Current Student Successes

Doctoral Candidate Stewart Engart featured on University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Compose Carolina Series

Stewart Engart

Doctoral candidate Stewart Engart had his work, Usynlig, featured on Friday, July 23 as part of the second-annual Compose Carolina summer music series, hosted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Music and Carolina Performing Arts. The livestreamed event featured Engart in conversation with a faculty moderator, the premiere of his work, and a casual “program notes” conversation and Q&A. Engart is currently completing his PhD dissertation on algorithmic music composition at UC Santa Barbara where he studies with Clarence Barlow, João Pedro Oliveira, Curtis Roads, and Andrew Tholl. His work explores computer-assisted musical form and gesture, as well as experimental synthesis techniques.

Doctoral Candidate Luvi Avendano featured in Opera Santa Barbara’s Cruzar la Cara de la Luna

Luvi Avendano

Photo by Brandon J. Rolle

Doctoral Candidate Luvi Avendano was featured in Opera Santa Barbara’s production of José “Pepe” Martinez’s 75-minute Mariachi operetta, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (“To Cross the Face of the Moon”). Avendano sang the role of Victor for both productions of the operetta, which were performed at the Granada Theatre in downtown Santa Barbara on October 1 and October 3. Conducted by David Hanlon and directed by Octavio Cardenas, this Opera Santa Barbara premiere featured performances by Grammy-Award winning, Los Angeles-based Mariachi Los Camperos, who performed the opera at its New York City premiere in 2017 and the Houston revival in 2018.

Doctoral Student Dariush Derakhshani awarded prize in 2021 Prix CIME Electroacoustic Music Competition

Dariush Derakhshani

Doctoral Student Dariush Derakhshani was named a prize winner in the 2021 Prix CIME Electroacoustic Music Competition, hosted by the International Confederation for Electroacoustic Music. Derakhshani was named one of five winners of the Residency Prix CIME category for his work, Pārsa (2021), for electronics. “Pārsa can be categorized as a programmatic piece,” noted Derakhshani. “The inspiration of its form and direction came from the history of Persepolis and its demolition by Alexander the Great. The initial section is meant to represent a grand sound which is slowly ravaged as the piece continues. What remains by the end are broken parts and pieces representing the slow destruction of Persepolis by fire.”