School of Music Newsletter | Spring 2022

SCHOOL OF MUSIC SPRING 2022 NEWSLETTER

SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS & MEDIA

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Amanda Ronquillo, 1st Place | Young Artist Division SHSU Art Song Competition 2022

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

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SCHOOL OF MUSIC Faculty Spotlight

PERCUSSION PERFORMANCE SEES CONTINUED SUCCESS IN ADVOCACY PROJECT In December 2021, Professor John Lane performed his duo project, "The Innocents," along with Allen Otte (Percussion Group Cincinnati) at the Percussive Arts Society

PERCUSSIVE NOTES Vol. 59, No.6, December 2021

Arnie Lang on the “La Mer” Cymbal Part

Christopher Deane’s “Mourning Dove Sonnet”

International Convention in Indianapolis, where many students of the SHSU Percussion Studio were also in attendance. This advocacy project, which is an effort to raise awareness for wrongful imprisonment and exoneration in the US, was also featured on the December cover of Percussive Notes magazine. In March 2022, "The Innocents" completed a series of performances and residencies at the University of Northern Alabama and Western Kentucky University. Their performance was featured

by WKU's Department of Music's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Colloquium.

“THE INNOCENTS” COMBINING MUSIC WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE

Advanced Bass Drum Splits

CELEBRATING CHAMBER MUSIC THROUGH LOCAL CONCERTS Associate Professor of Cello Daniel Saenz was featured in a January concert for Aperio, Music of the Americas at

MATCH in Houston. Among the works he performed were two works for cello and piano

by Brazilian composers Heitor Villa-Lobos and Edino Krieger. Saenz was also the featured soloist with the Valley Symphony Orchestra in his hometown of McAllen for their 70th Anniversary Celebration Concert in March.

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT COLLEGIATE AND HIGH SCHOOL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA COLLABORATION AT MAJOR CONFERENCE Professor of Violin Javier Pinell performed as a soloist in December with the Klein High School Chamber Orchestra at The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago. The orchestra was led and prepared by a team of teachers from Klein HS, including Creston

BAND AREA SHINES IN LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL SUCCESS Conducted by Brian Gibbs, the SHSU Symphonic Band performed at the College Band Directors National Association Southwestern Division Convention.

Matthew McInturf and Darla McBryde were guest conductors. Guest artists included alumnus SSG Irving Ray of “Pershing’s Own” Army Band and the SHSU Faculty Brass Quintet: Randy Adams, Steve Warkentin, Peggy DeMers, R. Benjamin Osborne, and Jerome Stover.

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SCHOOL OF MUSIC Faculty Spotlight

Herron, Jennifer Hillen, and Mindy Florian.

The Midwest Clinic, which offers an array of opportunities for musicians and music educators, is attended by more than 18,000 people from all 50 states and more than 40 countries.

Faculty sucess continued with McBryde serving as the guest conductor for the Conroe Symphony Orchestra's "Love Story" concert, and McInturf elected to the Texas Music Educators Association Convention Executive Board as the Vice President and Chair of the College Division. McInturf and Gibbs, along with Kyle Kindred, also gave a presentation at the College Band Directors National Association Southwestern Division Convention titled "Collaborating with the Composer: Creating a Symphony.”

FACULTY RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY AS DISTINGUISHED PIANISTS Three piano faculty members were selected to represent Kawai USA as distinguished Shigeru Kawai Artists. Diego Caetano, ILonka Rus, and Mihai Vatca all received the prestigious Kawai Medallion Educator Award, which recognizes their teaching and piano studios.

Caetano has toured Germany, giving concerts at WABE in Berlin, Kreuzherrnsaal in Memmingen, and recorded a CD with German tenor Richard Resch. He also recently released a chamber music album under Da Vinci Publishing with his duo partner and violinist Evgeny Zvonnikov, which received a fivestar rating by Amadeus, a prestigious Italian magazine.

DEBUT ALBUM AIMS TO INCREASE DIVERSITY AND REPRESENTATION IN MUSIC SHSU staff piano accompanist Tingting Yao and Brazilian violist Amaro Dubois released their first album "Adoration – Music of the Americas" with Spice Classics in October, featuring a mix of female and underrepresented composers such as Fanny Mendelssohn, Rebecca Clarke, Florence Price, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and others.

