Morrongiello (B.M., Voice and Opera, 2016) will cover Monostatos in The Magic Flute, and The Metropolitan Opera covering the Dean of the Faculty in Cinderella, Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, Player 2 in Brett Dean’s Hamlet, and Sellem in The Rake’s Progress.
Alumni News
Butter Music and Sound signs composer Jocelyn Chambers
Recipient of the 2021-2023 NBCUniversal Composer Diversity Initiative, Chambers (B.M., Music Theory, 2017) has had a dynamic career as a self-titled “composer-creative” entrepreneur. She is the owner of Sweets by Jocelyn, a baking business she started at six years old; author of “The Era of Mixed Feelings,” a collection of curated stories about adolescent experiences and struggles; founder of the online magazine “Majesty Mag”; and host of “The I Am Loved” podcast, which discusses love and self-love.
Megan Pachecano releases album on the BMOP/sound label "The Chronicle of Nine: The Tragedy of Queen Jane" by Arnold Rosner
"The Chronicle of Nine: The Tragedy of Queen Jane" is a joint project with Odyssey Opera and Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Pachecano (B.M., Voice and Opera, 2006) sings the title character of Lady Jane Grey, a role she also performed in the World Premiere on February 1, 2020 at Jordan Hall in Boston, MA. She also made a house and role debut as the title character in Chicago Opera Theater's live-streamed production of Daniel Catán's "La Hija de Rappaccini" in April 2021. Opera News said of the performance, "Megan Pachecano boasted an ample, shimmering lyric soprano as Beatriz."
Andrea Ramos records album with pianist Masaru Sakuma
Ramos' (M.M., Voice and Opera, 2013) album will feature two song cycles "Tres Poemas de Alfaro" and "País de Sombra" by Bolivian composer Jaime Mendoza-Nava. The CD is expected to be released by the end of the year. Ramos has been serving as the Associate Director for Music for the Diocese of Austin since 2013. In January 2021, she was elected to serve on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.
Rudy Ramirez recently directed REWRITTEN: A LOVE STORY LOST, a site-specific piece conceived and co-created by alum Tom Truss
Staged at Herman Melville's Arrowhead in Massachusetts, Ramirez's (M.A., Performance as Public Practice, 2012) production utilized movement and written text to investigate the deep and possibly romantic relationship between writers Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorn, portrayed by Truss (M.F.A., Acting, 2010).
Annie Ulrich was featured in USITT's podcast "TECHnically Speaking"
Ulrich (M.F.A., Costume Technology, 2021) was featured after receiving the 2021 Barbara Matera Award for Costume Making.
Lily Gonzales' play (TRANS)FORMADA is being presented as part of San Diego Repertory Theatre's 2021 Latinx New Play Festival
Gonzales' (B.A., 2019) (TRANS)FORMADA will take place both virtually and in-person on September 3-5.
Michael J. Love will be performing as part of Princeton University's REACTIVATING MEMORY
REACTIVATING MEMORY is a virtual symposium marking the one hundred year anniversary of SHUFFLE ALONG on Broadway and the Tulsa Race Massacre that took place a week later. Love (M.F.A., Performance as Public Practice, 2020) will be performing this September.
Archive of Tony Award-Winning Theater Designer Kevin Adams Comes to the Harry Ransom Center
Adams’ (B.F.A, Scenic Design, 1984) archive joins other major theater design collections at the Ransom Center, including the papers of Norman Bel Geddes, Gordon Conway, Edward Gordon Craig and Eldon Elder. He also received the E. William Doty Distinguished Alumnus Award from the College of Fine Arts in 2016.
Jeremy Kisling featured in an article by the Lexington Herald Leader
Kisling (M.F.A., Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities, 2001) recently took over as the producing artistic director for the Lexington Children's Theatre. In the article, he discusses transition into this leadership role over the last year, LCT's plans for the upcoming season and how they continued to present work for their young audiences during the pandemic.
Alex Amsel appointed assistant conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra by Robert Spano for the 2021-22 season
Amsel (B.M., Conducting, 2012) will lead the orchestra in a variety of programs including Symphonic, Chamber, Family and Education concerts. Prior to this appointment, he was selected to the Aspen Conducting Academy, where he will perform in eight concerts this summer at the Aspen Music Festival.
Lydia Street Gallery presents Steven Bernard Jones: "Zero to Sixty" reception
Jones' (M.F.A, Studio Art, 1990) exhibit will be from Friday, August 6th through Thursday, September 16, 2021. The reception will be Friday, August 27th, 6-9 p.m., where Jones will be in attendance.
Former student Will Brittain makes an appearance in the recently released addition to the Purge franchise, "The Forever Purge."
"Anthem" recently conducted an interview with Brittain for their "Vital Stats" series, touching on his previous film experience.
Dr. Amelia Kraehe has been appointed the inaugural Associate Vice President of Equity in the Arts for Arizona Arts at the University of Arizona
Beginning Aug. 2, Kraehe (M.A., Art Education, 2007) will partner with Arizona Arts leadership to promote transparency and coordination around the division’s equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives, leading effective strategic planning with collective goal setting.
Yvonne Boudreaux among Emmy-Nominated Design Team for "Yellowstone"
Art director Boudreaux (M.F.A., Theatrical Set Design, 2007) is among the design team who has earned the drama series Yellowstone an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program.
Dr. Ricardo Zuniga has been appointed to a faculty position as professor at the National University Panamá
Zuniga (D.M.A., Double Bass Performance, 2015) has been appointed to a faculty position as Double Bass professor at the National University Panamá in Panamá.
Adriana Corral to receive inaugural $50,000 U.S. Latinx Artist Fellowship
Corral (M.F.A., Studio Art, 2013) was selected by a jury of six Latino curators from a mix of three mainstream art museums and three contemporary art museums founded by Latinx people for their local communities.
The Bartlett Project: Glasstire interview with artist Emmy Laursen
Thw Bartlett Project would require artists who could work collaboratively, would respect the existing communities and stories of the town, and could navigate their practice within the complications of the pandemic lock downs. Laursen (B.F.A., Studio Art, 2015) was that person, and as an artist, she welcomed the challenges that flexibility required.
Jenn Hartmann Luck featured in FOX 7's "Tuning In" series
Luck (M.F.A., Theatre, 2011) is a musical theatre composer, singer-songwriter and educator. She's the focus of this week's "Tuning In" music spotlight.
Daniel Fears was named KUTX Artist of the Month
Following the release of Fears' (B.M., Music Performance, 2013) powerful new six-song EP, "Canopy," Jeff McCord from KUTX called it "intimate, intense and sublime."