to
Welcome to
Welcome to the April issue of Cadenza, where our concert season is in full swing! I would like to draw your attention to two very special events later this month: one of the most prominent living guitarists, David Russell, will be performing in the UTSA Recital Hall on April 20th, and our Lyric Theatre program, including choirs and orchestra, will present a one-time only “Verdi Project” at the Edgewood Performing Arts Theatre on April 26th. We hope to see you at both of these events! And as always, we are grateful for your support of our guest, students and faculty performers.
This issue includes feature articles on the concerts mentioned above, as well as our Mariachi Los Paisanos’ triumphant debut last month at the Houston Rodeo Mariachi Invitational! Our Alumni Spotlight this month features soprano Bronwyn White, and the other concert announcements and articles will have you marking your calendar for upcoming events. April is also a very special time for us, as it includes Giving Day on April 9-10. Your gift of any size means so much to us as we continue to improve opportunities for our students in the School of Music to thrive! Please consider joining us in this celebration of all that makes UTSA a special place to be!
Remember to check our online event calendar for the most up-todate 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 School of Music 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 UTSA School of Music.
Are you interested in having live music at your own event? You could hire a student group! Look for the “Book Us” link on the School of Music 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 look forward to seeing you soon for live music at UTSA!
THANK YOU FOR GIVING
It is with immense gratitude that we thank our supporters for making UTSA Giving Day 2024 a huge success for the School of Music!
More than $68,000 Raised in support of music programs and new opportunities for students
Quick Stats from Giving Day:
- Over $59k raised, beating 2023’s record by almost $5k
- $100,000 grant unlocked
- Most amount of donors across all programs
- $6,958 raised COLFA PROGRAMS
- $22,345 raised from 172 donations
April’s Alumni Spotlight shines on Michelle Lange , Instructor of Voice at the University of Idaho. Lange is a vocal prowess, having performed leading roles with Opera Hong Kong and over one hundred performances of Contessa in Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro” in Vienna, Austria, singing the role in both German and Italian. She holds a D.M.A. in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Southern Mississippi, a M.M. in Vocal Performance from Arizona State University, and a B.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
“I recently returned to America after enjoying a fulfilling international performing and teaching career, which has spanned Europe, Asia, and America,” Lange states.
“For the last several years, my husband, Dr. Stefan Gordon, and I have been running a business teaching, performing, and producing music in Hong Kong, where we enjoyed tremendous success and I was honored to perform Donna Elvira with the national opera house alongside a star-studded cast of singers from the Met and La Scala.”
While being highly successful in vocal performance, she also mentors and instructs students in her vocal studios in both private and public academia.
“I spent two years as an instructor of voice, at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, where I collaborated with my husband, as he rebuilt the opera program,” Lange reflects.
“I also covered for his classes in Aural Skills and Opera workshop during his absences for professional engagements and designed and built costumes for several productions, handled all props, and assisted with music directing and much of the rest of the artistic process.”
Lange is insightful on her journey to success, recalling many memories from her journey in music education.
“During my vocal studies, I worked with Dr. Maryann Kyle, a leading belt specialist who used classical
technique to understand and teach nontraditional styles in pop and music theater,” Lange states. “These skills have been vital in my private teaching, where I have worked extensively with contemporary music styles.”
Throughout her career, as of late, Lange has had the opportunity to fuel her passion for vocal pedagogy and grow as a person.
“The opportunity to be a world citizen comes with many challenges, along with tremendous rewards and eye-opening experiences,” Lange reflects.
“I have learned to interact with the abundant diversity of the Earth and its peoples and cultures with kindness, compassion, and curiosity; My experiences far from home have honed my understanding not only of the essence of each person I meet, but also the relationship individuals hold with themselves and subsequently their voice.”
Lange remembers where it began for her on her journey through music, and for her it was at UTSA.
