CADENZA
UTSA DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC | OCTOBER 2020 Opus 24
HOW #UTSAMUSIC GOT ITS GROOVE BACK Livestreaming Makes Performances Possible Again
CONTENTS
03 04 06 08 10 13 14
WELCOME A word from Department of Music Chair, Dr. Tracy Cowden
NATS Our vocalists prepare to compete in this annual audition process
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Attorney José Blazquez waxes nostalgic
“THE SINGING GUITAR” Dr. Isaac Bustos is part of a unique alliance
LIVE FROM THE RECITAL HALL How our musicians are once again performing for an audience
NEW ORIGINAL STUDENT WORK Voice students create an opera based on current social unrest
COVID-19 PULSE POLL Our reaction to the fall return
CONTRIBUTORS: Jason Guzman - Graphic Designer Cindy Solis - Senior Events Manager Rebekah Alegria - PR Assistant/Editor Dr. Jourdan Laine Howell
Correction: The COLFA 2020 Project written about in the September issue of Cadenza is now being referred to the Interdisciplinary Project 2020.
Welcome to
CADENZA
Showcasing UTSA Music
FRIENDS, I am delighted to welcome all of you to this issue of Cadenza on behalf of the Department of Music! We are settling into the semester well in the UTSA Department of Music, and finding creative ways to make music together and share it with audiences near and far. This month marks the start of our concert season for 2020-2021, and we are excited to announce that we will be livestreaming concerts from the UTSA Recital Hall starting this month! You can read all about it in this issue and mark your calendars for the Percussion Ensemble and Orchestra concerts. More information about the livestreams will be available on our website and social media sites, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. Feature articles in this issue include topics from the release of the recording The Singing Guitar, which includes our own guitar professor Dr. Isaac Bustos, to an alumni spotlight on attorney JosĂŠ Blazquez. You will also learn about upcoming student participation in a regional vocal competition, and the ways that our Lyric Theatre program is addressing contemporary issues with original student works. 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 hope your October marks a beautiful fall season, and we look forward to welcoming you to virtual music events this month at UTSA! Tracy Cowden Roland K. Blumberg Endowed Professor in Music and Chair
South Texas NATS Winners
UTSA Singers Prep for a Fall Full of NATS Events
T
he National Association of Teachers of Singing, Inc (NATS) was founded in 1944 and is now the largest association of teachers of singing in the world. A part of the Texoma Region of NATS (Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico), UTSA sends a delegation of students from the voice area to compete in NATS student auditions every fall, and this year will be the same – well, almost
the same! Like so many organizations planning their annual event, Texoma NATS is going virtual. Going virtual presents challenges for the students who are auditioning. Auditions typically take place the first week in November, but the deadline for video submissions is October 15th. The loss of two weeks of preparation can be difficult for any musician,
and our singers are certainly feeling the pressure to have their pieces polished and memorized, but they are up for the challenge. On the flipside, more students are able to participate in the process because they do not have to raise funds to attend the Texoma NATS auditions. In traditional years, students spend three or four days away from home to participate and the cost can be substantial. But in 2020, the door is open to more singers excited about the chance to sing for a new audience and receive critical feedback from music faculty outside of UTSA. We hope to submit audition videos from a large group of singers this fall and inspire students to compete in future years. In an effort to increase our presence in NATS beyond the auditions, Professors John Nix and Christopher Besch have spurred UTSA singers to action, reigniting interest in SNATS, our student NATS chapter. Singers dedicated to the study of all things voice have joined forces to plan, host and support events that enrich the musical lives of our student body. “We hope to include masterclasses, show the importance of composers of color, and introduce different vocal techniques within different genres and subgenres [of music],” says SNATS Secretary, Mariah Martinez (Music Marketing, junior). Mariah is looking forward to the SNATS chapter helping increase the department’s knowledge about vocal health and vocal teaching. Keep an eye out for the December issue of Cadenza when we highlight the students who competed in this year’s Texoma auditions and showcase the great work of SNATS.
