Hank Hehmsoth discusses Christopher Cross, music education, jazz research with Big Ideas TXST

Hank Hehmsoth, an award-winning composer and performer and associate professor of practice in the School of Music at Texas State University, joins the Big Ideas TXST podcast for August's episode, discussing his work with Christopher Cross, music education and the fascinating discoveries he’s made in jazz research.

As a performing artist, Hehmsoth has played more than 10,000 international, national, state and regional area performances, from classical to jazz to pop/rock, as well as Broadway, concert tour music, nightclubs and symphony. He is a lifetime voting member for the Grammy Awards. 

Hehmsoth teaches composition and jazz piano. His students play piano, bass, sax, flute, guitar and have won awards and scholarships including Berklee College of Music and the Patti Strickel Harrison Scholarship. Composition students learn commercial arranging and contemporary techniques in jazz. His studio includes international students from Serbia, China, South Korea and South America.

He is a MacDowell Norton Stevens fellow in composition, a National Endowment for the Arts fellow in jazz composition (1979), a Fulbright Senior Specialist in jazz studies, a National Endowment for the Arts project specialist and a research scholar for the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University. Much of his research work may be viewed on his YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/HHehmsoth.

Big Ideas TXST is a monthly podcast from Texas State’s Division of University Advancement that goes inside the fascinating minds forging innovation, research and creativity at the university. Hosted by Daniel Seed, a lecturer in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, each episode features thoughtful interviews and discussion with the thought leaders developing innovative ideas to make the world a better place.

Big Ideas TXST can be found at news.txstate.edu/inside-txst/big-ideas-podcast. The podcast may also be listened to or subscribed to at:

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