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As director of the Frost School of Music\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Studio Jazz Writing<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>Program, assistant professor Stephen Guerra spends much of his time teaching students how to be music\u2019s crucial but largely unsung architects: the arrangers of orchestral and other large-scale music that audiences hear in television, films, concerts, and beyond.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re the invisible artists,\u201d said\u00a0<\/span>Guerra<\/a>, who is also creative director of the\u00a0<\/span>Henry Mancini Institute<\/a>. He notes that arrangers are key to the work of famous film composers like Hans Zimmer and John Williams, artists like Ben Folds, and popular shows like \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d and \u201cThe Voice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAn arranger or orchestrator\u2019s job is realizing the artistic vision of the composer or framing the music you\u2019re arranging to highlight the artist you\u2019re working for,\u201d Guerra said. \u201cWe get a lot of creative input, but it\u2019s really about realizing other people\u2019s visions.\u201d<\/p>\n And so Guerra is particularly proud that two former and two current students were recently honored for their talent in arranging and composing. His program, which offers a master\u2019s in studio jazz writing and a doctorate in jazz composition, teaches composition, arranging, and essential production and technical skills for a music world in which composers must be able to record their work.<\/p>\n This fall, composer and musician\u00a0<\/span>Michael R. Dudley<\/a>, a rising young composer and musician who earned doctoral and master\u2019s degrees in jazz trumpet performance at the Frost School, and took multiple classes in Guerra\u2019s program, received the\u00a0<\/span>inaugural ASCAP Foundation Johnny Mandel Prize<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>for Early-Career Arrangers. At the same time,\u00a0<\/span>Eli Feingold<\/a>, who got a bachelor\u2019s in jazz trombone in 2019 and a master\u2019s from the Studio Jazz Writing Program in 2021, won the ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award for his piece \u201c1210.\u201d (Mandel<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>was a renowned film and television composer who was a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee.)<\/p>\n Feingold said Guerra and the program were key to his development. \u201cSteve was one of the most important influences for me in developing my confidence as a writer,\u201d he said. \u201cIn my private lessons and throughout my time in the Studio Jazz Writing program with both Gary Lindsay and Steve, they encouraged me to write as much as possible and to get lost in the process of doing so. Being able to write for incredibly skilled peers provided invaluable experience as a young composer looking to try out ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n Also this fall, current jazz writing master\u2019s student\u00a0<\/span>Gerg\u0151 Korm\u00e1nyos<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>won the first prize in the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC)\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>2025 Student Competition\u2019s Bill Conti Big Band Arranging contest<\/a>, with doctoral student\u00a0<\/span>Jorge Machain<\/a>, who has won a number of composition accolades, winning second place. The two men, who are also roommates, were up against contestants from across the country and the world.<\/p>\n Korm\u00e1nyos won for his arrangement of his own composition \u201cMotion Picture,\u201d which was inspired by a Duke Ellington quote about music\u2019s capacity to inspire people and was on the Frost Jazz Orchestra\u2019s annual\u00a0<\/span>live concert recording<\/a>. \u201cI aimed to write something powerful and forward-moving, a piece that can offer strength and momentum through challenging times,\u201d Korm\u00e1nyos said. \u201cWinning this competition means a great deal to me. It is both an honor and a moment of encouragement. I am deeply grateful for the performers, mentors, and community at the Frost School of Music.\u201d<\/p>\n Guerra said that for Dudley and Feingold, being honored by the foundation for ASCAP, a leading performance rights group and major player in the music world, can be a psychological and professional boost. \u201cTo have that on their resume validates what they\u2019re doing and thrusts them into the spotlight,\u201d said Guerra. For Korm\u00e1nyos and Machain, the ASMAC prizes encourage them amidst the relentless demands of school. \u201cWhat we do isn\u2019t easy, and it\u2019s a lot of work,\u201d said Guerra. \u201cTo get that validation is so important. They spend every day in school with us telling them how to do things better. It\u2019s nice when someone says, \u2018This is great.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"orge](\"https:\/\/news.miami.edu\/frost\/_assets\/images\/images-stories\/2026\/01\/3-invisibleartists940x529.webp\")
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