Viewbook 2020 | 2021
THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
BOLD CURIOSITY BOLSTERED BY STRONG COMMUNITY = THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT TO CULTIVATE ARTISTS
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WHAT’S INSIDE The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the nation’s top 10 young universities and the No.1 Hispanic Serving Institution. The Department of Music serves more than 300 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees.
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The Innovation Mindset
Making Music Together
Roadrunner Fast Facts
Our faculty are innovative wave-makers with abundant energies and ideas.
Learn about the ensembles available to our undergraduate and graduate students.
Discover a few quick facts that make us smile. #birdsup
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The Student-Artist Mindset
Choose Your Pathway
Audition For Us
Our students are career-driven and begin their professional work before graduation day.
See what degrees you can earn at UTSA.
Six easy steps to securing your audition and the dates you need on your calendar.
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THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
The Department of Music at UTSA attracts musicians who are hungry to make their mark in the arts and are committed to social good.
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VIEWBOOK 2020 | 2021
INTRODUCTION We are the Roadrunner Nation. focused on enhancing the undergraduate experience. Both undergraduate and graduate students alike hold key leadership positions in several of the department’s major events, community engagement programs, and on our marketing and publicity team.
The Department of Music at The University of Texas at San Antonio produces leaders in the fields of performance, education, composition, and marketing. We attract musicians who are hungry to make their mark in the arts and are committed to social good. One of nine departments in the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, we develop students’ marketable skills and creative minds through experiential learning opportunities.
Beyond leadership opportunities, students often take the stage alongside faculty and guest artists through annual festivals and performances. Students also benefit from community partnerships that explore music’s impact on society, technology, and health.
While many music programs reserve their most valuable leadership opportunities for their graduate students, we are sharply
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THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
WHAT DOES INNOVATION LOOK LIKE
FOR OUR FACULTY & STUDENT ARTISTS?
We value curiosity and courage, because without these, innovation is not possible. Our faculty artists lead by example, forging new pathways for themselves and our students.
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VIEWBOOK 2020 | 2021 DR. STACEY DAVIS Associate Chair; Associate Professor, Theory
DR. STAN RENARD Assistant Professor, Music Marketing
Dr. Davis is one of a select group of professors to receive the UT System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, recognizing her extraordinary classroom performance and innovation in undergraduate instruction. She is on the research faculty of the UTSA’s Institue for Music Research.
Dr. Renard secured a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (2020) to create the UTSA Arts Entreprenuership Research Laboratory to study the economic potential of artist entrepreneurs and the impact of the digital-divide. This 2020 award keeps UTSA at the forefront of the arts entrepreneurship field.
STEVE PARKER Lecturer, Trombone and New Media
DR. NICOLE CHERRY Assistant Professor, violin Dr. Cherry is creator of the FORGEWITHGEORGE Music Project - 2033 which commissions a new body of violin repertory, solo and chamber, each year in honor of violin virtuoso George Bridgetower. This expansion of the violin repertory will continue until 2033 marking the 200th Anniversary of the Slavery Abolitionist Act in England.
Professor Parker was named a winner of the prestigious 2021 Rome Prize by the American Academy in Rome. An artist, musican, and curator, Dr. Parker will use the prize to work on an opera that invites viewers to engage in new modes of listening through sonic sculpture, wearable sound suits and tactile compositions.
DR. JENNIFER BEAVERS Associate Professor, Theory
DR. RAMI EL-FARRAH Assistant Professor, saxophone Dr. Beavers was invited to give the keynote address at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music for the Music Theory and Musicology Society (2020). A champion of the student learner, she formed the UTSA Music Theory Club for studentled research and was awarded the Faculty Mentor Award for Undergraduate Research.
Dr. El-Farrah is a concert saxophonist with Zenith Quartet, Bel Cuore Quartet, and Austin Saxophone Ensemble. He owns and operates his own publishing company, MusePub, and constantly arranges new works for saxophone ensemble and solo saxophone that are performed and recorded across the US.
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THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
Whether driven by an innate creative spirit, a commitment to affecting positive change, or fulfilling a musical calling, our students are making music in significant ways. With the trust and support of a skilled faculty, our student artists demonstrate their learned skills through practical application, serving as active leaders in several high profile projects. They conduct rehearsals for San Antonio area youth in our notable
OUR GRADS Graduating from UTSA equips you to chase your dream career. Here is a brief snapshot of what our music graduates are doing with their degrees.
