CADENZA
FRIENDS, Welcome to CADENZA Showcasing UTSA Music
Welcome to the December issue of Cadenza from the Department of Music! As the students, staff, and faculty approach the end of the semester, we are grateful for your support of our work through attendance at our events. These concerts are the culmination of hours of individual and group rehearsals, academic preparation, and the grit and heart of our student performers and faculty conductors and teachers What a joyful way to celebrate our hard work – to share it with you!
The first week in December marks our final week of concerts for the semester, and among many events, it includes two wonderful Winterlude programs that highlight our large choral and instrumental ensembles as well as several chamber music groups. This issue includes articles about Winterlude and Advent, both of which are relevant to this final week of concerts for the semester. We also feature stories about our outstanding student academic accomplishments and the creative work of our students in the New Music Lab this semester.
Cadenza has become an important outlet for us to share our stories, and we are eager for your feedback; this issue contains a link to a survey about this publication, and I ask for your participation so that we can continue to improve our efforts We are thankful for you and thankful for the opportunity to make music and learn about music through such rich and rewarding experiences We hope you have a wonderful December and a very happy holiday season!
Tracy Cowden
Roland K. Blumberg Endowed Professor in Music and Chair
UTSA ALL-STATE CHOIR CLINIC
TheUTSAAll-StateChoirClinicthis yearwillfeaturevaluableinstruction fromUTSA’stopconductors–Dr.Gary Mabry,ProfessorEmeritus,andDr. YoojinMuhn,DirectorofChoral Activities. TheUTSAchoraldirectors mayprovidedetailedandinnovative instructionsthatmaynotonlybe beneficialtotheAll-Statefinalists,but alsototheirrespectivechoral directors. TheAll-StateChoirfinalists canexpecttoreceiveauditionadvice, tipsonstandingoutcomparedtotheir competitors,andmanymorebenefits.
DEC. 14
Grades:9th-12th
Check-In:8:00AM Times:9:00AM-3:00PM
EarlyBird:$75ifregistered byDecember6th. Cost:$100afterDec.6thor atthedoor.
UTSA MUSIC STUDENTS
RECEIVE MONETARY AWARDS
Aspartofanassignmentforher FreshmanCompositionIIclass, MadelineGonzales’essay, “ProvidingArtsforOurStudents” wasnominatedandawardedone oftheJudithG.GardnerWriting Scholarships.Ms.Gonzales forwardedheressaytothe AcademicPolicyandCurriculum committeeofTheWriting Program.Thatcommitteewill presentMs.Gonzaleswitha$2,000 scholarshiptobeusedforthe Spring2020semester.
NathanValdezwasrecentlyselected asanInstituteofEducationSciences FellowfortheUTSAEducational ResearchTrainingProgram:P-20 PipelineIssuesfortheacademicyear 2019-2020andthesummerof2020. Afteranextensiveapplication process,Nathanwasgrantedthis prestigiousfellowshipfundedbythe U.S.DepartmentofEducation.The $5,000stipendwillfund Nathan’s workwithvariousmentorson researchprojectsandhistravelto Stanfordtopresenthisresearch.
A LOOK BACK AT THE SEMESTER...
UTSA Music was represented at UTSA’s 50th Golden Gala at the Tobin Center.
Our ensembles' big debut at the Sombrilla Concert was a success.
Mariachi Los Paisanos got new trajes to perform in.
The Spirit of San Antonio Marching Band performed on Kyle Field at Texas A&M University.
The SOSA Alumni band was over 60 people strong for UTSA Homecoming.
Music faculty celebrated Halloween in style.
SAI hosted a symposium presenting the healing power of music.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:
B E T H A N Y H I R O T A - M A B R Y
Each month, CADENZA features a UTSA graduate that has successfully kept music as a central part of his or her life after graduation. The alumni we speak to are not 9 to 5 musicians, they are musicians 24/7, at both work and play. This month’s Alumni Spotlight shines on one such person, Bethany Hirota-Mabry (B.M. ‘02). Bethany is currently a music educator who, as a UTSA undergraduate, studied percussion with Sherry Rubins.
As an alumnae of #utsamusic would you consider yourself an ambassador of our department? If so, how?
I absolutely consider myself an ambassador of UTSA and a cheerleader for the Music Department. I continuously support students and ensembles by attending performances and sending students to the UTSA band camp each summer When given the opportunity, I encourage budding young musicians to consider UTSA in their quest to become music educators
What is your current career and how did #utsamusic prepare you for it?
I currently teach band at the middle school level and have been in this field for almost 17 years. The faculty at UTSA provided me opportunities to experience the “real world” and helped me make the connections I needed to get into the career path I always knew was my life’s calling
You are a career musician. Does music play a part in your life that is not work related? If so, how?
Music has been known to “take over ” a person ’ s life. One of my favorite ways to experience music “ on my own terms” is by playing drums and singing in a Bluegrass/ Americana Band called Down for the Count. The roster of this ensemble looks like a Rowdy reunion group recently retired UTSA music faculty Dr. Eugene Dowdy and Dr Gary Mabry, along with Music alums Yours Truly and Timothy Logan Our front man is a guitar-toting Episcopal priest named Matthew Wise We started as a summer experiment, but Gary and I had so much fun that we lobbied to be a forever band That was almost ten years ago, and we ’ re still going strong!
Finish this sentence, “If it weren’t for the UTSA Department of Music…”
I really don’t know where I’d be, honestly. I thought for a very brief time that I would join the military but there wasn’t a career choice outside of music that seemed as satisfying to me. UTSA Music provided me the nurturing and encouraging atmosphere I needed at the time.
Why did you choose to attend UTSA?
I started college at Temple College [TC] in Temple, Texas. When my parents moved to San Antonio, I stayed in Temple another year and then made the choice to move to San Antonio and into a fouryear program. Everyone I spoke with at TC recommended UTSA and encouraged me to work with Sherry Rubins I took their advice, and I’m glad I did!
Who were your mentors while you were here and how did they help you?
Mrs Sherry Rubins guided me in percussion techniques and literature and introduced me to the steel drum ensemble. Mrs. Rubins was a guiding force in helping me to get organized and become a better person and musician. Dr. Robert Rustowicz [Professor Emeritus] provided a steady menu of challenging band literature and modelled the best in effective conducting. I was honored to serve as an Ensemble Associate. I really felt a tremendous amount of support and encouragement from all of my music professors.
What would you like to be doing ten years from now?
I sincerely hope I get to do the same thing I do now. My campus serves a large percentage of military personnel and their growing dependents. With my background as an “Army brat” I feel I have an advantage being able to empathize with students who move out, and help those that move in make a smoother transition being the “ new kid.” I’d like to continue fostering life-long appreciators of music in hopes that one day they’ll support music programs wherever they are.
What advice would you give to your students who want to be career musicians?
Have an idea what you want that career to look like and talk to people who do what you think you might want to do. The musical field is such a broad space. The UTSA Department of Music provides an environment that is small enough to be nurturing and large enough to be competitive There are opportunities within the Music Department that allow students to prepare for a multifaceted musical career in teaching, performance, research, and leadership
DECEMBER DATES
CONCERTO & ARIA COMPETITION
The vocal and instrumental students will vie for the opportunity to perform with the UTSA Orchestra in the spring. 12:00pm - UTSA Recital Hall
White Music Convocation and Concert
Attendance Credit
11:30am - UTSA Recital Hall
Final exams begin on the 7th and end on the 13th.
Congratulations to the UTSA students who will walk the stage in the Fall 2019 commencement ceremony.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST INFORMATION ON UPCOMING CONCERTS AND EVENTS AT UTSA MUSIC MUSIC.UTSA.EDU
@ U T S A M U S I C F O L L O W U S !
