Alumni in the News

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. Kate Stubbs (D.M.A. Collaborative Piano, 2015) has just been appointed to a faculty position as Instructor and Collaborative Pianist at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma.

Hak Min Kim (D.M.A., 2000) has been named director of the Korean National Opera in Seoul, Korea. This position is one of the most important arts positions in the country and comes at a time when opera is gaining a strong audience in Korea. Kim had established himself as the premiere opera director in Korea prior to being named to the National Opera and is also an associate professor of theater and film at Kyung Hee University.

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.

Martin McCain recently won a Global Music Awards Gold Medal for the Best Instrumentalist category and a Bronze Medal for his second solo CD Shades

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.

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.