8\\ Thursday, January 30, 2014
The Daily Cougar
LIFE & ARTS
EDITOR
Monica Tso
arts@thedailycougar.com
ONLINE
thedailycougar.com/life-arts
OBITUARY
Veteran, musician leaves legacy Janeka Porter Staff writer
Having served as the Moores School of Music Director for 15 years, Emeritus David Tomatz passed away on Jan. 16 and is remembered by all. | Courtesy of UH
The University is saying its goodbyes after losing an honorary figure and exceptional musician who fulfilled the mission of the Moores School of Music. Director Emeritus David Tomatz, who served as the MSM director for 15 years, passed away Jan. 16. Tomatz pushed MSM into new musical ventures by helping guide the creation of the Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival, the Moores Jazz Festival, the expansion of the school’s opera program and the construction of the state-ofthe-art MSM building and Moores Opera House. He also raised student enrollment at MSM from 320 music majors to more than 600 and was instrumental in starting MSM’s doctoral program, later approved by the State Coordinating Board and accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. UH alumnus and General and Artistic Director of Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival
Alan Austin knew Tomatz from his freshman year at UH through the completion of his graduate work. “I first knew him as the enthusiastic head of the school, who was a big supporter of the students, he knew our names and the faculty,” Austin said. “Later, as director of the Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival, he was my boss. He was a real mentor, father-figure and friend … always supportive.” Austin said he will miss being able to consult with him when he needs an outside perspective. Tomatz started his musical journey at the University of Wyoming in 1961, where he accepted a position as cellist and instructor and eventually became head of the music department in 1974. During his time at University of Wisconsin, he co-founded and directed the Western Arts Music Festival in Wyoming and developed a statewide Cultural Outreach Program. As a cellist, he founded the Western Arts Trio, recorded for Laurel Records and toured throughout the United States as well as in Europe,
South and Central America, Mexico and Australia. He performed alongside pianist Werner Rose and violinist Brian Hanly. Tomatz also held numerous elected offices in NASM, including Region 3 chair, member of the Commission on Accreditation, chair of the former Commission on NonDegree-Granting Accreditation, chair of the Nominating Committee and vice president, culminating in his service as president from 2001 to 2003. Tomatz earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and his Master of Music and Doctor of Philosophy in Music History from Catholic University of America. “Whether or not you knew David (Tomatz), you should know that the foundation he laid for what is today the Moores School of Music has allowed the school to continue to flourish,” said MSM Director David Ashley White. “He will be greatly missed.” arts@thedailycougar.com
MUSIC
Piano festival to offer keys of mastery Diana Nguyen Staff writer
The Moores School of Music presents the 31st annual International Piano Festival, an exciting weekend of recitals and master classes, from Friday to Sunday. This year’s festival encompasses an array of talented artists, including festival founder and grand master of piano Abbey Simon, Italian concert artist Sandro Russo and revolutionary piano duo Anderson and Roe. Recitals will be performed in the Moores Opera House, and master classes will be held in UH’s Dudley Recital Hall. Simon, a Cullen Professor of Piano, has won awards like the Walter Naumburg Prize to Distinguished Teacher Award. He founded the festival in 1984 at a time when piano festivals had yet to exist. “When I started it, there was nothing like it in the Southwest,” Simon said. “I’ve never put on a festival before. I was scared out of my wits. There was money involved and it wasn’t mine.” Russo, Anderson and Roe, Simon said he likes to always have a variety of musical tastes, hopefully new to audiences’ ears. “I always think it’s interesting for students to hear how Italians play
The 31st annual International Piano Festival will be bringing a variety of musical talents and master classes, hosted by the Moores School of Music, on Friday to Sunday at the Moores Opera House. | Jessica Sunny/The Daily Cougar Beethoven and Chopin, and how Germans play,” Simon said. “We have had Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese artists perform. We’ve had many South Americans. They get a choice.” Innovative piano duo Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe, known for their exhilarating performances and Emmy-nominated and self-produced music videos, are bringing audiences a surprise with their crisscrossing style of duet piano playing. The duo initially met as freshmen at The Juilliard School. “We’re excited to perform such
incredible, overwhelming music, and we hope to give it the justice it deserves,” Anderson said. “And we’re especially thrilled to perform in Houston for the first time together as a duo; we’ve had so much fun performing for Texan audiences in the past.” Roe shares the excitement. “We are thrilled and excited to take part in this festival alongside luminaries like Abbey Simon, an artist who has inspired us throughout our musical lives,” Roe said. “We look forward to sharing our
creative passions with the Houston audience, and as always, we aim to celebrate the inspiration and joy of music.” Music senior Alex Winkler, an aspiring composer and performer, also looks forward to the Piano Festival. “Aside from our outstanding piano faculty, which is one of the brightest gems of (the) Moores School, the Piano Festival hosted annually on campus makes UH one of the best places to be for pianists and enthusiasts of the instrument,”
Winkler said. “The prestigious Anderson and Roe duo is overflowing with creativity and will be a must-see for any music lover.” Students have the option of receiving master piano classes from Simon, Russo or Anderson and Roe. Simon said he hopes to teach lessons not just to current UH students, but to bring in new talents from a high school or even out of the state or country. “As a teacher, you have the quality, an approach, that is personal that you can transmit somehow to the student. And if you can’t do that, then it’s a waste of time,” Simon said. “I can remember my own teachers. They were very strange people. But I survived.” Through Simon’s five years of teaching, musical arts doctoral student Amanda Hughes feels her piano skills have improved greatly. “He is very direct and honest. He is also very supportive. You can tell he really cares about his students and will push you until he gets that result,” Hughes said. “When I listen back to myself when I first started, it’s amazing to hear how I really changed with him. arts@thedailycougar.com