“It was there I sang my first role, nurtured, challenged, and supported by the wonderful and knowledgeable faculty mentors and my heart grew as a member of Sigma Alpha Iota and our service to the community,” Lange states.
“Little did I know, I wasn’t only receiving a music degree, I was laying the foundation for the rest of my life devoted to the universal love language of music,and I’m so grateful to have my roots in the heart of Texas, as an alumna of the UTSA School of Music.”
- Suzanna Bridges-Keese
“A
look back at student and faculty highlights in Spring 2024!”
– Rolando Ramon Suzanna Bridges-Keese
Members of the Spirit of San Antonio Marching Band found themselves in the eyes of national television during winter break on December 19, 2023. The UTSA Roadrunner Football team finished the regular season with an 8-4 record, making them eligible for postseason for the third year in a row. As athletes in their own rights, the marching band went bowling with team at the 2023 Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, where the Roadrunners took on the Marshall Thundering Herd.
SOSA departed San Antonio for Frisco on the Monday morning before the game in several buses. They practiced on the field adjacent to Toyota Stadium where the game was held the next night.
On the day of the game, the band ran a rehearsal at 9:00 a.m. They were joined on the field by several members of Marshall’s Marching Thunder Band, most of whom were unable to travel to the bowl game. In a heartwarming display of camaraderie, the two bands united to perform various works from the band’s repertoire, such as fan favorite “Neck,” as well a joint performance of Marshall’s alma mater. This collaboration not only showcased their musical prowess but also fostered a sense of unity and com-
Ron Ellis was given the honors of directing the half-time show at the 2023 Valero Alamo Bowl, a major post-season NCAA football game annually held in the Alamodome. He took the podium and led the Alamo Bowl Marching Band during the first half of the show.
munity among the performers and the fans in the stands. The two ensembles displayed mutual respect for each other as musicians united by a common effort to rally support for the athletes on the field that night.
Both on the field and in the stands, SOSA was consistently booming throughout the game, garnering significant attention from media coverage on television and social media. The fact that the game went past midnight on a windy night that saw temperatures drop to 45 degrees Fahrenheit made the effort even more commendable. The night ended in victory as the Roadrunners overcame a slow start to earn their first bowl victory in school history via a 35-17 win over the Marshall Thundering Herd.
The triumph came with bittersweetness, as alum Richard Daul ‘23 led the band through his final game with them as long-time drum major.
February’s UTSA orchestra concert was full of highlights as the student soloists displayed poise and virtuosity in their performances. Lexie Cairy, soprano, and Elisa Nivon, violin, performed stunningly before a packed UTSA Recital Hall. Another student who played a significant role in the concert was senior music composition student Ben Spivey. His piece for full orchestra, “Magnolia,” saw its world premiere that night before the soloists took the stage.
Spivey introduced a piece with musical elements inspired by orchestral music from well-known games like League of Legends and Star Guardian. The idea first ignited itself in Spring 2023, when he first proposed the concept of the orchestra playing it to his professor and guidance, Troy Peters from UTSA..
“There are a lot of different kinds of music that act as my inspiration, but for this piece in particular it was mainly the orchestral music from these games, more specifically the theme for “Irelia, the Blade Dancer,” as well as the “Star Guardian 2022 - Official Orchestral Theme,” Spivey states.
Tejano artist Shelly Lares has impacted students’ college experience since the start of her artist residency with UTSA Arts. She’s given lectures, sat in during rehearsals, and performed with students. She’s even had students come to her recording studio for one-on-one coaching and collaboration sessions on songwriting and music production.
In February, she performed with a UTSA chamber string ensemble at the 2023 TMEA Clinic/Convention. Joining the group on stage for a performance of an original song written by Alex Valles, a senior music composition student and cellist at UTSA, Lares helped create a unique and unforgettable showcase at the convention.
For Spivey, this piece had taken much longer than his other compositions due to the work load, as well as it being his first orchestral composition.