UTSA String Project. They serve as artistteachers in our nationally recognized touring program Opera on the Run. They market, plan, and fully produce UTSA Underground, an annual showcase held in the UTSA tunnel system that features the visual and musical compositions of both students and professional artists. These are just a few examples of the incredible work in which our students are involved while earning their degree.
Michael Austin, composer & Founding Director of the School of Music at Louisiana Tech University
Berrios, owner of At Ease Productions soprano at Opera Australia
Joey
Jenna Black,
Claudia-RenĂŠe Gonzalez,
trumpet with Mariachi Las AlteĂąas
Michelle Lange,
soprano at Opera Hong Kong
Natalie Magana, flute
tenor at Metropolitan Opera
David Portillo, tenor
composer (attractivision.com)
Rick Sanchez, owner &
with US Army 1st Armored Division Band
Metropolitan Opera
Rafael Moras,
Charlie Rogers, video game score
graphic designer at RS Designs
Megan Swisher, cello
with Josh Abbot Band Until My Voice Goes Out Tour
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VIEWBOOK 2020 | 2021 JULIETA GARCIA Vocal Pedagogy & Performance, soprano Julieta was awarded the Peter T. Flawn Graduate Research Fellowship to research the inclusion of people with disabilities in singing instruction. She plans to use her findings to provide adaptable teaching techniques and accessibility resources to vocal pedagogues.
CURRENT STUDENTS
These are just five of the incredible students making their mark in music at UTSA..
MARIAH RAMIREZ Music Education, cello
EMMA GHIURAU Music Education, soprano Emma released her first album, Your Promise, in 2018 under her professional name Emma Blurose. She performs all over the country as a Christian artist and is invited to lead praise & worship at churches throughout the US. She is working on a record slated to drop in 2021 with her first tour in the works.
Mariah is both a student at UTSA and an active professional musician. She is a cellist with Symphony of the Hills and the Founder of Serendipitous Sounds String Quartet based in San Antonio. She served as Head Teacher for UTSA String Project and is a Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship recipient.
JOSEPH MORA Music Education, clarinet
THOMAS BULEY Music Marketing, baritone Thomas is a multi-faceted musician involved in Chamber Singers, Jazz Ensemble (upright bass), Lyric Theatre, and UTSA Underground. He was chosen by the faculty as the 2020 Presser Scholar and secured a marketing internship at Stone Creek Sound where he focused on his production and engineering skills.
Joseph produced a video, “Molly on the Shore� that went viral during the spring lockdown. No stranger to entertaining the masses, Joseph was a member of the metalcore band Darkness Divided for a decade, touring the US, Canada and Europe, and garnering more than a million streams.
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THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
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WHERE YOU STUDY MATTERS. San Antonio is America’s 7th largest city and one of the top 25 fastest growing in the country. San Antonio offers students access to jobs, distinctive cultural events like Fiesta San
Antonio, and an entertaining music and art
scene. While many of our students work professionaly in San Antonio during their studies, we encourage students to explore
music far beyond the city’s borders through our study abroad program in Urbino, Italy.
This international program gives students
a full semester in Italy where they see firsthand some of music’s most important
sites while earning credits toward their degree.
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MAKING MUSIC TOGETHER. Student artists have many options for ensemble participation at UTSA.
In addition to their primary ensemble, some students explore secondary instrument study to further develop musicianship skills and increase career potential. Instrumentalists may perform in Lyric Theatre and other vocal
ensembles, while singers often take part in instrumental ensembles like jazz combo or the Spirit of San Antonio Marching Band (SOSA).
PRINCIPAL ENSEMBLES
ADDITIONAL ENSEMBLES
UTSA Orchestra Wind Ensemble Symphonic Band University Band Chamber Choir Concert Choir Lyric Theatre Women’s Choir Men’s Glee Club
SOSA Marching Band UTSA Pep Band Jazz Ensemble Jazz Combos Percussion Ensemble Flute Ensemble Guitar Ensemble Brass Quintet Mariachi Los Paisanos Horn Ensemble Trombone Choir Boom Squad Chamber Orchestra String Quartet Opera on the Run Keyboard Chamber Ensemble
THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
Choose your pathway. COMBINING ARTISTS’ DREAMS WITH CAREER GOALS.