The mission of this album is to encourage musicianship through the beautiful and awe-inspiring music of these composers, and to increase diversity in classical music by programming new and often overlooked

compositions for the viola repertoire. The album can be found digitally on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT GUITAR ALBUM NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY® AWARD Alejandro Montiel was nominated for the GRAMMY® Award for Best Choral Performance in November as a member of the Texas Guitar Quartet for his contributions in recording the album “The Singing Guitar.” It features several worldpremiere recordings, including a substantial new work for chamber choir and guitar ensemble by acclaimed composer Nico

LECTURE RECITAL FEATURED AT COLLEGIATE MUSIC CONFERENCE Emily Heilman and Diego Caetano presented at the College Music Society Southwest Regional Conference in

AMERICAN PRIZE NATIONAL SEMI-FINALIST COMMISSIONED FOR WASHINGTON CEREMONY John Crabtree was recently named as a national semi-finalist in two areas for The American Prize in Composition: Instrumental Chamber Music – "Portraits of

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SCHOOL OF MUSIC Faculty Spotlight

Muhly. This album was done in collaboration with conductor Craig Hella Johnson, Conspirare, Austin Guitar Quartet, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Texas Guitar Quartet, and was produced by Andreas K. Meyer.

In December, Alejandro Montiel and his colleague and co-member of the Texas Guitar Quartet Isaac Bustos gave the Louisiana premiere of Joaquin Rodrigo’s double guitar concerto Concierto Madrigal with the Civic Orchestra of Baton Rouge under the direction of Maestro Elvis Bendaña.

Azusa, CA. They performed a lecture recital titled "Peter Lieberson's Neruda Songs: An Expression of Love” and hosted Marquese Carter from Murray State University., who gave a masterclass and performed a joint recital, both featuring the songs of Florence Price.

Manchac" (2002; 2004) for string orchestra, and Band/Wind Ensemble Music – "Rain Falls From Broken Glass" (2001) for wind ensemble. He was also commissioned for an SATB divisi a cappella arrangement of "The Mansions of the Lord" (Wallce/Glennie-Smith) for the Official Wreath Laying Ceremony and Memorial Recital at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.

SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING SECURED FOR BILINGUAL THERAPY STUDENTS Carolyn Moore has helped secure a $10,000 scholarship for bilingual music therapy students. This scholarship donation was offered to the SHSU program by music therapist Christy Merrell and her wife Holly Ingram.

Beginning last summer and on an ongoing basis, Moore provided Merrell with consulting to help her develop and staff a music therapy program at Pecos Children’s Center, a facility for unaccompanied migrant youth. Merrell has hired numerous SHSU music therapy graduates into this program and sees the need for more bilingual music therapists, so she decided to fund this scholarship program to encourage students and thank Moore for her assistance.

The initial $10,000 will fund two $5,000 scholarships with senior students who are preparing for internship being prioritized. $5,000 would cover their internship tuition and fees in their entirety. Merrell and Ingram

plan to continue donating $10,000 a year for the next three years.

In additional music therapy news, Moore gave a presentation titled “Cultivating A Culture of Disability Equity in Music Performance Spaces” to the Da Camera’s Young Artist Program, and several students saw continued success in their internships: Nia Williams, who is currently interning with Heart & Harmony Music Therapy in Fort Worth, was awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the Fort Worth Music Therapy Fund.

The following students graduated following the completion of their internships: Jorge Diaz (Hays Consolidated ISD), Rebecca Perez (Trustbridge Hospice – West Palm Beach, FL), and Hope Gray (Sound Starts Music Therapy, Frisco).

The following students were accepted for summer internships: Hannah Bilski (Texas Children’s Hospital) and Victoria Pacheco (Houston Methodist Hospital).

