Juilliard students return to Texas State - San Marcos Daily Record

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By Jeff Walker Features Editor

San Marcos â€" At last year’s “A Common Experience through the Arts” concert, nearly 1,200 people packed into a 900-seat auditorium. It was literally standing room only to see the collaboration of Juilliard and Texas State University dancers, musicians and actors.

For a night of strictly modern music on the program, that’s no small feat, says founder and Juilliard professor Dr. Wayne Oquin.

“To have the chance to play modern music for that number of people and make sure that they have a high level encounter with some of the best music in the last 100 years, that’s a rare opportunity,” Oquin said. “I think that’s what keeps me, along with these performers, coming back to San Marcos.”

Oquin, a distinguished Texas State University alumnus, will return with a group of Juilliard students for  the fourth annual concert at 7:30 p.m. March 4 at Evans Auditorium.

THe program will include theatrical scenes, monologues, music by well-known composers, and an Oquin drum solo with original choreography, dedicated to the memory of Martindale resident and Oquin’s long time friend, Martha Nell Holmes.

Oquin will conduct two pieces, Aaron Copeland’s famous “Appalachian Spring” and Boulez’ “Derive 1.” The instrumentation will be an even mix of Texas State and Juilliard string players.

The Martha Nell Holmes tribute, titled “Drive,” was written by Oquin. It will be performed by Juilliard percussionist Alex Lipowski and will include dance by Anthony Bryant.

“Mrs. Holmes’ favorite part of these concerts was the dance,” Oquin said. “ ‘Drive’ is not a memorial piece that’s very sad. It’s a piece that really celebrates her life, full of high energy and relentless pulse... It’s hard to play and it’s hard to dance. But when you combine a virtuoso dancer and drummer, I do suspect that it will be the highlight of the show.”

Oquin graduated from Texas State University in 1999 with a perfect 4.0 GPA,  was accepted to Juilliard and soon after gained a full-time position on the music faculty at the prestigious arts school. 

This year he was promoted to the graduate faculty, and is currently teaching 22 hours of classes a week, along with composing and performing on a regular basis.

In 2006 Oquin shared the idea of such a concert with friend and colleague Texas State Professor Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, when he first mentioned the idea of such a show. At the time Oquin saw the concert as a one-time chance for the two schools to perform together.

“I always imagined it would be a one-time show,” Oquin said.

But the show has actually grown every year. Oquin credits the Texas State University team of Dianne McCabe, Nico Schuler, Michelle Bohn and Dr. Gordon for helping him put the concert together each year. In the four years, he’s performed such modern pieces as George Crum’s “The Voice of the Whale,” Schoenberg’s “Pierrot Lunaire” an Charles Wuorinen’s “Percussion Duo.” It’s music that’s far from a standard concert hall, and Oquin remains delighted that it’s found a welcoming response here in San Marcos.

“If you walk out of a concert hall and find two new pieces that you enjoy, that’s a huge accomplishment,” Oquin said.

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