Paul Houghtaling chose to come to The University of Alabama when he was presented with the chance to build an opera program from the ground up, and do so while teaching. Houghtaling is the recipient of the 2015 Morris Lehman Mayer Award, which honors one faculty member and one student each year who “exemplify integrity, selfless service, leadership, and who have made significant contributions to student life. Houghtaling said receiving this award was “humbling and thrilling at the same time.”

“I wanted to immerse myself in music when I realized that it was more than something I liked to do, but that it was a part of who I was,“ he said. “Music was, and is, a calling to me.”

Houghtaling attended College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and then went to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Houghtaling received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from The City University of New York.

Here at the University, Houghtaling is the director of opera theatre and director of the Druid City Opera Workshop. He also teaches a variety of courses in the opera workshop curriculum, such as improvisation, acting, audition techniques and opera production.

In his free time, Houghtaling enjoys playing the trumpet and French horn in drum and bugle corps. Houghtaling said his favorite kind of music is classical but he also listens to Top 40 pop in his car.

“I believe he was chosen for this award because he is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met,” said Nicholas Szoeke, a graduate student in the school of music and one of Houghtaling’s students. “He works so hard for everyone around him, and he truly cares for the betterment of all his students.”