Baylor Music Student Awarded Fulbright Scholarship

A Baylor University student majoring in music education has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship for the 2006-2007 academic year. Victor Chavez, a senior from El Paso, will study in Paris under the tutelage of celebrated clarinetist Guy Deplus.
Chavez, also a clarinetist who is currently a student teacher at Lake Air Middle School, joins Amelia Din, a senior from Alief, Texas, and Hannah Zdansky, a senior from Lyford, Texas, as recipients of a Fulbright award. The scholarships will cover all expenses, including tuition, books, travel, room and board.
Chavez' course of study in Paris will focus on the music performances of Deplus, who was the principal clarinetist for the Paris Opera and worked with the great Igor Stravinsky. As part of his research, Chavez will give two recitals - one at Christmas and one in the spring - of music written specifically for Deplus.
"This music is almost undiscovered, but I hope my recitals and research will change that," Chavez said.
He also will videotape and document the conservatory style of music education that is practiced in France and compare it to how music education is taught in the United States.
Following his nine months in Paris, Chavez will enroll in a graduate program at DePaul University and study under Larry Combs, the principal clarinetist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He plans to pursue a doctorate and teach at the university level.
"To have three of our fine undergraduates win Fulbright awards this year is a tribute to the students' extraordinary academic records and to their professors' devotion to those they mentor," said Elizabeth Vardaman, representative for the Fulbright Program at Baylor. "As faculty members, we are all thrilled when Baylor students are chosen to represent the United States abroad. We know they will honor their country and their alma mater, as well as maximize these great educational opportunities. It is a joy to work with students like Victor, Amelia and Hannah."