Nermis Mieses  is the Associate Professor of Oboe at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Principal Oboe of the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit, and Chair of the Gillet-Fox International Competition for Oboe. Her distinctions include being the first American to place as finalist in the prestigious Barbirolli International Oboe Competition held in 2014; first place at the 2011 First International Oboe Competition in Santa Catarina, Brazil; finalist at the 2018 Matthew Ruggiero International Woodwind Competition; and second place at the 2012 Society for Musical Arts Young Artist Competition in Ann Arbor, MI. She has appeared in solo performances with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Philharmonic Orchestra, and toured Denmark as soloist and chamber music performer with the Thy Chamber Music Festival (2011, 2013). She has presented multiple masterclasses and recitals in Florida, Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Michigan, Nebraska, Washington DC, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Georgia, Wisconsin, Spain, Puerto Rico, and Dominican Republic; some as part of the IDRS annual conferences. Formerly principal of the Michigan Philharmonic, she has also performed with the Ann Arbor, Sphinx, ProMusica Chamber, Rochester, Lexington, and Puerto Rico Symphony as well as the National Repertory Orchestra, Sewanee Music Festival, Idyllwild Arts and FOSJA. She holds D.M.A. and M.M. degrees from the University of Michigan under Dr. Nancy Ambrose King.    

The Paul Boylan Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments and significant contributions in the field of music, theatre or dance by alumni within the past 10 years of graduation. The Alumni Society Board of Governors established the Paul Boylan Award in 1999 to honor Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Music Theory, Paul C. Boylan.