Student Spotlight
Congratulations to senior Celeste Belknap, who has been awarded the 2018 Marjorie Jane Brewster Memorial Scholarship, one of the most prestigious scholarships given by the Penn State School of Music. Created in memory of Marjorie Jane Brewster by...
Sadie Spivey was recipient of the 1st prize in the Sing Out! – a scholarship competition for voice performance across theatrical genres – receiving the Steve Roland Prize. Sing Out! was held in the Borland Project Space, with...
Graduating with a single degree in four years is no easy feat. So imagine graduating with four. Jin Zhang did exactly that, earning four degrees in four and a half years, including a Bachelor Arts degree in music performance (cello). In addition...
Rising senior Jordana Schaeffer will serve as an intern with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra during summer 2018. She will be participating in their outreach program, OrchKids, a year-round after school program for over 1,300 students in...
Doctoral piano student Soyoung Jung was named the winner of the young artist age group at the inaugural Pittsburgh International Piano Competition, held in April 2018. Along with a cash prize, Soyoung will participate in a winner's concert...
Junior Sadie Spivey (BM voice; BFA acting) will be appearing as a young artist during the 2018 season of Ohio Light Opera in Wooster, OH. Known as ‘America’s premier lyric theatre festival,’ the resident professional company of...
Congratulations to junior music education major Ryan Czekaj, who has been named as a recipient of Penn State's Erickson Discovery Grant. These competitive grants are directed to student-initiated projects in the sciences, engineering, social...
Congratulations to senior violin performance major Celeste Belknap who has been named as a recipient of an 2018 Erickson Discovery Grant. Celeste will travel to Moscow, Russia to research Nina Makarova’s "Symphony in D Minor" for...
Congratulations to senior Ruben McFarlane who has been named the School of Music's student marshal for the upcoming undergraduate commencement ceremony to be held May 6. He has chosen professor Timothy...
Congratulations to second-year master's student Miguel Campos on the publication of his article, "Reflections After An Audition: A Call to Inject Compassion Back into Our Musical Life," in the February 2018 edition of American...
Congratulations to Juliana Alfano, who received Honorable Mention for Operatic Performance in the first Sing Out! voice competition held at Penn State in February 2018. She is currently pursing a master's degree in vocal pedagogy and...
Congratulations to senior music education major Katherine (Kate) Sellers, whose thesis research titled "Discrimination and Isolation among Female High School Band Directors" has been accepted as a research presentation at the upcoming...
Congratulations to clarinetist Andy Hunt, a Professional Performer’s Certificate candidate and student of Anthony J. Costa, on being named a co-winner of the 2017-18 Symphonic Wind Ensemble Concerto...
Congratulations to junior music performance major Thomas Snyder who has been named one of the co-winners of the 2017-18 Symphonic Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition. A saxophonist studying with Penn state professor...
Congratulations to graduate pianist Francisco Montero on the release of his first solo CD titled “New York Dreams.” Produced by KNS Classical, the CD features Montero’s performances of Brahms’ “...
Congratulations to junior music education major Brooke Cichocki for being named a co-winner of the 2017-18 Symphonic Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition. A clarinet student of ...
Rising junior Sadie Spivey has been named as the recipient of a 2017 Summer Erickson Discovery Grant. The grant program, named in honor of Penn State's seventeenth president, Rodney A. Erickson, supports undergraduate stude...
Rising junior music education student Marissa Works has received an internship from the Kennedy Center of Performing Arts for summer 2017. She will work in the center's Education: Changing Education Through the Arts program (CETA), which...
Congratuatlions to graduate student clarinetist Anthony Poehailos, who was named the winner of Penn State's Graduate Exhibition "Performance Option" on Friday, March 24, 2017. Anthony and his collaborator, dancer Natasha McCandless...
Congratulations to senior percussionist Kyle McKay, who has been named as one of the recipients of a 2017 Award for Creative Achievement. Presented by the College of Arts and Architecture, these awards recognize students who exemplify...
Congratulations to junior Luke Nosal for being named a recipient of the 2017 Award For Creative Achievement. Presented by the College of Arts and Architecture, these annual awards recognize students who exemplify the objectives of the...
Congratulations to senior Walker Konkle, who has been named as the recipient of Penn State’s John W. Oswald Award for Creative and Performing Arts. This university-wide award is given to graduating seniors who have provided outstanding...
Celeste Belknap, a double major in violin performance (B.M.A.) and Russian, has been accepted to attend the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) Summer Russian Language Program, and will spend summer 2017 in St. Petersburg, Russia...
Graduating senior Abigail Koehler has been named as the College of Arts and Architecture's student marshal for the commencement ceremony on May 6. She will be accompanied by trombone professor Mark L. Lusk...
Congratulations to Shanti Nachtergaele, a second-year graduate student in the M.A. Theory and History degree program, who has received the Distinguished Master's Thesis Award in Fine Arts and Humanities from the Graduate School. Her thesis,...
Congratulations to graduate student Stephen Cannistraci who won 1st prize in the euphonium solo competition (24 years old and younger) at the International Women's Brass Conference in June 2017, held at Rowan University (NJ). He went on to...
Congratulations to Olivia Dowd, a third-year music education major, for her recent selection to the Music Technology Leadership Academy (MTLA), held in association with TI:ME and the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA). The Academy, occurring...
Congratulations to senior violinist Walker Konkle who was featured in a recent article in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. The full text of the article, written by Sun-Gazette correspondent Jason Kloch and published on December 1, is below:
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Junior music education major Emily Rickard has been named as one of the co-winners of the annual Symphonic Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition. A clarinet student in the studio of Anthony J. Costa, she will...
Congratulations to senior Hurlie Yang, who has been awarded the 2016 Marjorie Jane Brewster Memorial Scholarship, one of the most prestigious scholarships awarded by the Penn State School of Music. Created in memory of Marjorie Jane Brewster by...
Garrett Martin ('18 B.M.E.) served as music director and pit conductor for the recent FUSE Productions run of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins at the Downtown Theatre Center in State College. FUSE brings together local actors, Penn...
Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate Mara E. Culp who will join the music education faculty of Ithaca College in fall 2016 as a visiting assistant professor. She will teach courses related to elementary general music and coordinate music activities...
Congratulations to senior music education major Caleb Bohanan, whose work while student teaching has inspired a radio program. While teaching music at Pittsburgh Shiller 6-8 STEAM Academy with cooperating teacher Shayne Stromberg, Caleb developed...
Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate Yo-Jung Han, who has accepted a position as visiting assistant professor at Appalachian State University (NC) in the Hayes School of Music. She will teach courses in music methods for classroom teachers, and...
Ph.D. candidate Lindsay Fulcher has accepted a tenure-track position as assistant professor of string education at the University of Northern Colorado, beginning fall 2016. She will be collaborating with music education and string faculty to...
Senior Lisa Marie Rogali has been selected as the speaker for the 2016 College of Arts and Architecture's commencement ceremony. She is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in music education. Post-graduation, Lisa plans to attend the...
Graduating piano performance major Ian Duh has been named as the School of Music student marshal for the College of Arts and Architecture’s undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 7, 2016. The son of Rong-Chii (Samuel) Duh and Hwei-Kit (...
Graduating senior James Nackley, a native of Hollidaysburg, PA and the son of Daniel and Heather Nackley, has been named the School of Music's student marshal for the commencement ceremony occurring May 6. He has chosen...
Congratulations to Katharine Carpenter for receiving the 2016 College of Arts and Architecture’s Alumni Society Scholarship. The scholarship was established by members of the College’s Alumni Society to recognize outstanding...
Congratulations to junior voice performance major Joseph Helinski, who won first place in the Junior Men Category at the recent National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Eastern Region Student Auditions. This annual voice competition,...
“This is my second act and I’m going to make the most of it.” So declared Blythe Walker, a graduate student in the Penn State School of Music’s voice pedagogy program. Walker’s second act comes nearly 30 years after...
Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate Yo-Jung Han, whose article titled "Expanding Music Listening Experience Through Drawing “ has been published in General Music Today. An abstract of the article is available ...
Congratulations to Lisa Marie Rogali, a senior pursuing the Bachelor of Music Education degree, who was presented with the Encouragement Award at the December 5 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her Met...
Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate Mara E. Culp, whose article titled "Improving Self-Esteem in General Music" has been published in General Music Today. An abstract of the article is available...
Congratulations to first-year doctoral piano student Francisco Montero for winning the state Music Teacher’s National Association’s “Young Artist Performance” division on November 8 at Elizabethtown College. He will now...
Congratulations to Shanti Nachtergaele, a first-year graduate student in the M.A.-Theory and History degree program, who has been selected by audition to participate in the Tafelmusik Winter Institute, held January 4-9 in Toronto...
Congratulations to BME senior William Broaddus who was named the winner of the American Choral Director’s Association-PA chapter’s 2015 Undergraduate Choral Conducting Competition. The competition was held in conjunction with the...
Congratulations to junior music education major Patrick Feher who has been named as a winner of the 2015-16 Symphonic Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition. He will perform "Concerto for Saxophone and Band" by Walter S. Hartley...
Congratulations to graduate student Anthony Poehailos, who has been named as one of the winners of the 2015-16 Symphonic Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition. A first-year graduate student in clarinet performance, Anthony is a student of...
Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate Mara E. Culp, whose paper titled “Collaborating with Speech-language Pathologists: 11 Ways to Use Music to Improve Speech Sounds” is currently appearing in the National Association for Music...
Congratulations to graduate student Jon Churchill, who will present his research at the fall meeting of the Allegheny Chapter of the American Musicological Society, held October 17 on the campus of West Virginia University. His paper, "...
Congratulations to second-year graduate student Tetyana Pyatovolenko who has been selected as a 2015-16 Classical Music Student Ambassador Leader. She is a cello student of Kim Cook. A native of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, Tania is the daughter of...
Congratulations to junior voice performance major Joseph Helinski on being named as a 2015-16 Classical Music Student Ambassador Leader. From Canonsburg, PA, Joseph is the son of David and Maureen Helinski. A baritone, he studies with voice...
Congratulations to Leah Frederick who has been named the College of Arts and Architecture student marshal for the May 9 commencement ceremony. A violist studying with Timothy Deighton, she is receiving her Bachelor of Musical Arts degree in viola...
Marissa Guarriello, a junior music education major and Schreyer Honors Scholar, has received a Rodney A. Erickson Discovery Grant to pursue her honors thesis research in Europe in Summer 2015. Marissa's thesis, "The Music of Hans...
Senior music education student Christopher Ballentine has been named as one of five Penn State seniors to receive the University’s 2015 John W. Oswald Award. Established in 1983, the award annually recognizes graduating seniors who have...
Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate Krissie Weimer for the publication of her article “Novice Teacher Mentoring: Recommended Readings” in the Spring 2015 edition of PMEA News (Vol. 79 No. 3).
Krissie is originally from Jamestown...
Congratulations to second-year graduate voice student Corie Auger for being named the winner of the 2015 Penn State Graduate Exhibition (Performance Option). Corie performed for the Penn State community on March 20 in Esber Recital Hall, singing...
Professional Performer’s Certificate candidate Sooah Jung has been named as a winner of the 2014-15 Phiharmonic Concerto Competition. She is a violin student of Max Zorin.
Originally from South Korea, Sooah is the daughter of...
Congratulations to Pai Liu for being named one of the winners of the 2014-15 Philharmonic Concerto Competition. A student of cello professor Kim Cook, Pai will perform Ernest Bloch’s “Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Violoncello and...
Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate Mara E. Culp on being named one of three finalists of the Suncoast Music Education Research Symposium's (SMERS) "Outstanding Emerging Researcher Award." She was...
Congratulations to music education senior Erin Trautmann who has been named as the School of Music's student marshal for the 2015 Commencement ceremony held May 9 at Eisenhower Auditorium.
Erin is currently completing her student...
Congratulations to Gregory A. Drane, Ph. D. candidate in music education, who has had an article selected for publication in the Music Educators Journal, the primary journal of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). His...
Congratulations to second year graduate student Emily Karosas, who won First Place in the Strings Division of the Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA) Young Artist’s Competition in Las Vegas...
Congratulations to music education graduate student Joshua Long, whose research titled "Finding Retention in Community Music Ensemble Participants" was published in the autumn 2014 issue of...
Professional Performance Certificate candidate Corey Durham has been named a winner of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble’s 2014-15 Concerto Competition. He will play “Three Miniatures” by Anthony Plog with the ensemble in an upcoming...
Congratulations to horn graduate student Grace Shafer on being named one of the winners of the...
Daniel J. Shevock, a Ph.D. candidate (ABD) in music education, has recently had two papers accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. His historical research, "Satis Coleman: A Spiritual Philosophy for Music Education," will...
