Recent Orchestral, Academic and Professional Appointments 

Monica Czausz (BM, MM ’17) – Director of Music and Artistic Ministries, King of Glory Lutheran Church

Erica Schwartz (MM ’20)– Viola section, The United States Army Band

Keith Hammer (MM ’20) – Timpanist, The Orchestra Now

Nathan Walhout (current graduate student) – Cello section, San Diego Symphony

Robin Webb (BM, MM ’81) – Adjunct teacher & Jazz and Classical pianist, Delta State University

Isaac Schultz (BM ’17, MM ’19) – Associate Principal Bassoon, Houston Symphony

Evan Bish (current graduate student) – Double Bass, Nashville Symphony

Judson Baines (current graduate student) – Assistant Principal Double Bass, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra

Competitions, Awards, Performances and Premieres 

Houston Grand Opera’s 2020 – 2021 Studio Artists include Lindsay Kate Brown (AD ’18), mezzo-soprano; Blake Denson (MM ’20), baritone; Nicholas Newton (MM ’19), bass-baritone and Cory McGee (MM ’20), bass

Shepherd School alumnus Kyle Bruckmann (BM ’94) will release her album Triptych on Carrier Records on Monday, June 1, 2020. The release features three extended solo works (one presented in two distinct versions): A Spurious Autobiography for John Barth (2015), An Extruded Introversion for Blixa Bargeld (2016), and A Fuzzy Monolith for James Turrell (2015). Bruckmann is the sole composer/performer, playing oboe, English horn, and live electronics.

Shepherd School students Justin DeFilippis and Angela Jiye Bae, violins; Ben Zannoni, viola; and Russell Houston, cello, also known as the Balourdet String Quartet, won the Gold Medal in this year’s Fischoff Competition in the Senior String Division.

Current Shepherd School student Blake Denson (MM ’20) was one of five winners of The 2020 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Lindsay Kate Brown (AD ’18) was a Grand Finalist. Lindsay is also one of five singers who won the 2020 George London Award with each receiving a prize of $10,000.

Shepherd School student in orchestral conducting Joshua Hong (MM ’20) was recently selected as one of the 2020 recipients of The Sir Georg Solti Career Assistance Award.

Pianist Zhengyi (Frank) Huang won the International Music Competition’s Piano division. He competed against 299 performers, selected from over thousands of initial applicants. Frank also won first prize in the piano division of the Energy Young Texas Artist Competition. The 2nd piano prize was won by current Doctoral candidate Chelsea DeSouza.

Shepherd School Artist Diploma candidate Artem Kuznetsov won the $2,500 Junior Jury Award at The Gurwitz 2020 International Piano Competition by Musical Bridges Around the World.

Shepherd School’s Artist-in-Residence Ana Maria Martinez was named as one of five recipients of the 15th Annual OperaNews awards. OperaNews editor-in-chief says this award is dedicated to “honoring outstanding men and women who have had a transformative effect on the world of opera.”

Paul Novak was one of two composers awarded commissions from the 2020 Underwood Readings, one of the most coveted opportunities for emerging composers in the United States.

Tenor Angel Vargas (MM ’19) will be joining the Masquerade Opera Studio roster in Florence, Italy this coming fall.

Bassoonist Ben Roidl-Ward (MM ’17) was one of five finalists for the International Double Reed Society’s Gillet-Fox Competition. Finals will not be taking place due to the pandemic, but all finalists are receiving a cash prize and an invitation to perform at next year’s conference.

Recent Orchestral, Academic and Professional Appointments 

Robert Black (current undergraduate student) – Principal Tuba, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

James Blanchard (BM ’16) – Principal Flute, Des Moines Symphony & Opera San Jose

Jeremy Buckler (MM ’11) – Trombone section (one-year position), Atlanta Symphony Orchestra 

Melissa Deal (current graduate student) – Violin section, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra 

Nina DeCesare (BM ’14) – Double bass section, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 

George Goad (MM ’15) – Second Trumpet, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra 

Mark Grisez (current graduate student) – Principal Trumpet, Columbus Symphony

Hannah Hammel (MM ’17) – Principal Flute, Detroit Symphony Orchestra 

Anthony Limoncelli (current graduate student) – Second Trumpet, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra 

Michael Marks (MM ’18) – Double Bass section – National Symphony Orchestra

Gary Paul Matz (MM ’16) – Double Bass section, Buffalo Philharmonic  

August Ramos (BM ’17, MM ’19) – Double Bass section, Colorado Symphony Orchestra

Lucas Sanchez (BM, BA, MM ’16) – Percussion Clinician, Florida Christian School

Amy Semes (MM ’19) – Associate Principal Second Violin, Houston Symphony

Courtney Silver (BM ’16) – Assistant Concertmaster, Peoria Symphony Orchestra 

Gabe Slesinger (BM ’16) – Associate Principal, Charlotte Symphony 

Zachary Spontak (BM ’15) – Concertmaster Orquestra Classica do Sul, Portugal

Competitions, Awards, Performances and Premieres 

Cellist Katherine Audas won the Ann and Charles Eisemann International Young Artists Competition. She will be playing Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra on March 7 in Dallas. 

Alumni James Blanchard (BM ’16) and Bianca Chambul (LOA) are among twelve students to be selected to travel to London in April for an intensive training with the London Symphony Orchestra and its Music Director Sir Simon Rattle, as part of the second year of the Linda and Michael Keston Music Academy of the West Exchange program.

Two current Shepherd School students Theo Chandler and Nicky Sohn and one Shepherd School alumna Clare Glackin (MM ’17) participated in the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, a week-long intensive immersion with the Minnesota Orchestra culminating in a concert performance and live broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio.

Current voice student Jessica Crowell is among eighteen artists on the roster of the 2020 Pittsburgh Festival Opera Young Artists Program.

