Natalie L. Haslam College of Music

Hillary Herndon of UT Music named 2024 Individual Artist Fellow

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The Tennessee Arts Commission recently named Hillary Herndon, professor of viola at UT College of Music, as their 2024 Individual Artist Fellow in the Music Performance category. The TN Arts Commission’s Individual Artist Fellowship was created to recognize and acknowledge outstanding professional Tennessee artists who, through their work, add to the cultural vitality of the state. Each year, only one performer in the state is awarded this recognition. You can learn more about the Individual Artist Fellowship by visiting the TN Arts Commission website.

Leslie C. Gay, Jr. of UT Music Contributes to Award-Winning Book

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Leslie C. Gay, Jr., associate professor of musicology, was a contributing author to the book Audible Infrastructures: Music, Sound, Media, which was awarded the prestigious Ellen Koskoff Edited Volume Prize at the 2023 Society for Ethnomusicology Meeting. The prize is awarded annually by the Society for Ethnomusicology to book collections of ethnomusicological essays of exceptional merit, acknowledging the value and high caliber of the collective contributions and the central role of the editors in shaping a meaningful whole.

Gay’s essay is entitled “Shadows of Black and White: Materialities and Medialities in May Irwin’s ‘Frog Song.’” Interested readers can access an e-copy through UT Libraries.

UT Symphony Orchestra named 2023 winner of The American Prize in Orchestral Performance

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Founded in 2010, The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation’s most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. The American Prize is designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, directors, ensembles and composers in the United States at professional, college/university, community and high school levels, based on submitted recordings. 

“It’s an evaluation and contest platform,” James Fellenbaum, UTSO music director and conductor, explained to Arts Knoxville, “that many orchestras, composers, conductors, etc. have entered to aid in promotion of their work, and to gain recognition for their successes. As another example: last fall 2022, Alex Lapins performed Todd Goodman’s Tuba Concerto 2 with the UTSO, and that work (in its original tuba and piano version) is a candidate/finalist in the composition category for The American Prize.” 

UTSO is one of the most prominent collegiate orchestral ensembles in the state of Tennessee. The UTSO presents several performances each academic year, performing repertoire that spans from the Baroque era to the present, featuring faculty soloists as well as national and international guest artists. Their performances placed them ahead of several notable universities in this year’s awardee line-up. 

Read more about The American Prize and the awardees on the organization’s blogspot.

Ryan Lindveit’s Composition “Mysterious Butterflies” Wins Fourth Call for Scores

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A composer taking inspiration from literature, art, science, technology, and personal experience, College of Music Lecturer Ryan Lindveit is no stranger to accolades accompanying his pieces. But it is safe to say that, with four calls for scores awards, “Mysterious Butterflies” is especially successful.

Its most recent win is with the Sacramento State Festival of New American Music, but also the Penn State International New Music Festival and Symposium, Ball State University’s 50th Annual New Music Festival (selection), and the Wind Bands Association of Singapore Composition Contest.

Lindveit says, “My success came once I started writing music that I feel honest about. You have to go through a lot of years of not being sure of what you’re doing and taking risks and doing things that maybe you don’t want to do yet. It’s only been in the past few years that I feel like I’ve found that balance for myself.”

The composition is inspired by a text titled Recollections of My Life by Santiago Ramón y Cajal, a Spanish scientist and Nobel Prize recipient widely considered the founder of neuroscience. The text which Lindveit drew from for the composition recalls his reaction after discovering brain cells under a microscope: “Like the entomologist hunting for brightly colored butterflies, my attention hunted in the flower garden of grey matter for cells of delicate and elegant forms, the mysterious butterflies of the soul, whose flapping wings may someday clarify—who knows?—the secret of mental life.”

“Ultimately, I was deeply inspired by the idea that the human quest for understanding the mysteries of life can—even should—be beautiful and elegant, like a flower garden filled with butterflies,” Lindveit said.


Lindveit wrote a version of the piece for voices and mixed chamber ensemble. However, when he was approached by the Big 12 Band Directors Association for a commission, he adapted and expanded on the ideas in the piece, creating a piece for wind ensemble. That version first premiered in a performance by the University of Texas Wind Symphony in 2019 and has subsequently been performed by numerous ensembles, including the United States Navy Concert Band in Washington, D.C. The University of Tennessee Wind Ensemble will perform this piece at their December 5 concert.”

“We are excited to present Ryan’s Mysterious Butterflies at our December concert with the UT Wind Ensemble,” said John Zastoupil, director of bands at the University of Tennessee. “Ryan’s music is fresh, provocative, and meaningful. We are lucky to have him on our faculty at UT and the UT bands are thrilled to champion his music moving forward.”

To listen to a recording of the piece, you can visit Lindveit’s website.

Vance Thompson of UT Music Contributes to The Count Basie Orchestra Swings the Blues

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Vance Thompson, senior lecturer of studio music and jazz at the University of Tennessee, contributed on the new release of the album The Count Basie Orchestra Swings the Blues.

The album, led by musical director Scotty Barnhart, continues the tradition of jazz musician Count Basie with the best living blues and jazz musicians. Thompson’s arrangement of the standard “Just for a Thrill” appears on the album. The song was commissioned by vocalist Carmen Bradford, who is featured on the track.

The album released on October 20.

The UT College of Music Celebrates its Launch

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The University of Tennessee College of Music commemorated its new beginning on Thursday with a rousing celebration, culminating in a surprise onstage performance of “Rocky Top” by the UT Pride of the Southland Marching Band.

“The College of Music will be a beacon of the arts in our community and beyond—from the beautiful art that is produced in the college, to the graduates who will go on to perform, teach, and advocate for music here in Tennessee and all over the world,” said Chancellor Donde Plowman.

The night included a special reception for College of Music donors and friends before the crowd entered the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, including an outdoor performance by the UT Balinese Gamelan Ensemble. The night’s concert showcased the breadth of music-making that takes place in the College of Music, including a trumpet ensemble piece specifically written for the night, as well as percussion, piano, jazz, and chamber choir performances, and a performance of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” on violin.

But as thrilling as the performances themselves were, the event also highlighted a consistent theme of the College’s dedication to providing a superior student experience, and the University’s commitment to investing in the arts.  

“There are places where this is not happening,” said Jeffrey Pappas, Natalie L. Haslam Founding Dean of the College of Music, in reference to UT’s increased investment in the arts. “The University of Tennessee is bucking higher education trends throughout our campus. This dedication is another example of that.”

“From my first visit to campus, the faculty and the staff have been very supportive and encouraging,” said College of Music student Christian Carroll. “They have helped me become the best possible version of myself.”

“Opportunities for professional development, exploration, and experimentation will continue to grow in this College of Music where our faculty are dedicated to designing the path ahead, not merely walking it,” said Associate Professor of Horn Katie Johnson-Webb. “These opportunities will only enhance the excellence in teaching quality that our program has always enjoyed.”

The event also marked the 10-year anniversary of the opening of the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center.

Welcome Home to the College of Music!

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On a beautiful, sunny September evening, the University of Tennessee hosted its first ever “Welcome Home to Your College of Music” Party for its students and well as its faculty and staff and their families. Everyone gathered on the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center lawn to partake in yard games, eat a delicious taco bar dinner catered by Buddy’s BBQ, take celebratory photographs in the bespoke photo booth, and simply enjoy the lovely weather and fellowship. The Natalie L. Haslam Music Center celebrates its 10th anniversary this fall, and the School of Music has officially been named a College of Music. 

The College of Music Student Ambassadors, a special group of the College’s most outstanding student leaders, were there to help with the event, and our Founding Dean Jeff Pappas, along with many of the college’s administrative staff, faculty members, and students celebrated the momentous occasion. 

Allison Adams of UT Music Co-Authors Saxophone Textbook

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Allison Adams, associate professor of saxophone at the University of Tennessee, has published a saxophone textbook, co-authored with saxophonist Brian Horner.

Playing & Teaching the Saxophone: A Modern Approach provides a method for teaching the saxophone that is specific enough to use as a textbook in a collegiate saxophone methods class, simple enough for a band director to use in guiding their saxophone sections, clear enough for adult beginners to teach themselves the instrument, and deep enough for professionals to use as a resource in teaching private lessons at any level.

For more information, go to the book listing.