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For an emerging South Florida music school, escaping the long shadow cast by the University of Miami is no easy task. So when Florida International University dedicated the Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center in 1996, a little celebration was in order. ''We were changed from a department to a school of music,'' says Fredrick Kaufman, director of FIU's music program, ``and we were glowing like mad.'' Kaufman organized a free weeklong music festival to mark the opening of the school's new facility in what was originally billed as ''FIU's gift to Miami.'' It was a wild mix of styles, featuring performances by Arturo Sandoval, Néstor Torres, the FIU Symphony, and the Miami String Quartet.