NEW RANKING: The Hollywood Reporter has ranked #UNTCoM at 19 in the "Top 25 Music Schools for Composing in Film and TV." See our advertisement on slide 51 and details on slides 58 and 59. https://bit.ly/2K969GR
College Factual announced that the UNT College of Music has been named the BEST school in Texas for veterans studying music AND ranked #3 nationwide in the same category for 2019. View the article at https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/university-of-north-texas/news/university-of-north-texas-2019-college-major-top-ranked-veterans-ranking-visual-and-performing-arts_music/
FORT WORTH, TX—November 5, 2018 — The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra is delighted to announce an exciting new partnership with the University of North Texas A Cappella Choir. The first performance in this partnership will be the annual presentation of Handel’s Messiah under the baton of FWSO Associate Conductor Alejandro Gómez Guillén on Monday December 3, 2018 at Bass Performance Hall.
This group of exceptional young performers is part of an illustrious history of choral excellence including an international tour and various performances at national choral conferences. The new partnership will highlight the extraordinary level of musicianship achieved at the collegiate level in the North Texas region.
“We in the University of North Texas College of Music could not be more thrilled with the partnership that is emerging this year with our distinguished colleagues at the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra,” stated John W. Richmond, Ph. D, Professor and Dean of the College of Music. “This inaugural collaboration of Handel’s Messiah is the first of what we hope will be many wonderful partnerships in the years ahead stretching across the gamut of our shared musical interests. We are so grateful to live among such gifted partners.”
“The University of North Texas A Cappella Choir is thrilled to collaborate with Maestro Alejandro Gómez Guillén and the Fort Worth Symphony for the December 2018 production of Handel’s much-loved Messiah. The 50-voice chorus and UNT soloists will share this masterwork in an exuberant and historically-informed performance,” said Allen Hightower, DMA, Professor and Director of Choral Studies, and Director of the A Cappella Choir. “We are so pleased to strengthen the relationship between the UNT College of Music and one of Fort Worth’s great artistic treasures, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.”
There will be a single performance of this program at Bass Performance Hall on Monday, December 3, 2018 at 7:30 PM. Tickets range from $27.50 – $82.50 and can be purchased by calling the FWSO Ticket Office at 817-665-6000 or by visiting www.fwsymphony.org.
About Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra is deeply committed to uniting its community through performance, education, and outreach, reaching an audience of more than 200,000 annually. Since its beginnings in 1912, the FWSO has been an essential thread in the city’s cultural fabric and the very foundation of Fort Worth’s performing arts. Music Director Miguel Harth-Bedoya, now in his 19th season at the artistic helm of the FWSO, has led the orchestra into the 21st century to new levels of excellence. Under his leadership, the FWSO has performed at Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras. Throughout his tenure, the FWSO has released 13 recordings – with several being world premiere releases – garnering international acclaim. Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the FWSO have embraced creative collaborations through residencies, partnerships, and commissions. As the principal resident company of the acoustically superb Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall, the Orchestra performs a full season of concerts featuring internationally-acclaimed guest artists and works by living composers. The Orchestra performs and partners with the Texas Ballet Theater, Fort Worth Opera, The Cliburn, and Performing Arts Fort Worth. Each summer at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, the FWSO presents Concerts In The Garden – a series of family-friendly concerts that has become a city-wide tradition. Additionally, the orchestra hosts an annual Festival of Orchestras, providing an opportunity for non-professional orchestras across the state of Texas to perform in Bass Performance Hall. The FWSO keeps exceptional musical experiences at the heart of its community. After all—life is better with music!
Connect with Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
View music video here.
DENTON (UNT), Texas - At the request of the Consul General of India in Houston, TX, the University of North Texas College of Music has produced and released an original arrangement and music video to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth.
“Gandhi has influenced and inspired the world through his example of peace and nonviolence,” said UNT President Neal Smatresk. “This has been a tremendous opportunity for our UNT College of Music students to be part of the global celebration of his legacy.”
The Consul General of India, Anupam Ray, asked if the UNT College of Music could create an original arrangement of one of Gandhi’s favorite Indian devotional hymns as part of the anniversary celebration. The College had less than four weeks to write, record and produce the piece, maintaining its original melody and text while adding the unique signature sound of the College of Music.
The request came in August, 2018 before the start of the fall semester.
“I knew that if anyone could make this happen, it was the outstanding faculty and students at our College of Music,” said John W. Richmond, dean of the College of Music.
Richmond recruited Rosana Eckert, principal lecturer in jazz studies and Vivek Virani, assistant professor of ethnomusicology, to coordinate student vocalists and instrumentalists for the production.
Virani is a cultural researcher with performance and teaching experience in North Indian devotional music and regularly performs spiritual songs in a mix of traditional and contemporary styles. As a child, he grew up singing and hearing the hymn chosen for the project.