Current voice student Blake Denson will return to Wolf Trap Opera this summer covering the title role of Eugene Onegin in Eugene Onegin and performing the role of the Commander in the same production. He will also cover Marcello in La Bohème. Emily Sheets will be a Studio Artist with Wolf Trap Opera, performing the role of Filippyevna in Eugene Onegin. Among the 2020 Wolf Trap Filene Artists are alumnus Calvin Griffin (MM ’13) performing the roles of Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, and Don Inigo de Gomez in L’heure espagnole; Nicholas Newton (MM ’19) performing the role of Colline in La Bohème; and Tommy Glass (MM ’16) as Eugene Onegin in Eugene Onegin.

In November 2019, Brandon Gibson (BM ’00) made his debut with American Baroque Opera Company in the dual roles of Apollon and Pluto in Marc Antoine Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux Enfers.

Among the announced 2019 Associate Artists for the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, MA (BSC) is one of Shepherd’s alumnus Alan H. Green (BA ’95). Associate Artists are part of the artistic team and assist in suggesting plays and musicals to be produced. 

Rebecca Henry (BM ’09) recently completed the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera, where she conducted opera, operetta, orchestral, and contemporary repertoire. 

Shepherd School current voice students Cory McGee won second place in the 32rd Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers. current students Emily Kern and Rachel Shaughnessy, sopranos; Isabel Signoret, mezzo-soprano; and Jehu Otero, tenor  were among the semifinalists.

The Verona Quartet, including Shepherd School alumna Dorothy Ro (MM ’15), was named the winner of the 2020 Cleveland Quartet Award.

Tenor Christian Sanders (MM ‘15) performed in a recital featuring four artists from the Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artist Program.

Houston Chamber Choir, Houston’s professional concert choir led by Founder and Artistic Director (and Shepherd School Lecturer in Church Music) Robert Simpson, received a 2020 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for their album “Maurice Duruflé: Complete Choral Works.” The recording also included Shepherd School’s Professor of Organ, Ken Cowan and Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Cello, Norman Fischer. The album was recorded in the Shepherd School’s Edythe Bates Old Recital Hall and Grand Organ and was produced by Shepherd School alumnus Blanton Alspaugh (BM ’87). Blanton Alspaugh also won Producer of the Year, Classical for the third time. 

Alumnus Ricardo Jose Rivera-Soto (MM ’18) performed as Sharpless in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini.

Caen Thomason-Redus (MM ’99), the Senior Director of Community and Learning for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, was named a Musical America’s “Top 30 Professionals of the Year” in recognition for his continuous efforts surrounding community engagement and diversity and inclusion.

Recent Orchestral, Academic and Professional Appointments 

Marie-Andre Chevrette (MM ’98) – Associate Principal Second Violin, Montreal Symphony Orchestra 

David Connor (MM ’13) – Assistant Principal Bass tenure, Houston Ballet Orchestra

Gina Ford (MM ’15) – Principal Oboe,The Dallas Opera Orchestra 

Chloe Yeseul Gam (current graduate student) – Assistant Concertmaster, Houston Grand Opera Orchestra

Ian Hallas (BM ’13) – Principal Double Bass, Lyric Opera of Chicago

Keith Hammer (current graduate student) – Section Percussion, Orchestra Iowa 

Sydney Hancock (current undergraduate student) – Assistant Principal / Second Oboe, San Antonio Symphony

Mayu Isom (MM ’18) – Second Oboe / English Horn, Houston Grand Opera Orchestra 

June Kim (MM ’16) – Oboe, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

Andrew Laven (MM ’19) – Assistant Principal Cello, Grand Rapids Symphony

Dr. Haerim (Elizabeth) Lee (MM ’12) – one-year position as Lecturer in Violin, Texas Christian University School of Music

Jarita Ng (MM ’15) – Assistant Principal Viola, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

Timothy MacDuff (MM ’16) – Viola Section, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

Cristian Macelaru (MM ’06, MM ’08) – music director, Orchestre National de France

Tamás Markovics (MM ’16) – Bass Trombone, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra 

Michael Marks (MM ’18) – Double Bass Section, National Symphony Orchestra

Abraham Martin (current graduate student) – Viola Section, San Diego Symphony

Virginia McDowell (current graduate student) – One-year Acting Principal Oboe, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

Mary Thornton (BM ’91) – Professor of Trumpet and Music Theory, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Elected to the Board of Directors of the International Trumpet Guild. 

Ben St. Pierre (BM ‘19) – Tuba position, United States Marine Band 

Daniel Saenz (MM ’00) – Associate Professor of Cello, Sam Houston State University; Cellist and Director of Education for APERIO, Music of the Americas; Founder and Executive Director Texas All-State Strings Camp. 

Rosie Salvucci (BM ’14) – Principal Double Bass, Neue Philharmonie

Titus Underwood (former graduate student) – Principal Oboe, Nashville Symphony 

Dorothy VanDine (BM ’15) – Institutional Relations Coordinator, The Metropolitan Opera Assistant Organist, St. Vincent Ferrer Church, NYC

Dr. Kirsten Yon (DMA ’08) – Concertmaster, Shreveport Symphony Orchestra 

Competitions, Awards, Performances and Premieres 

Current graduate student Andrew Dunlap performs Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 with the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra

Composer Tommy Dougherty (MM ’15) was the recipient of the 2019 ASCAP Foundation Leo Kaplan Award and a recipient of the 2019 Morton Gould Award.

Fredrick Ballentine (MM ’13) performed the leading role of Sportin’ Life in the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of “Porgy and Bess”.

Mi Ou Lee (current doctoral candidate) performed Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra at Avalon Theatre.

Meghan Kasanders (MM ’16) is a new member of the Columbia Artists roster. She recently made her Carnegie Hall debut singing in Bernstein’s “Songfest.”

Second violinist Jennifer Leshnower (BM ’89) in the Cassatt String Quartet presented “Cassatt in the Basin!” residency to Basin-area students. 

Rolston String Quartet (MM ’17) performed at the West Vancouver United Church.

