Outstanding graduating students were honored at Frost School of Music's annual All-School Forum on April 26th, one of many events leading up to the 2024 Commencement ceremonies.
The audience that filled Gusman Concert Hall cheered enthusiastically as Corin Overland, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Shannon de l'Etoile, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, both glowing with pride, called students up onstage to receive awards for their exemplary work and achievements during their years at the Frost School. It was an emotional moment after years of formative study.
Music education major Izzi Guzman was honored with both the Overall Outstanding Senior Award in Music Education and Overall Outstanding Senior Award, for the exceptional dedication, passion and hard work she put into both her education studies and her extensive contributions as a jazz trombonist and composer in the Studio Music and Jazz department. Guzman played in Café con Leche and the Frost Jazz Orchestra, for which she also composed an original piece for the ensemble’s live recorded album. She was a leader in the Frost School community, serving on the executive boards of the University of Miami chapters of the National Association of Music Education and Sigma Alpha Iota. Her education teachers praised her for the intensive preparation and programming she did in her student teaching classes, where she exuded a warmth and respect that inspired her students.
“There is so much I love about Frost, but above all, the community and boundless opportunities Frost offers,” says Guzman. “Building ourselves at Frost means creating a community of mutual acceptance and collaboration across genres while embracing our boundless potential.”
Richard Carillo, who is receiving his Doctor in Musical Arts in choral conducting, was named Outstanding Graduate Student, while Maria Guglielmina was given the inaugural Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant award for her work with Donna E. Shalala MusicReach, in which Frost School students mentor Miami-Dade public school students.
The rest of the Frost School honorees were given Outstanding Undergraduate Student Awards, and included students from across Frost’s departments, some bashful, some beaming and triumphant. They were Brandon Myrvil, Music Theory and Composition; Gabriel Perez, Music Therapy; Liam Ryan, Studio Music and Jazz Voice; Edgar Byars, Studio Music and Jazz Instrumental; and Joseph Balem, Bachelor of Music.
Outstanding Undergraduate Student Awards also went to Leland Child-Lanning, Media Scoring and Production; Ryan Baker, Music Engineering; Adam Finkelstein, Modern Artist Development and Entrepreneurship (M.A.D.E.); Gianna Terranova, Vocal Performance; Terri Rauschenbach, Instrumental Performance; and Jordan Chesebrough, Music Industry.
