CADENZA
UTSA DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC | OCTOBER 2021 Opus 32
FALL INTO A NEW MONTH OF CONCERTS Rake in #UTSAMUSIC
CONTENTS
03 04 06 09 12
WELCOME A word from Department of Music Chair, Dr. Tracy Cowden
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Daniel Lugo (‘00, ‘14) attests that Roadrunner connections last a lifetime
DR. COWDEN’S BIG DEBUT! #UTSAMUSIC’s Department Chair adds another item to her impressive repertoire
IN MEMORIAM The Michael Valdez Memorial Endowed Scholarship is brought to life in honor of a fellow Roadrunner
THE END OF AN ERA Read about how a passion for music began for head piano accompanist, Christine Debus
CONTRIBUTORS: Cindy Solis - Publisher Jason Guzman - Graphic Designer Rebekah Alegria - PR Assistant/Editor
Welcome to
CADENZA
Showcasing UTSA Music
FRIENDS, Welcome to Fall in San Antonio, and the October issue of Cadenza! We are delighted to be in official concert season now, with our first concerts in the Recital Hall beginning October 3rd. Our students, staff, and faculty are so eager to welcome you to campus to hear live music again! You will see concert announcements for the month of October in this issue of Cadenza, as well as a few special articles. We are extremely proud to announce The Michael Valdez Memorial Endowed Scholarship, in honor of a wonderful student who passed away in 2020, and I encourage you to read the article and join us on October 7th for a special tribute to Michael at the Wind Ensemble concert. In addition, this issue features a tribute to pianist Christine Debus, who retired from UTSA in September, and an alumni spotlight on Daniel Lugo, a wonderful music educator right here in San Antonio. If you live outside of San Antonio, we encourage you to check out the livestreams of our performances, which are hosted on our social media sites. And we hope that all of you will take this opportunity to follow us on social media, where we post fun features on our students, faculty, and staff, link to our livestreams, and share photos and video clips of all that is taking place in the Department of Music. Are you interested in having live music at your own event? You could hire a student group! We have a new Gig Service link on the department website! And as always, we invite our alumni to submit your news and reconnect with your UTSA Music friends by sending an update to music@utsa.edu. We hope you have a wonderful October, and we look forward to welcoming our wonderful audiences back to campus for live music at UTSA! Tracy Cowden Roland K. Blumberg Endowed Professor in Music and Chair
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: DANIEL LUGO Daniel Lugo (‘00,‘14), is a Roadrunner with connections...connections to other #UTSAMUSIC alumni that run deep and wide. This trumpet player received his Bachelor of Music Education and followed that with his Master in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 14 years later. He is marking his 17th year as the Director of Bands at Oliver Wendell Holmes High School and his 6th as the school’s Fine Arts Department Director. For Lugo, the nexus of his personal and professional life is the UTSA Department of Music, and as he progresses in his career, it remains the indisputable force.
You have worked with many #UTSAMUSIC alumni during your years as a school band director; even your assistant band director is an alum. Joey Pereira is the Associate Director of Bands at Oliver Wendell Holmes High School. Mr. Pereira graduated with his Master of Music Education from UTSA in 2007. In Northside ISD, I have been very fortunate to work alongside many UTSA Alumni such as John Dominguez (Stevens HS), Daniel Asgari (Brandeis HS), David Eckert (New Braunfels HS), Brian Ruiz (Vale MS), Angela Dominguez (Jefferson MS), Celeste Astorga (Sul Ross MS), and Tim Logan (Orchestra Director at Holmes HS).These UTSA graduates and colleagues have been instrumental in the success and growth of music education, not only at their individual
campuses, but also for the district we all support. What is it like working with musicians who have graduated from the same program as you? There is a connection when working with musicians who have gone through the music program at UTSA. The relationships and friendships that are created while at UTSA are special. Then, when you are out in the workforce, the familiarity of the campus, courses, and professors add a unique understanding to the work that we do. We can share ideas, are open to feedback, and continue to learn from each other. UTSA was the start of many wonderful professional and personal relationships that I value to this day.
