BRAVO!
Runners Shine Bright!
TEXAS SOCIETY OF MUSIC THEORY
UTSA Professor of Music Theory, Dr. Jennifer Beavers had the pleasure of taking 6 UTSA students to an annual meeting of the Texas Society of Music Theory at Dallas Baptist University, Feb. 23-24. Five of the six students are sophomore music majors enrolled in their fourth semester of theory, and one is an upper-class composition major.
The team of Roadrunners presented a large-scale, 78 foot poster to be exact, of the first movement of Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata. The students created this in-depth analysis in which they combined theories of form and harmony with biographical
information, and historical facts, as well as funny and relevant memes like those one might experience in a VH-1 pop-up video. The UTSA students stood out amongst the crowd of music theorist and were a big hit at the conference, impressing many professional theorists with their detailed understanding of a notoriously complex form.
In regards to the conference, Dr. Beavers states"I am so very proud of my Road Runners!"
MUSIC OF TODAY & TOMORROW
UTSA’ s fourth annual New Music Festival will take place over the course of four intriguing nights March 5th-8th beginning at 7:30 pm in the University’ s Recital Hall The New Music Festival aims to showcase new art music composed by students, faculty, and world-renowned composers of today This new music brings a new dynamic and a certain vitality to UTSA’ s music culture The festival will feature a number of works, as well as two public lectures, by distinguished guest composer Dana Wilson, professor emeritus of composition at Ithaca College
The first night will consist of a University Band Concert, directed by Ron Ellis, in celebration of all the amazing talent at UTSA, showcasing the band as a whole with some spotlight solos On Tuesday night, UTSA will partner with Texas State students and faculty to present a special collaboration, featuring works by Andrea Ivins (UTSA), Meredith Shuman (UTSA), Nicole Russell (UTSA), Laura Brackney (Texas State), Adrian Coburn (Texas State), and Ashley Stone (Texas State) Wednesday night will feature chamber music with the UTSA Concert Choir and Faculty Members, directed by Dr John Silantien, performing works by Dana Wilson and more. The festival will conclude with performances by the UTSA Wind Ensemble directed by Dr. John Zarco, and Symphonic Band, directed by Ron Ellis, spotlighting further works by Dana Wilson and a world premiere by UTSA faculty member Dr Andrew Bergmann in a monumental moment
Looking into the future of UTSA’ s New Music Festivals, Dr Wickman is excited to see what future years will hold and wishes to continue collaborating with other San Antonio-area colleges/universities (University of the Incarnate Word, for example) to promote new music in our local community
W
E L C O M E
D A N A W I L S O N
This year ’ s Distinguished Guest Composer is Dr Dana Wilson, Professor Emeritus at the Ithaca College School of Music Dr Wilson’ s compositions have been performed by various ensembles such as the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Memphis Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, and Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra He has earned several recognitions including the Sudler International Composition Prize, an International Horn Society award, and much more He has received grants from, among others, the National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, New York State Council for the Arts, Arts Midwest, and Meet the Composer
Wilson's compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Europe, and East Asia They have received several prizes, including the Sudler International Composition Prize and the Ostwald Composition Prize, as well as awards from the International Trumpet Guild and the International Horn Society; are published by Boosey and Hawkes, Alfred Music Publishers, the American Composers Forum, and Ludwig Music Publishers; and can be heard on over twenty recording labels Over the past year, there have been over 30 performances of his trombone concerto, a CD of his music for flute has been released by Wendy Mehne, a CD of his music for saxophone has been released by Steven Mauk, and his flute concerto "The Conjurer" has been awarded the "Best New Work for Flute" by the Flute New Music Consortium.
Dana Wilson holds a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music and is Charles A Dana Professor Emeritus at the Ithaca College School of Music He is co-author of Contemporary Choral Arranging, published by Prentice Hall/Simon and Schuster, and has written articles on diverse musical subjects He has been a Yaddo Fellow (at Yaddo, the artists’ retreat in Saratoga Springs, New York), a Wye Fellow at the Aspen Institute, a Charles A Dana Fellow, and a Fellow at the Society for Humanities, Cornell University
For more information, visit Dana Wilson’ s website (http://www.danawilson.org/)
F
re a world premiere piece by our very ann Dr Bergmann’ s work, titled Proffer, m student’ s improvisations, resulting in a will resonate throughout the Recital Hall.
WORD?