Recent Orchestral, Academic and Professional Appointments 

Sarah Bouse (MM ’16) – Professor of Music at Lake Michigan College

Kayla Burggraf (BM ’14) – Piccolo, Kansas City Symphony 

Bianca Chambul (LOA) – Principal Bassoon, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

Molly Gebrian (DMA ’10) – Assistant Professor of Viola at the Fred Fox School of Music at the University of Arizona

Matthew Gustafson (BM ’18) – Cello Section, The Austin Symphony

Ivy Ringel (MM ’18) – Principal Bassoon, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra  

Sonja Harasim (MM ’08, DMA ’16)  – Associate Professor, Violin, Viola; String Area Coordinator at Concordia College; Director at the Concordia String Preparatory Program

Petros Karapetyan (current graduate student) – Violin Section, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra  

Tomasz Kowalczyk (MM ’18) – Principal Percussionist, Sarasota Orchestra

Andrew Staupe (DMA ’16) – Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Houston 

Lucas Sanchez (BA, BM, MM ’16) – Principal Timpani, Florida Grand Opera Orchestra and Palm Beach Symphony

Ye Young Yoon (MM ’19) – Section Percussion, Sarasota Orchestra 

Competitions, Awards, Performances and Premieres 

Katherine Audas (current graduate student) won second prize in the Carlos Prieto Cello Competition in Mexico. 

Shepherd School’s graduate Quartet-in-Residence, the Callisto Quartet, won second prize at the 2019 Banff International String Competition.

Percussionist Justin A. Doute (MM ’18) won first prize in the first annual Emerging Soloist Competition with the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs in Colorado Springs. 

Germaine Franco (BM ’84, MM ’87), the first Latina to join the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the first female composer to be hired by DreamWorks Animation and Pixar, and who arranged, orchestrated and co-produced the Oscar-winning song of 2019, was chosen as the composer for Hollywood’s up and coming film “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.

Seven Composers were selected for the 2020 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute. Of the seven chosen, among them were Shepherd School alumna Clare Glackin (MM ’17), current students Theo Chandler and Nicky Sohn. current graduate student Daniel Zlatkin was chosen as an alternate and alumnus Ben Morris (MM ’18) was chosen as an honorable mention.

Shepherd baritone Thomas Glass (MM ’16) and violist Gabrielle Skinner (MM ’18) performed at the First Congregational Church in Nantucket, Massachusetts. 

Erin Graham (MM ’19) paired with Congolese refugee Salemu, for a work during the Houston Symphony Orchestra’s “Resilient Sounds” concert.

Sarah Lawrence College President Cristle Collins Judd (BM & MM ’82) received one of five Distinguished Alumni Awards “for graduates who have advanced the interests and standards of excellence of Rice University through distinctive professional or volunteer careers.”

Shepherd School alumni placed in the 2019 Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Competition! Coleman Itzkoff, cello (BM ’14) won Second Place & the Nancy and Robert Peiser Award for Artistic Encouragement. Coleman performed at the Miller Outdoor Theatre concert on June 29. Chloe Tula, harp (BM ’17) won Third Place and Katherine Audas, cello (current graduate student) won Fourth Place & The Hermann Shoss Audience Choice Award.

Daniel Knaggs (DMA ’14) won the Noël Minet Prize at the Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition in Germany for Pacific Lutheran University Choir of the West’s performance of Of Time and Passing – II. To everything a season, Germany.

Ben Morris (MM composition ’17) received an ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Award, and his quintet performed at the Newport Jazz Festival in August. Clarinetist Juan Gabriel Olivares (MM ’13) also performed in the quintet. Learn more: https://www.ascapfoundation.org/news/2019/ben-morris-interview 

Undergraduate student in horn performance Elisabeth Pesavento (current undergraduate student) is the first place winner in the International Horn Competition of America. Elisabeth is currently a junior studying with Prof. Bill VerMeulen.

Caroline Shaw (BM ’14), the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for music, released a new album which has received rave reviews, with NPR placing it on its “Best Albums of 2019 So Far” list.

Current Shepherd School Doctoral Composition student Sam Wu won first place in The Second International Music Competition Harbin. His composition titled “Winds of Winter” was performed by the Harbin Symphony Orchestra.

Recent Orchestral, Academic and Professional Appointments

Carl Anderson (MM ’19) – Double Bass section, Boston Symphony Orchestra

Wesley Ducote (MM ’18) – Piano Fellowship, New World Symphony

Silvio Guitian (MM, currently LOA) Associate Principal, Second Clarinet & E-flat Clarinet, Kansas City Symphony

Rachel Halvorson (MM ’19) – Principal Viola, Sarasota Orchestra

Andrew Keller (MM’19) – Assistant Principal Double Bass, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra

Meredith Kufchak (BM ’14) – Principal Viola, Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Tetsuya Lawson (current graduate student) – Principal Trumpet, the Houston Grand Opera and Ballet

Kai Rocke (MM ‘19) – Rosemary and David Good Fellowship, Minnesota Orchestra

Andrew Sandwick (former graduate student) – Bass Clarinet, Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Alex Schwarz (MM, currently LOA) – Principal Trumpet, The Louisville Orchestra

Courtney Silver (BM ’16) – Second Violin Section, Illinois Symphony Orchestra

Fanny Spangaro (MM ’18) – Cello section, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, France

Max Stein (MM, currently LOA) – Third Horn, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra

Jessica Stinson (MM ’09) – Violin section, Atlanta Opera Orchestra

Michael Stubbart (MM ‘15) – Assistant Timpani/ Section Percussion, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Competitions, Awards, Performances and Premieres

Alumna Aubrey Ferguson Bergauer (BM, BA ’05) Executive Director of the California Symphony, was featured in an article by Southwest Magazine about how she transformed and redefined the classical concert experience.

Current doctoral composition student Erberk Eryilmaz’s song cycle “Songs Are Against War” for voice and piano was performed at the Sydney Opera House.

Ross S. Griffey’s (BM ’12) work “Night Music” was premiered by The New Juilliard Ensemble.

Alumni Michael Hawk (MM ’18) will join the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program for the 2019-20 season.

Shepherd School alumni Chelsea Helm (MM ’17) and Joseph Leppek (MM ’18) performed in Houston Grand Opera’s web opera production of Now. The series was directed by Shepherd School graduate student in Orchestral Conducting Ben Manis.

The Key Pianists Series presented Jason Hardink (MM ’01, DMA ’07) in a rich and challenging program of 20^th-century works, complemented by selections from Liszt’s Étude d’execution transcendant at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Shepherd School graduate students in Orchestral Conducting Joshua Hong and Benjamin Manis received a 2019 Career Assistance Award from the Solti Foundation U.S.

Tommy Glass (MM ’16) was one of five winners of the 2019 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and Meghan Kasanders (MM ’16) was a finalist.

Soprano Meghan Kasanders (MM ’16) took the “Bessylee Penland First Prize” ($10,000) and the “Jonathan Pell People’s Choice Award” ($1,000) at the 31st Annual Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. Alumni Calvin Griffin and Lindsay Brown were semi-finalists.

Meghan Kasanders won second place and the audience choice award in the 41st Annual Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition.

Alumnus Alan Hicks (MM ’96) was awarded the Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Special Event by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle for his production All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. He will also join the faculty of the Music Academy International (Primiero, Italy) this summer as the stage director for La Clemenza Di Tito.

Current Artist Diploma candidate Artem Kuznetsov is the 2019 Grand Prize winner and Gold Medalist in the Piano Division in the Young Texas Artists Music Competition. The String Division Gold Medal went to cellist Lukas Goodman. John Belk won the silver medal in the Strings division and Vincent Ip (MM ’18) won silver in the piano division.

Alumni Joanna Latini (MM ’18), Tommy Glass (MM ’16) and Mark Diamond (MM ’15) will solo with the Ars Lyrica during their 2019-20 season.

Alumnus Adam Lau (MM ’10) sang the role of Kobun Chino Otogawa in Seattle Opera’s production of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

Current graduate piano student Mi Ou Lee won first place in the 25^th Grand Junction Young Artist Competition. Mi Ou will perform with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra in their upcoming season.

Current graduate voice student Nicholas Newton will join the 2019-2020 Houston Grand Opera studio, one of the most respected and highly competitive young artist programs in the world.

Current graduate voice students Page Michels and Emily Kern are among the Des Moines Metro Opera roster for the 2019 summer.

Alumna Ann Miller (BM ‘03) performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Mariposa Symphony Orchestra.

Composer Angelique Poteat (BM ’08) will have two works commissioned by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra during their 2019-20 season.

Alumnus Sean Reed (MM ’98) released a new CD entitled Trombone Songs with Dr. John Marcellus, Professor Emeritus of the Eastman School of Music.

Current undergraduate flute student Arin Sarkissian was the 1^st Prize Winner ($5,000) of the Mika Hasler Competition.

Alumna Anne Marie Stanley (MM ’18) was accepted into the American Vocal Arts Academy in Philadelphia. She will make her Carnegie Hall debut in May singing in Mozart’s Missa Brevis in C Major (Sparrow Mass).

Violinist Alana Youssefian (MM ’16) returns to her home to the New Jersey church of her childhood to record her album titled Brillance Indéniable: The Virtuoso Violin in the Court of Louis XV .

Recent Orchestral, Academic and Professional Appointments

Aaron Alon (DMA ‘09) – Chair of the Department of Music and Drama at Lone Star College-University Park

Silvio Guitian (current graduate student) – Associate Principal/Second Clarinet and E-flat Clarinet, Kansas City Symphony

Xiaodi Liu (MM ’14) – Second Oboe, The Atlanta Symphony

Christine Murphy (current graduate student) – Associate Principal Flute, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Jack Thonis (MM ’18) – Associate Principal Bassoon, Houston Symphony 

Ivy Ringel (MM ’18) – Principal Bassoon, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

Gina Ford (MM ’15) – Principal Oboe, Dallas Opera Orchestra

Ziran Xu (MM ’17) – Violin section, Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra

Competitions, Awards, Performances and Premieres

Current Artist Diploma candidate Rashaan Allwood and alumni Bryan Anderson (MM ’18) and Grant Wareham (BM ’18) are semifinalists in the 2019 International Organ Competition. Ten organists will compete for the $40,000 Pierre S. du Pont first prize in June.

Oboist Jaren Atherholt (MM ’07) presented a guest artist recital at the University of Kentucky.

Current doctoral composition student Theophilus Chandler commissioned “The Elements”, a nature-inspired work for period instruments, for the 10th anniversary performance of “Les Délices”.

Scott Cuellar (current Doctoral student) was a former 1st place winner of The Waring International Piano Competition and was invited to perform at “3 Pianos, 6 Hands, a Thousand Cheers.”

Mezzo-soprano Abigail Dock (BM ’13) was a $2,000 Philip R. Nichols Encouragement Award winner at the 60th annual New England Regional Finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall.

Bassoonist Hunter Gordon (MM ’16) returned home to be a guest soloist with the Port Angeles Chamber Orchestra at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on Friday, Jan. 18.

The Key Pianists Series presented pianist Jason Hardink (MM ’01, DMA ’07) in an unusually rich and challenging program of 20th-century works, complemented by selections from Liszt’s Études d’exécution transcendante at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Benjamin Krause (DMA ’14) has been named the 2018 Music Teachers National Association Distinguished Composer of the Year. His work Taxonomies of Pulse was premiered at the 2018 State Conference at Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne.

Meghan Kasanders (MM ’16) won third place in the American Vocal Arts 2019 International Collegiate Singing Championship. She will also premiere the role of Donna Anna in the Juilliard Orchestra’s spring production of Don Giovanni.

