UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA - Key Persons

Adam M. Miller

am..@ua.edu

Job Titles:

Instructor

Bio Adam M. Miller holds an M.F.A. in Theatre Management/Arts Administration from The University of Alabama, having interned at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. He served as the Director of Marketing & Public Relations for the LSU Department of Theatre and their affiliated Equity theatre, Swine Palace Productions, for more than three years. He also worked as a Marketing Manager for the UA College of Continuing Studies. Adam currently serves as the Managing Director of Theatre Tuscaloosa at Shelton State Community College, where he has worked since 2010. He has taught courses including Intro to Theatre, Theatre Appreciation, Arts Venue Management, and Arts Marketing, among others. Adam has been teaching with the School of Music since 2017.

Alexis Davis-Hazell

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor of Voice and Lyric Diction
Assistant Professor of Voice and Lyric Diction, Mezzo - Soprano, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies
National President - Elect of the National Association of Teachers of Singing

Andrea Cevasco-Trotter

Job Titles:

Associate Professor of Music Therapy
Coordinator of Music Therapy
Professor of Music Therapy / Director of Music Therapy

Andrea Cevasco is associate professor of music therapy at The University of Alabama. She obtained her Bachelor of Music (music therapy) from The University of Alabama, a Master of Music Education/therapy from the University of Georgia, and Doctorate of Philosophy in music education/therapy from Florida State University. Prior to attending Florida State University, Dr. Cevasco worked as a private practice music therapist in Athens, Georgia, working with all ages and various populations in the community. She also taught at the University of Georgia, supervising music therapy students in their clinical work. Dr. Cevasco's research interests are in the areas of premature infants as well as individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other related dementia, and her research has been published in the Journal of Music Therapy and Music Therapy Perspectives. She is currently a member of the editorial committee for the Journal of Music Therapy, exam committee for the Certification Board for Music Therapists, and research committee for the Southeastern Music Therapy Region of the American Music Therapy Association.

Andrew Raffo Dewar

ad..@ua.edu

Job Titles:

Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts

Andrew Raffo Dewar, Ph.D. is a composer, soprano saxophonist, electronic musician, ethnomusicologist, and arts organizer. He is Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts in New College and the School of Music.

Ben Woolf

Job Titles:

Office Associate II

Benjamin Crofut

bc..@ua.edu

Job Titles:

Instructor of Double Bass

Benjamin Crofut began his studies on Double Bass through the public school system in Buffalo, NY. Prior to his appointment as Instructor of Double Bass at the University of Alabama, Benjamin earned the Bachelors of Music degree with Distinction from the Eastman School of Music (Rochester NY), a Masters of Music degree from Duquesne University (Pittsburgh PA), and a Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn School (Los Angeles CA). As a performer, Benjamin has played with the Columbus Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, members of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra. Benjamin's primary teachers include nationally renowned Orchestra principals and Chamber musicians such as Peter Lloyd, Jeffrey Turner, and James VanDemark. Summer months have been spent at such festivals as the National Repertory Orchestra, New York String Orchestra Seminar, National Orchestral Institute, International Festival Institute at Roundtop, Domaine Forget International Festival, and Roycroft Chamber Festival. In addition to his various performance opportunities, Benjamin also possesses a certificate in Bow making, repairs, and rehairs from the Violin Craftsmanship Institute in Durham NH, and is proud to have personally studied with Dr. Don Greene, a renowned Performance Psychology coach who works with musicians, Olympic athletes, and S.W.A.T teams. Benjamin plays on a modern Double Bass, made in 2009 by Guy Cole of Arlington TX, a French Bow from Reid Hudson of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and Bow rehairs by Mike Shank of Elizabethtown, PA.

