Natalie L. Haslam College of Music

Laura Leigh Spillane

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ADDRESS
University of Tennessee College of Music 214 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center Knoxville, TN 37996-4040
Website
https://music.utk.edu/ensembles/choral/

Laura Leigh Spillane

Interim Associate Director of Choral Activities, Lecturer of Music Education

Laura Leigh Spillane is the Interim Associate Director of Choral Activities and Lecturer of Music Education at the UT College of Music, where she teaches courses in music education, graduate choral literature, and choral conducting, and conducts the Concert Choir. Prior to joining the faculty at Tennessee, she taught courses and led ensembles at Saddleback College and the Claremont Colleges in Southern California. As Senior Teaching Assistant for the USC Thornton School of Music, she served as Associate Conductor of USC’s premier choral ensemble, the Chamber Singers, and as Lead Conductor of the University Chorus.A conductor, music educator, and soprano from the southeastern United States, Spillane previously served as a choral director at both the middle and high school levels in the Fulton County and Gwinnett County School Districts in Georgia and holds over a decade of professional church music service. She was honored as the inaugural recipient of the GA American Choral Directors Association Young Director Award in 2019.Spillane holds the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music from the University of Southern California, where her fields of study were Musicology, Vocology, and Instrumental Conducting. Her dissertation research examined how trends in written range and tessitura impact vocal stamina in mixed-voice choral ensembles. She also holds the Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Georgia, where she was a Carl Hoveland Fellow and graduate assistant, and the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Reinhardt University, where she was a summa cum laude graduate. Her conducting teachers include Cristian Grases, Tram Sparks, Larry Livingston, Jo-Michael Scheibe, Daniel Bara, J.D. Burnett, and Martha Shaw. She is an active member of ACDA, NAfME, and NCCO..

Education

DMA Choral Conducting – University of Southern California (2023)
MM Choral Conducting – University of Georgia (2015)
BME Choral Music Education – Reinhardt University (2013)

Ryan Lindveit

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Website
https://www.lindveit.com/
Phone
+1 865 974 7538

Ryan Lindveit

Lecturer of Music Theory & Composition

Ryan Lindveit (lind-vite) is Lecturer of Music Theory and Composition in the College of Music at the University of Tennessee.

As a composer, he takes inspiration from literature, art, science, technology, and personal experience in order to craft colorful and emotionally vivid musical journeys. Lindveit’s works have been commissioned and performed by several distinguished ensembles including the Minnesota Orchestra, “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, United States Navy Band, American Composers Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, New York Youth Symphony, Interlochen World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, Symphony in C, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra, Orkest de Ereprijs, Akropolis Reed Quintet, FearNoMusic, the City of Tomorrow, and the wind ensembles at Northwestern, Michigan, UT Austin, Baylor, Arizona State, Penn State, Texas Tech, USC, and Yale, among many others. His awards include the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a BMI Student Composer Award, the New York Youth Symphony’s First Music Commission, winner of the Wind Band Association of Singapore Composition Contest, and winner of the Symphony in C Young Composers Competition. He earned Special Distinction in both the ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Prize (Close Up at a Distance for orchestra) and the ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Prize (Spinning Yarns for wind ensemble). Lindveit also composed the score for the Sam Elliott-narrated docuseries Honor Guard released on Amazon Prime in 2020.

Lindveit holds degrees from the University of Southern California (BM), Yale University (MM, MMA), and the University of Michigan (DMA). In addition, he earned the Certificate in Music Theory Pedagogy from the University of Michigan. At USC, he was selected as the Salutatorian of his class and named the Outstanding Graduate of the Thornton School of Music. At Yale he was awarded the Frances E. Osborne Kellogg Memorial Prize upon graduation. His mentors include Michael Daugherty, Aaron Jay Kernis, Andrew Norman, Chris Theofanidis, Ted Hearne, Frank Ticheli, Bright Sheng, David Lang, Martin Bresnick, and Donald Crockett. A committed educator, Lindveit has taught composition, music theory, orchestration, film music, and music technology privately and at the collegiate level.

