September 2015 College News

responsible for building relationships across the globe. He recently traveled to Singapore to help develop mutually beneficial programs between the Trombone Society of Singapore and the ITA. Todd Oxford was selected by jury as a Semi- finalist for the American Prize in Chamber Music. His article, “A Tribute to American Saxophone Virtuoso Harvey Pittel,” was published in the United Kingdom’s June Issue of Saxophone Life Magazine . He was an adjudicator for the ENKOR International Wind, Brass, and Percussion Competition (Düsseldorf, Germany) and for the National Intercollegiate Band Auditions (Los Angeles). He was a guest soloist at the National Conference for Percussion Pedagogy hosted by the University of Texas at San Antonio. He was the July featured soloist on the Noonday Concert Series in Austin. Texas State’s newly appointed Director of Orchestral Studies, Dr. Carolyn Watson , has been nominated as a semi-finalist in three categories of the prestigious American Prize in Conducting. Celebrating American excellence in the arts, the American Prize is a peer- reviewed award selected by a jury of industry professionals. Dr. Watson has been nominated for her work as a conductor with the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra in the Youth Orchestra Division and with the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra in the High School Division. The Arts Academy Orchestra under Dr. Watson has also been nominated in the Orchestral Performance category. Alumni Accolades Donny De La Rosa , former Texas State student of Keith Winking, is working on his DMA degree in trumpet at the University of Illinois, where he has been principal trumpet the last three semesters in the U of I Wind Symphony, their elite top ensemble. He also just received their prestigious AA Harding Award. At Illinois, Donny has been studying with Ronald Romm, one of the founding and long-time members of the Canadian Brass, and with Charlie Daval, former principal trumpet in the Montreal Symphony. Jazz alumnus Kyle Johnson just won the 3rd trombone position with the United States Army Jazz Ambassadors, the premiere jazz ensemble of that service. Kyle also recently completed a master’s degree in Jazz Performance at the Juilliard School. Student Accolades Andrew McNair , a senior in the Bachelor of Music in Music Studies program, has been named an Academic Achievement Scholar. In addition to his involvement in the School of Music, Andrew is also involved with the Honors College and just returned from Luzerne Music Center in New York, where he worked over the summer as a voice counselor. Mozart’s Requiem with guest lecturer/composer Robert Levin, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University