Crane School of Music
Head: William J Gibbons
Administrative Assistant: Margaret W Ball
TEL: (315) 267-2775 FAX: (315) 267-2413 C218 Bishop Hall
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Margaret W BallAdministrative Assistant 1 Crane School of Music![]() |
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Lauren F BeckerAssociate Professor: Horn Crane School of Music![]() Lauren F BeckerAssociate Professor: HornSchuette Hall A109
beckelaf@potsdam.edu
http://www.LaurenBeckerMusic.comLauren Becker is Assistant Professor of Horn at the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam. Active as a freelance musician, she has performed with ensembles throughout the United States and beyond, including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Symphoria, Kuala Lumpur International Festival Orchestra, and North Country Chamber Players. As a member of the American Wild Ensemble, Dr. Becker has performed world premieres of newly commissioned works in concert halls, fields, mountain tops, and caves across the United States. The ensemble has toured extensively, performing at schools and universities, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, George Eastman Museum, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, and indoors and outdoors at San Juan Island and Saint-Gaudens National Historical Parks and Olympic, Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, Mammoth Cave, and Hawai'i Volcanoes National Parks. The American Wild Ensemble's album, Music in the American Wild, was released in 2018 and can be found online at Bandcamp. She has appeared on many other recordings, including the Eastman Wind Ensemble's collaboration with the Canadian Brass entitled Manhattan Music (Opening Day Entertainment Group) and the Buffalo Philharmonic's recording of selected works of Bartók (Naxos Records). Dr. Becker frequently performs as member of the Potsdam Brass Quintet and has presented at many conferences, including the International Brass Festival at the University of Florida School of Music at Gainesville, the Northeast Regional Tuba and Euphonium Conference, the Erie County Music Educators Association Western New York Conference Day, NAfME Eastern Division Conference, and NYSSMA Winter Conference. Prior to her appointment at Crane in 2015, Dr. Becker taught horn at Nazareth College, the University of Rochester, and the Eastman Community Music School. She has also been a horn instructor and chamber music coach at Kendall Betts Horn Camp, Crane Youth Music, the New York Summer Music Festival, and the Summer Youth Music School at the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Becker holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where she was awarded the 2013 Teaching Assistant Prize for excellence in collegiate teaching. She received a Master of Music degree from Eastman in Horn Performance and Literature and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of New Hampshire. More Info |
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Russell J BiczoVisiting Assistant Professor Crane School of Music![]() Russell J BiczoVisiting Assistant ProfessorSchuette Hall A335
biczorj@potsdam.edu
Russell Biczo is a graduate of Arizona State University with a B.M. in Music Education and M.M. in Music Education. He is presently completing his Ph.D. in Music Education from Arizona State University. During his time as a graduate assistant at Arizona State University, Mr. Biczo worked and taught classes emphasizing the use and negotiation of music technology in music learning and practices of contemporary musicianship in the music education classroom. In his continued interest of music technology and music pedagogy, Mr. Biczo facilitated learning and worked with local community groups, Boys and Girls Club and Project AMP, where youth explored music creation and music integration in film, processing, and video game design. Mr. Biczo's public school teaching contributions involved high school and middle school bands in the Chandler District (Chandler, AZ) and high school instrumental, choral, and general music in the Madison District (Phoenix, AZ). His current research interests include technology use and access in the classroom for music creation, collaboration, and learning, and the use of digital badges as assessment and achievement tools. Correlating with his research, Mr. Biczo presented at the Mountain Lake Colloquium, Society of Music Teacher Education Symposium, ArtsWork Graduate Student Research Colloquium, and has been invited to present at the Association for Popular Music Education. More Info |
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Brianne L BordenVisiting Assistant Professor: Trumpet Crane School of Music![]() Brianne L BordenVisiting Assistant Professor: TrumpetSchuette Hall A108
bordenbl@potsdam.edu
Trumpet artist and educator, Dr. Brianne Borden joined the faculty at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in the Fall of 2020 as Visiting Assistant Professor of Trumpet. She is a member of the Potsdam Brass Quintet, the Nova Trumpet Collective, and performs regularly with the Orchestra of Northern New York. Preceding Potsdam, Borden taught for the Phoenix Conservatory of Music, Harmony Project Phoenix, the University of Colorado Summer Academy, as well as maintained a vibrant private studio. Having an active performance schedule, Borden presents recitals and masterclasses at numerous universities and conferences nationally and internationally. She has led clinics for schools and organizations such as the Colburn Conservatory, Ithaca College, University of North Carolina Greensboro, University of Northern Arizona, and multiple International Trumpet Guild Conferences. Borden's guest artist performances include the University of North Dakota, the Hawaii Youth Symphony Orchestra, Arizona State University, and she was a featured soloist for the opening concert of the 2019 International Women's Brass Conference. An advocate for wellness within the classical music community, Borden teaches a Musicians' Wellness class at Crane and has researched heavily in the field. Prior to her arrival at Potsdam, she has served as Instructor for a weekly class titled Movement for Musicians at Arizona State University, as well as Instructor of Yoga for Musicians at the University of Colorado. Borden's wellness expertise is centered in the realms of performance anxiety, musculoskeletal health, trauma-informed mindfulness, and the practical application of yoga techniques. In addition to yoga and meditation accreditations, Borden has also completed the Essentials of Performing Arts Medicine certification through the Performing Arts Medicine Association and the American College of Sports Medicine. Borden has embraced her entrepreneurial spirit to further her missions of wellness advocacy and using performance as a tool for educational outreach. Evidence of this is shown in her serving as a Co-Founder and Secretary of the Nova Trumpet Collective, which aims to elevate the trumpet chamber music standard through accessible performance and outreach with an emphasis on diverse representation of musicians and repertoire. She also co-founded the Phoenix Brass Collective and has been involved in outreach programs such as the Aspen Music Festival and School with the Backcountry Brass Quintet. Furthermore, Borden currently acts as Co-Owner and CEO of a virtual yoga studio, Yoga for All Musicians, catering specifically to the physical and emotional needs of musicians. Borden completed her Doctoral studies at Arizona State University, where she served as Teaching Assistant to David Hickman and was recipient of Raphael Mendez Scholarship for Outstanding Graduate Student. Preceding ASU, Borden received her Master's degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Colorado - Boulder where she taught as a Teaching Assistant as well as performed with the Graduate Brass Quintet. Lastly, she is a proud alumna of SUNY Potsdam where she received a Bachelor's degree in Trumpet Performance and her love of brass chamber music was established in the Frackenpohl Honors Brass Quintet. Borden is honored to be an S.E. Shires Artist. More Info |
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Riki L BraunsteinAdjunct Instructor / Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music![]() Riki L BraunsteinAdjunct Instructor / Off-Campus Teaching Supervisorbraunsrl@potsdam.edu
Riki Braunstein - Coordinator of Field Experience, Music Education Riki Braunstein earned both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Music from Brooklyn College. She taught instrumental music on the middle school level in the New York City public school system. After 25 years as a classroom teacher, she left the classroom to become a Middle School Principal and finally retired in 2009. During her tenure as a classroom teacher, Riki Braunstein served as associate conductor of the Brooklyn Borough-wide Orchestra and created several inter-visitation programs to introduce the musical ensemble experience to young school musicians. She was the recipient of the Teacher of the Year award and the Arts Teacher of the Year award in Brooklyn Community School District 21. She has directed the Music Education since 2005 where she has overseen the training of new music teachers. More Info |
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Erin M BrooksAssociate Professor: Music History Crane School of Music![]() Erin M BrooksAssociate Professor: Music HistorySchuette Hall A102
brooksem@potsdam.edu
Erin Brooks is a musicologist specializing in multimedia genres such as opera, incidental music, and film music. Her research focuses on musics of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with interests in transnational reception history, memory, gesture, the voice, embodiment, and gender. She earned her Ph.D. in Musicology from Washington University in St. Louis, where her dissertation analyzed relationships between French actress Sarah Bernhardt and fin-de-siécle musical culture. Erin has published articles on the operas of Camille Saint-Saeëns and the relationship between theater music and early film; she is currently completing works on memory and performance in Tosca and stage music and trauma during World War I. She has presented her research at conferences on Saint-Saëns (Centro Luigi Boccherini, Lucca), The Music of War (British Library, London), and Music and Antiquity (Massenet Festival, Saint-Étienne), as well as national and regional meetings of the American Musicological Society and the North American Conference on Nineteenth-Century Music. Erin graduated with a B.A. in music, summa cum laude, from the University of Arkansas and continues to perform on the viola and viola da gamba. Prior to joining the Crane School faculty in 2016, she taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, The Colburn School (Los Angeles), and UCLA. She has also worked with precollege and continuing studies programs at several institutions. Erin has taught courses on a wide variety of topics, including music history surveys, music appreciation, and musics of the world, as well as seminars on opera, music and games, and music and gender. More Info |
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Sarah J BurgessAdministrative Assistant 1 Crane School of Music |
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Stephen D ButtonAdjunct Instructor: Entertainment Law Crane Institute for Music Business, Crane School of Music![]() Stephen D ButtonAdjunct Instructor: Entertainment LawBishop Hall C210
buttonsd@potsdam.edu
Stephen D. Button currently serves as St. Lawrence County Attorney, a position he has held since 2015. Originally from the Dallas, Texas area, and a Baylor University graduate of both their undergraduate and graduate schools, Mr. Button has been a practicing litigator for the past eleven years. Following graduation from Western New England University School of Law in 2006, Mr. Button took a position with a law firm based out of Willimantic, Connecticut focusing his practice in workers' compensation, social security, civil litigation and governmental representation. In 2009, Mr. Button started as an Assistant Public Defender in the St. Lawrence County Office of the Public Defender. In 2011, Mr. Button was appointed to a term as St. Lawrence County Chief Public Defender, a position he held until his appointment as County Attorney until February of 2015. During his tenure as County Attorney, he has worked to establish a program to remediate potentially environmentally contaminated properties, in conjunction with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York State Comptroller's Oil Spill Fund and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. He has also actively pursued legislation in the field of justice reform and indigent defense. In 2016, for his work on behalf of Indigent Defense and fighting County Unfunded Mandates under the 5th and 6th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Mr. Button was the co-recipient of the New York State Defenders Association Service of Justice Award with Deputy Majority Leader Senator John DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse) and Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy (D-Albany). Separately, in 2015, Mr. Button was appointed to the Alumni Board of Directors of the Western New England University School of Law where, in 2016, Mr. Button was elected to serve as president of the Alumni Board of Directors. The Western New England School of Law Alumni can be found in 112 countries, 49 states and consist of a body of more than 7800 members. Mr. Button also serves as an adjunct faculty member at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam, on the Board of Directors of the County Attorney Association of the State of New York and on the Curriculum Board of the Legal Studies program of SUNY Canton, as well. Mr. Button is licensed to practice law in the State of New York, State of Connecticut, before the Supreme Court of the United States and before various lower federal courts. More Info |
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Evan L CampbellVisiting Instructor: Music Theory Crane School of Music![]() Evan L CampbellVisiting Instructor: Music TheoryBishop Hall C210
campbeel@potsdam.edu
Evan Campbell has a PhD in Music Theory from McGill University, Montreal. His dissertation, "Psalm-Tone Tonality, System, and Transposition in Claudio Monteverdi's Psalm and Canticle Settings, 1610-1650," focuses on the distinction between mode and psalm tone, as well as the emerging role of transposition in music beginning around 1600. He has presented at conferences throughout North America and Europe, including the Society for Music Theory Conference, the Medieval and Renaissance Music Conference, The Monteverdi 450 Conference, The West Coast Conference of Music Theory and Analysis, and the Biennial Conference of Nineteenth-Century Music. His research interests include system, temperament and counterpoint in the Renaissance and early Baroque, harmonic thinking in the late Renaissance, and spectral music. He recently published an article in Philomusica On Line titled, "Psalm-Tone Tonality in Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610." More Info |
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Mark CampbellProfessor: Music Education Crane School of Music![]() Mark CampbellProfessor: Music EducationCrane Music Center A302
campbemr@potsdam.edu
Mark Robin Campbell is Professor of Music Education. His study of music teacher education, emphasizing personalized learning built on empirical research and principled practice has established him as a leader in the field. Known for its excellence, and backed by 30 years of teaching in K-12 schools and higher education, Campbell's work has led to involvement in numerous educational and leadership projects around the nation. Recent collaborations have focused on designing inquiry-based learning and change agency as a basis for living a creative and vitalized life in music teaching. Campbell regularly appears at state and national conferences, and his published work can be found in handbooks and journals ranging from classroom teaching to curriculum and research design. He is coauthor of Constructing a Personal Orientation to Music Teaching (Routledge), editor of Musicality and Milestones (University of Illinois), and coeditor of Advances in Music Education Research (Information Age Publishing). Campbell's teaching has been recognized as important in helping young music teachers clarify reasons for teaching and for creating powerful pedagogical repertoires for student learning. A graduate of the University of Illinois and a recipient of a "Teacher of the Year" award in the Illinois, Campbell was raised in a musically active family and is a "music maker and taker" of all kinds. He is a committed and lifelong "student of music teaching." More Info |
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David P CerulloAdjunct Instructor: Long Island Area Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of MusicDavid P CerulloAdjunct Instructor: Long Island Area Off-Campus Teaching SupervisorSchuette Hall A321
cerulldp@potsdam.edu
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Margaret C ChalkerVisiting Assistant Professor: Voice Crane School of Music![]() Margaret C ChalkerVisiting Assistant Professor: VoiceBishop Hall C301
chalkemc@potsdam.edu
Four years ago, in order to settle close to her daughter and family, Margaret Chalker moved to Massena, NY from Zürich, Switzerland where she was a soprano soloist with the world renowned Opernhaus Zürich for 25 years, singing roles ranging from Pamina to Donna Elvira to Sophie to Agatha, Gilda to Elizabetta, including operas of the 20th century (Henze's "der Prinz Von Homburg",(Prinzessin Natalie) with Thomas Hampson as well as Frank Martin's "le vin herbé" as Iseut to Piotr Beczala's Tristan in the marvelous Marco Marelli production and the world premiere of "Harley" by Edward Rushton as well as Ligetti's "Le Grande Macabre". A native of Waterloo, N.Y. in the Finger Lakes, Margaret earned a BME from Baldwin Wallace College, Ohio, (Studio of Sophie Ginn-Paster) studied six months in Italy, returned and taught intermediate and high school music for a year in the Seneca Falls school district before receiving a Graduate Teaching Assistantship to Syracuse University to study with Helen Boatwright. While a Masters student in Syracuse, Margaret gained experience with the Syracuse Opera Company and conducted the church choir at North Presbyterian Church in Geneva, N.Y. Upon graduation she spent some time in New York City, (Studio of Marlena Malas) won several contests including first place in the prestigious Baltimore Opera Competition and then took a position on the voice faculty of SUNY at Fredonia. While teaching, her performance career continued to blossom as she sang with the orchestras and/or opera companies of Seattle, Buffalo, Syracuse, Erie, Columbus, El Paso, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Chalker resigned from SUNY in order to devote herself full time to performing. She had successes from Chautauqua to Glimmerglass, Omaha, to Houston, to Ft. Lauderdale, and New York City before a well known agent recruited her for the Deustche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, Germany and her European Career was launched. After two and a half years in the Düsseldorf ensemble she was asked to join the company of the Zürich Opera. In Zürich alone, she sang over 700 performances of over 60 different roles and she sang many guest performances in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig, Dortmund, Munich, Prague, Bratislava, Belgrade, Graz and Salzburg, St. Gallen, and Le Grande Théâtre de Genève among others. Margaret maintains a small teaching studio in Zürich where she returns regularly to mentor her students, including younger colleagues, now enjoying fine professional careers themselves. Ms. Chalker is joyfully anticipating a year on the faculty at Crane and the opportunity to share her 40 years of professional experience in both performance and teaching. More Info |
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Dianne S ChappellAdministrative Assistant 1 Crane School of MusicDianne S ChappellAdministrative Assistant 1Bishop Hall C221
chappeds@potsdam.edu
TEL: (315) 267-2417 FAX: (315) 267-2413 More Info |
chappeds@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2417 FAX: (315) 267-2413 |
Drew X ColesDepartment Chair / Visiting Assistant Professor: Music Business Crane School of Music, Crane Institute for Music Business![]() Drew X ColesDepartment Chair / Visiting Assistant Professor: Music BusinessBishop Hall C209
colesdx@potsdam.edu
Drew X Coles is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, producer, serial entrepreneur, and educator. Drew serves as an applied lessons instructor, ensemble facilitator, and adjunct professor of music entrepreneurship at Teachers College, Columbia University. Drew also teaches music entrepreneurship at the Manhattan School of Music, and will be serving as a visiting faculty member and program coordinator for the Music Business Program at the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam. His scholarly interests include; the construct of success as it applies to post-secondary music students, culturally responsive pedagogy in the music classroom, the use of technology in the applied studio, Jazz pedagogy, improvisation pedagogy, comprehensive musicianship coursework and curricula, artistic entrepreneurship, and quantitative research methods in music education. Drew holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam, a Masters degree in Jazz Performance from Queens College of the City University of New York, and an M.B.A. from the Metropolitan College of New York. Drew earned his Doctorate in Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University after defending his dissertation on the perceptions among musicians on the construct of career success as it applies to them as well as their peers. Drew has served as the Executive Director of the international chamber orchestra of America. Drew is also a co-founder of Pro Arts Management and Consulting LLC and serves as the Musical Director to the Metropolitan Players, an award-winning New York City-based wedding entertainment collective. Among other scholarly affiliations, Drew is a board member of the Society for Arts Entrepreneurship Education. In his applied studio, Drew focuses on using technology to incite and support self-directed learning, both in digital music-based students as well as in traditional instrumental students. More Info |
