Rowan College of the Arts students represent on the national stage

March was a busy month for Rowan University College of the Arts students, representing Rowan at two national music competitions and two national conferences.

On March 23, music major Vitalii Khairutdinov won first place in the piano category at the prestigious Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artists Performance Competition in Chicago, Illinois. Khairutdinov is a student of piano professor Veda Zuponcic, who has been teaching at Rowan since 1971. Over her tenure, Zuponcic has sent 14 students to the MTNA National Finals, with numerous awardees; Khairutdinov is the first to claim the top prize.

At this year’s National Trumpet Competition held at the University of Iowa from March 19–22, an ensemble of seven Rowan music students won out over forty other university groups to compete in the live round. They represented Rowan with a rendition of “Thermal Whiplash” (2019) by Chris Evan Hass (b. 1993). The week’s events included a master class given by the St. Louis Symphony and U.S. Navy Band Commodores trumpet sections. The Commodores are led by Rowan trumpet alum, Jonathan Barnes, who acknowledged the Rowan students and complimented them on their live round performance.  

Professor Bryan Appleby-Wineberg and the Rowan University Trumpet Septet: (back row from L) Andrew Strom, Jack Newman, Evan Boltniew, Ian O’Boyle and Appleby-Wineberg (front row from L) Kassandra Miano, Rylie Phillips and Phoebe Sheer.

Senior performance major Kassandra Miano also competed as an individual in the Undergraduate Solo Division, beating out 150 other players from around the country to compete in the live round.

“Getting to travel to the National Trumpet Competition with my friends was such a unique and inspiring experience,” Miano said. “We got to hear amazing examples of musicianship from fellow students and professionals, and we loved connecting with a wider community of trumpet players.”

While competing in Iowa, Miano learned she was the only trumpet player selected from blind national auditions to join The Orchestra Now (TŌN), one of two major training orchestras in the country. A graduate program of Bard College, TŌN is a paid position that offers the performance, rehearsal and recording schedule of a professional orchestral musician, with dozens of concerts each year at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

“Being admitted to [TŌN] is truly a dream come true, and I owe a huge part of my success to my friends, family, and teachers,” Miano said. “If it weren’t for their never-ending support and guidance, I would not be where I am today. I am so beyond excited for what the future will hold.”

Creative solutions across disciplines

Earlier this month, BFA studio art majors Kaitlyn Linneman and Shaelee Figueroa, and Creativity Ph.D candidate Chris Devery attended the Emerging Creatives Student Summit at Michigan State University. Convened by the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru), the summit aims to provide students with an experience integrating arts-based methods and approaches with those from other fields. Seventy-two students from 20 universities attended the 2026 summit, themed "Rewilding: New Stories of Collective Wellbeing." When asked what students should know about the experience of the summit, Chris Devery said, “We’re all coming to this from different disciplines, so it’s easy to have preconceived ideas and judgments ... But this has become a very open-minded space. I think leading with curiosity before judgment is the best way to survive this jungle of different ideas.”

Attendees of the 2026 Emerging Creatives Student Summit at Michigan State University. Photo by Molly Taylor for MSU.

A faculty world premiere

At the 2026 North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference, held March 12-15 at Ohio State University, the Rowan University Saxophone Ensemble performed the world premiere of “Beck and Call” (2026) by ensemble director and music professor Noa Even. With the theme "For You, For Me, For the Saxophone," the conference invited performances of music that held deep personal meaning.

Rowan’s representation at these national events demonstrates the artistic excellence and flourishing creativity of the College. Learn more at rowan.edu/arts.