Joseph Leppek (MM ’17) is one of four resident artist performers from the Lyric Opera of Kansas City who visited Northwest Missouri State University at the Charles Johnson Theater. For the 2018-19 season, Leppek appears at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Glad Hand in West Side Story, in High Fidelity Opera and in Mack the Knife is The Man I Love.

Nicholas Newton (current graduate voice student) won 3rd place in the 2019 Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers.

Alumnus Cristian Macelaru (MM ’06 & “08) conducted the National Symphony Orchestra of Romania in their first U. S. tour at the Wharton Center on January 13.

Shepherd School graduate conducting student Benjamin Manis will be the Resident Conductor of the Houston Grand Opera starting September 2019.

Current sophomore Julianne Mulvey won second prize ($5,000 cash) in the 2019 Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Bassoon Symposium.

Alumnus Alex Rosen (MM ’16) performed the role of Polyphemus in Handel’s Acis and Galatea with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra.

Alana Youssefian (MM ’16) will record an album entitled “Brilliance Indéniable: Virtuoso Violin in the Court of Louis XV” at Saint Rose of Lima Church beginning Feb. 25. It will feature never-before-recorded works for violin and chamber ensemble by the French composer Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, a virtuoso violinist in 18th-century Paris.

Tairan (Randy) Zhen (MM ’16) won third prize in the Hong Kong International String Competition. 

Recent Orchestral, Academic and Professional Appointments

Tanner Antonetti (MM ’16) – Second Trombone, Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Joshua Baker (former Master’s student) – Principal Bassoon, The Florida Orchestra

Andrew Buchanan  (MM ’00) – Principal Timpani, Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico

Tamer Edlebi (MM ’17) – Associate Principal Oboe, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Ian Hallas (BM ‘13) – Acting Principal Double Bass, Lyric Opera of Chicago

Tomasz Kowalczyk (MM ‘18) – Percussion, Sarasota Orchestra

Anthony Limoncelli (current Mater’s student) – Principal Trumpet, Sarasota Orchestra

Lin Ma (MM ’13) – Principal Clarinet, National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, D.C.

Zoë Miller (BM ’16) – Concertmaster, Miss Saigon National Tour Orchestra

Dylan Morrongiello (MM ’18) – Studio Artist, Florida Grand Opera’s 2018-19 season

Ansel Norris (current Master’s student) – Assistant Principal/Second Trumpet, Naples Philharmonic

Dominic Rotella (current Master’s student) – Principal Horn, Richmond Symphony Orchestra

Malorie Blake Shin (MM ’12) – Second Violin section (2018-19 season), National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, D.C.

Jessica Sindell (former Master’s student) – Assistant Principal Flute, The Cleveland Orchestra

Tara Slough (BM ’12) – Assistant Professor of Politics, New York University

Andrew Staupe (DMA ‘16) – Artistic Director, Young Artist World Piano Festival

Alexa Thomson (MM ’18) – Community-Embedded Musician, Houston Symphony Orchestra

Pei-Ju Wu (MM ’07) – Principal Second Violin, Des Moines Metro Opera

Competitions, Awards, Performances and Premieres

Frederick Ballentine (MM ’14) made his U. K. debut singing Sportin’ Life in the English National Opera’s first staging of Porgy and Bess.

Current Master’s percussionist Joe Desotelle won the Keston/MAX London Symphony Fellowship. In January, he will perform with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Simon Rattle.

Dover String Quartet returns as the Kennedy Center’s new Quartet-in-Residence. In the first season of this three-year residency, the Dover’s will showcase a work by Kennedy Center’s Composer-in-Residence Mason Bates.

Singer Zanna Fredland (MM ’02) will perform in Pittsburgh CLO’s “A Musical Christmas Carol”.

Violinist Luke Hsu (BM ’12) won the bronze medal at the 10^th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.

The Chamber Music Society of Utica presented the Jasper String Quartet  MM’08 (J. Freivogel and Sae Chonabayashi, violins; Samuel Quintal, viola; Rachel Henderson, cello), the Professional Quartet-in-Residence at Temple University’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians.

Pianist Joseph Kingma (BM ’11, MM ’13) opened the 2018-19 St. James Concert season in Alexandria, LA with a recital of works by Jean-Philippe Rameau and Franz Liszt followed by the expressive and impassioned works of the French master, Claude Debussy.

Pianist Timothy Krippner (MM ’17) returned to perform at The Kalmia Garden’s Fall Farmhouse Concert.

Tenor Rafael Moras (MM ’14) will be a featured artist in The Santa Fe Opera’s 2018 Winter Tour.

Organist Daryl Robinson (MM ’14) performed at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, co-sponsored by St. Paul’s Music & American Guild of Organists, Indianapolis Chapter.

Pianist Nicholas Ross (DMA ’02) opened for Sweet Briar College’s 2018-19 Janet Lowrey Community Concert Series.

Mezzo-soprano Carolyn Sproule (MM ’12) returned to her hometown to join the Opera de Montreal for the 2018-19 season to perform the role of Maddalena in Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto.

Pianist Andrew Staupe (DMA ’16) launched the Grand Teton Music Festival’s 2018-19 new Community Series.

Verona Quartet (Jonathan Ong, violin; Dorothy Ro, (MM ’14) violin; Abigail Rojansky, viola; Warren Hagerty, cello) returned to the Luneburg Academy of Music Performance to teach a one-day chamber music academy and perform two concerts.

Current composition student Nicholas Yamamoto was named Emerging Composer Fellow for Musiqa’s 2018-2019 season. He is commissioned to write a new chamber work for the LOFT Concert series at the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston in late spring 2019. “Fixed Objects on a Moving Plane” (2017) for quadraphonic fixed-media was selected for performance at Florida State University’s Biennial Festival for New Music 2019.

Pianist Yangmingtian Zhao (MM ’16) performed at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall to a sold-out house.