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Miles D DeCastroMusical Instrument Technician Crane School of Music![]() Miles D DeCastroMusical Instrument TechnicianCrane Music Center B168
decastmd@potsdam.edu
Miles DeCastro is the Instrument Repair Technician at The Crane School of Music, where he teaches courses in instrument repair technology, and is responsible for repairing and maintaining over 1200 instruments. He received his Certificate of Band Instrument Repair Technology from Renton Technical College in 2008 and his Bachelor of Music Education from Mansfield University in 2005. Prior to joining Crane in July of 2016, Miles has held the following positions: General Manager of Bridgepoint Music in Menlo Park, CA; Shop Foreman at Maytan Music Center in Reno, NV; and Band Director in The Baltimore City Public School System. Miles is an active member of the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians, where he currently serves as vice president. He has attended every national conference since becoming a member in 2007, presented and hosted clinics at the regional, national, and international level, and has served on the finance committee. Miles has studied repair with Morrie Backun, is a Straubinger Certified Technician, a Yamaha Certified Sales Professional, has completed the Yamaha Service Advantage program, and has led Bridgepoint Music to becoming a NAMM Top 100 Dealer four years in a row. More Info |
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Buddy DeshlerVisiting Assistant Professor: Trumpet Crane School of Music![]() Buddy DeshlerVisiting Assistant Professor: TrumpetSchuette Hall A106
deshledw@potsdam.edu
Trumpet Artist Buddy Deshler is an ambassador for the transformative powers of the arts, champion of living composers, and agent for change in the instrumental music field. His burgeoning career has taken him around the country, as well as internationally, and has allowed him to share the stage with ensembles such as the King's Brass, The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass, Foden's Band, his own Vice City Brass, The Phoenix Brass Collective, and as of 2017, the illustrious Dallas Brass. In addition, Buddy has performed with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, York Symphony, Williamsburg Symphony, Delaware Symphony, Washington Chamber Orchestra, Concert Artists of Baltimore, American Festival Pops Orchestra, and more. His international performances have taken him to Le Domaine Forget in Quebec, the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, and Santiago de Cuba. As a performing artist for XO Brass, Denis Wick, Smith-Watkins cornets, and Hercules stands, Mr. Deshler tours nationally, conducting lectures and clinics everywhere from middle school through college students. His educational programs and masterclasses focus on sound pedagogical approaches to practice and the business acumen necessary for a modern career in music. His clinic, "The Entrepreneurial Student", instills the idea that one can develop and execute the skills necessary to jump start a career in music while still being a "student" and has been presented at numerous colleges throughout the United States. As an educator, Mr. Deshler serves as President, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the nonprofit organization, "Brass Institutes of America" which encompasses the The Fredericksburg Brass Institute and Tidewater Brass Institute, two weeklong summer music festivals offering a rich immersion in master classes and seminars, large and small ensembles, instrument exhibits, participant recitals, and free concerts featuring renowned guest artists. Deshler also serves as President of the Nova Trumpet Collective which is a nonprofit that aims to elevate the trumpet chamber music standard through accessible performance and outreach with an emphasis on diverse representation of musicians and repertoire. Deshler is also an active member of the International Trumpet Guild by occupying the role of Youth Day Coordinator as well as being a frequent session host of Trumpet Ensemble Reading Sessions and Chamber Music seminars. Buddy presently resides in Potsdam, NY where he serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Trumpet at SUNY Potsdam, Crane School of Music. He holds a B.M. in Instrumental Performance and an Artist Diploma from the Frost School of Music, University of Miami, a M.M. from the Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and is completing his D.M.A from Arizona State University. His primary teachers have included Phil Snedecor, Craig Morris, and Josef Burgstaller. More Info |
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Robert K DockerAssociate Professor: String Education Crane School of Music![]() Robert K DockerAssociate Professor: String EducationSchuette Hall A313
dockerrk@potsdam.edu
Dr. Robert K. Docker is an assistant professor of string music education, joining the faculty in 2015. At the Crane School he works with the National String Project and teaches string techniques and string methods courses. More Info |
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Liesl Schoenberger DotyAssistant Professor: Violin Crane School of Music![]() Liesl Schoenberger DotyAssistant Professor: ViolinBishop Hall C202
dotyls@potsdam.edu
Though originally from quaint Cape Girardeau, MO Liesl's career has taken her well beyond the banks of the Mississippi River. Hailed for her "magnetic presence", she has performed across North America and Europe, appearing at major venues including Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, Weill Recital Hall, Zankel Hall, The Musikverein, The Kravis Center, The Kennedy Center and performs actively as a soloist having worked with several orchestras in the United States. She has appeared as a recitalist and chamber musician in numerous festivals and concert series including Yellow Barn, Skaneateles Chamber Music Festival, Ottawa Chamber Fest, White Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, New Music New Haven, Chamber Music at Yale, Orford Centre d'Arts, Sommerakademie Mozarteum in Salzburg and Ferme de Villefavard in France. As a crossover artist, she released three commercial fiddle albums in collaboration with musical legends, Buddy Spicher and David Grier, and has appeared as a guest artist at the Grand Old Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Since 2009, Ms. Doty has been featured as a soloist in composer/pianist Eric Genuis' national tours. In 2012, Liesl became a "CRIER" in Boston's own chair-less, conductor-less chamber orchestra, A Far Cry [GRAMMY nominated in 2015!!] and has enjoyed touring, recording and collaborating with all 16 of her co-artistic directors in the collective. Her favorite "crier" in the orchestra is her husband, bassist Karl Doty, with whom she performs regularly as part of their classical and crossover duo, "The Dotys" (www.thedotysduo.com) Liesl earned her Bachelor and Master of Music from Indiana University under the instruction of Mimi Zweig and Mauricio Fuks and an Artist Diploma from Yale University as a student of Ani Kavafian. Liesl is a candidate in the Doctor of Musical Arts program at New England Conservatory and was the teaching assistant to Lucy Chapman during her studies there. Previous faculty appointments include Dartmouth College, University of New Hampshire, Saint Anselm College and Southeast Missouri State University. She is currently Assistant Professor of Violin at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Liesl plays a 1919 Carl Becker violin. www.fiddlingliesl.com More Info |
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Brian K. DoyleProfessor: Director of Bands Crane School of Music![]() Brian K. DoyleProfessor: Director of BandsCrane Music Center B137
doylebk@potsdam.edu
BRIAN K. DOYLE (Director of Bands) joined the Crane faculty in 2006. He conducts the Crane Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, and also teaches courses in conducting. A Michigan native, he received all of his degrees in his home state. At Michigan State University, he received a BME and two MM (saxophone and wind conducting) degrees. His principal teachers included John Whitwell, Joseph Lulloff and James Forger. At the University of Michigan, he received the AMusD in Wind Conducting under the mentorship of Michael Haithcock. Dr. Doyle's former teaching posts include faculty positions at Indiana University, The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Duke University, and as a public school music educator in Imlay City, MI. While in North Carolina, Dr. Doyle served as the resident conductor of the Triangle British Brass Band from 1999 until 2002. Dr. Doyle has also served on the summer conducting faculty of the renowned Interlochen Arts Camp, as well as the New England Music Camp. Dr. Doyle now spends his summer as the conductor of the Crane Youth Music Wind Ensemble. More Info |
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Michael R DudleyVisiting Assistant Professor: Jazz Studies Crane School of Music![]() Michael R DudleyVisiting Assistant Professor: Jazz StudiesSchuette Hall A120
dudleymr@potsdam.edu
Michael R. Dudley is a trumpet player, composer, producer, educator, and photographer. Michael serves as the director of the Crane Jazz Band, Giroux Honors Combo, and the instructor for Jazz Theory. With more than a decade of professional experience as a musician, he has performed in groups such as the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra and the South Florida Jazz Orchestra. His recent performances as a fellow with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra have allowed him to share the stage with Steve Miller, José Feliciano, John Williams, and Quincy Jones, among other amazing artists. As a doctoral student at the University of Miami - Frost School of Music, he recorded as a lead trumpet player on multiple GRAMMY®- winning recordings by the John Daversa Big Band and Brian Lynch Big Band. As a composer and arranger, his works have most recently been performed by the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, with several projects he is orchestrating currently underway. He has studied with Maria Schneider, Miho Hazama, Gary Lindsay, Noam Wiesenberg, and Stephen Guerra. As an educator, he was recently brought on staff at the JAS Academy in Aspen, Colorado alongside Shelly Berg, Christian McBride, Brian Lynch, and Chuck Bergeron after first participating as a student in 2019. In addition to his role as Visiting Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at Crane, Michael is currently a doctoral candidate in Studio Music and Jazz at the University of Miami - Frost School of Music, where he was awarded the prestigious University of Miami Dissertation Fellowship for his thesis, "Technological Mediation in Instrumental Jazz Praxis." More Info |
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Brian D DunbarAssistant Professor: Flute Crane School of Music![]() Brian D DunbarAssistant Professor: FluteBishop Hall C112
dunbarbd@potsdam.edu
http://www.briandunbarflute.comDr. Brian Dunbar, a native of St. Augustine, FL, enjoys performing as a soloist, orchestral performer, and chamber musician, in addition to his activities as a Professor. He earned a Doctorate in Musical Arts from Louisiana State University & A&M College, a Master's degree from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor's degree from Stetson University. Prior to his appointment at The Crane School of Music, he held teaching positions at Southern University, Southeastern Louisiana University, and Louisiana State University. Brian has been recognized in numerous competitions including the 2017 Monroe Symphony League Marjorie Stricklin Emerging Artists, Stetson University (2008) and Louisiana State University (2013) Concerto, 2014 Sankyo Flutes Orchestral Excerpts, 2015 Music Teachers National Association and the Louisiana Flute Society (2014, 2015) competitions. In 2018, he received First Prize in the Inaugural International Low Flutes Festival Alto Flute Competition held in Reston, VA. He has performed at The National Flute Association Annual Convention in Chicago, San Diego, Orlando and Salt Lake City, and has also presented at the Florida Flute Convention and Mid-South Flute Festival. Brian has participated in performances in France, Germany, Belgium, and throughout the United States. He has also appeared as a guest lecturer and performer at the Initiatives Meetings and Publications on Artistic Research "Hands on Flute" conference in Aveiro, Portugal (2017, 2018). He has performed in the flute sections of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony, Adrian Symphony, Battle Creek Symphony, and Dearborn Symphony, Rapides Symphony, and Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, among others. During his time in Louisiana, Dr. Dunbar performed and premiered numerous works at the Marigny Opera Ballet as a member of the New Resonance Orchestra in New Orleans. Additionally, he was a featured collaborator at the annual New Music on The Bayou Summer Festival. Prioritizing engagement in the broader community, Dr. Dunbar is a former Teaching Artist and Development Officer for Kids' Orchestra, an El-Sistema inspired non-profit organization in Baton Rouge, LA. He is also a member of several dynamic music organizations, including The National Flute Association; where he serves on the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Florida Flute Association, Music Teachers National Association, and is a member of the globally recognized Sphinx Organization; which aims to promote inclusion and diversity in the arts. His primary teachers include Susan McQuinn, Amy Porter, and Katherine Kemler. Brian has also received performance guidance from artists such as Julien Beaudiment, Julia Bogorad-Kogan, Adrian Brett, Leone Buyse, Marianne Gedigian, Michael Hasel, Beate-Gabriela Schmitt, Ransom Wilson. More Info |
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Anthony D EversoleVisiting Assistant Professor: Opera Crane School of Music![]() Anthony D EversoleVisiting Assistant Professor: OperaPerforming Arts Center 223
eversoad@potsdam.edu
Operating from Potsdam, New York, Dr. Anthony Eversole serves as the Director of Opera in the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. A skilled stage director and dramatic coach, Eversole is equally at home as a performer of opera, musical theatre, song, and concert repertoire. He is also an accomplished voice pedagogue and producer. Prior to joining the faculty of the Crane School of Music, Dr. Eversole taught and directed at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. While there, he staged productions of Puccini's La Rondine, Norman and Simon's The Secret Garden, a Covid-era adaptation of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, as well as multiple scenes programs, cabaret concerts, and revues. Dr. Eversole earned the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Opera and Voice from the University of Maryland, where he was a member of the Maryland Opera Studio. He also holds a Master of Music in Voice from the University of Oklahoma, and Bachelor of Music (vocal performance) and Bachelor of Music Education (choral music education) degrees from Utah State University. More Info |
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Russell J FaunceAdjunct Instructor Crane School of Music |
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Jeffrey D. FrancomAssociate Professor: Choral Conductor Crane School of Music![]() Jeffrey D. FrancomAssociate Professor: Choral ConductorCrane Music Center B136
francojd@potsdam.edu
Jeffrey Francom is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Choral Area at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, where he directs the Crane Chorus and Concert Choir, and teaches courses in conducting and choral methods. He serves on the faculty of Crane Youth Music and was previously the director of the Potsdam Community Chorus. Under his direction, the Crane Chorus and Crane Symphony Orchestra appear annually on public television stations in over 25 states. He recently conducted or prepared world premieres of works for chorus and orchestra by Gregory Wanamaker, Gary Fry, William Averitt and Michael Sitton, as well as the U.S. premiere of Ben Parry's Flame. In 2014, the Crane Men's Ensemble was featured on the Delos album All the Heart of Me: The Choral Music of Margaret Ruthven Lang. Previously, Dr. Francom resided on Long Island where he directed the Stony Brook Camerata Singers and the Babylon Chorale. He taught at two Suffolk County Community College campuses, and conducted performances with the Suffolk Singers and College Choir. He was the recipient of Stony Brook University's Ackerman Prize, as well as the Ralph Vaughan Williams Research Fellowship sponsored by the Carthusian Trust. Dr. Francom has been the guest conductor of many county and regional all-state choirs, and has conducted opera and musical theater productions with Stony Brook Opera, the Lynn Clark Summertime Players and Bellport High School. For three years, Dr. Francom was the choral director at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville, Florida. As a conductor, baritone, and concerto soloist on piano, Dr. Francom has collaborated with orchestras across the country, including the New West Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and San Diego Symphony. He has prepared choirs for JoAnn Falletta, Duain Wolfe, Joseph Flummerfelt, Larry Rachleff, Christof Perick, Ann Howard Jones, Helmuth Rilling, and others, for performances at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and on the SUNY Potsdam campus. He has conducted and presented at NYSSMA and ACDA conferences and recently served as a board member of NY-ACDA. Dr. Francom holds degrees in conducting from Stony Brook University (DMA) and the University of Florida (MM), and in piano performance from Utah State University. More Info |
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Marie-Elaine C GagnonAssociate Professor: Cello Crane School of Music![]() Marie-Elaine C GagnonAssociate Professor: CelloBishop Hall C204
gagnonmc@potsdam.edu
http://www.marieelainegagnon.com/Canadian cellist Marie-Elaine Gagnon, is a first prize-winner of numerous music competitions in Canada, which led to many solo performances in her native home. In 2000, she was chosen amongst several young candidates to perform a cello recital for the prestigious Canadian Broadcasting Company program: "Jeunes Artists." Gagnon has performed in many music festivals, including: Le Festival International du Domaine Forget, The Penderecki String Quartet Chamber Workshop, Orford Music Center and The National Youth Orchestra of Canada. In May 2002, she was the first cellist to win a scholarship from the D. Robinson Foundation to study at the Aspen Music Festival. Her participation in these many music festivals gave her the opportunity to study with well-known cellists such has Leslie Snider (Quebec), Sharon Robinson (Indiana), Desmond Hoebig (Cleveland), Philipe Muller (Paris), Roland Pidoux (Trio Pasquier), Paul Watkins (London), and David Ellis (Alcan String Quartet). An avid chamber music player, Marie-Elaine was a member of the Rawlins Piano Trio from 2007 to 2017, in residence at the University of South Dakota. The trio has formed a reputation as a preeminent interpreter of 19th and early 20th century American music. Owing to its expertise, the ensemble has recorded four CDs of these works on the Albany Records label. The fourth disc- American Discoveries-, released in July 2009-is "...another winner from the Rawlins Trio...they continue their work of bringing us American composers' music that is worth hearing...Their playing is artful, suave and pleasing." (Morrison) Since joining the Rawlins Piano Trio in 2007, Dr. Gagnon has toured in Taiwan, South Korea and Panama. She has performed to prestigious music conferences such as the Chamber Music Society in New York and the College Music Society National conference in San Diego. A strong advocate for music education and outreach, Dr. Gagnon has taught at the Barry University in Miami and prior to join the music faculty at the University of South Dakota, taught at the Université de Montréal for the Preparatory Program. She was associate professor of cello and chamber music at the University of South Dakota since 2007. Raised in Québec, she received her Diplôme d'Étude Supérieur I at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, her Diplôme d'Étude Supérieur II from the Conservatoire de Musique de Québec, M.M. from the Florida International University and finally her D.M.A from the University of Miami. Several times a year, she performs with her newly formed ensemble, the Zapateado Duo with Venezuelan-born pianist Angelica Sganga. Gagnon is principal cello for the Sioux City Symphony since 2015 and owns a cello made in 1904 by the French Master Paul Bailly. It is with enthusiasm that Marie-Elaine is joining the Crane School of Music as assistant professor of cello. More Info |
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Matthew A GattiFacilities Manager Crane School of Music![]() Matthew A GattiFacilities ManagerCrane Music Center B113
gattima@potsdam.edu
Bachelors of Music, Music Performance, SUNY Potsdam: Crane School of Music, 2010
Masters of Music, Music Performance, Temple University, 2013
DMA, Music Performance, Temple University, 2018 Matthew Gatti is a 2010 graduate in tuba performance from the Crane School of Music. During his time at Crane, Matthew was a member of the Frackenpohl Honors Brass Quintet and a winner of the 2009 Crane Concerto Competition. He also holds master's and doctoral degrees in tuba performance from Temple University. His teachers include Charles Guy and Jay Krush. As a doctoral candidate, Matthew performed Daniel Nelson's tuba concerto, Metallëphônic Remix, with the Temple University Wind Symphony under the direction of Emily Threinen. Since working on his doctorate, Matthew developed an interest in disability and music, and consequently wrote his dissertation on the representations of invisible illness in The Who's rock opera, Quadrophenia. He presented on his research in 2018 at a joint conference of the Allegheny, Capital, and Mid-Atlantic Chapters of the American Musicological Society at the University of Delaware. In a production/facilities role, Matthew has worked at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and Philadelphia Fringe Arts. Since graduating from Crane, he has returned every summer to work as the stage manager for Crane Youth Music. More Info |
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John D. GeggieAdjunct Instructor: String Bass Crane School of Music![]() John D. GeggieAdjunct Instructor: String BassSchuette Hall A104
geggiejd@potsdam.edu
John Geggie is established in the international music world as a versatile performer and creative composer. He studied at Indiana University with Lawrence Hurst and Bruce Bransby. His jazz studies included work with David Baker, Gary Peacock, Palle Danielsson and Anders Jormin. He frequently plays in the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa) and the 13 Strings Chamber Ensemble; Mr. Geggie has appeared on the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. He has recorded or performed with a who's who of creative improvised music: Bela Fleck, Donny McCaslin, Ben Monder, Craig Taborn, Sheila Jordan, David Murray, Matt Brubeck, Marilyn Crispell, Cuong Vu and Mark Dresser. He is regularly heard on CBC broadcasts. More Info |
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Donald GeorgeProfessor: Voice Crane School of Music![]() Donald GeorgeProfessor: VoiceBishop Hall C302
georged@potsdam.edu
Donald George is currently a full Professor at The Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam, Honored Professor with Shenyang (China) Conservatory and was Guest Artist at West Virginia University. He is the recipient of a SUNY Potsdam Presidential Award for Research and Creativity, in addition to the Award for Research Mentorship from The Center for Student Research. His student research projects have been selected from over 3,500 applicants for three National Council of Undergraduate Research conferences. His students appear consistently in leading opera roles at Crane and have appeared internationally and with the Lake George Festival, Stephanie Blythe's Fall Island Festival, Utah Festival Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Kentucky Opera, Owensboro and Lafayette symphony orchestras as well as first places at MTNA, NATS and the Civic Morning Musical Competition in Syracuse, and other national and international venues. As Board member for Performance for CMS NE, he hosted the College Music Society Regional Conference at The Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam April 4-5, 2014. His publications include articles for Die Tonkunst, American Music Teacher, Society of American Music Bulletin,NOA Opera Journal and Classical Singer Magazine. His book for Oxford University Press entitled Master Singers: Advice from the Stage, which consists of interviews with current opera stars such as Jonas Kaufmann, Stephanie Blythe, Joyce DiDonato, Joseph Calleja and Thomas Hampson, was published in hardcover, paper back and on-line editions such as Amazon's Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook. He also co-published with Kishor Vaidya the online book Celebrity for the Curious, which kann be found in a Kindle edition. Donald George is a tenor, and has performed at La Scala, Milan; San Carlo, Naples; La Fenice, Venice; Teatro Reggio, Turin; Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa; the Paris Opra Bastille and Thtre du Chtelet, the Royal Opra of Brussels, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the State Operas of Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna and Copenhagen, the Teatro Coln in Buenos Aires, the New National Theatre of Tokyo, New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, the Salzburg Festival, BBC Proms, The Flanders Festival, the Perth Festival (Australia), the Blossom Festival (USA) among others. He has sung with conductors Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Masur, Yehudi Menuhin, Jeffry Tate, Steven White, Vladimir Jurowski, Simone Young and recorded for CD and DVD with Sony, Naxos, Phillips Classic, Teldec, Discover International, and Bavarian Radio, among others, including: Mendelsohn's Elijah, Verdi's Requiem, Rossini's Aurelieano in Palmira, Le Nozze di Teti e Peleo (the world premiere recording) and Bernstein's Candide. He filmed Carmina Burana scenically with Daniel Nazareth and the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra. This film has been broadcast internationally including PBS and CBC. His recording of the songs of Margaret Lang Love is Everywhere was Music Web International's CD of the Year and together with Volume 2 New Love Must Rise nominated for a Grammy in the first round. His CD the Songs and Arias of Joseph Weigl (1766-1843) was released at the Esterhzy Festival in Eisenach, Austria. He produced a recording of the choral works of Margaret Lang at The Crane School of Music with the combined choirs and orchestra, entitled All the Heart of Me. American Record Review stated that a winning case is made for the choral legacy of Margaret Ruthven Lang... The soloists-mostly voice teachers at the school-are very good. Opera News wrote that this CD makes a "strong case for Lang's...music," and that "George is the accomplished soloist on two tracks." He has prepared the complete songs of Nadia Boulanger, the famous pedagogue who was also a guest at The Crane School of Music on four occasions. With students of Crane, he has obtained copies of the manuscripts from the Boulanger Foundation of Paris, which have been transcribed for performance. The world premiere performance took place in December 2015 at the Musikhochschule Mnchen with soprano Christiane Iwen and mezzo Rachel Wilson. This live recording will be heard on Spotify. The Crane School of Music faculty performance is available on the Crane YouTube channel. More Info |
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William J GibbonsDean of Crane Crane School of Music![]() William J GibbonsDean of CraneBishop Hall C219
gibbonwj@potsdam.edu
William Gibbons joined SUNY Potsdam in 2022 as Dean of the Crane School of Music and Professor of Music History. He earned a PhD in Musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MA in Musicology from UNC Chapel Hill, and a BA in Music (magna cum laude) from Emory & Henry College. Prior to joining Crane, Gibbons was Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Texas Christian University, where he received the 2020 Deans' Award for Research and Creativity. As an educator and administrator, Dr. Gibbons aims to show how music can play a key role in contemporary conversations around equity, ethics, and leadership through courses like "Music, Technology, and Values," "Musical Theater and American Politics," and "Examining Ethical Leadership." As a researcher, Gibbons investigates the past's role in shaping how we interpret and value music today, from the history of classical music as an idea, to how music impacts contemporary media. His book Unlimited Replays: Video Games and Classical Music (Oxford University Press, 2018), for example-described as "jam-packed with food for thought...and endlessly witty to boot" (Notes)-explores the relationship between these two media from the early arcade to the contemporary concert hall. Another book, Building the Operatic Museum (University of Rochester Press, 2013), examines similar topics in a very different time and place by tracing the evolution of the modern operatic repertoire in early twentieth-century Paris. In addition to dozens of articles and book chapters on these and other topics, Gibbons is also co-editor of the essay collections Music in Video Games: Studying Play (Routledge, 2014) and Music in the Role-Playing Game: Heroes & Harmonies (Routledge, 2020). He is currently co-editing The Oxford Handbook of Video Game Music and Sound, due out in late 2023. In demand as a speaker, Gibbons has given invited lectures and keynote addresses at universities, conferences, and concert venues across the United States and Europe. Gibbons also frequently collaborates regularly with arts organizations on outreach and education, including projects with the Dallas Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Fort Worth Opera, The Dallas Winds, WRR Radio, Cedar Rapids Opera, and the James K. Polk House and Museum. Gibbons also performs as a collaborative pianist, focusing primarily on contemporary American music. More Info |
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Mollie A GothamOffice Assistant 1 Crane School of Music |
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Casey T GrevAssociate Professor: Saxophone Crane School of Music![]() Casey T GrevAssociate Professor: SaxophoneSchuette Hall A144
grevct@potsdam.edu
Casey Grev is Assistant Professor of Saxophone at the Crane School of Music. A dedicated performer of contemporary music, Dr. Grev was an invited performer at the Hot Air Music Festival, San Francisco Center for New Music, Resonant Bodies Festival, Society of Composers Inc. National Conference, Northwestern University New Music Conference, The Ohio State University Contemporary Music Festival, and was selected to study at the 2016 Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music. As a chamber musician, Dr. Grev performs regularly with the Viridian Saxophone Quartet and the Protean Duo. He has received awards at the Coleman, Fischoff, Music Teachers National Association, and North American Saxophone Alliance Chamber Music Competitions. Dr. Grev received both his Masters and Doctoral degrees from Michigan State University, where he was a recipient of the University Distinguished Fellowship and studied with Joseph Lulloff. Dr. Grev's undergraduate degrees in Music Education and Music Performance are from Ohio State University, where he studied with James Hill. More Info |
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Steven M GrothAdjunct Instructor Crane School of Music![]() Steven M GrothAdjunct InstructorBishop Hall C306
grothsm@potsdam.edu
Dr. Steven Groth, baritone, is a classical vocalist, teacher, and collaborative pianist who has relocated to upstate New York. Some recent performances include Dandini in Rossini's La Cenerentola, the King in Montsalvage's Puss in Boots, Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen, with Boulder Opera and his European debut in 2019 as the title character in Verdi's Rigoletto with Voci di Novafeltro in the Rimini region of Italy. Other operatic credits include Alfio in Boulder Opera's production of Cavalleria Rusticana, Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte with Loveland Opera Theater, Polinesso in Handel's Ariodante, Shrank in Bernstein's West Side Story with Eklund Opera, Mr. Webb in Rorum's Our Town, and Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with Show-Me Opera and Baron Douphol in Verdi's Traviata with Missouri Symphony. He sang with the University of Colorado's CU Now program as a guest artist to perform new music where he was coached by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer. Steven also worked with the University of Colorado's Composer Fellows' Initiative, helping student composers learn to write operatic literature and then performing these works' premieres. In recent competitions, Steven received the Kenneth King second prize award in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild competition in 2021 and took the William Vennard Award in the national NATSAA competition in 2020. As a collaborator, Steven has served as a rehearsal pianist, vocal coach, and recitalist at the piano. He has regularly accompanied students at competitions, lessons, and juries and has played a variety of vocal and instrumental recitals. He has directed various choral ensembles and has been the principle organist at churches in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Colorado. Steven earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Steven's research and passion revolves around the development of young university singers; using bel canto pedagogical principles to guide repertoire choice. He holds a pair of Master of Music degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia in Vocal Performance and Collaborative piano. He received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with choral and general certifications, a French major, and a European Studies minor. Steven is thrilled to be returning to SUNY Potsdam and the Crane School of Music as a Visiting Assistant Professor this year. Previously, he served as an Adjunct Voice Faculty member at Colorado-Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado and has taught collegiately at the University of Colorado-Boulder and the University of Missouri-Columbia. He will be joining the teaching faculty at La Musica Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy in the summer of 2022. More Info |
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Charles V. GuyActing Associate Dean / Professor: Tuba & Euphonium Crane School of Music![]() Charles V. GuyActing Associate Dean / Professor: Tuba & EuphoniumSchuette Hall A107
guycv@potsdam.edu
Charles Guy is Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam. He performs with the Potsdam Brass Quintet, Orchestra of Northern New York, and the Northern Symphonic Winds. Prior to his current appointment, Charles held a similar position at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and performed with the Lawrence Brass, the Oshkosh Symphony and the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, he has performed recitals at several International Tuba and Euphonium Association conferences and in 1999 he won the prestigious Leonard Falcone Festival artist division solo tuba competition. He has also presented numerous master classes and clinics for music educators and tuba-euphonium students at conventions and in schools. His orchestral experience includes performances with the Syracuse Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Michigan Opera Theatre, and Midland Symphony Orchestras. He has published articles and reviews in the International Tuba and Euphonium Association Journal and has been recorded on the Mark and Bernel Labels. In the summers, he taught tuba and euphonium at the Interlochen Arts Camp for over ten years. He earned both the Masters of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of Akron. When not teaching or performing, he enjoys time with his wife, Lorie, and two boys, Ethan and Miles. More Info |
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Anna HendricksonProfessor: Oboe Crane School of Music![]() Anna HendricksonProfessor: OboeBishop Hall C114
hendriak@potsdam.edu
ANNA HENDRICKSON (Oboe) is Associate Professor of Oboe at the Crane School of Music SUNY Potsdam. As an orchestral player, Dr. Hendrickson performs regularly with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, ON and with the summer Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon. She also plays principal oboe in the Orchestra of Northern New York. Her previous orchestral positions include the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra (Ontario) and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Dr. Hendrickson is equally at home playing chamber music. She has been selected to play at several International Double Reed Society Conferences as a member of chamber groups. She also has performed at the US Embassy in Paris, the American Church in Paris, and the Château de Champs with pianist Mieko Hironaka Bergt while spending a year in France as a Fulbright scholar. As a faculty member of the Crane School of Music, Dr. Hendrickson performs regularly with the Aria Reed Trio and the Potsdam Woodwind Quintet. She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Richard Killmer, and the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a student of Marc Fink. She previously held teaching positions at SUNY Geneseo, the Community Music School of the Eastman School of Music, and the Hochstein Music School, where she performed on the live radio broadcast recital series and other faculty recital series. A student of Dr. Hendrickson recently won second place in the first annual International Double Reed Society Young Artist Competition; many of her students have attended prestigious summer festivals and graduate schools throughout the nation. More Info |
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Christopher F HernackiVisiting Assistant Professor: Trombone Crane School of Music![]() Christopher F HernackiVisiting Assistant Professor: TromboneSchuette Hall A110
hernaccf@potsdam.edu
https://www.chrishernacki.com/A native of Los Angeles, Christopher Hernacki is an international award winning freelance musician/educator and has served as the bass trombonist of the San Antonio Symphony, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony, and Symphony Silicon Valley. He has also performed with such notable groups as the San Francisco Symphony, the Bay Brass, the Utah Symphony, the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the Detroit Jazz Festival Orchestra, among many others. In addition to regularly playing in symphony orchestras, he maintains an active performing schedule with various chamber music groups, opera orchestras, musical theater productions, and jazz ensembles worldwide. As a soloist, Mr. Hernacki was the winner of the 2011 International Trombone Festival's Donald Yaxley Solo Competition and has been featured with the Los Angeles Symphonic Winds, the Grace Baptist Church Praise Orchestra, the Idyllwild Arts Summer Music Festival's Wind Ensemble, the Pokorny Low Brass Seminar faculty, and the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings. He has also appeared with such artists as Christian McBride, Buddy Collette, George Benson, Alfie Boe, Gene Pokorny, Randall Hawes, and Sergio Carolino. An avid educator, in addition to his position as Visiting Professor of Trombone at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, Mr. Hernacki currently serves on the faculty at Idyllwild Arts as a summer low brass instructor - a position he has held since 2012. Prior to his appointment at SUNY Potsdam in 2020, he held positions at Eastern Michigan University, as a lecturer in music education, and the New World School of the Arts, as the low brass instructor. In 2018, Mr. Hernacki co-founded and served as the artistic director and conductor of the Michigan Youth Trombone Ensemble, an Ann Arbor-based trombone ensemble for high school students. Mr. Hernacki gathers inspiration from many different genres of music, spanning everything from 60's fusion to French electro swing, modern pop to Swedish space folk, heavy metal to the world of black midi. Chief among these is video game music; as a huge nerd of video game music, he works to cultivate an artistic and academic appreciation of the genre that has similarly already developed for the film industry. Influenced by this music, he writes, performs, and records various arrangements, some of which can be viewed on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/christoflur. An advocate for the arts, Mr. Hernacki strives to be an agent of change in helping aspiring performers and educators realize their utmost potential, creating connections between audiences of musicians and non-musicians alike, and elevating the music field so that it will always have a place to thrive for generations to come. Mr. Hernacki earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan, a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, a Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn School, a fellowship with the New World Symphony, and is currently completing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Michigan. More Info |
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Ivette Herryman RodriguezAssistant Professor: Music Theory, Composition Crane School of Music![]() Ivette Herryman RodriguezAssistant Professor: Music Theory, CompositionSchuette Hall A310
herrymi@potsdam.edu
A native from Cuba, Ivette Herryman Rodriguez holds a B.M in Music Composition from the Instituto Superior de Artes (Higher Institute of Arts), in Havana, a M.M in Music Composition from Baylor University, and a M.M in Music Theory and D.M.A in Music Composition from Michigan State University. She studied composition with Juan Piñera, Scott McAllister, Ricardo Lorenz, and Zhou Tian. Ivette's music has been described as "absolutely exquisite" and "breathtakingly beautiful" (Kevin Noe-Artistic Director of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and Director of Orchestras at Michigan State University). Her piece Sigue, for women's choir, became a bestseller in the year of its publication, selling over 5000 copies. Her zarzuela Cerca del Rìo won a Cubadisco Special Award in 2010. Her work Memorial, for soprano, cello, and piano is scheduled to be released on a CD that will feature works composed by CINTAS Fellows. She is the recipient of the 2015-16 prestigious Brandon Fradd Fellowship in Music Composition. Ivette's most recent commissions include a second piece for the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, a new work for the Michigan State University Symphony Band, which will be premiered to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the MSU Band's program, and a new composition commissioned by the Illinois State Music Teachers Association (ISMTA). She is the winner of the 2019 ISMTA Composer Commissioning program. Ivette has taught Music Theory and Composition at the Instituto Superior de Artes, the Opera of El Salvador (OPES), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Western Illinois University, where she also taught Class Piano. Currently, Ivette is an Assistant Professor of Theory and Composition at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, NY. More Info |
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Sarah S. HershAssociate Professor: String Music Education, Violin Crane School of Music![]() Sarah S. HershAssociate Professor: String Music Education, ViolinSchuette Hall A322
hershss@potsdam.edu
Dr. Hersh mentors string players and teachers. Her work has three components: applied violin and chamber music; string music education; and development of string communities through a local pre-college program, regional concerts, and national presentations. Dr. Hersh draws upon multiple approaches to playing and teaching the violin, including the Galamian and DeLay traditions, Rolland's work, her three years of study with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, and her research in music education and related fields. She is the principal second violinist of The Orchestra of Northern New York. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, Dr. Suzuki's Research Institute in Japan, and the University of Minnesota, she is a designated Teacher Trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas. Her doctoral dissertation is Music Educator Shinichi Suzuki: His Teacher Development Program and Studio Teaching. As Director of Crane's National String Project, she helps university and community students share music through the violin, cello, bass, and harp. This project, now in its tenth year, is part of a consortium of more than 30 university-based projects across the country. Dr. Hersh has presented over 20 sessions at national conferences of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA), and the National Association of Music Educators (MENC). In 2005 she was awarded both a Certificate of Recognition from ASTA and the Teacher of the Year Award from Crane Student Chapter of MENC. While on sabbatical leave, Dr. Hersh wrote the manuscript for a book on violin teaching and created a teaching edition of the Bach Sonatas and Partitas for her studio use. She presented sessions at the University of Texas-Austin and the ASTA National Conference in Atlanta. Her keynote address to an earlier SAA Leadership Conference was re-broadcast as part of a virtual conference for all SAA members. She participated in the Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies at The Juilliard School, where she learned from Itzhak Perlman, David Kim, Monica Huggett, Paul Kantor, and other luminaries of the violin world. 2009-10 events include the Mark O'Connor New York String Camp; the International Conference of Suzuki teacher trainers; a research project with faculty from three universities on the processes of studying violin at the university level; and on-going research to provide windows into string practices, using computers to connect members of string education communities. More Info |
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David D HeuserAssociate Dean of Music / Professor: Music Theory, Composition Crane School of Music![]() David D HeuserAssociate Dean of Music / Professor: Music Theory, CompositionBishop Hall C222
heuserdd@potsdam.edu
http://www.davidheuser.com/David Heuser's music has been called "thoughtful, beautiful, and wonderfully made" (San Antonio Express-News), "all-American music at its most dynamic and visceral" (Houston Chronicle), and "just the sort of music classical music needs more of" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). David Heuser began composing almost immediately after his first piano lessons at the age of seven, writing short tunes in imitation of the exercises he was studying. He continued to write music throughout his childhood, some for piano, chorus, and wind ensemble, and some for the rock bands he was in. After high school, he attended the Eastman School of Music and then the Indiana University School of Music, where he received his doctorate degree in music composition in 1995. A native of New Jersey, Heuser is the Interim Dean at the Crane School of Music. He has served as the School's Associate Dean since 2011. Prior to coming to the Crane school, he taught for fourteen years at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Heuser is a storyteller, crafting emotional journeys for listeners, but his stories go beyond words to things only music can speak to. His over 70 compositions range from exuberant orchestral works to intimate chamber pieces. His most characteristic works are rhythmically active, strongly melodic, and often deal with extremes of tempo, dynamics and register. Just as a painter fills space, a composer fills time, and it is Heuser's goal to lead the listener through the time his music occupies in a way that is compelling and moving. Heuser's music has been performed by various groups and individuals and on festivals and conferences throughout the United States and abroad. He has received commissions from such ensembles as the San Antonio Symphony, the New York Youth Symphony, the SOLI Chamber Ensemble, and the Texas Music Festival Orchestra. Heuser's music has won various awards, including the Columbia Orchestra American Composer Competition, the Fauxharmonic Orchestra Composition Contest, and the New England String Quartet's International Composition Competition. He has received grants from organizations such as the Artist Foundation of San Antonio and the American Music Center. Heuser's music is published by Non Sequitur Music, and works of his can be found on recordings on the Albany, Capstone, and Equilibrium labels. Heuser is also a founding member of the Composers Alliance of San Antonio (CASA). More Info |
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Jeffrey B HinkleAdjunct Instructor: Accompanying Crane School of Music![]() Jeffrey B HinkleAdjunct Instructor: AccompanyingBishop Hall C218
hinklejb@potsdam.edu
Jeff Hinkle is a pianist/organist and composer based in Canton and Potsdam, New York. He has been an accompanist at the Crane School of Music (primarily working with vocal students) since Fall of 2018. He is currently employed as both the choir director and accompanist for the Canton United Methodist Church, since the summer of 2018. Jeff studied music composition and piano at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington; and he was previously employed as a choir director for five years at a Methodist church in the Sacramento area in California, before moving to New York State in 2018. More Info |
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Christine E HoerningVisiting Assistant Professor: Clarinet Crane School of Music![]() Christine E HoerningVisiting Assistant Professor: ClarinetBishop Hall C110
hoernice@potsdam.edu
A New York native now based in Montreal, Christine Hoerning is an accomplished clarinetist, director, teacher, and creator across a multitude of genres. An active freelancer with classical background, Christine fills clarinet positions in numerous
orchestras throughout New York and Quebec, including principal clarinet of l'orchestre
philharmonique de musiciens de Montreal, and second clarinet with l'orchestre symphonique de
musiciens du monde. She has also filled auxiliary positions with the Kingston Symphony and the
Orchestra of Northern New York. As founder and artistic director of the interdisciplinary chamber music collective Verisimo,
Christine has curated over 20 performances throughout Quebec, Ontario, and New York, which
showcased classical and contemporary chamber music performed in synchronicity with original
films. Beyond the administrative duties of managing an ensemble, Christine is the filmmaker
and editor behind Verisimo's films. Most recently, Verisimo is launching a new concert series
entitled Filmprov screens original and repurposed silent films accompanied by a live
improvisatory soundtrack. Her passion and enthusiasm for new music has lead to collaborations with creative minds and
seeking out non-traditional performances spaces and opportunities. She works frequently with
creator Andre Pappathomas and his ensemble Mruta Mertsi in various performance installations
focusing on creation and improvisation. A particular highlight was her role in the premiere of Slideshow, an opera by composer Rachel Burman which allowed for the exploration of sound,
music, and movement. She is a featured soloist on the album "Voyages", a collection of works
by Swedish composer Jonathan Ostlund released in 2019, as well as his album "Mistral"
released in 2020 under the Divine Record label. She is currently working with contemporary
composers on a digital project commissioning and recording live performances of new works for
solo clarinet and bass clarinet. She graduated from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in 2009 with degrees in
Music Education and Performance. She graduated from McGill University with a Master's
Degree in Orchestral Performance in 2014. More Info |
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Christopher R HotalingVisiting Assistant Professor: Tuba/Euphonium Crane School of Music![]() Christopher R HotalingVisiting Assistant Professor: Tuba/EuphoniumSchuette Hall A113
hotalicr@potsdam.edu
An active pedagogue and performer, Chris Hotaling employs elements from his background in vocal performance in his approach to teaching and playing tuba, euphonium, and trombone. He believes strongly in the importance of lyrical, songlike playing as a means of promoting growth in his students, and he enjoys incorporating vocal repertoire in lessons and performances. He was invited to the Northeast Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference in 2020 to present a lecture entitled Accessing the Vocal Repertoire and its Pedagogical Benefits, and also gave a lecture titled Doubling: Resources & Techniques for Teaching and Learning at the 2020 Virtual Trombone Workshop. Chris has performed with professional ensembles such as the Northern Symphonic Winds, the Orchestra of Northern New York, and the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra Brass Ensemble, as well as the renowned Eastman Wind Ensemble. He appears on albums by the Crane Wind Ensemble and the Eastman Wind Ensemble entitled Adirondack Songs and Images: Music of Jeff Tyzik, respectively. He recently finished his fifth year as either sole or co-director for Tuba Mirum, Eastman's tuba-euphonium ensemble, for which his responsibilities include programming, conducting, and rehearsing concerts both locally and at regional conferences. Since autumn of 2018, Chris has also served as adjunct faculty at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, NY, where he teaches classes in music theory, history, and appreciation. Chris holds B.M. degrees in Euphonium Performance and Music Education from The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he was named a Presser Scholar, and a M.M. and Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where he is also currently completing his D.M.A. His teachers include Dr. Charles Guy for euphonium, Mark Kellogg for euphonium and trombone, and the late Dr. Lonel Woods for voice. When not performing or teaching, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife, Jenna, and their three cats! More Info |
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Julie E HunterAssociate Professor: Ethnomusicology Interdisciplinary Studies, Crane School of Music![]() Julie E HunterAssociate Professor: EthnomusicologyBishop Hall C317
hunterje@potsdam.edu
Julie Hunter is an Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. She has a secondary appointment in Interdisciplinary Studies and teaches courses in the Africana and Women's and Gender Studies programs. Hunter founded the Crane West African Drum and Dance Ensemble in 2013-an inclusive and dynamic group dedicated to performing traditional music from Ghana and Togo. Hunter joined the faculty at SUNY Potsdam in 2012 after previously teaching at Boston College (2008-2012) and Bryant University (2010). She received her Ph.D. and M.A. in ethnomusicology from Brown University, and B.M. in Music History and Literature from Vanderbilt University. Hunter's major research interests include music in Africa, Ewe music, Ghanaian dance-drumming, music and gender, highlife, the African diaspora, postcolonial studies, world music pedagogy, and applied ethnomusicology. Hunter's dissertation research explored the rise of women's drumming in West Africa through the lens of Ewe female drummers, singers, composers, and dancers and their unique expressions of gender, and musical innovations, in Ewe associations known as habobo. This was the first in-depth ethnographic study on female drummers in Africa or the diaspora. She co-organized an African Music Festival at Brown University with Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng, and edited an extensive digital collection of African field recordings by James Koetting which highlights Kasena music and culture of Northern Ghana in collaboration with the Brown University Library. At SUNY Potsdam, Hunter teaches music and liberal arts majors in a range of courses, supervises undergraduate ethnomusicology projects, and organizes global music events. She has served on numerous committees including the President's Taskforce on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (contributing to the university's DEI Strategic Plan for 2016-2021); the Diversity Attribute Review Committee; Connecting Globally Committee for Potsdam Pathways; and the Crane Undergraduate Program Committee. Hunter has been fortunate to study from expert artists in West Africa and the United States including Kwaku Kwaakye Obeng, Manavi Deku, Kwabena Boateng, Daniel Atiso, Stephen Atiso, and Kwasi Dunyo with a focus on Ewe, Akan, and Ga music traditions from southern Ghana. Hunter has presented at regional and national conferences since 2008. She's been an active member of the Society for Ethnomusicology since 2000 and served as student representative on the organization's council. She has received research funding from SUNY Potsdam, the West African Research Association, Brown University, and the U.S. Department of Education. More Info |
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Keilor L KastellaAdjunct Instructor: Piano and Accompanying Crane School of Music![]() Keilor L KastellaAdjunct Instructor: Piano and AccompanyingBishop Hall C201
kastelkl@potsdam.edu
Pianist Dr. Keilor Kastella was born in Stony Brook, NY, and raised in southeast Michigan. Exposed to the Taubman approach to piano technique from an early age, he developed a passion for both solo and chamber music, and later attended the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, where he studied composition and piano. He earned a Bachelor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan, studying piano with Dr. Louis Nagel, Martin Katz, and Christopher Harding, as well as organ with Dr. James Kibbie. Dr. Kastella continued his education at Louisiana State University, earning a MM with Dr. Willis Delony and a DMA with Gregory Sioles. While at LSU, Keilor was a founding member of the Red Stick Trio (with Dr. Hannah Urdea, violin and viola, and Dr. Samuel Schreiber, clarinet), which medaled in the New Orleans Chamber Fest Competition and later was the ensemble-in-residence at the Zodiac Festival and Academy in Valdeblore, France. His interest in collaboration has also taken him to Costa Rica, where he gave a series of concerts of vocal music by Black American composers commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as part of the Centro Cultural Costarricense-Norteamericano's Promising Artists of the 21st Century program. In 2018, he presented with his husband and musical partner, flutist Dr. Brian Dunbar, at IMPAR: Hands on Research in Aveiro, Portugal. Since 2020 he has been a collaborative pianist at the Crane School of Music. A devoted teacher, Dr. Kastella has taught pianists aged 5 years to 75 years old, including as adjunct instructor at Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College in Baton Rouge, LA, from 2019-2020. At Crane, he has taught Vocal Repertoire: German Lieder, and is currently adjunct instructor of piano and an active collaborative pianist. He has a special interest in this music of Bach and Chopin, as well as in new works and those by historically underrepresented minority composers. He is currently involved in several forthcoming commissions. In his free time, he enjoys running, composing, and managing his small farm. More Info |
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Jennifer KesslerLecturer: Music Education Crane School of Music![]() Jennifer KesslerLecturer: Music EducationSchuette Hall A307
kesslejk@potsdam.edu
Jennifer Kessler received the Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the Crane School of Music and the Master of Arts degree in Elementary Education from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. At Crane, she currently teaches foundations courses in Music Education and is a supervisor for the General Music Practicum. Before coming to Crane, Mrs. Kessler's professional career included teaching in Williamsburg, VA for 5 years as the first teacher/director for a new elementary strings program. While in this position, she maintained a private violin studio, was a member of the Williamsburg Youth Orchestra Board of Directors and worked as a free-lance violinist around the Hampton Roads/Tidewater area. After relocating to New York State, she directed the 5th grade strings program for the Warwick Valley Central School District in Orange County and then worked in Potsdam, directing the strings program for grades 5-12. Her career also includes teaching 4 years of General Music to grades PK-6. Her writing has been published in the American Strings Teacher Association (ASTA) journal. More Info |
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Julianne Kirk DoyleProfessor: Clarinet Crane Youth Music, Crane School of Music![]() Julianne Kirk DoyleProfessor: ClarinetBishop Hall C103
kirkj@potsdam.edu
https://www.jkdoyle.org/Crane Clarinet Studios Webpage: http://jkdoyle77.wix.com/craneclarinetstudios Crane Youth Music contact information: Julianne Kirk Doyle joined the faculty of the Crane School of Music in 2006 and serves as Professor of Clarinet and Director of the Crane Youth Music Camp. Dr. Doyle is Co-Director of the Crane Clarinet Choir, Crane Clarinet Ensembles and Co-coordinates the acclaimed Potsdam Single Reed Summit. Dr. Doyle is the New York State Chair for the International Clarinet Association and additionally serves as the editor for the clarinet section of the NYSSMA Manual. Dr. Doyle's Debut CD Dante Dances premiered in 2019 including works by Crane Composers Arthur Frackenpohl and Elliot DelBorgo as well as Dan Welcher and New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn. She joined Robert Young and David Heinick on Young's album Hybrid which released in 2018, performing Heinick's four letter words which she and Young commissioned for premiere at the 2016 International Clarinet Association Conference in Baton Rouge, LA. More Info |
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Nils H KlykkenAssistant Professor: Choral Conducting Crane School of Music![]() Nils H KlykkenAssistant Professor: Choral ConductingSchuette Hall A305
klykkenh@potsdam.edu
Dr. Nils Klykken is an assistant professor of choral music at SUNY Potsdam. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan (BM in Music Education) and the Eastman School of Music (MM and DMA in Conducting). Dr. Klykken's conducting and creative work is centered around evolving choral-music practices for the 21st century: He is interested in how historical performance-practices in Western Art Music can serve as referents for 21st-century improvisation, the exploration of notationless-music traditions in choral settings, and the intersections between music performance, music education, democratic processes, and social justice. Dr. Klykken has served as a guest conductor for Regional All-State Choirs in the State of New York and has presented at regional and national conferences, including the American Choral Directors Association, The Society for Music Teacher Education, and the New York State School Music Association. More Info |
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Edward M. KomaraDistinguished Librarian Crane Library Libraries, Crane School of Music![]() Edward M. KomaraDistinguished Librarian Crane LibrarySchuette Hall A202
komaraem@potsdam.edu
Edward Komara (Crane Librarian) has directed the Julia Crane Memorial Library since 2001. In addition to supervising library services and providing research assistance to students and faculty, he also teaches music research methods, and he gives lectures about American music including blues and jazz. Komara holds degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo (M.A., Music History; M.L.S., Library and Information Science) and St. John's College, Annapolis, MD (B.A., Liberal Arts). Previously he served as the Music Librarian/Blues Archivist at the University of Mississippi (1993-2001). He is a member of the Music Library Association, the American Musicological Society, and the Blues Foundation (Memphis TN). An authority on American blues, he has published several books including 100 Books Every Blues Fan Should Own (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2014), The Road to Robert Johnson (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2007) and the two-volume Encyclopedia of the Blues (New York: Routledge, 2006). Chief among the honors awarded to him for his scholarship are the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities (2011) and the Music Library Association's Richard S. Hill Award (2009). More Info |
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Ching-Chun LaiAssociate Professor: Director of Orchestras Crane School of Music![]() Ching-Chun LaiAssociate Professor: Director of OrchestrasBishop Hall C118
laic@potsdam.edu
http://www.chingchunlai.comConductor Ching-Chun Lai has held the post of Director of Orchestras and Assistant Professor of Music at the Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam since 2011. During her brief tenure, the Crane Symphony Orchestra has advanced swiftly in both quality of performance and reputation. In 2014, the Crane Symphony Orchestra was invited to perform at the annual conference of the New York State School Music Association. In addition, the orchestra has performed in prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. In Potsdam (NY), Dr. Lai appears annually in Potsdam's traditional holiday "Candlelight Concert", which is broadcasted nationwide by PBS. As part of Crane's educational mission, Dr. Lai and the Orchestra tour regularly to various school districts throughout the Northeastern United States. A committed educator and experienced ensemble clinician, Dr. Lai has worked with numerous youth orchestras and university ensembles in Taiwan, Canada, and United States. Recently, she has conducted honor orchestras in New York State and Massachusetts, given master classes at National Chia-Yi University in Taiwan, and served as ensemble clinician in Wisconsin and at the Kiwanis Music Festival in Canada. In 2015, Dr. Lai conducted a joint concert of Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, performed in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater. With her deep interest in opera and new music, Dr. Lai has conducted the world premiere of Maura Bosch's opera Art and Desire, a University of Wisconsin-Madison commission, as well as Jerry Hui's comic opera Wired for Love. She has also worked on opera productions of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, Donizetti's Don Pasquale, L'elisir d'amore and Maria Stuarda, Handel's Alcina, Massenet's Thaïs, and Britten's Turn of the Screw. In 2009, Dr. Lai conducted the Madison Bach Musicians for performances of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. A great success, the performances were described in Isthmus as "consistently excellent, from the opening triple-chorus to the final double chorus, while the harmonized chorales were soaring anthems of faith." She has also collaborated with the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was a founding member of the group, New Muse. With these dynamic musicians, Dr. Lai undertook several significant projects including fully staged performances of Eight Songs for a Mad King by Peter Maxwell Davies, and performances of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire. Dr. Lai made her conducting debut at the age of 19 with Taiwan's National Cheng Kung University Wind Ensemble and was appointed conductor of that ensemble soon after her first engagement. During her tenure, this ensemble won music competitions in Taiwan, became one of the top university wind ensembles in the country, and was invited by the Asian Pacific Band Festival to perform in the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Throughout her conducting career, Dr. Lai has performed in Jordan Hall in Boston, Overture Center and Music Hall in Madison, Wisconsin, Chung-Hsin Concert Hall in Taiwan. She has served as cover conductor for Gunther Schuller, as well as Christof Perick, Larry Rachleff, and Duain Wolfe in the Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts, worked with renowned artists, such as percussionist Aiyun Huang and the Berlin Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet. Dr. Lai received the Church Memorial Conducting Award twice from University of Wisconsin-Madison, in recognition of emerging conductors who show great professional promise. She has recently been granted a competitive research award, the Dr. Nuala McGann Drescher Leave Program sponsored by the State of New York/United University Professions Joint Labor-Management Affirmative Action/Diversity Committee. Upcoming project includes collaboration with trombonist Burt Mason and violinist Jessica McJunkins for the Untold Legacies residency at SUNY-Potsdam, a series of concerts and discussions about diversity in classical music world. A former faculty at Mount Holyoke College, Dr. Lai studied conducting with Gunther Schuller, James Smith, and Charles Peltz. Master classes include work with Gustav Meier, JoAnn Falletta, Ken Kiesler, Neil Varon, and Frank Battisti. Dr. Lai holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Master of Music degrees in Conducting and Music Education with Distinguish Performance and Academic Honors from the New England Conservatory of Music. Dr. Lai also holds Master of Science degree in Aeronautics and Aeronautics Engineering from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. More Info |
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Erica P LevensonAssistant Professor: Music History Crane School of Music![]() Erica P LevensonAssistant Professor: Music HistorySchuette Hall A308
levensep@potsdam.edu
Erica Levenson is a musicologist whose primary research focuses on baroque music, with an emphasis on the international circulation of opera and theater during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. She is currently working on a book project that examines the history of British nationalism in opposition to London multiculturalism through the lens of the French operatic and theatrical invasion in the early eighteenth century. She also studies musical borrowing and the history of sampling in popular music. An advocate of building collaborations across diverse intellectual communities, Erica has presented her research at national and international conferences, including the International Conference on Baroque Music (2014, 2016), the Translation in Music International Symposium at Cardiff University, and national meetings of the American Musicological Society. These conferences have led to interdisciplinary publications, including a book chapter, titled "Translating Myth Through Tunes," that will be published in the volume Music, Myth, and Story in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (forthcoming). Her research has been supported by the American Musicological Society and the Society for the Humanities at Cornell University. Erica teaches courses on a wide range of topics, including seventeenth- and eighteenth-century music, performance practice, music and politics, American popular music, and opera. As a harpsichordist and organist, she integrates performance with teaching and research. Erica first pursued her interests in early music performance and interdisciplinary scholarship when she was an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, where she received a B.A in music and English literature. Before coming to SUNY Potsdam, Erica taught at Ithaca College, Syracuse University, and SUNY Buffalo. She earned her PhD in musicology from Cornell University. More Info |
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Judy LewisAssistant Professor: Music Education Crane School of Music![]() Judy LewisAssistant Professor: Music EducationSchuette Hall A327
lewiju@potsdam.edu
Judy Lewis is assistant professor in music education at SUNY Potsdam. She is a graduate of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel (B.A. Music Education) and Teachers College, Columbia University (M.A. and Ed.D in Music and Music Education). Dr. Lewis also held a two-year postdoctoral research post at the Institute for Urban and Minority Education based at Columbia University where she conducted research in the area of urban music education, popular music, pedagogy and social justice. Prior to SUNY Potsdam, Dr. Lewis served as assistant professor of music education at the University of Southern California and director of the Master of Music in K-12 Contemporary Teaching Practices at USC. Before joining USC, she taught music education at Queensborough Community College in New York City and popular songwriting and entrepreneurship at the Musrara College for New Music in Jerusalem, Israel. Prior to her work in higher education, Dr. Lewis spent twenty five years as a K-12 public school music teacher and community music facilitator. Dr. Lewis's research interests include social justice and critical pedagogy in music education, urban music education, digital technology and multimodality in contemporary musical engagement, and popular music pedagogy. She is a member of two international music education research consortia, Culture, Criticism, and Community and FUTURED both supported by the Norwegian Research Council and producing cross-cultural research in the area of music education practices in higher education. She has presented and given keynote speeches at national and international conferences. Her scholarly writings have appeared in Music Educators' Journal, The International Journal of Community Music, Philosophy of Music Education Review, School Music News, Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain and the edited volume Narrative Inquiry in Music Education: Listening to Voices Seldom Heard. More Info |
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Tracy D Lipke-PerryAssistant Professor: Functional Keyboard Crane School of Music![]() Tracy D Lipke-PerryAssistant Professor: Functional KeyboardSchuette Hall A126
lipkeptd@potsdam.edu
http://tracylipkeperry.weebly.comDr. Tracy Lipke-Perry enjoys a notably invigorating and eclectic career as a versatile performer, collaborator, and coach; enthusiastic teaching artist; and researcher. Highlights of her performing career include recitals with artists such as renowned flutist, Amy Porter; Alicia McQuerrey of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Yamaha artist, Mary Karen Clardy; international bass trombonist, Jonathan Warburton; and Canadian Brass trombonist, Achilles Liarmakopoulos. A champion of new and contemporary music, she has commissioned and premiered works by Libby Larsen, John Luther Adams, Laura Kaminsky, and Gwyneth Walker. Dr. Perry's pedagogical and research interests focus on underrepresented pedagogical and concert repertoire and enhancing understanding of piano technique. Her current work utilizes digital motion capture technology to analyze kinematics of pianists' movements. She performs and presents her work across the country and around the world, most recently at the 2018 Minnesota Music Teachers Association Annual Convention; 2018 Congress of the European College of Sport Science in Dublin, Ireland; 2017 Neurosciences VI International Symposium in Boston; the 2017 College Music Society World Conference in Sydney, Australia; and 2016 International Society for Music Education World Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Dr. Perry holds a D.M.A. degree in piano performance with a minor in neurophysiology from the University of Arizona, an M.M. degree from the University of Utah, and undergraduate degrees in both piano performance and mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Dr. Perry previously served as a faculty member at the University of Idaho and at the University of Minnesota Duluth where she chaired the piano area and was a fellow of the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment. She is currently Assistant Professor at the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam. More Info |
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Carol C. LoweProfessor: Bassoon/Chair of the Performance Department Crane School of Music![]() Carol C. LoweProfessor: Bassoon/Chair of the Performance DepartmentBishop Hall C117
lowecc@potsdam.edu
http://redbassoon.comCAROL LOWE (Bassoon) teaches courses in bassoon performance, reed-making, repertoire and pedagogy, and orchestral studies at the Crane School of Music. She is a native of Brevard, North Carolina and has performed throughout the United States and Europe. While living in the Atlanta area Dr. Lowe performed frequently with the Atlanta Symphony, including a 1996 tour to Carnegie Hall and subsequent recording of Mahler\'s Symphony No. 6. She has toured and recorded in London, Paris, and Munich with various ensembles and was a member of the Taft Quintet, first-prize winners of the 1989 Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition. As an active member of the International Double Reed Society, Dr. Lowe has presented recitals at their annual conferences in Austin, Muncie, Ithaca, and Provo. Her degrees are from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her primary teachers have included William Winstead, Otto Eifert, Richard Lottridge, and Michael Burns. Dr. Lowe recently completed a dissertation on bassoon pedagogue Norman Herzberg. Prior to joining the Crane School of Music faculty Dr. Lowe taught at Furman University, the University of South Carolina, Agnus Scott College, and Erskine College. Dr. Lowe is currently principal bassoon for the Orchestra of Northern New York and is a member of the Potsdam Wind Quintet and the Aria Reed Trio. More Info |
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Andrea MaasAssistant Professor: Music Education Crane School of Music![]() Andrea MaasAssistant Professor: Music EducationSchuette Hall A332
maasa@potsdam.edu
Andrea Maas, Ed.D Andrea draws on her broad experiences in PK-12 and collegiate music education in diverse settings to inform her work with pre-service music educators. She comes to Potsdam from NYC where, after serving as Director of Student Teaching and completing her Doctoral work at Teachers College, Columbia University, she was Director of Curriculum for MusicFirst and Substitute Lecturer of Music Education at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College. Before returning to NY, Andrea taught PK-12 general music and choir in Vermont public schools, founded and directed community youth and show choirs and maintained a private voice studio. Since then, she has conducted numerous choral festivals and worked with undergraduate and graduate level students to develop skills, understandings and approaches toward music education in both music and non-music classrooms. Andrea's musical training and teaching include piano, voice, general music, choir, band, theory and musical theater. These broad experiences coupled with her interests in the ways we understand musical expression, drive Andrea to challenge students and teachers toward deeper meaning-making during musical encounters. This work continues to inform Andrea's commitment to music education and vocal expression through her approaches to music teacher preparation, curriculum development and engagements with musical works. Her dissertation, "Musical Expression in the High School Choral Classroom" is available online. A product of NYSSMA herself, Andrea feels privileged to have the opportunity to give back to future generations of music educators here in NYS at the Crane School of Music. More Info |
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Michelle R Martin-AtwoodAdjunct Instructor: Music Theory, Organ Crane School of Music![]() Michelle R Martin-AtwoodAdjunct Instructor: Music Theory, OrganSchuette Hall A328
martinmr@potsdam.edu
Michelle Rae Martin-Atwood, originally from Unity, Saskatchewan, Canada, holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (2009) and a Master of Music (2001) in organ performance, and a Sacred Music Diploma (2009) from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with David Higgs. She earned a Bachelor of Music (1999) in organ from the University of Alberta, under the tutelage of Dr. Marnie Giesbrecht. Additional instructors include J. Biggers, C. Crozier, Hans-Ola Ericsson, M.Gailit, AC Galán, R. Glasgow, M. Haselböck, J-P. Leguay, A. Marçon, S. Preston, and C. Terry. In 2010, Michelle joined the faculty of the Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam, where she has taught a wide variety of courses including Music Theory and Accelerated Music Theory for Non-Majors, Secondary Organ Lessons, History of Sacred Music, and Aural Skills I and II. For nearly a decade, she taught organ and piano through the Center for Lifelong Education and Recreation at SUNY-Potsdam to individuals from various countries (studying or teaching at Clarkson University), including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, Pakistan, Croatia, Argentina and many more, and has served as organ faculty for Canada's Summer Institute of Church Music. In addition, she has served as a judge for multiple organ and chamber ensemble competitions. Dr. Martin-Atwood has been invited to perform as a soloist at events and conferences such as the XXI International Organ Festival of Guanajuato, Mexico (2018), the Inauguration of the 16th President of the State University of New York, Aspects of American Organ Building in the Twentieth-Century (EROI), the American Guild of Organists Young Artists Recital, and a memorial concert in Göteborg, Sweden, for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Michelle was a semifinalist in the 2002 Royal Bank Calgary International Organ Competition, a competitor in the National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance (2003-04), and a finalist in the International Bach Organ Competition (2000). Michelle has won multiple grants and scholarships including the Johann Strauss Scholarship for the Advanced Study of Music in Austria, Canada Arts Council ($25,000) and Saskatchewan Arts Board Grants ($15,000). In the spring of 2014, Michelle was awarded a Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching by the State University of New York and has three times in seven years been awarded the SUNY Potsdam Emerging Leaders "Favorite Professor in the Theory/History Department." She won multiple scholarships based on scholastic achievement including the Eastman School of Music Graduate Fellowship every year from 1999-2005, University of Alberta Universiade scholarships, Peace River Pioneer and Beryl Barns Scholarships in Music as well as the University of Alberta Alumni Academic Excellence Scholarship. Michelle particularly enjoys collaborative performances and has accompanied orchestras and choirs, focusing on large works such as Maurice Duruflé's Requiem and various Bach Cantatas. She has worked under the baton of world-renowned conductors including Maestro Duain Wolfe in a performance at Carnegie Hall, New York City with the Crane School of Music Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Hart Godden and the Regina Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra, Dr. Nils Klykken, Dr. Jeffrey Francom, and Kenneth Andrews of the Crane School of Music. She has also performed with the Elizabeth Clark Dance Ensemble and for events such as the Nadia Boulanger Symposium and Women in Music Festivals. She specializes in minimalist music (especially that of Philip Glass) and has commissioned several new works for organ solo (such as Tremors of Nostalgia) by Aaron Travers and organ with other instruments and technology. More Info |
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Deborah P. MassellAssociate Professor: Voice Crane School of Music![]() Deborah P. MassellAssociate Professor: VoiceBishop Hall C304
masseldp@potsdam.edu
DEBORAH MASSELL, Soprano, holds over two decades' experience in vocal performance in Europe and North America. She has appeared in leading roles such as Pamina, Susanna, Despina, Sophie, Zerlina, Servilia, Semele, Bastienne, Euridice, and Belinda, as well as several world premiers, and performed as soloist in a great number of concerts, oratorios, recitals, and chamber music, including in many works composed especially for her voice. She has sung in acclaimed opera houses such as the Hamburg State Opera, Theater Basel, the Gärtnerplatz Theater and the Salzburg Mozarteum, as well as the Vienna, Schleswig-Holstein, Gmunden, St. Bart's, Princeton, and Caramoor Festivals. She has performed in concert venues such as the United Nations, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Town Hall, as well as in many museums, churches and university concert halls across the United States and Europe. She has also sailed the Mediterranean visiting twenty-one countries while singing opera, chamber music and art song on the Cunard Cruise Line. She has worked with noted conductors including Julius Rudel, Lukas Foss, Michel Corboz, René Jacobs and Will Crutchfield, and stage directors Peter Ustinov, Herbert Wernicke, and John Neumeier. In recital she has been heard with artists such as Warren Jones, Walter Berry and Emile Naoumoff, and has had intensive study in Art Song and operatic vocal literature with the legendary Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Gérard Souzay, Dalton Baldwin, Hugues Cuénod, Judith Raskin, and Rosemarie Landry. In master classes she has sung for Nicolai Gedda, Giorgio Tozzi and Maureen Forrester. She has also performed educational programs of operatic arias and scenes for families through the Metropolitan Opera Guild, the Children's Free Opera of New York (Orchestra of St. Luke's), the Orchestra of Northern New York, and the Mexico City Opera. Ms Massell has also performed on the video Ears Wide Open, an introduction to classical music for children. In addition to recording for Austrian, German, and Swiss radio, her discography includes Gluck's Echo et Narcisse (CD and video), the songs of Jacques Leguerney with Kurt Ollmann and Mary Dibbern in close collaboration with the composer, (both for Harmonia Mundi), and the award winning video The Bald Soprano with the Center for Contemporary Opera in NYC. Dr. Massell has been on the faculty of Crane since 2000. She holds a B.A. degree with Honors in Music from Hamilton College, a Masters degree from The Mannes College of Music, and a Doctorate from the University of Montreal. In 2003 she completed a nationally acclaimed voice teaching internship sponsored by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. More Info |
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Sarah A Maurer-GrothAdjunct Instructor: Voice Crane School of Music![]() Sarah A Maurer-GrothAdjunct Instructor: Voicemaurersa@potsdam.edu
Vocalist and teacher Sarah Maurer-Groth, soprano, made her leading role debut as Phyllis from Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe with The Madison Savoyards (Madison, WI) in 2013. She sang the role of La Ciesca from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi in performance with the Show Me Opera at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Maurer-Groth completed her Master of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Missouri-Columbia, studying with Christine Seitz. Other selected performances include Virtu from Monteverdi's L'Incoranatione di Poppea, Madame Silberklang from Mozart's Der Shauspieldirektor, and Musetta from Puccini's La Boheme. A native of Madison, WI, Sarah Maurer-Groth completed her undergraduate degrees in Vocal Performance and French at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying with James Doing. During that time, she actively enjoyed working with the University Opera and spending additional time sewing projects in the costume shop. The Madison Savoyards, a Gilbert and Sullivan group, provided her with much of her early performing experience. She sang in the chorus of Yeomen of the Guard and H.M.S. Pinafore, Princess Nekaya in Utopia, Ltd., and finally as Phyllis in Iolanthe. When she is not performing or teaching, Maurer-Groth enjoys sewing dresses, reading classic works of fiction, and hiking. More Info |
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Kathleen A McCartyStudent Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music![]() Kathleen A McCartyStudent Teaching Supervisormccartka@potsdam.edu
Mrs. Kathleen Washburn McCarty (originally from Gansevoort, NY and a graduate of the South Glens Falls School District), holds a Bachelor's of Music Degree in Education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, NY with a concentration in voice and a Master's Degree from SUNY Plattsburgh. Kathleen was employed as a Secondary Music Educator with the Saratoga Springs City School District over 30 years. She also taught at Schroon Lake Central School and the Granville Jr./Sr. High School. Pre-pandemic, she was the organist and choir director for the Sanford's Ridge UMC and the Village Baptist Church in Fort Edward, NY. Kathleen is a past member of the Adirondack Voices, served as its Director, and is a past president of the organization. She also served as rehearsal director for the Mastersingers for 4 years and was a founding member of that organization. She has served as a guest conductor at various All-County Choral Festivals. Kathleen is a member of NYSSMA, NAƒME, and ACDA and has chaired the NYSSMA Zone 7 Area All-State Festivals as well as chaired and accompanied the Area All-State Chorus. Kathleen is also an active member of SWCMEA and has been involved with other various local performing organizations including Lake George Opera Festival, Saratoga Chorale, Schuylerville Community Theater and Albany Pro Musica. Kathleen is the wife of R. Paul McCarty (retired teacher/administrator of Saratoga Springs City School District), Town & Village Historian of Fort Edward, NY and the Executive Director of the Old Fort House Museum, the mother of Robert P. McCarty, Esq., and the grandmother of Sydney Mae McCarty. She resides in the village of Fort Edward, NY. More Info |
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Peter M. McCoyProfessor: Music Education/Chair of Music Education Crane School of Music![]() Peter M. McCoyProfessor: Music Education/Chair of Music EducationSchuette Hall A329
mccoypm@potsdam.edu
Dr. Peter McCoy teaches Music courses in music technology, instrumental music, and general music. He has taught in public and private schools, performed, conducted, and adjudicated nationally since 1985. Dr. McCoy received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Iowa State University and the Master of Music and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University. He is a regular presenter and clinician at national and regional conferences on the topics of technology in music education, classroom-based composing, and portfolio development. Dr. McCoy holds membership in the International Trombone Association, National Association for Music Education, International Society for Music Education, College Music Society, Center for Black Music Research, and Technology Institute for Music Educators. Dr. McCoy currently serves as Coordinator of Music Technology for The Crane School of Music. More Info |
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Douglas J McKinnieAudio/Video Engineer Crane School of Music![]() Douglas J McKinnieAudio/Video EngineerSchuette Hall A112
mckinndj@potsdam.edu
Douglas McKinnie began as Audio & Video-Streaming engineer at the Crane School of Music in the Autumn of 2014. He held the position of Chief Engineer of Live Sound for the Tanglewood Festival for over 20 years, and continues to work for the Boston Symphony as an audio engineer at Tanglewood each summer. Before coming to Crane, Dr. McKinnie has had full-time faculty positions: in the department of Recording Arts of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and in the department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University. Douglas has been an audio engineer for the Cleveland Institute of Music and a staff engineer at Cleveland's Commercial Recording Studios Inc. His recording credits include compact discs for Telarc and McGill Records, radio production and demonstration recordings for the BBC, as well as many live radio broadcasts. Dr. McKinnie holds a Ph.D. from the University of Surrey (U.K.), where his BBC-funded research focused on the influence of spatial envelopment and localization accuracy on the perceived sound quality of surround-sound playback systems. He received his master of music degree in sound recording from McGill University, where he engaged in research on techniques for evaluating the sound-quality of low-bit-rate audio. While at McGill, he assisted in the selection of critical listening materials for the Electronic Industries Association/National Radio Standards Committee, and at Canada's Communications Research Centre in Ottawa he administrated extensive listening tests for the NRSC which were used to assess the sound quality of competing systems before the 2002 adoption of HD-Radio by the US FCC. More Info |
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Catherine MeunierAdjunct Instructor: Percussion Crane School of Music![]() Catherine MeunierAdjunct Instructor: PercussionCrane Music Center B176
meuniec@potsdam.edu
Catherine Meunier is the first percussionist to win the prestigious Prix d'Europe. Her debut CD Night Chill is acclaimed by critics: "Montreal percussionist Catherine Meunier shines throughout" (The WholeNote, December 2009). As a soloist and chamber musician, Catherine Meunier has given concerts in Canada, Mexico, Taiwan and Japan. She has been a guest soloist with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of Mexico, the Orchestre symphonique de Sherbrooke, the Orchestre symphonique Longueuil and Ensemble Prestissimo. She is an active performer of contemporary music, having premiered many works for marimba or percussion. Catherine Meunier completed her Doctor of Music in Performance at the Université de Montréal. She also holds degrees from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, McGill University and University of Sherbrooke. Catherine Meunier is an artist sponsored by the Pearl/Adams. More Info |
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Julie W. MillerAdjunct Instructor: Accompanist/Piano Crane School of Music![]() Julie W. MillerAdjunct Instructor: Accompanist/PianoBishop Hall C106
millerjw@potsdam.edu
Julie Welsh Miller has been teaching piano at the university level for thirty years, and her former students teach at every level from elementary to university. One of her principal interests is collaborating with other musicians; she performs in 60-100 recitals yearly. She has developed an extensive repertoire playing for students, colleagues, and guest artists. Miller's other principal interest is editing, publishing, and performing the music of Keith Gates (1948-2007). For more information and recordings, see keithgates.com. Miller holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Illinois. She graduated from OU with highest honors, and was the Outstanding Senior in the College of Fine Arts. She has done post-graduate work at Michigan State University and the University of Southern California. She has taught at Henderson State University, Ouachita Baptist University, McNeese State University, and SUNY Potsdam. Miller lives in Potsdam with her husband Lane, son Ben, and daughter Sarah. More Info |
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Karen L MillerAdministrative Assistant 2 Crane School of Music |
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Kathleen A MillerAssociate Professor: Voice Crane School of Music![]() Kathleen A MillerAssociate Professor: VoiceBishop Hall C322
millerka@potsdam.edu
Dr. Kathleen Miller is an Associate Professor of Voice at The Crane School of Music, SUNY, Potsdam. She earned both her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Voice Performance from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. While studying at The University of Cincinnati Kathleen developed an interest in Russian music. She pursued this interest at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies in Aldeburgh, England with Sergei Leiferkus. She has given the American premier of the song cycle Russkaya Tetrad' by Russian composer Valery Gavrilin and continues to perform this cycle throughout the United States. Her most recent performance of Russkaya Tetrad' was in Honolulu, Hawaii. Kathleen is a frequent recitalist, often focusing on Twentieth Century music and has worked with many composers including Witold Lutoslawski and John Corigliano and with vocal coaches such as Mary Dibbern, Warren Jones and Mitsuko Shirai. Kathleen was a winner of the Ohio Vocal Arts Resource Network Recital Competition presenting a recital of Twentieth Century Russian vocal works. Recent performances include a recital of Nineteenth Century vocal music at the Instituto de Cultura de Baja California in Mexicali, Mexico. Kathleen's other performance experience includes opera, drama and oratorio. She has performed such operatic roles as Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Poppea in The Coronation of Poppea, and the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Other stage experience includes performing the roles of Mother Superior in Nunsense, Louise in Always Patsy Cline and Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music. Kathleen has performed as a soloist with the Richmond Symphony, the Champlain Valley Oratorio Society, Cleveland Bach and Handel Society, Cleveland Opera and Cleveland Ballet. Upcoming engagements include a recital of American Art and Theatrical Song as well as Master Classes at The University of Baja, California in Ensenada, Mexico. More Info |
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Lane E. MillerSr. Piano Technician Crane School of MusicLane E. MillerSr. Piano TechnicianCrane Music Center B173
millerle@potsdam.edu
Lane Miller has been a professional piano technician for over 30 years. He received his initial training under Owen Jorgensen at Michigan State University, and also holds a master's degree in mathematics. Miller has previously held full-time positions at West Virginia University and the University of Southern California. He has done work for many other universities, including: University of Michigan, Rice University, Michigan State University, University of Illinois, McNeese State University, Northeastern State University, Oakland University, and others. In addition, Miller has worked for noted fortepiano builder John Lyon.
Miller has prepared pianos for Vladimir Ashkenazy, Ruth Slenczynska, Lambert Orkis, Robert Roux, Count Basie, Mischa Dichter, Ursula Oppens, Maria van Epenhuysen Rose, Jerome Rose, Ralph Votapek, Kenneth Drake, George Winston, Fernando Laires, Nelita True, et al. Miller has enjoyed the longest tenure of any full-time piano technician in Crane's history. More Info |
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Andre G MountAssociate Professor: Music Theory Crane School of Music![]() Andre G MountAssociate Professor: Music TheorySchuette Hall A301
mountag@potsdam.edu
Andre Mount received a doctorate in music theory from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he studied a wide range of analytical models and approaches with Pieter van den Toorn, Lee Rothfarb, and Patricia Hall. His dissertation, a chapter of which was awarded the Roger Chapman Prize in Music Theory, uses the music of Frank Zappa as a springboard for exploring complex interactions between experimental art music and popular culture in the 20th century. He has presented on this and similar topics at national meetings of the American Musicological Society, the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (US Chapter), and the Society for American Music, among others. An article on John Cage's televised performances appears in the Fall 2011 issue of Music and the Moving Image. Having collaborated with Lee Rothfarb and John Hajda on an extensive online music theory curriculum at UC Santa Barbara, Andre maintains an active interest researching online applications for music theory pedagogy. He has also contributed to projects intended for general readership including The Encyclopedia of American Music and Culture. More Info |
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Susan S OlinskyAdjunct Instructor / Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music |
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Matthew P OrwickAdjunct Instructor / Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music![]() Matthew P OrwickAdjunct Instructor / Off-Campus Teaching Supervisororwickmp@potsdam.edu
Matthew Orwick taught orchestra and instrumental music lessons for thirty-two years, eleven in the East Ramapo Central School District and twenty-one in the Wappingers Central School District. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Matthew also served several years as Vice-President of Rockland County Music Educators Association and helped host several NYSSMA Solo, Area All-State and All-County music festivals. His high school orchestras consistently received top ratings from adjudicators at NYSSMA and National Music Festivals. He is a past-president of the Putnam Chorale. Matthew received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and his Masters of Science in Music Education from Western Connecticut State University. Currently, Matt is the Supervisor of Student Teachers for the Hudson Valley Region. He lives in Poughkeepsie, NY with his wife Janet and three daughters, Karina, Kimberly and Alexis. More Info |
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James J. PetercsakSUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor: Percussion Crane School of Music![]() James J. PetercsakSUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor: PercussionCrane Music Center B143
petercjj@potsdam.edu
James Petercsak is head of the percussion area at the Crane School where he teaches applied percussion and directs the award winning Crane Percussion Ensemble. His students hold professional positions in colleges, public schools , and in leading orchestras and ensembles throughout the world. Jim is in demand as a performer, conductor, clinician, consultant, as well as, a music industry personality and visionary. He is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, University Scholar, and a UUP "SUNY Best" award winner. He is also the recipient of the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Manhattan School of Music, where he received his Master of Music degree. James Petercsak is a Yamaha/Sabian Performing Artist. More Info |
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Daryle J. RedmondAdjunct Instructor: Percussion Crane School of Music |
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Douglas RubioProfessor: Classical Guitar Crane School of Music![]() Douglas RubioProfessor: Classical GuitarBishop Hall C314
rubiod@potsdam.edu
http://www.douglasrubio.comClassical guitarist DOUGLAS RUBIO has performed throughout the United States as a solo recitalist and chamber musician, and as a featured concerto soloist. His Avalon Guitar Duo won First Prize in the 1985 Guitar Foundation of America International Duo Guitar Competition, and is featured on the compact disc GFA Winners Circle 1982-1993. Dr. Rubio performs frequently with flutist Jill Rubio as The Rubio Duo. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of California at Irvine, and holds both Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in classical guitar performance from the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music, where he studied with Spanish virtuoso Pepe Romero. Prior to moving to upstate New York, Rubio directed a very successful guitar program at Illinois State University. More Info |
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Jill M RubioAdjunct Instructor: Flute Crane School of Music![]() Jill M RubioAdjunct Instructor: FluteSchuette Hall A123
rubiojm@potsdam.edu
Jill Rubio is Adjunct Instructor of Flute at the Crane School of Music, teaching studio flute and assisting with Crane Flute Ensemble. She holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in flute performance from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where she was named Outstanding Graduate. A pupil of Roger S. Stevens, she also received instruction from James Walker, Mitchell Lurie, Michel Debost and Toshio Takahashi. In 2016, Rubio was honored with SUNY Potsdams Presidents Award for Adjunct Teaching and received the New York State Band Directors Association Distinguished Service Award. Ms. Rubio is principal flutist and Personnel Manager of the Orchestra of Northern New York. She was featured soloist with the Orchestra 2013, in the premiere of a concerto by Paul Siskind. This work was composed with her eclectic musical background in mind, including elements of rock, jazz and extended flute technique. She is principal flutist and a founding member of the Northern Symphonic Winds. Rubio has been a featured soloist with that group, with the St. Lawrence University Orchestra, and the St. Lawrence University Bach Marathon. An aficionado of music theatre, she performs most summers as a pit musician with Community Performance Series. A frequent chamber music collaborator, Jill is half of the Rubio Flute and Guitar Duo, with her husband, Doug. As a full-time music teacher at Potsdam Central School, Jill conducts the high school and 7th-8th grade bands, jazz band, and teaches music theory and instrumental lessons from grades 4-12. Her 7th-8th grade band was selected to perform for the New York State Band Directors Symposium, She has presented clinics on repertoire, flute pedagogy and music teacher evaluation at the county, regional and state levels. Her conducting credits include Crane Youth Music, regional all-county junior and senior high bands and pit orchestras. Rubio is co-chair of Community Performance Series Advisory Board in Potsdam, served 6 years as Secretary of the New York State Band Directors Association, and is active in the National Flute Association. Jill is an All-State Adjudicator and is a contributing editor for the NYSSMA Manual. More Info |
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Philip F SalatheVisiting Assistant Professor: Music Theory & Composition Crane School of Music![]() Philip F SalatheVisiting Assistant Professor: Music Theory & CompositionSchuette Hall A121
salathpf@potsdam.edu
The music of Phil Salathé ranges widely in scale and scope, from multi-movement orchestral pieces to hand-programmed "chiptunes" for independent video game publishers. His works have been performed in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, and Asia, and at festivals and conferences including the Wintergreen Festival, the Sebago-Long Lake Festival, the Cape May Music Festival, the Charlotte New Music Festival, the nief-norf Summer Music Festival, the Ncounters conference in Edmonton, the Festival Eleazar de Carvalho in Fortaleza, the Asian Double Reed Association Conference in Mahidol, the International Double Reed Society Conference, the European Biennial Double Bass Congress & Festival, and the College Music Society's International and Regional Conferences. In February 2019, Ravello Records released his Imaginary Birds: Music for Oboe and English Horn, a CD recording project with longtime collaborators Oboe Duo Agosto. Other recent highlights include an April 2019 creative residency at the Hambidge Center in Georgia, and a July trip to Belgium for the College Music Society's 2019 International Conference, which featured his piece On the Beach for cello and electronics (performed by Crane faculty member Dr. Robert Docker) and his presentation "Metrical Dissonance As Signifier of the Progressive in Rock Music". In March 2020 his homage to five eminent jazz trumpeters, Don't Let Your Chops Freeze, was performed by Gene V. Baker at the CMS Regional Conference in Philadelphia. In addition to composing and teaching, he has written for the Hartford Courant, contributed musical analysis and commentary to Julian Palacios's book Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd: Dark Globe, and penned liner notes for the CD release Max Reger: Music for Clarinet and Piano (Bridge Records, 2016). He is currently collaborating with English author Ian Priston on a book about the early recordings of Pink Floyd. Outside of music, he enjoys playing chess, learning languages, and exploring offbeat cinema. In 2015 he successfully competed on the television show Jeopardy!, winning one episode. More Info |
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Jonathan G SchallerVisiting Assistant Professor: Music Education Crane School of Music![]() Jonathan G SchallerVisiting Assistant Professor: Music EducationSchuette Hall A315
schalljg@potsdam.edu
Jonathan Schaller is a visiting music education faculty member at SUNY Potsdam and is a Ph.D. candidate in music education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds a Master of Music in music education from Duquense University and a Bachelor of Science in music education from Indiana Wesleyan University. Prior to his arrival at Illinois, he was a music educator for eight years in the Marion Center Area School District in western Pennsylvania. While at Marion Center, Jon taught band and instrumental lessons to grades 7-12 as well as elementary instrumental lessons and chorus to students in grades 4-6. While at Illinois, Jon was a teaching assistant for music education courses in technology, differentiation, adolescent music-making, and choral and instrumental methods. He was also a student teaching supervisor. His research interests include place-based pedagogies, instrumental music education, popular/vernacular music, and LGBTQ issues in music education. Jon has published articles in the Music Educators Journal and the Journal of Popular Music Education and has presented at the College Music Society National Conference, American Educational Research Association, the NAfME Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference, Illinois Music Education Conference, and the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association. More Info |
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Peter M SchneiderAdjunct Instructor Crane School of Music |
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Joseph D SferraVisiting Assistant Professor: Music Theory Crane School of Music![]() Joseph D SferraVisiting Assistant Professor: Music TheorySchuette Hall A103
sferrajd@potsdam.edu
Joe Sferra writes music that entertains with popular gestures while revealing a love for the harmonic and formal ideas of modernist concert music. Featured in performances in the USA, Canada, and Spain, his music has also been performed at Aspen, the University of Nebraska-Kearney New Music Festival, and at the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival. He studied composition at Saint Olaf College, The Ohio State University, and Stony Brook University. He has maintained an active career as a clarinetist and vocalist, performing in wind ensembles, chamber settings, and most recently with Traditional American Music group The Deep Roots Ensemble based on Long Island. As a theorist, Joe is particularly interested in the music of living American composers. He presented his paper "Gabriel Kahane's Bradbury Pieces as Popular and Derridean Deconstructions" at several conferences. A firm believer in incorporating the liberal arts approach in all music classrooms, he has previously taught at Earlham and Vassar College. More Info |
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Kathryn D. ShermanAssociate Professor: Piano Pedagogy Crane School of Music![]() Kathryn D. ShermanAssociate Professor: Piano PedagogyBishop Hall C102
shermakd@potsdam.edu
Kathryn Sherman, Associate Professor of Piano Pedagogy, directs the undergraduate and graduate programs in piano pedagogy and teaches keyboard skills courses at The Crane School of Music SUNY Potsdam. A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music through the Music Teachers National Association, she also serves as Co-Director of the biennial Crane Piano Pedagogy Conference. Dr. Sherman frequently adjudicates for local festivals and auditions, and her teacher workshops have been presented throughout the United States. In addition to teaching, she regularly performs with Crane colleagues and guest artists. Dr. Sherman earned a DMA in piano performance with an emphasis in piano pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, where she was awarded a prestigious campus-wide Graduate Teaching Award through the Office of the Provost. She also holds an MM from the University of Kansas and BM and BA degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She previously served on the faculty of Oklahoma City University, teaching collegiate class piano, applied piano, and piano pedagogy. More Info |
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Christopher P SierraVisiting Assistant Professor: Voice Crane School of Music![]() Christopher P SierraVisiting Assistant Professor: VoiceSchuette Hall A316
sierracp@potsdam.edu
Peruvian-American tenor Christopher Sierra is recognized for his artistic sensitivity and versatility in repertoire ranging from classical, musical theatre, to contemporary commercial music. He has performed with opera companies and orchestras throughout the United States, some of which include Opera Philadelphia, Santa Fe Opera, Opera New Jersey, Spoleto Festival USA, New York Lyric Opera Theatre, Princeton Festival Opera, Long Island Opera, and the United Nations Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Sierra has also made solo debuts in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, and India. On the concert stage, Dr. Sierra has performed works such as Bernstein's Songfest, Schumann's Spanisches Liederspiel, Britten's Les Illuminations, Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Brahms's Liebeslieder Walzer, Vaughan Williams's Serenade to Music, and Schubert's Mass in G. Most recently, he was invited to sing the tenor solo in Beethoven's Symphony No.9 with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia and was a featured soloist in Peter Bjerring's Song of the Salish Chief at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. An avid recitalist, Dr. Sierra is a founding member of the Vocalis Consort, an ensemble dedicated to exposing audiences to song recitals that extend beyond the traditional Western European canon. In 2019, he was invited to perform a residency recital that celebrates the contributions of Latinx and Hispanic composers at Lewis-Clark State College and he presented mélodies by Henri Duparc at the 2018 College Music Society Pacific Northwest Regional Conference. As a recording artist, Dr. Sierra can be heard on The Flower of Beauty (2009) with the Westminster Choir, Landscape: Choral Music of Gerald Custer (2008) with Anam Cara, and Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir, Volume 2 (2007) with the Grammy-nominated Westminster Williamson Voices. He has sung under the baton of Pierre Boulez, Leon Botstein, Christoph Eschenbach, Ton Koopman, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, David Robertson, John Rutter, Emmanuel Villaume, John Adams, and Welser--Möst Franz during his tenure with the Westminster Symphonic Choir, MidAmerica Productions, and the New York City MasterVoices. Sought after for his research in crossing genres, Dr. Sierra has been invited to present lectures at College Conservatories and Universities throughout the United States, including The Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, University of Connecticut, Troy University, Belmont University, Florida International University, etc. His notable research and presentations also address vocal health, phonotrauma and rehabilitation, performance anxiety, and vocal pedagogy for gender expansive singers. Dr. Sierra has led vocal master classes domestically and internationally at institutions like Stanford University, Indiana University at South Bend, University of The Bahamas, Iceland University of the Arts, and Fundacioón Cultural Armoniía in Quito, Ecuador. He currently oversees the music program at the Shanti Bhavan Children's Project in Tamil-Nadu, India and has taught developing musicians at the Tomas de Berlanga School on the island of Santa Cruz, Galapagos, as a member of Broadway for Arts Education, an organization committed to providing quality arts education to communities in need around the world. Prior to joining the music faculty at SUNY Potsdam, where his responsibilities include teaching courses in graduate vocal literature and pedagogy, lyric diction, and applied voice lessons, Dr. Sierra has taught voice at Butler University, The College of New Jersey, Columbia University, Rutgers University, Monmouth University, and Washington State University. He is also currently a member of the Voice and Music Education Faculty at Longy School of Music of Bard College, and has recently been invited to teach voice at reputable musical theatre intensive programs, including the New England Music Camp and the Rutgers Summer Acting Conservatory. Dr. Sierra holds a doctorate of musical arts degree in voice performance from Rutgers University, a master of education degree in music education from Columbia University, a master of music degree in classical voice performance from Manhattan School of Music, and bachelor of music degrees in music education and voice performance from Westminster Choir College. More Info |
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Colleen E SkullAssistant Professor: Voice Crane School of Music![]() Colleen E SkullAssistant Professor: VoiceBishop Hall C321
skullce@potsdam.edu
Colleen has performed with Canada's leading orchestras under such conductors as David Atherton, Richard Bradshaw, Martin Isepp, Julian Kovatchev, Nicola Luisotti, Julian Reynolds, and Timothy Vernon. In opera Miss Skull has worked with directors Tim Albery, Tom Diamond, Atom Egoyan, François Girard, Colin Graham, Christopher Newton, and James Robinson. She has performed/covered over thirty operatic roles at venues including the Canadian Opera Company, Pacific Opera Victoria, Manitoba Opera, Esprit Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony, and many others. She recently triumphed in the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos. Times Colonist reviewer, Kevin Bazzana noted, "Colleen Skull has the plush, robust tone and commanding presence befitting both incarnations of her character." Miss Skull is well versed in both soprano and mezzo-soprano repertoire, having performed professionally in both fachs. Recent roles include the title roles of Ariadne, in Ariadne auf Naxos, Elle, in La Voix Humaine and Jenůfa. Other roles include, Dido, Queen of Carthage in Dido and Aeneas, Mrs. Grosse in The Turn of the Screw, Wellgunde in Gotterdämmerung, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Agatha in Der Freischütz, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex, Lisa in Pique Dame, Liu in Turandot, Marina in Boris Godunov, Waltraute, Rossweise, and Siegrune in Die Walkre, Zulma in L'Italiana in Algeri, and Mère Marie de l'Incarnation in Dialogues des Carmélites. Equally active in orchestral and recital repertoire, she has performed as a soloist in works including: Verdi's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Bruckner's Mass in D minor, Beethoven's 9th Symphony and Mass in C, and Mahler's 2, 3, and 4th Symphonies. Colleen is a past member of the prestigious COC Ensemble and has won many awards and prizes including the Metropolitan Opera District Competition, a Chalmers Award and a Professional Artist Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Radio and television appearances include performances on CBC Radio, CTV, Definitely Not the Opera with Sook-Yin Lee, Breakfast Television, TVO, and YTV. Miss Skull has completed her Doctorate in Musical Arts, specializing in voice performance at the University of Toronto. Her dissertation investigated a model of factors that lead to the sustaining of elite performance in opera. Colleen won the Graduate Award for the best research paper from the International Symposium on Performance Science where she was a featured keynote speaker. Dr. Skull's research was also featured at 52nd Conference of the National Association of Teachers of Singing in Orlando. Dr. Skull currently teaches Applied Voice, Introduction to Diction, and Vocal Techniques at the Crane School. She has also been on faculty at Mount Allison University as an Assistant Professor, where she taught Applied Voice, Vocal Pedagogy, and was the Director of Opera Workshop. While completing her doctorate, Colleen taught Song Interpretation as a sessional instructor at the University of Toronto.
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Alan L. SolomonProfessor Emeritus, Adjunct Instructor: Music Therapy, Music Psychology Crane School of Music, Faculty Emeriti![]() Alan L. SolomonProfessor Emeritus, Adjunct Instructor: Music Therapy, Music Psychologysolomon@potsdam.eduMore Info |
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Jerod P SommerfeldtAssociate Professor: Music Theory, Composition, Electronic Music/Co-Chair of Music Theory, History & Composition Dept. Crane School of Music![]() Jerod P SommerfeldtAssociate Professor: Music Theory, Composition, Electronic Music/Co-Chair of Music Theory, History & Composition Dept.Schuette Hall A101
sommerjp@potsdam.edu
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, Jerod Sommerfeldt's music focuses on the creation of algorithmic and stochastic processes, utilizing the results for both fixed and real-time composition and improvisation. His sound world explores digital audio artifacts and the destruction of technology, resulting in work that questions the dichotomy between the intended and unintentional. An active performer as both soloist and collaborator in interactive digital music and live video, he is Assistant Professor of Electronic Music Composition and Theory at the State University of New York at Potsdam Crane School of Music and director of the SUNY-Potsdam Electronic Music Studios (PoEMS). Jerod's music, art, and research have been included at the Cincinnati Ballet, International Computer Music Conference, SEAMUS National Conference, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, the Qubit Noise Nonference, Electronic Music Midwest, Society of Composers National Conference, College Music Society Great Lakes Regional Conference, Front Wave New Music Festival, soundON Festival of Modern Music, Midwest Composers Symposium, Studio 300 Festival of Digital Art and Music, La Crosse New Music Festival, Music From Almost Yesterday Concert Series, Unruly Music Concert Series, Sonic Explorations, Performance Time and Arts Series, by the NOISE Ensemble, Thelema Trio, commissions from concert:nova and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and art exhibits in Madrid, Spain and Trieste, Italy. Jerod is a member of the International Computer Music Association (ICMA), Society for Electroacoustic Musicians in the United States (SEAMUS), the Electronic Music Foundation (EMF), the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers, the Society of Composers, the College Music Society, and ASCAP. A strong supporter of Creative Commons Licenses, albums of his music have been released on Petcord, HAZE, Don't Be a Stranger, Bohn Media, and can be found on SoundCloud, last.fm, YouTube, and Vimeo. More Info |
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Brianne A SterlingMusic Education Field Experience Coordinator Crane School of Music![]() Brianne A SterlingMusic Education Field Experience Coordinatorsterliba@potsdam.edu
Brianne (Wicks) Sterling is a native of Gouverneur, NY. She received her bachelor's degree from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, graduating summa cum laude with a major in music education. She received her master's degree in music education with distinction from Crane. She was the recipient of the Julia E. Crane Award, the Distinguished Service Award, and a 2-time Departmental Scholar in her time at Crane. She teaches vocal and choral music at Madrid-Waddington High School and serves as a member of the Crane School of Music's Alumni Board of Trustees. More Info |
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Michael J StruzikAdjunct Instructor / Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor / Director Crane Youth Music Crane Youth Music, Crane School of Music![]() Michael J StruzikAdjunct Instructor / Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor / Director Crane Youth Musicstruzimj@potsdam.edu
Michael Struzik is a 1988 graduate of the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam. He is currently a teacher at Brighton High School in Rochester, New York. He has been at Brighton High School for the past 26 years. His current responsibilities include directing the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Jazz Band, as well as teaching brass and percussion lessons to students in grades nine through twelve. He also teaches music theory and advanced placement music theory. In addition, he directs the pit orchestra for the annual spring musical. Mr. Struzik also serves as a music facilitator for the district. Mr. Struzik has conducted All-County and honor band festivals in several counties in New York State as well as the state of Virginia. He is a past recipient of the University of Rochester's Excellence in Secondary Education Award. He is also the 2011 recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the New York State Band Directors Association. In 2019, he received the Helen Hosmer Excellence in Teaching Award from the Crane School of Music. In 2020, he received the Excellence in Music Education Award from the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. Struzik is an All-State certified adjudicator, and is also an adjudicator for major organization festivals. During the summer, he teaches at Crane Youth Music in Potsdam, New York. Mr. Struzik is a free-lance musician in the Rochester area, and performs regularly with the Orchestra of Northern New York, Northern Symphonic Winds, and the Penfield Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of NYSSMA, NAFME, the International Trombone Association and has served on the executive board of the New York State Band Director's Association in a variety of positions, currently as their Executive Director. He is also a Past-President of the Monroe County School Music Association. Mr. Struzik lives in Webster, New York with his wife Katie and enjoys spending time with his two grown sons Christopher 24, and Matthew 22. More Info |
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Jessica R. Suchy-PilalisProfessor: Music Theory, Harp Crane School of Music![]() Jessica R. Suchy-PilalisProfessor: Music Theory, HarpSchuette Hall A118
suchyjr@potsdam.edu
http://www2.potsdam.edu/suchyjr/harp/Performed both in the US and abroad as a recitalist and soloist with orchestra. Dr. Suchy-Pilalis holds advanced degrees in harp performance and theory from the Univeristy of Wisonsin-Milwaukee, The Eastman School of Music and Indiana University. In 1988, she was awarded a Master Fellowship by the Indiana Arts Commission/National Endowment for the Arts. She has also toured Greece as a soloist under the auspices of the US State Department, while also representing the US at the international music festival Diethnis Mousikes Hmeres and giving performances on Greek National Radio-Television. She is featured on several compact disc releases of new-music compositions and is on the artist roster of Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour. More Info |
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Lorraine Yaros SullivanAssociate Professor: Voice Crane School of Music![]() Lorraine Yaros SullivanAssociate Professor: VoiceBishop Hall C324
sullivly@potsdam.edu
Lorraine Yaros Sullivan, mezzo-soprano, is an active and versatile performer, enjoying success in a variety of genres and styles including opera, oratorio, chamber music, and art song. Some of her favorite opera credits include Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte and Ottavia in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea, which Opera praised as "regal" and "affecting." She is in demand for her concert and oratorio work in the US and Canada, with recent performances including a range of styles from Bach to Libby Larsen. Dr. Sullivan has a special interest in the intimate collaborations of chamber music and art song. She appeared at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater and travels nationally and internationally as a recitalist. One tour included a series of recitals in Taiwan performing American art song and musical theatre, culminating in a performance at the National Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center. Dr. Sullivan specializes in turn of the 20th century music and contemporary American music. She is a featured soloist on the Delos recording All the Heart of Me!: The Choral Music of Margaret Ruthven Lang. She recently performed in the workshop premiere of three new works by Anthony Davis, Lori Laitman, and Tom Cipullo, three of four finalists in the Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize. She served as Executive Director of the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar during its 2016 and 2017 seasons. Currently, Dr. Sullivan is Associate Professor of Voice at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. She previously served on the voice faculty at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, where the Undergraduate Student Government awarded her the College of Musical Arts faculty member of the year. She was selected to participate in the 2009 NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Intern Program, where she worked with master teacher Carmen Balthrop. Committed to teaching healthy, functional singing in any musical style (not just classical!), Dr. Sullivan attended the Contemporary Commercial Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute at Shenandoah University. She is Level III certified in Somatic Voicework™ - The LoVetri Method. She also has additional performance experience in musical theatre, vocal jazz, and pop music. Dr. Sullivan completed the Doctor of Musical Arts in voice performance at the University of Michigan, where she studied with Freda Herseth and coached frequently with renowned collaborative pianist Martin Katz. In addition to the distinguished faculty at UM, she studied with voice teachers Melissa Malde and Barbara Dalheim. She also holds a BM in voice performance from Millikin University and a double MM in voice performance and choral conducting from the University of Northern Colorado. She lives in Potsdam, New York with her composer/theorist husband, Tim Sullivan, and their dog, Sisko. More Info |
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Timothy R SullivanProfessor: Music Theory, Composition/Co-Chair of Music Theory, History & Composition Department Crane School of Music![]() Timothy R SullivanProfessor: Music Theory, Composition/Co-Chair of Music Theory, History & Composition DepartmentSchuette Hall A314
sullivtr@potsdam.edu
Tim Sullivan is an active composer, theorist, and percussionist. He holds a Ph.D. in Music Theory and Composition from the University of Michigan, where he studied composition with Bright Sheng, William Bolcom, Betsy Jolas, and Karen Tanaka, and various aspects of music theory and compositional systems with Andrew Mead. His compositions have been performed by ensembles and soloists throughout the U.S., including the Colorado Symphony, Moravian Philharmonic, ALEA III, Nicholas Deyoe, Eliot Gattegno, Marian Lee, Reiko Manabe, and Lorraine Yaros Sullivan. He has presented his research at several major conferences including the Society for Music Theory, "Gérard Grisey, the spectral moment and its legacy," and "Emigration, Integration and Creative Productivity: Alfred Schnittke in Hamburg, 1990-1998." Publications include an article in /Perspectives of New Music/ and a forthcoming paper in a German/English monograph on Alfred Schnittke. Also an accomplished jazz drummer prior to his time in Potsdam, he performed and recorded as a member of the Boulder Creative Music Ensemble, and was a member of trumpeter Ron Miless band for several years." More Info |
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Rosemarie SunigaAssistant Professor: Functional Keyboard Crane School of Music![]() Rosemarie SunigaAssistant Professor: Functional KeyboardSchuette Hall A127
sunigar@potsdam.edu
Rosemarie Suniga has taught at the Crane School of Music since 2012. She teaches collegiate class piano and piano pedagogy; she also performs as recitalist and accompanist in Bach and 20th-century music. Dr. Suniga holds degrees from the University of South Carolina (D.M.A, Piano Pedagogy), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh (M.M., Piano Performance, with Certificate in Piano Pedagogy) and the University of Manitoba (B.Mus., Piano Performance). She also holds a Grade 10 Certificate of Piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto). Her principal teachers included Scott Price, Enrique Graf, and David Moroz; she had also taken master classes with pianists Earl Wild, John Perry and Marc Durand. A native Canadian, she has given concerts there and in the United States. She was the recipient of a Manitoba Arts Council Grant for graduate study in piano performance (2002). As a music teacher, her previous posts have been at the Yamaha Music Schools, Carnegie Mellon Preparatory Division, and the University of South Carolina Community Music School. Chief among her awards and prizes in teaching are the MTNA 'StAR' award (2004), and paid residency at the Heifetz International Music Institute (New Hampshire) as a Piano Pedagogy Fellow, sponsored by the Surdna Foundation (2008). More Info |
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Young-Ah TakAssociate Professor: Piano Crane School of Music![]() Young-Ah TakAssociate Professor: PianoBishop Hall C108
taky@potsdam.edu
Praised for her "thrilling blend of fury and finesse" (San Antonio Express-News) and her "winning combination of passion, imagination, and integrity" (New York Concert Review), pianist YOUNG-AH TAK enjoys a remarkable career that has taken her throughout the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, Italy, Korea, and Japan. Young-Ah Tak made her New York City debut at Lincoln Center for the Performing
Arts' Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Orchestra. She has since appeared with numerous orchestras including the Roanoke, Lansing, North Arkansas, Imperial, Venice, Filharmonia Pomorska (Poland), Oltenia Philharmonic (Romania) and, in her native Korea, with the Seongnam, Busan, Ulsan, and the Korean Symphony Orchestra. Other notable performances by Dr. Tak have taken place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater in Philadelphia, Seoul Arts Center, Jordan Hall in Boston, Columbia University, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Ravinia Festival and Music@Menlo. She has also appeared at major concert halls and international music festivals in Korea, including those of Busan, Seoul and Tongyeong. Her performances have been broadcast on WQXR (New York City), WRTI (Philadelphia), WMFT and LOOP (Chicago), WBJC (Baltimore), WCLV (Cleveland), CKWR (Ontario), and Korea's KBS and Arte TV. Active as a chamber musician, Young-Ah Tak has collaborated with the late violinist Robert Mann, cellist Bonnie Hampton, the Ma'alot Quintet, and members of The Florestan Trio. She is also a passionate advocate of contemporary music; she has performed at Sequenza 21 and at the Piano Century concert series in New York City. Young-Ah Tak has been awarded top prizes in numerous international competitions including: San Antonio International Piano Competition, Italy's Valsesia-Musica International Piano Competition, Korea's Isang Yun International Music Competition, Corpus Christi International Competition, and Germany's Ettlingen International Piano Competition. Dr. Tak received her Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School; her Master of Music and Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory; and Doctor of Musical Arts from The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. She studied principally with Martin Canin, Yong Hi Moon, Leon Fleisher, Russell Sherman, Wha Kyung Byun and Young Ho Kim. She was a faculty member at the Preparatory Division of The Peabody Institute and at Southeastern University in Florida. Dr. Tak currently serves as an Associate Professor of Piano and Head of the Piano Area at the Crane School of Music of the State University of New York at Potsdam, and is the Founding Artistic Director of the Crane International Piano Festival. Young-Ah Tak's debut recording of Judith Zaimont's Wizards - Three Magic Masters was released by Albany Records to critical acclaim. Her debut solo CD - an album of Haydn, Schumann, Liszt and Kirchner - is available on MSR Classics. Her recordings are also available on Steinway's Spirio, and her newest solo CD, an All-Beethoven program is released on the Steinway and Sons label in November 2019. Dr. Tak is a Steinway Artist. [www.youngahtak.com] More Info |
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Brock J TjosvoldVisiting Assistant Professor: Vocal Coaching & Accompanying Crane School of Music![]() Brock J TjosvoldVisiting Assistant Professor: Vocal Coaching & AccompanyingBishop Hall C206
tjosvobj@potsdam.edu
In demand as both an instrumental and vocal collaborator, pianist Brock Tjosvold has performed throughout the United States with many up and coming musicians, as well as established ensembles. While teaching at the Crane School of Music, Brock is also in the last year of doctoral coursework in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music at the Eastman School of Music, studying with Dr. Andrew Harley and previously with Dr. Jean Barr. In addition to his primary studies, he is also receiving a minor in sacred music and a minor in solo piano, studying with Dr. Douglas Humphrys. In 2020, Brock received the Excellence in Accompanying Award from Eastman. He has performed extensively around the nation in prestigious venues and festivals, such as the Grand Teton Music Festival, where he is the collaborative pianist for Donald Runnicles Musical Arts Scholarship Competition. As an opera pianist, Brock was a 2020 Finger Lakes Opera Tomita Young Artist, performing for aria and scenes concerts, as well as the children's opera, Pinocchio. He has performed in many prestigious venues, such as Carnegie Hall with clarinetist Amy Humberd. Most recently, Brock won the Ann C. Fehn Memorial Award (1st Prize Pianist) at the 2021 Jessie Kneisel Lieder Competition, where he gave what is likely the world premiere of unpublished songs by Rebecca Clarke. An active orchestral keyboardist, Brock has performed in professional orchestras such as the Albany Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, and Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, in addition to the large ensembles at Eastman. He was also the principal keyboardist for the 2017 National Repertory Orchestra, where he was a soloist performing Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2. He has attended many of the top summer music festivals on full fellowship, including Music Academy of the West and the Aspen Music Festival and School, studying with Jonathan Feldman and Rita Sloan respectively. In 2013, he attended SongFest, where he studied with Martin Katz and Margo Garrett. Brock began his primary musical training at the age of six with Patricia Randolph, later earning a bachelor's degree in piano performance from the University of Wyoming, magna cum laude, under the tutelage of Dr. Theresa Bogard. He previously completed his master's degree at the University of Michigan with Martin Katz and a Performer's Certificate at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, studying with Anne Epperson and Kevin Murphy. More Info |
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Shelly TramposhProfessor: Viola Crane School of Music![]() Shelly TramposhProfessor: ViolaBishop Hall C308
tramposh@potsdam.edu
Dr. Shelly Tramposh has enjoyed a varied career as a chamber musician, orchestral player, and teacher. She has performed as recitalist in venues across the United States and Canada and in Central America and Europe, including the American Viola Society national conference. Dr. Tramposh has also presented lectures and master classes at the ASTA National Conference and various colleges and music schools in the United States and abroad; her first article will be published by The Strad in the October 2011 issue. Her CD "Sprezzatura" with pianist Cullan Bryant will be released by PARMA recordings in October, and features music by Hindemith, Britten, Crane composer Paul Siskind, and Paul Chihara. Dr. Tramposh has been performing with pianist Cullan Bryant for the last five years; in addition to the works featured on the CD, they have performed works by Hindemith, Shostakovich, Brahms, Enesco, Kiel, Clarke, and Milhaud. Other chamber music affiliations include The Perron Trio, the Potsdam Piano Quartet, and the Ariel Chamber Players. Dr. Tramposh is currently the coordinator for the string area at Crane. In addition to viola studio and chamber music, she teaches a course called "The Art of Practicing" and maintains a relationshiop with the Instituto Nacional de la Musica in Costa Rica, where several Crane performance majors have held internships with the Sinfonica Nacional. Before joining the Crane School faculty in 2005, Dr. Tramposh was Principal viola of the Mercury Ensemble and Associate Principal viola of the Colorado Springs Symphony. Her orchestral career also included positions in the Colorado Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, and the Berkeley Symphony. Festival appearances include the Taos School of Music, the Spoleto Festival, and the National Repertory Orchestra. She has coached with members of the Emerson, Guarneri, and American String Quartets and participated in numerous master classes. Her principal teachers include Martha Katz, Steven Tenenbom, Erika Eckert, Burton Kaplan, and Don Ehrlich. Dr. Tramposh holds degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Colorado at Boulder. Dr. Tramposh plays a copy of a 1780 Testore made by Al Stancel. More Info |
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Jess B. TyreAssociate Professor: Music History Crane School of Music![]() Jess B. TyreAssociate Professor: Music HistorySchuette Hall A304
tyrejb@potsdam.edu
Jess Tyre (Music History) earned his Ph.D. in Musicology at Yale University, where his research focused on French music criticism at the turn of the twentieth century. His publications include articles in the Journal of Musicology, the Proceedings of the American Historical Association, the Journal of Music Education Research, the Library of Essays on Music, Politics, and Society, the Journal of the Haydn Society of North America, and the Beethoven Journal. He has given papers on the music and reception of Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, and the Austro-German orchestral tradition in France at local and national meetings of the American Musicological Society, the American Historical Association, the International Conference on Romanticism, the Haydn Bicentenary conference of 2009, and the North American Conference on Nineteenth-Century Music. Professor Tyre also maintains interests in aesthetics and issues of performance practice in the nineteenth century. He is currently conducting research into the reception of fin-de-siécle French composers in the United States, and is developing a project on intertextual relationships in the nineteenth-century tone poem. Professor Tyre regularly offers courses in the post-romantic era, Wagner, Verdi, film music, the historical development of the musical, and European folk music. More Info |
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James C UzziAdjunct Instructor, Student Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music |
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David K ViaVisiting Assistant Professor: Music Business Crane School of Music, Crane Institute for Music Business![]() David K ViaVisiting Assistant Professor: Music Businessviadk@potsdam.edu
David Via has 35 years of sales and marketing experience in the music products industry. He has conducted business in over 35 countries around the world. Since 2017 Via has been Vice President of Marketing at Zoom North America. Previously he served as Vice President of International Business Development at D'Addario & Company, where he was responsible for expanding D'Addario business in emerging markets such as Africa, Middle East, India, Southeast Asia and China, including the executive management responsibility for D'Addario China. From 2006 - 2015 Via was the Vice President of Sales at D'Addario. Prior to joining D'Addario, Via was the Senior Vice President of Sports & Music for SKB Cases, and also served as Vice President of Sales & Marketing at SABIAN Ltd. He started his music products career working for the multi-national Yamaha Corporation in the areas of artist relations, district sales, and product management and marketing. Before joining Yamaha, Via was the manager of the Percussive Arts Society. In addition to his business accomplishments, Via is a sought after speaker at conventions, conferences, and universities in the United States and abroad. He was the Inaugural Executive in Residence at the Crane Music Business Institute at SUNY Potsdam and was guest lecturer at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen Center for Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship. Additionally, he served as Guest Lecturer and Entrepreneurship Advisor at the Manhattan School of Music, Center for Music Entrepreneurship. Via holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Business from Millikin University, a Master of Music in Percussion from Northwestern University, and an MBA Degree from the Olin School of Business at Babson College. Via is currently on the NAMM Board of Directors. More Info |
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Michael A VitalinoAssociate Professor - Music Theory Crane School of Music![]() Michael A VitalinoAssociate Professor - Music TheorySchuette Hall A331
vitalima@potsdam.edu
Michael Vitalino received a Ph.D. in Music Theory (2014) and M.M. in Choral Conducting (2013) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before moving to the West Coast, he received a M.M. in Music Theory (2008) from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a dual B.A. in Psychology and Music (2006) with a concentration in Conducting from SUNY Albany. Michael has studied theory with several outstanding scholars including Lee Rothfarb, Pieter van den Toorn, Gary Karpinski, Brent Auerbach, and Aleksandra Vojcic. His dissertation focused on the songs of Franz Liszt. Using a modified form of Schenkerian analysis, he identified underlying relationships between Liszt's revisions and established a new taxonomy for their classification. Michael has presented his research at the Centro Luigi Boccherini (2017), Music Theory Society of New York State (2016), Society of Music Theory (2015), Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic (2013), and the West Coast Conference of Music Theory and Analysis (2011). As a student of Michel Marc Gervais, Michael conducted the UCSB Women's Choir. His prior conducting experience, under the guidance of David Janower, includes directing the SUNY Albany Concert Band and University Chorale. He also held a post as Orchestra Director for the Albany Academy in addition to numerous other engagements as a guest conductor. As a performer, Michael has sung with several ensembles including the Adelfos Ensemble, All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, the UCSB Chamber Choir, First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara, and Summerland Presbyterian Church. He studied voice with Benjamin Brecher, Paul Sahuc, and Frances Pallozzi Wittmann. He also studied violin with Ann-Marie Schwartz. Michael's research interests include Schenkerian analysis, music cognition, music theory pedagogy, and the history of music theory. He recently collaborated with Benjamin Brecher (tenor) and Robert Koenig (piano) to release Forgotten Liszt (MS1538), a CD of previously unrecorded Liszt songs. More Info |
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Gregory R. WanamakerProfessor: Music Theory, Composition Crane School of Music![]() Gregory R. WanamakerProfessor: Music Theory, CompositionBishop Hall C207
wanamagr@potsdam.edu
http://www.gregorywanamaker.comOver the past several years, musicians and critics alike have praised Gregory Wanamaker's music as "compelling," "outstanding," "cutting-edge," "skillful," and "a technical tour de force" in publications including Fanfare, American Record Guide, and Audiophile Audition. His earliest musical training began at age 6 in professional summer stock theater companies, and continued through both schooled and self-guided explorations through the American folk music of the 1960s, bebop and free jazz, and Western classical music of the late 20th century. He continues his study of sounds to those from around the world, to draw from a variety of music to inform his continually evolving voice. His music has been commissioned and performed all over the world by soloists and ensembles including PRISM Quartet, Trujillo Symphony Orchestra, Capitol Quartet, Timothy McAllister, Robert Spring, Christopher Creviston, Oren Fader, Masato Kumoi Saxophone Quartet, The MAVerick Ensemble, Velocity2, The Donald Sinta Quartet, The Gregg Smith Singers, Mana Trio, Deborah Bish, Ensemble Radieuse, The Three Reeds Duo, Lynn McGrath, and The Society for New Music. Prolific in all musical media, Wanamaker's best-known works are his chamber works that exploit unique timbral characteristics and technical extensions of wind instruments. To date, his virtuosic Duo Sonata for clarinet and saxophone has received over 300 performances world-wide and is featured on five commercial recordings. His Sonata deus sax machina is one of the required pieces for finalists of the 2014 Adolphe Sax International Competition in Dinant, Belgium. Gregory Wanamaker's multimedia collaboration with 2013 MacArthur Fellowship Award Winner Carrie Mae Weems, A Story Within a Story, was commissioned in 2011 by the Syracuse-based Society for New Music, and was supported in part by a National Endowment for the Arts 2011 Access to Artistic Excellence Grant. He also is the recipient of a 2012 Individual Artist Commission from The New York State Council on the Arts and 20 consecutive standard awards from ASCAP in addition to awards from the National Association of Composers/USA and Britten-On-The-Bay. Wanamaker is currently Professor of Composition and Theory at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam where he has taught since 1997. He studied composition with William Averitt, Thomas Albert, Anthony Branker and Ladislav Kub ík. Gregory Wanamaker has several recorded works on the Innova, Albany, Centaur, KCM, Mark, White Pine and Summit labels. He publishes his own music, which is available exclusively through his website: www.gregorywanamaker.com. More Info |
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Tracy S WanamakerAdjunct Instructor: Special Music Education Crane School of Music![]() Tracy S WanamakerAdjunct Instructor: Special Music EducationSchuette Hall A334
wanamats@potsdam.edu
Tracy S. Wanamaker, MT-BC is a Visiting Instructor at the Crane School of Music where she coordinates the Music in Special Education Program. Ms. Wanamaker received a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy from Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA and a Masters of Science in Special Education from SUNY Potsdam. Ms. Wanamaker is a board-certified music therapist with over 20 years of experience working in a wide range of clinical areas including special education, adults with developmental disabilities and dementia care settings. In addition to her duties at Crane, she maintains a private practice in Northern New York, providing both individual and group music therapy sessions. Active as a guest music therapy supervisor for the Jamaican Field Service Project, Ms. Wanamaker has supervised music therapy students from across the United States in providing music therapy services in Schools of Hope and infirmaries in multiple locations around Jamaica. Ms. Wanamaker is active as a consultant and clinician for professionals, teachers and parents across the United States, and has presented her research at many local, state, and national conferences including the American Music Therapy Association National Conference, and the Mid-Atlantic AMTA Regional Conference. More Info |
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Heather L. WheelerAssociate Professor: Functional Keyboard Crane School of Music![]() Heather L. WheelerAssociate Professor: Functional KeyboardSchuette Hall A125
wheelehl@potsdam.edu
Heather Wheeler holds a BM in piano performance from the Catholic University of America where she studied under Bela Nagy and Fernando Laires. She received her Master of Music in Music Education from the Crane School of Music SUNY Potsdam and currently serves as Associate Professor of Keyboard and Keyboard Area Coordinator at Crane. In addition to teaching group piano, Heather offers introductory music classes for toddlers and maintains a private piano studio. A Nationally Certified Teacher of Music through the Music Teachers National Association, Ms. Wheeler stays active co-directing the Crane Piano Pedagogy Conference and adjudicating and coordinating piano festivals. She has presented workshops across the state and nation and has been an instructor and Piano Area Coordinator at Crane Youth Music. Her performance experience has included a wide range of styles that has taken her to Asia and Central America as well as across the southern and northeastern United States. More Info |
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Robert R ZolnerAssistant Audio Engineer Crane School of Music![]() Robert R ZolnerAssistant Audio EngineerSchuette Hall A112
zolnerrr@potsdam.edu
Besides his role as an adjunct instructor with the Crane Institute of Music Business and Entrepreneurship, Rob Zolner is also the Assistant Audio Engineer for Crane. His responsibilities consist of setting up sound reinforcement for the school's many events, overseeing the recording of student recitals, and providing students with sound playback when requested for a recital. Rob has accumulated a wealth of music retail experience with his many years of employment at Potsdam's Northern Music and Video where his primary areas of expertise were both home and mobile audio. He was also responsible for designing and installing sound systems for clubs, restaurants, and in consumer's homes. Rob operated a successful local recording enterprise in Canton, NY, called Judson Street Studios which catered to independent artists. He has been credited for engineering and producing many projects released on vinyl, compact cassette, and CD. He also worked on many spoken word and radio advertising productions. As an accomplished guitarist, Rob is currently performing regularly with the group Double Axel which has a loyal following among many Potsdam and Clarkson alumni. He is also working in an acoustic duo called 12 Struck. Being a charter member of the Business Administration Advisory Council for SUNY Potsdam gives him the opportunity to participate in events that are designed to enhance Potsdam College students' understanding of how the business world works. More Info |