UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

UT Tyler Creates Composer Mentor Program

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October 20, 2014

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

October 20, 2014

The University of Texas at Tyler has created a new composer mentor program this semester for local high school students, Dr. Michael Thrasher, UT Tyler School of Performing Arts director, announced.

As part of the UT Tyler Piney Woods Young Musicians Collaborative Program, high school students with an interest in music composition are matched with UT Tyler students to provide a unique mentoring experience. The program culminates in an audio-recorded readings rehearsal concert of the created works, performed by volunteer UT Tyler music students.

“This program provides guidance for the younger composers and an opportunity for our students to put their critical music creation skills to work and help other aspiring composers at the same time,” said Dr. Kyle Gullings, UT Tyler assistant professor of music theory and composition, who serves as the university’s program coordinator.

“By offering this service, UT Tyler is establishing itself as a regional leader in the promotion of new music and education. Hopefully, these efforts will be rewarded with a strengthened reputation and an increase in students seeking to study at UT Tyler in the future,” he added.

The UT Tyler volunteer student mentors are either music composition majors or students who had shown previous interest in the subject. The participants this semester attend Grace Christian and Robert E. Lee high schools, and they were identified with the help of their respective music teachers.

“This project is equally important to the high school student participants and the schools and communities in which they live, rather than just to our institution – a hallmark of true service learning and community engagement, rather than simple outreach,” Gullings said. “Whether or not participants go on to pursue a career in music, they will be able to look back to this project and the resulting performance and recording as evidence of their creative drive and accomplishment – all before graduating high school.”

The high school participants meet with a rotating selection of mentors to show them their progress, gaining valuable feedback and advice. The volunteer performers also meet with the participants to give direct feedback on how well the music works for their particular instruments.

“This sort of direct exchange with the very performers playing the piece is crucial to developing composers as they learn what sorts of figures work well for different instruments,” Gullings added.

The first set of these works created within the program will be performed in a public recital at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13 in the UT Tyler Braithwaite Recital Hall. All involved will receive a recording of the performance and partake in an after-concert question and answer session.

“This is the first time a program like this has been tried at UT Tyler, and so far it seems to be a great success. We are all very much looking forward to the rest of the creation process and the performance coming up,” Gullings said.

The UT Tyler Piney Woods Young Musician Collaborative is sponsored by a Community Engagement Seed Grant through the College Music Society’s CMS Fund. The membership and leadership of the College Music Society, as well as the CMS Fund, are dedicated to advancing the ideals of education in music through meaningful community engagement projects.

For more information, contact Gullings, 903.566.7478 or kgullings@uttyler.edu.

One of the 15 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 8,000 high-ability students. UT Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.