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.

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The Department of Music at UCM will be represented by the following outstanding students:

The Collegiate Choir, Concert Choir, Vocal Jazz Ensemble and the Chamber Singers will join forces to provide a festive concert of holiday music for the audience. UCM’s Brass Five and William McCandless, professor emeritus of music, will accompany various works and audience caroling.

For more information about music programs at UCM, contact the Department of Music at 660-543-4530.

(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.

Dr. Michael Sekelsky

Two UCM percussion music majors, senior Annie Wills, and freshman Mat Thornton, also made the trip to Austin.  The four day event includes more than 70 concerts, showcase recitals, clinics, masterclasses, and instructional labs, as well as an exhibit area with representation from approximately 50 percussion vendors.  Annual attendance at the convention exceeds 7,000.

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.

Dr. Trent Hanna and Jiletta Kubena will present Tatitlek, Alaska: An Exploration of Environmental Crime and Composition Inspired by the Exxon Valdez Devastation, based on the Indigenous Music of Tatitlek and Chenega Bay.  With the 20th Anniversary of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill approaching, Ms. Kubena reexamines the victimization of Alaskan natives and the eco system of the Prince William Sound.  She will explore how crime, victimization, and art can work together within the study of criminology and criminal justice.  Her presentation will be followed by an original composition by Dr. Hanna which focuses on the natural elements of the Sound and the effect the Exxon Valdez oil spill had on the area.  The programmatic piece is composed for four percussionists and uses melodic and rhythmic elements from Quyannanana, a popular piece from the indigenous people of the area. 

Ian McClaflin, sophomore music performance major
Tess Schurder, junior music education major
Owen Taylor, senior music technology major
Annie Wills, senior music technology major

Trent Hanna has been awarded for his achievements both as a composer and performer. He currently serves as the Theory and Composition Coordinator at Sam Houston State University’s School of Music, where he teaches advanced theory and composition courses. His original works have been commissioned and performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Recently his composition Dorland (for solo piano) won first prize in the Contemporary Japanese and American Music Composition Competition resulting in a premiere performance in Yonago, Japan. Dr. Hanna conducted his Fanfare for Peace in the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary in 2003, and premiered his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with the Sam Houston State University Symphony Orchestra in 2004. As a pianist, Dr. Hanna has performed extensively as soloist with various symphony orchestras, most recently with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra. In the spring of 2007, Dr. Hanna released a full-length CD of original works for solo piano entitled Sojournal. Dr. Hanna received his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Composition from the University of Texas at Austin, and both his Master of Music degree in Composition and his Bachelor of Music degree in Theory/Composition and Piano Performance from Sam Houston State University. He is currently a member of the Society of Composers, and has been awarded artist residencies at the Dorland Mountain Arts Colony (California), the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Villa Montalvo (California), the Isle Royale Artists-in- Residence Program (Michigan), and The Djerassi Resident Artists Program (California).

FIELD SHOWS:
4A – Warrensburg (Chuck Appleton, Philip Soule, Melanie Soule, Mike Sekelsky)
6A – Liberty (Paul Warnex)

PARADE:
3A Middle School – Trenton (Tim Gilam)
4A Middle School – Warrensburg (Philip Soule) *Middle School Grand Champion
4A High School – Oak Grove (Beth Jinkins, Nathan Long) *High School Grand Champion

INDOOR DRUMLINE:
4A – Clinton (Stephanie Sekelsky, w/Mike Sekelsky & Mat Thornton: drumline instructors)
6A – St. Joe Central (Chad Lippincott)

INDOOR AUXILIARY:
6A – Liberty (Paul Warnex)