---

For older news, check our archived news page.

Acclaimed ECU Graduate to perform September 1

Mary-Jean O’Doherty
Guest Artist, Coloratura Soprano

Mary-Jean O’Doherty is a graduate of East Carolina University where she received a Bachelor of Music in Voice and Flute performance in addition to a BA in Psychology. While a student she performed leading roles in ECU Opera Theater productions of Acis and Galatea, Don Giovanni, Albert Herring, and Venus and Adonis. This promising coloratura soprano was the first recipient of the Australian International Opera Award in 2008, a scholarship to study at the acclaimed Cardiff University’s Cardiff International Academy of Voice in Wales, directed by the renowned dramatic tenor Dennis O’Neill, CBE.

Miss O’Doherty has been a finalist in the Australian Singing Competition (2007), the 10th Aragall Singing Competitiong in Sabadell, Spain (2010), and The Stuart Burrows International Vocal Competition in Wales (2011).

Recent highlights of Miss O’Doherty’s career include performances of “Naiad” in Ariadne auf Naxos for Welsh National Opera, “Queen of the Night” in The Magic Flute for Opera’s Ddraig in Cardiff, UK, “Carolina” in Il Matrimonio Segreto for Cardiff International Academy of Voice in Barga, Italy, and the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor with Prague State Opera. In the upcoming season, Miss O’Doherty will reprise the role of “Lucia” for Prague State Opera and make her Royal Albert Hall debut with Raymond Gubbay’s Classical Spectacular.

East Carolina University Schedule

Thursday, September 1, 2011 Recital with pianist Eric Stellrecht
featuring works by Mozart, Bellini, Strauss, Rodrigo, and Donizetti
A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall, 7:30 pm, free

Friday, September 2, 2011
ECU student Q&A with the artist, A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall, 3:00 pm

New Jazz Scholarship

Dr. Chris Buddo, Director of the ECU School of Music, has announced a new School of Music Jazz Scholarship. The "Emerald City Big Band/ Friends of Jazz Rose High" scholarship was funded from the proceeds of a May jazz concert featuring eastern North Carolina's Emerald City Big Band directed by Danny Wunker and the Rose High School Jazz Band directed by Russell Knight. The scholarship will help a deserving Rose High musician pursue a music degree with a jazz concentration at East Carolina University. This concert will be an annual May event with musicians donating their time and talent to raise money for future scholarship recipients. Pictured (left to right) are Dr. Chris Buddo, Director of the ECU School of Music, Jeff Bair, Director of Jazz Studies Program, receiving a $1,000 check from Emerald City Big Band Manager, saxophonist, and Friends of Jazz Board member, Charles Alford. Looking on are Ed Wheatley, Friends of Jazz co-founder and trumpeter/ vocalist with the Emerald City Big Band, Danny Wunker, Emerald City Big Band Director and saxophonist, and pubic radio personality "TomtheJazzman" Mallison, co-founder and current president of the ECU Friends of Jazz.

Tony DeBlois, pianist for the Banquet of Eastern Carolina Vocational Center, joined the music therapy program for an impromptu jam session on Thursday, October 14. 

DeBlois, 36, was born prematurely with blindness, autism and Savant Syndrome. His genius is music. He has a repertoire of 7000 to 8000 songs, perfect pitch and plays 13 instruments.

Dr. Clifford K. Madsen, Coordinator of Music Education/Music Therapy/Contemporary Media at Florida State University, presented the Leadership in Music Education and Music Therapy Seminar to more than 80 students, faculty and guests at ECU on Wednesday, October 20th & Thursday, October 21st. Topics included Current Trends and Practices in Music Therapy, Developing Leadership Skills in the Music Environment and Education Advocacy: Developing Leaders for the Music Education Profession.

