Faculty News & Notes

Bob Avant, M.Ed., director of The Baylor Bronze Handbell Ensemble, is beginning his 14^th year as director of the beloved handbell ensemble, a role he says he treasures. He also is the longtime director of the Austin Handbell Ensemble (AHE) which is an auditioned community-based group that includes members from Austin and the surrounding areas. These two worlds have come together as two former Baylor Bronze ringers have settled in Austin and now ring with the AHE. In fact, they generally ring side by side in this group just as they did during their time at Baylor to the delight of its director. These two ringers are Matt Arnold (B.S. ’16, computer science) and Dlaine Miley Smith (M.S. ’16, information systems). Last year, the AHE submitted an audition tape to the national handbell organization, the Handbell Musicians of America, in hopes of being selected to perform at its National Seminar held in Irving, TX. The ensemble was selected as one of six invited groups and in mid-July, the Austin Handbell Ensemble performed its concert to a very knowledgeable audience with an enthusiastic response. The concert included two selections Avant had arranged or co-arranged with both pieces now in publication. These included “Oblivion” by Astor Piazzolla, and the Toccata from the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, the “Dorian” (BWV538), by J.S. Bach. One additional Baylor graduate and former member of the Baylor Bronze, Brittney DeCoux Axton (B.M. ’21, church music), performed in the same National Seminar as a member of the Concert Bells of Fort Worth. 

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Randall Bradley, D.M.A., The Ben H. Williams Professor of Church Music, professor of Church Music, and director of the Church Music Program and the Dunn Center for Christian Music Studies, was quoted in the September 2023 issue of Christianity Today. The article, “All About That Tenor: Why Men Don’t Sing in Worship,” focuses on why congregational singing should not focus on more “manly songs” but help men with lower voices find their place in religious work and worship. Bradley is quoted throughout the article regarding male vocal ranges to help answer the question, “Why aren’t men singing?”

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Congratulations, Bradley Bolen, D.M.A., senior lecturer of piano, for being named the 2023 Collegiate Teacher of the Year by the Texas Music Teachers Association (TMTA). He is a Steinway Artist with multiple recordings to his credit, and his desire to share the power of music with individuals in challenging situations has taken him to war-torn spots around the world—a variety of experiences that inform his teaching with Baylor students. This marks the second straight year a Baylor professor has earned top honors from the TMTA; Dr. Lesley McAllister, professor of piano, earned the honor last year. In all, five Baylor professors have earned the award: Roger Keyes (1988), Joyce Jones (2003), Jane Abbott-Kirk (2004), McAllister (2022), and Bolen (2023).

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After years of research and travel, Alfredo Colman, Ph.D., associate professor of musicology and ethnomusicology, curated and arranged a digital collection of composer manuscripts belonging to Florentín Giménez Martínez for a donation to the Baylor Libraries. Colman visited Florentín Giménez in Paraguay many times to digitize original manuscript scores to provide broader awareness of this music. He continues his research on issues related to cultural identity and nationalism as illustrated in the traditional, folk-style, and concert music of Paraguay. To complete this digital collection, Colman received help from individuals like Ben Johansen, Ph.D., senior lecturer in composition and computer music., who offered creative expertise in capturing the digital images. Beth Farwell and Darryl Stuhr and their team, who worked with digital preservation in the Baylor Libraries, helped preserve the images and create an online portal to this new digital collection of manuscripts. To assist with accessibility, Jon Snyder and Bruce Evans (both at Baylor Libraries) provided metadata.

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Eka Gogichashvili, D.M.A., associate professor of violin, attended the Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies at the Juilliard School of Music this summer. The symposium allowed her to completely immerse in the creative world of music performance, teaching and faculty development.  Gogichashvili attended five recital performances, 15 hours of masterclasses by notable pedagogues and attended eight pedagogical sessions on violin repertoire, musicians’ physical and mental health, and performance practice.  

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In June, Michael Jacobson, D.M.A., professor of saxophone, along with other Woodwind and Brass faculty visited the University of Costa Rica (UCR) in San Juan, to do performances and masterclasses. Jacobson performed two pieces with the WW Quintet and Pequeña Czarda with UCR Saxophone Professor Javier Valerio and Bassoon/Piano and Baylor alumnus Professor Fernando Zuniga. In a separate concert in Santa Ana, Costa Rica, he performed the Glazounov Saxophone Concerto with the UCR Saxophone Choir, and performed several pieces with the group Son Sax, led by Professor Valerio, and included Baylor saxophone alumnus Ricardo Chaves and percussion alumnus Manrique Mendez. Jacobson also received an award for 30 years of service to the Texas University Interscholastic League at the annual Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest in May. He was also one of three adjudicators for the Second Annual Texas Chamber Music Competition held in Bastrop, TX, in April.

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Michael Clark, D.M.A., lecturer in piano, presented a lecture recital titled "The Waltzes of Florence Price" at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in Lombard, IL, on July 28.

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Jens Korndörfer, D.Mus., associate professor of organ, traveled extensively this summer performing in concert in Germany and the U.S. In August, he performed at the Internationaler Orgelsommer at the Basilika in Steinfeld, Germany, and at the Lutherkirche in Berlin-Spandau, Germany. In June and July, Korndörfer performed in concert at the Southeast Regional Convention of the American Guild of Organists held at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Augusta, GA, and at the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta in Atlanta, GA, respectively.

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Eric Lai, Ph.D., professor of music theory, recently published “Motivic Structure in Chou Wen-chung’s Eternal Pine Series,” Mitteilungen der Paul Sacher Stiftung 36 (May 2023).

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Lesley McAllister, D.M.A., professor and division director of Keyboard Studies, was selected by Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., as a 2023—24 Baylor Fellow for her excellence in teaching and commitment to pedagogical innovation, inspirational teaching and the cultivation of these areas among Baylor Faculty. McAllister also presented a session titled “Sing, Move, Breathe and Play: The Benefits of Mindful Movement for the Beginning Musician” at the Texas Music Teachers Association conference in Waco, TX, in June, where she also led a master-masterclass for the Collegiate Chapter Conference. At the National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy in Chicago in July, she gave a presentation titled “Musical Movement Play: Mindful Movement in Beginning Piano Lessons” and also had a teaching video featured in the conference keynote session titled “Foundational Principles in Piano Pedagogy.” She was honored with an Outstanding Service Recognition Award from the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy at the conference. Her article “The Language of Awareness: How Cueing and Breath Work Impact the Music Lesson” was published in the July/July 2023 issue of American Music Teacher.

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In a recent issue of the Presidential Perspective, President Linda Livingstone highlighted Lesley McAllister, D.M.A., professor and division director of Keyboard Studies, for her leadership within Baylor’s residential communities. The article states “In 2004, Baylor welcomed students to the new North Village Residential Community, the first residence hall built at Baylor in nearly 40 years. North Village also made history that year as the home of Baylor’s first Faculty-in-Residence, thus beginning a new tradition with faculty who literally live the Baylor experience with students in our residence halls and become not only teachers, but mentors and friends. Fast forward to 2023, as the renovated Collins Hall welcomes its first Faculty-in-Residence, Lesley McAllister, D.M.A., and her family (and dog, Coco!), Baylor now has 15 Faculty-in-Residence living in every one of our residence halls. Since 2004, 41 different faculty have fostered and shaped the social, cultural, educational and spiritual life in our residential communities, providing our students with an extraordinary opportunity that articulates the distinctive nature of Baylor.” Professor of Trombone Brent Philips also serves as Faculty-in-Residence, at University House, North Village.

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Laurel Zeiss, Ph.D., associate professor of musicology, was recently elected president of the Mozart Society of America. She started her two-year term in early July. The Society is a community of scholars, performers and enthusiasts who share a passion for the music of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart.