TAMIU Virtuosos Share Their Knowledge Abroad

Two Texas A&M International University faculty members will represent Laredo and TAMIU abroad in July as they delight audiences in Honduras and Taiwan with their performances and enlighten students with their knowledge.

Dr. Susan Berdahl, associate professor of music (photo), will direct the Third International Flute Festival for Central Americans in Tegucigalpa, Honduras July 18 - 28. This year’s festival will feature Dr. Berdahl performing as a soloist playing the Bach b minor Suite with the Leipzig Bach Camerata Orchestra. She will also direct a large flute orchestra in concerts and various locales throughout Honduras, give daily master classes and perform in recitals with Central American flutists.

This year’s event is partially sponsored by the Honduran National School of Music, the Embassy of the United States of America in Honduras and TAMIU. Berdahl founded the Festival in 2002 under the auspices of the J. William Fulbright Foundation.

Berdahl joined TAMIU in Fall 2002 and holds a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, Minn., and an MM in flute performance from the University of Miami, Coral Gables. Berdahl earned her BM in music education at the University of Iowa.

Dr. Yu-Mei Huang, assistant professor of music (photo), is the other TAMIU faculty member promoting Laredo and TAMIU abroad. Dr. Huang will perform in Taipei, Taiwan and teach a master class in violin in late July. She said she chose to perform in Taiwan because it is her home country and she’d like to introduce talented students to TAMIU and encourage them to pursue higher education.

Huang won first prize at the Violin Performance Competition in Taiwan when she was 15 years old. She earned her D.M.A. from the University of Miami and received both undergraduate and graduate degrees in violin performance and conducting at Florida International University.

For more information, please contact Berdahl at 326.2658, e-mail sberdahl@tamiu.edu, or visit offices in Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, room 216B.

Dr. Huang can be contacted at 326.2664, e-mail yhuang@tamiu.edu or by visiting offices in CFPA 208B.

University office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu