a community of musicians at TXST School of Music
Texas State School of Music jazz faculty Bennett Wood, Utah Hamrick, Russell Scanlon, former faculty John Mills, and Hank Hehmsoth convened in New Orleans at the JEN Jazz Education Network convention. Hehmsoth and Scanlon were featured performers with Times Ten, directed by John Mills, on January 7.
The Texas State Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Carolyn Watson was given an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Ernst Bacon Award for the Performance of American Music (College/University) Division for their role in the premiere of the opera, Lady Bird.
Dr. Nico Schüler presented research about the forgotten African-American composer Jacob J. Sawyer (1856-1885) at the College Music Society National Conference, the American Musicological Society Southwest Chapter Conference, and the Society for Ethnomusicology Southwestern Planes Chapter Conference. Sawyer was a well-published composer and pianist, leading several famous minstrelsy groups in the early 1880s and working…
M.M. performance student Michael Johnson has been named one of three finalists in the Big 12 Trombone Conference’s Bach Bass Trombone Solo Competition and the American Trombone Workshop’s National Bass Trombone Solo Competition Graduate Division. Texas State alumnus Steven Vogel (BM ’15) was also named a finalist in the Big 12’s Yamaha Tenor Trombone Solo…
In the recent Vargas Mariachi Extravaganza vocal competition, Texas State students swept the top three places: Samantha Lopez won first place, Alondra Morales won 2nd place, and 3rd place went to Elizabeth Reyes. Samantha and Alondra were coached by Michelle Quintero as members of Texas State’s Mariachi Nueva Generación, directed this semester by Antonio Briseno.…
Professor Charles Hurt and the Texas State Trombone Ensemble were guests of honor at the annual Thanksgiving Luncheon at First Lutheran Church-San Marcos. The Trombone Ensemble provided the prelude, anthem, and postlude for the service on Sunday, November 20, concluding with post-service Christmas carols.
The Attacca Quartet was recently featured on National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk Concerts. They played John Adams, Haydn, and a new piece by Texas State composer Michael Ippolito, Smoke Rings, from their upcoming album. Attacca recently did its first campus visit as Texas State’s official “resident” string quartet. They performed two concerts and gave many…
Texas State violin professor Dr. Lynn Ledbetter has been named the recipient of the 2016-17 American String Teachers Association – Texas Chapter “Phyllis Young Outstanding Studio Teacher of the Year Award”. The award was announced at the Texas Orchestra Directors Association Convention in July and will be presented during the 2017 Texas Music Educators Convention…
Texas State Symphony Orchestra directed by Dr. Carolyn Watson has been named a semifinalist for the 2016 American Prize in Orchestral Performance, College/University Division. This award is for general orchestral excellence, and comes in addition to their already-announced semifinalist status for the Bacon Award for American Music. Both are for the Texas State Orchestra’s performance…
Texas State faculty, students, and alumni attended the joint meeting of the Society for Music Theory and the American Musicological Society recently held in Vancouver, Canada. Drs. Rebecca Eaton and Cynthia I. Gonzales (2nd row below) both presented papers, while current graduate students David Lester (back), Lois Osorio (right), and Kaylie Young (center) participated in…