That leads to the next question...do you still stay in contact with your former classmates/graduates or faculty from the Department of Music? Yes, I do stay in contact with my former classmates. Unfortunately, I don’t get to see many of them as often as I would like but I do look forward to the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Alumni event where we do get to catch up and talk about our time at UTSA. What made you decide to attend UTSA? My father was a band director for 39 years and I enjoyed music at an early age. I graduated high school in Eagle Pass, Texas and I applied for college at UTSA and the University of Incarnate Word (UIW). Selecting UTSA was the wise choice for me as I enjoyed the campus life, and the faculty of the Department of Music was incredible. When you were an undergrad, did you ever have a challenge that you had trouble overcoming? How did you motivate yourself to overcome it? I think back to the challenges of preparation prior to a performance and not wanting to let my professors down, from my private trumpet lesson teacher, Jan Roller, to Wind Ensemble Director, Dr. Robert Rustowicz, Orchestra Director, Dr. Eugene Dowdy, and Theory & Ear Training professor, the late Morgan King. They pushed me to want to give nothing but the best and that was a great motivator and tool that helped me immensely throughout my years in the music program. As a music teacher, you obviously apply what you learned in your music courses to the classroom. What has been your “go-to” lesson? I try to instill in my students that the fundamentals of music, whether it’s scales, or interval training, will be critical to their success as musicians. At UTSA, I learned the
importance of understanding fundamentals and how that deeper understanding would be part of the learning process to truly excel in playing my instrument and understanding the music I would eventually play and perform. What makes you most proud about being a #UTSAMUSIC alum? A proud moment about being a #UTSAMUSIC alum is when you see your former students go through the program and experience the same joy and education you received. Just recently, Oscar Onofre, a former Holmes HS student and 2016 UTSA graduate became Director of Bands at Brownsville Porter HS. Watching him go from a high school freshman to college freshman to now band director was definitely a proud moment. How has attending and graduating from UTSA changed you? Yes, I would definitely recommend UTSA! Choosing UTSA was a life-changing experience, not only in the realm of academics but also for personal growth. Everything I experienced while attending UTSA--both good and bad-motivated me to strive for more in my life. Everything I experienced while seeking my undergraduate, Masters, and Ph.D. helped affirm and shape the person that I am today. It also made me realize that my destined calling was to be a teacher.
“UTSA was the start of many wonderful professional and personal relationships that I value to this day.”
DR. COWDEN’S BIG DEBUT!
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ppointed in 2018 as Roland K. Blumberg Endowed Professor in Music and Department Chair of #UTSAMUSIC, Dr. Tracy Cowden’s professional life centers around making music with others, whether in duos, chamber music, or orchestral settings. Her work as a collaborative pianist includes a wide range of music, partners, and will now include her very own discography. Dr. Cowden began the lengthy creative process of crafting her CD, Rapture and Regret three years ago, recording the album with MSR Classics, an independent record label committed to a culture of musical excellence. The entirety of putting together the record was centered around Cowden’s desire to record Vegetable Verselets, a song cycle for soprano and piano that she had commissioned from Daron Hagen, whom she had originally met at the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival in Virginia as a composer-in-residence where she had the privilege of performing a few of his songs and two of his piano trios. “I decided that the project would be best designed as an entire CD of Daron’s works,” said Cowden. The recording was brought to life in the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech in early 2018. “With my administrative duties, and moving to San Antonio for the UTSA Department of Music position later in 2018, it took a while for this project to be completed. I’m very pleased that the MSR Classics label released the CD.” For the rest of the CD selections, Dr. Tracy Cowden collaborated with the composer, Daron Hagen, to decide what more to include. Everything featured on the recording is a world premiere except for the Muldoon Songs, which have been recorded previously. The final
two sets on the album are collections of piano pieces that had never been professionally recorded before. One of them, the Suite for Piano, won the Cliburn Invitation Composition Competition and served as a required contemporary work for the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, a prestigious contest. Magnificent vocalists also featured on the record including Ariana Wyatt, soprano, and Brian Thorsett, tenor, former colleagues of Cowden at Virginia Tech. Rapture and Regret, the title track of the album for soprano, cello, and piano, featured the amazing Cellist, Ben Wyatt. “It’s a really interesting creative activity to make world premiere recordings of something, because you are getting to create your interpretation of what’s on the page, the musical score, without the input of any other performances or recordings. It is a great responsibility, and I loved collaborating with my friends and colleagues on this project!” Cowden exclaimed. Check out Dr. Tracy Cowden’s debut piano album today, streaming now on classical radio stations across the country, on Spotify, and Apple Music!
Here’s a link to the page specifically for her recording: https://www.msrcd.com/catalog/cd/MS1713.
The Michael Valdez Memorial Endowed Scholarship Actualized This past summer the UTSA Department of Music added a very special endowed scholarship for undergraduate music education majors. The Michael Valdez Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established to honor the low brass music education major who succumbed to cancer in March of 2020. His parents, Sarah and Reynaldo worked with private donors to establish the first $10,000 needed to initiate the fund and with the anonymous gift of $15,000 successfully reached the minimum funding level as established by the University to officially set up the perpetual award. The scholarship targets full-time music majors whose principal instrument is in the low brass family: euphonium, tuba, baritones and trombones. Michael played the tuba and was in the studio of Gary Poffenbarger when he passed. Poffenbarger who directs the Boom Squad, an ensemble comprising euphonium and tuba players remembers Michael as ready to step in and perform on euphonium if needed. “Michael Valdez was a talented musician and student with a bright future ahead of him. He was a vital member of the Tuba studio and the Boom Squad and was always enthusiastic and willing to volunteer to help the group and the school. Even after his health started to fail, he maintained his optimism and was always an inspiration to his peers and teachers.” *Michael Valdez pictured on left.
His mother also recalls the giving spirit in Michael that made him exceptional. “He loved campus life and made many friends,” stated Mrs. Valdez. “He loved giving back and was always ready and able to help in any capacity the music department needed. As ill as he was, he insisted on returning to help his band mates and continue with classes.” Michael was a member of the Mu Tau chapter of the national band fraternity Kappa Kappa Psi. Within the brotherhood, Michael made many friends. According to his parents, he loved going to school and enjoyed being with his KKPsi brothers. The sentiment was mutual and demonstrated when his brothers and band mates visited him on his birthday while he was undergoing chemotherapy treatments. “We started this scholarship fund for our son Michael because he loved UTSA,” said Valdez. “He had a passion for music. We are hoping that his scholarship will assist future music majors with their passion.” The UTSA Wind Ensemble will perform a concert dedicated to Michael on Thursday, October 7 at 7:30pm in the Recital Hall. His family will be present and acknowledged at the event. The first awards from The Michael Valdez Memorial Endowed Scholarship will be made for students beginning in Fall 2022.
La fin d’une ère/T
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s head piano accompanist in the Department of Music, Christine Debus has been a major player since 1995. In her nearly 26 years with the department, Mrs. Debus has performed with soloists--both voice and instrumental, large ensembles and chamber groups. She has accompanied hundreds of students in recitals and juries. Her ability to learn literal pounds of music is sidelined only by her ability to carry them around.
