Overseas performances grow students' skills

As part of an award from a Halle Foundation grant, four University of North Georgia (UNG) Department of Music students gave individual performances at the Halle Foundation estate in Atlanta after participating in the Saarburg International Music Festival in Germany for two weeks in summer 2025.

Tyler Howell, Atira Murawski, Hayden Starr, and Greisi Voja spent the two weeks overseas with lessons, sightseeing and performances.

The experience was an exciting culmination for Howell's time at UNG. The Cumming, Georgia, resident will graduate with a degree in music with a saxophone performance concentration this fall.  

"The musicians we worked with were incredible. I was able to grow musically in a way that I haven't really experienced up to this point," Howell said. "The experience is so unique. It was similar to a grad school type of environment. We already knew the specifics and the basics, so they had more freedom to explain things with more artistic descriptions and terminology and verbiage."

Howell was also impressed by cultural differences.

"We're from the fast-paced American postmodern society, and Europeans are at a much slower, community-based culture," he said. "It was really cool to see how that impacted the music that we made and how people interacted with us during the festival."

Murawski reflected that the experience abroad would enhance her classroom teaching. She was quick to share her appreciation for English learners grew as she had to overcome language barriers herself. Murawski is pursuing a degree in instrumental music education and anticipates graduating this spring. The Oakwood, Georgia, resident believes that her story can inspire her students.

"Allowing yourself to do something that you're not good at or maybe not comfortable with and being vulnerable pushes us to grow," she said. "The experience really grew me as a human and a musician. If I see opportunities for my students, I can say I remember when I flew solo to another country where I didn't speak the language and made music and it was one of the best experiences. Sharing that can give them encouragement to not be afraid of opportunities. The uncomfortableness isn't going to last forever, and then you have a really great experience to walk away with."

This is the first grant to the Department of Music with Dr. Joanna Kim, associate department head and professor of music, as the principal investigator.    

"I am very grateful to Dr. Kim and the experience that was provided through the grant. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that otherwise the four of us would not have been able to experience," Howell said. "A lot of students don't have this type of opportunity at this stage in our career. I'm going to carry this with me for the rest of my musical career. I'm forever grateful for the experience."

The mission of The Halle Foundation is to promote understanding, knowledge and friendship between the people of Germany, as seen in its European context, and those of the United States. In furtherance of this mission, the foundation supports, primarily through grantmaking, initiatives and activities in the fields of education, culture, science, technology, language, scholarship, and international relations.