Alumni Stories

UKOT’s Vocal Master Class Series continues through the end of spring semester with a star-studded line up of some of the biggest players in contemporary opera.   

The lineup includes:

Story originally appeared on Kentucky.com on March 2, 2021 by Walter Tunis, Contributing Music Critic.

By her own estimation, Renee Collins Cobb is a “social introvert.” Every Wednesday night, however, she sets any self-perceived shyness aside. That’s when the Ashland native is either behind a microphone or a video camera to bring “Overtones Live” to life.

“A lot of people would never have dreamed that I would be doing what I’m doing now.”

Story by Mark Mozingo, UKNow

The Rogers Scholarship was established by distinguished alumnus Wayland D. Rogers, a renowned singer, conductor, teacher and composer based in Chicago, Illinois, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music from UK in 1963. The scholarship will support senior music performance students who exhibit excellence in art songs or solo music with piano accompaniment.  

There doesn’t seem to be enough superlatives to describe Tyler Swick’s energetic, entertaining and exhilarating teaching style. And accolades from parents and colleagues are just as numerous.  In several of his “40 Under 40” nomination letters, parents called him a “musical magician” and that “his work ethic knows no bounds when it comes to ensuring he gets a smile out of a few extra kiddos.” Another parent simply stated, “It doesn’t feel like learning when it’s this fun!”

The UK Women’s Choir planned an event in spring of 2020 to celebrate Dr. Hetzel’s 25th Anniversary with the School of Music. Due to COVID-19 that event was cancelled. A virtual celebration was held instead during a Women's Choir rehearsal. Tegan Miller jumped at the chance to Zoom in.

Story by Mark Mozingo, UKNow

Watch Key'mon Murrah's award-winning performance at Houston Grand Opera's Concert of Arias.

Logan has accepted a year-long apprenticeship at Studio Theatre in Washington, DC. He'll be working in Company & Production Management.

Both passionate music educators, Dr. Vasil and Dee share some insights into what their experience has been teaching music virtually this year, and reflect on some of their favorite moments together as teacher-student. 

The UK College of Fine Arts is a family. We support each other. We learn from each other. To celebrate the power of our network, we've launched a new series. CFA Community Conversations build bridges, connecting alumni, faculty, staff, and students through shared experiences.