A Note from the School of Music

KC’s Corner

I am the youngest of four children, and my siblings and I are the first people on both sides of our family to complete undergraduate degrees.  Interestingly, all four of us became teachers as a way, perhaps, to give back to others in the same way as those who saw something special in us; people who were placed in our paths and changed our lives. As the baby of the family, I knew that much of the financial responsibility of college would fall to me and, fortunately, I was granted a full-ride to college with the help of a North Carolina Teaching Fellow scholarship, an opportunity for four free years of college in return for my teaching at least four years in my home state. 

On the day that I received my award letter, my mother wept with relief.

As part of the scholarship, I had to commit a portion of each summer to various required experiences.  One summer, I traveled all over NC to visit a significant portion of the state’s school districts.  Other summers, I participated in a variety of professional and personal development opportunities. Between my sophomore and junior year, I was offered a study abroad option, an option that my parents and I, quite simply, could not afford.  Even with a full-ride to college, my summers were spent teaching at various music and church camps to gain experience with children of all ages as well as working at various restaurants to earn decent money and gain real-life skills.  Giving up a week or two of summer work to travel for my scholarship was hard enough for me financially, but the opportunity to travel to Europe – let alone study there! – was well beyond my capacity.  I have never forgotten how it felt to listen to my colleagues excitedly talk about their study abroad opportunities when we all got back to campus for our junior year—a memory that I am sure I recounted to our own daughter many times as we encouraged and supported her on her own study abroad trip in college. As so many of you know, the ability to travel, see new things, learn from people who think differently than you, and step outside of your comfort zone changes you for the better.

As a college professor, I quickly started working with students interested in undergraduate research.  When I began my graduate degrees, I had no idea what “research” was and certainly no idea how to go about attempting to do it.

Truthfully, I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and I didn’t want that to be the case for my students.  So I started working with amazing preservice teachers to encourage them to ask questions and push them to think about ways to improve our profession.  Because of the work of my students and the generous financial support of department and university donors, I was able to take students to Australia twice to gather data for a research project on American and Australian music education systems and practices as well as multiple music conferences to present their work.  One of these students, Caitlyn,* was also a first-generation student who had never traveled far beyond the borders of her home state.  In her four years of college, she traveled with me to Australia to work alongside some of her classmates, Scotland to present that research with her cohort at an international music education conference, and then to one of the largest conferences in our field to present her own data from her own research project.  The acceptance rate to present at this particular conference is quite low, so in an attempt to be supportive and realistic, I shared the likelihood of not being invited to participate and, in an effort to turn a hard reality into a lighter moment, told her—because the conference happened to be in the same city as a gigantic mall with an indoor roller coaster—that I would promise to ride that roller coaster with her if she was accepted.  Well, the next time you are in my office for a visit, ask me to show you the picture of the two of us on that roller coaster!  A promise is a promise, after all!

In the four years that I have had the privilege of serving as the Director of the School of Music here at the U, our undergraduate and graduate music students have traveled to ten countries on three continents and 25 states (including Florida, Washington, California, and New York), and we have hosted multiple national and international conferences here on campus where our students have been able to grow as professionals due to the fantastic reputation and service of our faculty.  But these kinds of opportunities--, these life changing experiences, only happen with the support of brilliant faculty, dedicated staff, alums who inspire and lead the way, and kind donors who see the potential of our students and invest in their talents.  Because of this work, it is my hope that our students never have to sit back while others move forward, never have to give up a professional opportunity because of a financial obligation, and always, always, know that the School of Music is there to support them no matter where their journeys may take them.  Thanks to all of you who support, sustain, and celebrate student research.  Your work matters, and I am deeply grateful!  If you are interested in supporting student research visit our giving page.

*name has been changed

Kim Councill
Director of the School of Music 

Like mother, like daughter, like diploma 

Nathalia Alvarez (BM '26)graduated this spring. Though it’s the first degree she’s earned from the U, it wasn't the first time she’s crossed the stage at convocation. In 2001, just two weeks before Nathalia was born, her mom, Diana Alvarez, received her choral education degree from the U. Diana was recently awarded Outstanding Music Educator at the annual Utah Music Educators Association Conference. Read more @THEU

Clarinets to perform in South Korea

The U Clarinet Choir will perform in South Korea this July during the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest—the largest clarinet conference in the world. Over 2,000 clarinetists will attend this year's conference. The artistic team received over 200 proposals and approx. 50 were accepted with representation from nearly 50 countries across six continents.