Pro Musica Student Stories

2025-2026

Ethan Morris attended Northeast Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference with the help of a Pro Musica Grant. The TBD quartet, Connor Remington, Kyle Recker, Matthew Brewton, and Ethan Morris, competed in the Chamber Competition where they took 1st place!

Niayesh Javaheri attended the Nief-Norf Summer Festival in Knoxville, TN. "My participation in the Nief-Norf Summer Festival was a deeply enriching professional experience that strengthened my performance skills, expanded my repertoire in contemporary ensemble music, and provided meaningful connections with leading artists in the field."

Maria Drakontou attended Chroma International Music Festival in Miskolc, Hungary with the support of a Pro Musica grant. "This festival offered me more than I was hoping for. The connections I made, gave me space and the help I need to grow my performance career."

Several Music Education students attended OMEA Professional Development Conference in Columbus, OH. "[I met] so many diverse music educators with different approaches and perspectives on music, I am so grateful for the Pro Musica Grant for aiding me in my experience!" - Mollie Barrett

Brayan Cabeza attended the College Orchestral Institute at Brevard Music Center in North Carolina. "This incredible opportunity provided by the Pro Musica student grant has significantly elevated my artistic vision and prepared me for my future professional career."

Nathaniel Brown attended the Summer Piano Institute by Piano Plus Festival in Xanthi, Greece. "I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel and experience a music festival abroad. Thank you to Pro Musica and the Dorothy Mackenzie Price International Studies Fund. I was and am honored to represent the College of Musical Arts at BGSU."

David Franklin attended the American Trombone Workshop in Arlington, VA. "I am very grateful to Pro Musica for helping make this trip possible."

The Big Su - Adam Hanna — The Big Su graduate saxophone quartet competed in the 13th annual Coltman Chamber Music Competition in Austin, TX. "I am grateful to ProMusica for supporting The Big Su in pursuing national performance and networking opportunities, and I am appreciative of the opportunity to refine and apply intellectual tools gained through our academic training." - Adam Hanna

Mary Borus attended the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference in Columbus, OH. "This experience was extremely beneficial, especially as I prepare for graduate schooling. Attending this event gave me the opportunity to talk to professors I auditioned for and previously worked with, which was great for building connections and opportunities for me in the future."

Ryan Kramer attended The Midwest Clinic International Band & Orchestra Conference in Chicago, IL. "I hope to take my time in the clinic to build upon my skills as a music teacher, and to hopefully become a more knowledgeable and capable band director."

Audrey Benson attended the International Double Reed Society 55th Annual Conference in Oxford, Ohio. "I am so grateful to Pro Musica for supporting me. The conference and its activities solidified my love for music and helped aid in who I want to be as a music educator, even sparking an interest in leading research to further the musical field in the future."

austin-whisler-2027-band-directors — Austin Whisler, Music Education graduate student, volunteered on the logistical staff for the Band Directors Marching Band and their several performances in the 2026 Tournament of Roses Parade. Pasadena, CA

Student Story Archive

2024-2025

2025-2026 Recipients

Mollie Barrett - OMEA - Columbus, OH

Lukas Bass - North American Saxophone Alliance - Columbus, OH

Liam Battle - Resounding Spaces - Houston, TX

Audrey Benson - International Double Reed Society 2026 55th Annual Conference - Oxford, OH

Elliot Bentley - OMEA - Columbus, OH

Ava Boedicker - OMEA - Columbus, OH

Mary Borus - North American Saxophone Alliance - Columbus, OH

Luke Brewster - The International Trumpet Guild Conference - Rochester, NY

Nathaniel Brown - Summer Piano Institute by Piano Plus Festival - Xanthi, Greece

Xavier Bucher - OMEA - Columbus, OH

Brayan Cabeza Contreras - Brevard Music Center - College Orchestral Studies - Brevard, NC

Dominic Carlozzi - OCDA Summer Conference - Upper Arlington, OH

Michael Carlozzi - American Trombone Workshop - Arlington, VA

Jamie Chester - The Midwest Clinic: International Band & Orchestra Conference - Chicago, IL

Lleyton Corbett - OCDA Summer Conference - Upper Arlington, OH

Chandler Creedon - Fred L. Hemke Saxophone Institute - Sydney, ME

Maria Drakontou - Chroma International Music Festival - Miskolc, Hungary

Derek East - Rose Parade Band Director's Marching Band - Pasadena, CA

Stephen Eckert - 2025 Darmstätdter Ferienkurse Piano Studio - Darmstadt, Germany

Shayleigh Foreman - OCDA Summer Conference - Upper Arlington, OH

David Franklin - 2026 American Trombone Workshop - Arlington, VA

Christian Glascock - UGA New Music Festival - Athens, GA

Lucas Glenn - Piano Plus Summer Institute - Xanthi, Greece

Dominic Gomez - Joel Hoffman's Composition Program - Incheon, Korea

Jacob Grafitti - OCDA Summer Conference - Upper Arlington, OH

Emma Guanzon - OMEA - Columbus, OH

Adam Hanna - 13th Annual Coltman Chamber Music Competition - Austin, TX

Christopher Harris - National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy - Lubbock, TX

