The Fred Fox School of Music at the University of Arizona presents the Third Annual Steve Schulman Award Recital on Sunday, October 8, 2017 in Holsclaw Hall at 7:00 p.m. The performance will feature distinguished master’s degree candidate Andrés Pantoja.
Andrés Pantoja will perform in memory of local guitarist Steve Schulman, who was one of the founders of the Tucson Guitar Society and a great friend of the UA Bolton Guitar Studies program. Andrés has performed at a number of prestigious international music festivals including those in France and Switzerland, as well as several across South America.
For additional information about the Fred Fox School of Music Guitar Studio, contact Tom Patterson, Professor of Guitar, rtp@u.arizona.edu or 520-621-1157.
Steve Schulman (1949-2013)
Music had been an integral part of Steve’s life since he was a child. Born in Tucson, Steve started playing the guitar at age ten, and by the time he was a junior at Rincon High School he was playing in bands. Steve continued to play in bands or solo to pay his way through college. He graduated the University of Arizona in 1972 with a degree in education and later returned to earn a master’s degree in education and administration.
Steve’s growing interest in education did not overshadow his desire to share his love of music, especially the guitar. His talents in both areas became his passions along with his family and good food and wine. These truly defined him. Steve was given the gift of music and in turn he gave that gift to countless students he taught and young people he mentored. Steve taught for more than 35 years in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD), reaching children when he thought they were most receptive to learning. Steve was a member of the first gifted education teaching team for elementary students. He also worked as a music resource teacher and as a member of the TUSD Arts Team.
Steve was a highly accomplished classical and flamenco guitarist and one of the founders of the Tucson Guitar Society. His service as a member of the University of Arizona College of Fine Arts School of Music Advisory Board was important to him in order to provide more opportunities for gifted student musicians. Steve continued to play in local bands throughout his life in a variety genres, from the Temple Emanu-El Avanim Rock Band, which put traditional Jewish liturgical music to rock and roll themes to country western. After retiring from TUSD, Steve worked at The Folk Shop, sometimes selling a guitar by giving free lessons. He just couldn’t stop teaching or playing.
Andrés Pantoja
Andrés Pantoja, from Chillán, Chile, is completing his Master of Music degree in guitar performance in the Bolton Guitar Studies Program at the University of Arizona, with Professor Thomas Patterson, and he intends to return to the UA next fall to begin doctoral studies. In 2005, Pantoja won Chile’s Sixth National Guitar Competition, “Liliana Pérez Corey,” and, in 2017, he won the Thirty Sixth Annual Sholin Memorial Guitar Competition at the University of Arizona. Andrés has recorded five CDs, most recently a solo CD and book with music composed by Guillermo Eisner (2015).