The award-winning ECU Chamber Singers have released “Eternal Light,” their second professional compact disc recording.  Recorded in the sumptuous acoustic of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greenville, and internationally distributed on the Gothic recording label, the recording features mostly twentieth-century sacred works for unaccompanied choir. In addition, three selections are “world premiere” recordings of works for choir with single instrument obbligato featuring instrumental faculty members Christopher Grymes, clarinet; Christine Gustafson, flute.  The major premiere is a 25 minute four-movement setting of the Angus Dei by Norwegian composer Egil Hovland and featuring Christopher Ulffers, bassoon.

In an interview with distribution partner Naxos, Roger Sherman, production engineer and manager of Gothic Records, called the CD “truly one of the most beautiful recordings we have ever made.”

Recordings can be purchased through most online classical music recording distributors, including the Gothic Records website (www.gothic-catalog.com/Eternal_Light_p/g-49272.htm), or at the ECU School of Music office.

The East Carolina University School of Music Jazz Studies Program and the Hilton Greenville Hotel will partner again this fall to host the Jazz at Christinne’s with TomtheJazzman series on four Fridays during the 2010-2011 academic year, starting on Friday, September 17.

The evenings will feature performances by students and faculty from the ECU jazz studies program, as well as guest artist appearances.

The September 17 performance will feature renowned jazz drummer Winard Harper, sideman to such jazz legends as Ray Bryant, Abdullah Ibrahim, Pharoah Sanders and Clifford Jordan, and leader of the Winard Harper Sextet. Also featured is new ECU faculty member and genre-busting jazz guitarist Scott Sawyer.

The October 15 date showcases Summit recording artists the Steve Anderson Trio, featuring North Carolina composer and pianist Steve Anderson.

Additional Jazz at Christinne’s with TomtheJazzman performances will be on January 21 and February 18. All performances start at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $10,  $5 for students, and are available at 1-800-ECU-ARTS or at the door.

Christinne’s offers dinner, appetizer and beverage service during the performances. Call 355-9500 for dinner reservations.

School of Music welcomes two new faculty members

East Carolina University School of Music grad Jami Rhodes will join the SoM voice department faculty this fall. A native of North Carolina, mezzo-soprano Rhodes is an active performer in a variety of genres.  Most frequently seen on the operatic stage, she holds a number of favorite roles to her credit including Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Baba in The Medium, Madame de Croissy in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Jo in Little Women, Charlotte in Werther, Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia, Florence Pike in Albert Herring, The Old Lady in Candide and the title role in Bizet’s Carmen.

   Also a frequent of the concert stage, Rhodes recording of Dinos Constantinides’ Marche de Galvez with the Louisiana Sinfonietta and the Schola Cantorum was released by Centaur. She has been a winner in the Orpheus National Vocal Competition and a District Winner and Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

  She is also an active educator, having maintained a private voice and piano studio for over 10 years. In addition, she  has taught in the NC public school system, and she served on the faculty of the New York State Summer School for the Arts (NYSSSA).  Rhodes is a full active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).

Rhodes holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance and pedagogy from Louisiana State University, as well as a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of South Carolina, and a Bachelor of Music in music education from East Carolina University.

   Pianist Benjamin Hochman also comes to the SoM faculty this fall, with the keyboard department.

    Hochman has achieved widespread acclaim for his performances as orchestral soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. He made his recital debut at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; has appeared at the 92nd Street Y; made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; and has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony and the American, Chicago, Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Knoxville, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Portland, Seattle, Wheeling and Vancouver symphony orchestras, among others. His chamber music engagements have included the Bridgehampton, Charlottesville, Cooperstown, Caramoor, Lucerne, Marlboro, Ravinia, Santa Fe, Spoleto, and Verbier music festivals.

Hochman has participated in three prestigious residencies, and his honors include the Outstanding Pianist citation at the Verbier Academy, second prize at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, and first prize at the National Piano Competition of the Rubin Academy of Music.

   His performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio, CBC (Canada), ABC (Australia), Radio France, and Israel’s Voice of Music radio station, as well as on the European television network, Mezzo.

   His first album was released on Artek in 2009.

   He is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music and Mannes College of Music.

 

The East Carolina University School of Music Alumni Professional Society Board invites all alumni to attend the Third Annual School of Music Alumni Reunion and Recital on Friday, November 5, 2010, at 7:00 p.m., in the A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall. The program is open to all alumni of the School who would like to sing or play any instrument solo, in chamber groups, or jazz ensembles. A special word of encouragement to couples who met at the School of Music—we would love to feature you on our program. If you would like to attend this event and/or be included on the program, please contact Bonnie G. Mani at manib@ecu.edu or 252/328-1060 to provide your program information and to RSVP for the reception. A few alumni have already volunteered to play so hurry! A reception with alumni and their families, current and retired faculty members will be held immediately following the recital. Please come join in the fun and reconnect with fellow alumni and some of your former professors. The last two years' events were enjoyed by all who attended and performed. Let’s keep the tradition alive!

P. S. You could make it a weekend! ECU Pirates vs. Navy at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on November 6, 2010, at 3:30 p.m. 

East Carolina University School of Music professor and early-music musician Jocelyn Nelson and New York-based soprano Amy Bartram have released the CD “Ma Guiterre je te chante - 16th century guitar solos and chansons.” “Ma Guiterre je te chante” includes selections from the French renaissance guitar repertoire performed on the four-course renaissance guitar, and features intricate guitar solos and rarely-heard 16th-century arrangements of French love songs for soprano and guitar based on dances from the period. Many of the voice and guitar arrangements are by the French composer and music printer Adrian Le Roy, and were considered the pop songs of their day. This is the first recording dedicated to the French renaissance solo guitar repertoire to include songs for solo voice and guitar performed in the original arrangements. Nelson teaches music history, lute and guitar literature, Baroque guitar and music appreciation at East Carolina University's School of Music. “Ma Guiterre je te chante” is available for purchase at cdbaby, www.cdbaby.com/cd/nelsonbartram. The site also features CD excerpts.

Benjamin Keaton receives National Opera Trustee Recognition Award

OPERA America recognized ECU alum Benjamin Keaton (BS ‘57  MA ’61) of Long Leaf Opera (North Carolina) as a recipient of the 2010 National Opera Trustee Recognition Award. In its third year, this award honors trustees of U.S. opera companies for exemplary leadership, generosity and audience-building efforts on behalf of their respective opera companies.

OPERA America is committed to recognizing strong trustee leaders, acknowledging the pivotal role they play in the success of opera companies and the vitality of the communities they serve.

 The honorees represent a significant range of accomplishments, generosity and a deep commitment to promoting opera in their communities.

Twelve years ago, conductor and composer Benjamin Keaton co-founded Long Leaf Opera with Randolph Umberger as an alternative company with two missions: to present exclusively operas written originally in English and to develop a multicultural company of artists at all levels. Concerned with the lack of opportunities for young American composers, Mr. Keaton set out to recruit the finest regional and national composing talents available and to follow a colorblind casting policy on stage, in the pit and in the board room. Since then, Mr. Keaton has overseen the production of 33 operas, including seven world premieres. In 2007, Keaton established an international competition for new operatic works, and to date over 100 compositions have been received from countries including Germany, Australia and the U.K.

OPERA America will pay tribute to the 2010 honorees and celebrate their remarkable achievements at a February weekend in New York City, including three nights at the Park Lane Hotel, two dinners, a reception, a performance of La filled du regiment at the Metropolitan Opera, an awards banquet, and a free full page ad for their company in Opera America magazine.

Tuba and euphonium professor Tom McCaslin has released his debut CD, “Inside Out” through Crystal Records.  The recording includes an world-premiere interpretation of a transcription of the improvised guitar solos of Frank Zappa, given to McCaslin by legendary tubist Roger Bobo. Zappa’s widow, Gail Zappa, said, “This is definitely not for the faint of heart. This rocks my world.”
The CD includes a variety of works for tuba. The CD was supported by a College of Fine Arts and Communication Research and Creative Activity Grant.

The CD is available at Amazon.com.

George Broussard attended the 40th International Trombone Festival in Nashville in June, where he performed with the Palmetto Posaunen (trombonists from SC, NC, TN, GA, Va), and the Cramer Memorial Choir conducted by John Marcellus (twenty college professors from through out the US and a guest quartet from Hungary). He also judged the finals of the J. J. Johnson Jazz Competition.

Tom McCaslin has been awarded a Pitt County Arts Council at Emerge Grant to record his second CD in the summer of 2011. McCaslin's first CD, "Inside Out," was released in 2009 to critical acclaim.

Dr. Jeffrey Ward published "Tips from the podium: A guest conductor's perspective of the honor choir" in the October 2010 edition of the Choral Journal, the national journal of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
 
Drs. Michelle Hairston, Linda High, Greg Hurley, and Jeffrey Ward presented in four different concentrations at the 29th World Conference of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) in Beijing, China in August 2010.
 
Dr. Jeffrey Ward conducted the Mozart Coronation Mass with the Greenville Choral Society and New Carolina Sinfonia with faculty soloists Sharon Munden and John Kramar in May 2010.He also conducted the Rutter Requiem with the St. James United Methodist Church Choir and Orchestra with ECU student soloists and faculty instrumentalists in March 2010.

Dr. Scott Carter, Director of Bands in the School of Music, guest conducted the Winthrop/Charlotte Area Wind Orchestra at the American Bandmasters Association Convention this past March in Charleston, South Carolina. The American Bandmasters Association is considered the most prestigious professional organization for wind band conductors. During the summer he directed the East Carolina University Summer Band Camp, a weeklong residence program that enrolled 300 band students in grades 6-12 from the region. He also served as conductor for the School of Theater and Dance Summer Theater production of a George M. Cohan review at the Waterside Amphitheater in Manteo, NC.

In addition, he recently contributed an article to the book series for band directors entitled Teaching Music Through Performance in Band.  The contribution was an analysis of Steven Bryant's composition Stampede. Fall 2010 he will adjudicate marching band competitions in Raleigh and Jacksonville. He has also been invited by Colonel Thomas Palmattier, commander and conductor of the United States Army Field Band, to guest conduct the ensemble when they are in North Carolina on an east coast tour.  The U. S Army Field Band, based at Fort Meade, Maryland, has performed in all 50 states, and in 30 countries on four continents. They are considered one of the finest concert bands in the world and are the "musical ambassadors" of the United States Army.

Dr. Christine Gustafson, Flute professor at the School of Music, has been selected for the Annual East Carolina University Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs Scholar-Teacher Award, which recognizes outstanding faculty members who integrate scholarship and teaching.

ECU professor Carroll Dashiell will present the newly established ECU Jazz Studies “Dr.  Billy Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award “ at the Howard University concert ceremony honoring Dr. Billy Taylor on November 19.
 
ECU trombone professor George Broussard performed at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival 2009, “The Year of The Trombone,” for the opening ceremony, two performances with The Palmetto Posaunen and at the U. S. Custom House with Wycliffe Gordon. Broussard also toured Europe this summer as Dixieland Medley soloist with the American Trombone Choir (in Bad Neuenahr, Germany and Prague, Czech Republic); and as part of the Cramer Memorial Trombone Choir, a 24 member choir representing six countries (in Aarhus, Denmark).

ECU guitar professor Elliot Frank performed at the Fort Worth Guitar Guild Music Festival in July. Reviewers said:

"Frank had a highly studied technique that displayed an exceptional grasp of the architecture of the piece he was performing. He also did a nice job of explaining the common ground shared by two seemingly unrelated works on his program: a lute suite by Bach (BWV 998) and Capriccio, a work by contemporary composer Andrew Zohn, who will perform later in the festival. Frank’s insightful introduction made this modern piece, which was the highlight of his set, more enjoyable."

ECU music professor Jocelyn Nelson performed renaissance guitar at the Boston Early Music Festival on June 10 with soprano Amy Bartram. Nelson and Bartram have collaborated on a CD of early music to be released soon.

ECU educators Jennifer Bugos, Jocelyn Nelson, Mike Dixon and ECU student Alexis Groner have published research articles recently.

Bugos, J.A., & High, L. (2009). Perceived versus actual practice strategy usage by older adult novice piano students. Visions of Research in Music Education, 13, 1-26

Bugos, J.A., & Groner, A. (2009). The effects of instrumental training on non-verbal reasoning in eighth-grade students. Research Perspectives in Music Education, 12, (Accepted for Publication in March 2009 issue)
 
 Bugos, J.A., Nelson, J. & Dixon, M. (2009). Podcasting: A method of enhancing course perceptions and performance in music appreciation. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 6 (1), 37-45.

Oboe professor Bo Newsome was one of five semifinalists in an international visual arts competition attracting 600 international entries from 60 nations,

The Maine Center for Creativity and the Sprague Energy Corporation selected Newsome’s design for consideration as one of five finalists in the “Art All Around International Design Competition.” The winning design—not Newsome’s—will beautify 16 oil tanks located in the port of South Portland, Maine.

On entry into the competition, Newsome begged the indulgence of the judging panel, explaining that he is a musician competing among visual artists to deliver an intricate submission: “Our proposal stops one step short of what every other proposal will probably excel at: submitting a sophisticated presentation of the actual graphic art to be painted on the tanks.”

“Tunetowers of Maine” proposed the combination of graphic art,
song and technological innovation to create an aesthetically engaging
landscape in which the oil tanks “sing” to Portland and the world. The proposed music would have been transformed into animated graphic musical notation and painted on the sides of the tanks, with the top of each tank illustrated with notation in a round format.

ECU School of Music students placed well at the North Carolina Music Teachers Association competitions held at UNCW on Friday, October 8.  ECU student cellist CJ Collins won first place and student cellist Hillary Flowers took third place and honorable mention, both in Young Artists Division. Collins and Flowers are students of Emmauel Gruber. Caroline Cox, student of Keiko Sekino, was named alternate in the Young Artist/College piano division. ECU’s Dr. Kerry Carlin is chair of the state competitions.

Music education major Tremayne Smith has been elected ECU student body president for 2010-2011.

ECU flute student Tunisia Bullock was invited to attend Beyond the Masterclass Flute Week 2010 in June as an Allegro performer. Jim Walker’s  Flute Week combines the traditional masterclass environment with special seminars designed to expand a flutist’s horizons outside the “flute performance major” mentality. It is hosted at The Colburn Conservatory of Music's beautiful facilities in downtown Los Angeles across from Walt Disney Concert Hall.

In April, the Mid-Atlantic NATS organization (National Association of Teachers of Singing) held its audition for the regional competition (MD, DC, VA, NC and SC) at University of South Carolina.  Four of the seven students from ECU who qualified were able to attend with the following results: Nicole Sonbert House, First Place, Graduate Women; John Hinson, First Place, Graduate Men; Sarah Boswell, Second Place, Freshmen Women; Erin Moorman, Third Place, Continuing Education Women.

ECU students Elizabeth Thompson and Christian Waugh advanced to the
semi-final round of the Orpheus National Vocal Competition in Tennessee this
past weekend. (130 singers whittled down to 27.) Christian later made it to
the final round (27 singers whittled down to 7), and won third place,
including a cash prize!

ECU held its own among some fierce competition -- students from CCM, FSU,
New England Conservatory, Eastman, Curtis, and Indiana University to name a
few.

Rafael Valle's composition “Primeiro Trio” has been selected for inclusion in the spring concert of the Out of Bounds New Music Ensemble. This is Valle's third competition success in spring semester 2010.

ECU had several student winners in Greensboro at the North Carolina National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition.  All of our winners will advance to the regional round in South Carolina in April. Kevin Carswell, 2nd place, Graduate Men  (student of Perry Smith);John Hinson, regionals for Graduate Men (student of Louise Toppin); Nicole House, regionals for Graduate Women (student of Louise Toppin); Sarah Bosweel, regionals for Freshmen Women (student of Louise Toppin); Lisa Harshman, 3rd place, Advanced Jr/Sr High School Women (Private student of Louise Toppin).

Nathan Walker's composition "Leaves" will be programmed by the NC Master Chorale Chamber Choir, directed by Al Sturgis.  His music will be hear on the group's "Time Passages" concert, on Thursday, March 25, 2009 at 8 pm in Kenan Recital Hall, Peace College.

November 1, 2009,Rachael Arnold, a senior at ECU double-majoring in flute performance and music education, was the winner of the Undergraduate Collegiate Division of the Raleigh Area Flute Association Competition.  Rachael will receive a cash prize and has been invited to perform on the Winners' Recital of the Raleigh Area Flute Association on November 13, 2009 in Raleigh, NC.  Rachael is a student of Christine Gustafson.

Nicole Frazee, graduate flute performance major, was the winner of the
Graduate Collegiate Division of the Raleigh Area Flute Association
Competition.  Nicole will also receive a cash prize and will perform for the
Winners' Recital on November 13.  Nicole is Graduate Assistant for Christine
Gustafson.

Tremayne Smith, ECU Marching Band Sr. Head Drum Major and senior music education major, was crowned ECU homecoming king during the fall 2009 ECU homecoming festivities.

Kyle Walker, sophomore piano performance major, was chosen the state winner in the Young Artist Piano Competition at the state conference of the North Carolina Music Teachers Association (affiliated with Music Teachers National Association).

His program included Bach: Prelude and Fugue in G-sharp Minor (Book I, Well-Tempered Clavier); Beethoven: Opening Movement of the
Sonata # 31, in A-Flat, Opus 110; and Albeniz “El Albiacin” (from Book 3 of Iberia).

Kyle currently holds the Olive G. Long Memorial Piano Scholarship and is a student of Dr. Henry Doskey.
 
There were six contestants; the Young Artist Division is basically the College Division, through age 26. ECU has had winners in this competition before, but Kyle is one of the youngest ECU students to win this division, which tends to be dominated by seniors and graduate students. He advances now to the Regional Competition, which will be held in Birmingham in January.

Congratulations, Kyle!

Steve Lewis, whose sheet music for his composition titled "A Just War" has been published and is available for sale at www.periferiamusic.com.

You can check it by clicking the following link:
http://www.periferiamusic.com/eng/detalle.php?id=459


Senior flute performance major Jamie Wilken, student of Christine Gustafson, has been accepted to the Christian Lardé masterclass in Paris for two weeks in July, 2009.  Jamie has been granted a full scholarship--all course fees, room and board are covered.  However, she will have to go back and forth to Paris from Brazil, where she and duo partner, guitarist Josinaldo Costa (former student of Elliot Frank and one of our first Music Alive! Exchange students), have been invited to perform in three chamber music festivals: Virtuosi na Serra in Pernambuco; the Villa-Lobos Hall in Rio de Janeiro under the aegis of the Guitar Society of Rio de Janeiro; and the Londrina Chamber Music Competition in Londrina, Brazil.

James “Aaron” Hardwick, class of 2004, has been named a Yale Distinguished Music Educator.  The award is presented biennially by the Yale School of Music to participants of the Symposium on Music in Schools.  The award honors fifty music educators from across the country that are selected for their outstanding accomplishments teaching music in public schools.  Mr. Hardwick was one of more than 300 nominees representing 45 states.  He attended the four day symposium and award ceremony held at Yale University in June. 