Mariah Martinez
Howell studio singers waiting for audition results
According to texomanats.org, “NATS boasts more than 6,500 members in the United States, Canada, and, over twenty-five other countries around the world including Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, and the number of countries represented is growing every year.”
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: JOSÉ BLAZQUEZ Undergraduate students in Texas seeking a prelaw education are offered solid advice from the texasbar.com website. “Consider courses that develop organized thinking . . . and the ability to work well with others. Do not choose the least demanding courses for a high grade point average at the expense of achieving valuable learning skills.” For attorney at law, José Blazquez (‘99), his years at #UTSAMUSIC as a music marketing major and active student musician were in line with that advice. Music and law are comparable pursuits; both demand clarity in thought and discipline in action. Good musicians maneuver between ensemble and solo situations as a matter of course. We asked Blazquez, who in 2017 established the Blazquez Law Office in Houston, to travel back to his pre-law days when he was a student musician at UTSA to share his memories with us.
What was your motivation for becoming a lawyer and what role did being a music marketing major play? The Music Marketing degree was broad enough that it exposed me to areas that I had not considered previously. I had to take a Business Law class. During that class, I discovered I had a real interest in reading legal texts and cases. I found it fascinating that the material concerned real people with actual and tangible problems and situations. When I decided to go to law school, I imagined myself as a music lawyer. Once I got to law school, however, I discovered that I preferred trial and appellate advocacy more so than what I imagined to be the music lawyer’s life of sitting in front of a computer all day dealing with paperwork. I was drawn to the excitement of the trial setting, examination of witnesses and investigation. Looking back, I think it may have been the musician in me looking for a stage.
After you graduated from UTSA where did you attend law school? I graduated from Texas Tech School of Law in December of 2001, after one year at St. Thomas School of Law in Miami, Florida. I passed the February 2002 bar and was licensed in May of 2002. I began my career in San Antonio and moved to Houston in 2013. In 2017, I opened my own law office and that is currently where I work. My law practice is primarily focused on civil litigation, although I handle other civil matters as well as contracts, real estate, etc. Most of my work is representing large companies when they are sued for accidents, contracts, etc.
Do you see any similarities in being a musician and practicing law? Absolutely. After my first year of law school I realized that litigation was going to be my path in the law, primarily because being in court is in many ways similar to performing in front of an audience. Court appearances elicit many of the same feelings of anticipation and nervousness as performing on stage. Similar to music, there is also a lot of preparation that goes into a court appearance. In many ways, effective advocacy for a client in court is also an artistic endeavor. I have unfortunately seen many court performances where the performer (i.e. the lawyer) is disconnected from the audience (i.e. the judge or jury). I feel my music and performance background at UTSA helps me in such situations and provides me with a perspective that other attorneys just do not have. Do you still play the violin? Are you involved in any music-related activities? I do occasionally play my violin, but have not played in any ensembles for some time. Between my law practice and 3 children (2 boys ages 17 and 9 and a 12 year old girl), time is at a premium at this stage in my life. I do look forward to being able to again play with an ensemble in the future.
thousands, of other students who came through the Music Department. I also received some private instruction from Dr. Dowdy before he moved into administration. While in law school, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be a law clerk for a local district judge named Frank Montalvo. If you could describe your experience as a UTSA music major what 3 words would come into your mind and why? Grow yourself here. My time at UTSA was transformative for my life. I had already spent several years in college before coming to the Music Department and up to that point, had a very difficult time finding my path and myself. After transferring, I was surrounded by many very intelligent and positive people, both in the student body and the faculty. That environment along with music and the discipline required to practice and prepare helped me grow myself personally and develop key skills to succeed in life and my law career.
What do you remember about being part of the UTSA Department of Music? I have many fond memories of my time in the UTSA Music Department. Probably the most memorable are the performances. The feelings of anticipation and nervousness being backstage and stepping in front of the audience were something I loved, and are now definitely my fondest memories of being a music major. I also fondly recall the close knit community of the Music Department and the great, positive environment that existed for personal development and growth. As a Music Marketing major, I also had the opportunity to intern with the San Antonio Symphony, which was a great experience. Did you have a role model/mentor or positive influence on you during your years of education? Absolutely, Dr. Eugene Dowdy. I really looked up to Dr. Dowdy and have tremendous respect for him. I know he had a similar effect on hundreds, if not
Why did you choose to attend UTSA and would you recommend it to others? I chose UTSA due to the proximity to my family; however, I would recommend UTSA to anyone far and wide because of the quality of education I received (academic and personal) and the extraordinary faculty and student body.
The Singing Guitar:
A Choral and Strings Collaborative
C
lassical guitarist, pedagogue, and educator Dr. Isaac Bustos enjoys an extensive performing career that has taken him to Canada, Central America, Europe, China, and all over the US. In the Fall of 2019 as a member of the Texas Guitar Quartet, along with members from the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and the Texas Guitar Quartet, Dr. Bustos had the opportunity to record with Conspirare, a nine-time nominated and twotime Grammy® Award winning professional choral ensemble from Austin, Texas. The ensemble’s latest recording, The Singing Guitar, features the Conspirare singers with these classical guitar quartets – an unusual and atypical orchestration.
The twelve distinguished professional classical guitarists and chamber choir collaborated to produce The Singing Guitar, and it is unlike any other musical experiences the musicians have encountered. It is not a typical arrangement, taking elements of folk and cowboy songs and combining them into contemporary classical style. “With the utilization of classical guitar in the compositions, a unique texture was created and thus proved to be a challenge when combining the voices into relationship with the guitars’ sound,” stated Jos
Milton, Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Mississippi and Conspirare member. The essence of The Singing Guitar captures the allure of the vast Western American landscape. The album’s standout piece which features Bustos is titled “How Little You Are,” by Nico Muhly. It is based on texts from 19th-century pioneer women in Wyoming and Texas, an intellectual musical tale of native and non-native frontierswomen. Following its world-premiere, Austin-American Statesman critic Luke Quinton observed: “It’s [How Little You Are] a strong, moving work, a richly detailed piece of art that takes worthy stories from the West and makes them into something more than the sum of their parts, piecing just tiny fragments of these womens’ lives together in a buzzing, humming vibrating piece of music that manages to move you not just intellectually, but emotionally.” The composition by Nico Muhly was written for the chamber choir and all three classical guitar quartets. The lushness of the 12 classical guitar voices combined with the voices of Conspirare’s singers creates an evocative sound. The entire album will take you on a journey to the beautiful and daunting
Western landscapes with unique choral and guitar melodies uniquely crafted by Muhly, Reena Esmail, and Kile Smith. The Singing Guitar was released on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music in September of 2020.
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Texas Guitar Quartet
Austin Guitar Quartet
I
down instruments/mallets, and just working hard to perform at a very high level,” says Rubins. “I think they were so ready to make music and be in the same room as other humans that they fell right into ‘let’s get this done’ mode.”
n March of this year, like so many other university departments and performance venues, the UTSA Department of Music was forced to cancel a full calendar of events as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 500-seat Recital Hall fell quiet and dark for months. With no end in sight and social distancing becoming the norm, the music faculty had to find a way to offer the student musicians opportunities to perform without compromising their health.
now more than ever with social distancing regulations and the majority of class being held online.” On October 1st, the students in the UTSA Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Sherry Rubins, will be the first ensemble to perform in a livestream setting. The ensemble will consist of new and returning members, and Rubins believes the excitement of being able to play together after not being able to for the past several months is all the motivation they need.
The rules of social distancing are also affecting the type of music the ensembles will be performing. Troy Peters, conductor of the UTSA Orchestra, is currently rehearsing for an October 9th livestream concert. It is the first of two this semester; the second is slated for November 23rd. He describes how programming a performance for a group of less than 20 musicians differs from a program for over 50.
With support from music chair Dr. Tracy Cowden and university administration, audio technology lecturer Vinnie Barrera implemented a livestream system in the Recital Hall just in time for the fall semester. He worked with a limited budget and against a relentless clock to put a 4-camera system in place in time for the first livestreaming event caused by the quarantine. “This year, pre-quarantine, the proposal of adding cameras was suggested. Adding these cameras would allow the music program to connect to a bigger audience and also allow the music department to have a greater online presence,” says Barrera. “We need them
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way the students (5 new and 8 returning) are adapting to playing with masks, wiping
“The big difference for the UTSA Orchestra this semester is the shift to a strings-only group,” says
aren’t in the same room with us.” The UTSA Percussion concert will be held at 5 pm on October 1st. The livestream will be viewable through the Department’s Facebook page. The Orchestra will livestream its performance at 12:30 pm. All events will be uploaded to the Department’s YouTube channel following the live transmissions.
Peters. Masking woodwind and brass instrumentalists is not a realistic option so those musicians will be missing from the program. “This challenge gives us an opportunity to explore lots of great string orchestra repertoire that we don’t perform as frequently when we have other instruments in the ensemble,” he explains. The Orchestra and Percussion Ensemble are only two of a handful of student ensembles meeting on campus for in-person rehearsals this semester; the UTSA Mariachi Los Paisanos is one and the Jazz Combo another. At this time, there are no planned concerts for the latter two ensembles, but just spending time making music together has had its own advantages. “After six months of not being able to play live with other musicians, the chance to make
music together is thrilling,” states Peters. “Many [of us] have teared up more than once.” The Percussion Ensemble will be performing music written by new percussion faculty member, Paul Millette, and woman composer/player, Andrea Venet. The Orchestra will perform Grieg’s Holberg Suite and Mozart’s F major Divertimento, as well as great music by Mexican-American composer José Elizondo and Black English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. “We are excited that audiences will still be able to connect with the live element in a performance like this,” says Peters of his concerts. “Those who tune in for the initial livestream will feel the energy of an orchestra on stage together at that very moment, even though they
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UTSA’s New Opera Examines the Voices of Individuals within a Protest Scene Drs. William McCrary and Jourdan Laine Howell are working with a talented group of singers in Chamber Opera to create a new opera. Students in the class include both majors and non-majors, and will be credited as librettists for the new opera: Briana Bell, Shirlyn Davenport, Greta Glasscock, Kyree Harrison, Patricia King, Lucas Moncada-Zoll, Jessica Morales, Louie Ramos, Ashley Rodriguez, and Hector Tobar.
Patricia King
A
fter nearly a month of serious-minded discussions, these budding librettists have begun sketching out the plot of the opera, which will center around a large protest scene. While the protest will serve as a vehicle for important ensemble numbers, the goal is to take a closer look at the lives of individuals at the scene, whether they are raising their voice for a cause, serving and protecting, looking for social media fame, or simply trying to maneuver through the crowd. The students agreed that they should make room for different points of view in their opera, and hope that showing multiple narratives will make the piece both appealing and thoughtprovoking for future audiences. The students are enthusiastic about the project and committed to giving every member of the team a voice in the libretto. Louie Ramos (Performance) is “excited to get to create something with people after so many months of not being able to,” and believes that the discussions about characters and story development are an invaluable resource for a performer. Patricia King (Music Education) has enjoyed imagining all of the show’s possible outcomes. “During the brainstorming stage, we bounced ideas off of each other, feeding into a collective energy…forging personal connections and creating an environment open for sincere and productive conversation,” said King. “Unlike any of my other classes, the atmosphere in Lyric Theatre has allowed us to start tackling some major social issues [so we can] learn to use opera as a vehicle for modern communication and channel our energies into our art. This approach has given me a new way to process the difficult real-world situations we are faced with everyday and use it to express myself in a way I didn’t even know I needed.” As the process moves forward, the team will focus on developing layered characters and creating realistic dialogue that will become the opera’s arias and ensembles. And while the project is still in its beginning stages, the singers are already dreaming about the performance and its impact. Incoming Music Education major Briana Bell thinks, “It is great that we get to write an opera, not only to gain experience, but also to be able to touch the hearts of the audience with our message.”
