Concert: Moores School of Music Honors Convocation Recital

MOORES SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Message from the Interim Director

Welcome to the Moores Opera House for a special end-of-the-year tradition, the Honors Tuesday Recital. Each division is asked to nominate one performer or chamber ensemble to represent excellence in each of our applied areas. This year’s participants represent the bachelors to doctoral levels, performance and education majors, and students from around the world. Their musical selections offer a diversity of backgrounds, specializations and personal interest that continue to contribute greatly to the Moores School. It’s been my pleasure and privilege throughout the year to personally congratulate some of the student performers onstage today as well as to cheer from the sidelines as I’ve delighted in so many performances, sometimes 5 nights in a week, and have been awed by the talents our students have.

As this is an honors concert that highlights the commitment these students have to making a positive impact through their music, I also want to honor students who’ve made a positive impact with respect to governance by naming the students who participated in the student council. The council met with me perhaps a half-dozen times throughout the year, no holds barred and any subject open to discussion. The students listed below brought up many concerns, helped bring about actions for change, and shared some of the information we discussed with the rest of the student body they represented. In addition, I want to honor all the students who “spoke out” regarding various concerns, general and personal. The Moores School can only improve with the help of your individual voices daring to bring about positive change and growth. I hope some of you will consider joining the student council next year when incoming Director Brian Kai Chin takes over the leadership.

Thank you for joining us this afternoon as we gather for the last Tuesday Recital of the semester and celebrate this terrific year at Moores! By the way, you will notice a greater number of student colleagues at Moores next year because of the work we’ve done this year.

Enjoy the concert!

Yours,

Steven Block Interim Director Moores School of Music

Student Council Members

Antonio Sanze

Eric Laine

Hoy Nguyen

Wang Shu-Peng

Deborah Edquist

Sharon How

Victoria Ramirez

Eduard Gavril

Donald Rabin (Fall '22 only)

Hannah Deplazes

MSM Honors Tuesday Recital

PROGRAM

Opening Remarks: Steven Block, Interim Director

RAQAD II (2018/2023) Paul Stanhope (b.1969)

Brandon Furman, Arthur Gilligan, marimba

Dysphoria (2022) Eric Estrada Valadez (b.1987) III.

Michael Cheng, percussion Shupeng Wang, piano

Taiwanese Folk Songs Wei-Chieh Lin

1. Spring Breeze (b.1982)

2. Hengchun Folk Song

3. Seaport Goodbye

Ming-Wei Hsieh, Bernini Chan, violin Yuxuan Zhang, viola Ashley Wang, cello

Una voce poco fa from Il barbiere di Siviglia

Mariam Mouawad, mezzo-soprano Brian Suits, piano

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)

Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Janna Peña, piano

Fantasia for Seven Trumpets Eric Ewazen (b.1954)

Sam Belcher, Liam Cagley, Fernando De Los Santos, Diego Gonzales

Robbie Paniagua, Demetrius Sheats, James Stephenson, trumpet

Presentation of the 2022-2023 Clyde Roller Award by Professor Franz Anton Krager

Presentation of the 2022 Louisa Stude Sarofim Composition Contest

Undergraduate Winner by Dr. Rob Smith

PERFORMERS

Percussion

Brandon Furman

Brandon Furman is a percussion educator and performer residing in Houston Texas. As a current undergraduate student at the University of Houston, Brandon is pursuing both a bachelor’s degree in music education as well as music performance studying under Dr. Blake Wilkins and Alec Warren. While at UH, he has had the privilege to perform in the Moores School of Music Percussion Ensembles, Wind Ensembles, and Symphony Orchestra. Brandon is also a clinician and educator that has been involved with many programs throughout the Houston area.

Arthur Gilligan

Arthur Gilligan grew up in Rio de Janiero, Brazil where he attended the VillaLobos School of Music. In 2015, Mr. Gilligan relocated to Houston and has since received an Associate of Arts from San Jacinto College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from The University of Houston’s Moores School of Music. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree at the Moores School, where he is also a Teaching Assistant. Mr. Gilligan received the Clara Freshour Nelson Scholarship from 2016-2021, won first-chair on drum set for the TCCBDA All-State Jazz Ensemble in 2017, and was the section leader for both the Moores School’s Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra between 2018-2021. He teaches at the Vivace School of Music and performs at The Music Box Theater.

Composition

Eric Estrada Valadez

The music of Eric Estrada Valadez has been performed in México, Canada, USA, and Germany. He is the recipient of the Arturo Márquez Composition Award (2019) and an award from the International Composers Competition New Symphony Vienna (2020). Recently, he was awarded Musiqa’s Emergent Composers Fellowship (2022) and grants from the Institute of Fine Arts-Conacyt (2022) and Mexico’s National Endowment for Culture and Arts (FONCA) Young Creators Program (2021). Eric holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in composition from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and is currently pursuing his DMA in composition at the Moores School of Music with Rob Smith.

MSM Honors Tuesday Recital

Strings

Ming-Wei Hsieh, violin

Born in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, Ming-Wei Hsieh is a versatile violinist in solo, chamber, and orchestral realms. He is currently working on Certificated of Music Performance at the University of Houston Moores School of Music under the studio of Dr. Kirsten Yon. Hsieh has variety of Chamber Music Outreach and Orchestra performances in the Houston area. While Hsieh was in Taiwan, he actively performed in many concert series, including the Taiwanese Artists Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan Soloists Symphony Orchestra, and Apex String Ensemble. He was invited to Kaohsiung Spring Art Festival as a chamber musician in Counterpoint Ensemble concerts in 2020 and 2021. In 2017, Hsieh was invited to be the soloist playing Bruch Violin Concerto with NUTN Symphony Orchestra. Hsieh holds his Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the National University of Tainan in Tainan, Taiwan, Master of Music degree from the University of Houston Moores School of Music. He was under the tutelage of Dr. Boonie Lin, and Dr. Kang-Ming Tsai.

Bernini Chan, violin

Born in New Zealand and raised in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Bernini brings an international perspective to her burgeoning career as a violinist, educator, and arts administrator. An uncommonly versatile violinist, Bernini performs with a wide array of ensembles, including symphony orchestras, baroque and contemporary music ensembles, and operatic productions. Her diversity allows her to collaborate with artists of contemporary classical music such as Itzhak Perlman, Ana Maria Martinez, Eric Whitacre. A strong advocate for the importance of music and the arts in people’s lives, Bernini is also passionate about teaching and is dedicated to helping students develop their musical voice while gaining discipline, critical thinking, and collaborative skills. Upon receiving her masters and performance certificate degrees from DePaul University, Bernini moved to Houston in Fall 2021 and began her doctorate studies in violin performance and arts leadership at the University of Houston with a full scholarship. Recently appointed by the Houston Symphony Orchestra as a Community-Embedded Musician Fellow, Bernini is engaged in sharing music to a wide diversity of groups in the community such as elderly homes, children’s hospitals, and homeless shelters. During her free time, Bernini loves to be with family and friends to spend time in nature, visit museums, enjoy food, or just read a good book under the sun.

Yuxuan Zhang, viola

Yuxuan Zhang comes from Beijing, China, and she is pursuing a Master of Music in Viola Performance at the University of Houston studying with Wayne Brooks.

Zhang began her studies of viola at the age of 13 in pre college of China Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and she received her bachelor’s degree from Kant State university, as well as a performance diploma at Indiana University’s Jacob school of music. Her previous mentors have included Shaowu Wang, Fei Cao, Yu Jin and Atar Arad.

Yuxuan Zhang is an alumna of National Repertoire Orchestra and Aspen Music Festival and she has been a violist of Canton Symphony Orchestra and Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. After studying, Yuxuan’s goal is to become a violist in a professional orchestra.

Ashley Wang, cello

Ashley Wang is a Taiwanese-American cellist, teacher, and active performer. Ashley earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin studying with Bion Tsang. She is currently pursuing her Master of Music in Cello Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Houston, and she is the Graduate Teaching Assistant for the studio of Dr. Eunghee Cho. Ashley is equally passionate about performing and teaching music, and she is one of the few teachers in Houston with Suzuki Teacher training qualified to teach Suzuki Cello books 1-5. She hopes to continue performing and teaching after she graduates to elevate her skills and educational expertise.

MSM Honors Tuesday Recital

Voice

Mariam Mouawad

Born and raised in the city of Zahle, Lebanon, mezzo-soprano Mariam Mouawad moved to the United States at the age of 13. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from San Diego State University where she was featured in several operas including Massenet’s Cendrillon, Jonathan Dove’s Flight, and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. Mariam was a repeated winner in the NATS Competition and was awarded an Honorable Mention in the University of Houston Concerto Competition. She received the First Place award in the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus Young Artist competition and she was recently named a national winner in the MTNA Young Artist Competition. Mariam is currently attending the Moores School of Music in pursuit of her Master’s degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. She has been seen as Charlotte in Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, Tolomeo in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, Adélaïde in Philip Glass’ La Belle et La Bête, and Federico Lorca in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar. Upon completing graduate studies at the Moores School of Music, Mariam will be joining Shreveport Opera for their 2023-2024 season where she will be featured as Dorabella in their mainstage production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte

Piano

Jannina Eliana (Janna) G. Peña, piano

Filipina pianist Jannina Eliana (Janna) G. Peña is a top-prize winner in her country. She has performed as soloist with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and Manila Symphony Orchestra and in concert venues of Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, and the United States. Janna earned her BM in Piano Performance under the tutelage of Dr. Roberta Rust at Lynn University. She is currently pursuing an MM in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Houston. Janna was recently selected to be a teaching fellow and presenter this summer in Italy at the Conero International Piano Festival and Competition.

