Graduate Students
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Chen-Kang Kao is a PhD student in digital composition at the University of California, Riverside. He got his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at National Taiwan Normal University and had a firm foundation in music theory. His master’s thesis was on the application of total serialism to his own works. After graduation, he started to find interest in electronic music and continued to compose and present his pieces every year. Knowing his lack of knowledge in electronic music, he decided to study abroad and was awarded a studying abroad scholarship by the Ministry of Education. In his doctoral studies, he tries to find his way to integrate music with dance and Asian elements, hoping to make music more diverse and approachable. E-mail: ckao028@ucr.edu |
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Lorna Katz is a second-year Ph.D. student in Digital Composition at the University of California, Riverside. She has been a singer and performer for most of her life. She is a professional actor and twenty-three-year member of the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Radio and Television Artists. She has an IMDB page and has appeared in various TV shows, feature films, and commercials. Lorna earned her Master of Music degree in Theory and Composition at the California State University, Fullerton, where she was a student of Dr. Pamela Madsen. She graduated from CSUF in May 2023 and was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Composer award during the school’s 2023 convocation ceremony. She is a fellow in the California State University’s Chancellor Doctoral Incentive Program. Lorna was awarded the 2023 Ellen Jane Lorenz Grant for Graduate Composition from the Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation, which funded her attendance at Operation Opera in 2023 as an Art Song participant in composition. Most recently, Lorna had been selected as one of twelve composers for the Choral Arts Initiative PREMIERE|Project Festival 2024, held at the University of California, Irvine. Lorna made her composer debut at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this past August, where the LAKMA (Los Angeles Korean-American Music Association) Chorale and Philharmonic Orchestra performed her choral work “Peace.” E-mail: lorna.katz@email.ucr.edu |
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Barbara Macz's musical journey began in childhood with early experimentations on keyboard and violin. Later, she became a self-taught church musician, playing piano, guitar, drums, and electric bass for many years. During high school, she also had a brief stint as an orchestra pianist and alto sax player in the school band. After a few years of filmmaking and fine art studies, she then pursued formal music studies at a community college in Los Angeles, where she focused on classical piano and voice, ultimately earning Associate’s degrees in Music and Humanities. Barb transferred to San Diego State University (SDSU) as a music education major with piano as her primary instrument. After three years in the music education program, she transitioned to focusing on teaching in higher education, teaching lessons on multiple instruments, and tutoring music theory. She also taught ESL courses for international students of all ages. Barb graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Professional Studies and later a Master’s in Music Composition from SDSU. Currently a second-year PhD student in composition at the University of California, Riverside, she focuses on pop music, music technology, recording, and chamber music. She also leads a unique songwriting and climate activism workshop series for middle school students in San Diego. Outside of her professional pursuits, Barb enjoys playing soccer and fetch with her large and fluffy border heeler rescue, Schubert. E-mail: barbara.macz@ucr.edu |
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Sam C. Shin is an electroacoustic composer and creative coder whose work explores the impact of technology on contemporary life and draws from his love of electronica and Korean culture. His work has been presented at festivals and conferences such as the SEAMUS National Conference, Electronic Music Midwest, and the SPLICE Institute. Sam is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Digital Composition at UC Riverside where he studies with Ian Dicke, Dana Kaufman, and Paulo Chagas. Other composition teachers include Elainie Lillios and Mikel Kuehn at Bowling Green State University, Michael Sidney Timpson and Chihchun Chi-sun Lee at Ewha Womans University, and Eric Chasalow at Brandeis University. When not composing, Sam can be found exploring southern California with his wife and taking pictures of his cat. E-mail: slong028@ucr.edu |
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Rory Fewer (he/him) is a composer, DJ, and doctoral student in the ethnomusicology program at the University of California, Riverside. His research interests include queer affect, rhythmicity, and corporeality. His current project examines electronic dance music as a form of futurity praxis among queer rave collectives in Bangkok. Rory’s work has been published in Investigaciones en Danza y Movimiento and Revista de Humanidades Digitales, and he is also co-editing a special issue of Documenta on dance and new technologies. His micro-opera, A Temp Meets Renée Zellweger, was performed by Brooklyn-based opera company Granite Planet in May 2024. Rory currently serves as an associate instructor in the Media and Cultural Studies department, where he teaches a self-designed, upper-division undergraduate course on the topic of “noise.” Rory is a third-time Gluck Fellow of the Arts and recipient of the Humanities Graduate Student Research Grant from the Center for Ideas and Society. He has presented his research at Pop Conference, the Society for Ethnomusicology, the Council on Thai Studies, and the Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present. Rory holds an M.A. in ethnomusicology from the University of California, Riverside, and a B.A. in individualized study from New York University. Email: rfewe001@ucr.edu |
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Owain Graham is a doctoral student in ethnomusicology at UCR. His research interests include indigeneity and ritual music in lowland South America. He is a recipient of the UCR Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellowship (2016-2017). Before moving to California to pursue his studies in ethnomusicology, he taught music theory and founded the program for classical guitar studies at the Baptist University of the Américas in San Antonio, TX. Mr. Graham received his master of music degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he studied guitar performance and pedagogy with Matthew Dunne. While attending UT San Antonio, Mr. Graham was awarded first prize at the 2013 College of Liberal Fine Arts research competition for his presentation entitled Linear Analysis and Interpretation in Schubert’s “Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano” (D821). Mr. Graham also holds a B.M.p. from Stetson University in DeLand, FL where he was awarded the William E. Duckwitz Talent Scholarship and studied classical guitar with the internationally renowned performer and teacher, Stephen Robinson. Email: ograh001@ucr.edu |
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Viet-Hai Huynh (he/him) is a doctoral student in ethnomusicology at UC Riverside whose research interests include Asian American youth culture and its relationship with electronic dance music and rave culture, the recent proliferation of Asians in the popular music industry, and the K-pop industry and idol factory. He is fascinated with the ways music and media alter perceptions of Asian-Americans through reaffirming and negating existing stereotypes, such as the model minority and the effeminate Asian, while simultaneously contributing to new tropes and subjectivities, such as the ABG and Kevin Nguyen. His research stresses an interdisciplinary approach, exploring the intersections between music and anthropology, ethnic studies, and media studies. Viet-Hai graduated from UC Berkeley with high honors and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. A strong advocate for equal access to arts education, he volunteered with the Community School of Music and Arts in the Bay Area, mentored students at Berkeley Arts Magnet School, and worked with HLAB Inc. in Japan. He hopes to bridge the gap between academia and the public, serving and working with under-represented minorities to learn how to best support their paths forward. Email: vhuyn054@ucr.edu |
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Born in Lima, Peru, Eloy Neira de la Cadena is a Ph.D. student at the University of California Riverside. Musician, activist, and philosopher, he holds an MFA in trumpet performance and an MA in Aesthetics & Politics from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). In addition, Eloy earned a BA in music at McGill University (Montreal, Canada). Eloy is a freelance performer and children’s music teacher. Before starting his Ph.D. studies, Eloy worked for the Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) and Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) as a teacher of Music and Music History (2019). In 2019 he developed the Music of the World and Music of the US classes curricula for the Jazz Symphonic Orchestra Music Education Program. These classes focus on teaching history, social issues, and culture through music-making and appreciation. Email: eneir002@ucr.edu |
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Mariangela Nobre is a Ph.D. student in Ethnomusicology and a recipient of the 2023 and 2022 Gluck Fellowship, the 2022 Manolito Pinazo Award, the 2019 Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship Award at UC Riverside, and the 2016 GOFP Fellowship Award at UCLA. She is also the recipient of the 2021 KI Mantle Hood Prize Honorable Mention Recipient for the paper “Samba the Brazilian Utopia” at the 2020 Annual Meeting of The Southern California and Hawai’i Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on Afro diasporic music in Latin America, immigration, colonialism, and imperialism, constructions of race and nationalism, with a particular interest in music and rituals in Brazil. Mariangela holds a bachelor’s degree in ethnomusicology with jazz studies concentration from the University of California Los Angeles where she studied with legendary jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell, musicologists like Dr. Roger Savage, and ethnomusicologists like Dr. Cheryl Keyes among others. She also received her MA in African American studies from the University of California Los Angeles under the supervision of Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History Robin D. G. Kelley who was also the advisor of her theses “Umbanda: Resistance and Reinvention of Afro Brazilian Identities, Spirituality, and Syncretism in Los Angeles.” She has an active career as a singer/songwriter. Her music was on the national TV channel Lifetime, and she was featured as an actress on Lifetime TV and Rai Italia. In 2017 she was invited to record and compose music for TV personality Deepak Chopra’s album and book “Home-Where Everyone is Welcome” which also became a USA-Amazon best seller. In the same year she recorded live from UCLA the album “Live and Alive from Gershwin to Jobim” produced by Chrome Music Records which reached the Jazz Billboard charts. She was also signed by a record label in Europe where her single charted n. 1 on the iTunes Latin charts and gained her a gold record with more than 5 million streaming. She sang on the 2015 Grammy Awarded album “Los Animales” and the 2022 Grammy nominated album “If You Will” featuring legendary Brazilian singer Flora Purim. For the past two years Mari has toured with her band Joyas Prestadas featured on ABC7 as the official legacy band of Mexican American icon Jenni Rivera. Mari is currently working on a new album titled “Brincos Dieras” produced by famous producer Pedro Iniguez in Mexico to be released in 2024. As a performer, she is the recipient of a Latin Grammy certificate, an American Songwriter Award, the Jazz Ed Magazine Readers’ Poll Award recipient for Best World Music Album of the Year, and Best World Music Artist of the Year, and the KXRL Radio Award among others. She also performed with the Dean Martin’s string orchestra in Italy where she received the Dean Martin’s Award for promoting the value of diversity through her music. She is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and the Screen Actors Guild. Email: Mnobr001@ucr.edu |
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Cahlia “Cal” Plett is a current doctoral track graduate student of ethnomusicology at University of California-Riverside. Before beginning Ethnomusicology at UCR, Cahlia graduated with a Harp Performance degree from DePauw University. Cahlia’s life-long experience playing on the arpa paraguaya (Paraguayan harp) focused a career on performance and music outside the European sphere. Cahlia also minored in Gender and Sexualities Studies in undergrad, amplifying their fascination with opportunities for decolonial liberation and resistance within music practice. Cahlia’s current research focuses on popular music in South America, specifically Brazil and Paraguay, emphasizing queer liberatory and anti-state violence grassroots work occurring alongside music practice and performance. Fascinated with musical tradition where Cahlia’s family is from, their research will aim to bring the Guaraní language to UC-Riverside campus’ and explore notions of the crossover between “Language and Music Reclamation.” Email: cplet002@ucr.edu |
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Hannah Snavely is a PhD student in ethnomusicology at UC Riverside, with research interests in Chilean folk music, gender, and national identity. During 2022-3, she conducted dissertation research in Valparaíso and Santiago, Chile, focusing on the Chilean folklorist Margot Loyola and her students, examining the ways that national cultural heritage values and performance practices are taught and transmitted. Hannah holds an MA in ethnomusicology from UC Riverside and a BA in Music and Spanish from Messiah University, Pennsylvania. A multi-instrumentalist, she continues to perform with ensembles in the Southern California region and in Chile. In her free time, Hannah enjoys hiking, bouldering, sewing, and searching for the world’s best ice cream. Email: hsnav001@ucr.edu. |
