Alumni in the News

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.

Christina Wright-Ivanova (D.M.A. 2012) has been appointed assistant professor of music/vocal coach and collaborative artist at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. She begins her faculty residency in fall 2015. There were 90 applicants for the position, and Wright-Ivanova says her success is due in no small part to the Butler School of Music faculty and students with whom she worked in her three-year residency.

Hai Zheng, concert cellist (BM 1988, MM 1990) and Dr. Kiyoshi Tamagawa (DMA 1988) recently made their third Asia concert tour together. They first gave master classes and recitals at Bangkok and Hua Hin in Thailand, then went on to the Yong Siew Toh-Asia's International Conservatory in Singapore and finished their tour at China Conservatory in Beijing. Hai Zheng is Assistant Professor and Artist in Residence at Southwestern University. Dr/ Kiyoshi Tamagawa is Professor of Music and Associate Dean for the Sarofim School of Fine Arts at Southwestern University.

Alan E. Hicks (D.M.A. 2009) recently completed two seasons as the staff Assistant Director at Seattle Opera. For the 2015-16 season, Alan will join the staff of Lyric Opera of Chicago assisting Susan Stroman on The Merry Widow and Daniele Abbado on Nabucco. Alan will also make directing debuts at Minnesota Opera, Opera Santa Barbara and Miami Summer Music Festival.

James Jeter (B.M. 1971) will perform solo bassoon with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players at the Wolf Trap Performing Arts Center in Virginia this June and with the Conductors Institute Orchestra at Bard College this July. He will also teach and perform at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in western Michigan for his tenth summer.

After earning her Ph.D. in Acupuncture last summer from the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hilary Karming Lai (B.A. and B.F.A., 2007) has opened her own practice, Benefit Acupuncture, in Colleyville, Texas.

Luke Leonard's (M.F.A. 2010) upcoming directing projects include the Houston premiere of Bum Phillips: All-American Opera Sept. 24, 2015 at The Stafford Centre; the Australian premiere of The Difficulty of Crossing a Field in October 2015 at the Nagambie Lakes Opera Festival; and the world premiere of Welcome to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a musical play written and directed by Luke with music by Peter Stopschinski and co-lyrics by Katie Pearl, Oct 7-25, 2015 at 59E59 Theaters in New York.

Butler School of Music alumnus and conductor Brett Mitchell (M.M. 2003, D.M.A. 2005) has landed a two-year contract extension with the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra, along with a promotion from assistant conductor to associate conductor. Mitchell's duties will shift to those of an active conductor and will entail more opportunities leading pops, family and education programs.

Jelisa Jay Robinson's (Theatre and Dance 2014) play The Stories of Us premieres May 16 at the fifth annual Austin Latino New Play Festival. The Stories of Us is a collection of stories examining the intercultural conflict between African Americans and Latinos. Visit Teatro Vivo ATX for more information.

Pulitzer Prize-finalist Lisa D'Amour (MA Theatre, 1996) was featured in Vanity Fair for her Broadway debut with Airline Highway, a new play that centers around a community of misfits in D'Amour's hometown of New Orleans. The feature was written and illustrated by D'Amour's former classmate Michael Arthur (PhD Theatre, 1999). Airline Highway premieres at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on April 23.