CBS Mornings announced that UNT alumna Annie Ray (BM ’17) was named recipient of the 2024 Music Educator Award™ presented by the Recording Academy™ and GRAMMY Museum™
College of Music Dean John W. Richmond announced that Brian Walker will be joining the UNT faculty as Associate Professor of Trumpet beginning Fall 2024. Dr. Walker came to UNT from Tarleton State University. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the International Trumpet Guild and is an alumnus of UNT receiving his DMA in 2011.
After serving UNT and its College of Music students since 1986, Jesse Eschbach, Professor of Organ, announced his intent to retire at the close of the 2023-2024 academic year. Dr. Eschbach is University of Michigan, Indiana University and Conservatoire de Rueil-Malmaison educated, a published author, performer, lecturer and pedagogue. Among others, he studied organ with Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier and piano with Christiane Devos. His students sit on important organ appointments throughout the world. In 2023 he oversaw major expansion and renovation of the 100-year-old 1949 Möller IV/78 in UNT's Main Auditorium originally built in 1924.
UNT alumna Colleen Clark (DMA ’19, drum set) appeared as guest drummer with the 8G Band on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers.
UNT alum Kristopher Carter (BM ’93) and his two partners Lolita Ritmanis and fellow UNT alum Michael McCuistion (BM ’87), were nominated for “Best Music-TV/Media” in the 51st Annie Awards™ for their composing of the music for the Warner Brothers animated movie, “Babylon 5: The Road Home!” The award honors excellence in the field of animation.
Dave Richards (BM ’05 and MM ‘09) joins the funk and soul band Tower of Power as trumpeter and trombonist.
Professor of Saxophone and Coordinator of Woodwinds, Eric Nestler, received renewal of his appointment as DISTINGUISHED TEACHING PROFESSOR.
Professor and Director of Early Music and Director of UNT’s Baroque Orchestra, Paul Leenhouts, appointed DISTINGUISHED TEACHING PROFESSOR by the University of North Texas.
Director of the Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia (CEMI) and Professor of Composition, Panayiotis Kokoras, named REGENTS PROFESSOR by the University of North Texas.
Diana Cooley (Administrative Coordinator for Conducting/Ensembles, Keyboard, and Vocal Studies) received an Academic Excellence Award from UNT for her outstanding work in documenting Institutional Effectiveness (TracDat/Improve). She was recognized specifically for improvements submitted regarding the MM in Conducting Performance Plan. The award was presented to Diana by Provost Michael McPherson.
David Childs, Professor of Euphonium and Co-Director of the UNT Brass Band, honored by the University of North Texas with DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH PROFESSOR designation.
University of North Texas alumna, composer Lisa DeSpain (BM ’91) and librettist David Simpatico, brought “That Hellbound Train” to Voertman Concert Hall for a free public scenes workshop.
The College of Music joins in celebrating Willem van Schalkwyk's (MM '06, DMA '09) appointment as Assistant Professor of Collaborative Piano and Vocal Coaching. His new position begins Fall 2024.
Pianist and UNT alumna, Elena Dorozhkina (DMA ’12) released Russian Piano Gems showcasing works of Mosolov, Glinka, Scriabin, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. Fanfare Magazine said, “Her debut disc reveals a remarkable talent ... a thoroughly successful and musically satisfying debut on disc.” This PARMA Recordings (Navona Records) album is available at the link below.
Cherisse Williams named Second-Prize Winner of the William Gammon Henry Concerto Competition and will perform at the Church of the Incarnation in Dallas, Texas during their 2024-2025 season and with the UNT Concert Orchestra conducted by Clay Couturiaux.
Erick Morales named First-Prize Winner of the UNT William Gammon Henry Concerto Competition and will perform with Oklahoma's Norman Philharmonic as guest artist during their 2024-2025 season and with the UNT Concert Orchestra conducted by Clay Couturiaux.
Alumni Shara Nova (BM ’98) has two choral projects nominated for the Grammy’s Best Choral Performance. Austin, Texas-based Conspirare’s “The House of Belonging” conducted by Craig Hella Johnson, for which she wrote two songs, one being the title track, and then Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based choir, The Crossing's album “Carols After A Plague,” conducted by Donald Nally, on which appear three of her compositions.
Greg Abbott has appointed Cathy Bryce, Ed.D. to the University of North Texas System Board of Regents for a term expiring 2029. See parts of her remarkable experiences here.
The Oxford Book of Choral Music by Black Composers, by UNT Associate Professor of Choral Studies, Marques L. A. Garrett, named Presto Music's Choral Publication of the Year. “A landmark collection… we chose this collection as our winner for its original and exceptional content, as well as its aim to improve representation within the choral sector.”
Graduate jazz piano student Jeongmin Ha has been selected to perform as one of only five members with the 2024 Jazz Education Network (JEN) "Sisters in Jazz" ensemble at 2024 JEN national conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Two UNT Vocal Studies Alumni have been chosen from more than 1,000 applicants for the Santa Fe Opera apprentice program for singers. Alumni Kayla Nanto, mezzo-soprano, (MM '18) and David Bogaev, tenor (MM '20) will be Santa Fe apprentice artists in 2024. "This is one of the most prestigious and competitive apprentice programs in the nation."
Professor of Trumpet, John Holt, has released his newest album, Facets Five: Recital Pieces.
Shane Morris Wise (BM '87) serves as Artistic Director of the Kauai Chorale who is in its 60th year and serves as the community chorus of Kauai County in Hawaii.
Professor of Music Theory, David Bard-Schwarz, published Normativity, Psychoanalysis, Music: Modalities of Understanding Disruption in the First Movement of Mahler's Ninth Symphony. This is a chapter in a book edited by Tobias Janz and Jens Gerrit Papenburg titled Ästhetische Normativität in der Musik published by Verlag Vittorio Klostermann.
University of North Texas Professor of Euphonium, David Childs, performs Peter Graham’s euphonium concerto, “Force of Nature” at the at the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Festival in Chicago. He performed with the UNT hometown school district's Braswell High School Band Wind Symphony from Braswell High School, conducted by Aaron Snipes, III.
