Paul Russell Voertman, 88, philanthropist, patron of art and music, and former owner of Denton's iconic Voertman's Bookstore, died June 21, 2017.

Paul wants people to remember him as being fair-minded. But he was so much more to so many people and so many organizations.

Paul was born in Denton on April 30, 1929, to Roy Fredrick and Helena Jacobson Voertman. He grew up with the Voertman Bookstore, which was established near the University of North Texas by his father in 1925. While Paul worked there during breaks from school, he never intended to run the store in adulthood ― he had planned to become a teacher. When his father died unexpectedly in 1951, Paul was 23 years old, in the Army and stationed in Germany. He returned home intending to run the store just long enough to make it saleable, but his retailing philosophy of providing outstanding service and high-quality goods at reasonable prices for customers made the store a great success. Under Paul's direction, the store became more than just a bookstore. The beautifully designed fine arts and housewares he also offered for sale made the store an iconic and cultural Denton landmark. He also operated a store near the Texas Woman's University campus. Paul was generous to his employees, and some worked at the stores for decades before Paul sold the Voertman's enterprise in 1990.

Paul had a partner in operating the stores and in life. While on vacation in 1954, Paul met Richard Mathew Ardoin, who became Paul's life partner until Richard's untimely death in 2002. During their 48 years together, Paul and Richard shared many wonderful interests and experiences, including a love of travel, the arts and Bouviers. Paul commemorated their relationship with the gift of the $1.5 million Richard Ardoin-Paul Voertman Concert Organ in Winspear Hall of the Murchison Performing Arts Center at UNT. The concert organ was formally inaugurated in fall 2008, and it put the College of Music's organ program on the national map.

For more than 60 years, Paul was a strong supporter of the arts in Denton. In 1986, he received the Greater Denton Arts Council Recognition Award for bringing a sense of design to the city through his store, commissioning locally produced art works, sponsoring prizes for Texas arts organizations, and establishing juried art competitions for students at UNT and TWU, which were believed to be among some of the oldest privately sponsored competitive student art exhibitions in Texas. The Voertman Art Competition in UNT's College of Visual Arts and Design just completed its 57th year.

Paul's bond to the university began in kindergarten and continued through 12th grade in the university's Demonstration School, where he received his education. The Demonstration School also served as a training program for future teachers. Paul described the campus as his "playground." As a child, he swam in the university's pool in the summer, roller-skated across campus and went to ʼFessor Graham's stage shows. His childhood dog, Snooker, also was a frequent visitor to campus.

Paul attended the university through his first two years of college before transferring to the University of Texas in Austin, where he completed his bachelor's degree in economics. He returned to Denton every summer to take classes and work at the family store, where generations of students purchased their text books.

Paul was deeply committed to UNT and is among the university's most generous benefactors. His longstanding support has helped students fulfill their dreams of earning a college degree and becoming world-class performers, artists and scholars and helped the university make great strides in the arts and academics. His Voertman-Ardoin Memorial Scholarships are transforming lives by providing funding for first-generation college students. Excellence funds that Paul provided UNT's colleges have helped elevate the reputation of academic programs and address pressing needs.

In 2011, Paul made an $8 million bequest to UNT creating the Ardoin-Voertman Endowment funds, which will be shared equally among the College of Visual Arts and Design, College of Music, and College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

In 2009, Paul was presented the UNT Outstanding Alumnus Award, for his loyal support of the university. In 2010, the university named a newly renovated performance space in the Music Building the Paul Voertman Concert Hall in his honor. Last year, Paul was awarded an honorary doctorate -- Doctor of Humane Letters -- from UNT for his devotion to creativity and artistic excellence, and who by his extraordinary achievements added substantial knowledge to the community and society as a whole. He was a member of the UNT McConnell Society, 1890 Society and a lifetime member of the UNT Alumni Association.

For more than three decades, Paul also supported TWU through donations primarily to the Chancellor's Circle, athletics and student scholarships.

Paul's generosity was a mix of wanting to help make things better for individuals he found to be in difficulty -- particularly people disadvantaged by society -- and wanting to help places like UNT be the best they could be. He also was generous to many organizations in need and often as an anonymous donor. He supported the Denton Christian Preschool, Fred Moore Day Nursery School, Monsignor King Outreach Center, and PFLAG, among others.

Paul is preceded in death by his lifelong partner Richard Mathew Ardoin; by his parents Roy Fredrick and Helena Jacobson Voertman; and by his brother Robert Frederick Voertman and sister-in-law Betty 'Babe.'

