Crane School of Music

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Name	Contact Information
Joshua W Barkley Assistant Facilities Manager Crane School of Music Joshua W Barkley Assistant Facilities Manager Crane School of Music Performing Arts Center 244 barklejw@potsdam.edu More Info	barklejw@potsdam.edu
Lauren F Becker Associate Professor: Horn Crane School of Music Lauren F Becker Associate Professor: Horn Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A109 beckelaf@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2440 http://www.LaurenBeckerMusic.com Lauren Becker is Associate 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	beckelaf@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2440
Russell J Biczo Assistant Professor Crane School of Music Russell J Biczo Assistant Professor Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A307 biczorj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3228 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	biczorj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3228
Erin M Brooks Associate Professor: Music History Crane School of Music Erin M Brooks Associate Professor: Music History Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A102 brooksem@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2759 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	brooksem@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2759
Sarah J Burgess Program Aide Crane School of Music Sarah J Burgess Program Aide Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C135 burgessj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2411 More Info	burgessj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2411
Katie A Burnham Visiting Assistant Professor: Voice Crane School of Music Katie A Burnham Visiting Assistant Professor: Voice Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C325 burnhaka@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2041 Dr. Katie Burnham is a classically trained soprano, originally from the Midwest, known to "enthrall the crowd". She holds degrees in Vocal Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory (DMA), the Chicago College of Performing Arts (MM) and Bradley University (BM). As a performer she has performed nationally and internationally with the Adirondack Performing Arts Fellowship, the Maggie Ohstrom-Bryant concert series, Chicago College of Performing Arts, Shepherd University, Peoria Municipal Band, and Bradley University to name a few. In addition to classical music, Katie enjoys singing and exploring musical theater styles. When not on the stage, Katie enjoys teaching students of all ages and studying Voice Science. As a voice science enthusiast, Katie was recently brought on as a contributor to a biomedical engineering research project out of the University of Iowa (research to be presented internationally Fall 2023) and a co-author of a study on the impact of the Lombard Effect within Contemporary Commercial Music recording sessions (presented at the Voice Foundation 2023 conference). Katie has also served as the on-site administrator for the 2023 Taos Opera Institute season, at which she served on faculty alongside Megan Marino, Susanne Mentzer and Reg Huston to name a few. More Info	burnhaka@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2041
Stephen D Button Adjunct Instructor: Entertainment Law Crane School of Music Stephen D Button Adjunct Instructor: Entertainment Law Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C210 buttonsd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2458 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	buttonsd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2458
Don J Cannamela Instructional Support Assistant Crane School of Music Don J Cannamela Instructional Support Assistant Crane School of Music Crane Music Center B113 cannamdj@potsdam.edu More Info	cannamdj@potsdam.edu
Dave P Cerullo Adjunct Instructor: Long Island Area Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music Dave P Cerullo Adjunct Instructor: Long Island Area Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A321 cerulldp@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2411 More Info	cerulldp@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2411
Margaret C Chalker Visiting Assistant Professor: Voice Crane School of Music Margaret C Chalker Visiting Assistant Professor: Voice Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C301 chalkemc@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2401 As your voice teacher I pledge to look for the best in you and then use my experience and abilities to help you develop and hone your skills as a singer. I utilize an intuitive approach supported by solid fundamental technical information which we will apply to vocal exercises and repertoire of many varied genres. Your potential as a singer and teacher will be nurtured and fostered by receiving and learning to give constructive feedback, performing experience within the studio and wherever opportunities present themselves that fit your individuality, and by attending live performances of faculty and fellow students as well as guests who are brought to campus for performances and master classes. Regarding my experience, the following paragraphs contain a detailed biography. The abridged version: over 40 years as a successful professional Opera Singer and the same amount of time spent teaching: mostly privately and since 2017, here at Crane. In the summer of 2013, 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 herbè" 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 master's 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. During her two years in Fredonia 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 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 nearly 900 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. Professor Chalker maintains a small teaching studio in Zürich where she returns regularly to mentor her students, including younger colleagues, now enjoying fine professional careers themselves. She joined the faculty at Crane in 2017. More Info	chalkemc@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2401
Jeanne-Minette Cilliers Assistant Professor: Vocal Coaching/Accompanying Crane School of Music Jeanne-Minette Cilliers Assistant Professor: Vocal Coaching/Accompanying Crane School of Music cilliej@potsdam.edu South African-born pianist Jeanne-Minette Cilliers has been hailed as "a pianistic poet", garnering rave reviews for her color-rich and imaginative performances. In high demand as a collaborator, Ms. Cilliers has performed at such prestigious venues as The Ravinia Festival, the Irving S. Gilmore Keyboard Festival, the Guggenheim Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, the Cuvilliés Theater in Munich, and the Yusupov Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. She has collaborated closely with prominent conductors including Antonino Fogliani, Pierre Bleuse, Peter Rundel, Alberto Zedda and Cornelius Meister, and directors Peter Sellars, David Alden, Peter Konwitchny, Calixto Bieito and Claus Guth. She is a regular recital partner of mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis and countertenor John Holiday, with whom she performed on the renowned NPR Tiny Desk series. The creative force behind the Songs of Comfort YouTube series, Ms. Cilliers champions the works of under-represented female composers Florence Price and Margaret Bonds. Fostering a strong interest in new music, Ms. Cilliers has presented several scores in world and North American/European premieres. As Head of Music, she assisted conductor Titus Engel at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and IRCAM Paris in the widely acclaimed world premiere of Chaya Czernowin's opera Infinite Now. A trusted musical partner of Catalán composer Héctor Parra, she has worked on two world premiere scores: the operatic adaptation of the controversial novel Les Bienveillantes (Antwerp/Ghent), as well as Orgia (Bilbao). In Les Bienveillantes, staged by opera's most provocative director Calixto Bieto, Ms. Cilliers also performed the 10 minute on-stage piano solo on a flying piano. Her 2024 season includes opera productions at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona) and LA Opera. Ms. Cilliers has been on the music staff of the Glimmerglass Opera Festival, Santa Fe Opera, LA Opera, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opéra de Lyon, Arriaga Theatre and Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona). As an educator, prior to arrive at Crane, Ms. Cilliers spearheaded the Collaborative Piano program at The Royal Conservatoire Antwerp as served as Head of Music for the voice department there. At the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, she was Associate Head of Collaborative Pianists while also functioning as faculty member. Along with her husband, tenor/producer Andrew Richards, she recently co-founded Kudu Productions. The team focuses on innovative and genre-bending video/sound projects. She holds piano performance degrees from the University of Michigan and Indiana University, as well as an Artist Diploma in collaborative piano from the Manhattan School of Music. More Info	cilliej@potsdam.edu
Michael John Colburn Visiting Assistant Professor: Director of Orchestras Crane School of Music Michael John Colburn Visiting Assistant Professor: Director of Orchestras Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A328 colburm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2407 A native of St. Albans, Vermont, Michael Colburn's first musical love was the euphonium, which he began studying at age ten. His desire to become a professional euphonium player can be traced to a summer music camp he attended while in 8th grade, where he first met Lucas Spiros, Principal Euphonium in "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band. He began his post-secondary work studying music education at the Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam), where he took lessons with Dr. Peter Popiel and played under the baton of Prof. Anthony Maiello. His strong desire to perform professionally led him to change his major to performance and transfer to Arizona State University, where he studied with renowned teacher and soloist Daniel Perantoni, and played in the legendary ASU symphonic band directed by Dr. Richard Strange. In 1987 he won a position with "The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band and in 1990 was appointed Principal Euphonium by Director Col. John Bourgeois. In 1993 he recorded "The Golden Age of Brass, Vol. 3," a highly acclaimed recording of virtuoso euphonium solos written around the turn of the 20th century. While serving as a euphonium player in the Marine Band, Colburn attained a master's degree in conducting at George Mason University, where he studied with Prof. Anthony Maiello. In 1996 he was commissioned a First Lieutenant and appointed as Assistant Director of the Marine Band. In this position he worked closely with Director Col. Timothy Foley and Executive Officer Capt. Frank Byrne in revamping the organization's performance evaluation, promotion process, and educational outreach. He also served as the officer in charge of overseeing the design and construction of the state-of-the-art John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Band Annex, which was completed in 2004. It was during his time as an Assistant Director that he established contact with John Williams, beginning a long and fruitful relationship between the Marine Band and the legendary film composer. In 2004, Colburn was appointed the 27th Director of the Marine Band and was promoted to Colonel by President George W. Bush in a private Oval Office ceremony. As Director, Colburn served as the music advisor to the White House and regularly conducted the Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra at the Executive Mansion and at the Presidential Inaugurations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. During his tenure, he led the band on several national concert tours, high visibility events, and national music conferences. He expanded the educational outreach of the organization, implemented a national concerto competition for high school students, started a conductor training program for Marine Band members, and strengthened the relationship between "The President's Own" and Marine Bands throughout the fleet. Shortly before his retirement in 2014 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by Gen. James Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Medal of Honor by the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic Board of Directors. Upon his retirement from the Marine Band, Colburn was appointed Director of Bands at Butler University, a position he held from 2014 until 2022. His duties there included conducting the Butler University Wind Ensemble as well as instruction in conducting, euphonium, and the history and literature of the wind band. Under Colburn's leadership, the program experienced significant growth and the wind ensemble drew strong praise for its ambitious programming and high level of performance. Colburn has served as the chair of the Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Award and as an adjudicator for the Sudler Award, the Barlow Endowment, Music for All, and the Col. George S. Howard Award for Excellence in Military Bands. Colburn served as the 85th President of the American Bandmasters Association, has been a board member of the National Band Association, and currently serves as the Vice President for Project Enhancement for the John Philip Sousa Foundation. He is also a member of Washington D.C.'s prestigious Gridiron and Alfalfa Clubs. In 2022, Colburn returned to his home state of Vermont, where he now resides with his wife Nancy. Colburn continues to work as a freelance guest conductor and clinician, and regularly leads professional and student ensembles in festivals, residencies, and a variety of other settings throughout the country. In June 2024 he was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Orchestra of Northern New York, a professional orchestra based in Potsdam, NY. He is also the Music Director and Conductor of the Me2 Orchestra in Burlington, VT, a classical music organization devoted to erasing the stigma of mental illness through supportive rehearsals and inspiring performances, and he also serves as an Affiliate Artist at the University of Vermont. In 2024 he became a member of the Educational Consultant team at the Conn Selmer Division of Education, and in 2025 he was appointed Interim Orchestra Director at the Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam). More Info	colburm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2407
Kathleen M Crecco Adjunct Instructor: Accompanying Crane School of Music Kathleen M Crecco Adjunct Instructor: Accompanying Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C207 creccokm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2342 Kathleen Crecco is a collaborative musician who brings more than 19 years of experience as a performer across multiple disciplines. She attended the Crane School of Music as an undergraduate vocal education major and established herself as an independently contracted freelance musician while pursuing her studies at SUNY Potsdam. Since 2005 she has been a highly sought-after collaborative pianist, musical director, and consultant to young musicians. In addition to her professional experience behind the keyboard, she has graced the stage as an actress and vocalist across New York State. Kathleen's life-mission has been servicing young musicians, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds. She believes that the arts should be accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic status or educational upbringings. Kathleen also serves as Orchestra Librarian for the Orchestra of Northern New York as well as the Music Director, Pianist, and Choir Director at the First Presbyterian Church of Canton, NY. More Info	creccokm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2342
Miles D DeCastro Lecturer: Instrument Repair Crane School of Music Miles D DeCastro Lecturer: Instrument Repair Crane School of Music Performing Arts Center 229 decastmd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2469 Miles DeCastro teaches courses in instrument repair technology at the Crane School of Music and oversees the Certificate in Band Instrument Repair Technology (BIRT) Basics program. Outside of Crane he also runs his own woodwind specialty shop called North Country Winds. Prior to joining Crane in July of 2016, he was the general manager at Bridgepoint Music in Menlo Park, CA from 2012-2016, where he led the company to four consecutive NAMM Top 100 Dealer Awards. His professional repair career officially began in Reno, NV, where he was shop manager of Maytan Music Center from 2008-2011. Prof. DeCastro has been an active member of the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians since 2007. He recently completed his third term as president of NAPBIRT and currently serves as chair of the President's Advisory Committee and on the board of the NAPBIRT Endowment Fund. A highly sought-after consultant, clinician, and advocate for instrument repair education, he has presented over 50 clinics on the topics instrument repair technology and the music industry during his time at Crane. His presentations have been enjoyed in over 20 states and on three continents. Miles is a Straubinger Certified Technician, Yamaha Certified Sales Professional, graduate of the Yamaha Service Advantage Program, and he has studied instrument repair and design with Morrie Backun. He serves on the Vendors' Forum Committee of The International Clarinet Association and is also a member of NAfME, NAMM, and NASA (the saxophone one, not the outer space one). Miles holds a degree in Music Education from Mansfield University, a Certificate in Band Instrument Repair Technology from Renton Technical College, and an MBA from Clarkson University. More Info	decastmd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2469
Meagan E Dissinger Visiting Assistant Professor: Choral Music Education Crane School of Music Meagan E Dissinger Visiting Assistant Professor: Choral Music Education Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A331 dissinme@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2042 Dr. Meagan Dissinger is a Visiting Assistant Professor in Choral Music Education at the Crane School of Music. She earned degrees from Penn State University (B.S. in Music Education), CUNY Hunter College (M.A. in Piano Performance), and Teachers College, Columbia University (Ed.M. and Ed.D. in Music and Music Education). Dr. Dissinger's approach to choral music education is grounded by culturally responsive teaching, interdisciplinary learning, and democratic practice. Her instruction focuses on affirming and developing the cultural and artistic identities of performers and teachers. Dr. Dissinger is a National Board Certified Teacher with fifteen years of experience teaching choir, general music, and dance to all grades PreK-12 in New York and the Virgin Islands of the United States. She has directed honors ensembles including regional All-County and All-Territory choirs, collegiate groups, and children's choirs. In addition to music, Dr. Dissinger is a certified yoga teacher with a keen interest on the effects of yoga and somatics for musicians. Dr. Dissinger has authored articles in several publications including ChorTeach, the Journal of General Music Education, the Journal of Dance Education, Teaching Music Magazine, and School Music News. She is co-founder of The Research Riff, an online microjournal designed to assist practicing music teachers in applying research findings to their instruction. Dr. Dissinger has served as a faculty member at Messiah College, Columbia University, and The University of the Virgin Islands. More Info	dissinme@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2042
Robert K Docker Associate Professor: String Education Crane School of Music Robert K Docker Associate Professor: String Education Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A313 dockerrk@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3241 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. He previously held a position as a visiting assistant professor at the University of Arkansas school of music where he taught string music education courses, aural perception and graduate courses in curriculum design, testing and measurement and music psychology in addition to working with the University of Arkansas / Arkansas Philharmonic String Coalition Youth Orchestra. While at the U of A he worked with undergraduates to build a school orchestra program in the Fayetteville public schools. Dr. Docker earned a Ph.D. from Penn State University where he held a University Fellowship. At Penn State he taught undergraduate music education courses while finishing coursework in music education with dual cognates in the sociology of schools and string pedagogy. His dissertation was on the subject of music teacher retention and attrition in high poverty urban school districts. He has presented research at national and state conferences and published in state journals of music education. Dr. Docker's elementary and secondary teaching experience includes a decade as an orchestra and strings specialist in high-poverty schools in Virginia and North Carolina and two years at the Grier School, an international boarding school in Pennsylvania. He holds bachelors and masters degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and served there as an instructor as well. As a cellist he has extensive orchestral experience having previously played with the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lynchburg (Virginia) Symphony Orchestra and serving as principal cello of the Altoona (Pennsylvania) Symphony and the Fayetteville (Arkansas) Opera Company, in addition to performances with chamber groups and professional and amateur theatre companies. He has a passion for traditional fiddle and guitar music and folk art. More Info	dockerrk@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3241
Liesl Schoenberger Doty Associate Professor: Violin Crane School of Music Liesl Schoenberger Doty Associate Professor: Violin Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C202 dotyls@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2431 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	dotyls@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2431
Brian K. Doyle Professor: Director of Bands Crane School of Music Brian K. Doyle Professor: Director of Bands Crane School of Music Crane Music Center B137 doylebk@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2428 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	doylebk@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2428
Brian D Dunbar Assistant Professor: Flute Crane School of Music Brian D Dunbar Assistant Professor: Flute Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C112 dunbarbd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2445 http://www.briandunbarflute.com Dr. 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	dunbarbd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2445
Russ J Faunce Adjunct Instructor: Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music Russ J Faunce Adjunct Instructor: Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A321 fauncerj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2411 Russ Faunce is an accomplished educational leader and passionate advocate for music education, currently serving as Immediate Past President of the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA). With more than four decades of experience, Russ has built a distinguished career as a teacher, administrator, and champion for the arts. Russ began his professional journey as a music educator in the Watertown City School District, where he inspired high school students through vibrant choral and theater programs. His success in the classroom led to leadership/administrative roles in the Watertown Schools overseeing comprehensive academic and extracurricular initiatives, always with a focus on student-centered learning and equity. Widely respected for his collaborative style, strategic vision, and unwavering dedication to helping students thrive, Russ has spent the past decade mentoring students from the Crane School of Music. He encourages innovative practices that meet the diverse needs in today's public school music classrooms. Additionally, his work with post-secondary graduates has taken him into the college classroom, teaching fundamentals of music, music theory, and class piano at SUNY Jefferson. Always open to new musical opportunities, Russ happily fills any free time left in his professional life by playing for local productions and ensembles. Finally, Russ is a proud graduate of the Crane School of Music holding both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in music education with a concentration in piano. More Info	fauncerj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2411
Samson M Flancbaum Musical Instrument Technician Crane School of Music Samson M Flancbaum Musical Instrument Technician Crane School of Music Crane Music Center B168 flancbsm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2467 Samson Flancbaum is an instrument repair technician joining the faculty in 2025. At Crane he manages the inventory of over 1200 tech and professional instruments for the school working to maintain and repair them. Samson holds dual Bachelor of Music degrees in Euphonium Performance and Music Theory from The Crane School of Music, graduating in 2013. He went on to earn his Master of Music in Euphonium Performance, with a focus in Music Theory, from the University of North Texas in 2015. During his academic training, Samson developed a strong interest in instrument repair, learning directly from skilled technicians at both Crane and UNT. This passion led him to pursue a formal apprenticeship at a respected repair shop in Aledo, Texas, following the completion of his graduate studies. He remained with the shop as a full-time technician, eventually serving as Repair Foreman from 2019 to 2022, where he managed daily operations and oversaw complex restorations. In addition to his repair work, Samson spent three years working in 911 emergency services as a telecommunicator, while continuing to perform repairs part-time. He returned to The Crane School of Music to join the faculty as an Instrument Repair Technician, bringing with him a wealth of hands-on experience and deep technical knowledge. Samson is a certified Muramatsu and Straubinger technician and is highly proficient in all aspects of band and orchestral instrument repair. He specializes in the maintenance and restoration of vintage and high-end instruments, combining meticulous craftsmanship with a performer's insight. As a musician Samson performs on both Euphonium and Trombone and is an active arranger and orchestrator of Klezmer music for all instrumentations. Additionally outside of work Samson enjoys tabletop gaming, resin work, leather crafting, and spending time with his family. More Info	flancbsm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2467
Marie-Elaine C Gagnon Associate Professor: Cello Crane School of Music Marie-Elaine C Gagnon Associate Professor: Cello Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C204 gagnonmc@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2421 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	gagnonmc@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2421
Matthew A Gatti Facilities Manager Crane School of Music Matthew A Gatti Facilities Manager Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C139 gattima@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2466 Bachelor of Music, SUNY Potsdam: Crane School of Music Master of Music, Temple University: Boyer College of Music and Dance DMA, Temple University: Boyer College of Music and Dance More Info	gattima@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2466
John D. Geggie Adjunct Instructor: String Bass Crane School of Music John D. Geggie Adjunct Instructor: String Bass Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C219 geggiejd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2402 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	geggiejd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2402
Emma Gierszal Assistant Professor: Percussion Crane School of Music Emma Gierszal Assistant Professor: Percussion Crane School of Music Crane Music Center B186 giersze@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2009 Emma Gierszal (she/her) is the Assistant Professor of Percussion at the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam. She has finished coursework for her DMA in Percussion Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music and holds an MM degree and an Arts Leadership Certificate also from Eastman. Her BM degree in Music Education is from Furman University. Emma is a versatile musician dedicated to sharing new musical experiences with others. She taught the percussion studio, ran the IPEC 2022-winning percussion ensemble, and instructed World Music at Furman University in spring 2024. While in Rochester NY, she enjoyed teaching percussion at the Hochstein School of Music and served as an adjunct percussion lecturer at Nazareth University. She was frequently on stage with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra while continuing to perform with the Eastman Percussion Ensemble and her trio, 3D Percussion. Some of her notable performances have been Viet Cuong's quartet concerto, Re(new)al, in front of the Albany Symphony Orchestra and premiering Austin Keck's Evanescence with the Eastman Percussion Ensemble at the IPEA International Percussion Competition in Shanghai. Taking an interest in Rochester's local music scene, she serves as the President of the Board for the chamber ensemble, fivebyfive, and has published an Eastman Case Study about the ROCmusic Collaborative. Emma has participated in competitive orchestral and contemporary music festivals, including the Lucerne Festival Academy in 2023, Grafenegg Academy in 2021 and 2022, the National Repertory Orchestra in 2021 (where she had the privilege of performing in front of the orchestra), and the Chautauqua Summer Music Festival in 2019. In 2018, she was honored to receive the Mary Ann Starring Memorial Award and perform at Sigma Alpha Iota's national convention. Emma is a proud Malletech Artist. More Info	giersze@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2009
Jonathan A Govias Assistant Professor: Director of Orchestras Crane School of Music Jonathan A Govias Assistant Professor: Director of Orchestras Crane School of Music Crane Music Center B139 goviasja@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2399 A student of Kurt Masur, Marin Alsop and David Zinman, conductor Jonathan Andrew Góvias has worked with some of the leading ensembles of the world, including the symphonies of Montréal, Cincinnati, Kansas City, San Diego, the Tonhalle Orchester of Zurich, the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada and the Teresa Carreño Orchestra of Caracas. In his capacity as Artistic Director and curator of Symphony of Diversity, an orchestral human rights initiative of international scope and prominence, he has set new standards for powerful, effective advocacy and social action through music in both live and virtual formats. The 2021 production A Thousand Thunderbolts, commemorating the victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, garnered invitations from music conferences, music institutions and performing arts centers around the world. In 2022 Symphony of Diversity became a national endeavor, bringing musicians from across the US for a performance at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) in Portland, Oregon, where he was recognized with the conference's Social Justice and Equity Award in the category of Change Agent. As a specialist in working with both diverse populations and young orchestras, he has worked with leading outreach programs in England, Scotland, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Canada, Israel and South Africa, performing and demonstrating cutting-edge rehearsal techniques for social engagement. His invited speaking engagements on ensemble direction and music education since October 2010 include institutions such as the Mozarteum (Salzburg),University of Western Ontario, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Cape Town University, Liverpool John Moores University, Western Washington University; centers for industry and innovation such Hub Zurich and Hub Vienna; two international symposia on the Arts in Education at London's South Bank Centre; and NAMM and the music education association conferences for the provinces of Alberta and Québec. In addition to a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from McGill University, Góvias is the recipient of multiple honors, including the Priddy Fellowship in Arts Leadership, the Reinhard Mohn Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship, and the Abreu Fellowship at the New England Conservatory. Now on his third career as a conductor, he previously worked as a Marketing Director for a major symphony orchestra, and as a corporate consultant for a German media multinational before returning to music. More Info	goviasja@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2399
Casey T Grev Professor: Saxophone Crane School of Music Casey T Grev Professor: Saxophone Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A144 grevct@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2444 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	grevct@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2444
Charles V. Guy Professor: Tuba and Euphonium and Assistant Dean, Crane School of Music Crane School of Music Charles V. Guy Professor: Tuba and Euphonium and Assistant Dean, Crane School of Music Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A107 guycv@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2437 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	guycv@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2437
Jordon * Gyarmathy Graduate Assistant Crane School of Music Jordon * Gyarmathy Graduate Assistant Crane School of Music gyarmaj@potsdam.edu More Info	gyarmaj@potsdam.edu
Anna Hendrickson Professor: Oboe Crane School of Music Anna Hendrickson Professor: Oboe Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C114 hendriak@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2839 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	hendriak@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2839
Christopher F Hernacki Assistant Professor: Trombone Crane School of Music Christopher F Hernacki Assistant Professor: Trombone Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A110 hernaccf@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2452 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, Dr. Hernacki maintains an active performing schedule with various chamber music groups, opera orchestras, musical theater productions, and jazz ensembles worldwide. He currently serves as the principal trombonist of the Orchestra of Northern New York and bass trombonist in the Northern Symphonic Winds. As a soloist, Dr. 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, Sergio Carolino, and the members of Vulfpeck. Dr. Hernacki's most recent solo performance was with the Crane Wind Ensemble in 2022 performing Anthony Barfield's Red Sky. An avid educator, Dr. Hernacki is on the faculty of the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam, as the Assistant Professor of Trombone. There, he leads a dynamic studio of devoted trombone performers, future educators, and business-minded individuals, who grow and develop to become 21st Century musicians and advocates for the arts in their communities. Dr. Hernacki also 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, Dr. 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. Dr. 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 musical arrangements, some of which can be viewed on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/christoflur. An advocate for the arts, Dr. 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. Dr. 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 a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan. More Info	hernaccf@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2452
Ivette Herryman Rodriguez Associate Professor: Music Theory, Composition Crane School of Music Ivette Herryman Rodriguez Associate Professor: Music Theory, Composition Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A310 herrymi@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2422 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	herrymi@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2422
David D Heuser Interim Dean of Music and Professor: Music Theory, Composition Crane School of Music David D Heuser Interim Dean of Music and Professor: Music Theory, Composition Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C137 heuserdd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2453 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 has served in administrative positions at the Crane School of Music since his appointment as Associate Dean in 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). In the music administrative sphere, he has served as secretary/treasurer, vice president and president of the New York Association of College Music Programs (NYACMP), and has presented at conferences such as the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and NYSSMA on topics around music school recruitment/admissions, curriculum reform, and diversity and inclusion in music programs. More Info	heuserdd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2453
Christine E Hoerning Lecturer: Clarinet Crane School of Music Christine E Hoerning Lecturer: Clarinet Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C110 hoernice@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2448 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	hoernice@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2448
SeungYoung Hong Assistant Professor: Jazz Studies Crane School of Music SeungYoung Hong Assistant Professor: Jazz Studies Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A120 hongs@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2460 Seungyoung Hong is a passionate performer, bandleader, composer, arranger, scholar, and educator. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, as well as Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Jazz Studies and Performance from William Paterson University, solidifying his foundation in the art form he loves. He had the privilege of studying with illustrious jazz artists such as Bill Charlap, Harold Mabern, Bill Dobbins, Mike LeDonne, Jeff Campbell, Steve LaSpina, Christine Jensen, Darious Terefenko among others, absorbing invaluable wisdom that enriched his musical identity. He is an accomplished musician who has performed at various venues, including the Rochester International Jazz Festival, Dizzy's club, Kilbourn Hall, Kodak Hall, The Cutting Room, Shea Performing Arts Center, Cheonan International Jazz Street Festival, Baekam Performing Arts Center in the United States and South Korea. His artistic versatility is evident as he collaborates with some of the most talented musicians in the industry across various genres. He had remarkable opportunities to share stages with Bill Charlap, Joe Lovano, Nancy Marano, and many more. He represents his artistic philosophy and musicality through his album, "Lost at Sea," highlighting his interpretations and nuanced efforts in authentic jazz sounds with various compositional approaches and incorporating indigenous and traditional Korean music into the jazz idiom. He has also contributed his creative brilliance to several recordings. His scholarly endeavors span a broad spectrum of musical realms, examining various aspects of music, including the art of improvisation, jazz ensemble techniques, jazz analysis, and the nuances of indigenous and traditional music. He has conducted analytical research on Ron Carter's improvised performance, aesthetic of Ellington's music, jazz rhythm section, and jazz interactions. More Info	hongs@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2460
Julie E Hunter Associate Professor: Ethnomusicology Crane School of Music Julie E Hunter Associate Professor: Ethnomusicology Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C317 hunterje@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2403 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. Courses taught include Global Popular Music, Music of Africa, Introduction to Ethnomusicology, World Music Cultures, Music and Politics in West Africa, Gender and Music, World Music Pedagogy, West African Ensemble, and Music History III. 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	hunterje@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2403
Alexandrea M Jonker Assistant Professor: Music Theory Crane School of Music Alexandrea M Jonker Assistant Professor: Music Theory Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A308 jonkera@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2410 Alexandrea Jonker received a PhD in Music Theory (2024) from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Originally a native of Ontario, Canada, she received a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory (2016) from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, before going on to complete a Master of Music in Music Theory at Michigan State University (2018). Her main research interests are in inclusive aural skills pedagogy and the music of women ultramodernist composers, specifically Vivian Fine and Johanna Beyer. Alexandrea's dissertation was the first large-scale study of Johanna Beyer's music to date, proposing an analytical methodology that intertwines aspects of transformational theory and queer theory to understand Beyer's four earliest compositions. Her doctoral research was funded by a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Alexandrea has presented research at the Society for Music Theory annual meeting, Pedagogy into Practice, the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, the International Music by Women Festival in Columbus, Mississippi, as well as several regional and graduate student conferences around North America. Her research has been published in the conference proceedings from the International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, and the Routledge Companion to Music Theory Pedagogy. Alexandrea is a two-time winner of the Innovative Teaching and Learning in Music Award at McGill University, and was nominated for a McGill Equity Award for the 2022-2023 school year. Her work on "blind hearing" in the aural skills classroom was recognized with a Best Student Paper award from the Rocky Mountain Society for Music Theory (2021) and the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic (2021). More Info	jonkera@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2410
Keilor L Kastella Instructor: Accompanying and Piano Crane School of Music Keilor L Kastella Instructor: Accompanying and Piano Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C201 kastelkl@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2692 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	kastelkl@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2692
Christopher C Keach Lecturer: Trumpet Crane School of Music Christopher C Keach Lecturer: Trumpet Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A106 keachcc@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2439 Christopher Keach, a New York-based professional musician, educator, and researcher, is the Assistant Visiting Professor of Trumpet at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. He is a multi-talented performer with experience in classical, jazz, and Afro-Cuban music. Christopher has performed with the Segal Centre Theatre organization, the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, the Orchestra of Northern New York, the Northern Symphonic Winds, and in the New Works Recital at the 2023 International Trumpet Guild (ITG) Conference. As a soloist, Christopher had the honor to open for the Nakariakov-Kashimoto-Meerovich trio. He has worked with artists such as Ed Carroll, Sergei Nakariakov, James Thompson, Septura Brass Septet, Fabio Brum, Caleb Hudson, Jim Wilt, Nikki LaBonte, and Anthony Plog. Christopher is as versatile an educator as he is a performer. He has experience teaching a variety of age groups and settings, including K-5 general music, as well as 9-12th grade jazz band and symphonic band. At the 2021 MasterWorks festival, Christopher performed with the faculty brass quintet, the symphony orchestra, and the brass ensemble, and had the privilege of coaching one of the collegiate quintets. Since the summer of 2022, Christopher has taught at the Bay Shore High School Summer Music Program where he teaches lessons to beginning and high school instrumentalists. He continues to expand on the knowledge and experience of high school musicians and creates a curriculum for beginning musicians to learn and explore musical literacy on a new instrument. Additionally, in his private studio he teaches both jazz and classical trumpet lessons to students of all ages. Along with his teaching and performance experience, Christopher has a great interest in research, specifically in the fields of performance science and electronic music. He has worked as the research assistant for McGill's Applied Performance Sciences Hub where he explores healthy learning and stress management techniques for musicians. Additionally, his doctoral research focuses on the realm of performance science, where he is studying different practice techniques and their effect on long-term memory and retention. Christopher received the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT) Student Award to pursue research in electronically augmented trumpet performance. Christopher has received world-renowned recognition for his performances and research. He was awarded second place in the 2022 ITG Wind Band Excerpt Competition and was selected as a finalist for the 2024 McGill Concerto Competition where he will perform the Pakhmutova Trumpet Concerto with the McGill Wind Orchestra. Additionally, Christopher was a finalist in the first Trumpeter's Multi-Track Competition (TMTC) and competed at the 2022/23 National Trumpet Competition Small Ensemble Division with McGill University's trumpet ensemble. Christopher was also the recipient of the 2020-2021 International Grant Writing Competition for Music Performance at McGill University. He is completing his DMus degree in trumpet performance at McGill University, Schulich School of Music, in the studio of Professor Richard Stoelzel, where he received his MMus in trumpet performance. Christopher also holds his B.M. in Trumpet Performance and B.M.E. from The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he studied with Dr. John R. Ellis. More Info	keachcc@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2439
Jennifer Kessler Lecturer: Music Education Crane School of Music Jennifer Kessler Lecturer: Music Education Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A305 kesslejk@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3216 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	kesslejk@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3216
Julianne Kirk Doyle Professor: Clarinet Crane School of Music, Crane Youth Music Julianne Kirk Doyle Professor: Clarinet Crane School of Music Crane Youth Music Bishop Hall C103 kirkj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2419 https://www.jkdoyle.org/ Julianne Kirk Doyle joined the faculty of the Crane School of Music in 2006 and serves as Professor of Clarinet. Dr. Doyle co-coordinates the acclaimed Potsdam Single Reed Summit and upcoming Fall 2023 Woodwind Summit and served as Director of the Crane Youth Music Camp from 2009-2023. Dr. Doyle is the New York State Chair and Pedagogy Coordinator for the International Clarinet Association and additionally serves on the ICA College and Pre-Professional Engagement Committee and as Co-Chair of the ICA Pedagogy Committee. 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 saxophonist Robert Young and pianist David Heinick on Young's 2018 album Hybrid, performing Heinick's four letter words which she and Young commissioned for premiere at the 2016 International Clarinet Association Conference in Baton Rouge, LA. An active soloist and chamber musician, she is a member of the Aria Reed Trio and serves as Principal Clarinet with the Orchestra of Northern New York and Northern Symphonic Winds. She has also performed with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Amici Orchestra, Light Opera Oklahoma, Tulsa Philharmonic, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Eastman Wind Ensemble including a tour to Japan, Taiwan and Macau, Eastman Philharmonia and Eastman Opera Orchestra. Passionate about the music of our time, Julianne has taken part in numerous commissions and consortiums for works by Jenni Brandon, Paul Schoenfeld, Margaret Brower, Jim Stephenson, Erich Stem and Tyler Mazone ('21) as well as Crane colleagues: Ivette Herryman-Rodriguez, Timothy Sullivan, Jerod Sommerfeldt and David Heinick. She looks forward to being part of many more consortiums and commission projects to continue to grow the 21st Century Clarinet Repertoire. Dr. Doyle is constantly exploring solutions to the Stress Velopharyngeal Insufficiency (SVPI/Soft Palatal Air Leak) in wind playing. She has published articles and given conference presentations for pathways to alleviation and prevention. She has assisted numerous professionals and students in minimizing and correcting soft palate air leak. Through virtual platforms and in person, she is excited to now offer a lecture presentation on the topic to collegiate studios around the country. Dr. Doyle has performed and presented at numerous conferences including the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest, International Double Reed Society Conference, New York State School Music Association Conference, New York State Band Directors Association, Mid-America Center for Contemporary Music, the Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium and has given master classes for Juilliard Summerwinds, Southeast Asian Youth Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, Aria Summer Music Academy, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Louisiana State University, University of Arkansas-Ft. Smith, Bowling Green State University, Oakland University, and Nazareth College. Prior to joining the faculty at Crane, she held teaching positions at Ball State University, University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music, Eastman Community Music School, Hochstein School of Music and Nazareth College. She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in Performance and Literature and Arts Leadership Certificate from the Eastman School of Music and a Bachelors of Music from the University of Oklahoma. Her primary teachers include Jon Manasse, David Etheridge and Bradford Behn. Dr. Doyle is honored to be an artist with Backun Musical Services and DANSR/Vandoren. For more information, please visit www.jkdoyle.org More Info	kirkj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2419
Nils H Klykken Associate Professor Choral Conducting Crane School of Music Nils H Klykken Associate Professor Choral Conducting Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C314 Bishop Hall C138 klykkenh@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2435 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	klykkenh@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2435
Edward M. Komara Distinguished Librarian Crane Library Crane School of Music, Libraries Edward M. Komara Distinguished Librarian Crane Library Crane School of Music Libraries Schuette Hall A202 komaraem@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3227 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	komaraem@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3227
Judy Lewis Assistant Professor: Music Education Crane School of Music Judy Lewis Assistant Professor: Music Education Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A332 lewiju@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2665 Judy Lewis is assistant professor of music education at SUNY Potsdam. She is a graduate of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel (B.A. and M.A. in 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 focused on urban music education and social justice. Prior to coming 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. She was a K-12 public school music teacher and community music facilitator for 20 years before her work in higher education. 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, supported by the Norwegian Research Council and producing cross-cultural research in the area of music teacher-education. She has given keynote speeches and presented scholarly papers at national and international conferences. Her scholarly writing appears in Music Educators' Journal, The International Journal of Community Music, Philosophy of Music Education Review, School Music News, and Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain. Her work also appears in the edited volumes Narrative Inquiry in Music Education: Listening to Voices Seldom Heard and The Routledge Companion to Creativities. In August 2022, Judy Lewis published her first book, coauthored with Dr. Andrea Maas (University of Vermont) - Music Education on the Verge: Stories of Pandemic Teaching and Transformative Change - with Rowman & Littlefield. More Info	lewiju@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2665
Tracy D Lipke-Perry Associate Professor: Functional Keyboard and Chair, Music Education Department Crane School of Music Tracy D Lipke-Perry Associate Professor: Functional Keyboard and Chair, Music Education Department Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A126 lipkeptd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2441 http://tracylipkeperry.weebly.com Dr. 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	lipkeptd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2441
Carol C. Lowe Professor: Bassoon and Chair, Instrumental Performance Department Crane School of Music Carol C. Lowe Professor: Bassoon and Chair, Instrumental Performance Department Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C117 lowecc@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3240 http://redbassoon.com Dr. Carol Cope Lowe is Professor of Bassoon at The Crane School of Music. She teaches courses in bassoon performance, reed-making, repertoire and pedagogy, and orchestral studies. 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 (TX), Muncie (IN), Ithaca (NY), Provo (UT), and Norman (OK). 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's doctoral dissertation titled "Norman Herzberg: An Icon of Bassoon Pedagogy" has been cited in a number of articles and websites. 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 Reed Quintet and the Aria Reed Trio. Dr. Lowe recently published an OER resource: A Modern Guide to Teaching and Playing the Bassoon - Simple Book Publishing More Info	lowecc@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3240
Christine E Mackey Adjunct Instructor: Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music Christine E Mackey Adjunct Instructor: Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music mackeyce@potsdam.edu Christine Mackey earned her Bachelor of Science in Music Education from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. She majored in flute and studied under Emily Swartley Newbold. Christine earned her Masters of Science in Education with a Specialization in Multicultural Education from Iona College, New Rochelle, NY. Mrs. Mackey just recently retired after 31 years of teaching for the Newburgh Enlarged City School District in Newburgh, NY where she taught elementary general music, band, orchestra, and chorus. She has conducted multiple All District music festivals both instrumentally and chorally. As her school had a STEAM focus, she implemented STEAM lessons throughout her curriculum. She has twice provided Professional Development centered around incorporating the Arts into STEM at the Magnet Schools of America National Conferences. Christine Mackey is excited to engage in the training of new teachers here at Crane. More Info	mackeyce@potsdam.edu
Christopher J MacRae Assistant Professor Crane School of Music Christopher J MacRae Assistant Professor Crane School of Music macraecj@potsdam.edu Dr. Christopher MacRae is a Canadian tenor, recognized for his "beautiful and sonorous" voice, with performances spanning opera stages and concert halls across Canada and the United States. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Voice and Stage Director of the Opera Ensemble at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Prior to his appointment at SUNY Potsdam, Dr. MacRae served on the faculties of the University of Arkansas - where he was a three-time recipient of the Outstanding Mentor Award - and the University of Regina. Dr. MacRae earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from Boston University, studying under Dr. Lynn Eustis. He holds a Master of Music and a Licentiate Diploma in Vocal Performance from McGill University, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Calgary. He has participated in masterclasses with renowned artists including Richard Miller, Francisco Araiza, Ben Heppner, Wesley Balk, Stuart Hamilton, Carrie-Ann Matheson, and Craig Terry. His operatic repertoire include varied roles such as Sir Philip in Owen Wingrave, the Male Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, McAlpine in Filumena (Estacio), Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos, Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, the Tenor in Six Characters in Search of an Author (Weisgall), Sheldon in Later the Same Evening, the Governor & Vanderdendur in Candide, Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, and Vaclav in the North American premiere of The Cunning Peasant (Dvořák), along with concert performances of Werther, Nabucco, and Lohengrin. As a concert soloist and recitalist, Dr. MacRae has been featured in works such as Orff's Carmina Burana, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Mozart's Requiem and Mass in C Minor, Verdi's Requiem, Handel's Messiah and Theodora, Dubois' Seven Last Words of Christ, Stainer's The Crucifixion, Warren's The Harp Weaver, MacMillan's Celtic Mass of the Sea, Carissimi's Historia di Giona, Britten's St. Nicolas Cantata, Elgar's The Kingdom, Bach's Magnificat, and Rachmaninoff's Vespers. Dr. MacRae has also trained in acting and theatre with Keith Johnstone, Paula Homer, and Sharon Daniels, and has taken courses at Boston's Improv Asylum and the Wesley Balk Opera/Music Theater Institute in Minneapolis. He has directed and produced opera productions at the University of Regina and the University of Arkansas and served as an assistant director with Opera McGill and Toronto's Summer Opera Lyric Theatre. Dr. MacRae is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and former president of the Arkansas NATS Chapter. He has presented lecture-recitals at the Congress of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (Calgary), the International Symposium on Singing and Song (St. John's), and the NATS Southern Region Conference. He is a sought-after masterclass clinician and adjudicator across North America He was a semi-finalist in the 2005 Montreal International Music Competition, where he was named Audience Favorite Performer of the Day. He has also appeared as an Opera Quiz panelist on CBC's Saturday Afternoon at the Opera with Stuart Hamilton. More Info	macraecj@potsdam.edu
Deborah P. Massell Associate Professor: Voice Crane School of Music Deborah P. Massell Associate Professor: Voice Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C304 masseldp@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3193 DEBORAH MASSELL, Soprano, holds over four 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 premieres, 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 under General Director Rolf Liebermann, Theater Basel, the Gärtnerplatz Theater and the Salzburg Mozarteum, as well as the Vienna, Schleswig-Holstein, Gmunden, St. Bart's, Mostly Mozart, Recklinghausen, 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 worked as soprano soloist sailing the Mediterranean visiting twenty-one countries while singing opera, chamber music art song, and musical theater on the Cunard Cruise Line. She has worked with noted conductors including Julius Rudel, Stefan Soltesz, Klauspeter Seibel, Niksa Bareza, Gerard Schwarz, Lukas Foss, Hans Zender, Michel Corboz, René Jacobs, Thierry Fischer, Kenneth Cooper, and Will Crutchfield, and stage directors Peter Ustinov, Herbert Wernicke, and John Neumeier. Orchestral collaborations include the Ensemble Vocal & Instrumental de Lausanne, Orchestra of St. Luke's, North German Radio Orchestra, Hamburg State Orchestra, Orchestre de Genève, Dortmund Musikverein, Syracuse Orchestra, the Mid-Atlantic Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of Northern NY. In recital she has been heard with artists such as Warren Jones, Walter Berry, Brian Zeger, Eugene Asti, Emile Naoumoff, Paul Wyse, and François Germain, and has had intensive study in Art Song and operatic vocal literature with the legendary Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Gèrard Souzay, Dalton Baldwin, Lazlo Halasz, Hugues Cuènod, Nico Castel, Frank Corsaro, Camilla Williams, Judith Raskin, Lucy Shelton, Peter Serkin, Pierre Vallet, and Rosemarie Landry. In master classes she has sung for, among others, Nicolai Gedda, Giorgio Tozzi, and Maureen Forrester. She has 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 The Crane School of Music since 2000. In addition to teaching voice and diction classes at Crane, she co-directs the Nanjing International Summer Vocal Program with her Chinese colleague, Professor Zhou Jie, and has taught at Hunter College and the Miami University Frost School of Music Summer Program in Salzburg. She has taught workshops in Preparing a Successful College Audition throughout New York State and has taught poetry, English, drama, and music students in several artist residencies at Hamilton College. She is a contributor to the online diction resource "The Diction Police" as an International Phonetic Alphabet transcriber for German and Italian repertoire, as well as editing their online diction books Chantez ! An Interactive Handbook of French Diction for Singers and Sing mal! An Interactive Handbook of German Diction for Singers. A longtime member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), Massell was chosen for the 2003 NATS Intern Program in their acclaimed voice teaching internship, as well as having served on the board of the NATS Central NY Fingerlakes Chapter. She holds a B.A. degree with Honors in Music from Hamilton College, a Master's degree from The Mannes College of Music, and a Doctorate from the Université de Montréal, where the focus of her thesis was the French composer, Lili Boulanger. Students from Dr. Massell's studio are working as skilled and beloved music teachers in public and private schools all over the United States and have taught at the Crane School of Music as Guest Adjunct Professors; as operatic performers, they have worked at the Metropolitan Opera, Utah Opera, Arizona Opera, Colorado Opera, Portland Opera, Lincoln Center Theater, and in Germany at the Opernhaus Wuppertal, Landestheater Detmold, Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, and Theater Kiel; Musical Theater performers are featured as vocal and dance leads in regional theater and national Broadway tours; students have attended prestigious Young Artist Programs such as Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Merola Opera Program, Santa Fe Opera, Arizona Opera, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Utah Opera, Colorado Opera, Saratoga Opera, Tanglewood Music Center, Glimmerglass Opera, Seagle Music Colony, Ohio Light Opera and College Light Opera Company; they have attended graduate programs at The Juilliard School, University of Southern CA, Indiana University, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, Bard College, Boston University, Penn State University, Westminster Choir College, McGill University, Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, and Hochschule für Musik Hans Eisler Berlin; awards include district, regional, and semi-finalists of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (now the Laffont Competition), First Place George London Foundation, First Place Mildred Miller International Competition, First Prize Partners for the Arts Competition, Quarter Finals of the Monte Carlo Voice Masters Competition, and First Place in many NATS Student Competitions. Alumni from her studio have won the 2022, 2023, and 2024 SUNY Potsdam Rising Star Award. Dr. Massell is a fervent supporter of non-profit organizations at the local level. Her belief in animal rescue and welfare led her to serve on the boards of the Potsdam Humane Society and the Potsdam Community Dog Park (an entity she helped found). She has been the coordinator, host, and liaison for the Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD broadcasts shown at the Potsdam Roxy Theater from 2008-2022, and won a SUNY Potsdam President's Award for her work on this project as well as for the Dog Park. As an advocate for local, organic, and fair-trade food, she has served on the board of the Potsdam Food Co-op. While supporting community arts programs she became a board member with the St. Lawrence County Arts Council and has volunteered through the Crane Opera Ensemble's Educational Outreach Program. She offers a "Workshop in Vocal Performance: A Window into One Crane Studio" yearly on SUNY Potsdam's Family Weekend; She has also served on the Service Learning and Sustainability Task Forces, and brings her studio to sing for hospitals and nursing homes throughout the community. She is the Faculty Advisor for the Crane Opera Club and a member of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Task Force. In her time off, she can be found walking her dog, Shika, all over the beautiful North Country. More Info	masseldp@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3193
Peter M. McCoy Professor: Music Education Crane School of Music Peter M. McCoy Professor: Music Education Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A329 mccoypm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3210 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	mccoypm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3210
Douglas J McKinnie Audio/Video Engineer Crane School of Music Douglas J McKinnie Audio/Video Engineer Crane School of Music Crane Music Center B113 mckinndj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2442 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	mckinndj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2442
Karen L Miller Administrative Assistant 2 Crane School of Music Karen L Miller Administrative Assistant 2 Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C136 millerkl@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3418 More Info	millerkl@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3418
Kathleen A Miller Associate Professor: Voice and Chair, Vocal Performance Department Crane School of Music Kathleen A Miller Associate Professor: Voice and Chair, Vocal Performance Department Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C322 millerka@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2426 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	millerka@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2426
Ryan M Mix Senior Piano Technician Crane School of Music Ryan M Mix Senior Piano Technician Crane School of Music Crane Music Center B174 mixrm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2468 Ryan Mix (BMus Ed '04) presently serves as the Senior Piano Technician for the Crane School of Music and manages the service needs of over 100 Steinway pianos. He is proud to return to his alma mater after two decades of experience teaching, and studying and practicing as a piano technician. Ryan first began to develop interest in the field of piano technology shortly after graduating from Crane while working as a Stage Technician at the Tanglewood Music Center (Lenox, MA). His formal training is rooted in large music schools: The University of Western Ontario (London, ON) where he earned a Certificate in Piano Technology and Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL) where he earned his Master's in Music in Piano Technology and spent one year walking tight wire in the collegiate Flying High Circus. He then served as the Piano Technician at Luther College (Decorah, IA), managing nearly 100 pianos and planned for their piano rebuilding and replacement endeavors. Ryan has studied and worked extensively with the unique challenges of large piano inventory management. He also takes pride in offering exceptional concert service for Music Mountain (Falls Village, CT) and Tanglewood, and has rebuilt actions for Steinways and other fine pianos at Flynn Pianos (Great Barrington, MA). Ryan draws on experiences from a wide range of education and employment. He has taught beginning band and orchestra for the Rochester City School District (NY) and helped adults working toward independence and needing various degrees of in home and community living support as a Life Skills Trainer at Opportunity Homes (Decorah, IA) and as a Life Skills Coach at the College Internship Program (Lee, MA). Ryan maintains an active membership as a Registered Piano Technician with the Piano Technicians Guild. Ryan currently lives in Potsdam, walks to work, and is dedicated to advancing the musical arts in the community. Ryan thanks Beverly, his vegetable oil powered bus for its mechanical challenges which lead him to his career in piano technology. More Info	mixrm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2468
Andre G Mount Professor: Music Theory Crane School of Music Andre G Mount Professor: Music Theory Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A315 mountag@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2459 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	mountag@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2459
Shanti Nachtergaele Assistant Professor Crane School of Music Shanti Nachtergaele Assistant Professor Crane School of Music nachtes@potsdam.edu More Info	nachtes@potsdam.edu
Jacob D Nance Visiting Assistant Professor: Saxophone Crane School of Music Jacob D Nance Visiting Assistant Professor: Saxophone Crane School of Music nancejd@potsdam.edu As a composer and multi-genre musician, saxophonist Jacob Nance (b.1999) aims to use his refined knowledge of the instrument to create genre-blurring art that stimulates intellectual discussion while fostering emotional connection for all audience members. Through performance he strives to share his reflection on the human experience, programming a wide array of works ranging from folk music to the avant-garde in an effort to build community through representation. As a classical saxophonist, Jacob has achieved success through merging his own creative visions with the multitude of aesthetics presented by composers. These achievements can be evidenced through numerous competition accolades including: being named a quarter finalist in the 8th International Adolphe Sax Competition in Dinant, Belgium, winning second prize in the Music Teacher's National Association's Young Artist Woodwind competition, winning the University of Oklahoma's Young Artist Competition, and performing the Glazunov Concerto as the featured soloist with the Conroe Symphony Orchestra. Jacob is also an active proponent of new music for solo saxophone, having premiered works by Eileen Snyder, Ayako Pederson-Takeda, and Jake Sandridge, as well as being a member of numerous consortiums for new repertoire. As a chamber musician, Jacob brings a wealth of knowledge and performance experience. He performs as the soprano saxophonist with Sound Session, a saxophone quartet formed in August of 2021, the alto saxophonist with Halite, a saxophone quartet formed in June of 2024, and the baritone saxophonist with Codex, a saxophone quartet formed in July of 2019. Each of these groups has enjoyed successes through competition, winning prizes at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition, the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition, the NOLA ChamberFest competition, and the Barbara Wagner Chamber music competition. In addition to the quartet activities, he is also the saxophonist with Dead Reed Society, a reed quintet formed at the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival in 2023. Jacob is a co-founder and member of the SiP Duo, a group which fosters diversity in saxophone music through both the commissioning of underrepresented artists and the recording and live performances of unique and nontraditional works. They recently released Saxophone in Progress, an album of eight commissioned works by underrepresented composers. SiP has had successes with various grants and competitions, including the City of East Lansing's Cultural Art Grant as well as Michigan State University's Running Start Competition, where they were selected as the first prize winner and audience favorite. As a proponent of jazz music, Jacob has released an album with his combo The Way Out. He has been active in Michigan State University's jazz program, being in Jazz Orchestra I under the direction of Rodney Whitaker, where the band placed third in the 2023 Jack Rudin Collegiate Jazz Competition, as well as in the Jazz Octet and Combo program. Jacob is an avid jazz composer as well, having composed and performed over a dozen original works with various combos. He has been frequently seen performing around the Oklahoma City area, as well as Mid-Michigan. An emerging composer, Jacob searches for truths by merging popular music's stylings within the realm of art music to transcend any particular genre and instead reach strictly for emotion. His works have been performed at various recitals and festivals across the country. He has been commissioned by many ensembles and individuals, including Joseph Lulloff, Jonathan Nichol, Jeffrey Allardyce, FLYDLPHN, Tyler Young, Clap7 Saxophone Quartet, Simian Duo, Lati2de, and numerous others. Jacob graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Music and Michigan State University with a Masters in Music. He is currently finishing work on a Doctorate in Musical Arts at Michigan State University. He has served as Instructor of Saxophone at the Flint Institute of Music in addition to keeping a robust private studio. Jacob's primary teachers include Professor Joseph Lulloff, Dr. Jonathan Nichol, Professor Jay Wilkinson, and Dr. James Barger. More Info	nancejd@potsdam.edu
Jamie M Niles Administrative Assistant 1 Crane School of Music Jamie M Niles Administrative Assistant 1 Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C133 nilesjm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2417 More Info	nilesjm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2417
Risa Okina Assistant Professor: Music Theory & Accompanying Crane School of Music Risa Okina Assistant Professor: Music Theory & Accompanying Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C206 okinar@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2458 Risa Okina is a theorist and collaborative pianist who has performed throughout the United States and Japan. Before moving to upstate New York, she was a much-sought-after collaborative pianist in the Philadelphia Area and regularly performed with students and local musicians. She has also collaborated with many local opera and theater groups, including the Philadelphia-based opera company, ENAensemble. She was a member of the Toradze Piano Studio, where she studied with the world-renowned pianist Alexander Toradze. She performed regularly at the Toradze Studio Recital series during her master's program. Risa received her Ph.D. in Music Theory from Temple University, where she has taught both written and aural music theory. Her dissertation "Brahms and The Uncanny" explores the musical uncanny in the piano chamber music of Johannes Brahms, utilizing the notion of the uncanny from the perspective of the German philosophers Ernest Jentsch and Sigmund Freud. Her primary argument is that the musical uncanny acts as a hermeneutic window to reach a deeper musical meaning, which can open us up to unique interpretations. Her research interests include Sonata Theory, Musical Semiotics, Musical Narrative, Psychoanalysis, Schenkerian Analysis, and Hermeneutic Analysis of the music of Johannes Brahms and other 19th-century composers. Her work has been presented in both national and international conferences, including the International Brahms Conference in Irvine, CA (2019), Music Theory Midwest Annual Conference and the Society for Music Theory Annual Metting (2020). She was also invited as a guest scholar for the Performance and Analysis Graduate Seminar at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, where she performed Brahms's Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 108 and discussed how our analysis and hauntological reading of the piece could shape our interpretations and performance. This past summer, she presented at two international conferences: The 29th European Association for Music in Schools (EAS) Conference, Belgrade, Serbia, and the 15th International Congress on Musical Signification, Barcelona, Spain. She holds a MM in music theory from Temple University, a MM in piano performance at Indiana University South Bend, and a baccalaureate degree from the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Japan. She has served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Theory at Temple University, a pianist for the Villanova Singers and the Main Line Singers, as well as Rowan University, and West Chester University, and an organist for Trinity Reformed UCC in Collegeville, PA, and Emanuel UCC in Philadelphia, PA. More Info	okinar@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2458
Sue S Olinsky Adjunct Instructor: Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music Sue S Olinsky Adjunct Instructor: Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music olinskss@potsdam.edu More Info	olinskss@potsdam.edu
Shantelle M Przybylo Visiting Assistant Professor: Voice Crane School of Music Shantelle M Przybylo Visiting Assistant Professor: Voice Crane School of Music przybysm@potsdam.edu Dr. Shantelle Przybylo is a lyric soprano who has been renowned for her "lush and soaring voice" throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Miss Przybylo has completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts, specializing in voice pedagogy at the University of Toronto. Shantelle is a past member of the prestigious Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera. At WNO, she sang Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Pamina and Papagena in The Magic Flute, and Giannetta in L'Elisir d'Amore. Noted for her "clear sounding voice and excellent, Mozartian sense of style," Miss Przybylo has performed many of the Mozart title roles, including Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, on tour with Nederlandse Reisopera, and at the acclaimed Het Concertgebouw. Recent roles include, Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos, Mimì in La Bohéme, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. Other roles include, Semiramide in Semiramide, Hanna in The Merry Widow, Arminda in La Finta Giardiniera, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Adalgisa in Norma, Miss Titmouse in Too Many Sopranos, Nataliya in Oksana G, and Edith in The Pirates of Penzance. Equally well-versed in art song, orchestral, and musical theatre repertoire, Shantelle has performed as a soloist with The National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Cathedral Baroque Orchestra, The Apollo Orchestra, Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Southern Ontario Lyric Opera, and Banff Festival Orchestra. Miss Przybylo has experience teaching students of all ages, and enjoys teaching both classical, and contemporary commercial music. Dr. Przybylo's dissertation research on The Effects of Chemotherapy Treatment for Hodgkin Lymphoma Cancer on the Singing Voice was featured at the 53rd Conference of The Voice Foundation Symposium, and will also be presented at the 11th International Congress of Voice Teachers. Shantelle is a Regional finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and winner of the Prix Jeune Espoir Lyrique Canadien in the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques competition. More Info	przybysm@potsdam.edu
Jill A Roberts Adjunct Instructor: Band Crane School of Music Jill A Roberts Adjunct Instructor: Band Crane School of Music robertja@potsdam.edu Jill Roberts is a 1990 graduate of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. She is the current Band Director at Madrid-Waddington Central School and the Instructor of Woodwinds for St. Lawrence University. Her teaching responsibilities at Madrid-Waddington include all instrumental instruction for the district in grades 5-12. Her position includes directing 5 ensembles including 5th Grade Band, 6th Grade Band, 7th-8th Grade Band, High School Concert Band and Jazz Band, and all small group lesson instruction for each student. In her position at St. Lawrence University, she provides all woodwind instruction and directs a chamber clarinet ensemble. Mrs. Roberts recently had the privilege of guest directing the SLU Wind Ensemble for the Spring 2023 semester. She also maintains a private studio and has been teaching private clarinet lessons for 30+ years to students of all ages and abilities. Mrs. Roberts is an active clarinetist who performs regularly with the Orchestra of Northern New York, often as guest principal. She is also a long-standing member of the Northern Symphonic Winds Wind Ensemble, most currently on Eb and 1st clarinet. She was a featured performer at the 2022 Crane Single Reed Summit and also a featured soloist with our local Potsdam Community Band in 2020. Mrs. Roberts is also included on multiple featured recordings with Kendor Music with the Potsdam Clarinet Quartet as part of multiple clarinet quartet collections and single works arranged by Richard Johnston. As an active clinician and guest conductor, Mrs. Roberts has been a member of multiple educational panels for the NY State Band Directors Association and the Crane Single Reed Summit sessions in past years. She has also guest conducted and presented professional development sessions for the St. Lawrence County Music Educators Association. Mrs. Roberts is also an active composer of band music and educational materials for young instrumental students. Mrs. Roberts is the Region 5 Representative for the New York State Band Directors Association (NYSBDA), a certified NYSSMA Woodwind Adjudicator and a member of the Northern Symphonic Winds Executive Board. Mrs. Roberts is also chairperson for the newly formed Orchestra of Northern NY Music Educators Advocacy Committee, working to further connect the orchestra and our local schools. Mrs. Roberts is also a member of Women Band Directors International (WBDI) and the International Clarinet Association (ICA). In January 2021, Mrs. Roberts was the recipient of the Citation of Excellence Award from the National Band Association for her leadership, service and outstanding contribution to bands and band music throughout her career. More Info	robertja@potsdam.edu
Paul W Roy Assistant Professor: Choral Music Education Crane School of Music Paul W Roy Assistant Professor: Choral Music Education Crane School of Music roypw@potsdam.edu P. Wesley Roy worked as a public high and middle school teacher for ten years, where he taught choirs, music theory, private voice lessons, and musical theater. He has served on county and state boards for the Florida Vocal Association and the American Choral Directors Association, and he has performed nationally and internationally with the Festival Singers of Florida. Wesley is a firm advocate for furthering educational opportunities and accessibility for students and teachers with the ultimate goal of using our art for the service of others. His current work involves designing performance practice resources for teachers and studying the effects of social justice music in our ever-changing choral landscape. He has presented at state and national professional conferences on stress management for performing arts teachers, community-building, student leadership, and Baroque performance practice. Wesley completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Miami, where he directed the Frost Symphonic Choir, taught conducting and vocal methods, and organized the annual high school honor choir event. He also served as the Assistant Conductor Fellow for the GRAMMY®-nominated professional ensemble, Seraphic Fire. Prior to his work in schools, he received a Master of Music Education in Choral Conducting from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Syracuse University. As a native upstate-New Yorker, he is thrilled to be part of the faculty at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. In his free time, he enjoys cuddling with his sweet little dachshund. More Info	roypw@potsdam.edu
Jill M Rubio Adjunct Instructor: Flute Crane School of Music Jill M Rubio Adjunct Instructor: Flute Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A123 rubiojm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2424 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	rubiojm@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2424
Philip F Salathe Visting Assistant Professor Crane School of Music Philip F Salathe Visting Assistant Professor Crane School of Music salathpf@potsdam.edu The music of Phil Salatheé 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. He studied composition at Bennington College, the University of Hartford, and Stony Brook University (Ph.D., 2014), where he served on the faculty in 2015 before coming to the Crane School of Music in 2016. His teaching history includes courses in music theory and analysis, composition, aural skills, music technology, and jazz theory and improvisation, among other topics. 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	salathpf@potsdam.edu
Timothy L Savage Adjunct Instructor: Music Education Crane School of Music Timothy L Savage Adjunct Instructor: Music Education Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A335 savagetl@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2776 Tim Savage is a native of Malone, NY where he began performing professionally at age 16. He holds a Bachelor of Science (1984) and Masters (1996) in Music Education from the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam. He recently retired from a fulfilling 32-year career as a public school music educator in the Malone, Watertown, Carthage, Heuvelton, and Canton Central School Districts. As an adjunct at Crane since 2012, Tim has taught courses and directed ensembles in Jazz, Saxophone Techniques, Secondary Wind Practices, and supervises student teachers in the North Country region. Adjunct at St. Lawrence University since 2005, he has directed the Chamber Winds, the Wind Ensemble, and, since its launch in 2007, the Improv Lab. He also teaches private saxophone and jazz piano lessons and is the band leader for the Gospel Choir at SLU. Over the past four decades, Tim has conducted a number of All-District, All-County, and Area All-State Bands and Orchestras. As a clinician, Tim has presented at NYSSMA and NYSBDA statewide conferences. Most recently, session titles have included Teaching through Modeling - Every Time, Twenty Top Titles for Jazz Ensemble, Jamming with Your Students and On-The-Spot Arranging, and All Blues and After That! Proven-to-Emerging Pedagogies in Jazz and Modern Band Education. Tim is past president of the board of directors of the Orchestra of Northern New York, past chairperson for the New York State Band Directors Association Honor Jazz Ensemble, served as Director of Jazz for Crane Youth Music from 1996-2019 and continues to serve as treasurer of the Crane School of Music Alumni Association (since 1999) and as a board member for the Northern New York Community Foundation. More Info	savagetl@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2776
Jonathan G Schaller Assistant Professor: Music Education Crane School of Music Jonathan G Schaller Assistant Professor: Music Education Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A301 schalljg@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2948 Jonathan Schaller is assistant professor of music education at SUNY Potsdam. He teaches courses in instrumental (band) and general music teaching practices. He received his PhD in music education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. While at Illinois, Jon was a teaching assistant for music education courses in technology, differentiation, adolescent music-making, and choral and instrumental teaching methods. He was also a student teaching supervisor. 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. He holds a Master of Music in music education from Duquense University and a Bachelor of Science in music education and applied saxophone from Indiana Wesleyan University. 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 book chapters in the edited volume Music Education on the Verge: Stories of Pandemic Teaching and Transformative Change and the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Gender and Queer Studies in Music Education. He has presented at national and international conferences for the College Music Society, American Educational Research Association, the Society of Music Teacher Education, Society of Research in Music Education, as well as Desert Skies Symposium for Music Teaching and Learning, New Directions in Music Education, MayDay Group Colloquium, and QMUE: LGBTQ Studies and Music Education. He has also presented clinics and research at state music education conferences in Delaware, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania. More Info	schalljg@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2948
Kathryn D. Sherman Professor: Piano Pedagogy Crane School of Music Kathryn D. Sherman Professor: Piano Pedagogy Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C102 shermakd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3230 Kathryn Sherman, 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	shermakd@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3230
Colleen E Skull Associate Professor: Voice Crane School of Music Colleen E Skull Associate Professor: Voice Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C321 skullce@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3147 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. More Info	skullce@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3147
Jerod P Sommerfeldt Associate Professor: Music Theory & Composition Crane School of Music Jerod P Sommerfeldt Associate Professor: Music Theory & Composition Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A101 sommerjp@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2446 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	sommerjp@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2446
Luke J Spence Assistant Professor: Trumpet Crane School of Music Luke J Spence Assistant Professor: Trumpet Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A106 spencelj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2436 http://www.lukespencetrumpet.com Dr. Luke Spence leads a dynamic career as a performer, recording artist, educator, and arts advocate. Since 2022, he has served on the faculty of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he is also co-principal trumpet of the Orchestra of Northern New York and a member of the Potsdam Brass Quintet. Additionally, he performs with the innovative ensemble Anima Brass and is a performing artist for S.E. Shires Co. and Denis Wick Products. Praised by Fanfare Magazine for his "great artistry," labeled "exquisite" by the International Trumpet Guild Journal, and hailed as "a true expert in phrasing" by the NACWPI Journal, Spence is known for his contributions to the genre of vocal transcriptions. His debut solo album, 20th Century Art Songs, highlights rarely explored repertoire and was named a 2023 finalist for The American Prize. With Anima Brass, Spence appears on All Life Long, an album featuring the music of acclaimed post-minimalist composer Kali Malone. Upon its release, All Life Long was named Pitchfork's "Best New Album," The Guardian's "Album of the Week," rose to the #4 spot on Billboard's Classical Crossover chart, and received a Swedish Grammy nomination for Classical Album of the Year. Critics have called Anima's contributions "enthralling," capable of leaving listeners in "a state of transcendental bliss." As an orchestral freelancer, Spence has performed with numerous ensembles including the National Philharmonic, South Florida Symphony, Fairfax Symphony, Lancaster Symphony, Reading Symphony, Mid Atlantic Symphony, and the Washington Chamber Orchestra. His career has brought him to sold-out performances at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, as well as tours across the U.S., Europe, and China. He has shared the stage with world-renowned artists such as Denyce Graves, Leon Fleischer, Thomas Hampson, Joshua Bell, Gordon Lightfoot, Leon Bridges, and Jennifer Nettles. A firm believer in music's power to inspire social change, Spence is General Manager and founding Board of Directors member for the International Pride Orchestra (IPO), a global LGBTQIA+ nonprofit that unites musicians to perform, build community, and support queer causes. During 2025 WorldPride, IPO presented a landmark concert at Strathmore Concert Hall after being disinvited from the Kennedy Center. From 2023-2025, Spence served as Co-Chair International Trumpet Guild (ITG) committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. During his time as Co-Chair, he helped create the Langston J. Fitzgerald III Legacy Scholarship and fought for visibility for underrepresented groups at ITG's annual conferences. Spence holds a DMA and MM from the University of Maryland and a BM from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he was the recipient of the 2014 James Stamp Award. More Info	spencelj@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2436
Brianne A Sterling Music Education Field Experience Coordinator Crane School of Music Brianne A Sterling Music Education Field Experience Coordinator Crane School of Music sterliba@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	sterliba@potsdam.edu
Nathan T Strock Adjunct Instructor: Voice Crane School of Music Nathan T Strock Adjunct Instructor: Voice Crane School of Music strocknt@potsdam.edu Nathan Strock, Bass-baritone, is an Assistant Instructor of Voice at the Crane School of Music. He holds a Master's of Music in Music Performance from SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Nathan has always been an avid performer, from his early days in middle school musicals to traveling across the east coast, bringing performances of famous operas to a wide range of cities. Strock can frequently be found touring with Teatro Lirco D'Europa in New York, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida to name a few. Nathan has been on stage performing operas since 2015, with roles such as Leporello and Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni), Count Ceprano, Marullo, and Monterone (Rigoletto), Don Alfonso (Cosí fan tutte), Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola), Marchese d'Obigny (La Traviata), and most recently, Il Sagrestano (Tosca). More Info	strocknt@potsdam.edu
Michael Struzik Adjunct Instructor, Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor and Director Crane Youth Music Crane Youth Music, Crane School of Music Michael Struzik Adjunct Instructor, Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor and Director Crane Youth Music Crane Youth Music Crane School of Music struzimj@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	struzimj@potsdam.edu
Jessica R. Suchy-Pilalis Professor: Music Theory, Harp Crane School of Music Jessica R. Suchy-Pilalis Professor: Music Theory, Harp Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A118 suchyjr@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2447 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	suchyjr@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2447
Lorraine Yaros Sullivan Associate Professor: Voice Crane School of Music Lorraine Yaros Sullivan Associate Professor: Voice Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C324 sullivly@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2420 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	sullivly@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2420
Timothy R Sullivan Professor: Music Theory & Composition and Chair, Music Theory, History, Composition Department Crane School of Music Timothy R Sullivan Professor: Music Theory & Composition and Chair, Music Theory, History, Composition Department Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A314 sullivtr@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2684 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	sullivtr@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2684
Rosemarie Suniga Associate Professor: Functional Keyboard Crane School of Music Rosemarie Suniga Associate Professor: Functional Keyboard Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A127 sunigar@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3244 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	sunigar@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3244
Young-Ah Tak Associate Professor: Piano Crane School of Music Young-Ah Tak Associate Professor: Piano Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C108 taky@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3190 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	taky@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3190
Rae J Teeter Adjunct Instructor: Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music Rae J Teeter Adjunct Instructor: Off-Campus Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music teeterrj@potsdam.edu Rae Jean Teeter has most recently served as a Visiting Lecturer in Voice at Skidmore College for the Spring 2024 term and has been Adjunct Professor of Music/Teaching Artist at The College of Saint Rose since 2021 where she taught courses in Choral Music Education, Theory and Aural Skills, and private vocal lessons. She retired from Guilderland Central School District as the Director of Vocal Music in June of 2021. Mrs. Teeter also served as the Director of the Empire State Youth Orchestra Melodies of Christmas Chorale from 2012 - 2022. While at Guilderland, Professor Teeter developed a choral curriculum that was recognized throughout the state for its excellence in performance and the use of Music Learning Theory and Laban Movement Theory to develop the aural skills and total musicianship of her singers. Mrs. Teeter received her bachelor's degree from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Donald Neuen (conducting) and Masako Toribara (voice). She received her master's degree from The College of Saint Rose. She has done extensive post graduate work at the Westminster Choir College where she has studied with such notable choral masters as James Jordan, Bruce Chamberlain, and Weston Nobel. Mrs. Teeter served as the NYACDA High School Repertoire and Standards chairperson from 2005-2008 and is a contributing author for "Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir Vol. 2" published by GIA music. Rae Jean is also currently serving as the NYSSMA Adjudication Festival Committee Voice Chairperson and has been a guest conductor for many all-county, regional, and area all-state choruses throughout the state. She has presented sessions for ACDA, GIML and NAfME (MENC) at both the state and regional levels, speaking on the development of the male voice, repertoire selection, Laban Movement Theory, and methods for developing musical literacy in choral singers. She maintains an active private studio with locations in Guilderland and Schoharie, and currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Schoharie Valley Singers and the Music Director/Organist at the Helderberg Reformed Church. More Info	teeterrj@potsdam.edu
Shelly Tramposh Professor: Viola Crane School of Music Shelly Tramposh Professor: Viola Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C308 tramposh@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2443 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	tramposh@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2443
Jess B. Tyre Associate Professor: Music History Crane School of Music Jess B. Tyre Associate Professor: Music History Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A304 tyrejb@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3247 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	tyrejb@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3247
James Uzzi Adjunct Instructor, Student Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music James Uzzi Adjunct Instructor, Student Teaching Supervisor Crane School of Music uzzijc@potsdam.edu More Info	uzzijc@potsdam.edu
David K Via Visiting Assistant Professor: Music Business Crane School of Music David K Via Visiting Assistant Professor: Music Business Crane School of Music viadk@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	viadk@potsdam.edu
Michael A Vitalino Associate Professor: Music Theory Crane School of Music Michael A Vitalino Associate Professor: Music Theory Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A321 vitalima@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3478 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	vitalima@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3478
Andrew L Voelker Visiting Assistant Professor: Vocal Coaching/Accompanying Crane School of Music Andrew L Voelker Visiting Assistant Professor: Vocal Coaching/Accompanying Crane School of Music Bishop Hall C106 voelkeal@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2033 Vocal coach and pianist Dr. Andrew Voelker brings more than twelve years of experience as a performer, music director, and educator to SUNY Potsdam. Andrew is in demand as a vocal coach, specializing in lyric diction and contemporary score analysis. At the Crane School of Music, they are the music director of the award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble, which presents full productions and workshops of opera and musical theater each semester. In April 2023, Andrew made their Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center debuts with tenor Andrew Lunsford. The duo performed at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium as guest artists for Choirs of America, then appeared in recital at Alice Tully Hall as part of the Masterworks at Lincoln Center series. While serving as Associate Instructor of Collaborative Piano at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, they coached productions of Le nozze di Figaro, La traviata, Little Women, Serse, and L'Incoronazione di Poppea. In the spring of 2023, they assisted in preparing vocal roles for the premiere production of Shulamit Ran and Charles Kondek's opera Anne Frank. Andrew also spent three years as the music director for the graduate opera workshop directed by internationally renowned soprano Heidi Grant Murphy. From 2016-2019, Andrew was an Adjunct Lecturer of Accompanying and Opera Coach at Illinois Wesleyan University. There they were the music director for opera productions and workshops, and performed with students and faculty in recitals and New Music forums. Andrew made their conducting debut at IWU in 2017, directing Menotti's The Medium. In the summer, Andrew has been a Coach/Accompanist at Opera in the Ozarks where they prepared La bohéme and served as music director for the company's education tour. They will return in summer of 2025 to work with young artists in productions of Carmen and The Bremen Town Musicians. A 2018 Opera Coaching Fellow at the Aspen Opera Center, they have also been a music director for productions with Great Lakes Light Opera, Chicago Summer Opera, and Prairie Fire Theatre. From 2014-2017, and again in 2023, Andrew was a member of the collaborative piano staff at the renowned Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. They received the Doctor of Music degree in Collaborative Piano at IU, studying with Kevin Murphy and Anne Epperson. They hold a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees in Piano Performance and Voice from Northern Illinois University. Their teachers and mentors have included Anita Pontremoli, Linda Jones, Walter Huff, William Koehler, and Dana Brown. More Info	voelkeal@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2033
Tracy S Wanamaker Adjunct Instructor: Special Music Education Crane School of Music Tracy S Wanamaker Adjunct Instructor: Special Music Education Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A334 wanamats@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2433 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	wanamats@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2433
Heather L. Wheeler Associate Professor: Functional Keyboard Crane School of Music Heather L. Wheeler Associate Professor: Functional Keyboard Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A125 wheelehl@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3192 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	wheelehl@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-3192
Timothy H Yip Assistant Professor: Music Business Coordinator & Violin Crane School of Music Timothy H Yip Assistant Professor: Music Business Coordinator & Violin Crane School of Music Schuette Hall A322 yipth@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2406 http://www.timyipviolin.com Dr. Timothy Yip has a comprehensive background as a pedagogue, having been involved in the instruction of students at all levels over many years. Before moving to New York, he had taught violin in the San Francisco Bay Area for over a decade. Timothy's expertise has contributed to the success of numerous students, including top-place winners in both regional and national competitions. Additionally, Timothy has adjudicated for the New York MTNA Competition and for several youth orchestras. In his pursuit of a well-rounded skill set, Timothy studied at UCLA's Anderson School of Management and San Jose State University where he earned his MBA. His diverse experience includes establishing an award-winning private studio, assuming management responsibilities at the Division of Diversity at UW-Madison, acting as the founding manager of a youth symphony, leading teams in the software development space, and playing a key role in the launch and support of multiple top-grossing mobile applications. Timothy attended UCLA, UW-Madison for his doctorate, Indiana University (where he served as a teaching assistant to Mimi Zweig), and St. Petersburg Conservatory. To learn more about him, please visit timyipviolin.com. More Info	yipth@potsdam.edu TEL: (315) 267-2406