral conducting program and conducts the University Singers (SATB choir) and Mazi (SSAA choir). A 2023 Grammy quarterfinalist, Cathlina’s work has garnered national recognition at the university and high school levels.

“The House That Chuck Built”

Charles Dickerson (Omega Omega, Palos Verdes South Bay Alumni), executive director and conductor of the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, will hold a screening of “The House That Chuck Built.” The short independent film highlights Dickerson’s work with the predominantly Black youth orchestra, billed as the largest of its kind in the nation.

Harold Rapp III

And … More Music!

Featured throughout the Convention will be some of Mu Phi’s best collegiate and alumni professionals. Harold Rapp III (Omega Omega, Colorado Springs), saxophone, will play his own composition, Jungle Rain, for sax and digital production. Rapp is a multi-faceted artist whose music is featured on all major streaming platforms. Sarah Jordan (Mu Eta) will perform her composition Mystery and Fear for solo flute. Clarinetist Emily O’Brien (Phi Tau), will present Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano by Malcolm Arnold. Meg Gray (Beta Phi, Wichita Alumni) and Lynn Godfriax Maloy (Mu Kappa, Colorado Springs) team up for a performance of piano duets by Brahms. An excerpt from Claudia Jameson’s (Beta Kappa, Dallas Alumni) children’s opera Anam the Witch and Beatrice the Beautiful will be performed as a part of the Convention. Flutist Tiffany Ragan (Gamma Gamma, Oklahoma Alumni), will perform select movements from Pierre-Octave Ferroud’s Trois Pièces pour flûte seule. Singers Janelle Catbagan (Gamma Sigma, Palos Verdes/South Bay) and Jeremy Sarmiento (Gamma Sigma) perform selections including Sun and Moon from Miss Saigon with pianist Mary Au.

The 2023 Mu Phi Epsilon Convention promises to be a wonderful event filled with music, friendship, and harmony. We will see you there!