Cadenza | Opus 34

CADENZA

UTSA DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC | DECEMBER 2021 Opus 34

DREAMING OF DECEMBER A holiday season full of excitement

CONTENTS

03 04 08 10 12 14

WELCOME A word from Department of Music Chair, Dr. Tracy Cowden

FACULTY BRIEF Grammies, horns, vocals, oh my! Read about what #UTSAMUSIC faculty is up to this holiday season

DREAMING OF WINTERLUDE The annual holiday extravaganza returns with newly featured guests

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Three vocal alumni speak on their experiences in #UTSAMUSIC

ONE OF ELEVEN #UTSAMUSIC student advances to perform in the 27th annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza

FALL 2021 IN REVIEW A look back on memorable moments and events during the fall semester

CONTRIBUTORS: Dr. Jourdan Laine Howell - Graphic Designer/Editor Rebekah Alegria - PR Assistant/Editor Jason Guzman - Graphic Designer Micah Rosenstein - Graphic Designer

Welcome to

CADENZA

Showcasing UTSA Music

FRIENDS, Welcome to the December issue of Cadenza! While the semester is winding down, our hearts are still full of music to share with you all. There’s still time to come to our final Winterlude performance on Thursday, Dec. 2nd, or support our Mariachi Los Paisanos at the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza on Dec. 3rd (collegiate competition) and Dec. 4th (solo vocal competition)! We are grateful for your support of our student and faculty performers.

In this final issue of 2021, we have several features for you to peruse, including stories of recent faculty and student accomplishments, alumni spotlights, upcoming graduates, and a look back at this amazing fall semester! There’s also a sneak peek of next semester’s Lyric Theatre production.

Please keep an eye on these pages and our online event calendar for upcoming concert information. And share Cadenza with your friends and family outside of San Antonio; they can check out the livestreams of our performances on our department Facebook page! As always, we hope that all of you will take this opportunity to follow us on social media, where we post fun features on our students, faculty, and staff, link to our livestreams, and share photos and video clips of all that is taking place in the Department of Music.

Are you interested in having live music at your own event? You could hire a student group! Our Gig Service link is live on the department website! And as always, we invite our alumni to submit your news and reconnect with your UTSA Music friends by sending an update to music@utsa.edu. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you soon for live music at UTSA! Tracy Cowden Roland K. Blumberg Endowed Professor in Music and Chair

FACULTY BRIEF GRAMMY NOMINEE IN THE HOUSE Dr. Isaac Bustos, Head of Guitar Studies for UTSA Music, has been nominated for a grammy for his work with Conspirare on the album The Singing Guitar. A member of the Texas Guitar Quartet (TxGQ), Bustos joins a stellar group of musicians on the album for a rare collaborative performance with the award-winning vocal ensemble as well as the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Austin Guitar Quartet, and cellist Douglas Harvey. A very hearty congratulations to Dr. Bustos from his UTSA Music family!!

HAPPY HOLIDAY HORN Peter Rubins, Associate Professor, is keeping quite busy this holiday season with several festive gigs on the calendar. December 3rd and 4th, Rubins will be performing with the Minnesota Orchestra on a program featuring the epic Ein Heldenleben by Strauss, Piano concerto No. 23 by Mozart with Ingrid Fliter, and Ballade for Orchestra by Coleridge-Taylor.

On the 28th of December, Rubins is staying local to play the Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Show at the Majestic Theatre. Rubins kicked off the season with the Dallas Symphony on a program that featured Elgar's heroic First Symphony as well as their Día de los Muertos Concert on Halloween (October 29-31). Just before Thanksgiving, he performed with Pinchas Zukerman and the Reading Symphony (November 13) and was a guest artist with our very own UTSA Orchestra (November 8th) for Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major, K. 447 (Troy Peters, conductor).

FACULTY BRIEF VOICE FACULTY AT FIRST FINE ARTS Professor Crystal Jarrell-Johnson, Dr. Susan Olson and Professor John Nix will perform traditional holiday favorites from both the classical and contemporary canon at First Baptist Church of San Antonio's First Fine Arts Series (FFA).

This will be the second UTSA concert held during this FFA season, the first being the successful Spotlight on Women Composers Concert (UTSA Vocal Arts Series). More concerts are on the horizon with additional UTSA faculty slated to perform at FFA during Spring 2022. Congrats to Professor Jarrell-Johnson, Dr. Olson, and Professor Nix on the gig and cheers to you as you represent the Voice Area and UTSA Music during this festive time!

John Nix tenor

Susan Olson mezzo-soprano

Crystal Jarrell-Johnson mezzo-soprano

Hear Professor Jarrell-Johnson in concert with the San Antonio Chamber Choir on October 20th at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

IT'S TIME FOR SPREE! Dr. Rachel Woolf, Assistant Professor of Instruction, will be up in Dallas, Texas December playing with The Polyphonic Spree in their Jukebox Jamboree on December 16th and 17th, and for their Holiday Extravaganza on the 18th. The Polyphonic Spree is a chamber rock collective formed in 2000 by Tim DeLaughter of the group Tripping Daisy. The Polyphonic Spree has been praised for their lush orchestral arrangements of classic rock songs and memorable concert experiences. During these performance, Dr. Woolf will don her Spree apparel, the traditional robe that has become the standard for this eclectic group of stellar musicians. The December 16th is already sold out so don't wait any longer to get your tickets! www.thepolyphonicspree.com

FACULTY BRIEF PARKER PRESENTS Professor Steve Parker has two works on exhibit in December that you will want to experience. His sculpture Sirens will be on display at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio through January 30th in celebration of the Texas Biennial. Completed in 2018, Sirens "reimagines the function of the contemporary civil defense siren. Rather than projecting conventional warning tones, Sirens plays intermittent recordings of songs of distress as a call to action (steve-parker.net)." His second work was commissioned by The Contemporary Austin with funds provided by the Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation. Completed in 2021, Foghorn Elegy "pays homage to disappearing and defunct methods of seafaring communication and is produced from salvaged marching band equipment (steve-parker.net)."

Steve Parker is an artist, musician, and curator based in Austin, TX. He is the recipient of the Rome Prize, the Ashurst Prize (UK), the Tito’s Prize, a Fulbright, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Visit steve-paker.net for more info.

Sirens 2018. Brass, plastic, conduit, and recorded voices. 7' x4'x 4' Photo: Sarah Frankie Linder

ZARCO CONDUCTS

Foghorn Elegy

Dr. John Zarco, Director of

2021. Salvaged brass,

Instrumental Ensembles,

hazard lights, steel,

will be taking the podium

electronics, wood, acrylic

this December to conduct

paint, audio samples of

the San Antonio

brass instruments,

Independent School District

copper plumbing.

Photos: Brian Fitzsimmons

Honor Band, December 10th and 11th.

Dr. Isaac Bustos

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WE CULTIVATE ARTISTS

AUDITION DATES February 13th, 2022* March 5, 2022* May 7, 2022 (no keyboard) *scholarships audition date

music.utsa.edu

ApplyMusic@utsa.edu

@utsamusic

Winterlude BACK HOME IN OUR UTSA RECITAL HALL

UTSA ORCHESTRA UTSA CHOIRS

UTSA HOLIDAY BANDS

UTSA JAZZ COMBO & JAZZ ENSEMBLE

November 29th 7:30pm

November 30th 7:30pm

December 2nd 7:30pm

For event information, including tickets prices, visit Events at music.utsa.edu or call 210.458.5685.

"I am most excited about the Winterlude concert because, let's face it, who doesn't like Christmas music? I see this as a grand opportunity for the students to give one of the greatest gifts anyone can ever give, and that is the gift of music. I am excited to dive into some classic Christmas repertoire that both my students and audience equally enjoy. This Winterlude we are putting together Duke Ellington's interpretation of the Nutcracker Suite; something that everyone will recognize and snap their fingers (on 2 and 4 please) to! Should be an unforgettable night!"

- Jerry Espinoza, Director of Jazz Ensembles

Jazz at Winterlude for the very first time!

Purchase your tickets today!

UTSA MUSIC ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT JASMINE FERNANDEZ M.M. Vocal Pedagogy and Performance, 2020

Jasmine was a graduate student who studied with Drs. Jourdan Laine Howell and Susan Olson. She performed Susanna in Le nozze de Figaro and offered a successful graduate recital during the university’s initial move online due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

What are you up to post-graduation?

I am in my second year teaching Elementary Music at the Stafford Fine Arts School of Innovation in Edgewood ISD. I also serve as the soprano section leader for an area church.

What did you learn?

I learned about a great deal about how to teach others to sing, and of course about how to sing myself. I have used these skills to show my students how to use their voice healthily and have taught them why music deserves their appreciation. I direct a choir and also teach a general music class and am able to pass on what I gained at UTSA all of my students.

What was your favorite experience while training at UTSA? My favorite experience was when we visited the cadaver lab as part of our Vocal Pedagogy course with Professor John Nix. It was an incredible experience getting to see all the parts of the body that work together to help you sing.

What advice do you have for current music students?

I would encourage students to get involved as much as possible during college. Sing in various ensembles and take advantage of the many performance opportunities; experience is important when you get out to work, whether you want to perform or teach or do both like I am doing.

ROXANNA TEHRANI-MORAS

B.M. Music Marketing and a minor in Non-Profit Management, 2010

After graduating from UTSA Music, Roxanna went on to earn her Master of Arts degree in Arts Administration for the celebrated Indiana University.

Roxanna studied voice with Professor Cathy Nix while at UTSA. Where did life take you after graduating from UTSA Music?

I recently joined the Tessitura Network as Executive Administrator. For those who are unfamiliar with Tessitura, we are a not-for-profit tech company that provides CRM software to over 750 member organizations in 10 countries, including recognizable names such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Metropolitan Opera, and the San Francisco Symphony. Tessitura is a system used by performing arts and cultural organizations to manage their activities across ticketing, fundraising, memberships, marketing and more. Prior to joining Tessitura, I took a hiatus from the arts to work at a litigation firm, but my main professional background and passion has

always been arts administration. I’ve worked at the Houston Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, and Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, and I held a handful of arts administration internships early on as well.

professor, I learned how to research, I learned how to prepare roles and develop a process for song study...I’m sure there is more. UTSA taught me how to work and truly equipped me with the tools I would need to find success later in life.

What made your time at UTSA valuable?

What was your favorite experience at UTSA?

My access to the faculty and staff (and the attention they were able to give me) were of tremendous value. They truly were my greatest resource, indulging my many questions, helping shape and form my ideas, and encouraging me in all my endeavors. If I needed to work through an idea, they were always open to my sporadic emails and office visits, and it’s because of their time and attention that I was able to earn crucial internships at some of the country’s leading performing arts organizations.

I don’t know if I can pick one. UTSA is my home and I love the Department of Music dearly. I started taking lessons with Dr. Diana Allan at 15 and also attended UTSA Choir Camps under the direction of Dr. Gary Mabry, so I have been on and around this campus for the past 20+ years. I think my favorite memory spanned my student career, and that was singing with so many incredible singers, many of whom are enjoying successful performance careers. We had a great time make great art together.

What advice do you have for others looking to follow your career path.

What did you do prior to joining the faculty at UTSA?

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of internships and building your resume early.

I recommend students aggressively pursue internships so that they have a summer position for every year they are in college. Opportunities for internships and other seasonal staff positions become less available once you are no longer in school, so try to exhaust your student status as much as possible.

After a year or so travelling with Ringling Bros Circus, I was accepted into the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at UNCG and worked to finish my DMA in Voice Performance. While wrapping the doctorate, I landed a job as Director of Community Engagement for Amarillo Opera and then moved on to Palm Beach Opera from there. I worked in education and engagement for PBO and found a great deal of success in Arts Administration.

I think my favorite part of working at PBO was developing the PBO Studio program for young singers interested in an operatic singing career.

The Studio program reignited my love for teaching and developing artists, so I worked my way into faculty teaching via the arts admin route - not typical, per se, but I like having the admin skills on my resume...that has been terribly helpful.

JOURDAN LAINE HOWELL M.M. in Vocal Performance, 2010 B.M. in Vocal Performance, 2005

Jourdan earned two degrees from UTSA and was a voice student of Professor Emeritus Diana Allan and honed her stage skills with Dr. William McCrary, Director of UTSA Lyric Theatre.

What did you learn at UTSA? Much, I learned so very much, indeed. I learned how to sing, I learned how to teach voice, I learned how to act, I learned how to be an effective university

What advice do you have for current music students?

Learn to fall in love with the process of learning and understand that the performance is a singular moment in time...and we do far more ‘processing’ than we do performing...so if you don’t love the process, a performance career may not be that exiting for you. I would also say that you should diversify your skill set and be okay with traveling a unique path in the arts...there is no such thing as a one size fits all career in music. That’s why it is so awesome!

UTSA MUSIC STUDENT ADVANCES TO 27TH ANNUAL

MARIACHI VARGAS EXTRAVAGANZA 11 finalists were selected to compete live at the annual Extravaganza. I am competing in the college division and am very grateful to represent not only UTSA, but all of San Antonio. It’s an honor.

When do you compete?

On December 4th in the morning at the Lila Cockrell Theatre. I’m the fifth one to perform and that’s after competing with Mariachi Los Paisanos the night before. Mariachi Los Paisanos will perform a set of four songs, fast-paced songs like a huapango, in 3/4 or 6/8. It will be very exciting.

On November 10th, 2021, we sat down with UTSA Music voice student Osvaldo Chacon to discuss his recent advancement to the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza. Here is what he had to say about the competition and his love of mariachi.

Tell us about Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza.

It is a national competition, held every year in San Antonio, and they have a group competition and a vocal competition, middle school, high school, and college categories.

Wow! That’s a lot of singing! How will you manage your voice throughout the competition?

I’m going to sleep eight hours at least! I’m going to have the Mariachi ensemble back me up during the vocal competition so it’s not going to be just me onstage. Knowing that they will be there to back me up...that makes me speechless. Some finalists use a track, but I’m going to have the full experience, you know, so that’s exciting as well.

Is this open to the public?

I have always dreamt of being in this competition because Mariachi Vargas is a five-generation mariachi group, and every knows them all over the world. I want to be a part of it to make connections with people from across the country. Of course, it would be awesome to win it, or place in the top three!

Yes! There are tickets! You can buy bracelets for $20 and that includes all the workshops, Friday and Saturday, and all the concert events. It will be a long two-day experience because on Friday I will get to do the Advanced Vocal workshops with Mariachi Vargas. Then the evening is showtime, ready to perform Friday night.

What is the process for entering the competition?

What will you perform for the solo vocal competition?

The first step was submitting a video, and then

It’s just one piece...I’ll have one chance. My chance

to show not just my voice, but my stage presence which is something I am working on. I will be singing TITLE OF THE PIECE which translates to ‘what does Heaven offer me?’ The song is about a person living his last day on earth and he is telling his loved one that he is grateful for the adventures and memories...but as he sings, he realizes that he can’t leave, he’s not ready, because what does heaven have to offer him in comparison to life with his loved ones.

wear the mariachi ensemble originates from, some wear black, others grey or blue or white.

But when it comes to competitions, it is about the school colors. And our UTSA trajes are beautiful!

I’m so grateful we were able to get new trajes my freshman year!

How have you prepared for the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza?

Why do you love singing mariachi?

I’ve been watching videos about it so that I have an idea of what I am walking into. The way I’ve been preparing is practicing that one piece, every day, focusing on my diction, my vowel placement, my energy, looking at every single detail and trying to see what I can do better this next round. I’ve watched my submission video every day to see what I can do to improve.

It is who I am. Whenever I hear or perform mariachi, that is me. I see it as therapy in a way; I get to express what I feel. And I have been singing mariachi since I was five. That’s why mariachi is important to me. When I am singing Mariachi, that’s me.

It’s been a challenge trying to find the time every day to prepare, to keep the balance, studying and going to classes, practicing for my lessons, learning all my music, plus I sing in a church choir, and I work on campus. It’s a lot, but I’m making this a priority.

Do you belong to a mariachi group outside of UTSA?

Anything you would like to say as we wrap up?

I chose this because it is a bolero, a ballad, and it’s a brand-new song, and also because of Covid.

I wanted to sing in honor of family members who have passed away and people who have been suffering and who are still suffering.

Beyond UTSA’s Mariachi Los Paisanos, I also play with Mariachi Gallos de Oro based here in San Antonio. This semester, one of the trumpet players from UTSA saw the way I performed and invited me to join the group. We just did a gig last night actually!

What have you learned at UTSA Music that has helped you?

I am very blessed to be a part of the UTSA Music program. Before coming here, I didn’t have a lot of experience with classical music, classical techniques, and it has been a blessing to work with the teachers here. Now I have an understanding of the basic skills of theory and now I can understand what I am looking at with my music and everything is coming together. I love the program here. I’m very happy here.

Does each group wear their own unique Trajes?

Usually the traditional trajes is the elegant black traje with silver gallos [down the leg] with a red or burgundy moño that will pop. The colors represent

I’m very grateful to God for all the opportunities being presented to me. I don’t have the words to say how grateful I am, really. It’s huge. It’s been a hard year, but an amazing year.

I have a great feeling about this.

CLICK HERE TO GET TICKETS TO THE MARIACHI VARGAS EXTRAVANGAZA Mariachi Los Paisanos Friday December 3rd

Osvaldo Chacon

Saturday December 4th

UTSA Music On the Screen: A look back at some of our exciting Fall 2021 concerts

11.20.2021 - That feeling hits different when you finally get to be together with SOSA with all your friends again and live out the drum major experience for real this time, My vocal chords? Gone, but 100% worth it. I Love UTSA. I love SOSA. I love our team. I'm so happy and proud of everyone!! #utsamusic #utsasosa

Die Zauberflöte W.A. Mozart

presented by UTSA Lyric Theatre and UTSA Music

March 24th - 27th, 2022 conducted by Troy Peters directed by Jourdan Laine Howell production director William McCrary chorus master David Waterland

DECEMBER 2021 STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST INFORMATION ON UPCOMING CONCERTS AND EVENTS AT UTSA MUSIC MUSIC.UTSA.EDU

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