Faculty + Staff

Education

• B.A., University of California-Santa Cruz
• M.A., University of Washington
• Ph.D., University of Washington

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 246 Theory Written III
• MUSI 247 Theory Aural III
• MUSI 248 Theory Written IV
• MUSI 249 Theory Aural IV
• MUSI 335 Baroque Counterpoint
• MUSI 437 Renaissance Counterpoint
• MUSI 407 Music Theory Seminar

Research Interests

• Collaborative student research projects
• Goethe’s influence on music theorists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
  
• Overtone structures in the music of Debussy
  
• Modality in the music of Prokofiev
  
• Theory pedagogy 

Biography

Gary W. Don is a professor of music theory at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He teaches second-year written theory and aural skills, and upper-division theory courses. He also sponsors independent and collaborative student research projects. He holds a doctorate in music theory from the University of Washington, and he taught theory and aural skills at Skidmore College before joining the UWEC faculty. His research interests include overtone structures in the music of Debussy, modality in the music of Prokofiev, music and mathematics, and theory pedagogy. He has presented papers on these topics at the West Coast Conference of Theory and Analysis, Music Theory Midwest, the Great Lakes Chapter and national conferences of the College Music Society, and at national meetings of the Society for Music Theory. His students have presented their research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. He has published articles in Computer Music Journal, In Theory Only, Perspectives of New Music, Music Theory Spectrum, Musical Insights, and an essay in Analyzing the Music of Living Composers (and Others), Cambridge Scholars Publishing. He is the coauthor of a textbook on mathematics and music with James S. Walker from the Department of Mathematics, UWEC.

Education

• B.M.E, Indiana University
• M.M., Indiana University

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 163/363 Applied Trumpet/Cornet
• MUSI 186/386 Jazz Ensemble
• MUSI 259/459 Jazz Combo
• MUSI 339 Jazz Arranging
• MUSI 341 Jazz Improvisation

Biography

Education

• B.M., University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
• M.M., University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
• D.M.A., Ohio State University

Teaching Interests

• Vocal pedagogy
• Singing health
• Global music

Research Interests

• Samuel Barber
• Mental illness and music

Responsibilities

• Applied Voice

Biography

Diana Cataldi started teaching applied voice in 2005 at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. In 2013, she relocated to Wisconsin to teach voice, Music Appreciation and Global Music at Viterbo University. In 2016, Diana joined the faculty as an instructional academic staff at UW-Eau Claire teaching voice, while she returns to school to study Communication Sciences and Disorders. As a performer, Diana has done a great deal of oratorio with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Choral Arts of Springfield and other region orchestras in Ohio. Operatically, she has performed the roles of Contessa and Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Mercedes in Carmen, Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda. She also spent a summer singing with Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance and was a participant in the Art Song Festival at Baldwin Wallace University. 

Education

• B.A., San Francisco State University (Theatre Studies & Psychology)
• Ph.D., M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison (Theatre Research, Theatre for Youth)

Teaching Interests

• THEA 120 Introduction to Theatre History
• THEA 335 Drama in Education
• THEA 336 Theatre for Youth
• THEA 361/ES 361 Methods for Teaching Theatre Arts
• THEA 421 Touring Theatre

Research Interests

• High School Theatre across the U.S.

Biography

Jennifer Chapman received her Ph.D.in Theatre Research with an emphasis in Theatre for Youth from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her undergraduate work was in both Theatre Studies and Psychology at San Francisco State University. Dr. Chapman conducts research about high school theatre across U.S., and her publications can be found in Youth Theatre Journal, Stage of the Art, as well as in The Oxford Handbook of the American Musical and Ethnodrama: An Anthology of Reality Theatre. Dr. Chapman is an active member of The American Alliance for Theatre &Education (AATE), and she has served on the editorial boards for Youth Theatre Journal and Arts Education Policy Review. Dr. Chapman joined the UWEC faculty in 2008, and previously taught theatre at Albion College in Michigan, Bluffton College in Ohio, and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Education

• B.A., California State University, Fresno
• M.A., Eastern Illinois University
  
• D.M.A., University of Southern California-Thornton School of Music (Percussion Performance)

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 169/369 Applied Percussion
• MUSI 186/386 Jazz Ensemble
• MUSI 198 Percussion Techniques
• MUSI 258/458 Percussion Ensemble

Biography

Education

• B.M., University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (Piano Performance)
• M.M., University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (Piano Performance)

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 104/106 Class Piano
• MUSI 151/351 Applied Piano

Biography

Lori L. Cruciani holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She currently is on staff as an associate lecturer teaching class piano and applied piano. Mrs. Cruciani is an active accompanist on campus as well as in the community. Mrs. Cruciani is a member of the National Federation of Music Clubs and the Music Teachers National Association with teaching emphasis in piano and flute. She is a frequent adjudicator for WSMA and MTNA.

Education

• B.M., Lawrence University (Voice Performance)
• M.M., Northwestern University (Voice Performance)

Biography

Mezzo soprano Julie DeBoer has performed everything from early music to new compositions on the operatic, concert, and recital stage. Recent operatic roles include Third Lady in The Magic Flute at Aspen Music Festival and Zita in both Gianni Schicchi and Buoso's Ghost, a sequel to Gianni Schicchi by composer Michael Ching, at Bay View Music Festival.Ms. DeBoer has performed both as an ensemble singer and as a soloist with many acclaimed choirs in Chicago, including Grant Park Chorus, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Music of the Baroque, Bella Voce, and the William Ferris Chorale. In 2015, she appeared as the alto soloist in Music of the Baroque's performance of the Allegri Miserere mei Deus, and in 2014 she was a soloist in Bella Voce's performance of Handel's Messiah with Chicago's premiere baroque period chamber ensemble, the Callipygian Players. Originally from Western Springs, Illinois, Ms. DeBoer graduated summa cum laude from Lawrence University with a bachelor's degree in voice performance.She holds a master's degree in voice performance from Northwestern University, where she performed the roles of Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Nancy in Albert Herring, and the third spirit in The Magic Flute.Teaching both privately and in a classroom setting has always been her passion;she was an aural skills and music theory teaching assistant at Lawrence University, and she taught a private studio of fifteen undergraduate students at Northwestern University.

Education

• M.M.E., B.M.E., University of Southern Mississippi
• Ed.D., University of Illinois

Teaching Interests

• MUED 411 Secondary Instrumental Teaching Methods
• MUED 135 Conducting Lab
• MUED 421 Seminar in Instrumental Music
• MUED 487 Student Teaching Practicum
• MUSI 421 Marching Band Procedures
• MUSI 182/382 University Band
• MUSI 183 Marching Band
  

Responsibilities

• Blugold Marching Band Conductor
  
• University Band Conductor

Biography

Dr. Randal C. Dickerson is an Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he teaches Principles &Methods of Secondary Music Education, coordinates the student teaching program, conducts the University Band and the Blugold Marching Band. Before coming to Eau Claire, Dr. Dickerson spent 6 years as Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Illinois. There he coordinated student and curricular affairs for the School of Music, Department of Theatre, Department of Dance, and the Art Education Division. During his seven years as a high school band director in Mississippi and Washington, Dr. Dickerson's ensembles were consistently rated superior and amassed awards from many festivals in the U.S. and Canada.

Education

• B.M.E., Heidelberg University
• M.M., Northern Arizona University (Music Teaching)
  
• Ph.D., University of Arizona (Music Education, Educational Psychology)

Certification

• Kodaly Levels I and II
• Orff Levels I and II
• Wisconsin Teaching Certificate
  

Teaching Interests

• Elementary General Music
• Secondary General Music
• Technology

Research Interests

Self-regulation development, students with special needs in the music classroom and co-teaching

Biography

After completing a BME at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, Laura Dunbar taught 10 years in the public schools beginning her career as a band director teaching instrumental music to grades 5-12 at Elmwood Local Schools in Ohio. When her family relocated to Arizona, she accepted a K-8 position in Sedona, Arizona where she taught general, instrumental, vocal, and steel drum music for seven years. While teaching in Sedona, she completed a Master in Music with an emphasis in Music Teaching from Northern Arizona University. She then traveled to the University of Arizona where she graduated with a PhD in Music Education and a minor in Educational Psychology. Laura has presented at local, state, and national conferences and in-service workshops including Arizona Music Education Association, Mountain Lake Colloquium, Desert Skies Symposium, and the Interdisciplinary Society for Quantitative Research in Music and Medicine (ISQRMM). Currently, Laura is Assistant Professor of Music Education, Elementary Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she also serves as Music Education Coordinator. Laura is also serving as a board member and Webmaster for ISQRMM as well as the technology columnist for General Music Today.

Education

• B.M., Indiana University-Bloomington (Oboe Performance)
  
• M.M., University of Colorado-Boulder (Oboe Performance)
  
• D.M.A., University of Colorado-Boulder (Oboe Performance and Pedagogy)

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 159/359 Applied Oboe
• MUSI 110 Music Appreciation 

Research Interests

Oboe literature, oboe pedagogy and chamber music

Biography

Dr. Christa Garvey, Professor of Oboe, has taught at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire since 2003. Her degrees are from Indiana University and the University of Colorado.

Dr. Garvey is a frequent recitalist, orchestral oboist, and chamber musician. She is principal oboist of the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra and Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra, and founding member of the Virtualosity Ensemble. Recent performances include a solo recital in Tokyo, Japan at the 2015 International Double Reed Society Conference, numerous solo and chamber ensemble performances on the Live from the Chazen recital series broadcast on Wisconsin Public Radio, Presentations at the 2012 College Music Society National Conference, the 2012 International Double Reed Society Conference, and performances at the 2011 NACWPI 2011 National Conference and a summer 2010 concert tour in Germany with the Sonora Reed Trio. She is also the State Chairperson for the National Association of Wind and Percussion Instructors (NACWPI).

Dr. Garvey continually questions what it means to be a modern 21st century musician and has made exciting transformations in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation. For instance, the Virtualosity Ensemble uses technology to rehearse in an online environment while the members have been over 500 miles apart. Other projects include oboe demonstrations on Youtube, a well-regarded blog about oboe pedagogy (www.theoboist.blogspot.com), and Oboe For Everyone (www.oboeforeveryone.com), a network of teachers and teaching resources that match expert teachers to any student in the world, regardless of a student's ability to pay for lessons. The program has been an immediate and outstanding success, with participants from around the globe.

Education

• B.M., B.A., Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music (Viola Performance, Neuroscience)
• M.M., G.D., New England Conservatory of Music (Viola Performance)
  
• D.M.A., Rice University (Viola Performance) 

Teaching Interests

• Viola
• Music Theory

Research Interests

•  How people learn and experience music

Biography

Molly Gebrian has distinguished herself as an outstanding performer, teacher, and scholar throughout the US and Europe. Her love of contemporary music has led her to collaborate with many composers, often in premieres of works written for her, and she has worked closely with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and Pierre Boulez for performances at the Lucerne Festival. She recently spent a year in Paris to undertake an intensive study of contemporary music with the violist/composer Garth Knox. In 2011, she designed a performance project entitled "Trios for Two," which resulted in seven brand new works for viola and piano/percussion (one player) with pianist/percussionist Danny Holt. These were performed at a variety of venues in Houston, TX and Los Angeles, CA.Molly has performed most of the viola's standard repertoire in recital and as a soloist with orchestras. She has also performed chamber music with current members of the Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music professors from the Eastman School of Music, the New England Conservatory, and Rice University. In addition to Garth Knox, her principal teachers have been Peter Slowik, Carol Rodland, and James Dunham.Molly completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in viola performance from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music and also holds a Masters of Music and Graduate Diploma in viola performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, and Bachelors degrees from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, in both viola performance and neuroscience. One of her biggest passions is understanding how people learn and experience music, which has led her to collaborate on neuroscience research with leading scientists on music and the brain. In recent years, she has published papers in Frontiers in Psychology, the Journal of the American Viola Society, and has taught a self-designed course at Rice University about music perception, cognition, and understanding the differences between musicians' and non-musicians' brains. At Rice, she was also the assistant director for the first biennial conference on "Exploring the Mind through Music."As a Suzuki certified teacher, Molly has taught violin and viola privately for over 15 years in the US, France, and Germany, and has also served as the violin and viola teacher at the International School of Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany, where she taught weekly lessons to over 50 students, both in small groups and privately. In the fall of 2014, she joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as Assistant Professor of Viola and Music Theory.

Education

• B.M., University of Arkansas
• M.M., University of Wisconsin - Madison
• D.M.A. (In Progress), University of Wisconsin - Madison (Tuba Performance)
  

Teaching Interests

• Euphonium and Tuba
• BASSically Brass

Biography

Originally from Ft. Worth, Texas, Grewe is an active freelance musician and teacher around the state of Wisconsin and is the Lecturer of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He is also principal tubist with the Sheboygan Symphony and Beloit-Janesville Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Kenosha Symphony Orchestra, Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra, and numerous chamber ensembles in and around Madison. His teaching responsibilities have included conducting brass sectionals for the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, teaching tuba and euphonium masterclasses at the University of Wisconsin Summer Music Clinics and University of Arkansas Summer Music Camps. Jacob has also maintained a studio of private lesson students in Madison.
 
Grewe is currently completing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Tuba Performance with a minor in Musicology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Arkansas. His primary teachers are Tom Curry, John Stevens, and Benjamin Pierce.

Education

• B.A., Heidelberg University (Communication and Theatre Arts/English)
• M.F.A., University of Florida (Performance)

Teaching Interests

• Acting
• Classical Acting
  
• Voice and Movement
  
• Improvisation
  
• Directing
  
• Playwriting 

Biography

Arthur Grothe received his M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Florida and has both a B.A. in Communications and Theatre Arts as well as a B.A. in English from Heidelberg University. He has also had additional training from the Stanislavsky Summer Institute, The Lessac Summer Institute, and in Meisner Technique. Prior to joining The University Of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Music and Theatre Department, he worked as Director of Theatre and Fine Arts Department Chair at the University of West Alabama. During his time in Alabama he directed All in the Timing, Almost Maine, Intimate Apparel, Godspell, Twelfth Night,Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Eurydice, Spooky Dog and the Teenage Gang Mysteries, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. A native of Cleveland, OH Arthur has worked on stage with The Cleveland Playhouse, the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Public Theatre, convergence-continuum, The Theatre Ninjas, and Bad Epitaph Theatre Company.

Education

• B.M.E., Concordia College
• M.M., Northwestern University (Horn Performance)

Biography

Charles Hodgson joined the music faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the fall of 2016. Mr. Hodgson is a versatile performer and music educator who is equally comfortable on the concert stage as in the Broadway pit, teaching studio or recording sound set. Chuck was born in Vancouver Washington and raised in the Pacific Northwest. He received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Concordia College, Moorhead MN and his Master of Music degree in Horn performance from Northwestern University in Evanston IL, studying with Dale Clevenger, David Kamminga, Bruce Houglum and Arnold Jacobs. Chuck's performance career includes symphonic work with the Chicago Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Fargo Moorhead
Symphony, St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Elgin Symphony
and Illinois Philharmonic. He is currently a Hornist with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra and is enjoying his 30th season with that organization. He has performed with many Broadway national touring companies, including Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime, Joseph, Beauty and the Beast, Fiddler on the Roof, Evita, Porgy and Bess, Miss Saigon, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Cinderella, Paint Your Wagon, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Les Miserables, South Pacific and Fiddler on the Roof. In addition to his work with the Minnesota Opera, Chuck performs regularly in the Twin Cities with Vocalessence, Minnesota Dance Theater, Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, Minnesota Sinfonia and his brass quintet, the North Shore Brass. He is also a frequent guest artist with the Minnesota Orchestra and St Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Teaching has always been an important part of Chuck's musical life. He has been a band director and horn instructor at Concordia College-Moorhead and an adjunct Instructor of Horn at Bethel and Macalester Colleges in the Twin Cities. In addition, he maintains an active studio out of his St Paul home.

Education

• B.A., The Curtis Institute of Music
• M.A., Yale School of Music
  
• A.D., Yale School of Music
  
• Ph.D., Duke University 

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 150 Beginning Composition
• MUSI 325 Orchestration
• MUSI 309 Electronic Music
• MUSI 260/460 Contemporary Ensemble
• MUSI 170/370 Applied Composition
• MUSI 246 Written Theory III
• MUSI 248 Written Theory IV

Biography

Born in Banciao, Taiwan, Dr. Hsu is an active composer of contemporary concert music. Dr. Hsu has been interested in deriving inspirations from different materials, such as poems, myths, and images. Particularly, however, it is the combination of Chinese elements and western techniques that is a hallmark of her music. Dr. Hsu's music has been recognized with awards from IAWM Search for New Music, the Copland House, KH Tan Competition, Lynn University, music+culture (2009 International Competition), the Sorel Organization (2nd International Medallion Choral Composition Competition and recording grant), the International Harp Society (7th USA International Harp Composition Competition), ASCAP (Morton Gould Young Composer Awards), the Maxfield Parrish Composition Contest, and the Renée B. Fisher Foundation, among others. Her orchestral works have been performed by the London Sinfonietta, the Detroit, the San Francisco, the Spokane, the Toledo Symphony Orchestras, the Nashville Symphony, the American Composers Orchestra, and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra. Chamber works have appeared on programs of the Aspen Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble, Eighth Blackbird, Prism Quartet and Ciompi Quartet.Dr. Hsu received her Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music, Master's degree and Artist Diploma from Yale University and Ph.D. at Duke University. She has also studied at the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Chamber Music Conference and Composers' Forum of the East, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the Aspen Music Festival, Fontainebleau Schools, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Her teachers have included Jennifer Higdon, David Loeb, Roberto Sierra, Ezra Laderman, Martin Bresnick, Anthony Kelley, Scott Lindroth, and Stephen Jaffe.Dr. Hsu's research deals primarily with Asian composers, focusing especially on the concept of cultural fusion. She examines different compositional styles that synthesize Chinese and Western elements to create a new musical aesthetic.

Education

• B.M., Lawrence University
• M.M., University of Illinois
• D.M.A., University of Illinois (Bassoon Performance)
  

Biography

A native of Owatonna, Minnesota, Dr. Trent Jacobs completed DMA and MM degrees from the University of Illinois and received his bachelor's degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Trent is an innovator on the bassoon, expanding the possibilities of electric bassoon amplification and effects processing as the creator of the "Little-Jake" electric bassoon pickup, and actively pursuing non-standard performance opportunities to use these innovations. Trent has become well-known as an authority on bassoon equipment after many years as bassoon specialist Midwest Musical Imports. Trent's musical interests are unique and varied, having a history of jazz guitar and barbershop quartet singing as well as a strong commitment to the performance of contemporary and improvised music. In addition to several rock/jazz bands and active freelancing in the Minneapolis area, Trent serves on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and Anoka-Ramsey Community College.

Education

• B.A., University of Richmond (English)
• M.F.A., Brandeis University (Musicology)
  
• Ph.D., Brandeis University (Musicology) 

Teaching Interests

• DIS 174 Social Justice in Music
• MUSI 405 Music History Seminar
  
• MUSI 338 Jazz History and Analysis
  
• MUSI 303 Music History 1900 to Present
  
• MUSI 229 Music History 1600 to 1900
  
• MUSI 227 Music History to 1600
  
• MUSI 225 World Music
  
• MUSI 114 Evolution of Jazz
  
• MUSI 112 History of Rock and Pop 

Biography

Ryan Jones is an associate professor of music in the Department of Music and Theatre Arts at UW-Eau Claire where he teaches courses in the history of Western art music, world music, and popular music. He received a B.A. in English from the University of Richmond and holds both a Ph.D. and an M.F.A. in Musicology from Brandeis University. Before joining the UW-Eau Claire faculty, Dr. Jones taught at Brandeis, the Walnut Hill School, and Gettysburg College.

Dr. Jones's areas of musicological interest range from symphonic and operatic histories to American art music, jazz, and rock. His dissertation presented the first extensive study of Aaron Copland's only full-length opera, The Tender Land (1954), outlining the potential the composer's final populist work holds both for understanding his aesthetic values and locating their place within American music history. His research has also investigated issues of authenticity in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, traced the educational arc of Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's early training and career in music (Current Musicology, 2006), and examined the challenges of Stan Kenton's early Artistry in Rhythm Orchestra as its leader eschewed dance music from the receding swing era to embrace concert presentations of jazz (Jazz Research Journal, 2008). His publication, "Copland on Wilder: Scoring Existential Theatre in Early American Film" in From Stage to Screen: Musical Films in Europe and the United States 1927–1961 (Brepols, 2012), analyzes the compositional process of Copland's film score for the 1940 cinematic adaptation of Thornton Wilder's original 1938 play, Our Town. Dr. Jones is author of the Instructor's Manual accompanying both Jazz: Essential Listening (W.W. Norton, 2011) and the second edition of its parent text, Jazz, by Scott DeVeaux and Gary Giddins. He is also a contributor to the second edition of the Grove Dictionary of American Music (Oxford University Press).

Additional projects concern the life and music of singer Jo Stafford, social activism in the music of Stevie Wonder, formative stylistic influences upon The Police, and the inventive approaches of Sun Ra. Dr. Jones has shared his work at meetings of the American Musicological Society, the Annual Leeds International Jazz Conference, and the Centro Studi Opera Omnia Luigi Boccherini.

Education

• B.M.E., University of Wisconsin - River Falls
• M.M.E., University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

Responsibilities

• The Singing Statesmen Conductor
• Women's Chorus Conductor
• Symphonic Choir Conductor
  

Biography

Elizabeth Joosten has been a resident of Cameron, WI since 1974. She holds degrees in music education from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (BME) and the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse (MME). Joosten taught vocal music in the Cameron School District for 18 years, where she conducted the Chamber Choir, Women's Chorale, Concert Choir, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Middle School Choir, and taught middle school general music. Prior to her appointment at Cameron, she taught vocal music in the Colfax School District as well as private voice and piano lessons. In 2015 she was appointed to the music faculty at University of Wisconsin-Barron County where she taught courses in theory and ear training. An active pedagogue, Joosten has worked with the Wisconsin State Music Association as a coach for the WSMA High School State Honors Treble Choir and has served as a clinician, adjudicator, and adjudication training facilitator. She joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2016 as Assistant Director of Choral Studies. In her position at UW-Eau Claire, she serves as conductor of The Singing Statesmen, Women's Chorus, University Symphonic Choir, and supervises student teachers. In addition to her duties at UW-Eau Claire, she is the director of the Barron County Singers, the Red Cedar Choir, and is Director of Music at Living Water Lutheran Church in Cameron, WI. Beth is married to Mike Joosten, director of the UW-Barron County Communiversity Band. They have three children, Heidi, Daniel, and Sarah, who have all continued with college degrees in music.

Education

• Conservatoire National Superieur De Musique de Paris, France
• B.M., M.M., The Juilliard School
  
• D.Mus., Manhattan School of Music 

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 108 Advanced Class Piano
• MUSI 151/351 Applied Piano
  
• MUSI 268/468 Piano Ensemble
  
• Piano Literature
  
• Keyboard Accompanying
  
• Advanced Functional Piano 
  
• Written Theory

Biography

Dr. Namji Kim graduated from the National Superior Conservatory of Paris with First Prizes (Premiers Prix) in piano, chamber music, and harmony. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School, and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Her doctoral thesis was a study of prosody in French Operas. Her teachers include among others Gyorgy Sandor, Lucette Descaves, Ventsislav Yankoff. She also performed in master classes given by Olivier Messiaen, Hans Leygraf, and Andrzej Jasinski. A finalist at the Kahn International Piano Competition in Paris and at the Chopin International Competition in Majorca, Ms. Kim's concert schedule has included performances around North America, Europe, Russia, and Korea, where in addition to her recitals she appeared on television and radio broadcasts. Also an active accompanist, Ms. Kim has accompanied singers in the master classes of Ned Rorem and Louise Talma as well as accompanying for the vocal studios of Gabor Carelli, Paul Sperry, Cynthia Hoffmann, and Gary Kendall. Her chamber music activities include performances within various string ensembles and duos with wind and brass instruments notably performances with cellist Paul Kosower, clarinetist Robert Spring, and trumpeter Thomas Pfotenhauer. In addition to her performing, she has published several review essays relating to the interrelationships among philosophy, theology, and music in the Boston College Journal, "Religion and the Arts." Namji Kim is an active pedagogue in chamber music, piano, and music theory. Her activities have included preparing students at the Manhattan School of Music for the doctoral examinations in Music History and Theory, and preparing piano students for the Juilliard School's entrance auditions. In 1994, she was a visiting artist at Yonsei University in Seoul (Korea) where she gave a series of lecture recitals. Before joining the keyboard division faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as an assistant professor of piano, Ms. Kim served on music faculties of Graceland University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. In addition to her teaching and performing, she frequently adjudicates competitions throughout the Wisconsin area. Ms. Kim's area of creative work includes solo and collaborative performances, as well as research on methods that would help physically injured pianists to develop their techniques. Recently, several of her students have found success in graduate programs at the University of Oklahoma, Peabody Conservatory, Arizona State University, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Education

• B.M., University of Alabama
• M.M., D.M.A., University of Southern California-Thornton School of Music (Musical Performance) 

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 160/360 Applied Clarinet
• Woodwind Techniques
  
• Clarinet Choir 

Responsibilities

• Clarinet Ensemble
• Small chamber ensembles

Biography

Melissa Koprowski is Assistant Professor of Clarinet at the University of Wisconsin –Eau Claire. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Alabama, and completed her Master's and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees in music performance from The University of Southern California. While at USC, she was the proud recipient of the prestigious Mitchell Lurie Award. Dr. Koprowski's main teachers include Yehuda Gilad, Danny Granados, Scott Bridges, and Judy Donaldson. 

Dr. Koprowski is an active performer and soloist. She has been awarded first prize in over a dozen international and national competitions, some of which include the International Clarinet Association Young Artist Competition, Pasadena Showcase, MTNA Young Artist (regional and state), Grand prize from the Birmingham Music Club, and a three time first prize recipient of the Alabama Federation of Music Clubs Competition. Dr. Koprowski's soloist career began at the age of 16, performing the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Alabama Youth Symphony. The following year she won the same competition again, making her one of the few to ever solo twice with the youth symphony. She has since been the featured soloist of many groups including the Alabama Wind Ensemble, Huxford Symphony Orchestra, The Master's College, and the USC Thornton School of Music Wind Ensemble, led by world-renown conductor H. Robert Reynolds.

Education

• B.M., Piano Performance and Pedagogy, Puebla State Conservatory - Mexico
• M.M.,Piano Performance, University of North Carolina School of the Arts
• Professional Artist Certificate, Collaborative Piano, University of North Carolina School of the Arts
• Ph.D., Music Education with Emphasis in Piano Pedagogy, University of Oklahoma
  

Biography

Pianist Héctor Landa has entertained audiences in Germany, Spain, Mexico, Belgium, Switzerland, Iceland, and the United States. As a soloist, Dr. Landa has performed with the Greensboro Philharmonic, UACJ Symphony Orchestra, UAT Symphony Orchestra, Puebla State Symphony Orchestra, University of Chihuahua Symphony Orchestra, Secretary of Culture Symphony Orchestra, and the Puebla State Conservatory Orchestra. Landa's artistic journey is highlighted by his European tour presenting Charles Ives' "Concord Sonata" in a series of lecture recitals, a concert with Mexican music at the
International Music Festival of Siglufjörður, Iceland, and a series of chamber
music recitals in Switzerland.

Prizewinner of the Edvard Grieg and the Isaias Noriega de la Vega Piano Competitions, Landa has also received numerous awards, grants, and scholarships throughout his career. Héctor Landa has released two studio recordings of chamber music, the most recent of which, "Remembrances from Home," appeared under the Centaur Record label. A sought-after collaborative pianist, Landa has accumulated years of experience and a vast repertoire as a chamber musician, vocal coach, studio pianist, and collaborator in juries, competitions, and festivals. He co-founded Ensemble Argos, a piano quartet active in the East Coast. His lecture-recital on the Brahms Piano Trio Op. 8 with the Landa-Tang-Snyder trio was awarded the first prize at Research and Performance Day by the Graduate College of the University of Oklahoma.

Dr. Landa studied piano pedagogy with Jane Magrath and Barbara Fast, collaborative piano with Allison Gagnon, and piano performance with Ed Gates, Clifton Matthews, Oscar Tarragó, and Guadalupe Parrondo. He also played in master classes for Robert McDonald, Awadagin Pratt, Konstantin Sherbakov, and Aquiles delle Vigne. Landa currently teaches piano pedagogy, class piano, piano ensemble, and aural theory at the University of Wisconsin –Eau Claire. Prior to this appointment, Héctor Landa served as the vocal coach of the Opera Workshop at the University of Texas –El Paso and taught collaborative piano at the University of Louisiana –Lafayette.

Education

• B.M., Cleveland Institute of Music
• M.M., D.M.A., University of Illinois

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 158/358 Applied Flute

Research Interests

Listen to Tim

Responsibilities

• Flute studio
  

Biography

Tim Lane has played with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfonica de Veracruz, and the Ohio Chamber Orchestra. He has been a soloist and chamber music participant with the Roundtop Music Festival (Roundtop, Texas), the Arcady Music Festival (Bar Harbor, Maine), and with the San Antonio Chamber Players. He is currently a member of the Wisconsin Woodwind Quintet and Les Favorites, a period instrument ensemble. Dr. Lane is an active recitalist and has recorded a solo CD for Zuma Records Inc., "Shards of Glass, Romantic Twentieth Century Flute Music". He has also recorded music for Centaur and Tel Arc. His teachers have included Maurice Sharp, Alexander Murray, and William Bennett. He holds a doctoral degree from the University of Illinois - Champaign/Urbana and wrote his dissertation on "The Relation Between Analysis and Performance of W.A. Mozart's D Major Flute Concerto in Accordance with Conterporaneous Writings". Dr. Lane was a National Flute Association Convention performer competition winner in 1996.

Education

• B.A., Luther College
• M.M., Northwestern University
• D.M., Indiana University of School of Music

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 153/353 Applied Voice
  
• MUSI 345/545 Voice Pedagogy
  
• MUSI 280/480 Opera Workshop

Biography

Tenor Mark Mowry has performed a diverse range of opera, concert, and recital repertoire that reflects his broad musical interests. He has sung leading roles in such operas as Britten's Albert Herring, Curlew River, and The Turn of the Screw [at Snape Maltings Concert Hall in the U.K.), Handel's Acis and Galatea, Mozart's Così fan tutte and Idomeneo, Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges, Smetana's The Bartered Bride, and Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress. As concert soloist he has been heard in the music of Bach (Magnificat, St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion), Britten (Rejoice in the Lamb, St. Nicolas, War Requiem), Handel (Messiah), Haydn (Creation), Mendelssohn(Elijah), Mozart (C Minor Mass, Coronation Mass, Requiem, Solemn Vespers,), John Stainer (Crucifixion), and Vaughan Williams (Hodie), among others. An advocate of the song genre, Mowry has participated in numerous master classes devoted to the subject and led by such noted pianists as Graham Johnson, Roger Vignoles, and Håkan Hagegård; his own recital appearances have occurred both at home in the U.S. and, more recently, in the United Kingdom —first at Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh for the 2001Aldeburgh Festival, and then for his debut recital at London's Wigmore Hall in 2002, for which Graham Johnson was pianist. In addition, his various musical activities have taken him to the cities of Chicago, Dublin, Moscow, Munich, New York, Salzburg, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C.

Education

• B.S., University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (Speech and Theatre)
  
• M.F.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison (Stage Direction)

Teaching Interests

• Directing
• Acting
• Musical theatre
• Stage makeup
• Theatre history and literature
  

Research Interests

• Ancient Greek theatre
  

Biography

Richard Nimke is professor of theatre in the department of Music and Theatre Arts and teaches courses in acting, theatre history, voice and diction, modern drama and musical theatre. Before joining the department, Nimke taught in the Graduate Directing Program at Western Illinois University. He has also taught at Saint Cloud State University in Minnesota and at Viterbo College in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. In addition to academic theatre, he has served as a director and been responsible for casting the acting company for Summer Music Theatre in Macomb, Illinois. He has also directed and served as associate artistic director for Theatre L'Homme Dieu in Alexandria, Minnesota. Nimke received a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Theatre from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Stage Direction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Education

• B.M., Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
• M.M., New England Conservatory (Wind Conducting)
  
• M.M., New England Conservatory (Applied Trombone)
  
• D.M.A., University of Rochester-Eastman School of Music

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 165/365 Applied Trombone
• MUSI 180/380 Symphony Band
  
• MUSI 202 Brass Techniques
  
• MUSI 256/456 Brass Ensemble

Responsibilities

• Symphony Band Conductor
• Brass Ensemble Conductor

Biography

Phil Ostrander is Professor of Trombone and Bands at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where he conducts the Symphony Band, teaches private trombone, and trombone ensemble.  Dr. Ostrander completed his doctoral studies at the Eastman School of Music. Dr. Ostrander received master's degrees in both trombone and wind conducting from the New England Conservatory, as well as a bachelor's and Performer's Certificate from Eastman.  

He has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Kansas City Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the popular chamber groups Rhythm and Brass and the Burning River Brass Ensemble. Currently, he is a member of the IRIS Chamber Orchestra in Memphis, Tennessee under Michael Stern and also Principal Trombone of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra.  He has also performed on broadway shows in Minneapolis –most recently on Spamalot and the Lion King.An accomplished jazz trombonist, Dr. Ostrander has collaborated with jazz artists Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely, Jimmy Heath, Claudio Roditi and Rich Beirach.  He teaches jazz and created the Trombone Workshop at the Shell Lake Arts Camp in northern Wisconsin.  He has recorded on Sony Classical with the Eastman Wind Ensemble and Naxos with the IRIS Orchestra.  Dr. Ostrander is a clinician for the Conn-Selmer Musical Instrument Company.

Education

• B.M., California State University, Stanislaus
• M.M., Indiana University (Voice)
  
• D.M., Indiana University (Voice Performance and Literature)

Teaching Interests

• Applied voice
• Opera studies
• Opera/Musical theatre literature
• Song literature
• Diction for singers

Research Interests

• Italian-Opera especially Bel Canto opera
• Spanish and Latin-American art song
• Art song by opera composers
• Songs of the Great American Songbook
  

Biography

Baritone Kenneth J. Pereira's repertoire encompasses opera, oratorio, art song, musical theater and the Great American Songbook. His operatic roles include Puccini's Marcello in La Bohème, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, and Mozart's Il Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte among others. Dr. Pereira has appeared regularly as a soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Raymond Leppard in works by Beethoven and Haydn. He is also a featured soloist on that orchestra's 2008 recording of classical and traditional Christmas music. Recent performances include his debut with the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra as the baritone soloist for Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, as well as opera and oratorio appearances with the Borgarmaria Lyric Opera and Yuba-Sutter Master Chorale. He recently made his international debut singing scenes from Verdi's La traviata and Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore in gala performances with OperaMaya (Mexico). In addition to those performances, he served as a teaching artist for the company's young artist program. Dr. Pereira has also performed in concert opposite internationally acclaimed sopranos Sylvia McNair and Carol Vaness.

Born and raised in northern California, Dr. Pereira graduated Magna cum Laude from California State University, Stanislaus. He holds a Doctorate of Music in Voice Performance and Literature from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, where he also completed a Master of Music Degree in Voice. As an Associate Instructor of Voice at IU, Dr. Pereira taught studio voice and served as the teaching assistant for the graduate and undergraduate opera workshops. He has studied voice with Joaquina Calvo Johnson and Andreas Poulimenos.

Education

• B.M., University of Wisconsin-Madison (Applied Cello)
• M.M., University of Illinois (Musicology)
  
• Ph.D., University of Illinois (Musicology)

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 225 World Music
• MUSI 227 Music History to 1600
• MUSI 229 Music History 1600 to 1900
• MUSI 303 Music History 1900 to Present
• MUSI 405 Music History Seminar
• HNRS 104 Music and Society
• HNRS 104 Women and Music
• AIS 102 American Indian Expressive Cultures

Research Interests

• Urban Musical Culture in France during the late Middle Ages
• Issues of Diversity and Inclusivity in music curriculum

Biography

Dr. Peters' research interests are wide-ranging. She has done extensive work on urban musical culture in France during the late Middle Ages. In addition to authoring numerous articles on the subject, her book entitled The Musical Sounds of Medieval French Cities: Players, Patrons and Politics was published by Cambridge University Press in 2012. Her interest in issues of diversity and inclusivity in music curriculum is reflected in her article, entitled "Do Students See Themselves in the Music Curriculum?: A Project to Identify Exclusionary Practices and to Create Greater Inclusion," which appeared in an issue of the Music Educators Journal (2016). Her interest in American Indian Studies is reflected in her recent publication entitled, "Unlocking the Songs: Marcie Rendon's Indigenous Critique of Frances Densmore's Native Music Collecting," American Indian Culture and Research Journal (2015).  Currently, she is exploring the early twentieth-century opera by Alberto Bimboni, entitled Winona, which is based on Native American legend surrounding Maiden Rock on Lake Pepin. She has advised numerous faculty-student research projects ranging from issues of change in traditional music of the Hmong in Eau Claire to problems of race in Bizet's Carmen to issues of gender in the history of the music program at UW-EC.

Education

• B.M., University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• M.M., Indiana University
  
• D.M.A., University of Missouri-Kansas City

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 106 Class Piano
• MUSI 108 Advanced Class Piano
• MUSI 151/351 Applied Piano
• MUSI 268/468 Piano Ensemble
• MUSI 315 Piano Pedagogy I
• MUSI 316 Piano Pedagogy II
• MUSI 481 Piano Literature

Biography

Pianist Nicholas Phillips is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he teaches applied piano, class piano, piano ensemble, piano literature, and piano pedagogy. He is active as a soloist and collaborative artist, having performed all across the United States. Recent international appearances include a solo recital in Korea sponsored by the U.S. Embassy, and solo recitals in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Vilnius, Lithuania.

