Overture

Student Composer Success – Michael Martin and NYAE

n1299750166_30231230_9338
Student composer Michael Martin took Honorable Mention in this year’s New York Art Ensemble Young Composers’ Competition!  His work The Cinnamon Peeler for clarinet, violin, violoncello, and piano made the final round of the competition.  The NYAE competition is very well-known, and previous finalists have gone on to great success in other competitions and festivals.  Martin worked with Eric Honour and fellow student Tim Gormly to record the work in the UCM recording studios in December 2009, as part of the materials he submitted.  The performers for the recording were staff accompanist and UCM alum Amanda Arrington, violin/viola professor John Rutland,  and current students James Westbrook and Kasey Wasson.  Martin is majoring in jazz-commercial music at UCM.  He studies composition with Eric Honour and David Aaberg and piano with Richard Smith.

Piano Americana: An Evening with Mia Hynes and Friends

Tuesday, October 27 at 7:30pm in Hart Recital Hall.  This concert is part of the Johnson County Historical Society –  Smithsonian Institution’s New Harmonies: American Roots Music event that runs throughout the month of October.

UCM professor of piano Mia Hynes will be joined by UCM faculty singers David Adams and Jacob Sentgeorge, as well as her pianist husband Jon Hynes for an evening of piano music and song celebrating classic tunes and genres of early 20th century America.  If you haven’t heard how a pianist can tap-dance,  if the blustery weather has you thinking you’d like to be “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”,  if you ever wondered what else there was to the Alcott family beyond that House on the Prairie or how the rest of the music to that United Airlines commercial really goes … then this concert is for you!  

The concert is free and the public is invited to attend.

Cockman receives Regional and National Piano Honors

James Cockman
James Cockman, student of Dr. Richard Smith, placed 3rd at the MTNA Steinway Young Artists National Competition at the convention held in Atlanta last week.  He also received the Bronze Medal at the King Competition held in Salina, Kansas on Friday/Saturday, April 4/5.  James recently received word that he is a finalist for the Federated Music Club Young Artist Award.  The competition will be held in Orlando, FL summer 2009.  The top prize is $10,000 and two years of concerts.  Dr. Mia Hynes, UCM keyboard faculty member, won this competition just before being hired at UCM.

Music students receive regional and CAHSS honors

Congratulations to the following students on their recent accomplishments:

Justin Robinson, alto saxophone, was awarded the McHaney Prize ($1,300) as the overall winner in the National Federation of Music Clubs Auditions on March 14, 2009 in Jefferson City. James Westbrook, clarinet, and Joseph Piontek, piano, were awarded the McClure Prize ($200).

Juliet Newsome was selected as recipient of the 2009 Outstanding Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Award given by the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

Sarah Brown was selected as a recipient of the 2009 Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award given by the Arts Division of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

Pianist Dan Velicer to present masterclass at UCM

Pianist Dan Velicer will conduct a master class at UCM on Thursday, February 19 from 1-3pm in the Hart Recital Hall.  Mr. Velicer will speak about his experiences as a professional collaborative pianist and take questions from the audience. He will also work with four UCM music duos:  Amanda Arrington (piano) and Heather Wheeler (mezzo soprano); Elaina Toben (piano) and Candice Tuttle (soprano); Seth Bowling (piano) and Kasey Wasson (cello); Sarah Blunk (piano) and Marguerite Rodriguez (trumpet). Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.  For more information, contact Dr. Mia Hynes at 543-8900 or hynes@ucmo.edu

About Dan Velicer

A prolific performer and teacher, Dan Velicer appears regularly with the Kansas City Symphony, Trio Fedele, the Lyric Arts Trio, and the outreach program of the Kansas City Ballet while also in constant demand as a collaborative pianist and vocal coach.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Facebook” for UCM Music Alumni

If you are a Facebook user and would like to connect with other UCM Music alums and friends, Dr. Mia Hynes created a new Facebook group titled:  “UCM Music Alumni.”  If you are new to Facebook, you may sign up for a free account at:

http://www.facebook.com/r.php

Once your account is up and running, use the “Groups” link in the upper right hand corner, and/or the “Search for Groups” function with key words:  “UCM Music Alumni.”

