At age 12, Howard Dietz began playing the saxophone. In high school, he saw a video of the One O'Clock Lab Band and decided he wanted to study jazz.

Now a senior at UNT, he's won two international saxophone competitions -- the Buffet Crampon and Julius Keilwerth Saxophone Idol competition and the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Program award for jazz saxophone.

Dietz, at right with Brad Leali ('90), associate professor of music, says he was amazed at the talent and abilities of his competitors.

"It felt really euphoric when I actually won," he says.

"Even though this was a competition, there was a friendly environment. It's all about the music, and the people I competed against had the same sentiment."