Brianna Bell
COVID-19 Quarantine Pulse Poll As long as we continue to coexist with coronavirus, we will offer our students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to share their experiences with teaching, learning, and working at #UTSAMUSIC during the pandemic. Here is the question we posed for October:
Our return this fall semester is now a few weeks behind us. Is it what you expected, and did the previous spring semester help you adapt any better? Margaret Wolfe Vocal performance and pedagogy (Soprano)
Dr. Rami El-Farrah Adjunct faculty (Saxophone)
“The start of the semester has gone a lot more smoothly than I anticipated. Last semester, both students and instructors had only a few weeks to prepare for and adjust to online learning. This semester, I had a much better sense of what to expect and have been able to establish a routine that works well for me. I feel very fortunate that the faculty and staff in the music department have been patient, understanding, and supportive with me in my roles as a student and graduate assistant. Remote learning does have one upside--I get to hang out with my cat while I’m in class!”
“The fall semester is kind of what I expected. I was hoping to do more in-person work but I think the department and UTSA in general have been good about prioritizing the safety of faculty and students. I’m now teaching all my saxophone students remotely. About 2 years ago I restructured the Jazz History course (a course I’ve taught for several years) to an online format. I built it from the ground up using materials formatted specifically for online learning... the transition last semester from in-person to online was relatively painless for me. The biggest difference between semesters is now my students are more ready for online
courses and have taken time to adjust their environments/schedules to adapt to this new reality.” Dr. Andrew Bergmann Adjunct faculty (Audio technology) “I was fortunate to have a head-start in this process because I began to adapt several of my courses to an online format starting in 2019. So each of the last four semesters (including this past summer) has helped me to slowly broaden my understanding of the/my best practices in this virtual environment. As always, developing and maintaining relationships with students is crucial. With that in mind, I find myself making use of the video platforms more for individual consultations than for group instruction.” Caleb Bailey Music Education (Guitar) “This fall semester has been going much better than I expected it to be going! I can’t express enough how appreciative I am for being able to have my guitar lessons in person with Dr. Bustos (with social distancing, of course), as well as being able to meet with my peers in person twice every week for guitar ensemble. And even though I can’t meet in person with my students for the String Project, I am still incredibly grateful that I am still able to see them online for class every week. The
previous spring semester has helped me better adapt to this semester by giving me an idea about how I should structure my day. It took me quite some time to find my routine, but I have it down much better now!” Dr. John Zarco Assistant Director of Bands “As far as expectations go, it’s hard to gauge because my expectations were constantly shifting over the summer about what the fall would look like, and that made planning a real challenge. However, once we had a plan in place, the overall feeling of the semester--so far--has been similar to what I thought. The spring semester DID help me (and I think everyone else) adapt better to the current situation. I think we’ve gotten over much of the learning curve of how to use the different platforms/ technology. Last semester, we were just trying to survive, and then there was the added stress of being at the beginning of a pandemic where there were so many unknowns. I wanted to thank Dr. Cowden and our staff/admins for being so amazing over the summer in getting things ready for everyone, and let the students know that IT IS SO GOOD TO WORK WITH YOU AGAIN!”
OCTOBER
DATES
01 PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE 5:00 PM - Facebook Live
09 UTSA ORCHESTRA 12:30 PM - Facebook Live
18 VOCAL ARTS SERIES 3:00 PM - Live via YouTube
https://www.utsa.edu/fall2020/
FALL 2020 STAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LATEST INFORMATION ON THE FALL SEMESTER AT #UTSAMUSIC MUSIC.UTSA.EDU
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