Education

DMA, Composition — University of Michigan (2023)
MMA,  Composition — Yale University (2020)
MM,  Composition — Yale University (2019)
BM,  Composition — University of Southern California (2016)

Jaren Atherholt

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ADDRESS
University of Tennessee College of Music 302 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center Knoxville, TN 37996-4040
Website
https://www.jarenatherholt.com/
Phone
865-974-7548

Jaren Atherholt

Assistant Professor of Oboe

A native of Alaska, Atherholt has performed to stellar reviews as a featured concerto soloist with the Louisiana Philharmonic, A Far Cry, and the Hamptons Festival of Music. Atherholt served as principal oboist of the Louisiana Philharmonic for eleven seasons and has performed as guest principal oboist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Mineria Orchestra in Mexico City and Detroit Symphony, as well as guest associate principal oboist with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Atherholt spent four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival and currently performs each summer with the Grand Teton Music Festival.

She has served on the faculty of John Mack Oboe Camp, Interlochen Arts Camp, the Wintergreen Music Academy, and the Vianden International Music School in Luxemburg. Recent performances include guest principal oboist with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico.

Education

MM, Rice University
BM, Cleveland Institute of Music

Benjamin Atherholt

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ADDRESS
University of Tennessee College of Music 304 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center Knoxville, TN 37996-4040
Phone
865-974-7548

Benjamin Atherholt

Lecturer of Bassoon

Benjamin Atherholt is Lecturer of Bassoon at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and contrabassoonist of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. From 2005-2023 Mr. Atherholt served as assistant principal bassoonist & contrabassoonist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. While in New Orleans, Mr. Atherholt was the bassoon instructor at Tulane University, Loyola University, and for the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra.  

Mr. Atherholt has had the opportunity to work with symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists across the country. Most notably, the Detroit Symphony, Nashville Symphony, National Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Harlem Quartet, pianist Orion Weiss, tenor Paul Groves, and the Houston Symphony, where he is featured on the 2013 Grammy Award winning recording of Berg’s Wozzeck. 

Passionate about community outreach and advocacy, Mr. Atherholt served as Programming Director of the New Orleans based nonprofit arts organization Lyrica Baroque from 2015-2024. During this time he curated many programs amplifying works by underrepresented composers and founded Creativity Day – an outreach program exposing Louisiana youth to chamber music for the first time. He was also instrumental in the development of With Feeling and Music, a social emotional learning program for youth K-5 using chamber music as a core component to teach the curriculum.  

 Mr. Atherholt began his studies at the High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas. He continued his studies in performance and composition at Oberlin Conservatory under the tutelage of George Sakakeeny and Jeffrey Mumford respectively and at Rice University with Benjamin Kamins.  

Education

BM, Music Performance and Composition – Oberlin College (2004) 

Stephen Salters

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ADDRESS
University of Tennessee College of Music 308 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center Knoxville, TN 37996-4040
Website
https://stephensalters.com/
Phone
865-974-0830

Stephen Salters

Assistant Professor of Voice

“Not only does he sound like God on a good day, but he’s intensely imaginative and adventurous, navigating repertoire that make most singers creep into the wings and weep.” – The Washington Post

Known as a consummate artist, baritone Stephen Salters has performed throughout Europe, Africa, the United Kingdom, Asia & the USA. Most recent successes include Mahler’s Das Lied Von der Erde & Mahler Songs and the Brahms Requiem in New York City. In Boston, he created the title role in Elena Ruehr’s tour de force dance opera Toussaint Before the Spirits for Opera Boston. Recent seasons include performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and Wagner’s Rienzi and Walton’s The Bear with Boston’s Odyssey Opera, Phillip Glass’ Symphony #5 at the Kennedy Center & New York City’s Trinity Church, Elena Ruehr’s opera Crafting The Bonds in Boston, and an historic sesquicentennial vocal recital honoring Harry T. Burleigh @ Skidmore College, NY and his solo debut with the New York Philharmonic with conductor Alan Gilbert.

