School of Music Senior Dixie Ortiz talks about her research in increasing music education in the school system. 

Read more…
https://newsandfeatures.uncg.edu/student-research-access-music-education/

Marya Fancey ’19

DMA Organ Performance

 

Her degree from UNCG’s College of Visual and Performing Arts is a Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance, but Marya Fancey has put her hands on just about every kind of keyboard instrument you can think of and in more than one country.

 

She started out on piano, but it was when she started organ lessons that she decided to make music her career.  With a Bachelor and a Masters in organ, she chose CVPA to complete the trifecta and earn her DMA with Organ Professor Dr. André Lash and to take advantage of other opportunities offered by the program:

 

“When I met with Dr. Lash he told me I would have options to study other historical keyboard instruments — harpsichord, fortepiano, clavichord — with Dr. Andrew Willis. I had been studying historical keyboard performance through the McGill Summer Organ Academy (in Montréal) for several years, so the opportunity to continue those studies was a big plus. Additionally, UNCG’s DMA degree is structured to balance performance with academics and requires a written dissertation and cognate in another area (essentially a doctoral minor). These requirements would help me develop as a performer and a scholar.”

 

Marya’s passion for music and love of learning led her to add another credential — the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship.  While at UNCG she participated in a year-long grant writing program sponsored by The Graduate School and was awarded a US Student Scholar grant in Historical Performance.  She lived in Kraków, Poland for the 2017-2018 Academic year.

 

“My project was musicological research on a Polish manuscript of organ music from 1540 (called the Johannes of Lublin Tablature) and included a concert in Kraków based on the research. I collaborated with Flores Rosarum, a fantastic Krakow-based women’s vocal ensemble, for the concert. We performed three organ masses from the manuscript, which means that I played a series of short organ pieces and in between they sang sixteenth-century chants from the mass. Alternation between organ and choir was used a lot in the Catholic mass from the late Middle Ages up until 1903, but these particular Polish organ masses were last used in the seventeenth century; I think we did the first modern performance of them! I owe a big thank you to my Polish mentors, Dr. Elżbieta Witkowska-Zaremba and Dr. Marcin Szelest, for helping me with the project.”

 

Marya says she’d like to land at a college or university where she can have an organ studio and teach music theory and/or music history.  She plans to continue research and performance and she feels that CVPA has helped prepare her:

“My experience at UNCG has been very positive. Right from the start the faculty at the School of Music were very supportive and always available when I needed help outside of class. My dissertation committee in particular has helped me with additional projects beyond my program like grant writing and conference presentations. In addition to my degree, I completed the Post-Masters Certificate in Music Theory Pedagogy and am close to receiving the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Historical Keyboard Performance. These extra certificates will help me be more competitive in the job market because very few positions are for organ alone.  I’ve also gained confidence in my abilities — both performance and academic.  I’m excited for the future!”

Kahlila Brown ’19, BFA Dance Education

Taylor Roberson ’19,  BFA Dance Education

Kahlila Brown and Taylor Roberson have similar stories about how each found their way here.  Recommendations from high school dance teachers pointed them toward UNC Greensboro’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, and they both felt they were about to embark on a journey at an excellent School of Dance.  But neither could have been prepared for how they would feel when they leave campus this month.

Kahlila is from Durham, NC.  She says she pursued a degree in Dance Education because she wanted to share her love of dance with others:

“Dance is an art form that has provided me with an alternative way of communicating and has served as an artistic outlet.  That is what has fueled my passion in dance education.”

 Kahlila says she knew she was in the right place when she came for her tour, and she continued to make UNCG “home” by performing, attending events, and becoming a Spartan Guide:

“I found a community where I would be challenged as a dancer, choreographer, and educator through an experience that would nurture me and expand my knowledge.”

Taylor Roberson is from Pittsboro, NC.  She says, like Kahlila, she felt she had found the right place at the College of Visual and Performing Arts:

“There was something about the professors and the atmosphere that made me feel ‘at home’ as if I had always been a part of the school. I have made connections with so many amazingly talented people in my time here — connections for which I am truly grateful. I was so lucky to have the opportunity to work not only with the School of Dance but also students and faculty in UNCG Theatre/Musical Theatre courses and productions. I would not have traded these last few years for the world.”

 When they were first year students, Kahlila and Taylor both felt certain they would leave CVPA with a degree in dance, but neither realized until now what else they would take with them —  a sense of community and the confidence to go wherever their art takes them.

The Fall 2019 semester has been full of CVPA alumni sightings:  Asheville, Charlotte, Washington, DC, and New York, as our graduates from art, arts administration, dance, music, and theatre have gathered to meet the new dean, reconnect, and network.

Below are some photos from recent events.  Scroll through and enjoy (click on photos to enlarge), and stay in touch so we can make sure you’re on our invitation list!

CHARLOTTE, NC    September 15, 2019   Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GREENSBORO, NC   September 17, 2019   Well·Spring Vanguard Alumni Reception

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ASHEVILLE, NC    September 24, 2019    Buxton Hall BBQ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW YORK CITY   October 25-26, 2019    Various Locations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW YORK CITY   October 27, 2019   Trattoria Dell Arte

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON, DC  November 3, 2019    The Churchill Hotel