Hardwick is the director of orchestras at Frank W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  He oversees the Falcon Chamber Orchestra, Falcon Concert Orchestra, and the Cox High School Quartet.  He has also been recently appointed as the new conductor of the Bay Youth Orchestra of Virginia; Virginia’s premier youth symphony orchestra.  He holds of Bachelor of Music Degree from East Carolina and is a former viola student of faculty member Ara Gregorian, and conducting student of Dr. Scott Carter.

He currently resides in Chesapeake, VA with his wife Christina, also class of 2004.  Feel free to contact him via email at director@coxorchestra.com.


Colleen Hussion has been selected to play the bassoon/contra bassoon for the 2011 National Intercollegiate Band at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs in July. Founded in 1947. the NIB will make its twenty-eighth appearance at the biennial national convention of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma honor fraternities.
Hussion was chosen from the more than 200 students who auditioned for chairs in 2011.

ECU guitar alumnus and Elliot Frank student Chris Adkins (BM 2006, MM 2008) won first prize at the Music Academy of North Carolina Guitar Competition on November 14.
This is the third straight year that an ECU alumnus has won the competition. Previous winners were Armin Abdihodzic (MM 2009), November 2009 and Adam Kossler (BM 2006), November 2008. ECU guitar students and alumni have won a total of six prizes at this competition.

Travis Alford (’05, BM Theory-Composition – concentration in Composition) is a recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award. Named in memory of eminent composer and conductor Morton Gould, who was ASCAP's President from 1986 to 1994, the award encourages developing music creators during the earliest stages of their careers.

"This recognition by ASCAP is quite a distinction; few are granted each year, and receiving an ASCAP award signifies a that a young composer has already established the elements of a unique, significant, and accomplished voice," said Ed Jacobs, ECU professor of theory and composition. “Travis is a very fine young composer with several distinguished experiences under his belt, from being a fellow at the Wellesley Composers Conference and June In Buffalo, to his recent hire on the faculty of the Boston-area Gordon College.”

RaSheeda Waddell, MM vocal performance, won 2010 Miss Black North Carolina USA contest.

Meredith Harris won the 2009 Shinichi Suzuki/American Suzuki Foundation Teacher Training Scholarship.  She took the Viola Supplemental Course and Viola Practicum, taught by Betsy Stuen-Walker.

Armin Abdihodzic, who graduated April, 2009 with an MM in guitar and is currently pursuing doctoral studies at UNT, has won first prize in guitar competitions at the Mississippi Guitar Festival in Hattiesburg, and at the Music Academy of North Carolina in Greensboro. In Greensboro the other finalists were from Cleveland Institute of Music, Indiana University, and Columbus State University. This is the second year in a row that a recent ECU alum has won this competition, and the third year in a row that either current ECU students or alums have won prizes in the MANC competition. Abdihodzic was a student of Dr. Elliot Frank.

AMTA is proud to announce the 2009 Arthur Flagler Fultz Research Grant winner:Michael Silverman, PhD, MT-BC. Dr. Silverman will receive a $15,000 Grant to fund his research project titled: "The effect of family-based educational music therapy on depression, satisfaction with life, and service utilization: A randomized effectiveness study with three month follow-up." Congratulations Dr. Silverman!

School of Music Alumnus Dr. Roger McVey (B.M. ’94, Piano Performance) has just released his first CD, “American Journey."  The new recording consists entirely of music for piano by living American composers, and provides a diverse sampling of contemporary American music. Included are pieces by John Adams, Emma Lou Diemer, Marc Mellits, Lori Laitman. Earl wild, Bonnie Kiksch, and Phillip Glass. Mc Vey was a student of Dr. Henry Doskey while at ECU, and is a winner of several NC-area competitions, including the NCMTA Young Artists Competition and the Raleigh Symphony Competition.  He has also won several other prizes in European competitions. His Master’s degree is from Indiana University and his Doctorate was completed at the University of Kansas. He is on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin – River falls. Read more at www.rogermcvey.com <http://www.rogermcvey.com>  .