Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University’s Division of Music will host a guest clarinet recital featuring OBU alumna Amanda Cox on Friday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m. The recital will be held in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall.

Cox earned her Bachelor of Music Performance degree from Ouachita in 2006. She completed her Master’s Degree in Clarinet Performance at Texas Tech University in 2008. She has studied under Dr. David Shea and OBU’s Dr. Caroline Taylor and has also worked with Andy Crisanti, Diana Haskell, Richard MacDowell and D. Ray McClellan.

Cox currently is a part-time graduate instructor at Texas Tech University, where she is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Clarinet Performance. She serves as the E-flat clarinetist for Texas Tech University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, with whom she has performed at both state and national conferences. Cox has also performed with various large and chamber music ensembles throughout the state and nation, as well as in Europe.

Her current research interests focus on the music of the Czech Republic. She will be making her second trip to Prague in May where she will research music of Eastern Europe and study with Karel Dohnal and Stepan Koutnik, two prominent clarinet instructors in Prague.

“It is important for my students to hear other players and work with other teachers to gain a well-rounded experience in clarinet,” said Dr. Heather Bynum, OBU instructor of clarinet. “There is so much they can learn from someone else who has studied with teachers with whom I have not. It is also important for them to see what an OBU alum is capable of and the many avenues one can take once they complete their degree.”

Cox will be performing works by Leo Weiner, Charles Boscha, Louis Cahuzac and Miloslav Istvan.

The recital is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Heather Bynum at [email protected] or (870) 245-5387.

By Julie Hagar