music – Honors Program @ The University of Tampa

Symposium: When Rap Spoke Straight to God

Posted on February 21, 2019February 14, 2019 by destinygarraus in Honors Symposia

Dr. Erica Dawson addressing the crowd during her February 7th Symposium

“Fearless” is a word that comes to mind for many when discussing the style in which UT Professor Dr. Erica Dawson writes. She is forward and unabashed, and that translated into When Rap Spoke Straight to God, her newest book of poetry. Dr. Dawson took the time to share her perspective and passion with Honors students in a recent symposium, in which she read excerpts from her novel and elaborated on her motivations to create it. When Rap Spoke Straight to God covers everything from the impact of the Trump administration to her experiences as a black women. Dr. Dawson walks a line between eloquence and conflict, to draw the attention of readers and listeners. Professors like Dr. Dawson inspire UT students to create art out of experience in a profound way.

Honors Symposia – John Capouya

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Ryan Cragun in Honors Symposia

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On October 8th, Professor John Capouya, UT professor of Journalism, gave a symposium to the Honors Program on his recently published book, Florida Soul: From Ray Charles to KC and the Sunshine Band. The book and the symposium described Florida’s rich history of soul music.

Making News – Abigail Daner

Posted on April 7, 2018April 7, 2018 by Ryan Cragun in Making News

Honors student Abigail Daner was recently featured on UT’s front page. Abigail will be performing several musical theatre songs with alumnus Tevi Eber on Tuesday, April 17th at a special concert highlighting the work of UT alumni. You can see more of Abby’s repertoire on her youtube channel.

Honors Symposia – Dr. Vanessa Rukholm

Posted on March 3, 2018March 2, 2018 by Ryan Cragun in Honors Symposia

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On Thursday, March 1st, Dr. Vanessa Rukholm, of UT’s Department of Languages and Linguists, presented, “I can’t get you out of my head: popular music and second language learning.” Dr. Rukholm discussed some of the history of music and noted that music has long been an important element of human culture. The presentation also explored language acquisition and then combined the two, culminating in a discussion of how language may help facilitate second language learning.

Honors Symposium – Bradford Blackburn

Posted on October 21, 2017February 6, 2018 by Ryan Cragun in Honors Symposia

Dr. Blackburn presenting at an his symposia

Dr. Blackburn setting up for his Symposia

UT Associate Professor of Music, Bradford Blackburn, recently presented some of his work on electronic music production to the Honors students. Dr. Blackburn detailed some history of electronic music production then performed three pieces for the students, two of which used a theremin. The pieces ranged from a piece using sounds made by water to one heavy on drumbeats. Afterward, students had an opportunity to try out the theremin and learn more about the software Dr. Blackburn uses for his compositions.