BANDS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Lecturer
- Lecturer, Bands SDSU
Abigayle Gerdes is an instrumental conductor at San Diego State University as well as in the K-12 public schools. Originally from Northwestern Pennsylvania, Abbie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and a Master of Music degree in Conducting from San Diego State University (SDSU).
Professor Gerdes has been the director of the SDSU Concert Band since Spring of 2016. Under her direction the ensemble has performed works by living, BIPOC, and underrepresented composers as well as giving premiere performances of commissioned works for the group.
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Cello and Chamber Music Hausmann Quartet SDSU
Violist Angela Choong, a native of Columbus, Ohio, began her musical studies at the age of four and has since performed as a violinist and violist throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. A passionate chamber musician, she joined the Hausmann Quartet in 2008, and has collaborated with distinguished artists such as cellist Gary Hoffman, violists Toby Appel, Cynthia Phelps, and Paul Neubauer, pianists James Tocco and Jeremy Denk, and the Alexander String Quartet. Recent engagements include Rockport Music, La Jolla SummerFest, San Francisco Performances, Aspen Music Festival, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Lyricafest, and Blossom Music Festival. Ms. Choong holds advanced degrees in violin/viola performance and chamber music from The Ohio State University, Florida State University, Kent State University and San Diego State University as well as receiving grants to participate in international master classes at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, France.
Her primary mentors were Michael Davis, Charles Castleman, Laura Bossert, and Beth Newdome. She has also studied viola with James Dunham, Jeffrey Irvine, and Yu Jin, and chamber music with the Miami, Emerson, Juilliard, Takacs, and Alexander String Quartets. She was a teaching assistant to violinist Beth Newdome at Florida State University, and to the Alexander String Quartet at San Francisco State University. Ms. Choong plays a d'amore style viola made by Hiroshi Iizuka in Philadelphia in 2006.
Education
BM - The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
MM - Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
MM Chamber Music - Kent State University, Kent, OH
Artist Diploma - San Diego State University
Job Titles:
- Administrative Support Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Director of Choral Studies SDSU
Job Titles:
- Emeritus Professor of Music Bill Yeager Jazz Orchestra ( BYJO ) in Residence at SDSU SDSU
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Hausmann Quartet Violin
- Lecturer, Hausmann Quartet Violin SDSU
Job Titles:
- Director of Jazz Studies SDSU
Job Titles:
- Director of Athletic Bands SDSU
Job Titles:
- Director and Cello Faculty Community Music School SDSU
Job Titles:
- Athletic Bands - Twirler Advisor
Job Titles:
- Studio Artist Teacher, Viola
- Studio Artist Teacher, Viola SDSU
Taiwanese violist Chi-Yuan Chen holds the Karen and Warren Kessler Chair as Principal Viola of San Diego Symphony, a position he recently auditioned and won in 2014. Top-prize winner of both the 2000 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the 2004 International Paris Viola Competition Ville d'Avray, Mr. Chen has already established himself as one of the leading violists in his generation. In 1999, he made his American concerto debut at Boston's Jordan Hall performing Walton's viola concerto. Because of his outstanding musicianship and contribution, Mr. Chen received the Henri Kohn award from the Tanglewood Music Center in 2000.
Mr. Chen began violin study at the age of 6 and made his public debut in Taiwan at age 10. The following year, he switched to viola and shortly thereafter made his string quartet debut in Hong Kong at the City Cultural Center. As a concert violist, Mr. Chen toured internationally performing at the White House in Washington, D. C., Suntory Hall in Tokyo, National Concert Hall in Taipei, City Hall in Hong Kong, Carnegie Hall in New York, Disney Hall and Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Victoria Hall in Geneva, National Centre of Performing Arts in Beijing, to name a few.
Prior to his arrival in the United States in 1998, Mr. Chen performed as principal violist with a number of orchestras in Taiwan including the Taipei Metropolitan Symphony, Taiwan String Orchestra, the Taipei Opera Symphony Orchestra, and the Taipei Century Orchestra, among others. As a soloist, Mr. Chen performed concerti with the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, the Taipei Civic Symphony Orchestra and the National Defense Symphony Orchestra.
As a guest artist, Mr. Chen has performed with numerous ensembles, including the Boston Chamber Music Society, Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, and the Gardner Museum Chamber Ensemble in Boston, where he was the principal violist from 1999-2002. An advocate chamber musician, Mr. Chen has been performing with internationally renowned artists such as Colin Carr, Elliott Carter, John Corigliano, Toshio Hosokawa, Ani and Ida Kavafian, Yo-Yo Ma, William Preucil, George Perle, Paula Robison, members of American, Arditti, Brentano, Cleveland, Emerson, Guarneri, Mendelssohn and Miami string quartets.