Congratulations to Dave Phillips on being named a 2015-16 Classical Music Student Ambassador Leader. From Colonie, New York, he is the son of Christopher and Carmen Phillips. Dave is a second-year graduate student in viola performance, studying...
Congratulations to Alix Bigley, a second-year graduate student in Voice Performance and Pedagogy, who has been named a 2014-15 Classical Music Student Ambassador.
Originally from Tarpon Springs, Florida, Alix received her bachelor’s...
Congratulations to Janey Martinsen who has been selected as a 2014-15 Classical Music Student Ambassador. A second-year graduate student in clarinet performance from Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, she received her undergraduate degree from Penn...
Graduate voice student Corie Auger recently participated in a livestream with Grammy-award winning composer William Bolcom and mezzo-soprano Joan Morris. Produced by the Living Music Resource, the...
Rebekah Mackley has been awarded the music education area's award for "excellence in scholarship" in honor of her work on projects associated with her music education classes throughout her undergraduate career. She will...
Alison Geesey has been named the 2014 recipient of the award for “Excellence in Student Teaching” given by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association and the Society for Music Teacher Education. The award recognizes students who...
Jessica Bieganski has won the 2014 Pennsylvania Music Educators Association’s Award for “Excellence in Service.” Sponsored by the Society for Music Teacher Education, the award is presented to graduating students who have...
Ph.D. student Anne-Marie Hildebrandt has been named the collegiate winner of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association's 2014 Composition Program. Her winning composition titled Two Poems by Carl Sandburg (for SSAATTBB choir and...
Freshman violinists Rose Crosset and Daniel Friedland were recently featured in a newspaper article published in their hometown newspaper, the York Dispatch. The article charts the students' progression through the orchestra audition process...
Senior John Carpenter (B.A. piano) has been chosen as one of eight singers to join the young artist program at the Bayerische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera) in Munich, Germany. His work in Munich will be supported by the Björn Eklund...
Graduate trumpet student John Maurer has been accepted to the 2014 OperaMaya Orchestral Summer Festival, hosted in Riviera Maya, Mexico. The festival runs June 2-June 16, and offers masterclasses, daily language studies, and opportunities to work...
Graduate orchestral conducting student Santiago E. Osorio has been named as a winner of the Philharmonic Orchestra's Concerto Competition. He will play the first movement of Béla Bartók's Viola Concerto, Sz. 120, BB 128 with the...
Congratulations to violin graduate student Hyunkyung Kim on being named one of the winners of the Philharmonic's 2014 Concerto Competition. A student of Professor Max Zorin, she is a first-year master's student in violin performance and...
Senior B.M.A. piano student John Livingston has been named as a winner of the Philharmonic Orchestra's Concerto Competition. He will play the first movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 with the...
Senior B.M. voice student Jamie Rapaport won the preliminary round (University Division - Classical) of the Classical Singer Vocal Competition held at Temple University on February 8, 2014...
Laura Brown (IUG-Musicology, ‘14) has been invited to present her paper, "Poetu: The Synthesis of Music and Poetry in Rimsky-Korsakov's Op. 45 Song Cycle 'To the Poet'" in St. Petersburg, Russia at a...
Congratulations to the euphonium quartet FivE who recently competed as a division finalist ensemble in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Competition – Chamber Music category. Coached by...
Congratulations to music education senior Luke Gall who will compete in the national Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Competition to be held in Chicago in March, 2014. Luke earned this honor after winning both the state and...
Congratulations to MM student Laura Clapper who recently competed as a division finalist in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Woodwind competition. She earned this honor after winning Pennsylvania’s MTNA...
Junior Ammi Lopez has been named a winner of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble’s Concerto Competition. She will be featured in an upcoming performance of the ensemble, playing Concertino for Flute and Orchestra, Op. 107 by Cécile...
Senior B.M. clarinet student Eddie Sundra has been named a winner of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble’s Concerto Competition. He will perform “Riffs for Lenny” from Frank Ticheli’s Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble...
Laura Brown (IUG-Musicology, ‘14) presented her paper, “Stravinsky and the Sounds of Human Emotion: A Musical Study of the Human Characteristics of the Puppet Petrushka” at a conference hosted by Princeton University in...
Daniel J. Shevock, a Ph.D. candidate in music education, will present his research, A Grounded Definition of Confident Music Improvisation: Perceptions Among University Improvisation Teachers, at the conference of the Society for...
This article was reposted from Schreyer Honors College News (appearing September 27, 2013). It was written by Julia Kern '14, College Relations Intern.
Hannah Lin’s music students have a chance to see their teacher take...
The feature article about the Blue Band, currently appearing on the front page of the Penn State website, has received the largest response ever to any Penn State web page posting. As of...
Sophomore voice major Lisa Rogali appears as a choir member and featured soprano soloist in Eric Whitacre's current virtual choir project, Virtual Choir 4: Fly to Paradise. One of the members chosen from 8,409 video submissions...
M.M. Composition and Theory student André La Velle has been awarded a Graduate Student Residency by the Institute of Arts and Humanities for spring 2014. During the residency, he plans to orchestrate a 10-15 minute original composition (...
Laura Clapper, a graduate student of Naomi Seidman, has been named the winner of the National Flute Association's Master Class competition. She will be performing at the association's annual conference in New Orleans, LA in August 2013....
Cassandra Hesse has won the 2013 Pennsylvania Music Educators Association’s Award for “Excellence in Service.” Sponsored by the Society for Music Teacher Education, the award is presented to graduating students who have...
D. Ryan Bulgarelli was chosen to be the School of Music's student marshal at the Undergraduate Commencement ceremony held on May 4. Ryan, a B.M.E. student, wasl accompanied by O. Richard Bundy who served as faculty marshal.
From York,...
Joshua Laughner represented the College of Arts and Architecture as its student marshal at the Undergraduate Commencement ceremony occurring on Saturday, May 4 at at Eisenhower Auditorium. He selected Dr. Paul Barsom to accompany him as faculty...
Amanda N. Jones is the 2013 recipient of the award for “Excellence in Student Teaching” given by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association and the Society for Music Teacher Education. The award recognizes students who have “...
The research of Ph.D. music education student Daniel J. Shevock was recently highlighted in PMEA News. In an article by Alison Reynolds titled Learning By Doing: Musician, Teacher, Student, Researcher, Reynolds stated that she invited...
Congratulations to M.M.E. student Mara Culp for her second-place award at the Penn State Graduate Exhibition (research option, arts and humanities category). The research session, occurring on Sunday, March 24, 2013 at the HUB-Robeson Center, in...
Laura Brown has been named as a recipient of a graduate student summer residency from the Institute for the Arts and Humanities. The residency program provides eight advanced students in the arts and humanities throughout the University with a $4...
A student of Richard Kennedy, baritone Michael Hanley will sing Maurice Ravel's Don Quichotte à Dulcinée with the Philharmonic on its April 23 concert in Eisenhower Auditorium. Michael is one of the Philharmonic’s 2013...
Kristin Stephenson is pursuing a D.M.A. in Piano Performance and is the recipient of a University Graduate Fellowship. She will appear as a soloist on the Philharmonic's April 23 concert, playing Frederic Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1...
“The experience was life-changing.”
Senior music education major Ian Kenney is referring to his three years as drum major of the Marching Blue Band. Now preparing for his student teaching experience in fall 2013, he expects to...
Kyung Ah Lee is one of the winners of the Philharmonic's 2013 Concerto Competition. A student of Steven Smith, she is a D.M.A. student in piano performance and also serves the school as a graduate teaching assistant.
A native of...
Josh Laughner is pursuing a double major in composition and chemistry, and will graduate in May 2013. From Wadsworth, Ohio, he is a trumpet student of Langston Fitzgerald. Josh has been named as one of the winners of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble...
Senior B.M.E. bass clarinetist Erica Wilt has been chosen as one of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble’s Concerto Competition winners this year. She will be performing on the ensemble’s April 25 concert, playing As If by Patrice...
Wendy Bargstadt (M.A.-Musicology) presented a paper titled “The Two Worlds of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress" at a conference titled "The Rake's Progress: Stravinsky, Hogarth, Hockney, Auden, and Kallman" on...
Saxophonist Andre Jamaal North, a second-year MM student and graduate teaching assistant, was named the winner of the "Young Artist Competition" at the Music Teachers National Association's Pennsylvania State Competition on October...
Peter Graff (M.A., Musicology) will present part of his thesis research at a conference titled "Silent Film Sound: History, Theory and Practice" to be held in Kiel, Germany on February 22-23. His paper is titled "Erno Rapée's...