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Dr. Fagner Rocha

Associate Professor/Director of Orchestra Music

Experience

Dr. Fagner Magrinelli Rocha serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Angelo State University where he teaches violin, viola and directs the ASU Symphony. Before his appointment at ASU, Dr. Rocha served as Assistant Professor of Violin at the Universidade Federal de Alagoas in Maceió, Brazil.

A versatile musician, Dr. Rocha has appeared as a performer, conductor and clinician in concerts and festivals through South and North America, as well as in Europe. As an ensemble musician, Dr. Rocha has performed with several orchestras in the United States and Brazil. He frequently performs as concertmaster for the Big Spring Symphony and Ballet San Angelo. Dr. Rocha also directs the Concho Valley Youth Orchestra and is a constant guest in Texas public schools. He has conducted multiple Honors, All-Region and Youth Orchestras around Texas. He has also published music and arrangements. His most recent project is the musical Lady of Agreda, a collaboration with composer Cynthia Jordan, premiered in the Queensbury Theatre in Houston, TX in 2020. His doctoral research, entitled “An Analysis of Violin Sound Spectra with Different Shoulder Rests” was awarded 1st Prize at the 6th Annual Arts and Humanities Research Conference hosted by Texas Tech University.

Dr. Rocha holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin performance from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, Brazil) and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Violin Performance from Texas Tech University. His major teachers include, Dr. Fredi Gierling, Prof. Hella Frank, Dr. Kirsten Yon and Prof. Annie Chalex-Boyle.

During the Summer months, Dr. Rocha teaches at the Angelo State Music Camp, the Opera Maya Festival in Mexico, and the Hill Country Youth Orchestra Camp. This coming Summer, he will be touring Brazil with the Angelo State Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Rocha performs on a modern 2011 Luiz Amorim violin. He lives in San Angelo with his wife Emilee and daughter Olivia (both violinists). When not working with music, Dr. Rocha enjoys reading, running, and doing home projects.