the New Music Festival I love meeting aring their exciting new works This year I longing to be (the singing master of my ompanied by Dr. Ivan Herd on piano. ” ofessor of Flute
e New Music Festival because our k directly with a world-class composer in orate on-stage once again with our r, Dr Sara Stolt It’ s going to be wonderful them in preparation for our concert on
Director of Bands
e New Music Festival because although I he UTSA music program, this festival has fluential exposures to contemporary n my musicianship tremendously ” A student composer/Music Comp major
al is one of the highlights each year for ortunity for UTSA Music Students and the able to meet and share in this kind of composers and their music, is one of the at I am able to be a part of at UTSA. " r of Bands
he New Music Festival as I will be n ’ s And longing to be the singing master piano with Dr Rita Linard I will also be TSA student composer, Andi Ivins, with ein titled My Life is Not This Steeply ward to performing these new works!" no Pedagogy and Class Piano
2018 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Monday, March 5
University Band Concert
UTSA Recital Hall, 7:30pm
Tuesday, March 6
Composition Student Masterclass
ART 2.03.14, 11:30am-12:30pm
UTSA and Texas State University
Composition Student Showcase
UTSA Recital Hall, 7:30pm
Wednesday, March 7
Composer Dana Wilson: Career Perspectives
ART 3.01.30A, 11:00-11:50am
The Music of Dana Wilson
ART Music Conference Room, 5:15-7:00pm
UTSA Faculty Chamber Recital with UTSA Concert Choir, featuring Dana Wilson
UTSA Recital Hall, 7:30pm
Thursday, March 8
Composer Panel Discussion
UTSA Band Hall, 11:30am-12:30pm
UTSA Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band
UTSA Recital Hall, 7:30pm
UTSA Lyric Theatre presents: Die Fledermaus
EXPERIENCE AN EVENING OF FUN AND FRIVOLITY, AS THE UTSA LYRIC THEATRE PERFORMS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS OPERAS EVER WRITTEN
Set in the late 19th century in Vienna, Die Fledermaus, written by Carl Haffner and Richard Gene` e with music by Johann Strauss II, is a comedic, light-hearted story that tells of the revenge taken by a certain Dr Falke (played by Jonny Espinoza) on his friend Gabriel von Eisenstein (played by Joseph JJ Herron) for playing a practical joke on him With an impending jail sentence, a ball around the corner, and everyone masquerading as people they aren ’t, many questions remain to be answered in this fun opera
Under the direction of Dr William McCrary, this group of talented UTSA students are sure to delight audiences as they showcase their talent and skills in communication, music, vocal ability, and acting Combine that with the artistry of the UTSA Orchestra and Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr Eugene Dowdy, and the halls will come alive with the sound of music
Die Fledermaus will be performed on Friday, March 2nd at 7:30pm and on Sunday March 4th at 3:00pm at the Recital Hall
Tickets are on sale now!
Faculty Spotlight:
" I N T H E B O O K S ! "
Dr. Mark Brill
If you find yourself browsing for topical music books or textbooks, you may very well come across some familiar names Over the years, many UTSA faculty members are in the books, authoring a variety of educational texts to be published for the benefit of the music community as a whole
Dr Mark Brill, assistant professor of musicology and world music here at UTSA, has a strong expertise in Latin America He put his knowledge and research to paper and authored Music of Latin America and the Caribbean Just this year, a second edition of the lively and enlightening book was published by Routledge/Taylor & Francis
Dr Brill initially wrote the book to fill a gap in the textbook market He states, “When I started writing the book, there were no textbooks on the market on Latin American music I needed a text specifically for my classes on the subject, so I decided to write my own It has since become very popular in similar courses across the country ” However, you don’t need to take a college course to dive into the rich musical history of Latin America All members of the music community can benefit by increasing their knowledge of an otherwise underrepresented area of music history Dr Brill explains, “Latin American music has often been marginalized in Academia, which tends to focus on European art music This is particularly important in a school such as UTSA, and a city such as San Antonio, which have important Latino communities It is important that members of Hispanic Serving Institutions emphasize the heritage and traditions of a large portion of our student population ”
Put some time aside for a good read about the musical culture and traditions of Latin America. The textbook can be found on any commercial site, or through the publisher.
Rehearsing the Band, Volume 3
Dr John Zarco, Director of Bands and Band Area Coordinator, was inspired by Rehearsing the Band by John Williamson during his graduate studies The book provided an informative and supportive space where renowned conductors share their thoughts, techniques, and teaching philosophies with readers Enthusiasm for the book was so great, a second volume soon followed, coincidentally written by previous music faculty member Don Miller The most recent publishing, Rehearsing the Band, Volume 3, was authored by Dr John Zarco, who, years before, was drawing knowledge from the same book he now had the opportunity to write
Dr. Zarco shared more about the importance of this new volume “The book provides insight on rehearsal techniques from 11 of the most successful and experienced wind band conductors in our profession
What they have to say about music making and the teaching techniques they provide are helpful and energizing for music educators, particularly band conductors ”
It’ s not just about the information that this book contains though Rehearsing the Band provides a sense of support and inspiration to continue the betterment of a conductor’ s craft. Dr. Zarco states, “In a field where we ’ re trying to consistently grow as educators and musicians, resources like these help provide some much needed encouragement, perspective, and practicality ”
If you are a music educator, look into this enriching resource. The book can be found on the publisher’ s website
A Reunion to Remember
UTSA's Concert Choir members will reunite for a special concert with director Dr. John Silantien.
For 38 years, Dr John Silantien has walked the halls of UTSA's Department of Music Generations of voice students have come together under his direction to make music and memories during their time at UTSA Countless Concert Choir members have said goodbye to Dr Silantien, fondly referred to as "Doc" , as they moved on to the next chapter of their lives They are now being asked to reunite to celebrate their retiring director as he finishes his final semester at UTSA.
On April 28, Concert Choir members past and present will meet at the UTSA Recital Hall for a memorable Concert Choir Reunion They will begin their afternoon with warm welcomes and a choral rehearsal at 4:00pm. Dr. Silantien will conduct the choir in several of his favorite choral pieces at a special concert that same evening at 7:30pm in the Recital Hall
While Dr Silantien's time at UTSA comes to a close, the future of Concert Choir will remain bright. Dr. Gary Mabry, director of the UTSA Women's Choir and Men's Glee Club has partnered the choral area with Silantien for the past 27 years Next semester, the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers ensemble will be under his direction, as a new director for Dr Mabry's previously conducted choirs will be selected
The legacy of Dr John Silantien will certainly be left in good hands "We will continue to uphold the high standards of performance and programming that Dr Silantien has championed for almost 4 decades, " states Dr Mabry While Doc's unique demeanor and humorous remarks will be greatly missed in a choir room that was a familiar home to so many young musicians, the grand appreciation of his work will be shown by closing this chapter together As voices echo, singer and listener alike will celebrate his service to the department, his dedication to excellence, and his remarkable ability to make extraordinary music with his choirs
