Pro Musica Student Stories
2024-2025
Joicy Pereira de Carvalho
Rhodes, Greece
It was a great opportunity and experience to do a concert and sing in front of the Greek Audience at the Palace of the Grand Master of Knights of Rhodes in Greece. The location was amazing, the people were warm and friendly, and the crowd was excited about the concert. I collaborated with Apostolos-Angelos Konstantakis, a Greek Pianist and current Master’s student at BGSU, performing an interesting, diverse, and challenging repertoire consisting of art songs by multiple composers and arias from operas.
I met a lot of journalists who promoted the event and organizers/managers for future concerts. I and the pianist presented the program and talked about the event on two local television channels and a radio station.
By receiving this grant from BGSU, I had the opportunity to visit Greece and perform in such an inspiring and historical site that motivated me to pursue my studies even more and develop my career as a performer and vocalist. This event allowed me to build a beneficial network and become a more confident and experienced professional musician/performer. It was an unforgettable experience.
Kaitlynn Kramer
Valencia, Spain
I had the honor of being able to travel to València Spain with members of the BGSU percussion studio to participate in the Edeta Arts Percussion Festival. While at the festival, I participated in 3 performances, one which included a world premiere of Michael Udow’s The Twelve Labors of Hercules, which was written after his trip to the city of Lliria.
I am teaching K-2 general music in the fall and have been trying to come up with lesson ideas for my students. While listening to each school’s program, I found myself associating different memories or feelings with the music that I was hearing. This gave me a great idea to do listening labs with my students and having them draw or write about a memory or feeling while listening to a song.
My trip to Spain was a once in a lifetime experience, and I am extremely grateful. I learned so much about percussion repertoire, culture of a different country, and just being involved in a huge musical project. I’m very happy to have made these memories with some of my closest friends and make music in a different part of the world.
Dominic Gomez
Joel Hoffman's Composition Prgram in Incheon, Korea
My time in Korea was an experience I would not trade for the world. While there, I had the privilege of studying with Dr. Joel Hoffman, a distinguished composer who taught at the University of Cincinnati and studied under notable figures such as Elliott Carter and Easley Blackwood. One of the most valuable lessons I learned from Dr. Hoffman was his concept of “listening spaces.” This idea suggests that if you know someone well enough—their taste, opinions, and approach to music—you can imagine listening to a piece from their perspective.
This program was far more than just a study abroad experience. It was a time of artistic growth, cultural exchange, and personal connection. I left Korea with new tools for composition, a deeper understanding of how culture shapes performance, and a renewed sense of how collaboration can enrich creativity. Most importantly, I returned with perspectives that will continue to shape my music for years to come.
Elijah Stewart
International Composer’s Institute of Thailand
One of the highlights of the festival was hearing my piece Susurrus performed, along with the works of 14 other young composers. The performance reinforced the importance of formal clarity and deep structural understanding, ensuring that all aspects of my work are accounted for at every level. The necessity for clear notation and communication was echoed in the feedback I received from faculty and performers alike. Observing how other composers navigated rehearsal dynamics also provided me with new strategies for effectively conveying complex ideas without unnecessary complications.
Beyond the professional experience, I formed close connections with my fellow composers. Our shared passion for composition led to in-depth discussions about artistic influences, creative processes, and aspirations. These friendships not only enriched my experience at the festival but also established a network of future collaborators and colleagues.
Mollie Barrett
Lukas Bass
Liam Battle
Audrey Benson
Elliot Bentley
Ava Boedicker
Mary Borus
Luke Brewster
Nathaniel Brown
Xavier Bucher
Brayan Cabeza Contreras
Dominic Carlozzi
Michael Carlozzi
Jamie Chester
Lleyton Corbett
Chandler Creedon
Maria Drakontou
Derek East
Stephen Eckert
Shayleigh Foreman
David Franklin
Christian Glascock
Dominic Gomez
Jacob Grafitti
Emma Guanzon
Adam Hanna
Christopher Harris
Haley Harrison
Sarah Hertenstein
Hannah Huddle
Tyler Huntington
Christopher Hutras
Brittany Izor
Niayesh Javaheri
Kathleen King
Jacob Koch
Ryan Kramer
Shannon Lotti
Ethan Martinez
Charles Miley
Laney Mitchell
Ethan Morris
Seyedeh Nazanin Mousavi Koshksara
Calem Nagy
Chaiya Odle
Isabella Olzak
Elijah Ondrish
Aidan Peper
Kyle Recker
Matthew Reed
Amanda Reed
Brody Rodriguez
Jenna Schumaker
Madelyn Shepherd
Natalia Silva
Ashlyn Slocum
Haley Smith
Andrew Sowders
Skyler Spiriti
Cruz Stock
Samuel Valancy
Kamryn VanHoose
Sofia Vasileiadou
Ted Wang
Austin Whisler
Noah White
Ryan Williams
Nathan Wood
Alexandria Bailey
Samuel Batty
Leah Bell
Bird Birmingham
Ava Boedicker
Mary Borus
Xavier Bucher
Colleen Bur
Jamie Chester
Ariana Coan
Galen Coffman
Hailie Crowder
Joicy Pereira de Carvalho
Maria Drakontou
Garrett Evans
Elena Farmer
Morgan Fausz
Jacob Grafitti
Adam Hanna
Elijah Hash
Kourtney Hill
Ethan Hupp
Brandon Ising
Yeonsuk Jung
Jacob Koch
Jacob Loitz
Shannon Lotti
Anthony Marchese
Laney Mitchell
Elijah Ondrish
Federico Orlando
Evan Palermo
Jacob Palumbo
Keri Lee Pierson
Matthew Pileski
Zo Povlsen
Jessica Pytel
Kyle Recker
Amanda Reed
Phoebe Saboley
Francis Sanzo
Chia Ying (Janice) Shieh
Elijah Stewart
James Stickler
Antonia Suarez Gomez
Samuel Valancy
Zoe Voelker
Ted Wang
Savanah Westfall
Noah White
Jaron White
Tyrone Williamson
Brady Wolff
Nathan Wood
Kirby Zinniel
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
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: 08/27/2026 08:00PM