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UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES
GRADUATE DEGREES
BACHELOR OF MUSIC: Performance Education Marketing Composition
MASTER OF MUSIC: Performance Education Conductiong Vocal Performance & Pedagogy Keyboard Performance & Pedagogy
BACHELOR OF ARTS: Music
GRADUATE CERTFICATE: Instrumental Performance Vocal Pedagogy Keyboard Pedagogy
ENHANCE YOUR MUSIC DEGREE WITH A MINOR Minor in Jazz Studies Minor in Music Marketing Minor in Music Technology Minor in Dance Non-music majors are welcomed to pursue a Minor in Music.
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THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
Did you know that in 2020,
UTSA’s Department of Music has 60 faculty and staff members working together with 302 students to deliver outstanding artistic products to our audiences? Beyond the concert hall, we are 16
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actively conducting research in the fields of theory, pedagogy, music psychology, and music technology often with support from the Institute of Music Research at UTSA. Our undergraduate and graduate students have the phenomenal opportunity to engage in research alongside faculty. Many students have presented their findings at conferences through poster papers and presentations, and some have had their work published in scholarly journals, a tremendous addition to their curriculum vitae during their collegiate studies.
DR. KRISTEN PELLEGRINO Professor, Music Education
Dr. Pellegrino serves as President of American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and is a researcher with the Department of Music’s Institute for Music Research. Her area of focus is Music Teacher Identity and Music-making in the Teaching and Learning Process. She has 30 scholarly publications and has presented over 90 sessions/research posters at prominent music and research conferences.
PROFESSOR JOHN NIX Associate Professor, Voice and Vocal Pedagogy
Professor Nix is the founding director of the UTSA Vocal Arts Laboratory, serves as the Voice Area Coordinator, and is a researcher with the Department of Music’s Institute for Music Research. His areas of focus are the use of vocal fry in amplified singing styles, vibrato jitter and intensity vibrato, and semi-occluded vocal tract postures and their impact on vibrato. He has numerous scholarly articles published in top voice and research journals and is the general editor and author for The Oxford Handbook of Singing.
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THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
ROADRUNNER FAST FACTS UTSA is an Adobe Create Cloud Campus. Students enrolled at UTSA have access to the entire creative cloud suite to enhance their academic output and increase their digital literacy. UTSA is the No.1 Hispanic Serving Institution in the U.S. (Bloomberg Businessweek) UTSA is on of the top five young universities in the nation. (Times Higher Education) UTSA received the prestigious Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement Classification recognizing our service to the local community. 45% of our student population are First-Generation students. 51% of incoming Freshman rank in the Top Quartile of their high school class. 14% of our student population is part of the Military community. 86 countries are represented in our university’s population.
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32,101
7,090
Students COLFA enrolled students
70,000
1,322
Annual COLFA audience
UTSA Faculty
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3,012
UTSA Staff
175
Degree Options
THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
BE BRAVE. AUDITION FOR US. Auditions may run differently in 2020 & 2021 due to COVID-19. Keep an eye on our website for current audition information.
There are many great music schools for you to consider when planning your college audition season and UTSA is one of them. Whether you are getting started with your undergraduate degree or looking to pursue your master’s, we know that UTSA has much to offer you.
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Visit future.utsa.edu to apply to the University of Texas at San Antonio, and find out all you need to know about becoming a Roadrunner. #roadrunnernation
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Learn about your audition requirements by visiting “Prospective Students” on our website. Remember to look at the appropriate degree level, either undergraduate or graduate.
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After completing your audition request, check your official UTSA email (abc123@my.utsa.edu) for an audition time. You will receive a time the Monday prior to your requested audition day.
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Call UTSA admissions at 210-458-8000 to secure your UTSA ID. Also known as your abc123, your UTSA ID will be linked to your official UTSA email: abc123@my.utsa.edu.
Once you have applied to UTSA, secured your UTSA ID, and looked at your audition requirements. Now you can apply to audition for the music department. Click APPLY NOW! on our website.
You’ll receive notification of your audition results in your official UTSA email account: abc123@ my.utsa.edu. Results will be delivered via email two to four weeks after you your audition.
THE DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
JOIN THE #ROADRUNNERNATION 2020 | 2021 AUDITION DATES
November 21, 2020 January 30, 2021* February 20, 2021* May 1, 2021 *Scholarship Audition Date
applymusic@utsa.edu
Photos: Brandon Fletcher of Fletchstop, Bill McCrary, Jourdan Laine Howell
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music.utsa.edu applymusic@utsa.edu
@utsamusic
(210) 760-6795 1 UTSA Circle San Antonio Texas 78249