Camilla Huxford Endowed

Job Titles:

Camilla Huxford Endowed Chair in Orchestral Studies

Carl B. Hancock

ch..@ua.edu

Job Titles:

Coordinator of Music Education
Department Head, Graduate Coordinator
Professor of Music Education, Music Education Department Head

Carl B. Hancock is Department Head, Graduate Coordinator, and Professor of Music Education at the University of Alabama. He teaches classes in music education, band methods, and research techniques. His appointment began in 2005. Carl's research is in bibliometrics, career trends, professional development, and teacher attrition/retention. He is published in the Journal of Teacher Education, Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Psychology of Music, Journal of Band Research, Arts in Education Policy Review, and Update: Applications of Research in Music Education. His other contributions include conducting the Alabama Music Teacher Census, writing for the second edition of the Grove Dictionary of American Music, contributing to The SAGE Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation. Dr. Hancock has presented at the American Educational Research Association National Conference, The Midwest Clinic, the CMS National Conference, the NAfME Music Research & Teacher Education National Conference, the Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Education, and the International Symposium on Research in Music Behavior. In addition, he regularly presents at state and regional music education conferences. Carl serves on the Executive Committee of the Society for Research in Music Education (SRME) and is the technology specialist for the Alabama Music Educators Association. He served on the editorial board of the Journal of Research in Music Education and was national chair of the Learning and Development and Affective Response Special Research Interest Groups for the Society for Research in Music Education. Regionally, he represented music education on the southern board of the College Music Society. Hancock is past president of the Alabama Music Educators Association having previously served as research chair and state collegiate advisor. Carl received his Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education degree and earned a certificate in college teaching from Florida State University. His graduate work was with the University Bands and the Center for Music Research. He also received his Bachelor and Master of Music Education degrees from Florida State University. Hancock's appointments include faculty positions at the University of Alabama, University of Arizona, North County Music Supervisor for Indian River County Schools and positions in public schools including Santa Fe High School, and Sebastian River High School. Dr. Hancock is a member of The National Association for Music Education, the Society for Research in Music Education, and the Alabama Music Educators Association.

Carlos "Felipe" Viña

Job Titles:

Instructor of Bassoon

Carlos Felipe Viña currently serves as Instructor of Bassoon at the University of Alabama. He is an active performer in several professional orchestras in South Florida and the Gulf Coast, having performed with Naples Philharmonic, Opera Naples, South Florida Symphony Orchestra, Florida Grand Opera, and Palm Beach Symphony, among many others. Prior to his appointment at the University of Alabama, Dr. Viña served as Adjunct Professor of Bassoon at Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, Miami Dade College, and New World School of the Arts (High School and College Division) in Miami, FL. He is a co-founder of the "Florida Bassoon Bash," a series of free masterclasses open to all bassoon students and band directors. Dr. Viña's students from the institutions above and from his private studio have gone on to study music at The Julliard School, Berklee College of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, and University of Denver, among others. His students have participated in NYO, NYO2, Florida All-State Ensembles, Philadelphia International Music Festival, and the Miami Beach Music Festival. Born in Colombia, he began his musical studies at the Conservatorio de Musica del Tolima in Ibague, his home town. After graduating from the Conservatory of the National University in Colombia, he was awarded a full scholarship to attend Lynn University and later a fellowship to attend the University of Miami Frost School of Music as part of the Henry Mancini Institute. Dr. Viña has been the recipient of numerous awards, prizes, and scholarships, including appearing as a soloist with Orquesta Filarmonica del Valle, Orquesta Sinfonica E.A.F.I.T, and Lynn Philharmonia. He has performed a solo recital as a prize winner on the Lunes de los Jovenes Interpretes from the Luis Angel Arango Library (Bogota, Colombia), and as a concerto soloist as a winner of the youth soloist competition with the Orquesta Filarmonica del Valle (Colombia) and the Lynn University Concerto Competition. Dr. Viña holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Bassoon Performance from the University of Miami Frost School of Music, a Master's of Music Performance from Lynn University and a Bachelor's degree in Bassoon Performance from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Charles "Skip" Snead

Job Titles:

Director
Department Chair
Director, Professor
Professor of Horn

Charles Snead currently serves as the director of the music school and a professor of horn at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where, along with administrative duties, he teaches applied horn and brass pedagogy. Skip has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, with appearances in Egypt, Romania, the United Kingdom, and Cuba, in addition to various regional horn workshops and the International Horn Society Summer Symposium. He has been a featured artist with many ensembles, including the Alexandria Symphony in Alexandria, Egypt; the State Orchestra of Romania; the British Horn Society; the Monroe Symphony; the Macon Symphony; the Tuscaloosa Symphony; and the Shreveport Summer Music Festival Orchestras.