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Allan Zheng is a PhD Candidate in ethnomusicology with a designated emphasis in Southeast Asian Studies. His dissertation explores the relationship between sound and the body in the Cambodian performing arts. Allan holds an MA in ethnomusicology from UC Riverside and a BA in music from Colorado College. His work has been supported by the Dissertation Research Fellowship from the Center for Khmer Studies, Small Grant for Graduate Students from Society for Asian Music, and Humanities Research Grant from UCR Center for Ideas and Society. He has also received Clara Henderson Award from the Society for Ethnomusicology and the Ki Mantle Hood Prize from the Society for Ethnomusicology Southern California and Hawaiʻi Chapter. Email: azhen018@ucr.edu |
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Pedro López de la Osa is a Spanish guitarist who specializes in chamber music, pedagogy and research. He studied with Alfredo Capriles, and completed his Guitar Degree at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid with José Luis Rodrigo with whom he developed deep technical and musical skills. Two great mentors than followed: Betho Davezac and Eduardo Fernández with whom he then completed his professional training. He earned his Musical Education degree at the La Salle University in Madrid with the renowned pedagogue Raquel de las Heras. He later completed his Master Degree in chamber music, with honors, at the Girolamo Frescobaldi National Conservatory of Music in Ferrara (Italy) with Tiziano Mealli and Stefano Cardi. Curious still, he then completed his second Master’s Degree in music, this time in research, at the Autónoma University of Madrid with Germán Labrador. He was Pleased to receive in 2007 the Joaquín Rodrigo Prize in chamber music. As a professional guitarist, Pedro López de la Osa has focused on chamber music, forming a successful duo with the pianist Pablo López de la Osa and the guitarist Paolo Benedetti. No but he also enjoyed performing with many duos, trios, quartets, as well as orchestras….in Spain, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Palestine, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Poland, with recordings for Radio Spain, Canal 7-Costa Rica and RTVE. He has given masterclasses while a guest in there widely varied nations. Pedro López de la Osa has pedagogic and research works published and performed in Spain, South Korea, Colombia, Italy, and Palestine. Currently López de la Osa is a graduate student in musicology at the UCR. |
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David Madrid (he/him) is a second year Ph.D. student in musicology at UC Riverside. His interests include Ethnic-Mexican music making practices from twentieth century classical music to contemporary forms of popular, folk, and art music. He has won such awards as the Bakersfield College Departmental Award for the performing arts department, Cal State Bakersfield’s Research Competition in the performing arts category, and was one of Cal State Fullerton’s Emeriti Foundation award recipients. He has provided individual and group vocal lessons for Bakersfield High School choir students. David holds an M.A. in music history and literature from California State University, Fullerton and a B.A. in music from California State University, Bakersfield. In his spare time, David enjoys playing a variety of songs on his guitar and vihuela. E-mail: david.madrid@email.ucr.edu |
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Ricardo Reyes Paz is a Ph.D. student in musicology at the University of California, Riverside. Ricardo’s research concentrates on exoticism, cosmopolitanism, orientalism, modernismo, hybridity, and colonialism studies in Mexico, particularly Mexican concert music in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. His work has been presented at lectures and conferences such as the 9th Biennial New Perspectives in Flamenco History Symposium at the University of New Mexico, and the Florence Bayz Music Series at UCR. In addition to his musicological studies, he is a concert guitar performer who received his M.A. and DMA in guitar performance from Arizona State University, and his B.A in guitar performance from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Paz also studied composition in the polyphonic studies workshop with Humberto Hernandez Medrano, a disciple of Carlos Chávez in Mexico City. He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the prestigious Mexican National Fund for Culture and Arts in three occasions, and the Special Musical Talent Award from ASU. Prior to his musicological studies at UCR, Paz developed an important career as a guitar educator in the public school system of Arizona and New Mexico. From 2009 to 2017 he was the founder of the classical guitar program in the Phoenix Elementary School District and in 2018 he also started a guitar program in the Santa Fe Public Schools, achieving recognition in the local press by organizing the annual Santa Fe Guitar Ensemble Festival and inviting important guitar scholars to offer master classes to the students. |