Recent student and faculty honors illustrate UCM excellence

Students take high honors at 2008 MTNA Competition

(Missouri Music Teachers Association – Music Teachers National Association Auditions, Washington University, St. Louis, and November 6-7, 2008)

·         James Cockman, Winner of the MTNA Young Artist Piano competition.  Moves on to district competition (student of Richard Smith)

·         Sarah Blunk, Honorable Mention in the MTNA Young Artist Piano competition (student of Richard Smith)

·         Seth Bowling, Alternate in the MMTA Upper Level piano auditions (student of Mia Hynes)

·         Michael Martin, Honorable Mention in the MMTA lower level piano auditions (student of Richard Smith)

·         Sarah Brown, clarinet, Runner-Up in the MTNA Young Artists Woodwind Audition (student of James Gai)

·         Justin Robinson, saxophone, Winner of the MMTA Collegiate Honors Woodwinds Auditions (student of James Gai)

Pianists also competing at the national level (full program prepared) were Sarah Stoltzfus and Elaina Toben, and at the state level (three pieces), Rachel Lehenbauer and Joe Piontek. Vocalist Candy Tuttle also competed at the state level.

Recent faculty professional activity and achievement

David Aaberg

Jazz Ensemble 1 Fall Tour: performances at Fort Osage HS, Park Hill HS, and Eagle Glen Intermediate with Raymore-Peculiar HS Jazz Ensemble, October 28, 2008.

“Clifford Brown’s Improvisational Style: Sequence throughout His Career,” Clifford Brown Symposium “Brownie Speaks,” University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 30, 2008.

Adjudicated Baker University Jazz Festival, Baldwin City, KS, November 21, 2008.

 

Lisa Fredenburgh


Alto soloist and chorus member,
Kansas City Chorale, Charles Bruffy, conductor

Fall Concerts (solo, mvt. 7 in Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzer), Kansas City, MO, October 19 and 21, 2008 

Conducted the South Central Missouri District Honor Choir, Springfield, MO, November 1, 2008.

Guest Clinician and Judge at Pleasant Valley Middle School, Pleasant Valley, MO, November 18, 2008

Eric Honour

Performed his original composition, Phantasm for saxophone and computer at Electronic Music Midwest 2008, Lewis University, Illinois, October 17, 2008.

Sheri Mattson

The University Research Council awarded a project entitled “Voices of the Troup” – Remembering Don Essig and his Musical Instruments $670.

Recitalist at Wisconsin Lutheran College and at the Milwaukee Art Museum, October 15 and 16, 2008

Michael Sekelsky

Co-author with Steve Fidyk, “Percussion: Developing Interpretation Skills When Reading a Big Band Drum Chart,” Teaching Music 6, no. 3 (November 2008): 50-51.

PASIC convention – participated in: Leadership Summit, Committee Meeting, Panel Discussion, Committee Chairs Meeting, Austin, Texas, 11-4—11-8, 2008.

Jake Sentgeorge

Tenor soloist, Mendelssohn Elijah, Ninth Street Philharmonic Orchestra, Missouri United Methodist Church, Columbia, Missouri, November 8, 2008.

Alan Wenger

Performed in a brass band as part of a Brass Spectacular concert sponsored by the Salvation Army. The band was an all-star band made up of members of various bands from across the United States and Europe. Other members of the group came from the New York Salvation Army Staff Band, the Houston Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, and various bands in Scotland, England, and Switzerland. The concert was recorded and will be released on CD by the Salvation Army. Charlotte, NC, November 1, 2008

Performed with the Fountain City Brass Band in Chicago, where they repeated as Champions in the US Open Brass Band Championships. This championship gives them a two year sweep of the four North American Brass Band Competitions. With this win, the FCBB received an invitation to compete next November at the prestigious Brass in Concert competition in Gates Head, England. They were also approached by the World of Brass recording label, and will be recording a CD for their label while they are in the UK at that time.

Alumna Mary Ann Hart Returns to UCM for Nov. 10 Concert

The University of Central Missouri Friends of Music Society will host Warrensburg native and UCM alumna Mary Ann Hart as she returns to her alma mater for a concert Monday, Nov. 10.