“This was an incredible opportunity to reimagine this song in a uniquely UNT jazz-style arrangement,” Virani said. “It was very touching to me because it connected my cultural and religious upbringing with the work I do here at the College of Music.”
Eckert teaches vocal jazz and songwriting and is also internationally recognized as a live and studio vocalist, songwriter and arranger.
“The students and I learned so much throughout this process,” Eckert said. “We learned about a different language, different musical instruments, a different singing style, and a different performance tradition. We learned more about Gandhi and his philosophy, and we learned about working together to blend cultures.”
The hymn is based on a 15th-century poem by Narsi Mehta who is one of many religious devotional Bhakti poet-saints whose poetry was written in the language of the common people of the region, Gujarati. Gandhi was born and raised in Gujarat, India and the hymn was one of many he heard growing up. The hymn’s chorus, “A true person of God understands the suffering of the downtrodden,” undoubtedly resonated with Gandhi’s deep-felt beliefs and the hymn became one of his favorites. He used it often in public gatherings and political rallies and it has been associated with him ever since.
Eckert and Virani worked together to create an arrangement that is true to the hymn’s cultural style, while adding elements that make it unique to the jazz style of the College of Music.
Manjira (finger symbols) and the tabla (North Indian drum) are essential to the piece’s identity as an Indian devotional piece. Piano and double bass add a full sense of the jazz sound and a cajón (Peruvian box-shaped drum) compliments the rhythm of the tabla. Soloists in flute and violin provide a rich tonal quality that endures in an Indian style.
Eckert and Virani worked together to arrange the piece. Virani provided a melodic and rhythmic arrangement of the song and instrumental solos and Eckert re-harmonized and arranged the piece for the vocalists. The project was particularly challenging since neither Virani nor Eckert nor any of the students speak Gujarati.
“I got a translation of each line of text,” Eckert said. “Even though Dr. Virani does not speak Gujarati, he grew up with the hymn and had performed the piece before. I listened and recorded him as he sang, learning the diction line-by-line.”
Eckert and Virani rehearsed their arrangement several times with 11 College of Music vocal jazz students, including one full rehearsal with the instrumentalists. Eckert secured a studio, Luminous Sound, owned by College of Music alumnus Paul Loomis, for one eight-hour session. Working with Grammy-award-winning engineer Tre Nagella, the instrumentalists were recorded first, followed by the instrumental interludes and then the vocalists.
College of Music videographer Jordan Bailey recorded the session that was to become the music video. The vocal tracks were sent to College of Music alumnus Zach Yaholkovsky for some preliminary vocal edits to help Nagella meet the quick deadline, and the project was mixed by Nagella the next evening to complete the project on time.
“This remarkable collaboration made something happen that no one could have imagined individually,” Richmond said. “Not only was a wonderful piece of music forged, but wonderful friendships, as well.”
The original arrangement can be streamed or downloaded from numerous platforms including:
Music Video:
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBDfVuRh3_g
Original Arrangement:
iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vaishnava-jana-to/1439093742?i=1439093743
Apple Music
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vaishnava-jana-to-single/1439093742
Amazon
CD baby
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Aaron Olguin, (BM '16) & (MM '18) has been appointed Principal Bass of the Trondheim, Norway Symphony Orchestra. His tenure begins January 2019.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Jackie Gao (DMA, violin) was an associate producer on the documentary series "Treasures of The Earth" that won the Gold World Medal of The New York Festivals Best TV and Films 2018. This documentary series, filmed in multiple countries, has three episodes: Gems, Metals and Power. It was produced by NOVA and broadcast on PBS at the end of 2016.
"It will take us on a journey deep inside Earth to uncover the mysteries of how these treasures were created, and to explore how they have allowed humankind to progress and build our great civilizations." NOVA official webpage.
What: The University of North Texas College of Music presents the Czech opera “The Cunning Little Vixen” performed in English with the UNT Symphony Orchestra.
When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8, 9, & 10 (Thursday, Friday & Saturday), 3:00 p.m. Nov. 11 (Sunday), with an additional performance at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 (Saturday) for the UNT International Festival of Czech Music. An “In-the-Know” pre-performance talk will be held at 6:45 p.m. before each performance.
Where: Lyric Theater in the Murchison Performing Arts Center, 2100 N Interstate 35, in Denton.
Cost: $35 / $25 / $15 for adults, $5 for students with additional discounts available for senior citizens 55+, children, UNT faculty/staff/retirees, groups of 10+. For tickets visit www.theMPAC.com or call 940-369-7802.
Parking: Free parking spaces will be set aside in Fouts Field for patrons attending performances at the Murchison Performing Arts Center. View the UNT parking map here.
More information: For a complete list of UNT College of Music events, including faculty and student recitals, visit the College of Music online calendar at http://music.unt.edu/calendar and connect with the College of Music on Facebook at Facebook.com/UNTCollegeofMusic and on Twitter at @UNTCoM.
Background: Leoš Janáček composed “The Cunning Little Vixen” in 1924.
“This is one of the most delightful operas ever written - a charming, funny, touching story about love and life cycles, based on a popular Czech cartoon series - a sort of ‘Charlie Brown’ of Czech opera,” said Jonathan Eaton, UNT College of Music Margot and Bill Winspear Chair in Opera Studies.
The opera charts the adventures of a charming, feisty, cunning little vixen and contrasts the fierce vitality and exuberance of the animal world with the human world. It's a perfect evening for newcomers to opera and cognoscenti alike.
DENTON (UNT), Texas - Collaborative pianists are getting their moment in the spotlight at the University of North Texas College of Music’s third annual CollabFest – the first conference of its type in the nation.
“Collaborative pianists are trained as partners. It’s about being present in a moment; intuiting, responding and dancing together with other artists real time – heart to heart,” said Elvia Puccinelli, associate professor of collaborative piano and vocal coaching. “We have the opportunity to work in all areas of classical music, though rarely do we have the opportunity to interact over an extended period with other collaborative pianists. That is one of the primary goals of CollabFest – to serve as a professional conference specifically dedicated to collaborative pianists.”
CollabFest is part of CollabWeek at UNT, which features a variety of events, including free, evening public performances Oct. 18 (Thursday) – 20 (Saturday). CollabFest itself is a paid conference Oct. 18 (Thursday) – 20 (Saturday), featuring sessions and masterclasses presented by guest artists and UNT faculty members from around the country as an opportunity to be reenergized, inspired artistically, rejuvenated and challenged.
“We are so excited to have the amazing Margo Garrett as our master clinician and keynote speaker this year. I have such deep respect for her personally and professionally. Though I never formally studied with her beyond several masterclasses early in my training– which were transformative, by the way - she is a major influence in my life, as I know she is and has been for so many musicians. This is the wonder of Margo Garrett!” Puccinelli said.
Garrett is a devoted teacher who recently retired from heading the collaborative piano department at The Juilliard School. She has served as co-director of the Tanglewood Music Center vocal fellowship program and is the recipient of many awards and honors including the American Society of Composers and Publishers “Most Creative Programming Award.”
American art song composer, Juliana Hall, a highly-regarded composer of vocal music, will serve as the conference’s composer-in-residence. Following her Master of Music in Composition degree from Yale, Hall went on to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship. One of the most prolific art song composers of our time, her works have been heard in 29 countries on six continents.
The free, public Thursday evening performance features the world premiere of “Cameos,” a setting of poems about American female visual artists by UNT Chair of Vocal Studies, Molly Filmore, who, with Puccinelli, will premiere the work. Friday’s public recital features students from around the country and Saturday’s recital features the CollabFest faculty.
Celebrating a “big birthday” of their mentor Alan Smith in 2015, Puccinelli and Lisa Sylvester, associate professor of practice at the University of Southern California, developed the concept of this event. Smith will be the master clinician for CollabFest 2019.
“2018 is the third year we have organized this event at UNT and it continues to grow. The number of colleagues around the country who reach out in interest about this is a sign to me that this is the right time and that we have struck a need in our pianist community,” Puccinelli said. “Being able to make music with another person is a thrill and an honor, and being in a room full of beautiful pianist souls who feel the same way is priceless.”
For a full list of events and recitals, please visit CollabFest 2018.
DENTON (UNT), Texas — The University of North Texas College of Music will celebrate the music of Russian composers, some very familiar and some who are not typically featured in popular concert repertoire.
The concert will be performed by the UNT Symphonic Band, conducted by professor of music and associate director of wind studies, Dennis Fisher. A faculty member since 1982, Fisher is known for his extensive national and international experience as a conductor, arranger, clinician and consultant and has served as the principal guest conductor of the Volga Band, in Saratov, Russia since 2006.
“It is exciting to do an entire concert featuring Russian composers,” Fisher said. “To prepare, we brought in the composer and resident conductor of the Volga Band, Dennis Mariev, via Skype so that the students had the opportunity to collaborate with a Russian composer and experience the country’s culture.”
Mariev composed one of the pieces for the concert, Symphony No. 1, that will have its U.S. premier on Thursday.
“With more than 75 percent of the students performing with the Symphonic Band for the first time, I’m very proud of how they have grown in our short time together on this extremely demanding program,” Fisher said. “Attendees are sure to enjoy their exciting and exhilarating first concert of the season.”
For those who are unable to attend the concert in person, be sure to join us via live stream.
