Steven Block was born in New York City on November 5, 1952. He is currently Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley after having served as Chair of the Department of Music at the university of New Mexico for 17 years. As Dean, he is building new Arts programs, including that of the School of Music, from two separate legacy campuses. Block has appeared in the various personae of composer, music theorist, music critic, pianist, and both classical radio and disco d.j., among others. His compositions have been performed worldwide including performances in Australia, Paris, and Poland. His articles as a music theorist and music critic have appeared in such journals and magazines as Perspectives of New Music, Integrales, Music Theory Spectrum, the Journal of Music Theory, the Annual Review of Jazz Studies, Music Library Notes, and High Fidelity.

Block has studied with some of the most innovative composers and theorists in the world including David Stock, a pioneer in the promotion of contemporary music; Robert Morris, one of the leading contemporary music theorists and composers; A. Wayne Slawson, who has led the exploration of timbre as a musical component; and the internationally known and important late composers Franco Donatoni and Luciano Berio. Block was a Leonard Bernstein Fellow at the Berkshire Music Center (Tanglewood) in 1983. Block’s Piece for Two Cellos and eveningspun/black for solo piano have received competition awards.

Block has had a lifelong interest in Jazz, in particular “Free Jazz” (Cecil Taylor was on the faculty of Antioch College where Block received his B.A.) and has written several articles on the subject. His articles, “Pitch-Class Transformation in Free Jazz” (Music Theory Spectrum) and “Organized sound: Pitch-Class relations in the music of Ornette Coleman” (Annual Review of Jazz Studies) blazed important trails in being the first such specialized articles in these respective juried journals.

Block studied piano at a young age, notably with concert artist Zalic Jacobs, but matriculated at Antioch College in the writers program. At Antioch he met a number of influential music professors (David Stock, John Ronsheim, Daniel Lentz, and Cecil Taylor) and rediscovered his passion for music and music making. It was at Antioch College that he first began to think of himself as a composer having written his breakthrough composition, eveningspun/black for piano solo while listening to the Watergate hearings in a tent housed in the backyard of his then mentor David Stock.

After accumulating a portfolio of compositions at Antioch College, he moved on tostudy at the University of Iowa for his masters degree for two years where he wrote more than a half-dozen compositions, all of which received their premieres through the strong contemporary performance foundation of the Center for New Music. Block studied with William Hibbard and Donald Martin Jenni during this time. Among the highlights of this time were the performance of his free jazz-influenced Puttin’ it Together for 2 saxes, 2 doublebasses, and trapset (as performed by classical saxophone-trained artists) and Chemical Wedding for 5 flutes, 4 brass, and 3 percussion, a work based on artwork by Max Ernst. At the University of Iowa, Block began performing in a contemporary improvisation ensemble which he in turn eventually led in new iterations at Stanford University and the University of Pittsburgh.

The academic road following the masters degree at Iowa was more difficult as Block traversed four different schools (Stanford, CUNY-Graduate Center, University of Pittsburgh, and the Eastman School of Music) over the course of the next 12 years while pursuing a composition and teaching career and becoming a husband and father. During a two-year stay in New York City where he taught at Queens College as an adjunct, he wrote FireTiger for violin and piano (Elements Rising, Navona Records NV5990) and the Missa De Profundis. He received his Ph.D. in Music Composition and Theory in 1981 from the University of Pittsburgh (where his primary mentors were Robert Morris and A. Wayne Slawson) and went on to be A.B.D. at the Eastman School of Music for a second Ph.D. in Music Theory before accepting a full-time Assistant Professor position in Chicago. The 12 years during this fruitful period saw Block’s emergence as a composer in his acceptance to the Berkshire Music Center (Tanglewood), the performance of many of his works by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and a number of commissions for new works including his Piano Sonata No.1, the ballet Players, Thelonious Rex for chamber ensemble, Rockin’ Pneumonia for chamber ensemble, and Phantasmagoria for chamber orchestra. While in Pittsburgh he wrote many articles serving as the music critic for the entertainment weekly, Market Square of Pittsburgh. He also served as the music director and pianist for a weekend cabaret revue in Pittsburgh, writing and performing some of the popular music, and forming a relationship with Professor Myron Nadel (Carnegie-Mellon University) who directed the ensemble and who wrote the book for the musical The Ballet Man (staged and performed in Buffalo, NY in the ‘90s). A major compositional highlight of this time period was the writing of his full-length opera, The Tumbler of God, during his final year at the University of Pittsburgh while on a Mellon Fellowship. His three years at the Eastman School of Music were largely devoted to mastering the craft of music theory, emphasizing contemporary posttonal techniques, and most of his published work on music theory derives from the foundation learned at the Eastman School from such notable luminaries as Robert Morris, David Beach, and Robert Bailey. In his final year at Eastman, he accepted a teaching position at Northeastern
Illinois University in Chicago, Illinois.

