Troy professor receives accolades for musical achievements

Troy University Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies Dr. Dave Camwell has earned two national accolades for his musical achievements.  

Camwell is involved in Covert Ensemble, a musical duo group between Camwell and Kateřina Pavlíková, who is from the Czech Republic.  

Camwell first met Pavlíková online during the COVID-19 pandemic. After stumbling upon her social media, seeing her musical abilities and becoming Facebook friends, he reached out in hopes to start their first musical project.  

“I saw some of her stuff and thought well one, I really like it,” Camwell said. “Two, it’s kind of similar to what I do, so I sent her a message, and she wrote back and said sure why not.”  

Camwell and Pavlíková completed their first project, which turned into the first of many achievements.  

“One project became two became three then four,” Camwell said. “We got to a point where we worked well together, and we were enjoying this together, so maybe this is more than just a one off.  

“Maybe this is something.”  

After working on various remote projects, Camwell and Pavlíková decided they wanted to begin live performances.  

Camwell received a grant from Troy University, allowing him to travel to Prague to meet Pavlíková for the first time in person.  

“Our beginning was sort of like one of those Hollywood movies,” Camwell said. “We literally ran into each other, stopped and pointed at each other like ‘It’s you!’ 

“Here we are almost five years later making great art and having fun while we do it every day. We had a bunch of cool gigs all over the Czech Republic which, of course, was as fun as it sounds.  

“Maybe just because of the novelty, but certainly the Czech Republic for me is hard to beat. You know, castles, the beauty of the country and the kind of exotic nature of it.”  

The duo has now completed roughly 13 tours to places including Canada, Czech Republic and numerous places across the U.S.  

The duo has also been awarded second overall for the American Prize in Chamber Music and were the national finalists for the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the performance of American Music.  

“It’s an honor to be chosen amongst so many great musicians,” Camwell said. “That experience makes it all sweeter when for whatever reason you do win, and we won twice which is pretty unusual to do.”  

Along with their artistic abilities and musical performances, Camwell and Pavlíková also prioritize enjoying the gift of life.  

“I think our ethos is don't be boring,” Camwell said. “We also have content that’s full of nonsense, levity, comedy and humor.  

“We don't ever want to take ourselves too seriously that we can't laugh a bit, so we're very like-minded with that. We definitely work really hard musically, but we also like to make sure we have a good time while we're doing it.”  

Camwell has always had a heart for music throughout his life. He took piano lessons when he was younger, sang in various choirs and played in his middle and high school band.  

Following his completion of college, graduate school and receiving his doctorate, Camwell then went on to be the Assistant Professor of Music at Simpson College in Iowa for 12 years before coming to Troy in 2017. 

“For me, music is such a direct conduit to the artistic pleasures that are available to me and the world. I find it so very fulfilling,” Camwell said. “I think people find beauty in the world in a variety of forms.  

“For me, I think music is a fantastic outlet for expression and kind of getting to the core of what it means to be human.”  

Camwell expressed what he hopes the future brings for the Covert Ensemble.  

“We would like to do more of everything really,” Camwell said. “It would be amazing to tour more unique and exotic places, say Asia, South Africa or South America.  

“We would like to just keep what we do alive, active and forward thinking.”  

Anyone interested in learning more about the Covert Ensemble can visit their website at covertensemble.com.  

The ensemble’s social media on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are all @covertensemble. Some of the duo’s future tour destinations include Ohio, Tennessee and Slovakia.