Mr. Salters most recently performed the lead in Gounod’s opera Le Médecin malgré lui with recitatives by Erik Satie to critical acclaim and Julian Wachner’s Epistle Mass in New York City. Other noteworthy career highlights include concerts for children in Monaco with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo; The Cleveland Orchestra; Orchestra of St. Luke’s; Minnesota Orchestra; the symphonies of Houston & San Francisco; appearing in many American & European festivals; Fortune’s Bones: The Manumission Requiem, written for Mr. Salters by Ysaye Barnwell; the World Premiere of Dan Sonenberg’s The Summer King; the World Premiere of Philippe Fenelon’s Les Rois for Opera National in Bordeaux; Monteverdi’s Orfeo in Orvieto, Italy; Shostakovich’s The Nose; Weill’s The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny; Gluck’s Alceste; Mozart’s Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, and Così fan tutte; Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and L’elisir d’amore; Handel’s Alcina and Guilio Cesare; Rossini’s La Cenerentola; Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci; and Britten’s Peter Grimes at Tanglewood on the 50th anniversary of that work’s U.S. Premiere. Mr. Salters has sung over 40 operatic roles excelling equally in contemporary works and standard repertory with many of the world’s great stage directors – highlights include appearing with the National Opera of Paris, Opéra de Nice, Opéra de Rennes, Opéra du Rhin and the Opéra de Tour in a range of productions that include Alfredo Arias’s production of Carmen, Nicholas Hytner’s Giulio Cesare, Olivier Py’s Der Freischutz, and both Francesca Zambello’s and Colin Graham’s Billy Budd, Alain Garichot’s Penelope, Robert Wilson’s Madame Butterfly, Stein Winge’s and Gunther Kramer’s Tristan und Isolde and Dominique Pitoiset’s Don Giovanni.

Mr. Salters has demonstrated his versatility on the concert stage in such diverse works as Bach’s St. Matthew Passion to Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 to Wachner’s Epistle Mass. In the past couple of seasons alone, he was seen in several performances of Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer & Kindertotenlieder; Copland’s Old American Songs; Orff’s Carmina Burana; Vaughan – Williams’ Sea Symphony, Dona Nobis Pacem, Hodie, & Five Mystical Songs; Haydn’s Mass in a Time of War; Britten’s War Requiem; Mendelssohn’s Elijah & Paulus; a concert performance of Der Freischutz; Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater; Zemlinsky’s Symphonic Songs; the Brahms Requiem; and Handel’s Messiah. He has appeared with symphonies in Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and St. Louis, with the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestra of Monte-Carlo, the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Handel & Haydn Society, the National Arts Center Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Noordhollands Philharmonisch Orkest, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Orchestre Royal de Wallonie, Collegium Instrumentale Brugense, Nouve Musiche, L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Liege, the Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn and countless others. As a skilled stylist, he also appears in Pops programs, including with the Boston Pops on their national holiday tour and twice at Bravo! Vail with the Rochester Philharmonic. His most recent & unique collaborations include a dance/recital program as singer and dancer under the combined auspices of Ravinia with Welz Kauffman and the Luna Negra Dance Theatre premiering a piece in honor of Cervantes’ Don Quijote including a commission by Mexican composer Ana Lara, as well as having performed Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder again as a singer and dancer with the Joffrey Ballet with superlative reviews. Stephen Salters has also appeared in a dance opera with choreographer Nicola Hawkins as well as appearing many times and premiering programs with the Mark Morris Dance Group.

Mr. Salters is a sought-after interpreter and an advocate of ‘New Music’ and often engages composers to write music for him to enrich the vocal repertoire. In the past years, he has sung many commissions including a fantastic cycle by William Bolcom; French composer Pierre Ruscher; and started a new recital program entitled The Black Russian. He has begun commissioning composers for 2 new recitals 1) Wonderful Woman and 2) Underrepresented/Unsung Heroes both to debut in the 2024 & 2025 seasons.

Not only has Mr. Salters conducted masterclasses world-wide for the past 25 years, he has for approximately 15 years had a private teaching studio in Europe, & the USA and now teaching in Australia. Mr. Salters has also spearheaded a highly successful & creative residency called Until Now for young singers and the general public across the globe and has also begun to appear on International Competition Juries. Mr. Salters has always embraced his African-American background – breaking boundaries and continuing to press forward in the footsteps laid out by other great African-American artists.

A celebrated recitalist, known for his musically distinctive and intensely moving performances, Mr. Salters has thrilled and engaged audiences all over the world, including leading venues in New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Cleveland, San Francisco, Milan, Tokyo and throughout Benelux. Mr. Salters has also been a sought-after chamber musician working with many string quartets including the Biava, Shanghai, Borromeo, & Lark over the past decade. Due to his musicianship, precision and artistry, he was asked to be one of the Lark Chamber Artists for several years. Through these collaborations, he has expanded this repertoire with approximately 15-30 new pieces/arrangements written for his voice and this pairing with more to come.

Baritone Stephen Salters first gained worldwide attention in 1996, when he won First Place in Belgium’s Queen Elisabeth International Competition of Singing and became the first American to win the Grand Prix of one of the most important vocal competitions in the world. Also that year, he captured First Place in the 1996 International Puccini-Licia Albanese Competition; National Finalist of the 1996 Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions; first place winner of the Leontyne Price Competition; recipient of the Esther B. Kahn Career Entry Award; candidate of the Marian Anderson Award; and a George London Foundation Award in memory of Bruce Yarnell. It was indeed no surprise when Mr. Salters next obtained America’s most prestigious vocal award, the 1999 Walter W. Naumburg International Competition becoming the first and only musician to win both the Queen Elisabeth & Walter W. Naumburg International Competitions in their combined approximate 180 year illustrious history.

Stephen Salters has worked with leading conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, Bobby McFerrin, James Conlon, Nicholas McGegan, Martin Haselbock, Keith Lockhart, Ivor Bolton, Will Crutchfield, Leonard Slatkin, Hugh Wolff, Jane Glover, Julian Wachner, Marc Soustrot, Maurizio Benini, Pinchas Steinberg, Gary Bertini and Martin Isepp. In addition, Mr. Salters has sung at leading Festivals worldwide, including Aldeburgh, Banff, Edinburgh, Pietrasanta, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Vail, and BAM’s Next Wave.

Stephen has made several CDs including one of French melody, German lieder and spirituals with pianist Shiela Kibbe for Cypres, and Telarc’s award-winning recording of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride with Boston Baroque and Christine Goerke. His most recent recordings include Spirit: Are You There? You Are There; several world premiere performances and recordings, including William Bolcom’s Billy in the Darbies written for Mr. Salters and the Lark Quartet; and 3 different CDs of Elena Ruehr’s music all written for Mr. Salters – Toussaint Before the Spirits; Averno & Gospel Cha Cha; Song of the Silkie with the Borromeo Quartet/Cypress Quartet. The summer before COVID-19 began, he was a featured soloist on a DVD & CD recording of Phillip Glass’s epic 5th Symphony with Maestro Julian Wachner and the Trinity Choir. We are joyfully awaiting the release of Julian Wachner’s Epistle Mass “Live” recording created expressly for Mr. Salters & Songs for Stephen by Elena Ruehr being recorded this summer. Stay tuned!

 

Education

Artist Diploma with Distinction – Boston University School of Music (1994)
BM, magna cum laude – Boston University School of Music (1991)

Denin Slage-Koch

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ADDRESS
University of Tennessee College of Music 252 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center Knoxville, TN 37996-4040
Website
https://www.deninkochmusic.com/
Phone
865-974-6311

Denin Slage-Koch

Lecturer of Jazz Guitar

Having been praised as possessing “pristine playing, meticulous composing” and “a very personal voice deserving of attention,” award-winning guitarist, composer, and educator Denin Slage-Koch has done a lot. He’s played and recorded with artists like Ryan Keberle, Shane Endsley, Carmen Bradford, Clay Jenkins, Brad Goode, Wycliffe Gordon, and the Colorado Symphony, written music for artists like Melissa Aldana and Carmen Bradford, recorded three albums of original music and served as sideman for many more, published a book, and is a full-time member of the jazz faculty at the University of Tennessee Knoxville – and he’s not even 30 years old yet. Put simply, he is one of the most exciting and unique rising musicians on the scene today.

As a guitarist, Slage-Koch’s accolades include a multiple Downbeat Student Music Awards, a 2022 Pathways to Jazz grant award, and performances at venues including the national Jazz Education Network conference, Vail Jazz, Boettcher Concert Hall, and Dazzle Denver, among many others. His debut album, “re: manhattan project,” is a ten-movement suite for jazz quintet that reimagines the story of the Manhattan Project, which Slage-Koch’s hometown of Richland, WA was deeply involved in. “re: manhattan project,” received a four-star rating on AllAboutJazz.com and has been praised as “remarkable,” “extraordinary, “moving” and containing “beautiful interplay.” His third album, “It Comes in Waves,” featuring trombonist Ryan Keberle and trumpeter Shane Endsley, will be released in Fall 2023.

Slage-Koch is also frequently in-demand as a composer and arranger for artists and ensembles across the United States. In 2023, he received a Herb Alpert Young Composer’s award for his piece “It Comes in Waves,” and in 2022 his composition “One for Honey” was recognized as an honorable mention at the Ithaca College Jazz Composition Contest against entries from 15 countries. Slage-Koch has written and arranged for artists including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Melissa Aldana, Carmen Bradford, and the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra, among others, and maintains a consistent workload of commissions.

Slage-Koch holds a Doctor of Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado, and has also received a Master of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Media from the Eastman School of Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Studies from Whitworth University. He has over a decade of experience as an educator. Slage-Koch’s major teachers include many of the greatest musicians and educators in the world, including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Gary Versace, Steve Kovalcheck, Bob Sneider, Dave Rivello, Bill Dobbins, Dan Keberle and Brent Edstrom. His music draws influence from a wide range of artists, including Pat Metheny, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Emily Remler, Wes Montgomery, Radiohead, The Beatles, Dmitri Shostakovich, Gustav Mahler, Led Zeppelin, and more.

Education

DA, Jazz Studies – University of Northern Colorado
MM, Jazz and Contemporary Media – Eastman School of Music
BA, Jazz Studies – Whitworth University

Music Samples

John Zastoupil

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ADDRESS

University of Tennessee
227 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
1741 Volunteer Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37996-2600

Website
https://www.utbands.com/
Phone
865-974-7520

John Zastoupil

Director of Bands, Associate Professor of Music

Dr. Zastoupil assumed the role of Director of Bands and tenured Associate Professor of Music at the University of Tennessee in the fall of 2022. His primary responsibilities at UT include conducting the critically acclaimed University of Tennessee Wind Ensemble, teaching graduate courses in wind studies, guiding the wind conducting program, and providing the administrative leadership for all aspects of the University of Tennessee’s diverse and historic band program.

Dr. Zastoupil previously served as Director of Concert Bands and tenured associate professor of music at Missouri State University where he guided all aspects of a comprehensive concert band program of five concert ensembles – over 400 students. He conducted the Missouri State Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Springfield Youth Wind Ensemble, Community Band, and taught the graduate wind conducting studio. While at MSU, he founded three nationally recognized events: the MSU Conducting Workshop, the Springfield Youth Wind Ensemble, and the Palen Concert Clinic for concert bands. The MSU Wind Ensemble received national attention with invited performances at the 2018 and 2022 CBDNA Southwestern Regional Conventions, the 2018 MMEA Conference, as well as performances at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, MO and the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, TX. The University Wind Symphony was selected and performed for the 2020 MMEA Conference and the Community Band was selected and performed at the MBA Summer Convention in 2021.

An advocate of music education and advancing the wind repertoire, Dr. Zastoupil has collaborated with composers such as James Stephenson, Kevin Day, Michael Daugherty, William Bolcolm, Augusta Read-Thomas, Stephen Gryc, Gunther Schuller, Scott McAllister, Paul Dooley, Scott Boerma and others. Since 2013, his online conducting course through Conn Selmer’s MusicProfessor platform has received worldwide recognition as a valuable resource for online conducting pedagogy. Since 2021, he works extensively with the Yamaha Corporation of America to assist in the education and outreach of the Harmony Director 300, helping band directors all over the globe incorporate this technology into their classrooms. Zastoupil regularly guest conducts professional and student honor ensembles throughout the United States and has conducted abroad in Europe and Asia.

Dr. Zastoupil’s professional experience includes having served as the Associate Director of Bands/Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Texas – Arlington and Eastern Michigan University, as well as brass staff faculty for the Santa Clara Vanguard DCI corps. Originally from Texas, Dr. Zastoupil holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Northwestern University where he was the L.K. Skornia endowed fellowship winner and was an adjunct instructor in the Bienen School of Music. He received his Master of Music degree in wind conducting from the University of Michigan, his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baylor University, and is a former student of the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Education

DMA, Wind Conducting – Northwestern University (2012)
MM, Wind Conducting – University of Michigan (2007)
BME, Music Education – Baylor University (2005)

Arthur Zanin

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ADDRESS

University of Tennessee
College of Music
303 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
Knoxville, TN 37996-4040

Phone
865-974-4881

Arthur Zanin

Assistant Professor of Trumpet

Arthur Zanin has performed in orchestral and chamber music settings in South America, the United States, and Europe. Dr. Zanin previously held positions as the Principal Trumpet of the Charlottesville Symphony, Second Trumpet of the Southwest Florida Symphony and has appeared as a guest musician with several orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Hawaii Symphony and the Naples Philharmonic. Dr. Zanin worked as a freelancer in New York City performing in a variety of recitals, shows, and recordings in prestigious concert venues such as the Lincoln Center and the Kauffman Center.

As an educator, Dr. Zanin held the Trumpet Lecturer position at University of Virginia, a teaching assistant position at Rutgers University, and taught master classes to brass programs in colleges and high schools around the world, including Hungary, Ecuador, Brazil and Spain. He is the former editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Music and former editor of the Trumpet Magazine, both new online publications.

Dr. Zanin earned his Master of Music degree from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. He also attended the Manhattan School of Music where he earned a Performance Studies Certificate and completed his Doctor of Musical Arts from Rutgers University. He has participated in numerous summer music programs in the U.S., such as the Aspen Music Festival and School and Music Academy of the West.

Education

DM of Musical Arts – Rutgers University (2016)
Professional Studies – Manhattan School of Music (2013)
MM – University of Denver (2012)
BM, Music Performance – Santa Marcelina School of Music (2008)

Jorge Variego

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ADDRESS

University of Tennessee
College of Music
237 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
Knoxville, TN 37996-4040

Website
https://www.jorgevariego.com/

Jorge Variego

Assistant Professor of Music Composition and Technology

Jorge Variego was born in Rosario, Argentina. He is a former Fulbright Scholar and is currently on the Music Theory/Composition faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and is the composition program director at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.

Actively involved with technology in sound and music, Jorge has been a pioneer in the field of interactive computer music, having created and performed a great deal of works for clarinet and electronics in the US, Europe and South America. He participated in many international music festivals such as MATA, SEAMUS, EMS, Sonoimagenes, Holland Festival, Festival de Jazz de Vigo, Via Stellae, ICMC and Big Ears. His music can be heard in the Parma, Albany Records, CMMAS, Centaur and Naxos libraries.

In 2017 he was named Mentor of the year in the College of Fine Arts and Sciences, Performing Arts division at the University of Tennessee. In 2018 his book on algorithmic composition was released by the National University of Quilmes, in Argentina. During that same year he received the support of the Swedish Arts Grants Committee to be resident composer at the Visby Centre for Composers and was guest lecturer at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, in Spain. His recent agenda involved works for the Indiana University guitar ensemble, the Orchester Liestal, the Cumberland Orchestra, the Knoxville Symphony, the Oark Ridge Symphony and Chorus with premieres scheduled in the US and Europe. Among his recent research endeavors, his book “Composing with Constraints” was published by Oxford University Press in 2021.

Jorge is the founder director of the Domino Ensemble a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion, commission, and performance of new music with improvisation. The group released its first album “Purple Ego” (Centaur) in 2019 and the EP “Drunken Raccoon” in 2020. With the support of the Nora Roberts Foundation and the Tennessee Arts Commission, the ensemble has lead a number of educational workshops and commissioned and premiered many works by young composers.

He is also the founder director of the UT Electroacoustic Ensemble, a student group dedicated to free improvisation with electronic media and is member of the Society of Composers National Council.

Education

PhD, Composition – University of Florida (2011)
MM, Composition and Clarinet performance – Carnegie Mellon University (2006)
Bachelor (JD equivalent) – National University of Rosario, Argentina  (2003)

Research & Creative Endeavors

  • Composición Algorítmica (Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, 2018) ISBN-10: 9875585025
  • Composing with Constraints (Oxford University Press, 2021) ISBN-10: 0190057246
  • 18+3 Etudes for Solo Viola (Lalarva Music, 2020) ISBN-10: 057821086X

Alex van Duuren

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ADDRESS

University of Tennessee
College of Music
306 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
Knoxville, TN 37996-4040

Phone
865-974-4776

Alex van Duuren

Associate Professor of Trombone

Alex van Duuren, D.M.A. is a dynamic and versatile trombonist currently serving as Associate Professor of Trombone and Coordinator of the Brass and Percussion Area at the University of Tennessee. He is a member of the Quintasonic Brass Quintet with colleagues Vince DiMartino, Jason Dovel, Matthew Haislip, and Alexander Lapins. Alex has performed with a variety of professional ensembles including the Knoxville Symphony and Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, the Nashville Recording Orchestra, Greenville Symphony, Brevard Philharmonic, Tucson Symphony, Symphony Augusta, and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Sonora. In addition to his activities on trombone, he still performs on his original instrument, serving as a piano accompanist for professional recording sessions as well as for his students and guest artists at the University of Tennessee.

van Duuren enjoys as active career as a solo recitalist, performing recently at the Universidad de Las Artes in Guayaquil, Ecuador and appearing in May 2023 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. In the past five years he has performed 40 recitals, solo and with brass quintets, at venues across the United States and abroad.

In addition to maintaining a highly active performing schedule, Alex also enjoys an active career in the recording studio, playing trombone and bass trombone on the 2020 film The Wolf of Snow Hollow, appearing with the American Chamber Winds on Radix Tyrannis and Live at WASBE (Mark Custom Records), as well as producing La Loba, a solo album released by Dr. Katie Johnson-Webb on Summit Records. His own solo album, Vocalizations, can be heard on most streaming services including Spotify and Amazon Music.

After attending the University of Florida and then the University of Michigan, Alex completed his doctorate at the University of Arizona. While there he also completed a doctoral minor in Entrepreneurship with Eller College of Management, which he received while participating in the nationally renowned McGuire Entrepreneurship Program. In 2018, Alex van Duuren was honored with the Governor’s School for the Fine Arts Outstanding Teacher Award.

Education

DMA, Trombone Performance – University of Arizona (2014)
MM, Chamber Music – University of Michigan (2010)
MM, Trombone Performance – University of Michigan (2010)
BM, Trombone Performance – University of Florida (2008)