Described by the New York Times as an "able and persuasive advocate" of new music, Phillips' playing has been praised for its "bejeweled accuracy" (Fanfare) and as "razor-sharp yet wonderfully spirited" (American Records Guide).In 2011 he released two CDs on Albany Records: Portals and Passages, featuring piano music by American composer Ethan Wickman, and Boris Papandopulo: Piano Music, featuring solo piano music by the famous 20th-century Croatian composer. His newest CD project, American Vernacular: New Music for Solo Piano (New Focus Recordings), features commissioned works written for him by 10 American composers. Phillips has given lecture-recitals and presentations at a number of international, national, and state conferences, including: a lecture-recital on the piano music of M.K. Ciurlinois in Helsinki, Finland, a performance of new piano works by living Korean women composers at the College Music Society 2011 International Conference in Seoul, presentations on teaching literature by Edward MacDowell and Felix Mendelssohn at the Minnesota (2010) and Wisconsin (2008, 2009) Music Teachers Association State Conferences, and two separate programs on Mendelssohn's Songs without Words at the College Music Society 2009 International Conference in Croatia, and the Seventh Biennial Conference on Music in Nineteenth-Century Britain in Bristol, UK (July, 2009).He authored and presented a paper titled "The Influence of Technology in the Nineteenth Century on Piano Instruments, Technique, and Repertoire" at the 2007 Interdisciplinary Nineteenth-Century Studies Conference, and is the author of "Mendelssohn's Songs without Words Revisited: Culture, Gender, Literature, and the Role of Domestic Piano Music in Victorian England," published by VDM Verlag in 2008.

A native of Indiana, Phillips began formal piano lessons in the preparatory program at Indiana University at the age of ten. He holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music (Doctor of Musical Arts), Indiana University (Master of Music), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude).His teachers include internationally renowned pianists and pedagogues Karen Taylor, Paul Barnes, Karen Shaw, and Robert Weirich.

Education

• M.F.A., Utah State University (Costume Design)

Biography

Amanda received her MFA in Costume Design from Utah State University in 2006 and for the past ten years has served as their Costume Shop Manager and adjunct faculty of costume construction and technology. She has designed costumes for the Old Lyric Repertory Company, Utah Festival Opera &Musical Theatre, and The Grand Theatre. She worked as a costume shop technician for the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Pioneer Theatre Company and also served as a design assistant with NBC's Saturday Night Live. Amanda maintains an extensive record of award winning designs and spent two summers in Washington D.C. at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts showcasing her work and studying alongside renowned designer Ming Cho Lee and Constance Hoffman.Some of Amanda's favorite designs include: Sweeney Todd, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, King Lear, Suessical the Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, South Pacific and An Inspector Calls. Amanda and her husband Landon have two beautiful children; Ruby and Pearl. The Profaizer family is happy to be part of the UW-Eau Claire family and look forward to their new adventure in Wisconsin.

Education

• B.A., University of Alabama
• M.M.E., University of Georgia

Certification

• Fellow, Robert F. Unkefer Academy of Neurologic Music Therapists, Colorado State University

Biography

Lee Anna Rasar has received over 70 grants through the university, over 40 of which involved faculty –student collaborative research in the field of music therapy to assess, develop and revise new curriculum and to integrate the AMTA Professional Competencies into the music therapy program. Follow up work included a series of grants to explore Integrative Learning in music therapy when Rasar served as a UW –System Fellow in this arena for two years. This work was then continued with two faculty –student collaborative research projects to define Integrative Learning in Music Education when there were no longer music therapy students in courses. The most recent research grant was to continue a line of research on the ability of residents on a dementia unit for people in the later stages of dementia to perform complex rhythms.

Rasar received national awards from the American Music Therapy Association for her work in Clinical Practice and for her Service with her presenting at every regional and national conference for over 30 years and with students presenting with her at every national and regional conference for over 20 years to represent the research areas explored in the field, having served as chair of two national committees for over 30 years, including serving as the founding chair, and having served on the original committee that wrote the first certification exam in music therapy, being chosen to continue on as the senior member to provide continuity in the second round of that committee's work, and having served as well as on every Practice Analysis Committee (sets content for the exam) that CBMT has had, and on the Certification Board for Music Therapists as well as on numerous committees for them, including serving as the Board Liaison to the Exam Committee. She maintains her WMTR and her MT-BC and has held them since the inception of both programs. She has served on the Assembly of Delegates for the American Music Therapy Association for 37 years and served as President of both the largest and the smallest regions of NAMT/AMTA.

Rasar works in music therapy private practice and is also an employee of Western Wisconsin Music in Medicine. For the past 26 years she has volunteered many hours weekly at the Eau Claire County Jail, Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center, Sacred Heart Hospital, and Syverson Lutheran Home and on a monthly or bi-weekly basis at Chippewa Manor Nursing Home and at Our House, an assisted living/memory care facility in Chippewa. She also volunteers several times yearly at the Veterans Home in Chippewa Falls and at numerous long –term care centers and for the past 2 years has volunteered weekly at Dove Health Care. She was also chosen by Ft. Hood to help design therapeutic programming for their staff and families after the shooting. She presented anger management sessions at the Super Max prison in Colorado and also presented music therapy sessions and designed programming, taking a student with her who was offered the job at the end of the week, for Just Care, the only privately owned hospital prison in the United States with units for chemotherapy, for dialysis, and for TB –M.

Education

• B.M., Simón Bolivar Conservatory
• M.M., Miami University
  
• D.M.A., University of Arizona
  
• Post-Doc, Royal Conservatory of The Hague
  

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 110 Music Appreciation
• MUSI 156/356 Applied Cello
  
• MUSI 196 String Techniques
  
• MUSI 253/453 Chamber Orchestra
  
• MUSI 255/455 String Ensembles

Responsibilities

• Chamber Orchestra Advisor
• String Ensemble Conductor
  
• Cello Studio

Biography

Born in La Victoria, Venezuela, Dr. Tulio Rondón began his cello studies through El Sistema, quickly moving up to the highest orchestra by age fifteen. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Simón Bolivar Conservatory, his Master of Music from Miami University (Oxford, OH), and completed a Doctoral Degree in performance at the University of Arizona. Pursuing his strong interest in historic performance practice, he continued his studies in The Netherlands, doing two years of post-graduate studies on baroque cello and viola da gamba with Jaap ter Linden and Rainer Zipperling at The Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Dr. Rondón is currently the violoncello professor at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire.

Education

• B.M., University of Missouri-Kansas City
• M.M., Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
  
• D.M.A., University of Missouri-Kansas City

Teaching Interests

• Applied Jazz
• Classical Saxophone
  
• Saxophone Quartets
  
• Jazz Combos
  
• Jazz Improvisation

Biography

Saxophonist Michael Shults has been praised for his "strong, imaginative" improvisations (Downbeat Magazine) and "fresh and intelligent musical ideas" (The Pitch). As a jazz saxophonist, he was a finalist in the 2012 North American Saxophone Alliance Jazz Artist Competition, and was the winner of the Graduate College Soloist category in the 2012 Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards Issue. He was a featured soloist on Bobby Watson's 2010 release The Gates BBQ Suite which reached as high as #4 on the Jazzweek National Radio Airplay Charts. Equally adept as a concert saxophonist, Shults has been praised for his "jaw-dropping" and "authoritative" technique (Bill Brownlee of the Kansas City Star) as a recitalist and has performed by invitation at the North American Saxophone Alliance biennial conference, the College Band Director's National Association conference, and the University of Iowa Festival for New Music.

Michael received dual bachelor's degrees in Saxophone Performance and Jazz and Studio Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, where his instructors were Tim Timmons (classical), Dan Thomas (jazz) and Bobby Watson (jazz). He received a master's degree in Jazz Performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he was a Graduate Teaching Assistant and studied saxophone with James Bunte (classical) and Rick VanMatre (jazz), improvisation with Phil DeGreg, and composition with Kim Pensyl. He completed his doctoral studies at UMKC and was the Teaching Assistant in the classical saxophone studio, studying with Zach Shemon of the PRISM Quartet.

Shults was appointed in the fall of 2014 as Assistant Professor of Music at UW-Eau Claire, where his duties include teaching applied saxophone, jazz improvisation, and chamber ensembles.

Education

• B.M.E., University of Central Florida (Instrumental)
• M.A., University of South Florida (Music Education)
  
• Ph.D., University of Minnesota (Philosophy in Music Education)
  

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 181/381 Wind Symphony
• MUSI 350 Conducting
• MUED 135 Conducting Laboratory
• MUED 401 Instrumental Literature and Conducting

Research Interests

• Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP)
• Conducting
• Repertoire

Responsibilities

• Wind Symphony Conductor
• Concert Bands Director
  
• Concert Band Coordinator

Biography

Dr. John R. Stewart is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Concert Bands at the University of Wisconsin –Eau Claire where he conducts the Wind Symphony, teaches courses in conducting and repertoire, supervises student teachers, and coordinates the concert band program. Under his leadership the Wind Symphony has performed at the International Tuba Euphonium Conference (2014) with soloists Dr. Brian Bowman, Andreas Hofmeir, Timothy Northcut, and Dr. Jerry Young, and the CBDNA/NBA North Central Division Regional Conference (2016). Dr. Stewart maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician throughout the upper Midwest. He completed his Doctorate of Philosophy in Music Education (2013) at the University of Minnesota while studying conducting with Craig Kirchhoff. Dr. Stewart earned his Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Central Florida (1996) and a Master of Arts in Music Education from the University of South Florida (2009).

Prior to his appointment at UWEC, Dr. Stewart was Interim Conductor of the St. Cloud State University Wind Ensemble (Minnesota). Dr. Stewart served as Director of Bands at Saint Cloud High School (Florida) from 1996-2010 where he directed the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Ensemble, Chamber Winds, Percussion Ensemble and Marching Band. In 2006, he earned his National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and in 2008 was named the St. Cloud High School "Teacher of the Year."

Dr. Stewart contributed to Teaching Music through Performance in Band: Solos with Wind Band Accompaniment published by GIA Publications, Inc., and has published articles in Contributions to Music Education and the Minnesota Music Educators Association Journal. His current research interests include Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP) and repertoire. His professional affiliations include College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Education, Wisconsin Music Educators Association, the National Band Association, the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensembles, and Pi Kappa Lambda.

Education

• B.M., Jackson State University (Piano Performance)
• M.M., University of Arkansas (Piano Performance)
• M.M., Northwestern University (Choral Conducting)
• D.M.A., Michigan State University (Choral Conducting)

Teaching Interests

• Conducting
• Music Education

Responsibilities

• Women's Concert Chorale Conductor
• Symphonic Choir Conductor
• Women's Chorus Conductor

Biography

Frank A. Watkins, a native of Omaha Nebraska, taught secondary choral music in Texas for six years. He holds degrees in piano performance from Jackson State University (BM), the University of Arkansas (MM), and choral conducting from Northwestern University (MM) and Michigan State University (DMA). Watkins is in demand as guest conductor and clinician. Recent engagements include the 2013 Mid-Michigan Honor Choir, University of Nebraska Omaha Collegiate Choir Concert Series (2014), Dunn St. Croix Honor Choir (2015), Lakeland All-Conference Honor Choir (2015), University of Nebraska Omaha Middle School Honor Choir (2016), and the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra (2016). Future engagements include the 2016 Great Northern Conference All- Conference Choir and the 2017 Big Nine Festival Honor Choir in Red Wing, MN. He has presented workshops on choral methods for the International Music and Christian Arts Conference, Michigan State University, and the Ohio State University. In 2015 he presented at both the Wisconsin Music Educators State Convention and the National Collegiate Choral Organization National Conference. Watkins joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2014. In 2016, he was appointed Conductor and Music Director of the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra. A dynamic young conductor, Watkins' love and passion are teaching. He believes that in order to educate, you must first inspire! It is his goal to make an impact…not just an impression on the lives of those that follow his baton.

Education

• B.M., Soai University, Japan
• M.M., Indiana University

Teaching Interests

• MUSI 154/354 Applied Violin
• MUSI 184/384 University Orchestra
• MUSI 255/455 String Ensemble

Responsibilities

• University Orchestra Conductor
• String Ensemble Conductor

Biography

Conductor Nobuyoshi Yasuda, a native of Takarazuka, Japan, began his musical studies on the violin at the age of three. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Soai University in Japan and a Master of Music degree from Indiana University, Bloomington. Mr. Yasuda has been an active violin soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Japan. His interest in conducting was sparked by his desire to find new ways to share his passion for music with people.    Mr. Yasuda was appointed as Orchestra Director at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1991, Music Director of the Chippewa Valley Symphony in 1993, and Associate Conductor of the Grand Teton Music Festival in 1999. His performance of Milhaud's Création du monde at the festival was broadcast on National Public Radio, Performance Today in July 2001. He guest conducted the Muncie Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. With the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, he has participated in the educational outreach project, "Arts across Minnesota" granted by the Minnesota State Arts Board, to have residency in a high school;he led 'side by side rehearsal' and gave a concert. Mr. Yasuda made his international conducting debut in Germany with Das Philharmonie Orchester des NDR-Hannover in May, 2003. And in March 2004, he made his Japanese debut with the Osaka Philharmonic.

Education

•  B.S., University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (Kinesiology-Fitness Management)

Education

• B.S., University of Wisconsin-Stout (Apparel Design and Development)
  

Teaching Interests

• Hand and machine sewing skills
• Pattern drafting
• Cutting
• Draping
• Garment fitting
  

Responsibilities

• Support for students, faculty and staff
• Assist the department chair