Franziska Brunner, a Ph.D. Music student at the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music, has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant to Austria in musicology from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Brunner will be researching and lecturing at the Arnold Schoenberg Center and University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.

"I will be living in Vienna, where my work will focus on Arnold Schoenberg's vocal music, specifically on functional and timbral diversity in his use of Sprechstimme," said Brunner.

Nikki Hill (MM '11) is the latest graduate of the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music to earn a spot in a prestigious US military band: the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. 

Jacob Powers, an alumnus of the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s percussion area, is the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra’s (LPO) new principal percussionist.

The announcement was made on Tuesday, May 17 that the UGA alum would be joining the New Orleans-based orchestra, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

College couples become married couples all the time, but how often do those couples work in the same field? How about in the same place?

Bradley and Elizabeth (Liz) Robinson, from the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music, did just that when they both auditioned—and were subsequently selected—for the US Air Force Band of the West.

“It was a dream of ours to both find jobs in the same area, to say nothing of playing for the same band,” said Bradley.

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.