Christopher Kozak

ck..@ua.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies
Professor

Christopher Kozak is associate professor and director of jazz studies at The University of Alabama. He holds both an MM in jazz arranging and composition and a BM in African-American jazz studies in double bass performance from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. While at UMASS he has studied Jazz Composing and Arranging with Jeff Holmes and double bass with renowned Double Bassist and composer Salvatore Macchia. He also studied advanced Improvisation Techniques with saxophonist Chris Merz and multi-reeds artist Adam Kolker. Professor Kozak was also a composition student of Yusef Lateef and his methods of Autophysiopsyhic Music. Previously, Professor Kozak was an active performer in the Northeast music scene on the Acoustic and Electric Bass in Jazz, Contemporary, and Popular styles. Since his hire at The University of Alabama, he has maintained an active role as a performer. Previous performances include Greg Abate, Joe Alessi, Geri Allen, James Argiro, Victor Atkins, Jamie Baum, Anthony Braxton, Warren Chiasson, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Peter Ellefson, Peter Erskine, John Fedchock, Sim Flora, Giacamo Gates, Vinny Golia, Kathy Kosins, Vladislav Lavrik, the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, Andy Martin, the Michael Glaser Reputable Quintet, David Goloshokin, Danny Gottlieb, Jeff Holmes, Steve Houghton, Marlon Jordan, Adam Kolker, Yusef Lateef, Delfeayo Marsalis, Virginia Mayhew, Wayne Newton, Dick Oatts, Regis Philbin, The Birmingham Seven, Lew Soloff, Sal Spiccola, and Rob Zappulla. He was a Downbeat Jazz Award recipient in 2000, 2001, and 2002 with the UMASS Studio Orchestra on double bass. He is a former faculty member of Springfield College, Holyoke Community College, and is a current member of the CMENC, ABA, AMEA, and Jazz Education Network. He also remains active as a clinician and high school jazz festival adjudicator at the regional, national, and international levels. One of his notable previous accomplishments was in Colombia South America with the Cultural Exchange Centro Colombo Americano for a jazz camp that he and Dr. Jonathan Noffsinger developed and taught. They spent time in Medellin Colombia working with students at the EAFIT University and the RED Banderas (young children) within the city for a week. The following week they were in Manizales, Colombia for another jazz camp for their students at the University Nationale. Several performances were lined up with his quartet at the Moravia Center and San Fernando Plaza in Medellin and the National University and University of Caldas in Manizales. As the current director of the University of Alabama Jazz Ensemble, he has taken the Ensemble to various Festivals such as the UGA/Athens Twilight Jazz Festival, Notre Dame Jazz Competition, and to the 1st Annual Jazz Education Network Conference in St. Louis, MO. Professor Kozak has been on faculty at The University of Alabama since 2005.

