UAPB Department of Music

A while back we shared some updates on the renovation of the fine arts auditorium. Here’s a look at it now.

Not quite ready for a full reveal, but here's a peak at some of the new gear in the recording studio at UAPB.

If you're wondering how the university has renovated the Fine Arts Auditorium and how the music department has replaced the acoustic panels in the band and choir rooms, updated the piano lab, the MIDI lab (more on that soon), and the recording studio, it's thanks to the support of Title III and all of the hard-working staff there who have assisted in getting our grants.

One more bit of alumni news today. Congratulations to James Beamon who was accepted into the Graduate Certificate program in Entertainment Law and Industry at the USC Gould School of Law.

Congratulations to UAPB alum, DeVaughn Watts, on his Emmy nomination. It's been a joy seeing his career take off. Look him up on IMDB.com to see the catalog of his work.

We love to showcase the accomplishments of our students and alumni, but we also want to acknowledge our exceptional faculty at UAPB. Dr. Gjergji Gaqi is serving this summer as Faculty & Co-Artistic Director at the Trieste International Piano Festival. This is what the festival website has to say about Dr. Gaqi.

Equally at home in solo and collaborative music, pianist Gjergji Gaqi maintains an active performing career throughout North America and Europe. He studied piano and chamber music under Prof. Dario de Rosa and Prof. Alberto Miodini at the International School of Chamber Music "Trio di Trieste" in Duino (Italy), while completing the bilingual International Baccalaureate diploma.

A Summa Cum Laude graduate of Colby College as a Music major and Economics minor, Gaqi won the Colby Concerto Competition, studying with Cheryl Tschanz (piano) and Jonathan Hallstrom (composition). Gaqi received his graduate degrees at the University of Michigan under the guidance of Christopher Harding and John Ellis, while pursuing additional studies in jazz piano with Ellen Rowe.

Dr. Gaqi is currently Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, with previous appointments at Tyler Junior College, Siena Heights University, College of the Mainland, Brazosport College and the University of Michigan. He is an in-demand masterclass clinician, presenter and adjudicator of festivals and competitions, and has served in many capacities with various music organizations, including as president of the East Texas Music Teachers Association and chair of ETMTA's Helen Elbert Collaborative Music Festival. Gjergji and Piro Gaqi perform internationally as the Gaqi Piano Duo and are co-founders of the Settenote Online Piano International Competition.

This fall, our music majors will have a piano lab filled with brand new Roland keyboards. You might be wondering, “What happened to the old keyboards?” They’re being placed in all of the practice rooms and teaching studios that need them.

UAPB bands will return to the band room this summer with M4's band camp.

For the last three years, the music department has been working with the Presser Foundation to recognize some of our outstanding students. Our two most recent Presser Scholars, Zabdiel Hyche and Lauren Rayford are pictured here with UAPB Chancellor Dr. Anthony Graham and University of Arkansas System President, Jay Silveria.

The Presser Foundation established the Undergraduate Scholar Award to celebrate students, selected by music faculty, who have achieved a high level of musical and academic excellence, demonstrated leadership and service, and contributed to an inclusive community.

Another successful alumnus - Mr. DeVaughn Watts. Here he is with some of the post production crew from Spider Noir. Some of his other recent projects include GOAT, The Unbreakable Boy, and The Wild Robot.

Jordan is one of two UAPB graduates who’s gone on to work at the Chicago Recording Company. Congrats!