Janis McKay (Music) has just published a book with the University of Nevada Press,  Played Out on the Strip: The Rise and Fall of Las Vegas Casino Bands. From 1940 to 1989, nearly every hotel on the Las Vegas Strip employed a full-time band or orchestra. After the late 1980s, when control of the casinos changed hands from independent…

Paul Bordenkircher (Music) recently contributed an article to Music Connection, a leading monthly national publication related to music industry. Titled "Top 12 Mobile Apps for Music Businesses," the article was published in the magazine's monthly Tip Jar column in the July issue. A 30-year veteran of the music industry, focusing the last 18 years…

The UNLV Jazz Program took home several awards at the 2015 Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival in March. UNLV Jazz Ensemble I, conducted by Dave Loeb and Nathan Tanouye, received second place in the College Big Band Division, competing among some of the finest university jazz ensembles in the nation. The UNLV Latin Jazz Ensemble, directed by…

Nicole Thomas (Music) has been accepted to the Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Academy for summer 2015. A mezzo-soprano, she was accepted from a highly completive field of more than 1,000 singers. Singers are chosen by videotaped audition and recommendation only. The first UNLV student to be accepted into this program, she also was Nevada's first…

UNLV Jazz Studies (Music) saw its performing groups invited to compete at the 58th annual Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival -- the sixth consecutive year that UNLV groups have received an invitation. The festival, which draws top student musicians from around the world, will take place this month in Monterey, Calif. UNLV's students will…

Linda Lister, Stephanie Weiss, Lillian Roberts, Xavier Brown, and Cheyna Alexander (all Music) of UNLV Opera won in two categories at the National Opera Association Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition, which took place at the national convention in Greensboro, N.C. in January. UNLV Opera won in both the graduate and musical theatre divisions.

Anthony LaBounty (Music) made his compositional debut at Carnegie Hall on Nov. 25 with the world premiere of "Psalm 92," an original work for wind symphony commissioned by Travis Pardee, director of the Foothill Wind Symphony.

UNLV Opera was named a finalist in the National Opera Association Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition, which takes place in Greensboro, N.C., in January. UNLV Opera is a finalist in both the graduate and musical theatre divisions.

Linda Lister (Music) is the 2014 winner of The American Prize in Directing, for Sancta Susanna and Suor Angelica. She was selected from applications reviewed this summer from across the United States. The American Prize is a series of new, non-profit competitions unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing…

Jennifer Bellor (Music) wrote a composition, "Noir," which won the 2014 Seattle Women's Jazz Orchestra National Composition contest. It will be performed in Seattle on Nov. 4, featuring Grace Kelly on alto saxophone.

Linda Lister (Music) was named one of six semi-finalists for The American Prize in Directing. In addition, UNLV Opera's production of Suor Angelica/Sancta Susanna was selected as one of six semi-finalists for The American Prize in Opera Performance (university division). Winners were to be announced in July.

Anthony LaBounty (Music) was honored by election to membership in the American Bandmasters Association (ABA). In its 85-year history, the American Bandmasters Association has elected fewer than 500 total members, and currently has fewer than 300 conductors and composers on its roll. Candidates are rigorously screened via the adjudication of…