Block joined the faculty of the University of New Mexico in 1989 where he spent much of his career building the Department of Music as Chair and increasing the number of academic faculty in composition, theory, musicology-ethnomusicology, and music education accordingly. As the head of a Department that grew from 170 majors to 400 majors and 60 faculty members, Block’s career as a composer has been more limited. Nevertheless, composition highlights from this time period include his String Quartet No.2, Shadows for orchestra (Fire and Time, Navona Records NV 5871; Shadows and Phantasmagoria form two movements of a projected large-scale
symponic work based on the same musical material), 5 Plainchants for Clarinet (Pinnacle, Navona Records, scheduled for release), and the most recent production of the operetta (part of a projected 3-operetta trilogy) Elisha and the Bears premiered by the UNM Opera (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPmvotggabc).

In addition to the works described above (a portion of his opus during his quarter-century at the University of New Mexico), Block served the University of New Mexico and the profession by serving on the board of the Albuquerque Youth Symphony and John Donald Robb Trust, acting annually as a Question Leader for the AP Music Theory Exams, chairing visiting accreditation teams for the National Association of Schools of Music and serving on the NASM Commission for the full-term length (6 years).

Steven Block is also an active mediator, participating in several mediations every month for the Metro Court system in Albuquerque, Faculty Dispute Resolution (Ombuds) and other Dispute Resolution organizations and is often asked to coach new mediators for private organizations. He has served as cantor and music director at various churches and has written and arranged a number of sacred works for a cappella choir. He is married to Stephanie Block, a free-lance writer who also wrote the libretto for his operas (The Tumbler of God, Elisha and the Bears, and East of the Moon, West of the Sun) and whose artwork often graces the cover pages of his scores. They have 7 children, all of whom have pursued varied roads in their lives from religious sister to air force pilot (daughters), and teacher to police officer (sons) while, at this writing, blessing the Blocks with 19 grandchildren.

William Zagorski of Fanfare writes of Block’s orchestral movement Shadows: "His skillful use of tuned percussion gives several passages a gamelanlike quality reminiscent of Messaien. The long-note passages...and their harmonic suspensions are wonderful. I impatiently await the completion of this Symphony."

Curriculum Vitae

Costa Rican pianist Juan Pablo Andrade is the recipient of numerous awards, among them are the First Prize at the Artlivre International Piano Competition in Sao Paulo, Brazil; First Prize in the National Piano Competition in CR; First Prize in the Concert of Soloists Competition at Arizona State University; First Prize at the UNCG Concerto Competition and Second Prize in the University of Costa Rica Concerto Competition.

He has performed as soloist with the South Bend Symphony, the UNCG Symphony, the ASU Symphony, the Central American Symphony, the Bolivian National Symphony, the Costa Rican Youth Symphony, and in several occasions with the Costa Rican National Symphony. As a recitalist he has appeared in almost every Costa Rican city, Santa Cruz and La Paz in Bolivia, San Salvador in El Salvador, Washington DC, Oslo and Madrid. Many of his performances have been recorded and broadcasted by the Phoenix Classical Radio Station KBAK, Costa Rican University Radio and Costa Rican National Television.

In the year 2000 he was awarded the National Prize of Music, the highest recognition given to a musician by the Costa Rican Ministry of Culture. Andrade obtained the Bachelors and Licenciatura in Music degrees from the University of Costa Rica in San José; the Masters of Music from Arizona State University, an Artist Diploma from Indiana University-South Bend and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Piano at Idaho State University and Lecturer of Piano at UNCG. 

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Silvia Lazo’s research explores the social, cultural, and political dimensions of music in Latin America. Her current book-length project is Musicking the Self. The Life and Leading Works of Roberto Sierra. Lazo’s scholarship touches on Old and New World forces that have shaped classical music in the Caribbean. She has authored several articles on Pau Casals’s musical and institutional legacies. Lazo’s work on Casals’s transference of Western classical music to Puerto Rico during the Cold War has been critically acclaimed, sparking a reassessment of foreign influence within the island’s soundscape. Her areas of interest include music and human rights, politics, media, and gender.

Dr. Lazo has presented papers at national and international conferences. She has been the opening speaker for the colloquium “Puerto Rican Soundscapes. Exploring Puerto Rican Heritage Stateside Through Roots, Jazz and Classical Music,” sponsored by the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College, CUNY (2016), an invited panelist at Harvard University’s colloquium “El Exilio Republicano Español. España, Puerto Rico y Estados Unidos: 1936–73” (2014), and a guest speaker at the III Brazilian Congress in Music Iconography (2015). Her publications appear in Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review, Latin American Music Review, and Music in Art.

Raised in São Paulo, Brazil, Lazo holds B.A. degrees in Music and Theatre from Whitworth University, and MM Ed. and Ph.D. from the University of Montana. Since graduating Dr. Lazo has been a Post-Doctoral Associate at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil (2013), and a Visiting Scholar at Cornell University, NY (2014–2017). 

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Rachel Mitchell is an Assistant Professor of Music at UTRGV, where she teaches music theory and ear training courses primarily on the university’s Brownsville campus. Dr. Mitchell completed a Ph.D. in music theory at the University of Texas-Austin, where she held a Kent Kennan Endowed Graduate Fellowship and was awarded the Herbert Colvin Award for the best student paper at the 2005 Texas Society for Music Theory conference. She also holds degrees in music with all-level teacher certification (BM) and music theory (MM) from Texas Tech University. Prior to joining the UTRGV faculty, Mitchell held positions in music theory at the University at Albany – SUNY, the University of North Texas, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

Dr. Mitchell's research interests include the music and writings of the twentieth-century Catalan composer, Roberto Gerhard, and other Second Viennese School composers; the Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas; electroacoustic and film-music criticism; and pop-rock theory. Dr. Mitchell is also engaged in developing a computer-aided, music theory instruction package called Harmonia, which combines music notation, automatic music analysis and grading, word processing, multimedia playback, and a sophisticated web-based learning management system. As the Senior Content Developer for Illiac Software, she creates pedagogical content for Harmonia, updates software support pages, and runs a general music theory resource blog for teachers and students on the Harmonia website. Visit www.harmonia.illiacsoftware.com to learn more.

Dr. Mitchell has presented her research throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Germany, Spain, and the UK. Her work is published by Salem Press, Ashgate Publishing, and Cambridge Scholars Press, and her Harmonia research has been supported with funding from the University of Illinois and a Phase I STTR grant from the National Science Foundation. 

Dr. Mitchell is a reader for the national AP music theory exam, she is an active member of the Texas Society for Music Theory, and holds memberships in the Society for Music Theory (SMT), the Association for Technology in Music Instruction (ATMI), the College Music Society (CMS), and the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA).

Teaching Philosophy:

• It is my philosophy to treat my students as mature adults. I expect them to be intelligent and responsible, to stand by their own opinions, yet be open to different schools of thoughts and teaching styles.
• To actively engage my students in the educational process, it is my duty to lead class discussions to determine the level of understanding and mastery. I prefer that my students “uncover” the mysteries of a work on their own (in small, moderated group settings). We all end up learning more because everyone approaches works from different perspectives.
• I like to listen to and teach from a wide range of musical styles and traditions ranging from the European classical tradition, popular music, jazz, and world music. I also enjoy talking about pieces my students enjoy.
• Ultimately, I encourage my students to always consider the practical application of their theoretical study by reflecting on their own personal musical experiences as performers and listeners. It is my goal to encourage my students to approach their theoretical studies as a means for providing deeper understanding of their own musical experience.

Curriculum Vitae

Katrina Roush is an Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music theory and ear training. Currently, she is in the final stages of earning a Ph.D. in Music Theory at Indiana University. She holds an M.M. in Music Theory from Michigan State University and a B.A. in Applied Piano from Indiana Wesleyan University. Her dissertation, titled “Framing Listening Experiences in Selected Works of Corelli,” explores the roles listeners play in their own experiences with music and examines the interaction between pieces and listeners.

