In this podcast episode, we talk with Artist Diploma student and violinist Yida An about winning the concerto competition and preparing to perform Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 1 with the university’s symphony orchestra.  He talks about two practice hacks he uses to prepare for the concert: midnight practice sessions and playing soccer.

In this podcast episode, we talk with DMA student Aaron Kurz about winning the concerto competition and preparing to perform Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the University’s Symphony Orchestra.

In this episode, we talk with senior Isabella Perez about winning the Concerto Competition. She discusses growing up in San Antonio, learning multiple instruments, and eventually studying Mozart's Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K. 191/186e, which she will perform with the Butler Chamber Orchestra.

In this episode, we talk with graduate student Michael Robert Smith about writing the opera Downwind in collaboration with librettist Demian Chavez Galvan and the entire Butler Opera Center. Michael discusses the inspiration for the opera, followed by a brief score study of a few key moments from the work.

We talk with undergraduate student Sidney Becktold about her research on vocal injuries. Sidney discusses her research collaboration with the Moody School of Communication and the Butler School of Music. She also talks about working with assistant professor of voice Dr. Liliana Guerrero to create the research project, “Using Cepstral Peak Prominence Values in Research and the Voice Studio,” which Sidney presented at the Pan-American Vocology Symposium, where she won Best Student Presenter.

In this episode, we talk with choral master’s student Adrienne Pedrotti Bingamon about running Austin Cantorum, creating the all-female group VAMP, and what it’s like to be a working musician in the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin, Texas.

In this episode, we talk to Director of Jazz Studies Diego Rivera about being accepted to the 2026 National Collegiate Jazz Championship. We discuss the history of the Jazz Championship and what the Jazz Orchestra will encounter when they arrive in New York to compete.

In this episode, we talk to first-year Artist Diploma violinist Chloe Yofan. Chloe was recently appointed assistant concertmaster of the Austin Symphony Orchestra and also performs with the Austin Opera Orchestra. In addition, she won first place in the Music Teachers National Association’s Chamber Music Competition with her group, the Soha Quartet.

In this week's episode, we sit down with master of composition student Kirsten Townander. We talk about Kirsten's newest piece Bicycle Face, which will have its world premiere with the New Music Ensemble on Monday, November 17th, at 7:30 p.m. She discusses how her inspiration for the piece came from society's pushback against women riding bicycles in the 1890s.