Cadenza | Opus 18

CADENZA

UTSA DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC | DECEMBER 2019 Opus 18

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Celebrating the conclusion of the semester and the end of our 50th anniversary year.

CONTENTS 03 05 07 09

16 18

WELCOME A word from Department of Music Chair, Dr. Tracy Cowden

MARIACHI MASTERCLASS We welcome Jonathan Palomar of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán

ACADEMIC TRAVELS The Music Theory Club traveled to Columbus, Ohio for a conference

HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES Join us as we celebrate the season with our Winterlude concerts

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS Professor Owen Duggan writes on the season of Advent

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Q&A with alum Bethany HirotaMabry (B.M. ‘02)

CONTRIBUTORS: Shelby Gorden - Graphic Designer Cindy Solis - Senior Events Manager Alissa Stolt - Editor

Welcome to

CADENZA Showcasing UTSA Music

FRIENDS, Welcome to the December issue of Cadenza from the Department of Music! As the students, staff, and faculty approach the end of the semester, we are grateful for your support of our work through attendance at our events. These concerts are the culmination of hours of individual and group rehearsals, academic preparation, and the grit and heart of our student performers and faculty conductors and teachers. What a joyful way to celebrate our hard work – to share it with you!

The first week in December marks our final week of concerts for the semester, and among many events, it includes two wonderful Winterlude programs that highlight our large choral and instrumental ensembles as well as several chamber music groups.

This issue includes articles about Winterlude and Advent, both of which are relevant to this final week of concerts for the semester.

We also feature stories about our outstanding student academic accomplishments and the creative work of our students in the New Music Lab this semester.

Cadenza has become an important outlet for us to share our stories, and we are eager for your feedback; this issue contains a link to a survey about this publication, and I ask for your participation so that we can continue to improve our efforts. We are thankful for you and thankful for the opportunity to make music and learn about music through such rich and rewarding experiences. We hope you have a wonderful December and a very happy holiday season!

Tracy Cowden Roland K. Blumberg Endowed Professor in Music and Chair

TheUTS ADe pa r t me ntofMu s i cPr e s e nt s

Tu e s d a y , Thu r s d a y , De c e mbe r3 De c e mbe r5 Hol i d a yBa nd s Or c he s t r a& Conc e r t Choi r sConc e r t

w e N La b c i s u M

UTSA ALL-STATE CHOIR CLINIC The UTSA All-State Choir Clinic this year will feature valuable instruction from UTSA’s top conductors – Dr. Gary Mabry, Professor Emeritus, and Dr. Yoojin Muhn, Director of Choral Activities. The UTSA choral directors may provide detailed and innovative instructions that may not only be beneficial to the All-State finalists, but also to their respective choral directors. The All-State Choir finalists can expect to receive audition advice, tips on standing out compared to their competitors, and many more benefits.

CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS

DEC. 14 Grades: 9th - 12th Check-In: 8:00 AM Times: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Early Bird: $75 if registered

by December 6th.

Cost: $100 after Dec. 6th or at the door.

UTSA MUSIC STUDENTS RECEIVE MONETARY AWARDS Nathan Valdez was recently selected as an Institute of Education Sciences Fellow for the UTSA Educational Research Training Program: P-20 Pipeline Issues for the academic year 2019-2020 and the summer of 2020.

After an extensive application process, Nathan was granted this prestigious fellowship funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The $5,000 stipend will fund Nathan’s work with various mentors on research projects and his travel to Stanford to present his research.

As part of an assignment for her Freshman Composition II class, Madeline Gonzales’ essay, “Providing Arts for Our Students” was nominated and awarded one of the Judith G. Gardner Writing Scholarships. Ms. Gonzales forwarded her essay to the Academic Policy and Curriculum committee of The Writing Program. That committee will present Ms. Gonzales with a $2,000 scholarship to be used for the Spring 2020 semester.

A LOOK BACK AT THE SEMESTER...

Our ensembles' big debut at the Sombrilla Concert was a success.

UTSA Music was represented at UTSA’s 50th Golden Gala at the Tobin Center.

Mariachi Los Paisanos got new trajes to perform in.

The Spirit of San Antonio Marching Band performed on Kyle Field at Texas A&M University.

Music faculty celebrated Halloween in style.

The SOSA Alumni band was over 60 people strong for UTSA Homecoming.

SAI hosted a symposium presenting the healing power of music.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: BETHANY HIROTA-MABRY

Each month, CADENZA features a UTSA graduate that has successfully kept music as a central part of his or her life after graduation. The alumni we speak to are not 9 to 5 musicians, they are musicians 24/7, at both work and play. This month’s Alumni Spotlight shines on one such person, Bethany Hirota-Mabry (B.M. ‘02).

Bethany is currently a music educator who, as a UTSA undergraduate, studied percussion with Sherry Rubins.

As an alumnae of #utsamusic would you consider yourself an ambassador of our department? If so, how?

What is your current career and how did #utsamusic prepare you for it?

I currently teach band at the middle school level

I absolutely consider myself an ambassador

and have been in this field for almost 17 years.

of UTSA and a cheerleader for the Music

The faculty at UTSA provided me opportunities

Department. I continuously support students

to experience the “real world” and helped me

and ensembles by attending performances

make the connections I needed to get into the

and sending students to the UTSA band

career path I always knew was my life’s calling.

camp each summer. When given the opportunity, I encourage budding young musicians to consider UTSA in their quest to become music educators.

You are a career musician. Does music play a part in your life that is not work related? If so, how?

Who were your mentors while you were here and how did they help you?

Music has been known to “take over” a

techniques and literature and introduced me to

person’s life. One of my favorite ways to

the steel drum ensemble. Mrs. Rubins was a

experience music “on my own terms” is by

guiding force in helping me to get organized and

playing drums and singing in a Bluegrass/

become a better person and musician. Dr. Robert

Americana Band called Down for the

Rustowicz [Professor Emeritus] provided a steady

Count. The roster of this ensemble looks

menu of challenging band literature and

like a Rowdy reunion group—recently

modelled the best in effective conducting. I was

retired UTSA music faculty Dr. Eugene

honored to serve as an Ensemble Associate. I

Dowdy and Dr. Gary Mabry, along with

really felt a tremendous amount of support and

Music alums Yours Truly and Timothy

encouragement from all of my music professors.

Mrs. Sherry Rubins guided me in percussion

Logan. Our front man is a guitar-toting Episcopal priest named Matthew Wise.

We started as a summer experiment, but Gary and I had so much fun that we lobbied to be a forever band. That was almost ten years ago, and we’re still going strong!

What would you like to be doing ten years from now?

I sincerely hope I get to do the same thing I do now. My campus serves a large percentage of military personnel and their growing dependents.

Finish this sentence, “If it weren’t for the UTSA Department of Music…”

With my background as an “Army brat” I feel I have an advantage being able to empathize with students who move out, and help those that move in make a smoother transition being the “new

I really don’t know where I’d be, honestly.

I thought for a very brief time that I would join the military but there wasn’t a career

kid.” I’d like to continue fostering life-long appreciators of music in hopes that one day they’ll support music programs wherever they are.

choice outside of music that seemed as satisfying to me. UTSA Music provided me the nurturing and encouraging atmosphere I needed at the time.

Why did you choose to attend UTSA?

What advice would you give to your students who want to be career musicians?

Have an idea what you want that career to look

I started college at Temple College [TC]

like and talk to people who do what you think you

in Temple, Texas. When my parents moved

might want to do. The musical field is such a

to San Antonio, I stayed in Temple

broad space. The UTSA Department of Music

another year and then made the choice

provides an environment that is small enough to

to move to San Antonio and into a four-

be nurturing and large enough to be competitive.

year program. Everyone I spoke with at

There are opportunities within the Music

TC recommended UTSA and encouraged

Department that allow students to prepare for a

me to work with Sherry Rubins. I took their

multifaceted musical career in teaching,

advice, and I’m glad I did!

performance, research, and leadership.

G R A D U A T I N G C L A S SO F2 0 1 9

B r i a n n aC o r o n a d oF l o r e s J o n a t h a nE s p i n o z a A b r a mF e r n a n d e z R a y mo n dH e r r e r a K h a d i j a hJ a b b a r A l v i nMa r t i n e z C a mi l l eMo j i c a D a n i e l l eMo r a l e s

Ma r i t z aO l i v a r e s J a c o bR e p i n o Mi c h e l l eR i c h a r d s o n Wi l l i a mR o d r i g u e z J a me sS e g u r a D o mi n i cV a l a d e z R o b e r t V a l d e z Mi c h a e l Y b a r r a

DECEMBER DATES

13 CONCERTO &

ARIA COMPETITION

The vocal and instrumental students will vie for the opportunity to perform with the UTSA Orchestra in the spring. 12:00pm - UTSA Recital Hall

03 MUSIC CONVOCATION 15 UTSA COMMENCEMENT White Music Convocation and Concert to the UTSA students who will - Congratulations Attendance Credit. walk the stage in the Fall 2019 commencement 16 ceremony.

11:30am - UTSA Recital Hall 06 STUDY DAY Classes are dismissed.

EXAMS 07 FINAL Final exams begin on the 7th and end on the 13th.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST INFORMATION ON UPCOMING CONCERTSÂ AND EVENTS AT UTSA MUSIC MUSIC.UTSA.EDU

FOLLOW

US!

@UTSAMUSIC