“I finished the music at the beginning of December, and the orchestration in January…I had a lot of fun writing the music, but the orchestration and deciding what instrument should do what was very difficult for me,” Spivey reflects.
Spivey also feels that the collaborative assistance between him and Mr. Peters, alongside the performers a part of the orchestra, really brought character to his piece and made the process fluid.
“Rehearsals went very well, everyone was so kind with their questions about their parts and Mr. Peters did a great job of directing us,” Spivey states.
“The performance itself was amazing, one of the best times we’d played it and I was very happy by the end with all the support I had gotten from my fellow players and Mr. Peters; It was such a great experience that I’ll never forget.”
Graduate student Eyman Geylan had a spotlight moment early in the semester. On February 24, the pianist was featured as a soloist with the South Texas Symphony Orchestra, directed by Ronnie Sanders.
The concert was widely publicized leading up to the performance, with Sanders calling Geylan “a visionary” in an article for San Antonio Report.
Geylan performed Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the orchestra. In addition to Geylan’s performance, soprano and UTSA voice student Emily Densemore also appeared in the concert, singing “O mio Bambino Caro” from Giacomo Pucinni’s Gianni Schicchi.
Jackson Bosenbark (sophomore) is a music composition student and runner-up in the NuMu Call for Scores competition. His piece titled “Portraits of Fisherman” is a work he had spent many hours on with extensive revisions.
“It was originally written for just viola and piano, but I decided to add a clarinet when reviewing the rules for submissions to this year’s Call for Scores,” Bosenbark reflects.
Bosenbark notes that one of the distinctive features of his piece is its structure; it comprises four sections, which appear in the reverse order that he composed them in.
“Composing in this way gave me a bit more control of the emotional trajectory of the piece, I think,” Bosenbark states. “The piece is saturated with imagery of water and fog, and, while I think that that serves as a poignant metaphor, the focal point of the composition is its exploration of the concept of solitude.”
Aidan Ramos (sophmore), also a composition major, also had his piece performed in the New Music Festival as well.
“The March in G, for symphonic band, that we performed in by Manny Flores was a wonderful and lively piece to perform,” Ramos states. “The part of the piece I enjoyed though is how Manny was able to take some of the parts of a typical American band march and alter it to fit his style.”
Ramos notes the important aspect of the piece that was fascinating to him.
“My favorite part of the piece was definitely the slow down and build up that happens later in the piece which is a nice twist on the typical march form,” Ramos states. “Overall it was really enjoyable to play the work and, as a fellow composer, I was happy to see Manny get his work performed just like how I did with the Wind Symphony!”
The UTSA Cheer team, led by head cheer coach Ashley Johnson, made history at the NCA National Championships when it became the first program in history to incorporate mariachi in competition. The spectacle was hosted at Daytona Beach, Florida, from April 9-13, where the team (as well as Rowdy himself) earned three top-10 finishes.
Mariachi Los Paisanos and the team suited up for the Game Day category in the competition, where teams created a performance incorporating elements of their university’s school spirit.
While some teams incorporated marching bands, mascots, and drum lines, UTSA is the first and only school so far to have mariachi compete alongside the cheer team in the championships. The judges were enamored with the team’s San Antonio flair and couldn’t get enough of Los Paisanos!
The performance was good enough for a third-place finish in the Game Day Division, behind only Michigan and BYU. The team also placed fourth in the All-Girl Advanced Division, while Rowdy placed seventh in the Mascot Division.
Dr. Kristen Pellegrino is Professor of Music Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio and serves as Immediate Past-President of American String Teachers Association (ASTA) for six-year Presidential terms from 2018 to 2024. Pellegrino teaches undergraduate and graduate classes, chairs music education theses, advises String Education and Masters students, and is the Pedagogical Advisor for UTSA’s String Project.
Dr. Pellegrino was recently awarded the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance’s Alumni Award, also known as the Christopher Kendall Award, an incredible feat as the University of Michigan is one of the top-ranked public universities in the United States. The award invites her to present the 2024 Carrigan Lecture. The annual Carrigan Lecture began in 2009 after an alumnus endowed a Lecture Series to the School, which was divided between the Departments of Music Education and Music Theory. Also, she plans a mini-residency at the University of Michigan for her career as a music educator.
“I am really looking forward to this,” Pellegrino reflects. “I have been emailing the music education department acting chair and we will begin talking soon.”
UTSA alum and staff member Wesely Uchiyama-Penix’s miniature opera Soul of Word has become a huge success as a short film directed by student Selah Major. The film was a partnership with the UTSA Lyric Theatre and UTSA Film and Media Studies, led by Jourdan Laine Howell, associate professor of voice and lyric theatre, and Guillermina Zabala Suárez, professor of practice in the Film and Media Studies program. The film premiered on November 29, 2023, at the Santikos Palladium Theatre before embarking on its festival run.
The film was shown at the 56th World-Fest Houston International Film Festival in late April, where it was selected for a Remi Award. The festival and award are among the oldest in America. Soul of Word was given a Bronze Remi in the Music Video—Specials / Shows category. This is a huge accomplishment for all parties involved in the making of the film.
Pellegrino has many endeavors in the near future, including a trip to Helsinki, Finland for a music research conference.
“We are going this summer to present some of our research findings at the International Society for Music Education’s Conference,” Pellegrino states.
Alongside being a phenomenal instructor, Pellegrino has written multiple books and co-authored two Oxford University Press books: Oxford Handbook of Preservice Music Teacher Education in the United States (2019) and Teaching Instrumental Music: Contemporary Pedagogies and Perspectives (2023).
“I am currently co-authoring a third book Journeys of Becoming and Being Music Teachers (Forthcoming, 2025) with Conway Publications, “Pellegrino reflects. “This is based on a seven-year longitudinal case study with twelve participants who were college students and we followed them for five more years as they became music teachers.”
Pellegrino’s standout highlight from the past year includes traveling to Klein Cain High School Orchestra’s performance in Chicago.
“Another highlight from this year was having alumni Sundas Mohi-Truong invite me to join her and her students from Klein Cain High School Orchestra to perform for The Midwest Clinic: International Band and Orchestra Conference (2023),” Pellegrino states.
“I so enjoyed seeing the beautiful relationship she and her students shared as well as seeing and hearing their artistic, expressive performance!”
SOSA Marching Band made its traditional appearance at Fiesta this year at last Saturday’s Fiesta Flambeau parade. The celebration stretched over 2.6 miles in Downtown San Antonio and was broadcast to over a million viewers, in addition to the thousands of spectators in the streets. SOSA was loud and proud as they brought the Roadrunner spirit to the Fiesta.
Dr. S. Andrew Lloyd, assistant professor of composition and organ, is still fresh from attending the world premiere of his music in New York City earlier this month. The event was over two years in the making and marked a fantastic accomplishment in his career.
In the spring of 2022, Lloyd was awarded the Ariel Bybee Endowment Commission from the Center for Latter-day Saints Arts to write a collection of art songs. In an article for the Daily Texan, Lloyd compared his selection for the commission to winning the lottery.
The collection, Amaranthine, was premiered by world-class soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen on April 9 in her Carnegie Hall debut. The concert occurred inside the venue’s most recent addition, Zankell Hall.
James Syler, assistant professor of composition at UTSA, recently had his piece Stories from the Golden Hour premiered at Florida International University in Miami on April 17th. Based on a metaphor of a golden sunset, representing the later years in life, Syler’s piece was inspired by the lives of Kelley and Benjamin Alston. Dr. Brenton F. Alston commissioned the work in memory of his parents.
“The work is inspired by their lives and told through six stories about the land, hard work, justice, family, death, and homegoing,” Syler states. “The Alston’s were both children of tobacco farmers from Conway, South Carolina who married, built a family, persevered through many challenges, and lived a long life.
Stories from the Golden Hour is a 30-minute chamber cantata for recorded narrator, soprano, women’s chorus, chamber ensemble, and organ that draws on the traditions of spoken word, chamber music, and choral music. Each story illuminates a particular characteristic of Kelley and Benjamin and is introduced by a third-person recorded narrator.
Sørensen’s reputation for having an impeccable voice is well known, and she is currently a signed to a multi-record deal with Sony Classical. Her high profile, along with Carnegie Hall being what it is, guaranteed a full audience to hear Lloyd’s work. She was accompanied on piano by Tamar Sanikidze, head of voice area at UT Austin’s Butler School of Music.
“It’s something really special,” Sørensen said about Amaranthine in an interview with CBSNY. “It’s about the recluctant surrender to the truth that was always within you.”
In addition to Lloyd’s premiere, it was a fantastic opportunity for two UTSA voice students, Emily Densemore and Alexis Cairy, to learn from the soprano superstar. They traveled to New York that weekend, and the day before the premiere, both performed in a masterclass at Opera America with Sørensen and Darrell Babidge, head of voice at the Julliard School. The pair also collaborated with voice students from Brigham Young University in a recital performance at Opera America.
“Alexis and Emily sang with passion, artistry, and confidence. I was so proud of them, and thrilled with how they represented UTSA and our amazing voice department,” said Lloyd.
“The first story, Under the Fields, is where their life began in the country and is a reminder that no one really owns the land,” Syler reflects. “It sings for those who can hear it.”
The second story, “Grit,” celebrates their work ethic through repetitive rap. The third is titled “What is Worth Fighting For,” which reminds us that there are times to stand up for justice.
“After a reading of 300 years of racially violent events by city and year, the narrator asks questions that reference segregation, Emmet Till, and the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, and finally the fourth story, In the Summer, is a nostalgic remembrance from a child’s point-of-view about a summer night filled with mystery,” Syler states.
The following story, Golden Light of Home, is in the style of an old spiritual person and is about quietly waiting and listening as the end is near. The final story, Homegoing, is a simple hymn that speaks to the hope that ‘we will meet again.’
“The premiere was exceptionally dramatic, I think in part because of the combination of words and music in a new form,” Syler states. “The audience didn’t know what to expect.”
The College of Liberal and Fine Arts annually hosts a research conference in March, where students from all areas of the college compete through their research presentations on various topics. There were several amazing standouts this year who won awards at the Music Lecture-Performance competition.
Senior saxophonist Sam Bowman’s research on Japanese folk music and its portrayal in Western music won first place in the undergraduate category.
For his presentation, Bowman used a contemporary work for saxophone that incorporated folk tunes originally played on traditional Japanese instruments, such as the Shamisen, a threestringed lute, and Shakuhachi, a wooden flute. The composer used unconventional techniques to emulate their sounds and tonality on the saxophone, such as portamentos (a pitch slide between notes) and quarter-tone fingerings. The work was composed in a rhapsodic format, a Western style generally absent in Japanese folk music, characterized by contrasting moods and tonalities in a free-flowing structure
“My favorite part of preparing this lecture performance was learning not only about the many different folk songs presented, but [also] the rich history of each of the different prefectures they originate from,” said Bowman.
Sydney Castillo, a senior viola student, won 2nd place in the undergraduate category with her ensemble’s performance. She created a string arrangement of Yu-Peng Chen’s “Gilded Runneen “ for her project.
The presentation explored Chen’s use of the Fibonacci sequence, a numeral sequence in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones (i.e., 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8), with the piece’s rhythm and time signatures. Castillo explained how its use tied the piece back to its inspirations of the Middle East and India’s tropical forests.
