“Music does not disappear. It flies above time - Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations remain as relevant in 2020 as they were in 1741.”
— Kent Nagano, Grammy Award-winning conductor and School of Music alum (M.A., ’76)
School of Music Student Honorees
Jiaze Ma
Graduate Honoree
As voted by the music faculty, the distinguished graduate winner is Jiaze Ma. While completing her MM in Piano Performance, Jiaze Ma distinguished herself as a probing and mature creative artist. Faculty note that “Jiaze has been an outstanding student, particularly conscientious about her written assignments, making a point of meeting regularly at office hours as she works at fine tuning and polishing her work. The care which she brings to her work is palpable. I should also note that she is using her second language to do this, a truly outstanding achievement.”
Randella Jones
Undergraduate Honoree
Recipient of the LCA Undergraduate Hood
An accomplished violinist and pianist, Randella Louise Jones is among our most brilliant students, graduating with a double major in both Music (Jazz) and Race and Resistance Studies. Her work here has been truly exemplary, both in terms of her scholarship, as well as performance practice and education activism. From Afro-Cuban to Jazz and Classical ensembles, Randella has been a model colleague to her peers, displaying rare cross-cultural skills and understanding in every musical context. While studying abroad in Kingston, Jamaica, at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Randella’s research with folk music traditions of the African diaspora has yielded extraordinary results, from her exceptional work as violin instructor with the National Youth Orchestra of Jamaica, to her co-directing Son Umbé, a youth Afro-Mexican Son Jarocho ensemble at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music. As a perennial Dean’s List honoree and recipient of numerous awards and scholarships (including the John Handy Scholarship for Jazz Studies, and Benjamin A Gilman International Scholarship), her next move is to earn a teaching credential at SF State and teach elementary school music while planning ahead for graduate studies in ethnomusicology. The School of Music and the College of Liberal and Creative Arts shines today thanks to graduates like Randella Louise Jones, whose outstanding intellect, activism, and artistry, continues to motivate and galvanize us all in the most original and effective ways, well into a brighter future.
Competitive Piano Award Winners
Michael Avalos Piano Scholarship: Melody Chen
William Corbett-Jones Piano Scholarship: Brite Zhou
Carla "Carol" Ferrando Memorial Endowed Scholarship: Jiaze Ma and Jeong Le
Paul Andrieu Memorial Scholarship, Given by the Ross McKee Foundation: Alexa Thanos and Reece Owens
James Ramos International Video Competition: Hewen Pan and Brite Zhou
Additional Award Winners
Presser Award: Alexa Thanos
Music Teachers Association of California Award: Jiaze Ma
William Zech Cup: Randella Jones
Concerto Award Winners: Bryan Kiang, MM Flute and Alexandre Lee, MM Viola
Congratulations to our 2020 Graduates
Undergraduates
Laurena Marie Alm, Bachelor of Music
Daniel Alvarenga, Bachelor of Arts
Diana Calica, Bachelor of Arts
Astrid Cifuentes, Bachelor of Arts
Naomi Figueroa, Bachelor of Arts
Hannah Gomez, Bachelor of Arts
Marisa Elena Gonzalez, Bachelor of Arts
Randella Louise Jones, Bachelor of Arts
Matt Larson, Bachelor of Arts
Najé Amina Maszewski, Bachelor of Arts
Michaela Overall, Bachelor of Arts
Lizbet Marbella Cruz Perez, Bachelor of Arts
Kyle Pescasio, Bachelor of Music
Sohnjay Reeve, Bachelor of Arts
Mona Shahnavaz, Bachelor of Arts
Graham Swann, Bachelor of Arts
Betuel Torrez, Bachelor of Arts
Marcela Ruth Zaragoza, Bachelor of Arts
Graduates
Hussein Al-Nasrawi, Master of Music
Brian Michael Kelly, Master of Music
Christian Laremont, Master of Music
Jiaze Ma, Master of Music
Ana Marie Miranda, Master of Music
Greer McGettrick, Master of Arts
Hewen Pan, Master of Music
Sarah Sims, Master of Music
The School of Music requires permission from all graduates to list their name. If you would like your name listed contact music@sfsu.edu.