TCC 37: Festivals and Competitions - TCC Roundtable
This episode of the Theorist Composer Collaboration podcast features Dr. Francisco Javier de Alba and Professor Nadine Silverman for a TCC Roundtable on composition festivals and competitions. Music theorist Aaron D’Zurilla talks with Dr. Paco and Professor Silverman about accessibility, the benefits of networking, career development, institutional improvements and much more!
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Professor Nadine Silverman
Composer/Theorist
She/Her
Nadine Silverman is a composer-performer based in Norristown, Pennsylvania. She is an Instructor of music composition, music theory, and aural skills for the Wells School of Music at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated with her bachelor’s in 2019. In 2023, she earned concurrent master's degrees in music theory and clarinet performance at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. Nadine also performs with the East Brunswick Symphony Orchestra and the Danza Wind Quintet. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, and playing Pokémon GO with family and friends.
Nadine is the 2023 winner of the International Alliance for Women in Music’s Alex Shapiro Prize for her wind ensemble work, Hope Through the Dark. She has written for the Rutgers University Wind Ensemble, the Rutgers University Concert Band, Voix de Femmes Clarinet Quartet, Fivemind Reeds, Duo Ferula, Pennsylvania Chamber Winds, Orange Road String Quartet, and many individual performers. Her music explores the depth of human emotion and how we interact with the physical world around us. Nadine’s versatility and skill as a composer-performer have been showcased through the performances of her own works throughout the United States and internationally. In her work, she strives to create a larger chamber repertoire for the clarinet and concert band that is accessible and meaningful to all levels of performers.
Email: nadinesilvermanmusic@gmail.com
Dr. Francisco Javier de Alba
Composer
He/Him
Dr. Francisco Javier de Alba, known professionally as Dr. Paco, is a clarinetist, composer, and educator based in Phoenix, Arizona. He maintains an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer, with appearances across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He performs regularly with the Tempe Symphony Orchestra, Tempe Winds Concert Band, and Valley Opera Company.
Dr. Paco has performed and presented at international conferences and festivals. He is also a self-published composer whose works have been performed across the U.S. and abroad, advocating for new music with a focus on amplifying underrepresented voices. His current research applies principles of linguistics to clarinet pedagogy, offering innovative approaches to various clarinet techniques.
With over a decade of experience in music education, Dr. Paco has taught collegiately as a Faculty Associate at Arizona State University and provided guest lectures and masterclasses at numerous institutions. He is the founder and director of Phoenix Youth Bands, a program providing music education to students without access to school band programs, and he leads a thriving private studio of over 30 students.
He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music from Arizona State University, where he studied with Dr. Robert Spring and Dr. Joshua Gardner, and a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from Columbus State University, where he studied clarinet with Dr. Lisa Oberlander and composition with Dr. James Ogburn, Dr. Matthew McCabe, and Dr. Fred Cohen.
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