A founding member of the Great Wall String Quartet resides in Beijing's Great Wall International Summer Academy, Mr. Chen has regularly performed and toured extensively in Asian countries which includes China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau and Taiwan. As the only string quartet invited by United Nation, the quartet has participated in a documentary film for the 2009 World's Heritage Festival, in which their DVD recording is in stock of the UN's library archive. The quartet has recently released their debut album titled "The Great Wall" in 2012. In 2013, the album was awarded "The Best Performance in Classical Music" in the 24th Golden Melody Award in Taiwan.
Besides his performing career, Mr. Chen is a dedicated educator for the next generation. Being a guest lecturer of University of Southern California and National Taiwan University of Arts, his international teaching appearances in variable settings such as master-classes, chamber music and concerto performances were highly acclaimed. Over the years, Mr. Chen has successfully conducted more than fifty master-classes in universities and music conservatories in Europe, Asia and North America. In 2009, Mr. Chen was invited to be Macau Youth Symphony's Oversea Honorary Advisor. Also, his achievements and generous contributions to music education have been highly recognized by Governments of Macau and Hong Kong.
Mr. Chen holds a Doctoral degree from State University of New York at Stony Brook; both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree from the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he received highest distinction in performance on both degrees. His teachers include Ben Lin, James Dunham, Martha Katz, Katherine Murdock and Nobuko Imai. Mr. Chen currently resides in San Diego where he is also a studio artist faculty of San Diego State University.
Education
DMA State University of New York at Stony Brook
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Percussion Methods SDSU
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Music Education
- Lecturer, Music Education SDSU
Debbie Burton has been an Elementary, Middle School and High School Music Specialist for over 30 years. She currently teaches Classroom Music (K-5) at Jerabek Elementary School and the course Music Literature for Children at SDSU. Ms. Burton received the MacKenzie-Haney Award for the outstanding choral teacher of the year in the San Diego Honor Concert and in 2002 she was the recipient of CMEA's Southern Border Section "Outstanding Music Educator Award." Burton has also presented at educational conferences, including the 2009 American Orff-Schulwerk Association Professional Development conference.
Education
MM.ED, Kodaly emphasis, Holy Names University, Oakland, CA\
BA, Union University, Jackson, TN
Job Titles:
- Member of the Studio Faculty
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Composition SDSU
Job Titles:
- Professor of Music, Theory
- Professor of Music, Theory SDSU
Andrew Aziz (b. 1985) currently serves as Professor of Music and
Job Titles:
- Lecturer of Voice
- Lecturer, Voice SDSU
Dr. Bryan Bolzenthal, Lecturer of Voice, comes to San Diego State University from Austin, Texas where he has recently completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance. Hailed as a lyric baritone with "mellifluous legato and musical sensitivities," he is experienced as both singer and teacher.
Prior to beginning his DMA studies at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Bolzenthal held faculty appointments at East Tennessee State University, Milligan College, and Emory & Henry College, all in the east Tennessee/southwest Virginia area of the country. He has also taught as a graduate assistant at both Louisiana State University and UT-Austin, during his masters and doctoral degrees respectively. Among his many musical interests, Dr. Bolzenthal is a champion of art song singing, and has a particular interest in the grand German Lieder tradition, of which he spent considerable time studying during his doctoral studies, mainly focusing on the songs of Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms.
On the opera stage, he has performed with Pensacola Opera, Baton Rouge Opera, as well as numerous roles both at LSU and UT-Austin. Most notable of these include Marcello in La Boheme, Guglielmo in Cosi Fan Tutte, Vicar Gedge in Albert Herring, and Owen Hart in Dead Man Walking. As a soloist, Dr. Bolzenthal has sung with the Baton Rouge Symphony, LSU Symphony, Symphony of the Mountains, and the University of Texas Symphonic Band, performing in works such as Haydn's Paukenmesse, Vaughan Williams' Prayer for Peace, and new works by American composers. He is also an avid supporter of choral music, having sung with the prestigious Conspirare chamber ensemble under the direction of Craig Hella Johnson.
Dr. Bolzenthal's students have gone on to pursue graduate degrees at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the University of North Texas, among others notable institutions. He is honored to join the faculty at San Diego State University and looks forward to a promising year of musical exploration with the talented students at SDSU.
Education
DMA, University of Texas, Austin
MM, Louisiana State University
BME, Louisiana State University
Job Titles:
- Lecturer of Musicology SDSU
Job Titles:
- Digital Composition and Sound Design Area Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Professor of Music, Musicology SDSU
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Music Education
Jennifer Gee is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at San Diego State University. With specialties in elementary and secondary general music, she instructs undergraduate courses in elementary and secondary music education and music integration for elementary teachers.
Gee holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education from the University of Kansas, an Education Specialist degree in Elementary Administration from the University of Central Missouri, a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Kansas, and a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from Wichita State University.
Her research is focused on pre-service teacher preparation, specifically in positive classroom management strategies. Gee has presented research at the Desert Skies Symposium for Research in Music Education, the Symposium for Music Teacher Education, the National Association for Music Education Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference, the American Orff-Schulwerk Association National Conference, and the Kansas Music Educators Association. She is an American Orff-Schulwerk nationally certified teacher and also has certificates in Kids, Choir, and Drumming and Drumming Up the Fun through World Music Drumming.
Previously, Gee taught elementary general music for seven years in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to teaching, she focused on increasing community involvement in music programs, providing funding for instruments and equipment, and establishing an honor choir that performed throughout the year in the local community.
Education
Bachelor of Music, Clarinet Performance, Wichita State University
Bachelor of Music Education, University of Kansas
Master of Arts, Arts Administration, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Education Specialist degree, Elementary Administration, University of Central Missouri
Doctor of Philosophy, Music Education, University of Kansas
Job Titles:
- Professor Emerita of Music, Piano
- Professor Emerita of Music, Piano SDSU Kfolling@Sdsu.Edu 619 - 594 - 5075 MU 205
- Professor of Piano
Dr. Follingstad's major piano teachers include Seymour Lipkin and Richard Goode at Curtis, August Leopolder in Frankfurt, Gyorgy Sebok at Indiana University, Bloomington, and Gregory Allen from the University of Texas, Austin.
Job Titles:
- Lecturer
- Piano Coordinator and Piano Faculty Community Music School SDSU
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Music Composition and Theory SDSU Tkim6@Sdsu.Edu MU 236
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Piano
- Assistant Professor, Piano SDSU
Hailed as "… a deity of elegance" by the New Brunswick Beacon, Dr. Tina Chong is an international award-winning pianist and sought-after teaching artist in North America. A native of Banff, Canada, Tina has been described as, "…mature and yet fresh, imbued with tradition and yet inhabited by individuality, the marks of an artist" (The Herald Times).
As a soloist, Tina has appeared with orchestras throughout the world including the Calgary Philharmonic, the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, and the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. Tina's recital career has brought her to such venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the National Arts Centre and Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Sala Chopin in Mexico City, and the Sheldon Center in St. Louis. She has also been featured in La Jolla Music Society's Summerfest, the Portland International Summer Festival, Lachine Festival, the WFMT Series of Chicago, and several programs aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Company. Under the management of Jeunesses Musicales of Canada, Tina has gone on several extensive concert tours throughout Canada.
An artist of great versatility, Tina performs in a wide range of genres such as classical, jazz, pop, Broadway, and film music in orchestra and chamber ensembles, as well as dance collaborations. Her prowess on piano, harpsichord, fortepiano, celesta, synthesizer, and harmonium have led to projects with artists such as Rachel Barton Pine, Inon Barnaton, Anthony McGill, Stefan Jackiw, and Tyler Duncan. Tina has also played regularly with the San Diego Symphony since 2017. This breadth of creative activity continues to inspire Tina's engagement and cross-pollination with a wide community of musicians and audiences.
Tina earned her Doctor of Music degree at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music with a major in piano performance and minors in music education and historical performance practice. Her mentors were Arnaldo Cohen, Peter Miksza, and Elisabeth Wright. Tina is also a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she studied with Angela Cheng. She has worked closely with artist-teachers Robert McDonald, Jerome Lowenthal, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Julian Martin, Arie Vardi, and Menahem Pressler at numerous international summer festivals.
Tina currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at San Diego State University. She is a passionate advocate of alternatively-sized keyboards and is responsible for the acquisition of two reduced-sized piano keyboards at SDSU, the first of its kind in a university on the west coast.
Tina has been a prizewinner in a number of major international competitions, including the Montreal International Musical Competition and the Jacques Klein Piano Competition in Brazil. She captured first prize in the CMC International Stepping Stone Competition, the Aspen Music Festival concerto competition, Indiana University Piano Concerto Competition, and the Seneca Chamber Orchestra Competition. She is a recipient of the Indiana University Chancellor's Fellowship for scholastic achievement and several grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Music, Saxophone Graduate Advisor Coodinator
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Voice
- Assistant Professor of Voice SDSU
Job Titles:
- Production Coordinator
- Production Coordinator / the School of Music and Dance / the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts
Job Titles:
- Studio Artist Teacher, Classical Guitar
- Studio Artist Teacher, Classical Guitar SDSU
Fred Benedetti was born in Sasebo, Japan and began playing the guitar at age 9. In 1986 he was one of 12 guitarists chosen worldwide to perform in the Master Class of Andres Segovia at USC where Guitarra Magazine wrote, "...Fred Benedetti amazed the audience with his performance of the (Bach) Chaconne…" He has also been a performer for the master classes of Pepe Romero, Christopher Parkening, Federico Moreno-Torroba, George Sakellariou, and David Grimes. Fred has performed in the United States, Canada, Taiwan, England, Germany, Mexico, the Czech Republic, and locally with the San Diego Symphony, the San Diego Opera, the Starlight Opera, the American Ballet Company, the Old Globe Theatre, Luciano Pavarotti, and jazz artist Dave Brubeck.
Presently he teaches at Grossmont College where he is chair of guitar studies, and is a member of the guitar faculty at San Diego State University.
Fred is listed in the prestigious "Who's Who Among America's Teachers-2002" and received an "Outstanding Faculty Award of the Year in Music," in 2001 from SDSU, the "NISOD" Excellence in Teaching award from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992 and an "Outstanding Chair" award in 1990 from Grossmont College.
Equally at home playing classical music or contemporary music, he records on the SBE label and DOMO records with four noted ensembles: Keltik Kharma (a celtic band), The Odeum Guitar Duo, recently given the honor by the magazine, Acoustic Guitar, as being one of the ten best independently produced guitar CDs for the year 2000, "Blurring the Edges" a recipient of the 1994 San Diego Music Awards "Best Pop-Jazz" album of the year featuring jazz musicians Peter and Tripp Sprague, and the Benedetti/Svoboda Guitar Duo.
As a BMI affiliated composer, Fred has written numerous contemporary pieces for the international CD library company Network Productions and as a studio musician for 20 years his playing is featured on over 60 CD's, numerous movie soundtracks, and TV commercials. He has shared the stage with Art Garfunkel, Basia, Michael Franks, Mark O'Connor, Michael Hedges, and Ottmar Liebert, and has recorded with Willie Nelson, Juice Newton, Paul Overstreet, Patty Loveless, Tom Barabas, Big Mountain, Matthew Lien, Ronny Robbins and William Lee Golden. He has performed for dignitaries such as the King & Queen of Malaysia, Mikhail Gorbachev and President Jimmy Carter.
Education
MM, San Diego State University
BM, San Diego State University
Job Titles:
- Piano Faculty Community Music School SDSU
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Percussion
- Lecturer, Percussion SDSU
- Principal Percussionist in October
Greg Cohen joined the San Diego Symphony as Principal Percussionist in October, 2008, after serving as acting principal for the previous season. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, he received his Bachelor of Music in percussion performance from Boston University and his Master of Music from the New England Conservatory, also in percussion performance. Greg has performed with such notable orchestras as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the LA Philharmonic, the St. Louis Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, and the Kansas City Symphony. Prior to joining the San Diego Symphony, he was privileged to work and train at several music festivals, including the Tanglewood Music Center, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, and the National Orchestral Institute. During this time, he had the privilege of playing in renowned concert halls such as the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, and Carnegie Hall. Greg has recorded on Naxos, Telarc, Reference Recordings, Albany Records and Mode Records labels. Most recently, he played on the Grammy award winning recording Britten's Orchestra with the Kansas City Symphony. Greg is a Zildjian orchestral artist.
In addition to his work at the San Diego Symphony, Greg became a studio faculty member at San Diego State University in the fall of 2009. He also maintains an active private percussion studio in San Diego. His students have won numerous competitions and have achieved many accolades.
Education
MM, New England Conservatory, Boston, MA
BM, Boston University, Boston, MA
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Studio Artist Instructor
- Lecturer, Studio Artist Instructor SDSU
Ian Bassett attended San Diego State University for his undergraduate studies where he received a Bachelor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance as well as a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. Ian later attended San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he received a Masters in Music in Classical Guitar Performance.
Currently Ian works at San Diego State University, San Diego Mesa College, Grossmont college, as well as provides private guitar lessons (acoustic, classical, and electric mainly with some bass students) under his own Business "The Music Joynt." Ian currently can be found performing all over San Diego (and sometimes out of town) with his twin brother in the guitar duo The Bassett Bros.
Some hobbies include surfing, comic books, food in all it's various forms, fitness, attending concerts and outside of classical music Ian enjoys heavy metal.
Job Titles:
- Artist
- Artist Faculty
- President of ASTA San Diego
Violinist Isaac Allen is a founding member of the award winning Hausmann Quartet. Mr. Allen attended Manhattan School of Music and received his Undergraduate Diploma from The Longy School of Music, Masters of Music in Chamber Music Performance from Kent State University and an Artist Diploma from San Diego State University. Mr. Allen has studied violin with Ivan Chan, Laura Bossert, Terry King, Patinka Kopek and chamber music with Robert Mann, Earl Carlyss, Silvia Rosenberg and members of the Juilliard, Orion, Vermeer, Emerson, Alexander, Miami and Alban Berg String Quartets. Mr. Allen has performed throughout Canada, the U.S., China and Taiwan performing frequently at arts hubs such as Lincoln Center and the Chicago Cultural Center. With a strong dedication to teaching and coaching chamber music, Mr. Allen has given master classes throughout the United States and served as a violin instructor and chamber music coach at various schools, universities and festivals including San Diego State University, San Francisco State University, Brookline Music School, Villa Musica, The San Diego Chamber Music Workshop and the Yehudi Menuhin Chamber Music Seminar.
An active leader in the arts, Isaac Allen currently serves as both the President of ASTA San Diego and Artistic Director of the Hausmann Chamber Music Program, a new summer festival and semester program for chamber music in San Diego. Aside from HCMP's festival, other festival appearances have included, La Jolla SummerFest, Music@Menlo, Aspen, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival and the Blossom music festival. As a chamber musician, he has performed with Lydia Artymiw, Jeremy Denk, Paul Neubauer, Toby Appel, Steven Ansel, Ronald Thomas, Paul Katz and the Alexander and Borremeo String Quartet s.
Education
BM - Longy School of Music, Boston, MA
MM - Kent State University
Artist Diploma - San Diego State University
Job Titles:
- Lecturer of Audio, Recording, and Sound Reinforcement SDSU
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Music Education
- Lecturer, Music Education SDSU
As a lecturer at SDSU, Mr. Erb brings to the School of Music & Dance the practical experience of an elementary music specialist. He served as an elementary instrumental music specialist for the widely respected Poway Unified School District until his retirement in 2018 after 32 years and roughly 15,000 students. He is grateful that one of his SDSU Music Education students was hired to fill his job upon his retirement. Mr. Erb uses those years of successful teaching to enthusiastically share pragmatic insights and directly applicable skills with his students. Mr. Erb strives to impart to his students the musical skills and the confidence necessary to be able to "do music" whether in their future classrooms or in their lives. Jack has also served as a master teacher/mentor for SDSU music education students and has been a cooperating teacher for the SDSU Music Education Program for over 25 years.
He has earned accolades throughout his teaching career. He was recognized at the state level as the 2017 Elementary Music Educator of the Year by the California Music Educators Association (CMEA). He received the John Swain College/University Music Educator Award from the CMEA - Southern Border Section in 2018. He was selected as the Elementary Instrumental Music Teacher of the year (2004-05 & 2001-02) by the CMEA - Southern Border Section. The residential students at SDSU named him as a Favorite Teacher in 2015. He was Teacher of the Year for Shoal Creek Elementary School (Poway Unified) and recipient of the California Congress of Parents, Teachers and Students "Continuing Service Award" in recognition of outstanding service to children and youth (2005).
Job Titles:
- Studio Artist Teacher, Double Bass SDSU
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Dance SDSU
Job Titles:
- Instrument Repair & Maintenance Technician SDSU
Job Titles:
- Professor of Dance / Dance Advisor
- Professor of Dance Dance Advisor SDSU
Joseph Alter has been an active dancer, choreographer, and teacher in the field of contemporary dance for over 40 years. He received his Master of Fine Arts from The Ohio State University with an emphasis on choreography and dance technology. As artistic director of the Joe Alter Dance Group, his works have been performed at The Kitchen, The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse, the 92nd St. Y, Harkness Center for Dance in New York City, throughout San Diego, and internationally in Mexico, Germany, Poland, and Serbia. In collaboration with international partners, Prof. Alter created the Polish Project, a regional outreach program designed to investigate the creative process with disadvantaged youth throughout Poland. He has been a Professor of Dance at San Diego State University since 2005.
Mr. Alter has taught at numerous festivals throughout East-Central Europe and was a guest faculty member at the Frederick Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland. His research interests include digital technologies as applied to dance, dance pedagogy in higher education, social systems theory, somatic and contemplative practices and the continuous investigation of the human condition through movement and choreographic structure. Works include "The End is the Beginning" for Tijuana's Lux Boreal, "Everything Slips Away" for PWST in Krakow, Poland, "Passing Through", a site-specific work commissioned by Trolley Dances San Diego as well as the commissioned work "If/Then" which premiered in Poland in November of 2019. As part of SDSUs ArtsAlive, Prof. Alter worked with Physics Professor Arlette Baljon on a course which encouraged collaborative learning between Dance and STEM students. In July of 2021, Mr. Alter premiered the work: "Skin Hunger" in Wrocław, Poland to critical acclaim and remains in repertory at Teatr Polski in Wroclaw. This work was subsequently performed at the Jersey City Theater Center in New Jersey, The Main Stage at San Diego State, and at CECUT in Tijuana, Mexico. Skin Hunger: Part II premiered in March of 2023 at CEART in Tijuana and has subsequently been performed at CECUT, Tijuana, Mexico.
Education
MFA, The Ohio State University, Columbus
BA, Hunter College, New York, NY
Since 2000 Joseph "Dyno Rock" Corrales' life has revolved around the culture of Hip Hop. His journey into the culture started out as breakin' in the garage with a few friends and attending a few underground Hip Hop functions. What began as something that he loved doing as a youth would later become something that has taken him around the world from teaching workshops, creating youth programs, judging competitions, performing (KRS ONE tour), hosting community events, organizing Hip Hop jams/battles, representing in battles, and rocking cyphers all around the globe - with my crew CYPHERST8.
From its birth on August 11, 1973, Hip Hop Culture has continued to be a powerful Afrocentric movement that has promoted positivity & power to the people all around the world among folks from all walks of life. Corrales believes it is his responsibility to protect its integrity and help guide students in the right direction of stepping into a vibrant Culture. For him, teaching is not a profession but rather a cultural responsibility of passing down stories and knowledge from mentors/elders who have done the same.
In 2005 Corrales was introduced to the Universal Zulu Nation (grassroots Hip Hop organization est. in 1973) by DJ SURE 163 (Super B-Beat Boys) where he learned about the community aspect of hip hop culture. In the same year, he had his first experience meeting a Hip Hop Professor in a university setting (Bboy House, Arizona State University / Furious Styles Crew). In 2012 Corrales received a B.A. in Sociology from SDSU which has aided the development of his critical framework. In 2013 he moved to the Bay Area to learn more about Hip Hop Culture as a form/tool of Social Justice born out of the Black Power movement. He attended San Francisco State University to earn a Certificate in Nonprofit Management. Corrales then moved back to San Diego in 2016 where he has been actively involved in the San Diego Hip Hop Community, which encompasses all elements of the culture: style writing (visual), DJing (music), emceeing (street poetry), and dance. In the years following, he has accomplished his goals in the battle scene (1st Place Footwork Master - Massive Monkees Day 2019 in Seattle, WA) as well as elevating his path as a teaching artist. As a teacher, he looks forward to the many experiences we will collectively create, "Cypher Never Ends." Dyno (of CYPHERST8)
Job Titles:
- Professor of Music: Composition Composition
Job Titles:
- SDSU Dance Team Head Coach
Kaitlin Collins began dancing at the age of five, and has studied tap, jazz, ballet, clogging, musical theater, acro, and hip-hop. She was a member of the Carlsbad High School Dance Team in Carlsbad, California where her team won titles at the UDA National Dance Team Championship in 2002 and 2003. In 2002, Kaitlin danced in Legoland's Bionical Jam show. In the fall of 2003, she attended Long Beach State University where she was a member of the Dance Team that traveled to NDA Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Kaitlin has been teaching dance for 11 years in North County, San Diego. She coached the Mission Hills High School Dance Team in San Marcos, CA for five years where they competed at the UDA NDTC from 2010 - 2013. Under her leadership, the team had top ten finishes in the Jazz, Hip Hop, and Pom categories. Kaitlin has choreographed for several high schools in North County and across the nation in the styles of jazz, pom and hip hop.
Kaitlin currently coaches the Dance Team at San Pasqual High School in Escondido, CA and is in her third year coaching with SDSU. One of her main responsibilities is choreography, including SDSU's 2014 and 2015 Hip Hop nationals routines. In 2015, the team placed fourth at UDA's College Nationals in Jazz and seventh in Hip Hop. The team won first in both Jazz and Hip Hop at USA's College Championships in 2015. Kaitlin has worked as an Instructor at Dance Unlimited Performing Arts Academy in Oceanside for 4 years. She loves sharing her joy for dance with all of her students.
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Jazz Studies SDSU
Kevin Esposito - A first call studio and freelance trombonist, Kevin also leads San Diego's premier swing bands, Society Beat and Big Time Operator. He tours regularly with The Brian Setzer Orchestra he has backed up Natalie Cole, Lou Rawls, Frankie Valli, Aretha Franklin, Sammy Davis Jr., David Sanborn and many others. Kevin's trombone playing regularly fills out the horn sections of San Diego's greatest rock and R&B bands including Rockola and The Steely Damned, as well as countless touring Broadway Musicals such as Annie, Chicago, The Producers and Spamelot. Kevin also plays in the critically acclaimed Sacha's Supper Club, the Brad Steinwehe Orchestra and has recorded with Bill Medley, Mike Wofford and San Diego's long time favorite smooth jazz group, Fattburger. Kevin studied music at California State University, Northridge and University of Nevada, Reno earning a bachelors degree in music with performance emphasis. He also studied and played in the award winning LA Jazz Workshop and has done continuing education work at California State University, Long Beach and San Diego State University.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Coordinator of World Music and Ethnomusicology
- Director / Associate Professor of Music, Ethnomusicology
Kevin M. Delgado is Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of World Music and Ethnomusicology at San Diego State University. He previously served as Assistant Professor of Music at Tulane University in New Orleans. Delgado earned a B.M. degree in jazz performance from San Diego State University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Since 1996, Delgado has traveled to Cuba eleven times to conduct research on Afro-Cuban music, religion, and culture.
His essays have appeared in Black Music Research Journal, Cuba in the Special Period: Culture and Ideology in the 1990s (Palgrave-MacMillan), Resiliency and Distinction: Belief, Endurance and Creativity in the Musical Arts of Continental and Diasporic Africa (MRI), Speaking with Wood: Transatlantic Perspectives on Ayan and Drumming for the Orisa (Mississippi), Cuba in a Global Context: International Relations, Internationalism, and Transnationalism (Florida), Selected Reports in Ethnomusicology, and A Contracorriente. Delgado has also contributed entries on Latin Jazz and Latin American Music to the Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World and ABC-Clio's World History Encyclopedia.
Job Titles:
- Lecturer of Voice, Soprano Voice Area Coordinator SDSU
Job Titles:
- Professor of Dance Dance Coordinator SDSU
Brooklyn native Lori Bell is a flutist and composer of admirable depth and broad musical sympathies. A resident of San Diego, she has contributed to the development of higher standards of performance while earning acclaim from both peers and critics for her artistry on stage and in recordings. She is a three time Global Music Award recipient recognized for her recordings, compositions, and arrangements.
In 2016 Lori paid heartfelt tribute to her family and birthplace on her critically acclaimed album Brooklyn Dreaming, her 10th CD, earning four star ratings from Jazz Journal UK, Jazz Times, the Los Angeles Times and Downbeat, which chose it as "Best Albums of 2016." Huffington Post also chose Brooklyn Dreaming for their "Best of Jazz 2016". Bill Milkowski wrote in the March 2016 issue of Downbeat: "Bell flaunts prodigious chops on both C flute and alto flute, though her pen might be mightier than her sword. Her originals all reveal a wide harmonic palette, a sophisticated rhythmic sensibility and a refined sense of dynamics, along with an urge to swing." Veteran jazz critic Scott Yanow chose it as one of his Top 25 Best jazz CD's of 2016. It also won a Global Music Award for Outstanding Achievement for compositions and arrangements.
Lori has toured in Asia, including Singapore and Hong Kong. She has also performed in high profile ensemble settings at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, SOKA Performing Arts Center, The Wadsworth Theatre at UCLA, and most recently, on a project of jazz arrangements and classical compositions for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Library. She has performed three times at the Gala for the National Flute Association, most recently in 2016.
In addition to her global renown as a performer and recording artist, Lori is a respected force in music education. She is currently on the faculty as an Instructor of Flute and studio teacher at San Diego State University and over the years, has privately taught hundreds of students of all ages in both classical flute technique and jazz styling, jazz piano (her secondary instrument), theory, composition and arranging at her studio in San Diego.
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Music Entrepreneurship & Business
- Lecturer, Music Entrepreneurship & Business SDSU
Markus Burger is a German born and raised Concert Pianist, Composer & Educator living in the greater Los Angeles Area in California for the past 20 years.
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Musicology
- Lecturer, Musicology SDSU
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Music
- Director of Orchestras
- Music Director of Orchestras Music Director - Opera Theater SDSU
Michael Gerdes is the Director of Orchestras at San Diego State University where he conducts the San Diego State Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Opera Orchestra. His performances with the San Diego State Symphony have been hailed as "highly sensitive and thoughtfully layered" and his conducting proclaimed "refined, dynamically nuanced" and "restrained but unmistakably lucid" by the San Diego Story. The premiere of Suite Noir by the San Diego Symphony received a "Bravo" award as one of the six significant musical events in San Diego during 2015. Gerdes is serving in his second season as Assistant Conductor for the La Jolla Symphony and will make his subscription concert debut in 2017. Selected by the San Diego Union Tribune as one of three "Faces to Watch" in Classical Music during his first year as Director of Orchestras, professor Gerdes is focused on creating a thriving orchestral community at San Diego State University.
Mr. Gerdes maintains an active calendar as a guest conductor, most recently working with the Bacau Philharmonic and The Moldova Philharmonic Choir of Iasi along with honor orchestras of Alpine Valley, Grossmont Union, The California Music Educator's Association, Southern California Band and Orchestra Directors Association All-Southern Middle School Orchestra, San Diego Unified, and Sweetwater Union. Prof. Gerdes serves as an executive of the Los Angeles Conducting Institute, President of the San Diego Pro Arte Voices board, and a member of the New West Electronic Arts & Music Organization Board. This summer he will serve as Director of Orchestras for the Bravo International Music Academy and the San Diego Summer Music Institute.
Passionate about commissioning and performing music by living composers, Mr. Gerdes has conducted world premieres by composers such as John Hilliard, Liviu Marinescu, Joseph Waters, Brent Dutton, Russell Peterson, Richard Meyer, and Richard Thompson. His ensemble performs the music of student composers at San Diego State each semester. His programming this season at SDSU has included works by esteemed SDSU faculty and student composers.
He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. He also holds a Master's degree in Orchestral Conducting from James Madison University. Mr. Gerdes has studied conducting with Dr. Robert McCashin, Dr. Russell Pesola, Mr. Bruce Houglum, Dr. René Clausen, Dr. Samuel Jones, Kenneth Kiesler, and Gerard Schwarz. As an orchestral musician, he has performed with the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, the Waynesboro Symphony, and the Interlochen Center for the Arts Faculty/Staff Orchestra.
Education
MM, James Madison University
BM, Music Education, cum laude, Concordia College
BA, Philosophy, Concordia College
Job Titles:
- Guitar Area Coordinator, Lecturer
- Guitar Area Coordinator, Lecturer Ensemble Director, Private Studio Instructor SDSU
Sean Bassett is a Southern California native who began playing guitar in his early teens. Originally inspired by bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden, he migrated to the electric guitar during his formative years. At San Diego State University he was introduced to a wide range of musical forms and undertook studies in the Classical Guitar. Sean graduated Cum Laude from SDSU where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration as a Management Major. He also was invited to join three honors societies: Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma, and The Golden Key. In 2012 Sean completed his studies at the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he earned a Master of Music in Classical Guitar. Sean's educational pursuits have allowed him the opportunity of studying with accomplished musicians such as The Katona Twins, Fred Benedetti, Lawrence Ferrara, David Tanenbaum, Marc Teicholz, Robert Wetzel, and Richard Savino.
Sean began performing professionally in his teens as the guitarist and lead singer for the heavy metal band Eradicate. Currently, he performs with alongside his twin in a guitar duo called The Bassett Bros. Their diverse repertoire includes music from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras and spans to more contemporary genres like Rock, Blues, and Heavy Metal. Not afraid to mix and match varied styles, their programs often include unique interpretations of concert hall classics. The duo has performed for a wide variety of audiences in concert venues, schools, libraries, churches, fairs, outreach programs, veterans centers, and private events. The Bassett Bros. have also performed well recognized concertos such as "Concierto Madrigal" by Joaquin Rodrigo and "Concerto in G Major" by Antonio Vivaldi. The Bassett Bros. are also members of the SWARMIUS ensemble, a group which combines many eclectic musical traditions while keeping its compositional footing firmly in the present day.
Sean currently teaches Guitar Ensemble, Guitar Methods, and Private Studio Instruction in Classical Guitar at SDSU. Aside from teaching students in the degree program, Sean also teaches guitar students of the SDSU Community Music School. He is also affiliated with the Heartpower Performances and the SDSU Adams Project Performers Network.
Education
MM, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, CA
BM, San Diego State University, CA
BS, San Diego State University, CA
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Brass Methods, Theory
- Lecturer, Brass Methods, Theory SDSU
Rachel Allen is a trumpet performer and music educator from San Diego, California. Her performance activities focus on solo and ensemble repertoire from the last century, but she is equally at home playing the standard repertoire. She collaborates frequently with local composers and improvisers and has performed with the San Diego Symphony, Orquesta de Baja California, San Diego Winds, Renga, Westwind Brass, and Pacific Sound Brass Quintet. In addition, she currently serves as third trumpet with the Flagstaff Symphony and second trumpet with the Quad City Symphony. She can be heard with the San Diego New Music Ensemble on Decca Records' Hysteresis. Rachel holds a Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory, Master or Music from McGill University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of California San Diego. She teaches music theory, brass methods, and co-runs the experimental ensemble at San Diego State University and teaches trumpet at MiraCosta College.
Education
DMA, University of California San Diego
MM, McGill University
Job Titles:
- Studio Artist Teacher, Classical Guitar SDSU
Job Titles:
- Director of Marching Percussion
- Director of Marching Percussion SDSU
Roger Carter had many decades of drumming and instructional experience. He was first introduced to the world of marching percussion as a student at Mission Viejo High School, and continued my drumming development in Southern California with the Kingsmen and the Velvet Knights.
Afterward he spent four years as a member of the Concord Blue Devils, culminating with two years as center snare/section leader, a DCI championship title, and a high percussion award. Roger then spent six years as a staff member with the Blue Devils, winning three DCI titles and two high percussion awards. He continued His drum corps teaching experience with the Crossmen and later the Madison Scouts, worked with Riverside Community College, the Freelancers (where I was battery caption head/arranger from 2002-2009), and spent ten years with James Logan High School in Union City, CA. In 2012, Roger joined the percussion staff of the Bluecoats as a snare tech.
In 2013 he assumed the role of Percussion Caption Head, a position he presently holds. In 2016 the corps won its first DCI title at the DCI World Championships, and in 2022 the Bluecoats were awarded their first ever Fred Sanford High Percussion Award. Roger is also the battery instructor for Mission Viejo High School and Aliso Niguel High School in Southern California, and the snare specialist and lead instructor at Broken City Percussion.
Roger recently completed my Associates Degree in Music at Saddleback College under Joey Sellers and studied privately with Paul Johnson.
Job Titles:
- Lecturer, Jazz Drumset SDSU
Job Titles:
- Technical Shop Supervisor
Job Titles:
- SDSU Dance Team Assistant Coach
Job Titles:
- Lecturer
- Strings Coordinator and Violin / Viola Faculty Community Music School SDSU
Job Titles:
- Studio Artist Teacher, Cello SDSU