Alumnus Becomes Director
Violist and UNT alumnus Miguel Cantú IV has selected as Executive Director of the Greater Dallas Choral Society for children and youth.
Violist and UNT alumnus Miguel Cantú IV has selected as Executive Director of the Greater Dallas Choral Society for children and youth.
Assistant Professor of Jazz Trumpet - Improvisation Emphasis, Philip Dizack, was featured in a six-page interview in a Polish language magazine where he also was headliner for their festival - Jazz nad Odra
Associate Professor of Trumpet and UNT alumna, Rachel Samayoa (DMA '08), has been elected to the board of directors of the International Trumpet Guild.
UNT Associate Professor of Harp, Jaymee Haefner, appeared on the September/October issue of Harp Column along with a feature article titled Next In Line.
Twenty percussion faculty and students of the University of North Texas College of Music presented concerts and clinics at Poland’s Krakow Academy of Music, The Opole School of Music and served as featured soloists/judges and clinicians for Europe's largest percussion festival, Drum Fest and the Polish National Marimba/Vibraphone Competition. Former faculty member Nicholas Williams (BM ‘97, MM ‘04, DMA ‘09) conducts the Opole Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra involving UNT students and faculty.
l-r Dave Hall, Michael Crawford, Mark Ford, Paul Rennick and José Aponte. Students include John Thomas Baker, Jase Ballard, Desmond Bigler, Jacob Fullinwider, Aidan Henderson, Sam Koch, Raina Liao, Sophia Lo, Nathan Siegel, Zeke Strawn, Denton Sutherlin and Maddie Wallace.
For the sixth consecutive year, Billboard Magazine listed the music business program at the University of North Texas to the 2023 Top Music Business Schools.
Seraph Brass performed as part of the 119th University of North Texas Rawlins Fine Arts Series. Included as an artist in Seraph Brass is Raquel Samayoa, UNT alumna (DMA ‘08) and Associate Professor of Trumpet.
The Sarasota Music Festival (Florida) hosted University of North Texas Professor of Clarinet, Kimberly Cole Luevano, as Summer Music Faculty.
Organ performance student, Ryan Giraldi, was selected as recipient of the 2023 M. Louise Miller–Paul E. Knox Scholarship. The award is presented annually by the Greater Bridgeport, Connecticut chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Nick Ricco, Jr. (BM Ed. ’77) named to the board of directors of the National Association of Alumni Bands.
Joshua Taylor contributes his expertise, including five new hymn texts, to the book, A Liturgy for All Bodies: New Words for a New World, from Cyclical Publishing.
Rosana Eckert directed the Kansas Honor Jazz Choir at the Kansas Choral Directors Association Summer convention in Topeka.
With financial assistance from the Mellon Foundation, Anuj Bhutani has received a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant to write a new piece for Khemia Ensemble.
Jamey Kelley, along with UNT alumni Kelsey Nussbaum (MMEd '18, Ph.D. '21), published in Music Educators Journal with the article, “Equity in Music Education: Dismantling Racism through Supportive Feedback in the Music Classroom."
Assistant Professor of Music History, Brian Wright presents his paper, “Before Bootsy: James Brown’s Early Electric Bassists and the Development of Funk,” at the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, United States branch Conference held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
College of Music alumni Allison Ponthier performs on campus as part of the 119th Mary Jo and V. Lane Rawlins Fine Arts Series.
UNT’s Merrill Ellis Intermedia Theater hosts Professor of Composition Jon Christopher Nelson’s performance of works from the Neuma Records release of The Persistence of Time and Memory. It is, "...inviting the listener to perceive connections with sounds they may remember from their past."
The Medal of Excellence is the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization recognizing extraordinary classical Black and Latinx artists who early in their career demonstrate artistic excellence, outstanding work ethic, a spirit of determination and an ongoing commitment to leadership and their communities, along with awarding a $50,000 career grant. David Portillo is a tenor who has performed at many of the leading opera houses, including The Metropolitan, Washington National, Houston Grand and Dallas opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Glyndebourne Festival, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Australia at the Sidney Opera House and the Wiener Staatsoper.
The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy awarded UNT Assistant Professor Brad Beckman (MM ‘89, DMA ‘94) with a Frances Clark Center Outstanding Service Recognition Award. This award is presented for ongoing leadership, highest-quality expertise, and support for the advancement of piano teaching, learning, and performing.
The Texas Bandmasters Association inducted alumna Kathy K. Johnson (BM ’81, MM ’1) to its Hall of Fame.
Clarinet alumni Olivia Steinman Deems (BM ’14, Honors College) serves the Sarasota Orchestra of Florida as Director of Artistic Operations.
Jessica Rosas Posada (DMA ’21) accepts the position of Assistant Professor of Voice at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales.
Christopher Sharpe (MM ’14, DMA ’19) becomes Visiting Professor of Trombone at Murray State University in Kentucky.
Sacred music faculty member Joshua Taylor's book, “From Plague to Purpose: Sacred Wandering and the Postmodern Church,” published by Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Kendall Prinz (MM ’99) appointed Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas.