SFORZANDO

Hugh Hodgson School of Music Administration Director, Hugh Hodgson School of Music

Peter Jutras

Assistant to the Director

Edith Hollander

SFORZANDO Magazine Staff

HHSOM Director of Public Relations

Shaun Baer

Public Relations Team 2022-23

Xandrya Edwards

Natasha Pizzaro Guerrero

Valerie Harrison

Lindsey Hood

Contributing Photographers

Shaun Baer

Easel Images

Sarah Frook Gallo

Presley Grace Photography

Lindsey Hood

Contact

Shaun Baer

Hugh Hodgson School of Music

230 River Road, Ste. 324-A

Athens, GA 30602

706-542-4752 | shaunbaer@uga.edu

SFORZANDO is published by the Hugh Hodgson School of Music.

COVER PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: UGA Symphony Orchestra (Photo by Shaun Baer)

Combined Choirs (Photo by Easel Images)

UGA Steel Band (Photo by Shaun Baer)

Xandrya Edwards (MM, ‘23) in the opera “Postcard from Morocco.”

Chamber Music Athens One-Night Only Gala (Photo by

Director From The

Welcome to the inaugural publication of “Sforzando,” a magazine dedicated to the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music, our performance season, and the accomplishments of our students, alumni, and faculty. We intend to deliver this magazine twice a year, in July and December, to keep you informed about additions and changes to our concert schedule and to recap the previous semester. Since this is our first issue, let me go back a little further to help set the stage.

The 2022-2023 school year was our first year back in “full swing” since the pandemic began in March of 2020. It is astonishing to believe that just a few years ago, our student musicians were taking their lessons, performing their recitals, and collaborating with one another through FaceTime and Zoom. By comparison, this year, our 27 ticketed performances were seen by over 8,300 patrons. Our Beethoven 9th Symphony concert, featuring the UGA Symphony Orchestra, Hodgson Singers, University Chorus, and Glee Clubs as well as four graduate student soloists in vocal performance, had an audience of over 1,600 people between the two performances.

And those were only the ticketed events. We offered over 40 additional largeto-mid-size ensemble performances between Hodgson and Ramsey Concert Halls. Our UGA Wind Ensemble concert in February, as part of the College Band Directors National Association National Conference, was standing room only. In October, the UGA residency of the Athens Hip Hop Harmonic played to a nearly sold-out theatre as well.

Our opera program presented the classic “Faust” and the contemporary “Postcard from Morocco,” offering audiences two very different but equally challenging dramatic works. We introduced the new UGA Middle East Music Ensemble, and when you start factoring in our small student ensembles and student recitals, we were back to offering over 300 performances a year.

Our faculty, student, and alumni accomplishments include on-campus, national, and international accolades, new publications, and exciting opportunities. Just over a month ago, our Hodgson Singers were selected as the only choir in the nation to compete in the International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, Germany.

We hope you will return for the Hugh Hodgson School of Music 2023-24 season. We are offering more ways to purchase your tickets for your convenience. We look forward to sharing with you “The Power of Prokofiev,” “(N.) Williams Conducting (J.)Williams,” the “Dona Nobis Pacem” symphony and choirs combined concert, and so much more. Join us for another year of celebrating and experiencing music at UGA.

Sincerely,

Pete Jutras Director, Hugh Hodgson School of Music

32 DISTINGUISHED GUESTS PERFORMANCES & TICKETS

New Director of Bands Nicholas Enrico Williams welcomed the nation’s College Band Leaders to Athens, GA.

34 Voices Raised Together

The Hodgson Singers were awarded second place at the highest level at an international competition in Marktoberdorf, Germany.

37 Faculty News

University Professorships, an ABA Citation, books published, and several on-campus, national, and international accolades this year.

36 STUDENT & ALUMNI NEWS

From Angela Brown to Shanshan Yao, HHSOM hosted some of the top talent in the world this past year. Awards, accolades, new positions, and even an Emmy nomination. Learn more about our student and alumni accomplishments.

39 Additional Highlights

UGA Redcoat Marching Band plays Bulldogs to victory in back-toback win; Saxophone Quartet wins National Award.

New Ways To Subscribe

For the 2022-2023 academic year, we returned to our first full year of performances since Covid-19 began. We found a number of things had changed and audience engagement was no exception.

In order to provide a more accessible audience experience, the Hugh Hodgson School of Music has changed the process for season ticket sales. We still offer the same high-quality programming, but we have more ways to curate your own season of concerts and performances. This provides more flexibility to build a musical experience tailored to your interests. Our series packages will still be available, but we have added three new options as well.

COMPLETE SEASON $292.50

Save 25% ($95 dollars) with this ticket package for all twenty-six (26) of our ticketed events, including:

ALL Thursday Scholarship Series Concerts

ALL Ensemble Series Concerts

ALL Faculty Artist Series Recitals

BOTH Opera Performances

Select By Series Cost Varies

This package allows you to save 20% off each series of performances, including:

8 Thursday Scholarship Series Concerts: $128

10 Ensemble Series Concerts: $120

6 Faculty Artist Series Recitals: $72

2 Opera Theatre Performances: $32

In addition to now offering a Complete Season package, HHSOM will now offer “Pick Twelve” and “Pick Six” options for patrons to select the concerts they would like to see across our ticketed series.

Our season ticket order form is located in the center of this booklet. To order by mail, remove the form, follow the instructions, and mail the completed form and payment using the included envelope. You can also order tickets by phone by calling the UGA Box Office at 706-542-4400 during the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., in person at the UGA Performing Arts Center, or online through our website at music.uga.edu. Additional information is on page 25.

PICK TWELVE $153

This package allows you to save 15% off of twelve (12) performances of your choice, including:

ANY Thursday Scholarship Series Concerts

ANY Ensemble Series Concerts

ANY Faculty Artist Series Recitals

ANY Opera Performances

PICK SIX $81

This package allows you to save 10% off of six (6) performances of your choice, including:

ANY Thursday Scholarship Series Concerts

ANY Ensemble Series Concerts

ANY Faculty Artist Series Recitals

ANY Opera Performances