News Archive - 2011

UNF Students Perform at Tuba Christmas

   
Dr. Marc Dickman's Tuba Students 

DON BURK/TOM SZAROLETA/The Times-Union    

It’s that time of year when holiday music is just unavoidable. It’s on elevators, in stores, blasting from phone ringtones and wafting through the air from neighbors’ holiday light displays. But hardly any of it is played on a tuba. Marc Dickman and a hundred or so friends are out to change that. Dickman, a professor of low brass and jazz studies at UNF, is one of the organizers of Tuba Christmas, the annual gathering of a hundred-plus tuba players who do a whole set of holiday songs.

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Former UNF Jazz Student Evolves into Acclaimed Author

  
"The New Face of Jazz" by Cicily Janus 

“When I was younger, I wanted to work and study with the masters,” said Cicily Janus, who attended UNF in the mid-‘90s. “And the lineup of professors at UNF is just ridiculous. It’s a whole bevy of musicians who are just amazing. That’s why, when I wanted to test myself, I went to UNF.” Now, she’s using her UNF experience in a different field, writing about the music she so loves. But when she wanted to write about the jazz masters, she inevitably came back to UNF. Janus last year published “The New Face of Jazz,” a non-fiction book that peers behind the curtain of the jazz music world and introduces readers to some of the most dynamic performers in the industry, including a number of UNF jazz faculty members.

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UNF Cello Student Performs at First Generation Scholarship Luncheon

  
UNF Music Student Bery Filsaime 

UNF freshman cello performance major Bery Filsaime, a student of Dr. Nick Curry, played for donors Mr. and Mrs. Gary and Dianne McCalla at the a first generation scholarship luncheon.

UNF Music Student Competes on ‘Karaoke Battle USA’

  
UNF Music Student Jermaine Reynolds 

 MAGGIE SEPPI/UNF Spinnaker    

For Jermaine Reynolds, the UNF Music Department played an important role in getting his voice heard on TVs across the country. Reynolds, a UNF music education senior, realized this when ABC aired an episode of “Karaoke Battle USA” on which he competed Sept. 2. 

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UNF Music Graduate Receives Percussive Arts Society Internship

  
UNF Percussion Graduate Jennifer Ruliffson 

PAS welcomes new PAS Intern Jenn Ruliffson. Prior to her appointment, Jenn served as Director of the North Florida Percussion Camp, Personnel manager for the University of North Florida Chorale (directed by Cara Tasher), and Assistant Instructor of Percussion for Cathedral Arts Project. Having studied with Charlotte Mabrey at the University of North Florida, Jenn earned her Bachelor of Music degree (summa cum laude) in Percussion Performance. Additionally, she studied Brazilian music and culture in Northeast Brazil with help from the Transformational Learning Opportunity Grant. Jenn's desire is to become a leading music festival coordinator in the United States, and hopes over time to expand that goal to international festivals involving community music education and research. In her spare time Jenn enjoys using special-effects make-up to create "movie monsters" for photos and film as well as assisting in biological field research. 

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UNF Music Program Receives Flagship

  
Dr. Krzysztof Biernacki with Opera Students Brianna Sparklin and Jake Rothman  

JOSH BALDUF/UNF/KATE HOWARD/The Times-Union    

The University of North Florida's music and nutrition programs will receive $2.5 million over the next three years as the university adds them to its flagship program. The funds will be used to hire faculty, purchase equipment, and cover travel costs to achieve the departments' objectives, which are to build new advanced degrees and improve their academic reputations internationally. The flagship program was an initiative started by UNF President John Delaney in 2004 to elevate select programs to the nation's top echelon.

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UNF Violin Student Selected as First Chair for Texas Music Festival

 
Dr. Simon Shiao's Violin Student Haruka Kobayashi 

UNF Music student Haruka Kobayashi will be first chair for the Texas Music Festival. This year's participants come from 12 different countries and throughout the States. Haruka is ready for the challenge of playing solos in Mahler 3rd, Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov and other big works.

View lineup.  

UNF Music Student Wins 2011 Jacksonville Jazz Festival Generation Next Contest

 
Lynne Arriale's Student Kelly Green Performs at Jazz Festival 

JON M. FLETCHER/CHARLIE PATTON/The Times-Union     

UNF Jazz Studies student Kelly Green won the 2011 Jacksonville Jazz Festival Generation Next contest. Her performance, singing three songs while playing the piano, earned her a first-place trophy and a $2,000 bond.

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UNF Violin Student Accepted to the Austrian American Mozart Academy in Salzburg, Austria

  
Dr. Simon Shiao's Violin Student Dayna Osan 

UNF violin student Dayna Osan was accepted with full scholarship to the Austrian American Mozart Academy in Salzburg, Austria. She will play in the orchestra for the Mozart's Magic Flute opera production in August. This trip is made possible thanks to UNF's Transformational Learning Opportunity (TLO) program.

UNF Music Major in College Because of "Miracle" Jacksonville Commitment Scholarship

  
DeSean Kirkland 

CRISTIN WILSON/The Times-Union    

When DeSean Kirkland says one phone call changed his life, he's not exaggerating. It did. He describes it as "like a miracle phone call" because it was an answer to his mother's and sister's prayers and an opportunity for him that he didn't think was possible. Ouida Poe was on the other end of the call, informing Kirkland he had been selected as a Jacksonville Commitment scholar. Kirkland, who grew up in low income housing, and doesn't remember his father because he was murdered when he was a child, would be able to go to college.  

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Music Makes Me Happy

  
Jazz Studies Drum Set Professor Danny Gottlieb and Student Phil Gillete 

UNF music student Santiago Latorre shot and edited a short featuring Department of Music faculty and students as part of the Are You Happy Project focusing on musicians.

View the short.  

UNF Wind Symphony Performs at Lincoln Center

  
Lincoln Center in New York City 

The University of North Florida Wind Symphony performed at the Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center on April 9th. After riveting audiences at the Florida Music Educators Association Conference in 2007 and Carnegie Hall in 2008, it was time for 45 of the most accomplished woodwind, brass, and percussion players at UNF to touch new highs in traditional wind literature in New York. With Gordon R. Brock, Chair of the Department of Music and Director of Bands at University of North Florida, conducting the Wind Symphony, the ensemble received critical acclaim. Original composition by Professor Dr. Clarence Hines, The Quest, was performed by the UNF Wind Symphony and Jazz Studies Director/saxophonist Bunky Green.

Episcopal Enjoys UNF Chamber Singers Performance

  
UNF Voice Students 

Members of the Episcopal High School Chorale, Honors Chorale members and other students enjoyed a concert presented by the University of North Florida Chamber Singers, directed by Dr. Cara Tasher. Our students commented on the "passion" and "remarkable sound" this college group displayed. Many of the pieces were performed a cappella and the pitch and tone were perfect. The UNF singers were excited about singing in the chapel in the Munnerlyn building because of the excellent acoustics. 

The program begain with a beautiful song from Zimbabwe. We also heard an Icelandic folksong, Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies," a work for cello, piano and chorus (with artists from UNF, Dr. Nick Curry, cello, and Mr. Jonathan Easter, piano) finishing with the exciting work, "Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine" by Eric Whitacre. Ms. Mary Helen Solomon, Director of Choral Studies at Episcopal, is looking into more collaborative opportunities with this fine ensemble and the UNF choral department.

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Jacksonville Musicians Raise Money to Provide Relief for Japan

  
UNF Orchestra Students
DON BURK/The Times-Union  

University of North Florida students and members of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra performed a benefit concert before the symphony's concert Thursday to raise money for the relief effort for Japan.

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UNF Opera Ensemble Performance of "The Consul" Receives Excellent Reviews

  
UNF Opera Ensemble Members Jacob Rothman, Ashley Kemker, and Brittany Fouché 

This is an after-the-fact review, but we were so impressed with the production, we wanted to let theatre and opera lovers know what to expect when attending a UNF event, and encourage them to see future productions, especially those given by the music department.

Read full review.   

ESPN Performance

 
Danny Gottlieb and Bernie Williams  

Jazz Studies Professor Danny Gottlieb performed at ESPN's "Weekend" alongside former New York Yankee and Grammy nominee, Bernie Williams.

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Watch video clip. 

Mix of Original Compositions with Delightfully Unexpected Covers

 
Lynne Arriale's CD "Convergence" Reviewed in DownBeat Magazine 

Jazz Studies Professor Lynne Arriale's new CD release earns a 4-star rating from DownBeat Magazine. 

Read full review.   

Dual Uprising

 
Bunky Green on the Cover of DownBeat Magazine 

UNF Director of Jazz Studies and professor, Bunky Green is getting a lot of recognition due to his 15th and most recent album, “Apex.” He will be featured in the February 2011 edition of DownBeat Magazine.

Read full story.   

A Great Month for Cello Students

Quartetto Gelato and Alban Gerhardt  

Dr. Nick Curry, Assistant Professor of Cello, presented at the January Florida Music Educators Association conference on different ways to practice intonation on a string instrument. The lecture was attended by a large group of conductors, musicians and others. In addition he helped bring four different artists to the UNF campus to work with the UNF music students in a master class setting. The artists were the Claremont Piano Trio, Quartetto Gelato, world famous cellist Alban Gerhardt and world-renowned Northwestern University cello professor Hans Jensen (for a two day artist in residence).

Cellobration

Dr. Nick Curry, Assistant Professor of Cello, with Cello Student 

Dr. Nick Curry, Assistant Professor of Cello, was published in the November edition of the American String Teacher’s national magazine. He traveled to Boca Raton where he was invited as the guest clinician for the 16th annual "Cellobration" where he conducted and worked with 75+ high school cellists and performed a master class and concert. All of the UNF students came with him and participated. Past clinicians have come from the University of Michigan, UT Austin, and Berklee to name a few.

Bellis Clarinet and Saxophone Festival

 Dr. Michael Bovenzi, Assistant Professor of Saxophone and Music Theory 

Dr. Michael Bovenzi, Assistant Professor of saxophone and music theory was featured as the guest artist at the Bellis Clarinet and Saxophone Festival at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Dr. Bovenzi performed a solo recital, gave clinics, and was soloist with the UMSL Symphonic Band. Former guest artists have included members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.