TAHJ

A MASTERS COMPOSITION RECITAL

NOTES:

So when I was originally planning my recital, I had a concept in my mind. I originally wanted to play with the idea of colors and different hues. I had it all planned out- the color scheme and the pieces...but life took a turn.

My father- who was already sick- was in the hospital again during one of my residencies in Washington D.C. The next week he had passed away.

Our relationship had its ups and downs and turns.

I felt lost. I almost wanted to give up on the recital.

Then one day I was looking through my phone and found these old voicemails from my father- it brought back feelings I had- feelings of regret, anger and sadness.

Four years ago when I use to be in therapy, my therapist told me during an early session that sometimes it's hard to talk to people about your problems... but you can always start by seeing what's going on with yourself first. So I decided to do video diaries of where my mind was on certain days.

I decided to do one more to allow myself to figure out how to process my fathers death... and thus the concept for this was born. I took that session- along with two other sessions (both from March 7th- one from 2021 before entering UT and the other during my closing time here) and created a confessional of raw emotion, memories, and of course moments of letting go. The musical choices come from moments where I've lost myself and found myself.

TAHJ isn't for a degree requirement. It's a way for me to cope with my father's death- to create closure from the pain.

In order to find myself I had to go back.

DIARY # 1:

MARCH 7TH, 2021

The beginning of the project depicts the last video diary I did before coming to the University of Texas. It deals with my mental state and the battles I faced- and to a certain extent- battles I still face.

The Players

JOSH LIU

(he/him) VIOLIN

CASEY BOYERS

(she/her) VIOLA

Casey Boyer is a senior at UT Austin pursing degrees in Viola Performance and Journalism. A student of Roger Myers, she has served as principal violist of the UT Symphony and Butler Opera Center, and is the only undergraduate in the Sienna String Quartet, a professional all-female ensemble. She has been a finalist in the Coltman and Saint Paul String Quartet Competitions and has performed for the Miró, Kronos, and Rolston Quartets. Casey also has a passion for new music, and has premiered multiple solo and ensemble pieces by UT composers. Alongside her work as a classical performer, she plays viola and electronics in the Austin-based experimental pop band Hover.

HUDSON SCHILL

(he/him) CELLO

Junior at UT studying Cello Performance with Bion Tsang with a minor in Entrepreneurship.

ELLIE SIEVER

(she/her) VIOLIN

Japanese-American violinist Ellie Sievers began playing violin at the age of three and currently studies with Brian Lewis at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). Her recent accolades include Senior Audience Prize at the 2022 St. Paul String Quartet Competition, as a member of the Yánsù Quartet; Grand Prize at the 2021 International Music Festival and Competition in Markham, Ontario; and First Place in Open Strings at the 2021 Ontario Music Festivals Association Provincial Competition. Ellie has played in numerous orchestras, including the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, where she currently serves as co-concertmaster; the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra (2022); the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (2019-2021); and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (2017-2020), where she served as co-concertmaster in the 2019/20 season. She has also performed as a soloist with the Canadian Sinfonietta, the North York Concert Orchestra, and the Kindred Spirits Orchestra. As the winner of the 2022 UT Austin Rising Stars Competition, she will perform with the Austin Civic Orchestra in their next season. Additionally, Ellie was selected to participate in the Suzuki Method “Ten Children” tour in Japan (2012) and in the Young Artists Summer Program at the Curtis Institute of Music (2018). Passionate about film, Ellie is also pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Radio-Television-Film at UT Austin as a Moody Honors student. In the future, she aims to use music and multimedia to feature diverse voices and storytelling to bridge cultures and advocate for human rights and values.

Evan Sacks-Wilner

(he/him) TUBA

Evan Sacks-Wilner is currently in the first year of his Master’s degree in Tuba Performance at the Butler School of Music, where he serves as the studio teaching assistant under Charles Villarrubia. A native of Princeton, NJ, Evan earned a Bachelor of Music at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied under Timothy Northcut and Chris Olka. Evan has attended early music workshops across the nation and performed as a vocalist and bass sackbuttist in said workshops. Additionally, Evan has been a semifinalist and finalist in several military band auditions and international solo competitions. Outside of music, Evan enjoys eating great burgers (shout-out to Salt and Time), learning Muay Thai, and belting out 80s hits in his car.

Anthony Gonzalez

(he/him) EUPHONIUM

Camilo Gonzalez-Sol

(they/them) PIANO

Camilo Gonzalez-Sol (b. 1999) is a composer, pianist, conductor, and experimental performer based in Austin, Texas. Camilo is inspired by mental life, bodily energy, storytelling and societal dilemmas, and they are fascinated by the ways that sound can represent these to create thought-provoking and compassionate sensory experiences. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Camilo received the Jack Kent Cooke Fellowship to study at the Levine School of Music, during which time they were a National YoungArts winner and a composer apprentice for Carnegie Hall’s NYO-USA orchestra. Camilo is the recipient of an ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Honorable Mention Award and an ASCAP Fellowship to the BUTI Tanglewood Institute. Their compositions have been performed at venues including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo in Bogotá, Colombia. Camilo holds degrees in composition and philosophy from the University of Southern California, where they were named an Outstanding Graduate of the music composition department. They are a graduate Recruitment Fellow of the University of Texas at Austin, Butler School of Music, where they currently teach the Beginning Composition and Sight Singing courses. Camilo is gender non-binary uses they/them pronouns.

Lauren Casey-Clyde

TROMBONE

Lauren Casey-Clyde is an International performer and esteemed music educator residing in Austin, TX. Recently named a finalist for the 2023 International Trombone Association Quartet Competition and a finalist for Big 12 Solo Competition, Lauren has performed all across the country with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera, Temple Symphony Orchestra, and Density 512, working with conductors Bernard Haitink, Andris Nelsons and Farhad Khudyev. Lauren is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Music Degree at the University of Texas at Austin under the instruction of Dr. Nathaniel Brickens, where she serves as a teaching assistant for the athletic bands.

Alvin Tsz Yin Ho

TROMBONE

Wyatt Andrews

BASS TROMBONE

"I am a sophomore music education student here at UT! I come from a small city in Dallas called Coppell, and I hope to teach band at the high school level in the future."

Denzel Richard

TUBA

Weston Lewis

(he/him) CONDUCTOR

Weston Lewis is pursuing a doctoral degree in Wind Conducting at the University of Texas at Austin, where he serves as an assistant instructor for the band department. He joined UT in the Fall of 2021 and assists with all ensembles and undergraduate conducting courses. Weston holds an undergraduate degree in Music Education from the University of Houston and Master of Music in Conducting from Louisiana State University.

Previously, Weston taught at Klein Oak High School, working with the concert bands and overseeing the IB Music program. At LSU, Weston assisted with all ensembles including the Golden Band from Tiger Land, Bengal Brass, and the LSU Concert Ensembles. He was a Co-Chair of the LSU School of Music Student Diversity and Inclusion Organization. Weston is an active clinician and presenter, most recently presenting at the College Band Directors National Association Conference, Texas Music Educators Association Convention, and the Midwest Clinic.

Anna Lopez

(she/her) FLUTE

Anna Lopez is a first-year doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin in the Historical Musicology division whose research focuses on American wind bands/ensembles and its place in American culture. Her master’s thesis examined the wind band/ensemble as an American institution through an analysis of David Maslanka’s Symphony No. 4. Lopez’s other research interests include film music, popular music, specifically the music of Taylor Swift, and musical theater. She is currently the Historical Musicology Colloquium Representative of the Association of Graduate Ethno/Musicology Students (AGEMS) at UT Austin. She recently completed her master's degree in Music History and Literature from California State University, Fullerton (2022), where she also obtained a bachelor's degree in Flute Performance (2020).

Sebastian Trevino

(he/him) CLARINET

MATT ROCKWELL

(he/him) CLARINET

Caroline Ferguson

OBOE

Caroline is a junior double-majoring in English and Music. In addition to playing with the UT Wind Symphony, Caroline also plays in the UT Lab Orchestra and will be interning with both the Austin Film Festival and Center City Chamber Orchestra this summer. When she has a chance, Caroline enjoys running, trying new recipes (with varied results), reading, and petting every dog she encounters.

Bella Perez

BASSOON

Bella Perez is a first-year bachelors student at UT studying a Music Performance degree in bassoon under Kristin Wolfe Jensen. Passionate about forming a career as a performer, she has previously played in the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio, TMEA All-State Ensembles, and is currently a member of the UT Wind Symphony.

Joel Ferst

(he/him) ALTO/ SOPRANO SAXOPHONE

Joel Ferst is an Austin-based musician who enjoys a multi-hyphenate career as a performer, improviser, and composer. Ferst is a staunch advocate and supporter for new, contemporary, and electronic music, believing in the importance of the voices and compositions of today's generation. He is currently finishing a Masters degree in Saxophone Literature and Pedagogy under Dr. Stephen Page at the University of Texas at Austin and holds a bachelor's degree in Saxophone Performance from Florida State University under Dr. Geoffry Deibel.

Ethan Ashley

(he/him) ALTO SAXOPHONE

"I am a first-year undergraduate in music education."

Catherine Oles

(she/her) TENOR SAXOPHONE

David Bennette

(he /him) BARITONE SAXOPHONE

David is a second year saxophonist at the University of Texas at Austin studying with Dr. Stephen Page.

Joe Jaxon

(he/him) HORN

Joe Jaxson is a composer whose music challenges the familiar and connects with his audience while pursuing versatility in writing in numerous styles and genres ranging from Contemporary Classical to Cinematic Screen Scoring. Recent premieres include “Treeflowers” (2023) performed by the Sandbox Percussion Quartet, “Persevering” (2022) for Chamber Orchestra commisioned by the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, and "Safety, A Fluttered Heart" (2022) performed by the James Madison University Symphonic Band.

Garrett Cooksey

(they/them) HORN

Grant Koot

(he/him) HORN

"I was born in Frisco, Texas, and I am currently a junior in music performance here at UT."

Ethan Gurwitz

(he/him) HORN

Ethan Gurwitz (b. 2000) is a composer and musician from San Antonio, Texas, currently pursuing a master’s degree in Composition at the UT Butler School of Music. Ethan’s music has been performed by collegiate, professional, and community ensembles from Texas to Scotland, and he has accepted commissions from the Metropolitan Winds, Horns United, esteemed Bass Trombonist Ron Wilkins, and the SMU Meadows Wind Ensemble, among others. His instructors include Drs. Yevgeniy Sharlat, Donald Grantham, Lane Harder, Xi Wang, and Robert J. Frank. As a student at UT Butler and formerly Southern Methodist University, he has participated in the Wind Ensembles, Symphony Orchestras, Operas, and French Horn Studios at both schools – and he has studied horn with Mr. Gregory Hustis and Mr. Patrick Hughes. On October 15 and 17, 2021, he was a featured soloist with the SMU Meadows Symphony Orchestra alongside renowned Hollywood French Horn player James Thatcher and two other SMU students. He recently received two degrees in Music Composition (BM) and Applied Mathematics (BS) at SMU, with recognition as Standard Bearer for both the Meadows School of the Arts and Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. He was also named a 2023 EAMA/Nadia Boulanger Fellow to the European American Music Alliance in Paris, France.

Jaime Hernandez

(he/him) TRUMPET

"My name is Jaime Hernandez and I am a second year music studies major."

Colby Stone

(he/him) TRUMPET

First Year Music Education Major from Baytown, TX

Lauren Casey-Clyde

(she/her) TROMBONE

Alvin Tsz Yin Ho

TROMBONE

Wyatt Andrews

(he/him) BASS TROMBONE

"I am a sophomore music education student here at UT! I come from a small city in Dallas called Coppell, and I hope to teach band at the high school level in the future."

Anthony Gonzalez

(he/him) EUPHONIUM

Denzel Richard

TUBA

Sebastian Zhang

(any) PERCUSSION

Unapologetically embracing the electric nostalgia of a younger generation, Sebastian Zhang (b. 2003) is a composer-percussionist influenced by the modern chiptune scene, jazzy video game music, and upbeat anime soundtracks. His music draws upon scenes of everyday life—from chasing tadpoles to memories of cartoon ice cream—and how they echo grander themes of merry wonder and existentialist hope. Sebastian is currently pursuing a B.M. in Music Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. His instructors include Ivan Trevino and Thomas Burritt. www.sebastianzhang.com

Sean Simpson

(he/him) PERCUSSION

Steven Garza

(he/him) PERCUSSION

Hello! My name is Steven Garza and I’m a 3rd year percussion education major at UT. I’ve played with musical ensembles such as the UT Wind Ensemble, UT Wind Symphony, UT Percussion Ensemble, UT Trombone Choir, and Austin Brass Collective. Aside from percussion, I can also play a variety of instruments such as guitar, keyboard, harmonica, and flute.

Jaime Garcia

(he/him) PERCUSSION

Seth Underwood

(he/him) PERCUSSION

"music boy"

TAHJ

The Players

©2023 by KATAHJ COPLEY MUSIC