The internationally renowned mezzo soprano will perform at 7:30 p.m. in Hart Recital Hall, which is named in honor of her father, the late Ralph E. Hart, chair of the UCM Department of Music from 1952 until his retirement in 1975. Her concert will include songs by Ralph Vaughn-Williams, Edvard Grieg, Cole Porter, and Claude Debussy. She will be accompanied at the piano by Mia Hynes, associate professor of music. Hart received a Bachelor of Music degree from UCM in 1973 and a Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois in 1976. She also received her diploma with distinction in Lied and Oratorio, Hochschüle für Musik, Vienna in 1978. She made her New York Philharmonic debut under the baton of Kurt Masur. She has appeared with the New York Chamber Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, American Composer’s Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony, Boston Baroque, and has been a guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Hart has recorded a solo CD of American songs, “Permit Me Voyage,” and was one of four vocalists who recorded the complete songs of Charles Ives. She also can be heard on a CD of the songs of Henry Cowell, all on the Albany label. She appeared in the United States tour of the Philip Glass opera, “Hydrogen Jukebox,” and recorded that work for Nonesuch.

A winner of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and recipient of second prize in the Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition, Hart also was awarded a Solo Recitalist Grant by the National Endowment for the Arts. Recital appearances have taken her to 26 American states, Austria, Germany, Romania, Canada, and the Virgin Islands. She previously was on the faculties of Vassar College and the Mannes School of Music, and is professor of music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and chair of the Department of Voice.

In addition to the public recital, Hart will be conducting two master classes prior to her concert. The first master class will feature regional winners of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and other invited students at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8. The second class will feature students from the UCM Department of Music at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9. Both master classes will meet in Hart Recital Hall. The public is invited to attend the master classes at no charge. Tickets for the Nov. 10 concert are available beginning Monday, Nov. 3, through the Performing Arts Series box office in Administration 100, 660-543-8888, from noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, or online at www.ucmo.edu/pas. Tickets prices are $12 for adults and $5 for UCM students and children 17 and under. Tickets also will be available at the door one hour prior to the concert.

For more information, contact Hynes at 660-543-8890.

NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL: Call for Scores & Papers

       

This year marks the first New Music Festival at the University of Central Missouri.  We invite composers and scholars to submit scores and/or papers for the festival, to be held March 2-3, 2009. The postmark deadline for submissions is Oct. 31, 2008.  Composers can find the list of available performers, ensembles, and technology in the detailed call for scores on the festival website: http://www.ucmo.edu/music/NMF/UCMNMFIndex.htm.  All forms of electroacoustic music are very welcome.

In keeping with the newness of the gathering, we have organized the festival around the theme of Innovation. 

Read the rest of this entry »

ATHENS SAXOPHONE QUARTET to present recital at UCM

The Central Missouri Friends of Music Society presents the Athens Saxophone Quartet on Wednesday, September 17 at 7:30pm in Hart Recital Hall.   
 
This ensemble of four virtuoso saxophone performers will be bringing a completely new sound experience to the Hart Recital Hall stage. The program will include a World Premiere of a composition by UCM’s own Eric Honourhere is no water but only rock
 
The Athens Quartet is composed of members:
    Athanasios Zervas  – composer, theorist, saxophonist, and conductor. He has written more than 70 pieces for ensembles who have performed his works all over the world and in Carnegie Hall.
    Dionisios S. Roussos – won prizes from the Athens Conservatory and Young Soloists Award of the National Radio and TV of Greece
    Leo Saguiguit – assistant professor of music at University of Missouri Columbia. Holds an MM from Northwestern University where he was a student of Frederick Hemke. He has performed at major festivals and universities throughout the US.
    Eric Honour – recently returned from performances in Greece and Ireland, he has composed one of the pieces that will have its world premiere at this concert:   here is no water only rock
 
There will be a reception following the program featuring Greek inspired food provided by Chef Breshears and the Quantity Foods class.
 
Seating is general admission.

Tickets are $12.00 for adults,  $5.00 for UCM students and children 17 & under. 
ALL MUSIC STUDENTS will be able to pick up free tickets during business hours on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. They must pick them up during this time because tickets will cost $5.00 for students at the door on Wed evening.

For any additional information, please contact:

Dr. Mia Hynes
Phone:  660-543-8900
Email:  hynes@ucmo.edu