Muse
Kris Mueller
Top flutist
Doctoral musical arts student Martin Godoy earned top honors at one of the highest-level international flute competitions — and he did it as a first-generation college student. Godoy won first prize in the Texas Flute Society’s 32nd annual Myrna Brown Artist
28
The
No r t h Texa n
|
Competition in May. The Dallas native took up the flute in middle school, and he has supported himself to pay for three degrees. He is director of the Color Guard at Colleyville Heritage High School. “For me, going to college meant making a name for my family and showing that anything is possible,” Godoy says. “‘I’m so proud of you, Mijo,’ and ‘That’s my boy,’ are expressions I often hear from my proud parents. I like to think that I take a bit of each of them with me as I achieve my dreams in music.”
northtexan.unt.edu
|
Fall 2018
Television and Film Working with a legend
Caleb Spaw (’18), right, was in the Peruvian rainforest, assigned to make a five-minute film about “fever dreams in the jungle.” And he was mentored by one of cinema’s most acclaimed directors — Werner Herzog, left, known for his eccentric films. Spaw, a media arts major, made three films with that theme at the workshop sponsored by Black Factory Cinema this summer. He was one of 48 people from around the world chosen for the workshop, which required a questionnaire, work reel, curriculum vitae and two-page paper. “Herzog had lots of wisdom to give, but sometimes you had to decipher his cryptic expressions, such as ‘You’re allowed to do anything that doesn’t scare the cows,’” Spaw says. “For me, that lesson was that sometimes you have to go out and start the filming without even the slightest idea of what you want or are trying to accomplish. Be open to whatever happens, don’t impose yourself upon what you’re filming, and often something special will find you.” Spaw also completed an internship with the ABC TV
news show 20/20 in New York City. His work included a feature on the young Thai soccer team members who were trapped in a cave. “We started that episode on a Thursday and aired it the next Tuesday, a ridiculous turnaround time. But it really felt meaningful and like I was in the big leagues,” he says.
Fun ride
Will Mihe
Sarah Ching Photography
“Lion Eyes” was the second song that Jordan Burchill (’13) and Mikaela Kahn (’12) wrote together. Filmmaker Spike Lee liked it so much that he used it for his movie BlacKkKlansman. Burchill and Kahn perform alternative indie/folk music as the duo Beth // James, a combination of their middle names. The jazz studies majors started playing together as freshmen and moved to Austin after graduation. Kahn saw an open call for independent music submissions on Lee’s Instagram account for his Netflix show She’s Gotta Have It. They submitted “Lion Eyes,” but Lee had been holding onto it for BlacKkKlansman, which depicts an African American detective going undercover in the Ku Klux Klan. “We had completely forgotten about the submission and were shocked,” Burchill says. “We are so excited to have a small part in an amazing and important movie.” The duo also released the single “Wasted on Sundays,” and an EP is due out this fall. They say UNT’s jazz program helped them get to this position. “It definitely taught us to work extremely hard, and always be prepared,” Burchill says.
Meli Ramirez
Movie music
Sarah Adams (’05) was summoned for jury duty, expecting to handle a “who-done-it” trial. She was disappointed. “It was as if I’d taken a sip of sweet tea — imagining murder and mystery — only to realize for some ungodly reason it was just regular tea, and I was sitting in a small courthouse with a loud AC unit and no chance to put on my detective hat,” she says. The experience inspired Adams to co-write and direct Civic Duty, about a newspaper reporter covering a local trial. The film, shot at Denton’s Courthouse-on-the-Square, was featured at the Women Texas Film Festival and will be streamed online later this year. Adams, who was a theatre major before turning to journalism and public relations, also appears in national commercials and award-winning independent films.