Alumni in the News

Dr. Shane Anderson (D.M.A. Applied Music/Performance, 1999) has been appointed Chair of the Department of Music at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Emmy Award-winning Casting Director Holly Powell has written the best selling book, The Audition Bible: Secrets Every Actor Needs To Know.

Brian Heim (B.M. Composition, 2014) was awarded a 2015 Morton Gould Young Composer Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

Dr. Michael Bunchman (D.M.A. Collaborative Piano, 2015) has been appointed to a faculty position as Staff Pianist and Collaborative Coordinator at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.

Adrian Hernandez (B.M. Composition, 2004) was recently selected for promotion to the rank of Master Sergeant and will be assuming the role of Chief Arranger of The U.S. Army Field Band.

Michael Gillespie (B.F.A. Art Education, 1983) spent a month as Artist in Residence at a 5-star boutique luxury hotel in Tuscany, Italy. He did plein air painting and taught art lessons to the guests. He was recently commissioned to paint an oil portrait of Ray and Nancy Ann Hunt of Dallas. 

Work by Iva Kinnaird (B.F.A. Studio Art, 2014) will be featured as part of Hello Project Gallery's "Summer Party Too" exhibition, which also marks the Houston gallery's one-year anniversary. Also featured in the show is current Fine Arts graduate student Rachael Starbuck. The exhibition runs July 10 to August 8. 

The Ariana Institute for Wellness Education is pleased to announce that Ariana Vincent (B.F.A. Studio Art, 1977) is The Alliance for Massage Therapy Education 2015 Continuing Education Provider of the Year, recognizing her excellence in massage and bodywork education.

Marcia Green Santore (B.F.A. Studio Art, 1982) is co-chair of the Women's Caucus for Art/NH Chapter's national juried art exhibition FORCE OF NATURE: Exploring the Power of the Feminine in two venues on the campus of Plymouth State University. Juried by Judith Brodsky, this exhibition brings the work of more than 80 artists across the U.S. to New England.

Cmdr. Jason Pittman, B.M. 1998 and a Distinguished Graduate of UT NROTC, took command of the fast attack submarine, USS HELENA (SSN 725), this month at a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk. He is the first Music major to be accepted to the Navy's nuclear propulsion program and the first to take command of a nuclear powered ship.