Recent Orchestral, Academic and Professional Appointments

John Church (MM ’18) – Principal Trombone, Spokane Symphony

James Cromer (current masters) – percussion section, U.S. Navy Band

Monica Czausz (BM, MM ’17) – Assistant Organist, Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Siena.

Aubrey Foard (MM ’07) – Principal Tuba, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

George Goad (MM ’15) – Associate Principal Trumpet, Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

Sophia Grabandt (MM ‘16) – Second Violin section, Komische Oper Berlin

Charles Halka (DMA ’13) – Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory, Western Washington University

Sonja Harasim (MM ’08, DMA ’16) – Concertmaster, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra

Alan E. Hicks (MM ’96) – Director of Opera Theatre, shared position between The San Diego State University School of Music and Dance and the San Diego Opera

Kaitlyn Johnson (BM ’15) – Marion Roose Pullin Studio Artist, Arizona Opera

Alanna Jones (MM ’16) – Double Bass section, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Susan Kang (current masters) – Principal Flute, Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet Orchestras for the 2018-19 season

Young Kim (MM ’13) – Utility Horn, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Joseph Kingma (BM ’11, MM ’13) – Assistant Professor of Piano, Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Ian Kivler (MM ’13) – Artistic Administrator, St. Louis Symphony

Meredith Kufchak (BM ’14) – Viola section, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Jakob Nierenz (MM ’17) – Assistant Principal Cello, Philharmonisches Orchester der Hansestadt Lübeck

Robert O’Brien (current masters) – Principal Percussion, Omaha Symphony

Gary Paul Matz (MM ’16) – Double Bass section, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Anthony Parce (BM ’09) – Viola section, Nashville Symphony

Paul Radke (MM ’17) – Second Trombone, Los Angeles Philharmonic

Jonathan Reed (MM ’12) – Double Bass section, Grand Rapids Symphony

John Romero (MM ’16) – Co-principal Trombone, Metropolitan Opera

Brady Spitz (current Doctoral student) – Adjunct Professor, Houston Baptist University and Houston Community College

Jacob Sustaita (MM ’08) – Associate Conductor, Conroe Symphony Orchestra

Grant  Wareham (BM ’18) – Organ Scholar, Christ Church in New Haven, Connecticut

Erik Wheeler (BM ’17) – Cello section, Minnesota Orchestra

Henry Williford (BM ’12) – Flute section, Houston Grand Opera Orchestra for the 2018-19 season

Competitions, Awards, Performances and Premieres

Alumnus Robert Beck (MM ’92) recently retired after 31 dedicated years as a Texas music educator. He is a six time Texas State Orchestra finalist and performs as Principal Bassist in the Symphony of Southeast Texas.

Shepherd School former quartet-in-residence, Dover String Quartet (MM ’13) open the 58th season of The Montgomery Chamber Music Organization.

Composer Gabriela Lena Frank (BM ’94, MM ’96) will serve as Composer-in-Residence for The Philadelphia Orchestra until the conclusion of the 2020-21 Season. Hilary Purrington (BM ’13) has also been commissioned to compose a work for The Philadelphia Orchestra during an upcoming season.

Alumnus Michael Ferri (BM ’18) won fourth prize in the 2018 Houston Symphony Ima Hogg Competition held June 2 at the Shepherd School of Music’s Stude Concert Hall.

Mezzo-soprano Hannah Meredith Hagerty (MM ’17) joins Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program for the 2018-2019 season. She will sing Mary and Carmen in The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me and Nelda in Taking Up Serpents.

Alumna Amanda Halstead (BM ’98) and alumnus Jacob Fowler (MM ’10) performed in the 2018 Surf and Sounds Chamber Music Series in Manteo, N.C.

Shepherd School viola students won top prizes in the American Viola Society Orchestra Audition Seminar: first prize, Rachel Halvorson; second prize, Alexa Sangbin Thomson (MM ’18); third prize, Megan Wright (BM ’17). Rachel Halvorson also won first prize in the American Viola Society Youth Solo Competition Collegiate Division.

Alumnus Charles Halka (DMA ’13) was the 2019 Barlow Endowment General Commission winner and will write a new work for flute, clarinet and percussion for Onix Ensemble. He also released two new recordings, Evening Rainbow and Expand, Contract, Breathe, Weep, Bellow on a compilation album titled “Nexus”. His Carnegie Hall debut featured Cosmos New Music performing his work Por la Fuerza las Tierras.

Alumnus Creston Herron (MM ’11) was awarded the 2018 “Marjorie Keller” Outstanding Young Teacher of the Year Award by the State Board of the Texas Chapter of The American String Teacher’s Association.

Alumnus Coleman Itzkoff (BM ’14) opened the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra’s Summermusik Festival as guest soloist performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85. 

Alumna Kaitlyn Johnson (BM ’15) made her Atlanta Opera debut singing the role of Frasquita in Carmen. She will start her tenure as a Marion Roose Pullin Studio Artist at Arizona Opera for the 2018-19 season.

Composer Benjamin Krause (DMA ’15) was among twelve composers to receive the 2018 Copland House Residency Awards.

Current students Matt Lammers (violin, MM ’18), Erica Schwartz (viola), Charles Paul (double bass, BM ’17), and alumni Emmy Tisdel (violin, MM ’18) and Daniel Kopp (cello, BM ’15) performed Piazzolla’s Summer in Buenos Aires, arr. by Desyatnikov with the Austin Camerata.

Alumnus Cristian Macelaru (MM ’06, MM ’08) conducted his Pittsburgh Symphony debut in May.

Current graduate student Ruben Rengel performed Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Houston Symphony Orchestra as part of the symphony’s Summer Neighborhood Concert Series.

Tenor Brenton Ryan (MM ’11) returns to The Metropolitan Opera main stage as Monostatos in The Magic Flute.

American Public Media’s Performance Today Young Artists in Residence series featured Shepherd School alumna Caroline Shaw’s (BM ’04) work “Entr’acte for String Orchestra” and current Shepherd School Doctoral composition student Erberk Eryilmaz’s “Flying Sirto”.

Alumni Gabrielle Skinner (MM ’18) and Samuel Thompson (MM ’98) participated in the inaugural workshop sponsored by the National Alliance for Audition Support as part of a partnership between the New World Symphony, Sphinx Organization and the League of American Orchestras.

Alumna Anne Marie Stanley (MM ’17) won 3^rd place in the 13^th annual Lois Alba Aria Competition in Houston.

Current doctoral student Timothy Steeves won the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta’s Arts Award Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award. The foundation’s awards are given to support and encourage the careers of Alberta’s most promising young artists.

Recent Orchestral, Academic, and Professional Appointments

James Blanchard (MM ’16) – Second Flute, Des Moines Symphony Orchestra

Kathryn Bradley (MM ’18) – Double Bass Fellowship, New World Symphony

Kayla Burggraf (BM ’14) – Flute Fellowship, New World Symphony

Corbin Castro (MM ’18) – Horn Fellowship, New World Symphony

Harry Chang (MM ’18) – Violin Fellowship, New World Symphony

James Cromer (current graduate student) – Percussion, U.S. Navy Band

Michael Fuller (MM ’15) – Double Bass Fellowship, Los Angeles Philharmonic Resident Fellows Program

Nicole Haywood (MM ’18) – Second Bassoon, Kansas City Symphony

Samuel Huss (MM ’18) – Principal Trumpet, Richmond Symphony Orchestra

Alex Kovling (MM ’15) – Third Horn, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra

Milan Milisavljević (DMA ’11) – Principal Viola, The Metropolitan Opera

Markus Osterlund (BA ’16) – Second Horn, National Symphony Orchestra

Jessica Anastasio Petrasek (MM ’13) – Acting Solo Piccolo, Kansas City Symphony

Matthew Ross (MM ’18) – Trumpet Teaching Artist, Sistema New Brunswick at the Saint John Centre

Rainer Saville (current graduate student) – Associate Principal Trumpet, Auckland Symphony Orchestra

Gabrielle Skinner (MM ’18) – Viola Fellowship, The New Haven Symphony Orchestra

Jake Thonis (MM ’18) – Bassoon, Civic Orchestra of Chicago

Chloe Tula (BM ’17) – Principal Harp Fellowship, New World Symphony

Viktor Valkov (DMA ’17) – Assistant Professor of Piano (tenure appointment), The University of Utah

Competitions, Awards, Performances and Premieres

Alumna Alison Adkins (MM ’10), won the Young Audiences of Northeast Texas’ Rising Star Award at the 2018 Arts in Education Awards Ceremony.

Tenor Frederick Ballentine (MM ’14), recently sang Cacambo in Candide with the Washington National Opera, will perform in Cincinnati Opera’s Der Fliegende Hollӓnder as the Steersman.

Current doctoral composition student Theophilus Chandler was among the eighteen winning composers in the 2018 American Academy of Arts and Letters awards in music. He received the Charles Ives Scholarship of $7,500.

Current composition students Theophilus Chandler and Patrick Lenz and incoming graduate student Max Vinetz are among the seventeen award winning composers of the 2018 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composers Competition.

Shepherd School students Yvonne Chen, piano; Susan Kang, flute; alumni Michael Marks (MM ’18), double bass; and Artem Kuznetsov (MM ’18), piano performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. as part of The Conservatory Project, a Kennedy Center program showcasing the best young musical talent from the nation’s leading conservatories, colleges and universities.

Mercury Houston performed Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion with Shepherd School alumni Mark Diamond (MM ’15) as Jesus, and Michael Sumuel (MM ’09) as the bass soloist.

Percussionist Justin Douté (MM ’18) was the 2018 Grand Prize winner and received the Gold Medal in the Winds, Brass, Percussion, Harp and Guitar division at the 34^th Annual Young Texas Artists Music Competition. Current Shepherd School violinist Yena Lee took the Gold Medal and violinist Jacqueline Audas (BM ’18) took Silver Medal in the Strings Division.

Alumnus Ben Edquist (MM ’15) sang the role of Manfred in Jake Heggie’s Out of Darkness with the Atlanta Opera.

Alumni Dorothy Gal (MM ’18), Geoffrey Hahn (MM ’18), and Lindsay Kate Brown (AD ’18), will be joining Thomas Glass (MM ’16) on the 2018-19 Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist roster. Dorothy placed second and Lindsay placed third in Houston Grand Opera’s 30^th Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers which concluded with the Concert of Arias held in Stude Concert Hall.

Baritone Thomas Glass (MM ’16) and tenor Ian Koziara (MM ’16) are among the 2018 Summer Filene Artists with the Wolf Trap Opera. Tenors Duke Kim (MM ’18) and baritone Nicholas Newton (current graduate student) are 2018 Studio Artists with the Wolf Trap Opera this summer.

Alumni Michael Hawk (MM ’18) and Sarah Vautour (MM ’18) are among the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program Roster. This two-to-three year residency is designed to support and develop young talented singers who are currently in transition from academic training to a professional career in opera.

Soprano Megan Kasanders (MM ’16) will perform the role of Magda Sorel in The Consul during Opera Saratoga’s 2018 Summer Festival.

Current doctoral composition student Jihyun Kim received a 2018 EarShot New Music Reading presented by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.

Current graduate student Minha Kim won the 2018 Seattle Young Artist Competition in flute.

Pianist Artem Kuznetsov (MM ’18) recently won the Gold Medal at the Seattle International Piano Competition. He also received first prize at the Philadelphia Russian Musical Alliance International Competition.

Soprano Joanna Latini (MM ’17), tenor Joseph Leppek (MM ’17), tenor Dylan Morrongiello (MM ’18), tenor Christian Sanders (MM ’15), baritone Ben Schaefer (MM ’18), and baritone Michael Hewitt (MM ’17) will participate in The Glimmerglass Festival’s 2018 Young Artists Summer Program.

