“This trifecta is a first,” said Jeff Rupert, director of the program and band. “It’s not often that college jazz programs receive this kind of recognition. The band shares the charts with Chick Corea, Nicholas Payton, Diana Krall, Peter Erskine and other luminaries in jazz.”

Big Man on Campus, released earlier this year, reached No. 7 on the North American College and Community Radio chart, No. 9 on the Roots Music Report, and No. 36 on Jazz Week.

The album is the eighth released by Flying Horse Records, the music label operated by the university to give students an outlet to record and learn about the world of music. The 11 songs on the album were composed by Henry Mancini, Billy Strayhorn, Antonio Carlos Jobim and others, including the title track B.M.O.C. by Rupert.

The band’s success can be attributed to “keeping artistry at the forefront of the project,” Rupert said. With graduations constantly changing the chemistry of the band, it’s always “like recruiting for a football team. At the beginning of the year I get a feel for the talent in the band once auditions are concluded. That’s when I can program and write for the band. This allows us to accentuate strengths and create scenarios that challenge the students.”

He said some of the notable jazz-studies students on Big Man on Campus include saxophonist Saul Dautch, guitarist Ryan Waszmer and freshman trombonist Christian Herrera.

Rupert joined one of the songs on saxophone, and Jeff Moore, dean of the College of Arts & Humanities, also added percussion on a couple of the tracks.

The band’s new student lineup will begin rehearsing in late August and start off the school year with an on-campus performance at 8 p.m. Sept. 29 in Room 101 of the Nicholson School of Communication. They’ll follow that up with a performance at the Winter Park Autumn Art Festival at 1 p.m. Oct. 14.

“We are happy to be cultivating an environment of excellence and relevance for our students,” Rupert said. “Stay tuned for our next release, The Bat Swings!,  due out this fall – the music of Batman!.”

Jeffrey M. Moore, who has been the director of the UCF School of Performing Arts since its inception in 2013, has been named as the new dean of the College of Arts & Humanities.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to join UCF’s outstanding senior academic leadership team,” Moore said. “Throughout my career, I have always enjoyed collaborating with faculty, students and our community partners. This new position will allow me to expand on those activities and enhance our presence even more.”

Steven Chicurel-Stein, professor of theatre and associate director of the School of Performing Arts, has been named interim director of the school while the university conducts a national search for Moore’s permanent replacement.

Chicurel-Stein’s new position grants him oversight over the school’s music and theatre curriculum, facilities and faculty. “I’ve been teaching at universities for 25 years now, and I’ve always been a professor in theatre, but my degrees are in music. For me, it’s an easy fit—I understand the cultures of both music and theatre. There’s still a learning curve, but I’m comfortable working within both worlds.”

Professor of Music David L. Brunner will assume Chicurel-Stein’s associate director duties for the interim period, complimented by Dr. Keith Koons, who remains in his associate director position.

Theatre professor Julia Listengarten has been named as the artistic director for Theatre UCF. The artistic director is typically responsible for conceiving, developing, and implementing the artistic vision of a theatre company.

Listengarten envisions her role as working with the theatre faculty to reimagine artistic goals of the department and develop a vision for upcoming seasons. Theatre associate professor Bert Scott, as director of production, will facilitate the technical production needs of the season.

“One of the exciting parts of this position for me is the fact that now we’re a School of Performing Arts—so there are theatre and music,” says Listengarten. While her position does not directly impact the music department, she looks forward to bringing the two areas closer together. “I’ve always tried to collaborate with musicians in the productions that I’ve directed, and I see artistic collaboration as a very important part of the merger.”

Tremon Kizer has been hired as associate director of bands and director of athletic bands. In this role, he will oversee all aspects of the athletic band program and teach courses in music education. As an award-winning educator, Kizer hopes his students take the skills they learn and apply them to every area of their lives. “I want to help our students become the best doctors, lawyers, educators, musicians, mothers, and fathers they can be,” he said. “Hopefully, they will apply what they learn into their path of life.”

Kizer earned his doctorate in musical arts from the şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą of South Carolina, his master of arts in music from the şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą of Central Missouri and his bachelors in music education from Kansas State şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą.

While the School conducts a nationwide search for a new director of bands, Dr. Chung Park, director of orchestras, will lead UCF’s Wind Ensemble in addition to the orchestra.

Assistant Professor Si-Yan Darren Li has been added to the music faculty, where he will be leading the cello studio. Li holds his bachelor of music degree from The Juilliard School, and his master of music degree and artist diploma from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą.

Li started studying cello at age 5 and now holds prizes from numerous prestigious competitions around the world, such as the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. He is also the recipient of the “American Masterpieces” Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

“Teaching cello has really become my biggest passion in life,” said Li. “I find it incredibly rewarding to help my students to grow as a cellist, a musician and a human being by sharing my experience, knowledge and wisdom. I believe that passion, devotion and honest communications are essential elements to great teaching.”

The theatre department also welcomes Assistant Professor Shawn Boyle to the faculty, where he will be teaching lighting design and working on Theatre UCF’s productions. Boyle has an extensive background as a projection and lighting designer, working in theatre, musical theater, opera, dance, installation, and architectural projects, as well as designing for several theaters and theme parks in the United States. As an associate projection designer for Elaine J. McCarthy, Boyle worked on productions of Wicked in the United States, Australia, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Holland and the United Kingdom.

