STEPHENVILLE, Texas —Tarleton State University is hosting area high school students at its first Mariachi Institute, which will culminate with a free concert at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center Auditorium.
The four-day workshop is sponsored by the Lozano Long Division of Global, Community and First-gen Initiatives in collaboration with the Department of Performing Arts, Division of Student Engagement and Success, and Division of Enrollment Management.
More than 50 students from three DFW high schools were invited to experience campus life, engage with staff and current students, and learn from a variety of well-known mariachi instructors, including three-time Grammy-award-winning arranger and performer Jesus Guzman. Dr. Adolfo Estrada, Post-doctoral Fellow of Musicology from the University of New Mexico, is lead faculty for the institute.
Since Wednesday, students from Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy, North Side High School and Castleberry High School in Fort Worth have attended classes taught by faculty from across the country, including instrument-specific instruction in harp, trumpet and violin. They have gone on campus tours, shared meals in the dining hall and stayed in the residence halls.
“We are thrilled to provide this amazing educational program for our distinguished high school partners,” said Dr. Sherri Benn, Vice President for the Division of Global, Community and First-gen Initiatives. “This is an edu-taining (educational and entertaining) experience of student engagement towards college readiness through performance and the arts. Students are experiencing campus life and learning from some of the best mariachi instructors in the country.”
Dr. Benn said the idea for the mariachi institute was inspired by a commitment to give back to the communities that students come from and a passion for education.
“We wanted to create a unique learning opportunity along with a culturally enriching experience for the community through student engagement towards college readiness through performance,” she said. “Mariachi music is part of the fiber of joy-filled celebrations such as weddings and baptisms, as well as emotion-filled ceremonies such as memorials and funerals. Music is a beautiful way to connect with culture, and we want all members of the communities we serve to know they are valued and celebrated.
“We are building on this week’s workshop to grow our own,” she added.
“We want everyone to know of Tarleton’s dedication to promoting work, service and leadership readiness for a globally connected economy and transnational workforce by advancing mission-focused partnerships with the communities we serve.”
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.