Dr. Andrew Houchins
Professor of Music
1229 Walnut
Emporia, KS 66801
(620) 343-6481
(620) 341-6089
ahouchin@emporia.edu
Education
- The Florida State University - Doctor of Music in Composition;
major professor, Dr. Ladislav Kubik; April 1996. Received
graduate teaching assistantship August 1992 to April 1996.
- International Czech-American Summer Music Institute - Prague, Czech Republic, August 1994. Awarded grant to attend.
- The University of Memphis - Master of Music in Composition; major
professor, Dr. John Baur; weekly seminar classes with Dr. Don Freund;
August 1992. Received graduate teaching assistantship January 1990 to
May 1992. Elected to the Society of Pi Kappa Lambda, Gamma Iota
chapter, April 1991.
- Pittsburg State University - Bachelor of Music in Percussion;
July 1982. Received scholarship August 1977 to May 1982. Received
Director's Award May 1982.
Teaching Experience
- Emporia State University Professor of Music Theory/Composition/
Technology, and Coordinator of Graduate Music Studies - August 1998 to
present.
My duties include coordinating the undergraduate theory sequence and
teaching Music Theory I, II, III, and IV; undergraduate and graduate
sections of orchestration, counterpoint, composition class, applied
composition, applied digital audio, music technology classes, music
theory pedagogy, music analysis courses; managing, maintaining, and
troubleshooting the music computer lab and the recording studio;
advising undergraduate and graduate students; supervising graduate
teaching assistants; and coordinating recruitment and initial contacts
for the graduate music program.
- The Florida State University Adjunct Faculty, part-time - August 1996 to August 1998.
Duties included teaching courses in aural skills and Music Theory for Non- Majors.
- Chipola Junior College Adjunct Instructor, part-time - September 1996 to May 1998.
Duties included teaching Applied Percussion.
- Stubbs' Music Center, Inc. (private music academy, Tallahassee, FL) - August 1996 to August 1998.
Duties included teaching percussion lessons and music skills in the CAI lab.
- The Florida State University Graduate Teaching Assistant - August 1992 to April 1996.
Duties included teaching courses in music theory and aural skills to
freshmen and sophomores and teaching Music Theory for Non-Majors.
- The Florida State University Adjunct Faculty, part-time - summers 1994 and 1995.
Duties included teaching Music Theory for Non-Majors.
- The Florida State University Summer Music Camps - summers 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996.
Duties included directing the students in the use of computer assisted
instruction software in theory and aural skills using Practica Musica,
and instructing in the use of notation software Music Prose and Finale.
- The University of Memphis Graduate Teaching Assistant - January 1991 to May 1992.
Duties included teaching Basic Theory and Aural Theory I.
- The University of Memphis Continuing Education - January 1990 to July 1992.
Duties included teaching composition.
Curriculum Development at Emporia State University
- Technology in Music is a new project-based online course for
musicians, or even those just interested in music and technology,
incorporating demo and freeware software to give students an overview
and hands-on experiences with the uses of technology in music on either
the Mac or PC platform. It will replace Computer Portfolio to
fulfill the NASM technology requirement.
- Three Summers Master’s Program is an emphasis in Music Education
designed for working music educators to allow them to pursue a Master’s
degree by taking courses on-site in the summer and on-line in the
Fall/Spring/Summer semesters.
- Bachelor of Arts with a Concentration in Digital Audio was approved as a new concentration for the Bachelor of Arts program.
- Digital Audio Certificate is certificate program that was approved by the university.
- Technology in Music is a certificate program that was approved by the university.
- Computer Portfolio was developed to replace MU 110 Computers in
Music. It was approved and became part of the program to fulfill
the NASM technology requirement.
- MU 618 Graduate Music Theory Review has been developed into an online format.
- Digital Audio is a course in the fundamentals of recording.
Topics include signal path, microphones, microphone selection, and
microphone placement, consoles, effects, and computer-based recording.
- Navigating Computers in Music is a course in the fundamentals of
MIDI, digital audio, music notation, and other software packages, such
as the iLife suite, and how to integrate them into a curriculum.
Creative/Scholarly Activities
Publications
- On Music Theory is a text for the four-semester undergraduate
music theory sequence published by Stipes Publishing L.L.C. (ISBN
978-1-60904-093-2), August 2011.
Compositions – Juried Presentations
- Elements, for flute, bassoon, piano, and percussion, was selected
for performance at the College Music Society Great Plains Chapter
Conference in March 2011, Omaha, NB.
- the Fire from Within, for percussion quartet was selected for
performance at the College Music Society Great Plains Chapter
Conference in March 2010, Emporia, KS.
- Tuba Concréte, for tuba and recorded sounds, was selected for
performance at the College Music Society Great Plains Chapter
Conference in March 2007, Vermillion, SD.
- Face Off, a percussion duo, was selected for performance at the
Society of Composers, Inc. Region VI Conference in February 2007.
- Songs: Four Haiku for Voice, Horn and Piano, was selected for
performance at College Music Society Great Plains Chapter Conference in
March 2006.
- Tuba Concréte, for tuba and recorded sounds, was selected for
performance at the Society of Composers, Inc., Region V Conference in
November 2005.
- Elements, for flute, bassoon, piano, and percussion, was selected
for performance at the Society of Composers Inc. Region VI Conference
in Lawrence, KS, March 2001.
- Elements, for flute, bassoon, piano, and percussion, was selected
for performance at the College Music Society Composition Recital in
Manhattan, KS, March 2001.
- Elements, for flute, bassoon, piano, and percussion, was selected
for performance and I was a featured Guest Composer at the Wichita
State University Contemporary Music Festival in February 2001.
- Fanfare and Eulogy, for chamber orchestra, received a reading and
was a finalist at the Lancaster Festival Orchestral Composition Contest
in Lancaster, OH, July 2000.
- Songs: Four Haiku for Voice, Horn and Piano, was performed at the Lancaster Festival Café Concert in July 2000.
Compositions – Commissions
- Hodie’s Hop, for band was commissioned by Carol Hodapp in memory of Dr. Jeffrey Hodapp in spring of 2010.
- Face Off, for percussion duo, was commissioned by Michael Parola,
Professor of Percussion from the Conservatory at Lynn University in the
fall of 2004.
- Elements, for flute, bassoon, piano, and percussion, was commissioned by the Kansas Music Teachers Association in spring 2000.
Compositions – International Presentations
- Songs: Four Haiku for Voice, Horn and Piano, was performed at a
recital in the Dvorák Museum, Prague, Czech Republic, in August, 1994.
Compositions – National/Festival Presentations
- String Theory, for string quartet, was performed on Knob Fest at The Fisch Haus, Wichita, KS, in November 2011.
- Tuba Concréte, for solo tuba and recorded sounds, was performed
at the New Music Festival at University of Nebraska, Kearney in April
2008.
- The Big Bang, a concerto for percussion and wind ensemble, was
premiered by Dr. Tracy Freeze and the University of Oregon Wind
Ensemble in May 2006.
- Face Off, for percussion duo, was premiered, and the Fire from
Within, was performed at a concert featuring myself as the Guest
Composer in April 2005, by the Percussion Ensemble at the Conservatory
of Music at Lynn University.
- the Fire from Within, for percussion quartet, was selected for
performance at the Florida State University Tenth Biennial Festival of
New Music in February 2001.
- the Fire from Within was premiered at the Harid New Music
Festival in April 2000 at the Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida
(now the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University).
- Symphony No. 1, movement 2, was premiered by the FSU University Orchestra in January 1996.
- Songs: Four Haiku for Voice, Horn and Piano, was selected for
performance at Florida State University's The Festival of New Music in
April 1996.
- Songs: Four Haiku for Voice, Horn and Piano, was selected for
performance at the "Imagine '95" New Music Festival at the University
of Memphis in April 1995.
- Scherzo for solo violin was premiered at the Tallahassee
Composers' Guild mini-festival Two Days of Contemporary Music in April
1995.
- Quintet No. 1 for Percussion was premiered at the FSU School of Music
- An Evening of Contemporary Music in November 1994.
- Songs: Four Haiku for Voice, Horn and Piano, settings of haiku
from The Shin Kokinshu, The 13th-Century Anthology Edited by Imperial
Edict, was premiered at the FSU New Music Ensemble Concert in March of
1994.
- Fallen Idol, a ballet in two scenes for chamber group, including
flute (doubling on piccolo and alto flute), bassoon, classical guitar,
two batteries of percussion, violin, viola, violoncello, and double
bass, was premiered (music only) on a concert of pieces in honor of
Pulitzer Prize winner Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.
- Caught in the Eye of the Storm, a duo for violin and piano, was
performed at the Festival of New Music at Florida State University
(1993).
- Caught in the Eye of the Storm, a duo for violin and piano, was
premiered at a 1992 concert sponsored by the Memphis Composer's
Alliance.
- A Loose Song Trek, for flute/piccolo, alto saxophone, and
trombone was selected to be performed at the 1992 New Music Festival at
the University of Memphis.
- A Loose Song Trek, for flute/piccolo, alto saxophone, and
trombone, was premiered at the opening ceremonies of an exhibition of
various works by Toulouse-Lautrec, at the Dixon Art Gallery in Memphis.
Compositions – Local Presentations
- Elements, for flute, bassoon, piano, and percussion, was on the
An Evening of Contemporary and the Avant Garde recital presented by the
ESU Chamber Winds and Percussion Ensembles.
- Face Off for percussion duo was performed by Nicholas Newhouse on his Master’s Percussion Recital in June 2009.
- The Trojan Women is an electronic score composed for the ESU Department of Theater production Trojan Women in November 2007.
- The Big Bang, a concerto for percussion and wind ensemble,
received a performance of the first movement, conflagration, by Dr.
Tracy Freeze and the ESU Wind Ensemble in March 2004.
- Garden Scenes, for solo clarinet, was performed by Dr. Dawn McConkie in April 2003.
- Tuba Concréte, for tuba and recorded sounds, and the Fire from
Within, for percussion quartet, were performed at a joint recital with
composer Dr. Paul Rudy in February 2003.
- Seven Deadly Sins is music for clarinet, trombone, bass, and
marimba that was written for the Department of Theater production Seven
Deadly. I conducted the premier in December 2002.
- Tuba Concréte, for tuba and recorded sounds, was premiered by Dr. Jeffrey Hodapp in March 2002.
- Construct, for 15 musicians and recorded sounds, was premiered at the ESU Wind Ensemble Concert in April 2001.
- Elements, for flute, bassoon, piano, and percussion, was performed on the ESU Wind Ensemble Concert in February 2001.
- Elements, for flute, bassoon, piano, and percussion, was
premiered at the Kansas Music Teachers Association state convention in
November 2000.
- Sacrificial Dance, for wind ensemble, was premiered by the
Emporia State Wind Ensemble in May 2000. This performance
was released on the CD Racing with the Wind.
- Dark White, for orchestra, was premiered by the Emporia Symphony Orchestra in March 1999.
- Songs: Four Haiku for Voice, Horn and Piano, was performed in a joint faculty/guest recital at ESU in February 1999.
Compositions – Other
- Duel for Clarinet and Percussion was completed in the summer of 2010, it has yet to be premiered.
- Alan's Stomp, for tape and drum set, was premiered in May 1997.
- Modern Talk, for percussion trio, was performed in a senior recital at Chipola Junior College in April 1997.
- Modern Talk, for percussion trio, was premiered by the percussion ensemble at Chipola Junior College in March 1997.
- Quintet No. 1 for Percussion was performed by the FSU Percussion Ensemble for their fall 1994 recital.
- March of the Doughnuts and other incidental music is an electronic score for the FSU Film School movie A Regular Glazed.
Presentations and Workshops
- Panelist on the CMS Common Topic Symposium Considering Curricular
Balances: Balancing Emerging Students and Cultural Demands with
Traditional Music Teaching and Learning at the College Music Society
Great Plains Chapter meeting in February 2005.
- Sibelius and Finale: Music Notation Software is a workshop that I
presented as part of The Great Plains Music Education Workshops in June
2002 and June 2003.
- Composer Presentation: Andrew Houchins was a presentation of my
compositions at the Wichita State University Contemporary Music
Festival, where I was a featured guest composer, in February 2001.
- Technology in the Classroom was presented at the KMEA Regional Conference in Kansas City in January 2001.
- The Process of Composition was presented at the Kansas Music Teachers Association State Convention in November 2000.
- Integration of MIDI, CD-ROM, and Music Instruction Software into
the Public School Curriculum was a workshop I presented as part of The
Great Plains Music Education Workshops in June 1999.
- MIDI Workshop - I was employed to present a two-hour workshop
about developing, inputting and editing an arrangement with a MIDI
sequencer. Specific issues addressed included patch choice, General
MIDI, velocities, controllers and technical/artistic concerns
pertaining to a sequenced versus an acoustic arrangement. This workshop
was presented to the Success in Music Teaching, Practice and
Performance class at Florida State University in March 1998.
