05.25.10 - Two graduates of the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance were selected as Colorado State University Outstanding Graduates for 2010.

Musician and chemist finds passion in both areas of study - Nancy Tao, originally from Xiamen, China, moved to Fort Collins at age 5 and will graduate with a double major in chemistry and music. Tao is an assistant concert mistress in the Colorado State University Orchestra and is founder of the Colorado Asian Chamber Ensemble, where she arranged traditional Chinese music for a 20-member ensemble and coordinated performances throughout Northern Colorado. During her freshman year, Tao’s family lost a close friend to cancer – a loss that motivated her to become involved in undergraduate research as a Hughes Undergraduate Research Scholar. Her research allowed her to develop the skills needed to pursue a career in pharmaceutical development. She obtained an internship with Merck, the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world, where she coauthored a paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Next fall, Tao will begin her doctoral studies in chemistry at Yale University. She wants to become a professor of organic chemistry or researcher for the pharmaceutical industry.

Student finds balance in art and science - Dawn Dalangin has had a passion for the arts and sciences from a young age. This combination of interests led her to CSU to purse degrees in music and mechanical engineering. She is the recipient of many musical and engineering scholarships and awards including the four-year Creative and Performing Arts Scholarship, and she took second place at the 2007 CSU Engineering Days for building an electronic organ. Her interests in piano performance resulted in several gold medals from the Wendel Diebel Keyboard Olympics as well as recognition as the 2006 overall winner of the CSU Concerto Competition. She has been a finalist in several national piano competitions, including the Coeur d’Alene Young Artist Competition in Idaho and the Central Florida Symphony Orchestra Young Art Competition. During her time at CSU, she founded and served as president of Club Kulturang Pilipin and was an active officer of the Society of Women Engineers. Dalangin began teaching piano lessons part-time in 2002. After acquiring a student base of more than 40 pianists, she decided to start her own piano school, Amadeus Piano Academy. She currently serves as the owner and head instructor of the academy. Dalangin earned a degree in mechanical engineering in 2007 and a degree in piano performance in 2008 at CSU. She will receive her Master of Music Degree in piano performance this May. After graduation, she will attend the University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music in pursuit of a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance.