Focus on Music - Spring 2023

The OCU Flute Choir named top U.S. collegiate flute choir

The OCU Flute Choir, under the direction of Parthena Owens, associate professor of flute, was honored as the top U.S. collegiate flute choir at the National Flute Association’s Convention in Chicago on August 13. The ensemble was winner of the 2022 Mary H. Anderson Collegiate Award, presented to the nation’s highest-ranked university flute choir. OCU and Oklahoma City Philharmonic hosted 2022 OCU Guitar Festival In November, OCU collaborated with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic to host the 2022 OCU Guitar Festival, featuring performances by Oklahoma City Public Schools musicians; faculty Courtney Crouse and Brian Belanus; alumni including Kyle Dillingham (’02), Assistant Professor Peter Markes (’01) and Carey Morrow (’16); and a master class by the famed Pepe Romero.

OperArezzo 2022

The Bass School’s first-ever summer opera program in Italy, offered in collaboration with the Accademia dell’Arte, was fully sold out. OperArezzo 2022 featured music instruction, cultural immersion and language study in Tuscany from May 22 – June 18. This year, the second season will be held May 21 – June 19, 2023.

Faculty Honors

• The American Prize awarded two silver medals to OCU faculty for their creative work. Matthew Mailman and the OCU Wind Ensemble were recognized in the university division of band/wind ensemble performance for their interpretation of Shostakovich and Shuman. In the professional division, Edward Knight’s 45-minute oratorio, “Of Perpetual Solace,” commissioned by Canterbury Voices, conducted by Randi Ellefson and workshopped at Oklahoma City University, was honored in the choral composition, major works category. The world premiere at the Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City, featuring alumna Lisa Reagan Love (’80) as cantor, was presented in partnership with the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
• Jake Johnson was appointed associate editor of the Journal of the American Musicological Society with his term having begun on March 1. His role as editor-in-chief of the journal will start on Jan. 1, 2025.
• Sergio Monteiro’s recorded works have surpassed 200,000 hours of listening on 4.4 million streams by 1.3 million Spotify listeners in 179 nations.
• Lisa Kachouee performed solo works by Corrina Bonshek and alumnus composer Jamie Wind Whitmarsh at the ICA Low Clarinet Festival 2023 in Arizona.