University of North Texas 
"Invited annually, graduate schools of music at accredited colleges, universities and independent institutions of higher education, have been invited to present the Presser Graduate Music Award to an outstanding graduate music student whom they select. The program is designed to encourage and support in a special way the advanced education and career of truly exceptional graduate music students who have the potential to make a distinguished contribution to the field of music. The Presser Foundation operates under the will and Deeds of Trust created by its founder, Theodore Presser. It is one of the few foundations in the United States dedicated solely to the support of music and music education." The prize associated with this award is up to $10,000.
Recipients
2024 — Júlia Coelho, doctoral candidate in vocal performance (DMA) and musicology (PhD) with
related fields in early music and in music theory, Divisions of Vocal Studies and
Music History, Theory and Ethnomusicology
Proposal: “O Tempo fora do Tempo: uma viagem cronológica sobre o Tempo e Doença" (“Time Outside
of Time: A Chronological Journey on Time and Illness,” 2023), the award supports a recording project of her song cycle-monodrama, written for
Pierrot Ensemble and Júlia Coelho, soprano. The work sets her poetry written in European
Portuguese to the music of composer Kory Reeder.
2023 — Colin Stokes, PhD, composition, Division of Composition Studies
Proposal: Otherness Together, a collaborative intermedia piece exploring issues of racial identity, transnationality,
and otherness.
2022 — Meng Ren, PhD, ethnomusicology, Division of Music History, Theory and Ethnomusicology
Proposal: In support of her dissertation "Forbidden Sound: The Art, Culture, and Politics
of Chinese Hip-Hop."
2021 — Alexa Torres Skillicorn, MM, jazz violin, Division of Jazz Studies
Proposal: Ethnography of Practice: Oral History for the Development of Embodied Jazz Violin
Praxis
2020 — Bree Nichols, DMA, voice, Division of Vocal Studies
Proposal: Create an anthology of Czech opera arias for soprano, the very first of its kind,
focusing on works that lack existing scholarship and bridging the language gap by
creating translations and pronunciation materials for English-speaking singers.
2019 — Lana Kuščer, DMA, flute, Division of Instrumental Studies
Proposal: Collaborate with British composer Charlotte Bray on a piece for flute and piano in
Berlin, conduct an extensive interview of Bray, perform premiere recitals of the work
in Hamburg, Copenhagen, Ljubljana and Amsterdam and record the work for a recording
for the Slovene National Radio Music Program.
2018 — Yuxin Mei, MA, ethnomusicology, Division of Music Theory, History and Ethnomusicology
Proposal: Eight-week itinerary of intensive study and training in Chinese ensemble music.
2017 — Jonathan Thompson, DMA, oboe, Division of Instrumental Studies
Proposal: One month study abroad in Mexico, recording project and international conference
presentation in order to collect, catalog and promulgate the oboe music of Mexican
composers.
2016 — José R. Torres-Ramos, PhD, ethnomusicology, Division of Music Theory, History and
Ethnomusicology
Proposal: Two-month performance-research practicum in Mexico to include the development of
an ethnomusicological praxis for mariachi teaching and performance.