Associate Professor of Piano, Thomas Rosenkranz will return to China to tour with members of his piano studio for concerts at the Sichuan Minorities University, South West University in Chongqing, and the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu from May 13-May 17th. Additionally, he will be a featured soloist with the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra for a performance of J.S. Bach’s D minor Keyboard Concerto on May 23rd and will serve on the jury for the Shanghai Spring Festival Competition sponsored by Weibo; the Chinese version of Twitter.
Dr. Kyle Marrero was appointed the seventh president of the University of West Georgia on July 1, 2013 and has many years of leadership experience in academia and the arts.
He holds both bachelor and master of music degrees from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, and earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in vocal performance from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Marrero also has studied music education and vocal performance at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and Arizona State University, Tempe, as well as the German language at the Goethe-Institute in Munich, Germany.
Prior to his appointment at UWG, Marrero held the position of vice president for University Advancement at the University of West Florida since August 2009. In that position, he provided executive leadership to advance the mission of the university in the areas of alumni relations, development, marketing, communications and the University of West Florida Foundation.
He was given primary responsibility by the university president to lead the university’s effort to achieve the Carnegie Community and Curricular Engagement and Outreach and Partnerships Classification Award for 2015. This goal served as one of the benchmarks of success specifically aligned to engaging in community partnerships that respond to mutual concerns and opportunities and that advance the economy and quality of life in a region.
Under his leadership, the advancement office made significant contributions to a recorded 20 percent increase in enrollment, completed the largest capital campaign in the institution’s history by raising $39.2 million toward a $35 million fundraising goal, and increased the Foundation investment portfolio from $45 to $60 million.
Marrero’s background is in music, and prior to his position as vice president for University Advancement, he served as first the chair of the Department of Music and then as the director of the School of Fine and Performing Arts at the University of West Florida.
Prior to his work at the University of West Florida, Marrero has taught voice, opera and conducting at a number of institutions in Louisiana, Michigan and Ohio.
He previously served as the artistic director of the Pensacola Opera, a position he held since June 2000. During his tenure, the company was recognized for exponential growth and quality. He developed a comprehensive education and outreach program serving 20,000 school children and 10,000 adults in Northwest Florida and received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Opera America for programming and education.
Between 1998 and 2002, Marrero was the artistic director of Opera Southwest in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has produced and directed an extensive number of operas in this facet of his career. Marrero also has served as a judge for a number of opera and vocal competitions and has performed on stage with a number of opera companies worldwide in principal roles, as well as maintaining an extensive career as a recitalist and performer with symphony orchestras.
Marrero is married to opera performer Jane Redding Marrero, and they have a daughter, Lily.
Solungga Fang-Tzu Liu, Assistant Professor of Piano, is touring in Taiwan and giving a series of master classes and lectures at the major music schools in Taipei City between January 2 and 6. This tour was organized by teachers in Taipei who recognized Dr. Liu’s unusual achievement in her teaching career: after having taught as a full-time piano professor in Taiwan for 7 years, Dr. Liu accepted her teaching position at BGSU and started her career in the US in 2008.