Some of Prof. Roush’s other research interests include emotion and meaning in music, music and philosophy, and music cognition. She has presented her research in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, including the European Musical Analysis Conference and the Rocky Mountain Society of Music Theory, in addition to conferences at Indiana University, McGill University, and the University at Buffalo. 

Before coming to UTRGV, Prof. Roush taught at Butler University, Indiana University, and Michigan State University. She has taught all undergraduate levels of music theory and aural skills, as well as online courses, graduate courses, and courses for non-music majors. Prof. Roush is especially interested in the mental, emotional, and physical health of academic communities and works to find ways to integrate these principles into her classroom and one-on-one interactions with students.

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Francisco Loera has been a Lecturer at UTPA/UTRGV for over twenty years in the Departments of Modern languages and Music, teaching Language and Literature, the History of Mexican Folk Music, and Mariachi ensemble. He has been the co-director of Mariachi  Aztlán during his time at the University, leading the mariachi to earn the reputation as the most outstanding university mariachi program in the nation.

 The Mariachi has traveled throughout Mexico representing the United States and throughout America as musical ambassadors representing the beauty of the Hispanic music and cultural traditions.  For more than 15 years, in San Antonio, Texas, and in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Mariachi Aztlán has been selected as the “Outstanding College or University Mariachi” in nationwide competition several years in a row.  For several years, the Mariachi Aztlán won “Grand Champion” of the Mariachi Spectacular Competition. In 2014 and 2016, the Mariachi Aztlán was invited as guest clinicians for the Mariachi Spectacular Workshop and performed at international mariachi conferences in San Diego, Tucson and Chicago in 2015 and 2016. The Mariachi Aztlán has won first place in the “Best in Texas” Mariachi Invitational at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, in Houston, Texas numerous times.

Highlight performances include an invitation from the White House to perform at a signing ceremony of an Executive Order commemorating the renewal and enhancement of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, performing for President Barack Obama in 2010.  In collaboration with the Houston Grand Opera, Mariachi Aztlán premiered the stage production of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, the world’s first “Mariachi-Opera” in 2010.  Other concerts include appearances at the Hollywood Bowl, the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center, and a performance of the mariachi opera Cruzar la Cara de la Luna with the Chicago Lyric Opera in 2013.  Other performances include an encore concert with the Chicago Lyric Opera in 2014 and concerts at the 2015, 2016 San Diego Mariachi Festival,  the Tucson International Mariachi Conference in 2015, and the Chicago Heritage Mariachi Conferences in 2015 and 2016.  The Mariachi Aztlán premiered the new mariachi opera El Pasado Nunca Se Termina with the Chicago Lyric Opera in 2015 and proudly released a new CD, Mi Nombre es México to commemorate the 25^th Anniversary of the UTPA/UTRGV Mariachi Program.

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Pianist Dr. Shoko Nakamura Kinsella enjoys her diverse career as performer and teacher. She has extensively performed as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician throughout the United States, Italy, and Japan.  Her past concert engagements include a solo recital in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Valley Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Music Series, and Artist Presentation Society in St. Louis as a result of winning the APS Solo Competition.  Her concerto appearances include Jefferson City Symphony Orchestra, after winning the JCSO Concerto Competition, and University of Cincinnati Orchestra Club, performing at the inaugural concert.  

As a chamber musician, she has appeared as guest artist at Western Illinois University, Earlham College in Indiana, Johnson County Community College in Kansas City (live performance broadcasted by 91.5 Kansas Public Radio), Summer Opera and Music Festival in Lucca Italy, and numerous collaborative appearances with large and small ensembles. She served as guest artist faculty of the soundSCAPE New Music Festival in Maccagno, Italy.

Dr. Kinsella is currently on the piano faculty at University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate piano students, as well as collaborates in recitals with faculty and guest artists. She also gives masterclasses, clinics, and judges competitions internationally and across the state.  She received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (2010), under the instruction of the artist-pedagogue Robert Weirich, with additional trainings by artists including Jerome Lowenthal, Ivan Moravec, and Anthony De Mare.  She earned her Master’s (2006) and Bachelor’s (2004, magna cum laude) degrees in Piano Performance from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as a student of William Black and Michael Chertock, where she was nominated for the Excellence in Teaching Award.  Born in Chiba, Japan, Dr. Kinsella currently resides in McAllen, TX.

Website

Curriculum Vitae

PhD, Pedagogical Sciences, Russian Academy of Education, 1993

MFA, Choral Conducting, Gnesins' State Music and Pedagogical Institute, 1982

BFA, Choral Conducting, Gnessin State Musical College, 1977

Curriculum Vitae

Mr. Gabriel Bauza is currently serving his fifth year as a faculty member in the School of Music at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Mr. Bauza is currently serving the School of Music in the capacity of full time lecturer, where his responsibilities include teaching Elementary Music Education, Music Appreciation, Applied Percussion, Dance Accompaniment, and the One O’clock Latin Band. Mr. Bauza is active as a performer in south Texas in commercial, popular, and Latin Music settings. He most recently completed a performance engagement in Vancouver, Canada at a DRUMEO Drum Camp. Mr. Bauza’s musical training includes tutelage under Mr. Robert Botello, Mr. Oscar Sanchez, Mr. Raul De Leon Jr, Mr. Dave Atkinson, Mr. Jared Falk, Mr. Mike Michalkow, and Dr. Mark Ramirez. Mr. Bauza earned a Bachelor of Music degree (BM) in 2009, and a Master of Music degree (MM) in 2011, in music performance from the University of Texas-Pan American. With over 5 years of teaching experience at this institution, and  over 10 years of professional performance experience, Mr. Bauza continues to strive for excellence in teaching and performance at the local, national, and international levels.

Curriculum Vitae

American soprano Catherine Compton has performed throughout the United States and Germany. Operatic roles include Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Pamina (Magic Flute), Erste Dame (Magic Flute), Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Gretel (Hansel & Gretel), and Mrs. Gleaton (Susannah), among others. Catherine was a Fulbright fellow in Leipzig, Germany. She has sung with the Leipzig Bach Festival, Mendelssohn Haus Museum, Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, Haus der Kulturen der Welt and Fulbright Kommission in Berlin. Recent performances in the US include Bach's Cantata 51 with the Brownsville Sinfonia; Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Central Iowa Symphony, the Fauré Requiem with the Rocky Mountain Chorale, When we no longer touch with Una Voce at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver; and lieder recitals for the University of Colorado-Boulder guest artist series and German-American Embassy in Washington D.C. Professor Compton teaches applied voice; lyric diction; music advocacy, outreach, and business; and opera workshop at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Music. She is passionate about helping students of all ages and abilities develop healthy, fulfilling, and sustainable singing practices. Catherine's teaching and approach to music entrepreneurship is enhanced by her work as an arts administrator and producer. She founded and served as Executive Director of the Off Broadway School of Fine Arts to provide community access to music lessons and classes in Boulder, Colorado. Before joining the voice faculty, she was a program coordinator for UTRGV Patron of the Arts.

Curriculum Vitae

Ms. Brielle Frost holds a lecturer position at the University of Texas Rio-Grande Valley where she teaches applied flute, methods courses, chamber music, and flute choir. An active musician and teacher, Ms. Frost has performed throughout the United States, Peru, Brazil, Italy, and Costa Rica. She has performed at festivals and conventions such as the Festival Internacional de Flautistas in Lima, Peru, the Festival de Música Contemporânea Brasileira in Campinas, Brazil, Puccini Festival, MahlerFest, the Atlantic Music Festival, the Aquila Summer Concert Series, and the Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting of the American Musicological Society. As an orchestral musician, she is a substitute flutist with the Valley Symphony Orchestra and has previously performed with the Topeka Symphony Orchestra and the Midland-Odessa Symphony Orchestra. 

During the summer, Ms. Frost has held the position of flute instructor at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, MI, where she has performed as a member of the Blue Lake faculty orchestra and wind ensemble. In addition to teaching and orchestral performing, Ms. Frost is an active chamber musician and is a founding member of the Ambrosia Flute Trio, which presented musical works at the National Flute Association Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2012 and in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2013.

Ms. Frost received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a Master of Music degree and Artist Certificate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is a doctoral candidate (ABD) at the University of Northern Colorado and her passion for contemporary music can be seen in her working dissertation, Theatrical Elements in Tōru Takemitsu’s Voice and Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Zungenspitzentanz. Her principal teachers include Angeleita Floyd, Torleif Ander, Mary Posses, and James Hall.

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae