January-February_CollegeNews25

12 | January & February | College News College of Fine Arts and Communication | 13 MUSIC Music, Music Studies, Per formance, & Sound Recording Technolog y FACULTY ACCOLADES Ian Davidson appeared as a chamber music soloist in a pair of concerts as part of the 2024-2025 Season of the Austin Salon Concerts. On the program were works by composers Joseph Turrin, Kathryn Mishell, Franz Schubert, and Josef Rheinberger. Joining Davidson on stage were principal players from the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera Orchestra, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, San Antonio Philharmonic, and faculty members from Texas State Uni- versity, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Texas at San Antonio. [1] Davidson’s newest composition, Sentinels , has been pub- lished by TrevCo Publishing of Middlebury, CT, as a part of a multi-year contract. This new work, his fifth to be pub- lished by TrevCo, is the first in a series inspired by geogra- phy. Begun in 2021, Sentinels arose from a series of visits to the Grand Canyon. Usually, the canyon is viewed from the rim, looking down at the tops of the mountains that stand in the canyon. However, we usually look up at mountains. And then, once climbed, we admire the view—looking away from the mountain. The Grand Canyon provides a different opportunity. Here mountains are viewed from above and from below. Also, seeing that it is the power of erosion that has carved the canyon, the observation is that the mountains are what is left—bulwarks against the constant force of the water, standing, as it were, in opposition to an overwhelm- ing force. While the area around has succumbed, not these mountains. They stand firm and serve as majestic sentinels. In the end, erosion will win—but not today—and not easily. The work for solo oboe is designed to be performed along with photographs of the mountains. Five mountains were selected, and the movements are titled that way: Apollo Temple, Angels Gate, Malgosa Crest, Cheops Pyramid, and Vishnu Temple. Jose M. Garza, Jr. contributed a book chapter to Modeling Music Analysis (edited by Kim Loeffert and John Peterson), which was released on January 24, 2025, by Oxford Univer- sity Press. The book contains twenty-eight music-theoretical essays written by scholars of color and dealing with a wide variety of music. The essays are meant to serve as models for students’ own writing. Garza’s chapter is titled “The Dual- ity of Drums: Exploring Timpani’s Melodic and Percussive Potential in Rodis’s Colossus.” [2] 1 2 Ian Davidson appeared as a chamber music soloist in a part of concerts as part of the 2024-2025 Season of the Austin Salon Concerts Jose M. Garza, Jr. contributed a book chapter to Modeling Music Analysis Hank Hehmsoth contributed tracks from his five albums to fourteen compilation albums spanning diverse platforms and worldwide audiences Award-winning jazz composer and pianist Hank Hehmsoth has been honored with a grant from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, recognizing his groundbreaking work in jazz and contemporary music. The award will support Hehmsoth’s ongoing musical innovation with the Double Vision Jazz Ensemble, a group he co-leads with legendary saxophonist John Mills. Hehmsoth contributed tracks from his five albums to four- teen compilation albums spanning diverse platforms and worldwide audiences. A compilation album is a curated col- lection of tracks selected from various artists or albums, often organized around a theme such as “Late Night Drives,” “Cof- fee Shop Backgrounds,” or “Relaxing Jazz for Restaurants.” These compilations provide a way for listeners to experience music tailored to specific moods or environments, and they often feature standout tracks from established artists. [3] , [4] Adah Toland Jones hosted an alumni flute event on January 17-18. The two-day event included flute choir rehearsals, panel discussions, two banquets, and a concert that featured performances by fourteen TXST flute alumni and a mass flute choir of 58 flutists including fifteen current students. In total, 46 Texas State flute alumni attended traveling from all areas of Texas and nine other states. [5] Jones was the guest artist for the Angelo State University “Flute Day” on February 8-9. The event included lessons for the Angelo State Flute Studio students, masterclasses for area high school students, three workshops entitled “Warm up Exercises,” “Ideas for Effective Practicing,” and “Taking Auditions,” and flute choir rehearsals and concert, which she conducted. Daveda Karanas took on the pivotal role of Lisa in Deutsche Grammophon’s new recording of The Passenger , the first of Mieczysław Weinberg’s seven operas. This powerful work, described as a “shattering Holocaust opera” ( The Critic ), was recorded live at Madrid’s Teatro Real in spring 2024, as part of a revival of the world premiere production directed by David Pountney. Making her Madrid operatic debut, Kara- nas joined a stellar cast including soprano Amanda Majeski (Marta), tenor Nikolai Schukoff (Walter), and baritone Gyula Orendt (Tadeusz). The co-production with the Bregenz Festi- val, Teatr Wielki, and English National Opera was conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, a leading interpreter of Weinberg’s long-overlooked works. The filmed version of The Passenger is now available for streaming on STAGE+, while the audio al- bum was digitally released on January 24, 2025, just ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January27)—a poignant tribute to the memory of all victims of Nazism. [6] 3 Hehmsoth contributed tracks from his five albums to fourteen compilation albums spanning diverse platforms and worldwide audiences Adah Toland Jones hosted an alumni flute event that featured performances by fourteen TXST flute alumni, and a mass flute choir of 58 flutists. Daveda Karanas took a pivotal role of Lisa in Deutsche Grammophon's new recording of The Passenger , the first of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's seven operas.