Boyle earned his MFA in projection design from Yale School of Drama in 2015 and his BFA in Lighting Design from Rutgers şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ąâ€™s Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Cynthia White, who has been serving on the theatre faculty as interim professor focusing on acting and directing, has been awarded the permanent position of lecturer in directing. The position is a shared one with the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, where she will also serve as the director of new play development. She was associate director and director of play development at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and taught at Pacific Lutheran şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą, the şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą of Wisconsin–Madison, and Western Washington şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą in Bellingham. She has directed professionally at numerous Shakespeare festivals, universities, and regional theatre around the country.

David Willmore will be Theatre UCF’s master electrician. Willmore holds a B.A. in theatre and dance with a concentration in design and technology from James Madison şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą and has been working in the electrics department at the Glimmerglass Festival in New York.

Moore joined UCF in 1994 as the university’s first full-time percussion professor. He became chair of the Music Department from 2009 to 2013, and he began his role as the director of UCF’s newly created School of Performing Arts in 2013.

“From a pool of terrific candidates, Professor Moore stood out because of his strong leadership abilities and his innovative vision for strengthening the college’s academic and interdisciplinary research mission at UCF,” said Provost and Executive Vice President A. Dale Whittaker.

During his music and teaching career, Moore has been involved with more than 60 literary and music projects as an author, composer or arranger, and is an international performer, lecturer, clinician and soloist. His work on several local boards and committees has helped build awareness of the arts and relationships with UCF partners. In his new role, he will advance the college while continuing to enhance UCF’s arts presence in our community and beyond.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to join UCF’s outstanding senior academic leadership team,” Moore said. “Throughout my career, I have always enjoyed collaborating with faculty, students and our community partners. This new position will allow me to expand on those activities and enhance our presence even more.”

Moore holds a bachelor’s in music education from the şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą of North Texas and a master’s in percussion performance from the şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą of Wisconsin.

He is also the Region 7 chair of the National Association of Schools of Music, serving on its board of directors as well as the board of advisors for the Percussive Arts Society.

Under his leadership as director of UCF’s School of Performing Arts, both the theatre and music departments received accreditation or reaccreditation from the National Association of Schools of Theatre and National Association of Schools of Music. Moore also helped create UCF Celebrates the Arts, a multi-week festival that highlights UCF’s arts and interdisciplinary programs that recently held its second season.

“When you consider our opportunities as we pursue recognition as a Florida preeminent university, along with campus performance-space construction and also our involvement with UCF Downtown, it is a very exciting time for the arts and humanities at UCF,” Moore said. “I can’t wait to get started!”

Moore will be taking over the role of dean from José Fernández, who will be stepping down and returning to the history faculty this fall. Fernández has been dean of the College of Arts & Humanities since 2006.

Dr. Steven Chicurel-Stein of the Theatre Department has been named interim director of the School of Performing Arts while a search is conducted to fill the role permanently.

Playwright Meredith Willson wrote the musical in the 1950s and it depicts his childhood in Iowa. The well-known musical features favorite songs like “Seventy-Six Trombones,” “Goodnight, My Someone,” and “Till There Was You.”

Kate Busselle, a first-year master’s Theatre student and dramaturg for the production, has been researching life in early-20th century Iowa in order to help director Mark Brotherton and the students working on the musical recreate Willson’s world.

Busselle said: “At the time, Iowa was one of the most progressive states of the union and that is well-reflected in the casting of the show. Iowa abolished slavery 39 years before the Emancipation Proclamation. In our production, the mayor and his wife are African-American, which would not have happened in most of America at that time, but could have happened in Iowa.”

This production has a set and costumes, but was scaled back slightly in order to accommodate the 24-piece orchestra on the stage.

“We are extremely excited to present this collaborative production of The Music Man,” said UCF School of Performing Arts director Jeffrey Moore. “This show is a tangible example of the ongoing merger that demonstrates the growing levels of cooperation within the Music and Theatre units. Building on the previous success of our collaboration on 2012’s production of Ragtime, faculty and students are interacting and interfacing like never before.”

Moore also thinks that joint productions such as this one create benefits for patrons.

“When UCF made the decision to create a School of Performing Arts, we knew that our students would benefit from collaborations between the Music and Theatre departments. In this production of The Music Man, the community also benefits: an orchestra provides a fuller experience for theatre-goers, especially when it is a musical about music. We won’t have quite 76 trombones, but there will be plenty of brass, reeds, and percussion alongside the singers.”

Production at a glance

Meredith Willson’s The Music Man

Book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson

Story by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey

Directed by Mark Brotherton

8 p.m.: Feb., 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, March 1

2 p.m.: Feb. 23, March 2

Price: Standard $20, Senior $18, Student $10; Group discounts available.

Address: 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando

Box Office Phone: 407- 823-1500

Box Office Hours: Monday through Friday:  noon to 5 p.m. and 2 hours before performances

Moore has also been recognized by UCF for excellence in teaching, research and professional service including the 2006 College of Arts and Humanities Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, two TIP awards, the 2008 CAH Open House Outstanding Achievement Award, and CAH Outstanding Professional Service Nominee in 2007, 2008, and 2009.