Chen incorporates the sequence as a nod to its origins in India, where the Fibonacci numbers appeared in mathematics as early as 200 BC, and to its occurrence in nature.
“The most challenging aspect of my presentation was putting together the very ambitious arrangement of the piece without a conductor,” remarked Castillo.
“Since the piece has very complex patterns of time signatures that range from 1/8 to 21/8 at a quick tempo, it was incredibly challenging to keep everyone together in a larger ensemble. We solved this issue by grouping each measure into groups of two to three eighth notes to make the counting easier, and really getting to know how everyone’s intricate parts interlock so that we could lock our parts in more solidly without a conductor’s help.”
Our first-place winner in the graduate category was Taylor Malcom. For her project, she researched the life and career of female French composer and pianist Cécile Chaminade. She was the first female composer awarded the Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest honor of order.
She experienced massive fame as both a composer and a performer during her lifetime, but for sexist reasons, she has fallen into obscurity in the United States. In her presentation, Malcom highlighted some of her beautiful and impressive vocal works, such as her piece L’été, which Malcom performed at the conference and at our annual Extravaganza Award Ceremony.
“The most interesting thing that I learned is that Chaminade’s popularity among her female fans led to the formation of all-women music clubs throughout the United States, some of which are still active today,” said Malcolm
Clarinetist Clarisa de La Garza won second place in the graduate category with her lecture performance on clarinet techniques to perform klezmer, a style of folk music derived from traditional Eastern European Jewish culture. It was typically performed during cultural ceremonies and communal events with lively dancing, musical improvisation, and stylistic ornamentation found in Jewish music.
Written information on how the genre’s traditional ornamentation and nuances are performed is scarce, prompting Garza to compile her research in “A Beginner’s Guide to Klezmer Clarinet Techniques.” It serves as a written introduction and outline from a pedagogical perspective on achieving the techniques for an authentic klezmer performance.
“There’s so much culture and history present within klezmer and I always love getting the chance to share this beautiful performance practice with others,” said Garza. “The response from the committee was very engaging and I enjoyed getting to celebrate this music with them!”
Another graduate student who excelled at the convention is María Correia de Souza Viana, a flutist. Her research and performance of the Brazillian music style, choro, won third place.
Choro was a popular genre of urban music in Brazil in the early 20th century. It was conceptualized by the confluence of music styles from Europe and Africa. The genre’s name refers to a lament, which seems rather misleading for a style characterized by syncopated, upbeat rhythms performed with virtuosity and melodic improvisation.
“It was a great joy to be able to share a bit of my cultural background with the judges through the Brazilian genre, choro,” said Viana. “The most challenging part was condensing over 100 years of history into 10 minutes...I would like to express my gratitude to my collaborators, Enzo Rizi [guitar] and Gabe Durant-Hollis [percussion], who were outstanding in their performances.”
Other COLFA Spring Research Conference winners included Ben Spivey in the undergraduate category and Meaghan Treviño in the graduate category.
Our annual Extravaganza celebration has officially capped off the semester’s end! Each spring, the event highlights student success by awarding scholarships and other prizes to students who have exemplified Roadrunner excellence and leadership throughout the school year. Now in its 29th iteration, the ceremony has grown immensely since the first Extravaganza in 1996. This year’s new additions included the David Sebald Music Technology Award and the Cynthia Muñoz UTSA Class of ‘88 Mariachi Scholarships.
In addition to our student awards, we recognized our Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, Dr. Eugene Dowdy. “Gene,” who graduated from UTSA with his master’s in conducting in 1990, is the artistic director of the Symphony of the Hills and director of music at Schreiner University. He is also a UTSA professor emeritus, having taught from 1996 until 2019, a portion of which he served as department chair for UTSA Music. He remains a fan favorite among UTSA faculty, students, and alumni who had the fortune of working with him or performing under his baton in the orchestra.
