Heather Beltz

Heather Beltz is currently completing her PhD in Fine Arts with a concentration in music/musicology and served as the Administrative Coordinator for the Vernacular Music Center, handling all digital media.  She received her Bachelor of Arts in Music at Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi and her Master's in Musicology at Texas Tech University.  Her interests include Irish music & culture, African diaspora, musics developed in the USA, dance music, cultural exchange, authenticity, and performance practice.  While attending Texas Tech, she traveled to Ireland, with Dr. Christopher Smith, which led to her thesis, titled "The Power of Sound: Music and Magic in Pre-Christian Irish Folklore."  Outside of Texas Tech, Heather leads an Irish group, the Yellow Rose Ceili, is a musician in Old News Banjos, and is a Board Member and head of the PR Committee of the non-profit organization, Hub City Contra.

Anne Wharton

Anne Wharton is currently pursuing her PhD in Fine Arts at Texas Tech University. Wharton served as the Movement Director for the Vernacular Music Center as well as the TA in Vernacular Dance for the TTU School of Music.  Wharton created and teaches Dance Practices for Musicians , which focuses on somatic awareness, wellbeing and improvisational tools. Her research interests include the Bal Folk revival of traditional music and dancing in France, Irish traditional music and dance, and the physical and emotional benefits to communities participating in vernacular music and dance. Wharton holds an Associates of Arts in Dance from Austin Community College, a BFA in Dance and a BS in Mass Communication and Public Relations from Texas State University, and a MM in Musicology from Texas Tech University.

Abi Rhoades

Abi Rhoades is currently completing a PhD in Arts Administration; she served as the founding administrative coordinator for the TTU Vernacular Music Center (VMC); her dissertation research focuses on enhancing and strategizing the mechanisms that facilitate international Fine Arts student exchange. She also serves as President of the Tech Set Dancers and the Lubbock chapter of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann. A Lubbock native, Abi has experience ranging from more traditional ballet and modern dance to salsa, Irish sets, and English country dance. An alumna of Dr. Christopher Smith’s “Irish Music & Folklore” class and field trip, she attended the Fleadh Nua in Ennis, County Clare; in addition, she has extensive experience at Study Abroad, which also forms the topic of her dissertation. Abi was the creator of the first VMC dance-oriented event, spearheading the “Dancing with Mr. Darcy” fundraiser to provide support for the annual VMC concert series. A fervent advocate of community participation, she offers adult instruction in English country dance and in Spring 2011 added children’s dance classes at the Maxey Community Center.

Candice Holley

Candice Holley completed a PhD in Fine Arts with a concentration in Musicology at Texas Tech University. Her research interests include the influence of nationalistic traits in the piano music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk and a dissertation topic on sacred music in Italy.  Holley received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Studies and Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of New Orleans, where she graduated magna cum laude and summa cum laude, respectively.  In addition to her academic pursuits, she has also been a soloist of the Delta Festival Ballet in New Orleans since 2004, dancing lead roles in The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin and many others.  Her training has afforded her the opportunity to study at various intensive ballet workshops at Austin Ballet, Boston Ballet, the Kirov in Washington D.C., Burklyn Ballet in Vermont and L’Ecole de Danse Classique du Princess Grace in Monte Carlo.  

Marusia Pola Mayorga

Marusia Pola is a Mexican cellist and completed her Master's in Musicology at Texas Tech. She received her bachelor's degree in Music performance from the Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico in 2008 and her Master of Music in Cello Performance from the Middle Tennessee State University in 2013. As a performer, she has worked with several professional symphonic orchestras in Puebla and Chiapas Mexico. Her research interest focuses on popular music and gender studies.

Kathryn Mann

Kathryn Mann served as the coordinating editor for the Journal of the Vernacular Music Center while completing her PhD in Fine Arts with a concentration in Musicology.  She received a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a minor in International Studies from Georgia College and State University while amassing odd jobs in fields ranging from foreign language tutoring to lifeguarding. While studying at GCSU, she was given the opportunity to study Italian Language in Italy, sparking a passion for learning new languages. She continued her education at Texas Tech University where she received her Master of Music in Musicology.  While working towards completing her Master’s degree, she traveled to Ireland with Dr. Christopher Smith, where she was able to take language lessons in Irish.  It was this experience that solidified a passion for Irish song and the complex language used to sing it. Her research interests include popular music, ballads and Irish song. 

Amy McDevitt

Amy McDevitt completed a M.M. in Musicology from Texas Tech University. As a musicologist, her areas of research include: baroque opera and its stage performance practice, twentieth century opera and politics, art song, the works of Monteverdi and Mozart, propaganda and how it engages with the arts, and the interaction between classic literature and music. Her master's thesis will focus on the twenty-first century North American song cycle. In addition to her academic studies, Amy assists in teaching the course "Critical Issues in Art and Culture" at TTU. She received a B.S. in Music with a minor in English and a Vocal Performance Certificate from Southwest Baptist University in 2013.

Adolfo Estrada

Adolfo Estrada is completing a PhD in Fine Arts with a concentration in Ethnomusicology at Texas Tech University. Focused on musics of Greater Mexico, his research interests converge on the implications of regional son practices within a transnational context. Adolfo holds a BA in Mexican American Studies with a minor in music from the University of Texas-Pan American and a MM in ethnomusicology from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Specializing in mariachi guitar performance practice, he has taught at multiple mariachi conference workshops from 2002 to the present and is frequently invited to give guitar clinics throughout the southwestern United States. Owing to his vast experience, he has had the honor of performing with Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Mexico’s premier mariachi ensemble, in addition to professional recording experience with Mariachi Internacional Guadalajara “20 Aniversario”, Mariachi Rock-O “Sonidos de Jalisco Vol.01”. He also has significant accompaniment experience with such artists that include Plácido Domingo, Flor Silvestre, Vikki Carr, Leo Dan, Azucena, and others.