The End of an Era: Christine Debus Retires The diminutive and sprightly Debus is originally from Bergerac, France and attended the Conservatoire National de Musique de Bordeaux where she earned her Médaille d’Or with Honors in piano performance. Christine began her formal training at a young age soon after her mother noticed the autodidact Christine was a natural. “I had a little toy piano and I used to play a bunch of tunes on it by ear,” states Debus. “Both my sister and I have perfect pitch and we used to think the whole world could hear the names of the notes! My mother enrolled me in the Conservatoire de Musique de Bergerac when I turned 8.” Christine was working with the saxophone studio of Jean Marie Londeix at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux when she met the American student, David Debus. In addition to literally making beautiful music together the couple wed and moved to the States--more specifically, northern Virginia--in 1986. It was there that the Debus family grew to include daughters Charlene and Kelsey-Rose. Other highlights of that period boast prestigious performances at the Kennedy Center and other urbane venues in Washington, D.C. When Dave was offered a job as a band director at MacArthur High School in the Northeast Independent School District the family moved to San Antonio, Texas. In 1995 Christine was hired to play for the UTSA Concert Choir and juggle accompaniment assignments for dozens of students each semester. David Debus would later join the UTSA music faculty and serve as an adjunct instructor teaching private lessons from 2001 to 2012. In addition to her own professional accompaniment assignments, Christine also supervised the students in the accompanying class for 20 years and delegated their accompanying responsibilities for students and faculty throughout the department. Along with UTSA professor emerita, Dr. Rita Linard, Christine performed as part of the quartet Hemisphere for 15 years,and as part of Rio Trio with Hemisphere partner, Judith VanderWeg
and professor emeritus, Dr. Gene Dowdy. “Christine and I started playing early in her tenure at UTSA,” Linard remembers. “What a great time we had rehearsing, performing and celebrating music together. I know that UTSA will miss her artistry and her commitment to the music department.” As she reaches her retirement, Christine is grateful to have had the opportunity to successfully collaborate with so many talented people and ensembles. A consummate professional alongside everyone she has shared the stage with, Debus’ contribution to the Recital Hall performances will be missed. As current voice area coordinator John Nix puts it, “I will always remember her for her kindness towards our students. She has made such an impact across the department, but especially with our singers.” Dr. Tracy Cowden, music department chair and collaborative pianist shares this about her colleague, “Christine has touched the lives of so many students and faculty over the years, which is one of the great joys of being a collaborative pianist. Our students have benefited so much from her artistry, and Christine’s dedication to the students has been exemplary. She will be greatly missed!” Some of her most memorable moments at UTSA have been performing with now successful singers Jenna Black, David Portillo and Rafael Moras, and performing with the UTSA Women’s Choir at Carnegie Hall under the baton of Dr. Gary Mabry. In 2019 she accompanied Dr. Jourdan Laine Howell as she made her debut performance as a UTSA Music voice faculty member. This must have seemed like dé·jà vu to both as they shared the stage 17 years prior when Laine Howell was an undergraduate performing her senior recital on the same stage. Looking back on nearly 3 decades of making music at UTSA Debus shares these parting words, “Time flies when you are making music!!!”
OCTOBER
DATES
21 UNIVERSITY CHORUS 7:30PM - UTSA Recital Hall
24 VOCAL ARTS SERIES 3:00PM - TBD
03 UNIVERSITY BAND
26 OCTUBA FEST
03 ORCHESTRA CONCERT
26 OCTUBA FEST II
05 SYMPHONIC BAND
28 JAZZ FACULTY
07 WIND ENSEMBLE
29 TRUMPET ENSEMBLE
3:00PM - UTSA Recital Hall
7:30PM - UTSA Recital Hall
7:30PM - UTSA Recital Hall
7:30PM - UTSA Recital Hall
08 GUEST RECITAL Deux Voice Duo 7:30PM - UTSA Recital Hall
12 PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE 7:30PM - UTSA Recital Hall
14 CONCERT CHOIR 7:30PM - UTSA Recital Hall
18 FACULTY RECITAL Dr. Kasandra Keeling, piano 7:30PM - UTSA Recital Hall
5:00PM - UTSA Recital Hall
5:00PM - UTSA Recital Hall
7:30PM - UTSA Recital Hall
5:00PM - UTSA Recital Hall
IMPORTANT INFORMATION Parking for many UTSA Department of Music events is on an individual pay basis in the nearby Ximenes Avenue Garage. Click on the icon to find XAG (Ximenes Avenue Garage) off of UTSA Blvd and Ximenes Avenue.
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