CADENZA UTSA DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC | MARCH 2021
Opus 28
ONE YEAR IN AND WE ARE NON-STOP! #RowdyForAReason
CONTENTS
03 04 06 09
WELCOME A word from Department of Music Chair, Dr. Tracy Cowden
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Dr. Charles Booker speaks on his impressive and varied background
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE MUSIC HISTORY CLASSROOM Making diversity the new “normal” for an inclusive music education
COVID-19 PULSE POLL Keeping in touch with #UTSAMUSIC members
11
SOUTHWEST GUITAR SYMPOSIUM 2.0
13
UTSA GIVING DAY: 1,969 CHANCES TO GIVE
Dr. Isaac Bustos virtually hosts the 2nd annual SWGS
An opportunity for #UTSAMUSIC to grow
CONTRIBUTORS: Jason Guzman - Graphic Designer Cindy Solis - Senior Events Manager Rebekah Alegria - PR Assistant/Editor Dr. Kasandra Keeling Dr. J. Drew Stephen
Welcome to
CADENZA
Showcasing UTSA Music
FRIENDS, Welcome to March 2021 issue of Cadenza on behalf of the Department of Music! Last month was full of unprecedented challenges in our community, and we wanted to find a way to support #RoadrunnersInNeed. On March 4th, we will hold a sixhour livestreamed “Marathoncert” to raise funds for the UTSA Student Emergency Fund and Staff Emergency Fund. Details are in this issue – we hope you can join us (online) to listen to some wonderful performances and help our community! As always, more information about livestreams will be available on our website (www.music.utsa.edu) and social media sites, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. We are pleased to announce the Southwest Guitar Symposium this month – read ahead for details! This issue also features stories about the creative ways that musicologist Drew Stephen is highlighting under-represented composers in his Music and Film course, as well as how UTSA’s upcoming Giving Day will directly benefit students in the Department of Music and the Spirit of San Antonio Marching Band. And our alumni spotlight this month is on Charles Booker, who has had quite an interesting and varied career! As always, one of our primary purposes of Cadenza is to connect with you! To our alumni, in particular, we invite you to submit your news and reconnect with your UTSA Music friends. We would love to hear from any of you with any feedback about Cadenza and Department of Music events; please reach out to us at music@utsa.edu with questions and comments. We are grateful for all of you who support the work we do to learn and share music with those around us, and we look forward to sharing our music with you soon! Tracy Cowden Roland K. Blumberg Endowed Professor in Music and Chair
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: DR. CHARLES BOOKER “Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind.” -- Johannes Brahms, 19th-century composer. This is a quote that our Alumni Spotlight subject, Dr. Charles Booker used to describe his approach to being a successfully-published composer. Booker (MM ‘ 96) who can be described--but not merely defined--as a trumpeter, studied with some of #UTSAMUSIC’s initial faculty in the band, conducting, and composition areas during his years as a composition graduate student. He is a career musician with years of conducting and teaching experience in the military and academic worlds who also composes music of his own.
Looking back at your career, your energy was focused on three distinct areas: the military, academia, and music composition. What did you pursue first and did any area ever overlap with another? I left St. Mary’s University at the end of my sophomore year and joined the Army Band at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. I spent three years there, left for North Texas State University, but decided to return to the Army. Shortly thereafter, I was accepted as the staff arranger for the Army Field Band in Washington, D.C.. A year later, I became an Army Bandmaster. I commanded three Army Bands before returning to the Field Band at age 34 to conduct the Army’s premier jazz orchestra, “The Jazz Ambassadors”. While in the Army, I finished my Bachelor’s degree, and then retired from the Army at age 41. I then received my Masters of
Music at UTSA, and a certification in secondary music from Texas State, taught band and music courses part-time at Trinity University and Incarnate Word, and was editor of music at Southern Music Company from 1994-1997. I taught public school for a short time in San Antonio before accepting the position of Director of Bands at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. I retired from college teaching in 2014. During this time, I continued to compose and arrange music for different publishers. In 2015, I returned to San Antonio and began teaching composition and orchestration parttime at St. Mary’s in 2019.
What would you consider to be your favorite part of being a musician: composer, conductor, teacher, or performer? I am simply a musician who does all that! In this world today, a musician must be able to do all the above and have an understanding of how the business of music works! But if I had to choose my favorite, I would pick a composer, then a teacher. I love teaching composition and conducting. You have had a consistent and successful career as a composer. How does one go about getting their compositions published? Learn your craft! Study how music works! Study scores; listen to composers to discover what kind of music you want to write. Once you have created something you believe is worthy of publication, you should research publishers as to what they publish and whether they are accepting your kind of composition. Talk to publishers; find out what they want! You must have a good live-recording of the piece you have composed and a “clean”, professionallooking score that the publisher can both listen to and study. Never give up!!!! Rejection of your music is normal! Keep trying! And again, don’t give up! Believe in yourself. Also, if the publisher gives you advice, listen!!!!!! Where do you get your inspiration for your compositions and how would you describe your style? I am inspired by many different things, but I love history, genealogy, and “nature”! (Listen to my “American Jubilee” on my website.) I would say I write in a very romantic, sentimental style and in a somewhat-classical form! I love melodies and beautiful harmonies. I would characterize my music as Americana, and eclectic! What memory or memories come back to you when you think back to your time at #UTSAMUSIC?
I loved the friendliness, the helpfulness, and most of all, I appreciated the great faculty who always went the extra mile to explain and support the students in their quest for knowledge. Balentine and Rustowicz were inspirational teachers and helped transform me from soldier to teacher
“I appreciated the great faculty who always went the extra mile...” What word comes to mind when you think back to your time at the Department of Music? “Supportive!” More information on Booker’s music can be found on his website, www.charlesbooker.com.
Diversity and Inclusion in th
A
sk almost anyone to name ten classical composers and you are likely to get a list of ten, long-dead, European males. Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and Tchaikovsky will be common responses, yet few people will identify women, persons of color, or even a composer born in the Americas. And it is not just ordinary people. As Douglas Shadle observes in his excellent article, Systematic Discrimination: the Burden of Sameness in American Orchestras, a “lack of diversity on concert programs is built into the institutional structure of American classical music organizations, leading to systemic discrimination against women, people of color, and other historically underrepresented musicians.” The issue has not gone unnoticed in the field of musicology, which is currently reconsidering and redefining its boundaries, nor by academic publishing companies which continue to expand the scope of the standard music history textbook to reflect more diverse practices and repertoires. A strong indication of current concerns is apparent in the special 2020 issue of the Journal of Music History Pedagogy which challenges issues of whiteness and Euro-Americancentered perspectives in music history curricula. I would like to share some of the changes I have implemented in my own classes to make them more diverse and inclusive as well as the outcomes, responses, and reactions from students so far.
to find space for new content by refocusing two major course assignments. In the first assignment, students work alone or in pairs to complete research on a composer who is not a white European male. The underlying objective is to develop research and presentation skills, but since the focus of the research is underrepresented composers, students expand their awareness beyond the historical mainstream and are confronted with new viewpoints and fresh perspectives. The second assignment addresses non-traditional topics and practices that emerged in the twentieth-century including American roots music, film music by Black composers, the third stream fusion of jazz and classical traditions, civil rights and protest music of the 1960s, and the contributions of LGBTQ+ composers. Through this assignment, students gain an awareness of different traditions and how vital they are to our overall understanding of music history and culture.
