The Sound of Opportunity: How Endowed Professorships Shape Music at UNCSA

Across the School of Music, endowed professorships create opportunities that extend far beyond the classroom. They help faculty recruit exceptional students, bring renowned artists to campus, support scholarships, expand international experiences and provide transformative learning opportunities that prepare graduates for successful careers.

Whether through opera, piano or organ, endowed support gives faculty the flexibility to respond to new opportunities and invest directly in student success. Together, these professorships strengthen the School of Music while honoring the donors and faculty whose legacies continue to shape generations of artists.

On this page

Opening Doors in Opera: Endowed Professorships and Global Vocal Pathways

Opera at UNCSA is as much about discovery as it is about discipline. For Steve LaCosse, holder of the A.J. Fletcher Distinguished Professorship in Opera, endowed support has become a key that opens doors—for him and for his students.

Travel supported by the professorship has taken LaCosse to institutions such as Eastman, Rice, DePaul and Houston. These trips allow him to recruit emerging talent, present masterclasses and share the work of the Fletcher Opera Institute more widely.

"The professorship is a great honor to hold," he said, noting that it enables him to connect with prospective students while raising the profile of the program.

Endowed support also follows students beyond campus. It funds travel to festivals and summer programs where young singers encounter new artistic environments and return changed by them.

"I enjoy opening the world of opera to young singers," LaCosse said. "Helping them realize their potential and giving them the tools they need to succeed."

Fellow opera professor Eric McEnaney, who holds the Malcolm and Patricia Brown Distinguished Professorship in Music in the Fletcher Opera Institute, describes opera as fundamentally collaborative—a confluence of all the arts. His professorship has supported recruiting trips, language study in Berlin and partnerships with other universities.

McEnaney's professorship was established by Malcolm and Patty Brown of Winston-Salem, who also endowed professorships in the Schools of Drama and Design & Production. For him, opera is ultimately about shared human expression: "to reflect back to the audience what it is to be human."

Voice faculty member Marilyn Taylor has held the Witherspoon and Wilder Professorship for Voice in the Fletcher Opera Institute since 2015. When she first received the professorship, she "had no idea how much it would enrich [her] teaching and [her] musical life."

Since then, endowed support has funded recruitment travel, master classes with internationally recognized experts, residency opportunities in Germany and Italy, and educational travel for students to experiences such as UNCSA alumnus René Barbera's Metropolitan Opera debut.

Together, these professorships help students move from rehearsal rooms to international stages, giving faculty the resources to say yes to opportunities that expand the reach of opera and voice education.

The Piano Studio as a Living Network: Scholarships, Performance, and Legacy

Within the piano program, endowed professorships have become engines of both opportunity and access.

For Dmitri Vorobiev, the Eric Larsen Professorship in Piano carries deep personal significance. The namesake was instrumental in bringing him to the United States decades ago—a connection that shaped his professional life. Today, the support funds student assistantships, recruitment travel and "Piano Fridays," a performance series that brings guest artists to campus for recitals and masterclasses.

"Our students are spoiled with the amount of performing opportunities and chances to hear great artists here," Vorobiev said.

Dmitri Shteinberg, who holds the Clifton Matthews Professorship in Piano, emphasizes another important outcome: affordability and access.

"The money has allowed us to vastly increase our scholarships," he said. "Consequently, both the numbers of enrolled students and the quality of our recruits has shot up."

For Shteinberg, music extends beyond professional preparation.

"Music isn't just a vocation, it's a refuge," he said. "Art will never stop wars, or feed and cure anyone, but it might just be a reason to live a more meaningful life."

The Matthews and Larsen Professorships also honor longtime UNCSA faculty members whose teaching shaped generations of musicians. Established by anonymous donors in 2019, these professorships sustain scholarships, expand performance opportunities and help talented pianists flourish as artists and people.

Sustaining a Thriving Organ Program: Endowed Support and Global Experiences

For Tim Olsen, the Thomas S. Kenan III Endowed Professorship in Organ has been instrumental in the continued growth and success of UNCSA's organ program.

Olsen has used the professorship to bring internationally recognized scholars and performers to campus for recitals, masterclasses and lectures.

"I am able to bring in guest artists to engage the students in a meaningful way," he said.

Endowed support has also enabled Olsen to perform, teach and recruit nationally, raising the profile of UNCSA's organ program while attracting talented students from across the country.

The impact extends internationally as well. The professorship has supported study and performance on historic European instruments while creating educational travel opportunities for students in England and Germany.

"These opportunities for students are eye-opening both in musical terms, but also in cultural terms," Olsen said. "These trips create memories and experiences that last a lifetime."

Just as importantly, the professorship sends a strong message about UNCSA's commitment to organ education.

"Receiving this endowed professorship has demonstrated to the wider organ community the importance given to organ study at UNCSA," Olsen noted.

Through the Kenan Professorship, donors help sustain a specialized program whose influence reaches concert halls, churches and communities around the world.

One Investment. Countless Opportunities.

Across the School of Music, endowed professorships create opportunities that transform both teaching and learning. They help faculty recruit exceptional students, bring world-class artists to campus, expand scholarships, foster international experiences and prepare graduates for meaningful careers in music.

Whether introducing aspiring singers to international festivals, welcoming acclaimed pianists for masterclasses or giving organ students the opportunity to study historic instruments abroad, endowed professorships make experiences possible that would otherwise remain out of reach.

Together, these investments strengthen the School of Music, honor the legacies of distinguished faculty and donors, and ensure that future generations of musicians continue to learn, perform and thrive at the highest level.