Martha Placeres, DMA
Department Chair
Director of Orchestra and String Studies
As a passionate music educator, my main goal has always been student success. In the orchestral program, I strive to give my students the opportunity to perform standard symphonic and string orchestra literature and contemporary music in a positive and inclusive environment. I work diligently to create a sense of “belonging” so that students feel that they are part of a family and as such, they play an equal role in performing music together.
Biography
Dr. Martha Placeres, is the new Director of Orchestra and String Studies at »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË. She has been featured with different orchestras in the US, Mexico, Italy, Germany, and Austria. Since 2014 she is the Executive Director of the Orchestra and Band Conducting Symposium at the Puebla State Conservatory of Music, where she teaches orchestral conducting to band and orchestra conductors and students from all major music schools in the region. As a clinician she is regularly invited to present workshops for several schools in the Topeka-Kansas City area, Texas, Mexico, and Germany. As a certified member of the Texas Music Adjudicators Association (TMAA) and Kansas State High School Adjudicators Association (KSHSAA), she is a regular adjudicator for Solo & Ensemble, and Concert & Sight Reading contests. Her awards include “Woman of the Year in the Arts” from the State of Puebla (2009), “Exceptional Merit Award” (2010) from the University of Texas at Brownsville, and the “Royal Decree” from the city of Cholula (2016) for her contributions to the culture and arts in the state.As part of her concert tour during 2018, she conducted concerts with “Binational Youth Symphony Orchestra Germany-Mexico” in both countries, as well as concerts with the Voghera String Orchestra in Italy. Previously she hold the position of Director of Orchestra and String Studies at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Washburn University.
She has a Bachelors Degree from the Puebla State Conservatory of Music in Violin Performance, a Masters Degree in Music Education from the University of Texas at Brownsville and a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from Texas Tech University.
Education
- Doctorate in Musical Arts, Texas Tech University, 2014
- Master of Arts Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Texas at Brownsville, 2005
- Bachelor of Music, Puebla State Conservatory of Music, 2001
Interests
Life Coaching Staff for "Potencial Humano" in MexicoAwards
Royal Decree of the City of Cholula, Participation as the Mexican Conductor of the Binational Youth Symphony Orchestra Mexico-Germany, 2016
Exceptional Merit Award, University of Texas at Brownsville, 2010
Award “Carmen Serdán Alatriste,” Woman of the Year in the Arts of the State of Puebla, 2008