Myriam Athanas, assistant director of athletic bands, presented a session at the NAfME Music Research and Teacher Education Conference in September 2024. The session was titled Self-assessing the quality of verbal feedback from the podium: Psychometric characteristics of developing instrumental pre-service music educators. 

Rebecca Atkins, associate professor of music education (vocal/choral), was a National Semi-Quarter Finalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award in 2025.

The UGA Saxophone Studio hosted Professor Joseph Lulloff of Michigan State University for a masterclass and recital this January. Lulloff is one of the most celebrated saxophonists of the modern era.  

Quarles was in residence at Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music this January where he gave a masterclass to the saxophone studio; led an interactive workshop on improvisation;and performed with Lawrence’s clarinet professor Andy Hudson. 

We present a chamber concert by faculty and guest artists. UGA faculty Michael Heald, Maggie Snyder, and James Kim, will be joined by ASO violinist Kenn Wagner and Georgia State University professor Tania Maxwell Clements.

The concert will consist of the gorgeous and serene Phantasy Quintet by Vaughan Williams, a fresh, energetic, and lyrical string quintet by Mendelssohn, and a rather unknown but extraordinary string quartet by the Austrian composer Johann Müller-Hermann. She was a student of Zemlinsky, and was friends with Alma Mahler as well as many of the great composers and thinkers living in Vienna at the start of the twentieth century.

ABOUT KENN WAGNER

Kenn Wagner has been a first violinist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 1994, and has also served as acting assistant concertmaster of the ASO. Outside of the ASO he has appeared abroad as guest soloist with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra in China, and Christ Church Symphony string section, in New Zealand. Nationally he has soloed with the New Orleans Symphony, Arlington symphony and the Wintergreen Music Festival Orchestra. Locally, Kenn has appeared as soloist with the Atlanta Community Symphony Orchestra, the Dekalb Symphony, Clark/Spellman Symphony, Atlanta Philharmonic, and the Atlanta Musicians’ Orchestra with repeat engagements, including a world premiere of LucasRichman’s violin & cello concerto at Spivey hall last season. A passionate chamber musician Kenn has performed with Riverside Chamber Players, Leaptrott Trio, Atlanta Chamber Players, Awadagin Pratt’s Next Generation Festival, and National Chamber Players with special guest Kenneth Slowik of the Smithsonian Chamber Players.

ABOUT TANIA MAXWELL CLEMENTS

Tania Maxwell Clements is one of the most sought-after musicians in the Southeast, having come to Atlanta from Europe where her first major studies were at the Royal Scot­tish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) studying with James Durrant. During her studies at the RSAMD, she won the prestigious Watson Forbes Prize for Viola Playing and the Viola Challenge Prize. Her studies continued in Switzerland at the International Menuhin Music Academy (IMMA) where she worked intensively with Alberto Lysy , Yehudi Menuhin, and Johannes Eskar. During this time she performed regularly as principal viola and soloist with the Academy’s performing arm, Camerata Lysy, throughout Europe and the United Kingdom.

Upon leaving the IMMA, Ms. Clements was invited to become a founding member of the Seville Symphony Orchestra in Spain and from there was invited to join the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Manchester, England as Associate Principal viola. While working with the BBC, she also held the principal viola position with the Northern Symphony Orchestra and was a frequent guest principal with the Halle Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Royal Festival Orchestra. She was also a founding member of the Wralle Trio and the Puligny String Quartet.

Clements joined the faculty of Georgia State University in 1998, where she is Principal Lecturer in viola and the string area coordinator. Her commitment to new music has led her to commission many new works for viola from both established and emerging composers.  She is a much sought-after chamber musician and has been a past and current member of many ensembles such as the Atlanta Chamber Players, Lyra Quartet, Bent Frequency, and Ensemble ATL.

Her US orchestral career includes over 25 years as a regular guest viola with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and over 27 years with the Atlanta Opera. She has an extensive discography with major orchestras, chamber groups, and rock groups.

Meet Maggie, a second-year Music Education major who is all about making music and making connections! Hailing from Roswell, Georgia, she's a dedicated saxophonist (and singer!) who keeps busy with concert band, jazz band, chorus, and recorder ensemble. Maggie is thrilled to be a resource for new students, helping them navigate the school of music and discover their passion. When she's not on campus, you can find her out rock climbing, hiking a new trail, or curled up with a book.

Gilbert P. Villagrana, a conductor, trumpeter, and educator from El Paso, TX, currently serves as Limited-Term Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Conductor of the British Brass Band at the University of Georgia. He is also pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting at UGA, where he previously served as a Doctoral Conducting Associate with the UGA Bands. He earned his Master of Music in Trumpet Performance under Philip A. Smith at UGA and his Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of North Texas.