Joseph Leppek (MM ’17) won second place at the 47^th annual William C. Byrd International Young Artist Competition for Voice.

Horn player Brian Mangrum (BM ’18) won first prize in the Brass division of the Montreal Symphony Manulife International Competition.

Dylan Morrongiello (MM ’18) will be joining the Virginia Opera as a Herndon Foundation Emerging Artist for their 2018-19 season. Dylan will be singing Danny Buchanan in Street Scene.

Pianist Tomasz Robak (BM ’13, BA ’13) received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Award from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board to study at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland as part of his project to study the music of neglected 20th-century composers from the Polish region of Silesia.

Bassoonist Ben Roidl-Ward (MM ’17) was named one of five 2018 Fellows in Classical Music by the Luminarts Cultural Foundation which is designed to support young Chicago artists in the development of their careers and to enrich the artistic community of the city.

Alumna Lauren Snouffer (BM ’09) performed Agnes in the American premiere of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin with Opera Philadelphia.

Tenor Jack Swanson (MM ’16) received a Richard Tucker Career Grant. This $10,000 grant is awarded to young singers who have already performed with professional companies. As the recipient of a 2017 Sara Tucker Study Grant, Jack is one of the few singers to receive the Richard Tucker Music Foundation’s Study and Career Grants in consecutive years. He also performed the lead role of Candide in L. A. Opera’s production of Candide.

Recent Orchestral, Academic, and Professional Appointments

Kimia Ghaderi (BM ’12) – Violin section, Grand Rapids Symphony

Maki Kubota (MM ’17) – Cello section, Houston Symphony Orchestra

Shengnan Li (current graduate student) – Violin section, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Brian Mangrum (current undergraduate student) – Principal Horn, Columbus Symphony Orchestra

Ariana Nelson (BM ’15) – Cello section, Houston Grand Opera Orchestra

Robert Nelson (BM ’14) – Assistant Director of International Admissions, Savannah College of Arts and Design

Aaron Schuman (current graduate student) – Associate Principal Trumpet, San Francisco Symphony

Gabrielle Skinner (current graduate student) – Fellowship program, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Competitions, Awards, Performances and Premieres

Alumna Dominika Dancewicz (MM ’13) released her debut album “The Dancewicz-Doucet Duo”. She was recently featured on Houston Public Media’s “Houston Music Highlight” series.

The Dover String Quartet (MM ’13) joined violinist Janine Jansen and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet at New York’s Carnegie Hall for a live streamed performance of Chausson’s Concerto in D Major, Op. 21 for Violin, Piano and String Quartet. The quartet was also named the Quartet-in-Residence at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The three-year residency will include performances on the KC Jukebox series and educational programs.

Both former quartets-in-residence; Dover String Quartet (MM ’13) and Rolston String Quartet (MM ’17), performed at Northwestern University’s 2018 Winter Chamber Music Festival.

Pianist Andrew Focks (MM ’13) led a masterclass performance in piano at the Heights Arts gallery featuring young piano students.

Current Shepherd School students Michael Ferri, violin; Anya Wilkening, violin; Sebastian Stefanovic, viola; and David Olson, cello, also known as The Kamila Quartet, performed their debut concert as part of Da Camera’s Beethoven for All project. The quartet performed Beethoven’s String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5 and the Grosse Fuge, Op. 133.

Two current graduate voice students won top prizes in Houston Grand Opera’s 30th annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers. Soprano Dorothy Gal won 2nd place, and mezzo-soprano Lindsay Kate Brown was awarded 3rd place.

Alumni from the Shepherd School were part of the ensemble that received the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording of Alban Berg’s “Wozzeck” at the 60th annual Grammy Awards ceremony.

Soprano Megan Kasanders (MM ’16) was named a winner in the Iowa District Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions and won the Audience Choice Award.

Violinist Robert Landes (MM ’12) performed at the Charles Bend Performing Arts Center in Humble using a “loop pedal” which creates unique sounds and transforms them into a one-person band.

Alumna Joanna Latini (MM ’17) signed on with ADA Artist Management. She was recently named one of the first place winners in the Central Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Joanna will advance to the semi-finals at the MET on April 22.

Current Shepherd School composition student Patrick Lenz was named the winner of the RED NOTE New Music Festival Composition Competition. His work Pillar of Fire for Wind Ensemble will be performed by the Illinois State University Wind Ensemble.

Shepherd School current graduate voice student Dylan Morrongiello was named one of three Houston District winners in the 2018 Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition.

Alumna Stephanie Ng (MM ’17) performed as part of the Waring International Piano Competition’s Three Pianos – Six Hands – One Performance Concert in Palm Desert, California.

The top three winners of the 3rd annual Saengerbund German Vocal Competition are from the Shepherd School of Music: Ricardo Rivera (MM ’17), 1st place Carl C. Zeus Founders Award; Geoffrey Hahn (current graduate student), 2nd place Sylphia Buss Director Emerius Award; Emily Helenbrook (current graduate student), 3rd place Richard E. McGinty Dir. Emeritus Award.

Shepherd School graduate student Ruben Rengel was awarded the $50,000 1st Prize in the Senior Division at the 21st annual Sphinx Competition. Ruben will have upcoming solo appearances with major orchestras, perform with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and receive a custom-made gold mounted bow by Berg Bows International.

Alumna Emily Senturia (BM ’04) conducted Houston Grand Opera’s production of The Barber of Seville. 

Soprano Rachel Sigman (MM ’14) performed among world-renowned singers at the 19th Broadway Opera Cabaret associated with the Congregation Keneseth Israel Music Arts Community Family Concert Series in Elkins Park, PA.

Tenor Jack Swanson (MM ’16) performed the lead role Candide in L. A. Opera’s production of Candide.

Current graduate student in viola performance Megan Wright won 1st Prize in the Fondren Library Research Award Competition, undergraduate student category, for her paper titled Josquin des Prez’s Motet “Qui velatus facie” and the Canonization of St. Bonaventure in 1482.