September 2023 College News

Beller-McKenna, was published in NOTES: The Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association . [5] Dimitar Ninov 's commissioned saxophone piece "Nuages" received performances in San Antonio and San Marcos by the Chicago-based quartet NOIS. The Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra recorded his symphonic allegro "The Hunting" in April 2023. Ninov also read an invited paper at the Oxford University Music Analysis Conference in July. Raúl I. Rodríguez had two articles—"Ensuring Success as a College Music Major" and “Becoming a Better Performer”—published in the International Tuba Euphonium Association Journal . [6] Rodríguez served as an adjudicator for the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Competition sponsored by the University Interscholastic League over the Memorial Day weekend. He followed that with a pedagogical presentation at the 2023 International Tuba Euphonium Conference hosted by Arizona State University and a performance with the Victoria Bach Festival Orchestra. Alec D. Scherer and co-investigator D. Gregory Springer presented their research on “Perceptions of Conductor Attire” at the 17th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition in Tokyo, Japan. Their results indicated that conductor attire did not have a significant impact on perceptions of the conductor’s abilities or performance ratings of their ensembles. Interestingly, although ratings were not significantly impacted, free responses from participants suggest that attire may still be perceived as projecting professionalism and/or intention. Nico Schüler presented a paper on “Integrating Under-Represented and Forgotten Composers in Academic Music History and Music Theory Courses” at the International Conference Teaching Music Theory Today in Zagreb, Croatia. He also presented the paper “The Hyers Sisters. Rediscovering Pioneers of African-American Musical Theater” at the 13th International Symposium Music in Society in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the international RILM (Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale) conference on Global Digital Music Studies in New York, Dr. Schüler presented on “African-American Music Business after the Civil War: Digital Tools and Digital Sustainability.” Regionally, he presented papers at the American Musicological Society Southwest Chapter Conference and at the Society for Ethnomusicology Southern Planes Chapter Conference. Amanda Soto was keynote speaker at the MusicMexico 2023 Symposium, presented by the University of Houston and Dartmouth College in May. The three-day interdisciplinary event featured musicians, performers and scholars exploring the musical traditions of Mexico from before the revolution to the present day, with particular emphasis on the representation of Mexican music in wind band literature and educational settings today. Amanda presented a full-day professional development session—“World Music Pedagogy Experiences and Technology in the Elementary Music Classroom”—for elementary music teachers in the Galena Park ISD. Jordan Stern founded a record label called Lone Star Reserve Records, whose mission is to preserve and perpetuate traditional country music. In August, the label released an album by Hank Williams IV, entitled Honky Tonk Habit, which is available on all streaming services. In addition to producing the project, Stern played rhythm guitar, piano, pedal steel, upright and electric basses, drums, and wrote one of the songs on the record. Vanguel Tangarov ’s summer 2023 engagements in comprised two world premiere performances, participation in two prominent international festivals, a national festival, and a range of solo, chamber music, orchestral, and opera performances, as well as masterclasses and conducting at notable locations in the United States, specifically Texas, Colorado, and South Carolina, as well as Calabria, Italy. One of the standout summer highlights was his role as the principal clarinetist in the world premiere of J. A. C. Redford’s Second Symphony in Columbia, SC, during the prestigious Varna International Music Festival. Redford enjoys a well-deserved College of Fine Arts and Communication | 193