Paul is survived by his niece Jami Paul Fernette and her husband Greg, and by his nephew Todd Russell Voertman. And, by his lifelong partner's family: Richard's sisters Lorraine Boudreaux and Rosalie Ardoin, and by his brother Mike Ardoin and Mike's partner Bryan Wille.

Paul also is survived by his closest friends: Eduardo, Elena, Eddie and Willie Jimenez; Marcella Franklin; MaeNell Shephard; Link Chalon; Pat Hutton; Georgia Gough; Sue Wahlert; and his dog, Deborah.

Donations may be made in Paul's name to the Denton Christian Preschool, Denton Community Health Clinic, Fred Moore Day Nursery School, or Monsignor King Outreach Center.

A celebration of life ceremony will be held at UNT this fall.

DENTON (UNT), Texas - Music students at the University of North Texas are invited to create and submit business plans as part of the College of Music’s inaugural Music Entrepreneurship Competition.

Competitors will be eligible to earn cash prizes totaling $18,000, which can be used by the students to launch start-up businesses.

Fabiana Claure, director of career development and entrepreneurship in music, said the competition aims to engage students in entrepreneurial thinking and help them develop plans of action.

“We want students to know that even though they are busy with coursework, college is one of the best times to start a business,” Claure said. “So many trendsetting businesses, from Google to Facebook, were started by college students.”

Claure knows the potential for such competitions. She won several prizes in a similar contest as a doctoral student at the University of Miami, which helped her launch her own business, Superior Academy of Music, in Miami, shortly after graduation in 2011.

UNT’s competition will have a graduate and undergraduate track, and all College of Music students are eligible to enter.

To develop business plans, students can use a variety of resources, including online tutorials, existing courses, university-sponsored workshops and faculty mentorship. Plans must include summary statements, business descriptions, market analyses, operations statements and financial information.

A panel of judges will include musicians and business people from North Texas and beyond. The competition also will host an artist-in-residency featuring David Cutler, author of The Savvy Musician and founder of the Savvy Arts Venture Challenge at the University of South Carolina.

Deadline for entries is March 15, and three finalists and two honorable mentions in each track will be announced April 14. A grand finale on April 23 in the College of Music’s Recital Hall will feature a live audience. Judges and audience members will be able to ask questions and vote on their favorite students before an awards ceremony. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, go to http://career.music.unt.edu/competition.

DENTON (UNT), Texas – For University of North Texas College of Music graduate student Brendon Wilkins, the opportunity to perform in the Disneyland All-American College Band was much more than a summer job.

An alto saxophonist, Wilkins performed with some of the best collegiate musicians in the country while learning tips from the industry’s top jazz musicians.

“It was terrific. I have never had an experience quite like this,” said Wilkins, 24, a member of the 2016 band. “I learned a lot about what it takes to make it as a professional musician.”

Wilkins is the most recent University of North Texas student to earn a coveted spot in the Disneyland All-American College Band.

UNT’s College of Music and the All-American College Band share a strong bond. No other university in the country has had more students chosen to participate in the Disneyland college band, which began in 1971. The 21-piece ensemble performs at the Disneyland Resort in California for 11 weeks each summer. As part of the program, students earn school credit by completing a major educational project and train with industry professionals such as Wayne Bergeron, Gregg Field and Rick Baptist.

UNT has 64 band alumni. University of Southern California came in second with 37, and Indiana University third with 30 members.

Why the distinction?

“First and foremost, UNT is a really great music school that produces really great musicians,” said Ben Goodner, who is Disneyland’s Guest Talent Manager. “Second, word of mouth is our greatest source of advertising and UNT students have spread the word among themselves, which has created a grassroots recruiting effort.”

Any full-time college student in the United States, graduate or undergraduate, is eligible to audition for a spot in the band. If selected, band members perform and attend daily clinics and rehearsals. Performances include a big band show with a jazz format and marching band-style shows.

Talent managers who select the participants say they look for excellent musicians, but also engaging personalities.

“We want people who will put themselves out there,” Goodner said. “We look for someone who is not afraid to smile, someone who is not afraid to look a guest in the eye and make a connection.”

For Brian Clancy, a jazz saxophonist and 2011 UNT graduate in jazz studies, performing with the band expanded his musical repertoire and helped launch his career on the West Coast. Clancy now works as a freelance musician in the Los Angeles area. He landed a part-time job as a stage manager at Disneyland and performs in multiple bands at the park year-round.

“I learned how to truly perform in a variety of styles,” said Clancy, who is from Southlake. “I also developed connections, learned a lot about myself and learned a lot about the music industry. I left with a much bigger network than I had when I arrived.”

Wilkins, who earned a bachelor’s degree from UNT in jazz studies and music education in 2016 and is now pursuing his graduate degree, said he has encouraged fellow UNT students to audition for the band.

“The high standards we are accustomed to at UNT and the College of Music set us up to succeed with the All-American College Band,” he said. “We learn everything we need at UNT and are able to put it into action at Disneyland.”

DENTON (UNT), Texas - University of North Texas College of Music senior, Howard Dietz, won the Buffet Crampon and Julius Keilwerth Saxophone Idol competition and Yamaha Young Performing Artists Program award for saxophone.

Saxophone Idol is an international jazz competition in which selected finalists from around the world are invited to perform live in front of a panel of judges and a sold-out house. The Yamaha Young Performing Artists Program award “recognizes outstanding young musicians from around the world of classical, jazz and contemporary music.”

Dietz has always loved music and began playing saxophone at age 12 at the encouragement of his father.

After seeing a video of the One O’Clock Lab Band in high school, Dietz decided he wanted to study jazz. He chose UNT because of the College of Music’s prestigious jazz studies program. At UNT, Dietz studies saxophone with associate professor Brad Leali, whom he says is “an honest musician and person.”

“When I first started taking lessons with him, he exposed my weaknesses,” Dietz said. “That was the most helpful thing for me.”

To make it to the final rounds of the Saxophone Idol competition, Dietz sent an initial audition video which secured him a spot as a semifinalist. After another round of judging, three finalists were chosen to perform live at Andy’s Jazz Club in Chicago for a panel of five judges, including Keilwerth Saxophone Artists Brad Leali, Mike Smith, and Don Zentz, along with Buffet Crampon USA President and CEO François Kloc and “Downbeat Magazine” Contributing Editor Ed Enright.

Dietz said he was excited when he found out he won the competition and was amazed at the talent and abilities of his competitors.

“It felt really euphoric when I actually won,” he said. “Even though this was a competition, there was a friendly environment. It’s all about the music and the people I competed against had the same sentiment.”

As winner of the 2016 Saxophone Idol contest, Dietz was presented with a Julius Keilwerth MKX Saxophone. Additional prizes included a year supply of D'Addario Reeds and a two-year subscription to “Downbeat magazine,” courtesy of contributing sponsors D'Addario, a manufacturer of musical instruments, and “Downbeat.”

Dietz first heard about the Yamaha Young Performing Artists competition when he was in high school and has entered on and off since then. For winning this year, he will perform at Yamaha’s Music for All Summer Symposium in June and participate in workshops and networking sessions designed to help launch his career.

“If you’re a saxophonist or musician looking to enter these competitions, I’d say go for it,” Dietz said. 

What: Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth will perform a concert at the University of North Texas.

When: 8 p.m. March 9 (Thursday).

Where: Margot and Bill Winspear Performance Hall in the Murchison Performing Arts Center, 2100 Interstate 35E, Denton. The event also will be streamed live at https://recording.music.unt.edu/.

Cost: $10 for the public; $8 for UNT faculty, staff and Alumni Association members; free for UNT students. Students can pick up their free ticket at the Murchison Performing Arts Center box office. UNT faculty, staff, alumni and the public, may purchase their tickets at the Murchison Performing Arts Center online.

Parking: Free parking will be available in the lot next to the MPAC, with overflow parking available in lots 4 and 26.

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.

DENTON (UNT), Texas - The Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth is bringing their unique sound back to the University of North Texas. The eight-member ensemble that “mines the expressive potential of the human voice” will perform at 8 p.m. March 9 (Thursday) in the College of Music’s Margot and Bill Winspear Performance Hall in the Murchison Performing Arts Center, 2100 Interstate 35E, Denton. The ensemble is returning to perform their final concert as part of their 2016-17 UNT Institute for the Advancement of the Arts residency.

Roomful of Teeth is known for incorporating indigenous vocal techniques from around the world to create unique harmonies. For this reason, the group often characterizes themselves as a “vocal band.”

The ensemble won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance in 2013 for its debut album, Roomful of Teeth. Member Caroline Shaw won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013 for her composition, Partita for 8 Voices, that was included on that album. Roomful of Teeth released its second album, Render, in 2015.

One of its members is UNT alumnus Cameron Beauchamp. Thann Scoggin, who earned his bachelor’s in performance in 2004 and master’s degree in library science in 2007, will also perform with the ensemble.

Tickets cost $10 for the public, $8 for UNT faculty, staff and Alumni Association members, and are free for UNT students. Students can pick up their free ticket at the Murchison Performing Arts Center box office. The public can purchase tickets through the MPAC box office at 940-369-7802 or visit the center's website. The event also will be streamed live at UNTMusicLive.com.

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