Anonymous Gifts Establish Horn Professorship, Scholarship in WT’s School of Music

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, [email protected]

CANYON, Texas - Gifts from a group of anonymous donors have secured lasting support for the horn studio in West Texas A&M University's School of Music.

The gifts, totaling about $133,000, include funds for a $125,000 endowment to establish a professorship, $4,500 to set up a student scholarship fund, and $3,500 to create a fund supporting the program itself.

Many of the anonymous donors have longstanding ties to the WT School of Music and the University. Further gifts are being accepted at wtamu.edu/giving.

Dr. Guglielmo Manfredi, who has taught at WT since 2009, was named the WT Horn Studio Professor thanks to the gift.

"This endowment represents not merely support, but also a lasting legacy with which I have been entrusted," Manfredi said. "It affirms that my daily work in the practice room, the studio and the classroom extends its impact well beyond the present. It affords me the freedom to teach with greater depth, to pursue ambitious artistic and pedagogical goals, and to invest more meaningfully in the development of my students, who will carry this artform forward. I am both deeply honored and sincerely inspired by this responsibility."

Endowed professorships and chairs make it possible to recruit, retain and reward outstanding faculty by providing annual financial support for teaching, research, service and other professional activities. Over the course of WT's historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, the University's roster of endowed professors and chairs has surpassed 100.

Manfredi-a native of Genova, Italy-earned his Bachelor of Music from WT in 2004, then master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Miami.

He is the principal horn for the Amarillo Symphony and the Amarillo Opera. He has performed at Carnegie Hall with the Frost Wind Ensemble and with the Carlo Felice Opera in Genova, the New World Symphony, the Genova Sinfonietta, the Miami Pops and Pink Martini.

The initial scholarship was presented to Nathan Smith, an Amarillo High School senior, who plans to attend WT in the fall to major in music education.

"The horn studio scholarship really closed the gap for me," Smith said. "I didn't get such a competitive scholarship from any of the other schools I applied at. This scholarship is going to give me an enormous head start to be able to graduate without debt."

Program funds will be used for to assist faculty and students with national and international travel, recording projects and other creative activities.

Currently, 16 students study horn with Manfredi, performing in various ensembles at the University and preparing for careers in music education or performance, among other career tracks.

Recruiting, retaining and rewarding the best faculty and students is a key mission of the University's long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign, which is now winding down, has raised more than $175 million.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor's and master's degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men's and women's athletics programs.

Photo: Dr. Guglielmo Manfredi, center, recently was named WT's Horn Studio Professor following a series of anonymous gifts that endowed a professorship and set up scholarship and program funds for the studio. Pictured with him are students in the horn studio: Addison Beard, from left, Bethsara Rangel, David Murillo, Fredd Davila, Anika McNeely, Ethan Barker, Giovanni Wheeler, Norrin Hodgson, Roy Brown, Christopher Santiago, Elliot Lewis, Colton Hackett and Kinslea Blau.

-WT-