Alumna Opera Published
The one act opera “No Ladies in the Ladies Book,” composed by Lisa DeSpain (BM ’91) with libretto by Rachel J. Peters and commissioned by Utah Opera has been released for publishing and licensing.
The one act opera “No Ladies in the Ladies Book,” composed by Lisa DeSpain (BM ’91) with libretto by Rachel J. Peters and commissioned by Utah Opera has been released for publishing and licensing.
Ruben Balboa III (MM ‘16) serves as Instructional Assistant Professor of Viola and Assistant Director/Master Teacher for the Illinois State String Project at Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts at Illinois State University.
Bryron Crenshaw (BM ’19) debut album, Bass Tone Paintings, "is a psychedelic jazz album of one minute-long songs with introspective sentiments on Black identity, love for the environment and social media anxieties. The album spans seventeen tracks spoken in four languages, recorded primarily with Byron’s bass guitar and vocoder.”
Haven Trio releases “Twinge” – retelling stories of survival from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The CD features trio members, UNT Professor of Clarinet, Kimberly Cole Luevano, Lindsay Kesselman, soprano and Midori Koga, piano with music by Jon Magnussen and words and narration by Barry Bearak. Released on Blue Griffin Records.
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UNT Professor of Piano, Gustavo Romero, performed the Complete Beethoven Sonatas in seven live streamed performances from The UNT Murchison Performing Arts Center.
Associate Professor of Music Education and Director of Concert Choir, Jessica Nápoles, has been appointed as the Interim Chair of the Division of Music Education for the Fall 2020 semester. She also serves co-coordinating the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conference and sits on the board of the Texas Choral Directors Association.
Gunnery Sergeant Sara Sheffield (BM ’01), mezzo-soprano, becomes the first female vocalist and concert moderator for "The President's Own" United States Marine Band. The University of North Texas College of Music is the largest provider of military musicians in the United States.
Jeremy Blackwood, (MM ’06, DMA ’14) was named Dean of the Graduate School at Southeastern State University in Durant, Oklahoma. He previously served as chair of the department of music, vocal coordinator, music director for Opera Southeastern and for productions with Theatre at Southeastern. He is music director for the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival.
Eric Vazquez (’17-’20), saxophone, won a position with the U.S. Navy Fleet Band.
THREE of the first FIVE instructors of the Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute taught music. The UNT College of Music is now the largest public-university music program in the United States and one of the most globally respected. About 70 students were included in that first class - today, 130 years later, UNT has 40,796 students.