Haley Harrison - SphinxConnect 2026 - Detroit, MI

Sarah Hertenstein - SPLICE Institute - Kalamazoo, MI

Hannah Huddle - Deep Listening and Its Performance Practices Research - New York, NY

Tyler Huntington - The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference - Chicago, IL

Christopher Hutras - Heretic's Guide to Musicianship - Boscawen, NH

Brittany Izor - OMEA - Columbus, Ohio

Niayesh Javaheri - Nief-Norf Summer Festival - Knoxville, TN

Kathleen King - OCDA Summer Conference - Upper Arlington, OH

Jacob Koch - Independent Study: Gamelan Music - Bali, Indonesia

Ryan Kramer - The Midwest Clinic International Band & Orchestra Conference - Chicago, IL

Shannon Lotti - California Tour - Sacramento, Stockton, Davis, and Fresno, CA

Ethan Martinez – OMEA – Columbus, OH

Charles Miley - North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference - Columbus, OH

Laney Mitchell – OMEA - Columbus, OH

Ethan Morris - Northeast Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference - Boston, MA

Seyedeh Nazanin Mousavi Koshksara - The 29th Annual Graduate Students In Music Conference - New York, NY

Calem Nagy - Brevard Music Center Summer Festival - Brevard, NC

Chaiya Odle – Independent Study Kendang, Performance, and Kecak Storytelling - Bali, Indonesia

Isabella Olzak - OMEA - Columbus, OH

Elijah Ondrish – OMEA - Columbus, Ohio

Aidan Peper - North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference - Columbus, OH

Kyle Recker - Northeast Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference - Boston, MA

Matthew Reed - 2026 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference - Columbus, OH

Amanda Reed – OMEA - Columbus, OH

Brody Rodriguez - OCDA Summer Conference - Upper Arlington, OH

Jenna Schumaker - Midwest Clinic - Chicago, IL

Madelyn Shepherd – OMEA - Columbus, OH

Natalia Silva - Brazilian Musicology Conference - Goiânia, Brazil

Ashlyn Slocum – OMEA - Columbus, OH

Haley Smith - Colchagua Vocal Institute - Colchagua, Chile

Andrew Sowders - The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference - Chicago, IL

Skyler Spiriti - 2026 American Trombone Workshop - Arlington, VA

Cruz Stock - International Double Reed Society 55th Annual Conference - Oxford, OH

Samuel Valancy - 13th Annual Coltman Chamber Music Competition - Austin, TX

Kamryn VanHoose - OMEA - Columbus, OH

Sofia Vasileiadou - 20th Lefkas Music Week - Lefkada, Greece

Ted Wang - Chroma International Music Festival - Miskolc, Hungary

Austin Whisler - The Band Directors Marching Band - Pasadena, CA

Noah White - Eastman Tuba Euphonium Academy - Stillwater, OK

Ryan Williams - North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference - Columbus, OH

Nathan Wood - OMEA Professional Development Conference - Columbus, OH

2024-2025 Recipients

Alexandria Bailey - Ohio Choral Directors Association Summer Conference - Bexley, OH

Samuel Batty - New York City Jazz Lessons Trip - New York, NY

Leah Bell - Midwest Clinic: International Band and Orchestra Conference - Chicago, IL

Bird Birmingham - 2025 International Horn Symposium - Harrisonburg, VA

Ava Boedicker - OMEA Professional Development Conference - Cleveland, OH

Mary Borus - North American Saxophone Alliance Region V Conference - Cincinnati, OH

Xavier Bucher - Midwest Clinic: International Band and Orchestra Conference - Chicago, IL

Colleen Bur - National Association of Teachers of Singing Regional Auditions - Detroit, MI

Jamie Chester - OMEA Professional Development Conference - Cleveland, OH

Ariana Coan - International Trumpet Guild 49th Annual Conference - Salt Lake City, UT

Galen Coffman - Ohio Choral Directors Association Summer Conference - Bexley, OH

Hailie Crowder - BGSU Summer in Austria: Salzburg - Salzburg, Austria

Maria Drakontou - 12th Summer Piano Institute - Xanthi, Greece

Stephen Eckert - 2025 Darmstätdter Ferienkurse Piano Studio - Darmstadt, Germany

Garrett Evans - Coltman Chamber Music Competition - Austin, TX

Elena Farmer - 2025 International Horn Symposium - Harrisonburg, VA

Morgan Fausz - Midwest Clinic: International Band and Orchestra Conference - Chicago, IL

Dominic Gomez - Joel Hoffman's Composition Program - Incheon, Korea

Jacob Grafitti Ohio Choral Director's Association Conference Bexley, OH

Adam Hanna - The Coltman Chamber Music Competition - Austin, TX

Elijah Hash - International Trumpet Guild 49th Annual Conference - Salt Lake City, UT

