UT Concert Hall brings you excellent performances that were given at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, spotlighting faculty, guest artist, and graduate student recitals, as well as student ensemble performances. Join local host and producer, Melony Dodson, for this hour-long program, as she transports you to Cox Auditorium and/or the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall to hear these world class performances. Thursday night at 8pm and Sunday evenings at 7pm.
UT Concert Hall, August 27 and 30, 2026
University of Tennessee Percussion Ensemble
Dr. Andrew Bliss, Director
Kevin Zetina, Assistant Director
Freddy Morales, Graduate Assistant
Peyton Stramel, Graduate Assistant
Myles Thomas, Graduate Assistant
Rodolfo Valero Jr., Graduate Assistant
Sunday, November 02, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.
Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall
Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
PROGRAM:
Honeybee, 1820
Evan Chapman
Embryo
Jlin
Pillar 3
Andy Akiho
Aestus
Ethan Booher
solider/sailor
Natalie Dietterich
MEMBERS:
Annika Blackburn
Jackson Boeskool
Anna Chance
Anna Davis
Lydia Dodd
Brooke Duez
William Dunlap
Luke Herrington
Jayden Joyce
Sadiq Mohammed
Freddy Morales
Weston Reddick
Burke Rivet
Peyton Stramel
Myles Thomas
Rodolfo Valero, Jr.
Ezekiel Wondwosen
Stephanie Hensley, Guest Artist (piano)
Graduate Recital
Freddy Morales, percussion
with Emma Woodward, Violin
Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 5:30 p.m.
Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall
Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
PROGRAM
El Paso Del Norte -World Premier
Freddy Morales (b. 2002)
A Mao
Arturo Marquez (b. 1950)
Atlas Pumas
Gabriela Ortiz (b. 1964)
I. Primer Tiempo
III. Segundo Tiempo
Emma Woodward, violin
Freddy Morales is a member of the University of Tennessee Percussion Studies program, where instruction is shared among Dr. Andrew Bliss (Director), Professor Kevin Zetina, Professor Keith Brown, and Dr. Mike Mixtacki. This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music in Percussion Performance.
The program gratefully acknowledges Dr. Andrew Bliss for his guidance and mentorship in preparing this recital.
PROGRAM NOTES:
Freddy Morales
Born in 2002, Morales is a Hispanic and Native American percussionist and educator from El Paso, Texas. Morales serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the UTK Band, working with The Pride of the Southland Band/Drumline and various concert ensembles. With a Bachelors of Music Education from the University of Texas at El Paso, Morales was able to diversify his musical experience under the guidance of Dr. Andy P. Smith. At UTEP Morales performed with multiple Non-Western percussion groups which shaped his vision to advocate for Afro-Diasporic, Latin American, and Indigenous music and composers.
Arturo Marquez
Márquez was born in Álamos, Sonora, in 1950 where his interest in music began. Márquez is the first born of nine children of Arturo Márquez and Aurora Navarro. Márquez was the only one of the nine siblings to become a musician. Márquez's father was a mariachi musician in Mexico and later in Los Angeles. His paternal grandfather was a Mexican folk musician in the northern states of Sonora and Chihuahua. His education began in La Puente, California where he spent his middle school and high school years. After returning to Mexico, Márquez studied at the Conservatory of Music and the Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico. He also had a private study in Paris with Jacques Castérède after receiving a scholarship from the French government. Márquez began composing at the age of 16 and attended the Mexican Music Conservatory, where he studied piano and music theory from 1970 to 1975. Márquez studied composition from 1976 to 1979 with Federico Ibarra, Joaquín Gutiérrez Heras, and Héctor Quintanar. In the U.S., he was awarded an Fullbright Scholarship and in 1990 obtained a MFA in composition from California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. Márquez now lives with his family in Mexico City.
Gabriela Ortiz
Born to a musical family in Mexico City, her parents were founding members of Los Folkloristas, a renowned ensemble dedicated to performing Latin American folk music. While playing charango and guitar with her parents' group, Ortiz was also learning classical piano. Her formal studies began under esteemed Mexican composers Mario Lavista Federico Ibarra, and Daniel Catán. Later, she continued her studies in Europe, earning a master's degree at Guild Hall School of Music and Drama under the guidance of Robert Saxton, and earning a doctorate in composition and electronic music from London's City University under the guidance of Simon Emmerson. Ortiz's music incorporates seemingly disparate musical worlds, from traditional and popular idioms to avant-garde techniques and multimedia works. This is, perhaps, the most salient characteristic of her oeuvre: an ingenious merging of distinct sonic worlds. While Ortiz continues to draw inspiration from Mexican subjects, she is interested in composing music that speaks to international audiences.