From the April 2014 Desktop News | Four School of Music students recently won the quartet competition at the Southeast Horn Workshop, a workshop held annually with about 350-400 attendees from all major institutions throughout the Southeast. The students, all undergraduates, competed against undergraduate and graduate students from Louisiana, Kentucky, Virginia, Florida and all states in between. They represent the third group from UA to win the competition during the last four years.

Members of the winning quartet are Joshua Williams, a senior; Payton Sims, a sophomore; Haley Funkhouser, a freshman; and Allison Morris, a freshman.

Dr. Charles Snead, professor and chair of the School of Music, said having his students win the competition is a tremendous addition to the reputation of UA’s horn studio, as the workshop included every major university music program in the southeastern United States, including representatives of all Southeastern Conference schools, Florida State University and others.

The workshop was hosted at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro March 7-9, and the winning quartet performed at the final gala concert in front of all workshop attendees. The attendees included students, professional performers, teachers and horn-playing enthusiasts.

“This speaks very highly for our program and clearly shows the overall talent level and commitment demonstrated by our students,” Snead said. “This ongoing record also speaks to the issue of consistent quality demonstrated over time. It is a very public and widely recognized demonstration of the experience that prospective students could be involved in at The University of Alabama.”

The participating students took part in workshops, clinics, performances and other learning opportunities as part of the conference.