November & December 2016 College News

Texas State Symphony Orchestra directed by Dr. Carolyn Watson has been named a semifinalist for the 2016 American Prize in Orchestral Performance, College/ University Division. This award is for general orchestral excellence, and comes in addition to their already- announced semifinalist status for the Bacon Award for American Music. Both are for the Texas State Orchestra’s performance of the opera, Lady Bird . STUDENT ACCOLADES In early November, more than 500 students from across the Texas/New Mexico/Oklahoma region competed in Canyon, Texas, in the student audition competition for NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing). Of the 29 Texas State students competing, 15 made it to the Semifinals, and 7 of those made it to the final round. Jordan Van De Vere won the Singer of the Year Award, accompanied by Joey Martin . Texas State faculty Soon Cho , Ames Asbell , Joey Martin , and Richard Novak also gave performances, and Sam Mungo did an expert presentation. In addition to Dr. Martin, Eric Thompson , Ashley Stone , and Carlos Quesada provided excellent accompaniment. 2016 Texoma NATS Texas State student results: Freshmen Women Semifinalists Annisha Mackenzie , BM Performance Michelle Sanchez , BM Music Studies Sophomore Women Semifinalist Cassidy Wallace , BM Performance Junior Women Semifinalist Lauren “Bailey” Galindo , BM Performance Junior Men Semifinalist Caleb Rech , BM Performance Senior Women Semifinalists Sarah Jacob , BM Performance Mallorie Gabbert , BM Performance Graduate Women Semifinalists Keeley Hooker , MM Performance & Pedagogy Charissa Memrick , MM Performance & Pedagogy Emily Thomasson , MM Performance Freshmen Men Finalist Trenton Floyd , BM Music Studies | 2nd Place Sophomore Women Finalist Martha Rose Hayes , BM Performance | 4th Place Sophomore Men Finalists Alex Vanderpot , BS SRT | 5th Place Benjamin Ruiz , BM Performance | Honorable Mention Junior Men Finalist Joshua Meza , BM Performance | 5th Place Senior Men Finalist De’Evin J. Johnson , BM Music Studies | 4th Place NATS Singer of the Year Competition Winner Jordan Van de Vere , BM Performance Conference Master Class Selection Mallorie Gabbert , BM Performance In the recent Vargas Mariachi Extravaganza vocal competition, Texas State students swept the top three places: Samantha Lopez won first place, Alondra Morales won 2nd place, and 3rd place went to Elizabeth Reyes . Samantha and Alondra were coached by Michelle Quintero as members of Texas State’s Mariachi Nueva Generación, directed this semester by Antonio Briseno . DEPARTMENT ACCOLADES The Texas State Mysterium Ensemble gave a multi-media performance of new and experimental music for the College Music Society Fifty-Ninth National Conference October 28 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. [ 2 ] The ensemble is led by senior lecturer Richard Hall , and the program included a composition, LIGHTFORMS 1: Constellations , by School of Music Director Thomas Clark . Faculty Todd Oxford and Bobby Lopez performed at the conference, and music professors Cynthia Gonzales , Amanda Soto , and Carolyn Watson gave presentations. Texas State faculty, students, and alumni attended the joint meeting of the Society for Music Theory and the American Musicological Society recently held in Vancouver, Canada. Drs. Rebecca Eaton and Cynthia I. Gonzales both presented papers, while current graduate students David Lester , Lois Osorio and Kaylie Young participated in the SMT Graduate Student Workshop, which alum Jose Garza (BM 2012, MM 2014) attended when he was a Texas State graduate student. Current students Sarah McGriff and David Catchpole also attended. [ 3] College of Fine Arts and Communication | 15