Rachel Matz, 2016 DMA–Performance graduate of the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music, is the newest faculty member at the University of Florida’s School of Music.

Matz will teach tuba and euphonium in Gainesville beginning in the fall 2016 semester.

“Rachel is not only a very talented player and effective teacher, but also an incredibly hard worker who is totally committed to constant improvement,” said David Zerkel, professor of tuba and euphonium at UGA. “Her students in Gainesville will be in good hands.”

Lineage Percussion, a percussion trio from the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music, made history at last weekend’s 2016 Fischoff Competition in South Bend, Ind., by becoming the first percussion group finalist in the competition’s 43 years.

Lineage, composed of percussion students Trevor Barroero, Lauren Floyd and Wesley Sumpter, received third place in the Senior Wind Division of the Fischoff Competition, which bills itself as the nation’s largest chamber music competition.

The Hodgson Wind Ensemble, one of the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s premier large ensembles, recently won a performance spot at the 2017 College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) national conference.

The Hodgson Singers, the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s premier vocal ensemble, will perform in Hodgson Concert Hall on Friday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m., putting a bow on their first-ever professional recording project. 

The forthcoming CD, to be released by Loft Recordings, will feature several pieces performed during this concert, titled “Grace Immaculate: Prayers and Love Songs from the Heart.”

An alumna/student piano duo from the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music received first prize in the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition.

Soojung Jeon (DMA-Performance ’15) and Yoonsook Song, a DMA-performance student, will perform in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, May 22, as a result of earning top honors in the College/Professional division of the competition.

The judges of the competition praised the duo’s “depth of interpretation, musicality, and technical expertise.” 

Sixteen UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music students were recognized at this year’s Georgia Music Teachers Association (GMTA) auditions.

Held on April 9 and 16, the event allowed students of various ages and musical disciplines—College Piano, Voice, Instrumental Concerto, Strings, Woodwinds/Brass—to compete for the rating of “OP,” or Outstanding Performer, and the chance to take part in a “winner’s recital” at the state GMTA conference next fall.

The choral program at the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music is preparing its final concert of the season, happening in Ramsey Concert Hall on Monday, April 25, at 3:35 p.m.

The concert will feature student conductors, singers, and instrumentalists in a performance of recitatives and arias from cantatas, operas, and oratorios. Each singer will perform selections from large Baroque vocal works.

The UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s final major concert of 2015-2016 brings over 150 students from nearly every area of the School together in Hodgson Concert Hall on Friday, April 22, at 8 p.m.

The Hodgson Wind Ensemble (HWE) closes its season with a colorful concert in Hodgson Concert Hall on Tuesday, April 19, at 8 p.m.

Featuring Olivier Messiaen’s “Oiseaux Exotiques” and works from Antonin Dvořák, Steven Stucky, Erik Morales and Bruce Broughton, the performance will feature several special guests from a number of areas in the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music.

The concert begins with Messiaen’s work. The ensemble will put forth a multi-faceted presentation of “Oiseaux Exotiques.”

The UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s music therapy program was well represented at the annual conference of the American Music Therapy Association’s southeastern region (SER-AMTA), held March 31 - April 2 in Macon, Ga.  

The program had 27 students attending the conference at the Marriott Macon City Center, the largest representation of any university in the region.