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 3rd place in the 13th 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.