STUDENT SUCCESS

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SCHOOL OF MUSIC Student Success

ART SONG FESTIVAL UNITES SCHOLARS AND SINGERS

who was joined by collaborative pianist Edward Newman. Throughout the weekend, the online sessions covering a variety of topics brought The 2022 SHSU Art Song Festival, organized together scholars and singers from across the

by Emily Heilman, offered a blend of online nation. The festival concluded with the 9th and live events in celebration of the art song Annual SHSU Art Song Competition in which voice students competed for over $3,000 in in February. This year’s guest artist recital featured renowned soprano Twyla Robinson scholarship prizes.

THE 2022 ART SONG COMPETITION WINNERS

YOUNG ARTIST DIVISION

APPRENTICE DIVISION

1: Amanda Ronquillo 2: Jacelle Gardner 3: Rina Yan Yin See

1: Mariah Graves 2: Victoria Tonsfeldt 3: Riley Glaesmann Honorable Mention: Lucianna Astorga Honorable Mention: Cesario James Silva

STUDENT SUCCESS

OPERA STUDENTS TAKE HOME NATIONAL WINS SHSU opera students took home national wins in January at the National Opera Association Conference in St. Augustine, FL. Competing against highly regarded universities such as Texas Tech, Louisiana State University, and the University of Delaware, SHSU placed first in the undergraduate division and second in the graduate division of the Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition. Under the stage

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SCHOOL OF MUSIC Student Success

direction of Rebecca Renfro and musical direction of Saule Garcia, students Mariah Graves and Victoria Tonsfeldt won first place in Division I, and Amanda Ronquillo and Piero Regis won second place in Division II. In previous years, SHSU has placed in the undergraduate, graduate, and musical theatre divisions on multiple occasions, but this is the first time that SHSU has brought home a firstplace win.

The student success continued with Graves chosen as a session participant in "The

Recitative Project" presented by Darryl Cooper, and Tonsfeldt chosen as a session participant in "CLEAN IT UP! Directing Opera Stage Action as Emotional Choreography" presented

by Dugg McDonough. Ronquillo, Regis and two more students, Lucianna Astorga and Rina See, were scheduled to participate in several sessions, which were unfortunately canceled due to the pandemic.

this masterclass and presented a poster titled "Opera from the Clouds: Exploring Brazilian Opera."

Faculty were also invited to present, with Renfro giving a plenary session titled "Singing on the Spectrum: Understanding Neurodiversity in the Collegiate Music Setting," and Tony Boutté presenting a fantastic session titled "Twenty-Four: A New Astorga was chosen for a masterclass with NOA Opera from Old Sources," which featured faculty members Garcia and Emily Heilman, as Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and world-renowned opera coach Joan Dornemann. well as students Ronquillo and James Silva.

Annelise Dias was chosen as an alternate for

STUDENT SUCCESS ANNUAL CONCERTO COMPETITION GRANTS FEATURE PERFORMANCES TO STUDENT WINNERS

SHSU Symphony Orchestra concert. The other finalists were featured in the Honors Concert this May. The final round was adjudicated by three guest judges: Desmond Hoebig (Professor of Cello at Shepherd School of Music, Rice Six finalists competed in the SHSU Annual University), Andrew Staupe (Assistant Professor Concerto Competition organized by of Piano at Moores School of Music, University Masahito Sugihara in October. The first-prize of Houston), and Gavin Reed (Artist/Teacher winners selected in two categories received of French Horn Moores School of Music, an invitation to perform as soloists for an University of Houston).

THE 2021–2022 SHSU CONCERTO COMPETITION WINNERS

STRINGS, WINDS, AND PERCUSSION CATEGORY

PIANO CATEGORY

1: Mateo Seghezzo, marimba 2: Jose Moreno, marimba 3: Marco Hernandez, violin

1: Alona Khoptynets 2: Gabriel Palansc 3: Parikesit Tanudjaja

“It has been an incredible experience to be in the Concerto Competition. The whole process, from playing for your professors in the preliminary rounds, to performing in the concert hall for renowned guest judges, gives you an insightful taste of what it takes, both mentally and physically, to perform competitively as a musician. This upcoming fall semester, I have been given the thrilling opportunity to perform Prism Rhapsody (marimba concerto by Keiko Abe) with Dr. Matthew McInturf’s Wind Ensemble, and I am both extremely thankful and excited for this project, which will undoubtedly teach me priceless lessons.”

– Mateo Seghezzo

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SCHOOL OF MUSIC Student Success

SAXOPHONE QUARTET COMPOSER AWARDED FISHER TULL SCHOLARSHIP

official announcement was made in March at the Ars Perpetua New Music Concert where he was handed a check for $500 and a certificate by the Zeta Mu Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha The winner of the 2022 Phi Mu Alpha Fisher President, Marcus Edwards. The annual Phi Tull Student Composition Award was Nigel Mu Alpha Fisher Tull Student Composition Roy with his saxophone quartet composition Award is organized by Kyle Kindred, Professor "Romp" from his work-in-progress titled of Theory and Composition/Director of "Four Pieces for Saxophone Quartet." The Composition Studies.

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

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SCHOOL OF MUSIC Event Spotlight

SHSU BILL WATROUS JAZZ FESTIVAL RETURNS, FEATURING SHSU '78 ALUMNI ENSEMBLE Aric Schneller and Brian Fincher reinvigorated the SHSU Bill Watrous Jazz Festival in April after a two-year absence due to the pandemic. The festival was a huge success with rave reviews and featured an exciting reunion of the 1978 SHSU "Catabiando!" Jazz Ensemble conducted by David Caffey. The Tom Skains Scholarship for Lead Trumpet in honor of Caffey and

"Catabiando!" was awarded to students John Baker and Alex Suarez.

The Bill Watrous Jazz Festival is a competitive, educational event where high school and college jazz bands perform at 30-minute intervals throughout the day. Participating ensembles receive critique sheets from each of the nationally renowned jazz educators and are strongly encouraged to hear performances of at least two other bands. This provides valuable listening opportunities for young, developing musicians and ensures appreciative, dedicated audiences for all of the performing groups.

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

1978 SHSU ‘CATABIANDO!’ REUNION JAZZ ENSEMBLE with conductor David Caffey. Members (left to right in each section):

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SCHOOL OF MUSIC Event Spotlight

RHYTHM SECTION: Mark Pomerantz, piano Mike Shearon, auxiliary percussion Greg Dick, drumset Darrell Parish, bass guitar

TROMBONE SECTION: Milas Yoes, 2nd trombone Patrick Brown, lead trombone Mark Munson, 3rd trombone Cesar Mascorro, bass trombone

SAXOPHONE SECTION: Kelly Dean, lead tenor saxophone Susan Housen, 2nd alto saxophone Don Wiehe, lead alto saxophone David Caffey, director of reunion band Ray Gonzalez, 2nd tenor saxophone Jaymee Lamprecht, baritone saxophone

TRUMPET SECTION: Danny Wilson, 2nd / trumpet & soloist Tom Skains, lead trumpet Dennis Dotson, 3rd trumpet & soloist Brian Fincher, 4th trumpet, split-lead & soloist

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

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SCHOOL OF MUSIC Alumni Spotlight

PEDRO FERNANDEZ

Bachelor of Music Performance '10 Pedro Fernandez holds positions as a percussionist with the Indianapolis and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestras. He has held similar titles with the Cincinnati Symphony and the Houston Ballet Orchestra. Following his journey at SHSU, he went on to obtain his MM and DMA

from the University of Miami. He was recently awarded Associate Principal Percussion in the Philadelphia Orchestra and has performed nationally with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Houston, and Columbus Symphonies, among others, and internationally with the National Symphonies of Costa Rica and in his native country with the National Symphony of Panama.

SHSU School of Music is proud of its alumni!

To be featured, please contact Patricia Duran at: patriciaduran@shsu.edu

BOARD OF REGENTS THE TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

Duke Austin, Chairman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Houston Garry Crain, First Vice Chairman. . . . . . . . . . . The Hills Alan L. Tinsley, Second Vice Chairman. . . . . Madisonville Charlie Amato. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Antonio Sheila Faske. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rose City Dionicio (Don) Flores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . El Paso Nicki Harle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baird Stephen Lee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beaumont William F. Scott. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nederland Camile Settegast, Student Regent. . . . . . . . Horseshoe Bay Brian McCall, Chancellor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Austin

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT

shsu.edu/academics/music