Faculty News & Notes
Congratulations to Charlotte Daniel, D.M.A., assistant professor of flute; Kelly Jo Hollingsworth, Ph.D., assistant professor of music education; and Kristy Morrell, D.M.A., associate professor of horn, who received tenure this spring. For faculty evaluations, the School of Music subscribes to the traditional tripartite division of teaching, research/creative activities and service, in accordance with University guidelines.
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, went viral when a social media post showed him sleeping on a tour bus while members of his Men’s Choir sang a Nigerian folk song. The video was filmed and uploaded on Facebook and Instagram by a member of Baylor University’s Men Choir, and, to date, has received more than 2.6 million views on Facebook, and 4.5 million views on Instagram.
“Our follower count has also increased significantly because of it—nearly twenty-eight thousand followers on Instagram and twenty-nine thousand on Facebook,” said August Rothpletz (B.S., computer science), Men’s Choir member. “This makes us, as far as I have been able to find, the third most followed men's choir on Instagram, after BYU Vocalpoint and Kings College Choir.”
Kent Eshelman, D.M.A., professor of euphonium and tuba, performed as soloist with the Dallas Asian Winds in the band’s concert at Rock Hill High School in Frisco, playing “Turbulence” by Bruce Broughton (a work he commissioned) and his own composition, “G & J Blues,” arranged by David Bandman.
Amy Fleming, Ph.D., senior lecturer in music theory, was honored with an Outstanding Faculty Award for teaching, scholarship and contributions to the academic community for 2023–2024 academic year. The Outstanding Faculty Awards recognize the best all-around professors—including non-tenure track, tenured and tenure-track faculty—on teaching capabilities, research achievement, effective committee service, time spent with students and civic and church involvement. The designation represents a singular honor for Baylor faculty since the recognition comes from their colleagues. Fleming received the non-tenure-track teaching award.
In February, Michele Henry, Ph.D., professor of music education and music education division director, presented a session at the Southwest ACDA Convention in Denver, CO, titled “Think, Listen, Sing! A Skills-Based Approach to Vocal Sight-Reading.” Also in February, Henry, along with Reginal Wright, M.M., lecturer of choral music ensembles, and junior choral music education majors from class MUS 3232, hosted the 18th Annual Baylor Women’s Choir Festival that included 400 collegiate and high school singers from the region. The choral music education majors taught sectional; Wright served as clinician/conductor; and the Women’s Choir, members of Bella Voce—under the direction of Will McLean, D.M.A., lecturer of choral ensembles—along with soloists from faculty voice studios, also performed.
In April, Stuart Ivey, D.A., lecturer in ensembles and assistant director of bands, co-led an introductory “Singing School” session during the inaugural University of Oklahoma Sacred Harp Singing, sponsored by its Collegiate NafME chapter. Ivey has co-led a similar Singing School session for the past two years during Baylor University’s annual Sacred Harp Sing hosted by Truett Seminary.
Kathleen Kelly, M.M., assistant professor of vocal coaching, played a concert of compositions by Allen McCullough (Purdue University) in March, with singers Caitlin Lynch (University of Michigan, Metropolitan Opera) and Jonathan Lasch (Wayne State University). They will record these works in May. Also in May, Kelly will return to the New National Theater in Tokyo to work with their Opera Studio and will go back in July to conduct their opera scenes program. In July, she will be at the NATS national conference in Knoxville, TN, to perform, with soprano Emily Albrink (University of Louisville), composer Rene Orth's song cycle “Weave Me a Name,” which won the NATS 2023 composition award. The two of them are also presenting at the conference, talking about the process of making their album Force of Nature, a presentation they shared at Baylor in 2023.
Congratulations to Associate Professor of Organ Jens Korndörfer, D.Mus., for releasing the album Franck & Widor in Toulouse through Organum Classics! The album features two staples of the romantic repertoire—Charles-Marie Widor’s Organ Symphony No. 6 in G Minor, Op. 42, No. 2 (1878) and César Franck’s 3 Chorals for Organ (1890). Korndörfer recorded the works on the1889 Cavaillé-Coll organ at the Basilica of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. Listen on your favorite streaming service; CDs will be available soon.
The University Teaching Development Grant Committee approved Marcelo Boccato Kuyumjian’s, D.M.A., lecturer of jazz studies, application for his grant to study, research and observe Grammy nominated violinist and mariachi ensemble director Felicia Rojas, D.M.A. In 2022, Rojas became a member of Tequila Rock Revolution, an Austin-based band that plays metal versions of mariachi music along with old favorites, and formed her own band called AoE—a group that primarily plays covers of popular anime and video game music.
Eric Lai, Ph.D., professor of music theory, presented “Clemens Krauss as Bruckner (Re-)Interpreter” at the International Symposium “Aspects of Bruckner: 200 Years of Bruckner-100 Years of Bruckner Research,” held jointly by the Austrian National Library and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, in Vienna, April 12, 2024. The Symposium is part of a series of yearlong activities celebrating the bicentennial of the Austrian composer.
Kristina MacMullen, D.M.A., The Mary Gibbs Jones Chair in Music and director of choral activities, served as the clinician/mentor for the Graduate Conducting Masterclass at the Southwest ACDA Convention in Denver, CO.
Morgan Manifacier, D.M.A., assistant professor of voice, and Corinne Penner, D.M.A., lecturer in collaborative piano, were two of 10 fellows chosen through a competitive international audition process for the Cincinnati Song Initiative (CSI) held May 20–25, 2024. Manifacier and Penner performed in the CSI’s inaugural “The Fellowship of the Song” opening and closing programs.
Professor of Piano Lesley McAllister, D.M.A., has been named the president-elect of the Texas Music Teachers Association (TMTA)! She will serve as president-elect for two years beginning in June and assumes the presidency for the 2026–2028 term. McAllister will be in good company as president—Roxy Grove, chair of the School of Music in the 1920s and 1930s, held the position in 1934 and 1935. TMTA advances the value of music study and music making in society and to support the professionalism of music teachers. The nonprofit, founded in 1886, includes around 2,000 in over 60 local organizations.
Timothy R. McKinney, Ph.D., professor of music theory and associate dean for graduate studies, presented the paper “A Closer Look at Gioseffo Zarlino’s Revision of Pythagorean Consonance Theory” for the joint conference of the South-Central Renaissance Conference and affiliated societies in Savannah, GA, in April. The paper is part of an ongoing examination of the mathematical, aesthetic, and practical musical foundations for Zarlino’s theories that were highly influential in the sixteenth and subsequent centuries.
Lecturer of Choral Music Ensembles Reginal Wright, M.M., premiered a new work at Carnegie Hall on March 17. Wright was commissioned by the Tomball Memorial High School Choir and Orchestra for their inaugural appearance at Carnegie Hall. To create “Opportunity,” he collaborated with orchestrator Stephen Morris on the string parts.
Wright says the piece was based on the poem “Opportunity” by American poet Berton Braley. “The crux of the poem is that through doubt and self-uncertainty, we as individuals can still achieve great things,” says Wright. “’Our best songs haven’t been sung, our best race hasn’t been run.’ It is my hope that the students and audience are inspired to reach toward creative heights and not limited by feelings of insecurity and inadequacy.”
In May, three Baylor singers were in the cast of Carmen—one of the best-selling shows in Austin Opera’s history. Jamie Van Eyck, D.M.A., associate professor of voice and vocal studies division director, sang the role of Mercedes; Micah Perry (M.M. ’23) sang the role of El Remendado; and Teddi Pinson Iley (M.M. ’17) was the soprano in the professional ensemble.
Congratulations to J. Eric Wilson, D.M.A., director of bands and professor of ensembles and conducting, and his wife, who welcomed their grandson into this world on May 21. Wesley weighed seven pounds, seven ounces and was 21 inches long.