- Frescobaldi: ornament as structure? An investigation of the
structure of Toccata terza per l'organo da sonarsi all'Ellvazione was
presented at the FSU Music Theory Forum, a conference organized by the
Florida State Theory Society, in January 1998.
- Technology Seminar - I was employed to present information about
and demonstrate various platforms and software to K-12 and college
music instructors in Seminar: An overview of useful technologies for
the Music Instructor, at Chipola Junior College, August 1997.
- Guest Lecturer - I was invited to present a lecture about the
basics of MIDI and demonstrate how a sequencer uses the MIDI data to
the Psychology of Music Practice and Performance class at Florida
State, January 1997.
Other Technology/Research Related Projects
- Compositions for research - I was commissioned by Dr. Andreas C.
Lehmann to write four eight-measure compositions for piano, following
specific parameters, for his experiments in musical perception and the
functions of memory (1997).
- Project Administrator - I organized and executed an experiment in
aural acuity comparing equal temperament vs. just intonation titled
Young Music Students: The Relationship of Pitch Perception to
Preference for Music Tuned in Equal Temperament Versus Just Tuning,
conducted by the Center for Music Research, Dr. Jack Taylor, Director,
at Florida State University School of Music, July 1997.
- MIDI - In order to augment a small pit orchestra accompanying
scenes performed by the University of Memphis Opera Department, I was
employed to sequence secondary orchestral parts using Performer.
Real-time synchronization to the orchestra was achieved through tap
tempo.
Selected Service Activities
- University Committee Service:
- University Graduate Council, fall 2001 to spring 2006 and fall
2008 to present, Vice-chair fall 2002-spring 2003; Chair fall
2003-spring 2004;
- LiveText Liaison Search Committee, fall 2011 to present;
- Data Management Systems Committee, fall 2009 to spring 2010;
- American Democracy Project Steering Committee, spring 2004 to spring 2008; Chair, fall 2005 to spring 2008;
- Learning Management Systems Committee, fall 2006 to spring 2007;
- University Computer Advisory Committee, fall 2002 to spring 2006;
- University Web Advisory Committee, spring 2005 to spring 2006;
- Outstanding Alumni Award Committee, spring 2006;
- Graduate Academic Achievement Award Committee, spring 2003; spring 2006;
- Associate Vice President for TCS Search Committee, spring 2004;
- Boylan Thesis Award Committee, fall 2004;
- University Grievance Committee, on call beginning fall 2001,
met and heard a grievance in spring 2002; on call fall 2003-spring 2004;
- Boylan Scholar Award Committee, spring 2002;
- TCS Customer Services Coordinator Search Committee, Chair, fall 2002;
- Dean's LA&S Technology Task Force, fall 1999 to spring 2000.
- Department Committee Service:
- Department Chair Advisory Committee, fall 2010 to present;
- Department Curriculum Committee, fall 2010 to present;
- Department Graduate Subcommittee, Chair, fall 2010 to present;
- Department Recruitment Committee, fall 2007 to present;
- Gala Benefit Concert Committee, spring 2008 to present;
- Department Graduate Committee, Chair, fall 2000 to spring 2010;
- Department Planning Committee, fall 2001 to spring 2010;
- Department Core Committee, fall 1998 to spring 2006 and fall 2008 to spring 2010;
- Department Faculty Recognition Committee, fall 1999 to spring
2002 and fall 2007 to spring 2010; Chair, fall 2007 to spring 2010;
- Department Program Review Committee, fall 2006 to fall 2007 and fall 2008 to spring 2010;
- Department Vocal Search Committee, spring 2011;
- Department Choral Search Committee, spring 2010;
- Department Percussion Search Committee, fall 2002;
- Department Woodwind Search Committee, fall 2000 to spring 2001.
- Composition Review Committee for the College Music Society, Great Plains Chapter, 2010 and 2011 Conferences.
- Annual 6A Music Festival Co-manager 1999 to 2010.
- Local Arrangement Chair and Host for the College Music Society, Great Plains Chapter, 2010 Conference.
- Program Committee for the College Music Society, Great Plains Chapter, 2009 Conference.
- Chair, Aural Perception Session at the 2008 College Music Society
Great Plains/Great Lakes Chapters Super Regional at Illinois State
University, Normal Illinois in March.
- Program Committee, for the College Music Society, Great Plains Chapter, 2006 Conference Concert.
- Obtained funding, booked, and organized a performance of Tres
Vidas, presented by the CORE Ensemble with Georgina Corbo, at ESU in
September 2004.
