Words of Note 06.indd - Butler School of Music - The University of ...

Clark College in Portland, Oregon,
and teaches middle school band
and orchestra at a local college
preparatory school. She performs
with Friends of Rain, a new music
ensemble of faculty from Lewis &
Clark College.
Yoichi Udagawa (BA 1985) guest
conducted the UT Symphony
with violin faculty Brian Lewis
as soloist during the 2005–2006
concert season. Udagawa also
guest conducted at the New
England Conservatory and the
Yoichi Udagawa
North Carolina Region All State Orchestra. He continues to serve
on the faculty at the Boston Conservatory, and is the music director
and conductor of the Cape Ann, Melrose and Quincy Symphony
Orchestras.
Martin Vasquez (BM 1986) is a frequent performer at the Festival
Lyrique-En-Mer in Belle-Ile, France, where he has made recent guest
appearances in Carmen, Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte and
performed the tenor solo in Carmina Burana. As a solo artist Vasquez
has recently appeared with the Brooklyn Philharmonic as Pedro in
El Retablo de Maese Pedro and Judas in Judas Maccabeus. He also
performed the role of Quint in Turn of the Screw with Stony Brook
Opera. Other highlights include performances with Chattanooga
Opera, Summer Opera Theatre (Washington, DC), Opera Delaware,
Springfield Symphony, the outreach program of Tulsa Opera, and
tours with the New York City Opera. Vasquez has performed in off
Broadway musicals and has worked as a teaching artist with the
Guild of the Metropolitan Opera. He lives with his wife Yvette (MM
1995) in Forest Hills, New York, and anticipates completing his doctorate
at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in the
2006–07 academic year.
Yvette Vasquez (MM 1995) is the arts education coordinator for
the educational outreach program of the Oratorio Society of New
York, the resident chorus of Carnegie Hall. She is also soprano section
leader for the society. Recently, she served as a choral director
for the Guild of the Metropolitan Opera’s Urban Voices arts initiative,
an after-school chorus program for inner city students. In addition,
she coordinates the vocal music ensemble for the National Dance
Institute. Vasquez is a committee member and preliminary-round
panelist for the Oratorio Society of New York’s International Solo
Competition.
10
Janeene Williams
Soprano Janeene Williams (BM
1985), whose specialties include
oratorio and concert repertoire,
new music and song recital was
recently invited to perform with
the UT Symphony Orchestra.
Other recent solo performances
include Messiah, Creation
and Judas Maccabaeus with
Austin Civic Chorus, Juliet at Her
Window (Godfrey) and Sparrows
(Schwantner) with Dan Welcher
and the UT New Music Ensemble,
an all-Mozart recital for A. Mozart
Fest’s gala concert with pianist
Mary Robbins, and a recital with concert pianist Frederick Moyers.
Upcoming performances include Vocalissimus (Currier) with the
UT New Music Ensemble and Mozart’s C-minor Mass with the San
Angelo Symphony and Chorale. Williams will be singing with Craig
Hella Johnson and Conspirare in the upcoming series, “A Wondrous
Journey,” which will culminate in a performance at the American
Choral Directors Association in Omaha, Nebraska.
Schumann Wins Piano Competition
Michelle Schumann
Michelle Schumann (MM 1998, DMA 2003) was named winner
of the 2006 UT San Antonio Janice K. Hodges Contemporary
Piano performance competition in February. The UTSA competition
was established to introduce the public to the language
of contemporary music and encourage advanced pianists
to study and perform the music of the present.
Schumann, a native of Canada who resides in Austin, performs
as a solo artist and with the Long Beach Opera, Austin
Chamber Music Center, Ballet Austin, Barbwire Music Project,
Tosca String Quartet, Meridian Arts Ensemble and the newly
formed American Repertory Ensemble.
The recognized new music consortium, Common Sense, is
currently composing an album of music specifically written
for Ms. Schumann. Her annual performances of the the music
of John Cage, now in the sixth season, continue to draw audiences
and acclaim.
Schumann, whose performances have been listed as top arts
events by the Austin American Statesman, was nominated for
best instrumentalist by the Austin Critics Table Awards. The
Austin American Statesman noted Schumann’s performances
as “masterly, alive, and melodic.”
Michelle Schumann is an Assistant Professor in Piano and Artist
in Residence at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL of MUSIC