Music and Film, which I teach as a core curriculum class open to students in any discipline, presents similar challenges. According to a 2016 study, ninety-five of the hundred top-grossing films of all time were directed by white Americans, and ninety-nine of them by men. This stunning lack of diversity is reflected in the contents of the textbook used at UTSA: sixty-five of the sixty-eight films with scenes represented by Viewing Guides were composed by European or Euro-American males and Even though the basic format of the music history survey John Williams is represented by four of these films. To has not changed significantly for decades, the content make the content more inclusive, I divide the students of what we are expected to teach has. Most institutions, into teams and assign each team a composer who is not a UTSA included, have added a world music survey to the white male. The list includes Black, Asian, Latin American, sequence, but otherwise the entire and women composers, including two scope of music history or, more transgender women. For the major accurately, Western music history, is term assignment, each team creates taught in a two-semester sequence that a video presentation that explores the is typically divided around 1750 with careers, backgrounds, films, and music the death of J.S. Bach. This is the case of its assigned composer. I take the with the course I teach at UTSA, Music additional step of naming the teams in Civilization II, which covers the after the composers they have been music from the 1730s to the present. assigned. Instead of using established Although the basic scope has not names like Max Steiner or Bernard changed since I was a student nearly Herrmann, a common practice in forty years ago, new content is added survey courses that only reinforces the with each passing year and the range of hierarchies I am challenging, I name music has expanded as well. Whereas the groups after Mica Levi, Gustavo the third edition of the standard Santaoalla, Quincy Jones, and others. I textbook, which I used as a student, do this to give equal authority to these traced a fairly simple trajectory that composers and to also encourage ran directly from Bach through Mozart, students to become familiar with Beethoven, and Brahms to Schoenberg, these individuals even before they the current tenth edition, which I assign begin their research. I encourage you to my students at UTSA, now includes, to do the same: check out Levi (who Silvestre Revueltas in addition to the traditional content, music of the early also performs as Micachu), Santaoalla, and Jones, not just Americas, women in music, the music of Latin America, jazz their film music, but their other musical activities too. All and popular music, Broadway and film music, rock music, three have remarkable careers that cross boundaries in world music, and innovations in music technology. While surprising and unusual ways! acknowledging that I cannot cover everything, I have tried
he Music History Classroom
By Dr. J. Drew Stephen
In line with a key component of my teaching philosophy, that the process of preparing and teaching a topic leads to a deeper and longer-lasting understanding of the material, I frame the assignments as teaching activities. The groups are instructed to prepare videos that teach their topics to the class and the submitted assignments are posted on Blackboard where they are reviewed by the entire class in a follow-up assignment. This approach has many benefits: there is a sense of a shared learning community, students are more accountable since they know their work will be reviewed by their peers, individual students gain a profound understanding of the topics through their deep engagement in the material, and the class, in reviewing the presentations, benefits from the diversity that is added to the overall content.
Parks. Parks became the first Black director of a major motion picture with The Learning Tree, an adaptation of his own semi-autobiographical novel. Parks produced and directed the film, wrote the screenplay, and composed the musical score. As the director of Shaft he is also acknowledged as a founder of the blaxploitation genre. With the sequel, Shaft’s Big Score!, he not only directed but also composed and performed the musical score. Composers like Toprak and Parks are industry outsiders, especially compared to composers like John Williams, but the fresh perspectives they bring to the study of film music and to the films themselves are indispensable.
The responses of students to these assignments have been overwhelmingly positive. Although there is initial hesitance because the names are unfamiliar, the students quickly The true payoff comes from the insights embrace the topics and demonstrate gained in the departures from the sincere excitement at discovering new mainstream of music history. Instead perspectives. They become aware of of reinforcing how composers like historical issues of inclusion and are Rossini or Berlioz followed conventions eager to bring their discoveries to Clara Schumann and benefited from the support of class discussions. One student, after established institutions, students become aware of the starting his research on Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de remarkable ways underrepresented composers were able Saint-Georges, was shocked that he had never heard of this to transcend conventions and find ways to create music composer previously and eager to share the reasons why without institutional support. We are so accustomed to he thought Bologne should be better known. It was not just considering the sonata, the art song, opera, the symphony, the quality of his compositions, which influenced Mozart or the concerto using rules defined by white males, that the among others, but Bologne’s additional accomplishments unique approaches to these genres by composers like Clara as a virtuoso violinist, a conductor of the leading orchestra Schumann, Florence Price, William Grant Still, or Silvestre in Paris, an activist for the freedom of slaves, and a Revueltas bring enormous revelations and insights. This renowned fencing prodigy. The student ultimately created applies to the creative process as well. Although music a remarkable presentation that informed the class about history has traditionally privileged the formal complexity Bologne while addressing the reasons why people of color of composers like Milton Babbitt or Pierre Boulez, who are often overlooked in our music history classes. developed systems to assert complete control over all aspects of musical structure, a more inclusive approach It is very clear that these assignments allow today’s also embraces the Deep Listening practices and musical students to identify with and make personal connections meditations of Pauline Oliveros and her focus on body, to the content of our music history studies. By including environmental, and sonic awareness. In the discipline of women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ composers in film music, the results are even more striking. There is the curriculum and celebrating their contributions and little drama in the story of how John Williams, a Hollywood unique perspectives, we are engaging students in ways insider, was selected to score the original Star Wars film in that are relatable to them while also promoting UTSA’s 1977 and then compose nearly all of the music heard in core values of diversity and inclusion. “I have been playing almost every Star Wars movie since then. By contrast, the music for fifteen years” wrote one student at the end of story of how Pinar Toprak became the first woman to score the semester, “and this was the first and only time I have a Marvel film is compelling and inspiring. Knowing that her studied non-white classical music composers. For the first gender placed her at a disadvantage, she hired a 70-piece time in my academic career, I felt like my culture and my orchestra to create a demo tape to prove she was capable people mattered.” of leading a full orchestra and then created an additional video to explain in detail how her original themes would Watch music marketing student Josh Ralph’s define the characters and situations. Or consider acclaimed presentation on Joseph Bologne,Chevalier de Saintphotographer, musician, writer, and filmmaker Gordon Georges
COVID-19 Quarantine Pulse Poll March 2021 marks the one-year anniversary that most of us started learning, teaching, and working from home in a significant way. In what part of your home have you spent the most time this past year and why?
Raymond Sifuentes Music Education Major Trombone
“In the past year, I have spent more hours in my bedroom than I could possibly count. I am lucky enough to be able to house my desk and computer in my room, alongside my TV. It has become my “one-stop-shop” for entertainment, relaxation, studying, and productivity. I have developed the habit of rolling out of bed, getting dressed, and going to the opposite side of my room to start the day. By the day’s end, I’m able to walk a few steps over and get nice and comfy again!”
Dr. Ethan Wickman Associate Professor Composition
“Since August, we have been living temporarily in Moab, Utah, in a small home owned by my wife’s family. Moab is not far from the Four Corners area of the Southwestern US. While I have spent a lot of time in my studio/ bedroom office (!), I have been spending a lot of time in the beautiful and remote red rock canyon country here. The cliffs and canyons of the high desert have provided a periodic respite from the difficulty of the pandemic, and much creative inspiration.”
Katie Johnson
Music Marketing Major Guitar
“I have spent the most time in my room. This is because I keep my desk, computer, guitar and keyboard in my room. I have a dual monitor set up so I prefer to work and do homework at my desk. My room is also the best place to practice without distraction. My cat also enjoys spending time in my room so it’s nice to have some furry company when spending so much time at home.”
Naomy Ybarra
Music Senior Administrative Associate
“After being sent home last year, my high school daughter and I found out very quickly how small our home was. We would hear each other’s video conferences if I tried to work from the common areas of the house. My bedroom turned out to be the best place to work from. It provided enough privacy so that my daughter and I could work without interrupting each other. However, it has also created an interesting issue. Being able to stop and disconnect at the end of the day is already a challenge for me. Now I find myself struggling with sitting back down to work in the evenings instead of going to sleep because my workstation is right there.”
Southwest Guitar Symposium 2.0 The 2021 Southwest Guitar Symposium (SWGS) will return to the Recital Hall March 19th - 21st, a followup to its grand re-emergence in 2020 after the festival’s previous nine-year hiatus. The Symposium, under the direction of the head of guitar studies Dr. Isaac Bustos, will bring together some of the most important scholars and artists of the guitar world in masterclasses, concerts, and workshops. Previously, the 2020 Southwest Guitar Symposium was an in-person success, the calm before the storm as the COVID-19 pandemic forced students and professors to work remotely shortly after the 3-day event. The 2020 symposium was the last time that UTSA guitar students were safely able to be in each other’s presence. Out of an abundance of caution, all 2021 SWGS events will be held virtually. The Guitar Studio’s evening concert on March 19th will be live-streamed from the #UTSAMUSIC Recital Hall and all activities to follow will be broadcast virtually via Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live. “While the pandemic has brought innumerable challenges for both instructors and students, it has also been a tremendous opportunity for learning and growth,” says Bustos. “The SWGS is all about community building and sharing,” things scholars and musicians need to thrive during these unprecedented times. Bustos is looking forward to being able to share the incredible artistry that the musical guests bring to the event with UTSA students, faculty, and guitar aficionados in the community. He is especially ecstatic about the Guitar Studio Showcase. “The resiliency and dedication of our UTSA guitar students have been nothing short of inspiring this past year so I am thrilled to have them share their work during this event,” boasted Bustos. The opening concert of the SWGS will be held on Friday, March 19 at 7 pm in the Recital Hall and includes performances by UTSA music faculty members Dr. Isaac Bustos, Prof. Johnny Peña, Dr. Nicole Cherry, and the UTSA Guitar Ensemble. The SWGS will also feature performances by a world-renown virtuoso, Rene Izquierdo (Cuba/USA), American scholar and pedagogue, Dr. Andrew Zohn, Michael Partington (UK/USA), and the Ibison-Grohovac Duo (USA). The 2021 Southwest Guitar Symposium will be free and open to the public via the streaming platforms Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook Live. Click on the adjacent page for more information.
UTSA Giving Day: 1,969 Chances to Give On December 7, 2020, UTSA President Taylor Eighmy announced a new philanthropic initiative for advancing the university called “UTSA Giving Day.” The fundraising event’s success is based on meeting three goals: student success, research excellence, and strategic growth. This brand new event is defined as “a celebration of all things UTSA in support of our extraordinary students, faculty, and staff.”
SCAN HERE
According to the UTSA Giving Day website, the online event begins at 10:11am (CST) on Wednesday, April 6, and concludes on Thursday, April 7 at 7 pm. The 1,969 minutes—or 32 hours, 49 minutes— honor the university’s founding in 1969. During that window of time, members of Roadrunner Nation and community members will be able to make a contribution directly to the areas of the campus that are most important to them. The announcement spurred excitement at #UTSAMUSIC, as two areas within the department were designated as specific choices for support during UTSA Giving Day: the Spirit of San Antonio Marching Band (SOSA), and Friends of Music.
TO DONATE!
Monies contributed to the Friends of Music allow the department to award scholarships, subsidize the Urbino, Italy study abroad program and bring talented and acclaimed guest artists to the Recital Hall. Ron Ellis, Director of Bands and SOSA Director, was enthusiastic about the potential support from music alumni during UTSA Giving Day. “We will use this opportunity to upgrade and expand the Spirit of San Antonio Marching Uniforms as well as begin to fund a scholarship program for the members of the ensemble. The Spirit of San Antonio is one of the only collegiate marching bands in the state of Texas without a scholarship program and we will use this amazing day to get that final component of SOSA started!” #MeepMeep4Music, #FeedTheBeak, #FeatheredFunds, #SOSAlove, #growSOSA, #SOSAcare
Learn more at givingday.utsa.edu #BuildTheNest
2021 Hodges Competition Announces Winners By Dr. Kasandra Keeling UTSA and the San Antonio Music Teachers Association hosted the 36th Annual Janice Kay Hodges Contemporary Piano Competition this February. Like many other events, this year’s competition was held virtually and 60 young pianists from South Texas submitted videos for prizes in their grade division. The 2021 theme was Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora, inspired by the recent release of an excellent collection of graded piano repertoire edited by William Chapman Nyaho. First, second, and third-place winners received cash prizes in each grade level, as well as written critiques from UTSA keyboard faculty members Dr. Ivan Hurd, Dr. Andrew Lloyd, and Dr. Kasandra Keeling, who served as adjudicators this year. In addition, 1st place winners received an additional scholarship award of 50% off of tuition for any summer program at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. A special congratulations to UTSA graduate student Kieley Morales, UTSA piano alum Toni Salmons, Dorothy Yan, and Ana Ortega, and UTSA Summer Music Institute alum Peter Steigerwald, Ellen Pavliska, and Daniel Anastasio for having top prizewinners in this year’s Hodges competition.
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