- Assisted Dr. Robert Grover with the aspects of the Higher
Learning Commission accreditation process dealing with graduate
studies, December 2003.
- Judge for the KMEA yearly student composition contest fall 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004.
- Recorded Nimrod for the Wind Ensemble’s application to perform at the KMEA convention in Wichita.
- Faculty Advisor to the Phi Delta Theta fraternity fall 2000 to fall 2004.
- Assisted on a Mid-America Arts Alliance Grant to present Paul
Rudy, composer, in a music outreach program that funded concerts and
presentations at area high schools and at ESU in Spring 2003.
- Faculty Advisor to the Graduate Student Advisory Council fall 2002-spring 2003.
- Installed the recording control room BH 135B fall 2002 – I
assembled the furniture, installed the rack mounted equipment,
installed the PCI card connecting the digital audio interfaces to the
computer, soldered all the connections from 131A, 132, 134, and 135A
coming into the control room, and wired everything together through the
patch bays during the fall semester 2002.
- Oversaw the bid process for the department to obtain bids and
order the equipment for the department recording control room during
the summer 2002.
- Researched, contacted vendors, and obtained bids for the
equipment in the ESU Hendricks Music Computer Lab, the Composition
Studio, and the Sight Singing/Practice Studio.
- Recorded incidental music for the Department of Theater production of Laughter on the 23rd Floor in fall 2002.
- Presented Digital Audio to the Madison High School music technology class in October 2002.
- Coordinated the music composition contest for the AIDS Quilt Scholarship Competition, March 2001.
- Obtained funding, booked, and organized a performance of Of Ebony
Embers, presented by the CORE Ensemble with Akin Babatunde, at ESU in
March 2000.
Organizations
- Initiated as a Friend of the Arts, Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity, 2008.
- Member of the Society of Composers, Incorporated, 1993 to present.
- Member of The College Music Society, 1994 to present.
- Founder and President of the Tallahassee Composers' Guild, 1993 to April, 1996.
In order to create further opportunities for interaction with
established composers and performers of New Music, and provide
additional performance opportunities of members' music, I developed,
organized, and promoted the TCG's annual Two Days of Contemporary Music
(April 1995, and March 1996). In 1995 I obtained funding from the
university governmental bodies for two guest composers. In addition to
a series of two concerts presenting their music as well as music by
members and other compositions prepared by the FSU New Music Ensemble,
the guest composers presented a series of master classes pertaining to
composition. I obtained a FDS Division of Cultural Affairs
Touring Grant, from the student government and a private donor to
present special guest performing artists, the CORE Ensemble, at The
Second Annual Two Days of Contemporary Music (March 1996).
- Editor of the Tallahassee Composers' Guild Newsletter, 1993 to April 1996.
Duties included soliciting articles, reviews of concerts, and
disseminating information about members' activities and possible
opportunities for performances.
- President of the Festival of New Music (FSU) 1994 to 1996.
Duties included attending the FDS, Division of Cultural Affairs, Music
Organizations panel meeting to answer questions concerning a grant
proposal to apply for matching funds for a guest composer to appear at
the Eighth Biennial Festival of New Music, April 1996.
- Graduate Students' Music Association President, University of Memphis, 1989 - 1992.
Duties included organizing and promoting concerts as well as obtaining
funding from the university governmental bodies for concerts.
- Member of the Memphis Composers Alliance, 1990 - 1992.
Selected Performing Experience
- Percussion for the Emporia State Percussion Ensemble as needed.
- ESU Faculty Jazz Combo as needed.
- Freelance percussion and drum set for various bands, playing all
styles of music including jazz combos and big band, rock, pop, and
country, from 1978 to present.
- Drum set for the Will Rogers Follies, the ESU Homecoming Musical, October 1998.
- Performed with the Florida State University Percussion Ensemble
on their recital in October and November 1994, and two recitals in the
fall of 1992.
- Percussion for the FSU Wind Orchestra concert in September 1994.
- Marimba Madness, a recital of percussion students in December 1993.
- Percussionist for the Florida State University New Music Ensemble
performance of George Crumb's Madrigals Book IV in February, 1993.
- Percussionist in the Col Legno recording of Metamorphia by Timothy Thompson (1993).
- Percussionist on several pieces in the FSU Festival of New Music (1993).
- Percussionist for the University of Memphis Orchestra as needed, from 1989 to 1992.
- Percussionist for several pieces on the University of Memphis' New Music Festival (1992, 1991).
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