REED HOLMES MEMORIAL AWARD FOR COMPOSITION
STRING AREA EXCELLENCE AWARD
MUSICAL ARTS CENTER OF SAN ANTONIO
PIANO PEDAGOGY AWARD
DEBORAH MOORE
STEINWAY PIANO GALLERY PIANO PERFORMANCE AWARD EYMEN GEYLAN ALAMO MUSIC INSTRUMENTAL AWARD
In 1977, she decided to join the U.S. Army and served until 1980. She was stationed in Germany for her three years of service. During her time overseas, she was also responsible for caring for her children as a single parent. Coupled with being sent out to the field multiple times, it was a hardening experience that led to her having two knee replacements. She was eventually granted an honorable discharge and returned to the States with her children.
Though not a music major, Lori Branson has been deeply impacted by her experience with the School of Music. Although the path to finishing her undergraduate degree was not as straightforward as it would be for a typical student, she made a remarkable achievement by dedicating herself to her education despite obstacles along the way.
“It’s about me finishing something that I started for myself–to be able to come back and finish, no matter how old I am.”
Branson grew up in Mexico and moved to San Antonio just as she entered high school. After graduating from Alamo Heights, she was married for some time and had two children.
Despite the hardships, she maintained her stoicism and is still proud to have served her country.
“I look back on my life and I see...in every instance and in everything that’s going on in my life, I see God’s hand,” said Branson
Branson began her studies at UTSA in 1985. The campus was still relatively in its infancy, with only the McKinney, John Peace Library, Multidisciplinary Studies, Flawn Sciences, and Arts buildings standing at the time. Her initial endeavors differed drastically from today–her goal was to coach high school swimming. She began by taking courses in physical education but soon encountered difficulties resulting from her previous disabilities from her time in the army, which led to her temporarily dropping school.
Nearly 40 years later, in the summer of 2022, Branson decided it was time to finish what she had started long ago. Once she realized that she only needed 50 credit hours to finish her degree, the choice was easy for her to make. She registered as a multidisciplinary studies major with concentrations in kinesiology, sociology, and music and attended classes in the fall of 2022.
Branson excelled in her classes, making the Dean’s list and honor roll multiple times during her last four semesters. She is a student of UTSA Honors Society, Branson has been singing for all her life, having been in the choir from junior high through high school. On April 27 Branson was inducted into the National Society for Leadership and Success.
Though she felt a rift between her and other students, Branson found camaraderie and a sense of belonging within the choir. During her first semester in 2022, she contacted assistant choral director Dr. Jordan D. Boyd, also in his first semester at UTSA, and inquired about joining the University Chorus. She joined the ensemble in the spring of 2023.
“Words cannot express what being part of Dr. Boyd’s class has meant to me,” said Branson. “I’m gonna miss this so much.”.
Since then, she has sung with the choir in seven concerts, including the recent collaboration with the UTSA Lyric Theatre on The Verdi Project. Her gratitude toward Dr. Boyd and her peers in choirs for their camaraderie is immense beyond words. She will walk the stage in two weeks to receive her Bachelor’s degree at 71. Branson, who’s also been a generous donor, plans on eventually making an endowment to the School of Music
During her time at UTSA, Branson made her own slogan, which she has held true and proven repeatedly–”Never too old to be bold.”
STUDENT RECITAL
L.J. Lepovitz
5:00 PM | UTSA Recital Hall
STUDENT RECITAL
Antonio Zubigalla
7:30 PM | UTSA Recital Hall
UTSA DANCE
Taking Flight - Spring Showcase
7:30 PM | UTSA Recital Hall
SAXOPHONE ENSEMBLE
Saxophone Celebration
7:30 PM | Coates Chapel - UTSA Southwest ON-CORPS
Spring Concert 11:30 PM | UTSA Recital Hall
STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST INFORMATION ON THE UPCOMING SEMESTER AT UTSA MUSIC MUSIC.UTSA.EDU FOLLOW US! @UTSA
