Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Spring 2025 23 Dr. Christopher Besch Dr. Christopher Besch was initiated as a Friend of the Arts by the Theta Omega Chapter at Texas State University in October. Dr. Besch serves as Lecturer in Private Voice and Vocal Pedagogy at Texas State University. A bass-baritone performer, Dr. Besch has performed in over eight countries. He has been heard in over eighty works running the gamut of musical styles such as early music, grand opera, and modern art song. Notable engagements have included Apollo in Anthony Brandt's Kassandra, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera Colorado, Frederik in Sondheim's A Little Night Music with the Castleton Festival, Ashby in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West with Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, and many others. He is a frequent soloist with Bach Society Houston, appearing with them at the Leipzig Bach Festival in Leipzig, Germany in 2017 and 2023. He was a semifinalist for the 2012 Eleanor McCollum Competition at the Houston Grand Opera, one of the Rocky Mountain and Gulf Coast Regional Finalists for the Metropolitan National Council Auditions, placed in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition, and was awarded the Harold Norblum Award for his work with Opera Colorado. Dr. Besch specializes in researching and teaching science-based vocal pedagogy in his classes at Texas State University and at presentations at the Texoma NATS Conference. His students have found success as performers and teachers on a national and international level. Dr. Besch has previously held teaching appointments at Rice University, The University of Memphis, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Lone Star College – Kingwood. His research and expertise lie in science-informed pedagogy as it relates to the singing voice. His primary interests include the acoustics and psychoacoustics of the voice with a particular bent towards how hearing influences the perception of the sung voice. Dr. Besch has done extensive work with the implementation of the voice analysis software VoceVista as a teaching tool both in the studio and the pedagogy classroom. Dr. Besch earned both his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from Rice University and his Bachelor of Music (cum laude) from Lawrence University. Dr. Paul Garnell Hill, Jr. Dr. Paul Garnell Hill, Jr. was initiated as a Friend of the Arts by the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter in November. Dr. Hill has contributed to communities for over fifty years with his service to music. Since 1979, he has served as Minister of Music for several churches including First Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia; Deermeadows Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida; and Southside Baptist Church in Decatur, Alabama. Dr. Hill is founding Conductor and Music Director of Marietta Pops Orchestra in Marietta, Georgia; he has designed and implemented classical music concert series at First Baptist Church in Marietta; and created the Carols by Candlelight concert series at both First Baptist and Deermeadows Baptist Churches. Dr. Hill served as co-professor at Liberty University teaching graduate conducting courses, and later established its first online conducting course. He created the Youth Music & Arts (YMA) ministry designed to engage students in an expression of their faith using creative movement, drama, music, and visual arts. He was founding Conductor of Florida Baptist Brass Ensemble (1996–1998), touring throughout Florida and to Bern, Switzerland, for the International Choral Music Festival. Dr. Hill has served as conductor for the All-State Orchestra and the Baptist Student Union Choir at Samford University, and also rehearsal conductor and event director for the Jacksonville Baptist Association Youth Choir. He has presented at various church music conferences and at the American Conductor Director's Association (ACDA) since 2007 on music literacy. His studies have included "The Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Course Utilizing Hymns to Teach Music Literacy to Adults" (doctoral dissertation); "An Investigation into the Music Literacy of Adult Church Choir Members Affiliated with Southern Baptist Convention and/or Cooperative Baptist Fellowship" (Master's thesis); and "A Survey of Nine Settings of the Te Deum Accessible to Choirs of Moderate Size and Capability" (independent study). Dr. Hill is a Doctor of Musical Arts and was ordained to the Gospel Ministry by Deermeadows Baptist Church. He was awarded the annual Ministry Award in the area of Worship by the faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary School of Music. Alex Marthaler Alex Marthaler was initiated as a Friend of the Arts by the Pittsburgh Alumnae Chapter in March. Marthaler is a composer, pianist, and educator based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is an artist lecturer at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music, teaching courses in orchestration, composition, and theory. He is director of the CMU School of Music Pre-College program, a renowned summer program that caters to high school musicians around the world who want to live the life of a music major. He also serves as director of the Dalcroze Society of America, a national nonprofit dedicated to promoting the principles of Dalcroze eurhythmics, an innovative method of music education. At the CMU School of Drama, Marthaler is a pianist for ballet, modern, tap, and social dance classes as well as voice lessons. In February 2017, Marthaler collaborated with choreographer Rubén Graciani on "Tethers, Capsules, and Collisions," a piece that premiered at Point Park University in Pittsburgh. The piece has since been performed by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble NAT 28 and the Carnegie Mellon University Contemporary Ensemble. As a pianist, Marthaler specializes in improvisation and ensemble playing. He performs regularly in the region, with appearances with the Butler Symphony, Westmoreland Symphony, and the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus. He also performs regularly in local symphonies and the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus. Marthaler received a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory and Composition from West Chester University and a Master of Music in Music Composition from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Hill Dr. Hill Dr. Besch Dr. Besch FRIEND OF THE ARTS a person who is supportive of and actively involved in the arts at a local or regional level Distinguished Members Marthaler Marthaler

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