Kourtney Hill - OMEA Professional Development Conference - Cleveland, OH

Brandon Ising - International Trumpet Guild 49th Annual Conference - Salt Lake City, UT

Yeonsuk Jung International Composers Institute of Thailand - Thailand Bangkok

Jacob Koch - Nief-Norf Summer Festival - Knoxville, TN

Jacob Loitz - Navy Band Saxophone Symposium - Fairfax, VA

Shannon Lotti - Atlanta Flute Club Flute Fair - Atlanta, GA

Anthony Marchese - Mahlerfest 38 - Boulder, CO

Laney Mitchell - Sigma Alpha Iota National Convention - Minneapolis, MN

Elijah Ondrish - OMEA Professional Development Conference - Cleveland, OH

Federico Orlando - MahlerFest 38 - Boulder, CO

Evan Palermo - Professional Development - New York, NY

Jacob Palumbo - OMEA Professional Development Conference - Cleveland, OH

Matthew Pileski - International Trumpet Guild 49th Annual Conference - Salt Lake City, UT

Zo Povlsen - Ohio Choral Directors Association Summer Conference - Bexley, OH

Jessica Pytel - Colorado Mahler Fest XXXVIII - Boulder, CO

Kyle Recker - Eastman Tuba Euphonium Academy - Stillwater, OK

Amanda Reed - The Midwest Clinic - International Band and Orchestra Conference - Chicago, Illinois

Francis Sanzo - Percussive Arts Society International Convention - Indianapolis, IN

Janice Shieh - Splice Institute 2025 - Kalamazoo, MI

Elijah Stewart - International Composition Institute of Thailand

James Stickler - OMEA Professional Development Conference - Cleveland, OH

Antonia Suarez Gomez - Colorado MahlerFest - Boulder, CO

Samuel Valancy - United States Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium - Fairfax, VA

Ted Wang - Piano Plus Festival - Xanthi, Greece

Savanah Westfall - OMEA Professional Development Conference - Cleveland, OH

Jaron White - Mid America Guitar Ensemble Festival 2025 - Grand Rapids, MI

Noah White - Eastman Tuba Euphonium Academy - Stillwater, OK

Tyrone Williamson - International Trumpet Guild Conference - Salt Lake City, UT

Brady Wolff - Festival of Contemporary Artists in Music - Pullman, WA

Nathan Wood - OMEA Professional Development Conference 2025 - Cleveland, OH

Kirby Zinniel - International Trumpet Guild 49th Annual Conference - Salt Lake City, UT

2023-2024 Recipients

Brayden Adamisin

Claudia Aizaga Chavez

Luca Albano

Christian Amaya

Nicholas Bahr

Kyle Bergler

Ava Boedicker

Mary Borus

Xavier Bucher

Paige Carter

Yuxuan Chen

Jamie Chester

Ivan Cobb

Arianna Consolo

Danielle Consolo

Kyndall Davison

Jorge Potyguara de Castanheiro de Freitas

Alyssa Desotell

Stephen Eckert

Meredith Gulla

Sarah Hertenstein

Trinity Hines-Anthony

Colin Hochstetler

Emily Jarvis

Zai'azia Johnson

Yeonsuk Jung

Kaitlynn Kamer

Jacob Koch

Apostolos-Angelos Konstantakis

Georgios Kyriazidis

Jacob Loitz

William Lommel

Shannon Lotti

Ashley Mania

Alexander Marbach

Jordan Marbach

Barrett Moore

Elijah Ondrish

Federico Orlando

Evan Palermo

Zerui Pan

Jessica Pytel

Amanda Reed

Francis Sanzo

Sydney Shook

Julia Soltis

Brendan Stein

Tate Stewart

Antonia Suarez Gomez

Samuel Valancy

Andrew Vo

Meng-Yun Weng

Nathan Wood

Clarissa Yanke

Emma Zemancik

2022-2023 Recipients

Justin Brown

Maggie Brown

Dominic Carlozzi

Giovanni Castiglione

Jamie Chester

Karli Christ

Emma Clark

Ivan Cobb

William Davis

Kyndal Davison

Alyssa Desotell

Connor Gibbs

Brooke Harvey

Joshua Heaney

Ian Keller

Eunha Kim

Alexander Kuhn

Chun Hei Lam

Kirby Leitz

Charles Ligus

William Lockhart

Ashley Mania

Otavio Manzano Kavakama

Abigail McClintock

Jacob Miller

Claire Miller

Laney Mitchell

Charles Nykiel

Halie O'Loughlin

Keri Lee Pierson

Andrew Pittman

Jessica Pytel

Francis Sanzo

Julia Soltis

Matthew Steele

Tate Stewart

Olivia Strang

Olivia Swicegood

Cassidy Vanscoy

Sofia Vasileiadou

Kaitlyn Wincup

Amanda Withrow

Sierra Wojtczack

Jacob Wolf

Hao Wu

Clarissa Yanke

Emma Zemancik

Updated: 10/15/2026 08:20PM