Wind and Brass

University of Houston Trumpet Ensemble

The University of Houston Trumpet Ensemble, coached by Jim Vassallo and Mark Hughes, features undergraduate and graduate students studying in the trumpet studio at the University of Houston. The ensemble features students from freshman through doctoral level as well as both music performance and education majors. For the second year, the trumpet studio has advanced both ensembles and soloists to the live competition rounds of the National Trumpet Competition. This year, four soloists and two ensembles competed in Boulder, Colorado. The ensemble today is performing their competition piece, Eric Ewazen’s “Fantasia for Seven Trumpets”.

Members:

Sam Belcher

Liam Cagley

Fernando De Los Santos

Diego Gonzales

Robbie Paniagua

Demetrius Sheats

James Stephenson

MSM Honors Tuesday Recital

Awards

Clyde Roller Award – Matthew Glattfelder

Matthew Glattfelder is an oboist from Cedar Park, Texas. During his time studying at the University of Houston under the tutelage of Jonathan Fischer, Matthew has performed as principal oboist with the University of Houston Symphony Orchestra, Opera Orchestra, and Wind Ensemble. Outside of school Matthew enjoys teaching private lessons in his own oboe studio and spreading music throughout the Houston community by performing at nursing homes, churches, and various other venues. Matthew has also been accepted as a fellow for the 2023 Texas Musical Festival and looks forward to participating the festival’s activities and entering the 2023 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Competition. Upon completion of his education at the University of Houston, Matthew plans to further pursue his music education by attending Florida State University to receive his master’s degree in oboe performance.

2022 Louisa Stude Sarofim Composition Contest Undergraduate Winner – Jaime Morales

Houston-based guitarist and composer Jaime Morales seeks to create music that directly engages with his audience. His works focus on rhythmic development through syncopation, mixed meters, metric modulations, and polyrhythms, and are influenced by a wide variety of music styles, including, jazz, electronic dance music (EDM), and contemporary classical. He has composed music for video games, jazz combos, rock bands and classical chamber ensembles. As a guitarist, he performs with the UH Jazz Orchestra and maintains a private teaching studio. Recent works include fixed media compositions for UH architecture professor Dijana Handanovic’s K67 Kiosk project, and a new work for the Kazoku Saxophone Quartet. Currently, he is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in composition with applied studies in jazz guitar at the University of Houston Moores School of Music.

2022-2023 Moores Society

As of January 20, 2023

The Moores Society is the philanthropic volunteer organization for the Moores School of Music. Moores Society members and donors promote community awareness and provide funding for scholarships and special projects. Moores Society members receive invitations to concerts and special events held throughout the year.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Darlene Clark, President

Jackie & Malcolm Mazow, Immediate Past Presidents

Donna Shen, Vice President Membership

Nancy Willerson, Corresponding Secretary

Ann Tornyos, Recording Secretary

Meg Boulware, Opera Production Council Chair

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Rita Aron

Ann Ayre

Meg Boulware

Terry Ann Brown

Carla Burns

Cheryl Byington

Julie Cogan

Timothy Doyle

Warren Ellsworth

Sheila Aron

Christopher Bacon

Philamena Baird

Chris Becker

Tom Becker

Susan Binney

Ann Boss

Nancy Bowden

Zarine Boyce

Robert Chanon

Anna Dean

Vicky Dominguez

Ann Faget

Kelli Fein

Debbie Feuer

Cathy Coers Frank

Joyce Frassanito

Mary Fusillo

Elia Gabbanelli

Frank Geider, MS DDS

Marita Glodt

Sean Gorman

Maureen Higdon

Gary Hollingsworth & Ken Hyde

Mady Kades

Linda Katz

Michelle & Jack Matzer

Gary Patterson

Shirley Rose

BOARD OF ADVISORS

2022-2023

Diane & Harry Gendel

Mariglyn & Stephen Glenn

Beatrice & Gregory Graham

Deb Happ

Ellen & Alan Holzberg

Gladys Hooker

Janis Landry

Cora Sue & Harry Mach

Karinne McCullough

Mary Ann McKeithan

Cathy McNamara

Jennifer Meyer

Celia Morgan

Jo & Joseph Nogee

Kitten & Ron Page

Kusum Patel

Fran Fawcett Peterson

Carroll R. Ray

Jan Rhodes

Carol Lee Robertson

Richard Schmitt

Donna Shen

Rhonda Sweeney

Ann Tornyos

Betty Tutor

Bob & Mary Ann Wilkins

Beth Wolff

Lillie Robertson

Minette Robinson

Heidi Rockecharlie

Kathi Rovere

Donna Scott & Mitch Glassman

Helen Shaffer

Donna Shen

Satoko & Anthony Shou

Nancy Strohmer

Susan Thompson

Virginia & Gage Van Horn

Barbara Van Postman

Carol & Carl Vartian

Nancy Willerson

Phyllis Williams

Cyvia Wolff

Jo Dee Wright

Gay Yellen

2022-2023 Moores Society

As of January 20, 2023

Robin Angly

Christopher Bacon

Meg Boulware, Chair

Gwyneth Campbell

Anna Dean

Tim Doyle

Warren Ellsworth

Jose Alvarado

Robin Angly & Miles Smith

Rita & Jeffrey Aron

Alan Austin & David A. White

Ann & Jonathan Ayre

Christopher Bacon & Craig Miller

Pamela & Stephen Bertone

Olga & Gerardo Balboa

Susan & Michael Bloome

Meg Boulware & Hartley Hampton

Carla Burns

Keith Butcher

Cheryl & Carl Carlucci

Robert Chanon

Lydia & James Chao

Darlene Clark & Edwin Friedrichs

Cynthia & Geroge Mitchell Foundation

Victoria Dominguez

Timothy Doyle & Robert Royall, II

Richard Drapeau

OPERA PRODUCTION COUNCIL

Ann Faget

Gerri Gill

Ellen and Alan Holzberg

Lee Huber

Shannon Langman

Helen Mann

Jackie and Malcolm Mazow

1000+

Ann Faget

Sylvia Farb

Debbie Feuer

Elaine & Marvy Finger

Toni & Walter Finger

Linda Fulton

Elia Gabbanelli

Mariglyn & Stephen Glenn

Manuel Gonzales

Aaron Gonzales

Susan & Sean Gorman

Konnie Gregg

Gary Hollingsworth & Ken Hyde

Ellen & Alan Holzberg

Monzer Hourani

Lee Huber

Sharon & Robert Lietzow

Jack & Michelle Matzer

Jackie & Malcolm Mazow

Paula & Robert Mendoza

Annie Pati

Luis Ramirez

Charles Riesen

David Rowan

Rhonda Sweeney

Irena Witt

Johanna Wolfe

Jo Dee Wright

Lillie Roberrtson

Floyd Robinson

Shirley E. Rose

Rosamund & David Rowan

Victoria Scelba

Jane & Richard Schmitt

Helen & James Shaffer

Donna & Tim Shen

Melanie Sonnenberg

Rhonda & Donald Sweeney

Vita Taksa

Ann Tomatz

Ann Tornyos

Betty & Jesse Tutor, Jr.

David Voll

Betsy Cook Weber & Fredric Weber

Nancy Willerson

Andrea & Carl Wilson

Irena Witt

Johanna & Richard Wolfe

Beth Wolff

Jo Dee & Cliff Wright

Ursula & Saul Balagura

Matthew Dirst

Kelli Fein

Geraldine Gill

Kathryn & Brendan Godfrey

Ellen Gritz & Milton Rosenau, Jr.

Lucila & Bill Haase

Deborah Happ & Richard Rost

Thomas Blocher

Terry Ann Brown

Carla Burns

Mathilda Cochran

Dru & Richard Davis

Kenneth Euler

Cathy Coers Frank

Joyce & John Frassanito

Mary & Robert Fusillo

Beatrice & Gregory Graham

Elad Ben-Menashe

Fredy Bonilla

Cynthia Clayton-Vasquez & Hector Vasquez

Julie Fischer

Sandra Harris

500+

Maureen Higdon

Linda Katz

Connie Kwan-Wong

Vanessa Lopez

Kathleen Moore & Steven Homer

Gary Patterson

Janet & Charles Rinehart

250+

Claire Liu Greenberg & Joseph Greenberg

Michelle Greenberg

Deborah Happ

Deborah Hirsch

Gladys Hooker

Russell Kneupper

Therese Kosten

Helen Mann

Karinne & William McCullough

120+

Clara Kukes

Richard Kummins

Lynn Lamkin

Michael Taksa

Katherine Turner

Allyn & Jill Risley

River Oaks Chamber Orchestra

Joseph Thayer

Susan Thompson

Ann Tomatz

Virginia & Gage Van Horn

Robert Zinn

Jenny Meyer

Joel Oppenheim

Susan Osterberg

Dalia Pineda

Lisa Powell & Philip Berquist

Nancy & Hans Strohmer

Andrea Turner

Carol Vartian

Cyvia & Melvyn Wolff

Gay Yellen & Don Reiser

Yone & Shelton Vaughan

Debra Witter & Scott Chase

Lorraine Wulfe