Christy Thomas Adams

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor of Musicology

Dr. Christy Thomas Adams joined the musicology faculty at the University of Alabama School of Music in 2019, having previously held faculty positions at the Yale School of Music, Bowdoin College, and Bates College. She received her PhD with distinction in Music History from Yale University. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, she also holds undergraduate degrees in Music, Art History, and History. Dr. Adams's broad research interests include the history and theory of opera, reception studies, cultural history, the history of media technologies, and the theoretical and conceptual issues of performance and mediation. Her current book project, under contract with Oxford University Press, is entitled Operatic Encounters with New Media: Sound Recording and Silent Cinema; in it, she explores the ways in which new media technologies from the turn of the 20th century appropriated 19th- and 20th-century Italian operatic repertoire and, in turn, impacted operatic creation and circulation. Specifically, she considers the evolving responses of the Italian opera industry to the emerging cinematic medium in the early decades of the twentieth century, focusing particularly on Casa Ricordi, the foremost Italian music publisher of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Dr. Adams's publications include an article in the Journal of the American Musicological Society on Giacomo Puccini and early silent cinema and an article in The Opera Quarterly on a 1911 film adaptation of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida. She has a forthcoming essay on Mascagni, Ricordi, and Rapsodia satanica to be published in a special silent film issue of Music and the Moving Image, as well as two chapters for the edited volume Puccini in Context and a chapter for the edited volume Verdi in Context, both forthcoming with Cambridge University Press. She has also reviewed Francesca Vella's Networking Operatic Italy for The Opera Quarterly. Dr. Adams has presented at both national and international conferences, including the American Musicological Society, the Transnational Opera Studies Conference, Music and the Moving Image, and the American Association for Italian Studies. She currently serves as Executive Editor of The Opera Journal, a publication of the National Opera Association aimed at a broad and diverse readership of opera scholars and practitioners and dedicated to fostering opera scholarship that bridges the worlds of performance and musicology.   As an educator, Dr. Adams is committed to inclusive education and to using Western art music as a subject through which to train critical skills for the 21st century: critical thinking and listening, written and oral communication, creativity, and collaboration. As a music historian with a background in both art history and history, she encourages her students to engage with the historical and cultural contexts in which the repertoire was created as well as to understand how these works, though received differently, are still relevant today. She has experience teaching a diverse body of students, both majors and non-majors, in a wide range of graduate and undergraduate music history courses, as well as music appreciation and music theory courses. Aside from her research and teaching, Dr. Adams also maintains an active presence as a performer. A classically trained singer, she has performed in a variety of venues as both a soprano soloist and a choral member, including with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra Chorus, UA Opera Guild, National Concerts, Opera Maine, ChoralArt Masterworks, Colby College, the Oratorio Chorale, Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, and Battell Chapel, and also worked as a supernumerary for the late Baltimore Opera Company.

Colin Kemper

ck..@ua.edu

Job Titles:

Instructor of Music Composition, Co - Artistic Director of the Contemporary Ensemble

Bio Colin Kemper is a composer, performer, and educator. His compositional interests are multifaceted; particularly, his art is concerned with matters pertaining to mental wellness, emotional intimacy and vulnerability, family dynamics, and community. He is interested in collaborative endeavors involving notated music, electronic, electro-acoustic, popular song, theatre, video games, film, dance, screendance, and multimedia installation. He is a Parma Artist on the Ravello Records Label and his music has been performed by members of the Dal Niente Ensemble, the Lunar Ensemble, the Meridian Percussion Trio, Houston's Foundation for Modern Music, the University of Alabama Contemporary Ensemble, and the University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance. Kemper's screen dances have been recognized at various festivals, including the Frame X Frame Dance Film Festival in Houston, Texas, the Modco Dance Film Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Lift Off Film Festival in Los Angeles, California. His soundtrack for Earthborn Interactive's "Flutterbombs" is released on Xbox and PlayStation American and European marketplaces.

Daniel Western

Job Titles:

Instructor of Music Theory

Daniel Western is an arranger, composer, performer, and educator. He holds degrees from The University of Alabama in arranging and saxophone performance. Daniel primarily composes and arranges for The Birmingham Seven but he has also produced works for The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards, the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, the American Council for the Russian National Orchestra, and various high school and collegiate ensembles. Daniel has worked with The Temptations, The Four Tops, The O'Jays, Mary Wilson and the Supremes, Frankie Valley, Ruben Studdard, Joan Rivers, Regis Philbin, Wayne Newton, Lew Soloff, and Lou "Blue Lou" Marini. Also, he has been teaching at the college level for the past fourteen years and is currently Instructor of Music Theory at The University of Alabama.

David Tayloe

Job Titles:

Associate Professor of Voice and Song Literature
Associate Professor of Voice and Song Literature, Tenor

Davie Higginbotham

Job Titles:

Office Associate II
Office Associate II, Admissions & Curricula Coordinator

Dawn Sandel

Job Titles:

Director of Music Therapy Clinical Field Education

Bio Dawn Sandel is the Director of Music Therapy Clinical Field Education at The University of Alabama (UA). She joined the School of Music in August of 2021 after providing 15 years of music therapy services at the RISE Center, an inclusion preschool at UA for children ages 8 weeks-5 years. Before moving to Alabama, Dawn was employed as a music therapist at Big Bend Hospice in Tallahassee, FL, where she also completed her music therapy internship. Dawn earned a Bachelor of Music (music therapy) degree from The University of Dayton and a Master of Arts in Education (early childhood special education) from The University of Alabama at Birmingham. During her time in Dayton, Dawn and singer-songwriter, Jon Dittert (Lexington, KY), wrote and recorded the 11-track album Winter in Lexington (available on most digital platforms). She was a member of Dayton's Backporch Jam bluegrass band, and performed with renowned saxophonist and composer, Bobby Streng (Ann Arbor, MI), and Emmy-winning bass player and producer, the late Eric Suttman (Dayton, OH). In 2013, Dawn played the role of Murlyka (vocals and guitar) in Hermitage Cats Save the Day, a children's jazz musical written by Chris Brubeck and Mary Ann Allin. The show premiered at The University of Alabama, The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the Hermitage Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. Dawn previously served as chair of the Alabama Music Therapy State Task Force. In 2016, she was a recipient of the "Teacher Excellence" award from the Nick's Kids Foundation (Nick & Terry Saban). She currently serves as a WellBAMA Ambassador for UA's Office of Health Promotion and Wellness and she is a member of the American Music Therapy Association. Dawn performs at events in and around Tuscaloosa where she resides with her family.

Diane Boyd Schultz

Job Titles:

Coordinator of Music Administration
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Professor of Flute / Assistant Director - Director of Undergraduate Studies
Professor of Flute of the School

Flutist and piccoloist Diane Boyd Schultz has established her career through solo and chamber performances in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Romania, and Austria. She has performed as flutist and piccoloist of the Dallas Bach Society, Alabama Symphony, Terre Haute Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Shreveport Symphony, and Richardson Symphony Orchestras. She is a prizewinner of several national and international competitions, including the Mu Phi Epsilon International Competition and the National Federation of Music Clubs Orchestral Winds Competition. Her festival appearances include Interlochen and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camps, the British Flute Society, National Flute Association, Mid-South Flute Festival, Florida Flute Association, and the Flute Society of St. Louis, and performances have been broadcast on Red River Radio and Blue Lake Public Radio. She has also recorded for the Emmy award-winning documentary Weathered Secrets and for incidental music to the play Death of A Salesman. She has presented masterclasses and clinics in England, Québec, the Bahamas, Cuba, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arizona, Texas, Ohio, Colorado, New York, Oklahoma, and Florida. A Rotary International Scholar, she studied at McGill University in Montréal, and she has received grants to pursue her interest in studying and commissioning new works for flute and piccolo by American composers. She performed for the world premieres of Chris Brubeck's Hermitage Cats Save the Day at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, and at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. Her articles have appeared in Flute Talk,Pan, and Instrumentalist. Schultz is professor of flute of the School of Music at The University of Alabama, where she is also a member of the Capstone Wind Quintet. Previously she was on the faculties of Stephen F. Austin and Eastern Illinois Universities. She is a Yamaha Performing Artist.

Don Fader

Job Titles:

Coordinator of Musicology
Professor of Musicology
Professor, Coordinator of Musicology

Don Fader (Professor of Musicology) joined the tenure-track faculty at the UA School of Music in 2008. He holds an A.M. in the performance of historical wind instruments (1993), and a Ph.D. in musicology (2000) from Stanford University. Before coming to UA, he taught at Indiana University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and UNC-Greensboro.

Dr. Amir Zaheri

Job Titles:

Area Coordinator, Composition & Theory / Associate Professor of Composition
Area Coordinator, Composition & Theory, Associate Professor of Composition, University Organist & Denny Chimes Carillonneur
Coordinator of Composition & Theory

Dr. Andrew Lynge

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor of Percussion, Director of Percussion Studies
Founding Member of Epoch Percussion

Dr. Andrew Lynge is currently the Assistant Professor of Percussion at The University of Alabama. At The University of Alabama he coordinates percussion activities that include the UA Percussion Ensemble, applied lessons, and the percussion methods course. Along with his position at The University of Alabama, he is the Principal Percussionist with the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra. He is the Vice President/President-Elect of the Alabama Chapter, Percussive Arts Society and is also a member of the Percussive Arts Society Education Committee. He was the Assistant Professor of Percussion at Jacksonville State University (Jacksonville, Alabama) from 2017 - 2019. As an international solo percussionist Dr. Lynge was an invited artist for the 2019 World Percussion Movement (Bari, Italy) and the 16th International Patagonia Percussion Festival (General Roca, Argentina). He had the pleasure of performing solo and ensemble concerts, as well as the opportunity to present clinics and master classes at these festivals. A recent clinic tour through Italy (January, 2019) included clinics and master classes at Conservatorio Superiore di Musica, Acquaviva delle Fonti, Conservatorio di Matera, Conservatorio di Cesena, and Liceo Musicale Ancona. Along with his international travels, Dr. Lynge has performed regularly at PASIC, TMEA, AMEA, and at various PAS Days of Percussion and universities throughout the United States. In 2016 Dr. Lynge was a featured soloist with the International Percussion Ensemble Competition winner Lone Star High School with a performance of Keiko Abe's Reflections on Japanese Children's Songs III at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Recently, Dr. Lynge was invited to judge the 2019 All-Star Collegiate Percussion Ensemble Competition, which is an ensemble comprised of the top collegiate percussion students at the international level. Dr. Lynge is a founding member of Epoch Percussion, which is a percussion quartet that promotes the performance of new music. The members of Epoch Percussion include Andrew Lynge, Oni Lara, Nigel Fernandez, and Cory Fica. Epoch Percussion is frequent concerto soloists with The University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble and Dallas Winds, and has performed as soloists at the World Youth Wind Symphony at the Interlochen Arts Camp. These ensembles are under the baton of Maestro Jerry Junkin. Epoch Percussion had the recent pleasure to perform Re(new)al, a percussion concerto by composer Viet Cuong, with both the Dallas Winds and The University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble in April and May of 2019. A past collaboration with these two ensembles also included a performance of the percussion concerto Invisible Cities by Dinuk Wijeratne. An avid proponent of new music, Dr. Lynge has commissioned works for solo percussion. An Assembly of Outrage by Caleb Pickering is a solo for snare drum with audio accompaniment that addresses the political climate of modern day. Specializing in 6-mallet keyboard percussion, Dr. Lynge commissioned the vibraphone solo titled Śūnyatā by composer Samuel Peruzzolo-Vieira. This solo beautifully explores the possibilities of utilizing six mallets on the vibraphone. He is currently on the percussion staff with The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. In addition to teaching The Cavaliers, he served on the percussion staff for the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps from 2012-2014. Dr. Lynge was a member of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps from 2008 (DCI Champions-Fred E. Sanford High Percussion Award)-2009. Dr. Lynge earned degrees from Texas A&M University-Commerce (B.M.), Colorado State University (M.M.), and The University of Texas at Austin (D.M.A.).

Dr. Hannah Roberts

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor of Piano at the University

Dr. Hannah Roberts serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Alabama, where she teaches piano and piano pedagogy at the undergraduate and graduate levels. A prizewinner in numerous national and international competitions, her playing has earned her opportunities to perform both across the United States and abroad at the Schlöss Esterhazy in Eisenstadt, Austria. She has been a featured soloist with the University of Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra and the Oklahoma Community Orchestra and has given solo performances at institutions throughout the United States. She also maintains an active schedule as a collaborative pianist, including serving as staff pianist for the 2022 International Horn Competition of America and formerly as staff pianist for the University of Oklahoma School of Musical Theater. Active as a clinician and presenter, Dr. Roberts regularly presents pedagogy workshops and has been invited to share her research nationally at the MTNA, CMS, NCKP, and GP3 conferences. She is published in American Music Teacher and MTNA e-Journal and has contributed video publications to the Frances Clark Center's From the Artist Bench and Inspiring Artistry series. Her current research focuses on studying and performing the works of forgotten American female composers, with particular emphasis on the music of Helen Hopekirk. Her doctoral project on Hopekirk was nominated for the University of Oklahoma Dissertation Award for Best Dissertation in the Humanities and Fine Arts, and she was awarded the 2023 Edward T. Cone Fellowship from the Society for American Music for continued research on this topic. Additionally, her interest in health and wellness for pianists led to her being awarded the David Kushner Paper Award from the College Music Society for her work addressing injury prevention strategies for pianists. Dr. Roberts holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of South Alabama. She studied piano with Jeongwon Ham and Robert Holm and piano pedagogy with Barbara Fast and Jane Magrath. Dr. Roberts is an active member of MTNA and the College Music Society and currently serves on the board of the Alabama Music Teachers Association. She is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM).

Dr. Jeremy Crawford

Job Titles:

Associate Director
Associate Professor of Tuba & Euphonium at the University
Associate Professor of Tuba & Euphonium, Associate Director - School

Dr. Jeremy Crawford is Associate Professor of Tuba & Euphonium at the University of Alabama, where he also serves as Associate Director of the School of Music. Dr. Crawford has performed in numerous ensembles including the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Brass Band, Northwest Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Evanston Symphony Orchestra, and the Dubuque Brass Quintet. International performances have taken him to Italy, France, and Greece. Recent conference performances and masterclass include the 2021 Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic, the International Trombone Festival, the Southeast Horn Workshop, the South-central and Southeast Tuba & Euphonium Conferences, the World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg, France, the International Tuba Euphonium Conference, and the International Music By Women Festival. To Bring To Bloom, Dr. Crawford's first solo album, was released in 2018. The album features works for tuba by Sy Brandon, Amir Zaheri, Andrew Batterham, and D. Edward Davis. His second solo album, Hummingbrrd, was released in the fall of 2019 and features works for tuba and electronics by Steven Bryant, Brian Sadler, Andy Scott, and Neal Corwell. His third album, All Made of Tunes, was released on Summit Records in October 2020.Featured composers include Gerald Finzi, Stephen Sondheim, Sara Bareilles, and Charles Ives. Jeremy is a Meinl Weston performing artist. He lives in Tuscaloosa with his wife Vee and their 6-year old daughter Zoey.

Dr. Jonathan Whitaker

Job Titles:

Professor of Trombone

Dr. Jonathan Whitaker joined the faculty of the University of Alabama in the fall of 2009. At Alabama, Whitaker's students have been tremendously successful in national and international solo competitions as well as being placed in some of the nation's top summer music festivals. The University of Alabama Trombone Choir has given performances at the 2010 Eastern Trombone Workshop, the 2011 International Trombone Festival in Nashville, TN and the 2013 International Trombone Festival in Columbus, GA. Whitaker has also appeared twice as a performer and clinician at the Eastern Trombone Workshop and two International Trombone Festivals. Whitaker is in great demand as a guest artist and has appeared at some of the most prestigious music schools in the country including The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Yale University, Indiana University and many more. As a soloist, Whitaker can be heard on numerous recordings including the 2013 release of his debut solo recording entitled "Nature's Gift" with pianist Kevin Chance. He is a featured soloist on two recordings with the University of Alabama Wind Ensemble that include Anthony Barfield's "Red Sky" and David Maslanka's Concerto for Trombone and Wind Ensemble. These recordings are available at www.jonathanwhitaker.com. Whitaker has been very active in commissioning new works for the trombone. In 2016 he gave the world premiere of Nicola Ferro's Mega for solo trombone and wind ensemble. In 2013, Whitaker gave the world premiere of Jim Stephenson's Three Bones Concerto commissioned for the University of Alabama Wind Ensemble along with Joseph Alessi and Peter Ellefson. He also performed the work at the 2013 Eastern Trombone Workshop with the United States Army Band "The Pershing's Own", again with Alessi and Ellefson. He is also responsible for the commissioning of Eric Ewazen's Visions of Light. In 2012, Whitaker made his Carnegie Hall debut as a soloist at the New York Wind Band Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with all of the wind groups at Indiana University, the Augustana College Symphonic Band, the Purdue University Symphony Orchestra, the Henderson State University Wind Ensemble and performed a premier performance of John Mackey's Harvest: Concerto for Trombone with the University of Alabama Wind Ensemble in the fall of 2010. He also performed the American premier of Johan de Meij's T-Bone Concerto with the Murray State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Whitaker has performed with the New York Philharmonic on three separate occasions including the orchestra's 2012 Opening Gala that was broadcast on Live from Lincoln Center on PBS with music director Alan Gilbert. Whitaker is currently Principal Trombone of the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra. He performs regularly with the Alabama Symphony and has also held positions and performed with the Harrisburg Symphony (PA), Mobile Symphony (AL), Arkansas Symphony, Pine Bluff Symphony (AR), Shreveport Symphony (LA), South Arkansas Symphony, Duluth-Superior Symphony (MN), Owensboro Symphony (KY), Evansville Philharmonic (IN), Richmond Symphony (IN), Jackson Symphony (TN) and the Paducah Symphony (KY). As a chamber musician, Whitaker can be heard on Dee Stewart's CD entitled D+ (Dee Plus) performing with the Indiana University Trombone Faculty and on two recordings by the Stentorian Consort Trombone Quartet. Whitaker serves on the faculty of the Alessi Seminar. In 2005, he was selected as one of sixteen participants for the Seminar and was a featured soloist twice that year. From 2005-2015, Whitaker served as the chief administrator for the Seminar and is honored to now be on the faculty. Dr. Whitaker holds degrees in trombone performance from Murray State University and the University of Minnesota and the Doctor of Music degree in Brass Pedagogy at Indiana University where he served as Associate Instructor of Trombone from 2001-2004. Dr. Whitaker's primary teachers include Ray Conklin, Tom Ashworth, M. Dee Stewart, Peter Ellefson and Joseph Alessi with additional studies with Arnold Jacobs, Edward Kleinhammer, Michael Mulcahy, Charlie Vernon and Douglas Wright.

Dr. Judy L. Ransom

Job Titles:

Adjunct Instructor of Music Education

Dr. Judy L. Ransom holds degrees from Greensboro College, Old Dominion University and Shenandoah University. She brings more than 30 years of teaching experience in both PK-12 and in higher education, where she taught most courses in the undergraduate BA music degree. Her primary instrument is piano, with professional experience that includes soloist and accompanist in classical, jazz and contemporary music. Judy also has significant experience in church music and musical theater, where she served as Music Director and rehearsal accompanist for numerous productions across the country. Most recent productions have been with Tuscaloosa Children's Theater, Actor's Charitable Theater and Theatre Tuscaloosa. She recently submitted an article for publication and presented at the summer Alabama ACDA summer 2018 conference. She teaches general music, choir and piano at the Alberta School of Performing Arts in Tuscaloosa.

Dr. Julie Bannerman

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor of Music Education
Education

Dr. Julie Bannerman is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Alabama. Her appointment began in 2019. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education and coordinates the PreK Music Partnership with Tuscaloosa City Schools. A former public school music teacher, she specializes in general music education at all levels. Dr. Bannerman's research and clinical interests include culturally and linguistically diverse learners in music classrooms, early childhood music, curriculum innovation, technology integration, policy and access to music education, and music teacher education. She is published in the Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, and Journal of Research in Music Education. Dr. Bannerman serves on the editorial board of Contributions to Music Education and is a member of the Music Educators Journal Advisory Committee. Dr. Bannerman regularly presents research and clinical sessions at venues such as the Alabama Music Educators Association (AMEA) Professional Development Conference, the Mountain Lake Colloquium for Teachers of General Music, the Society for Music Teacher Education Symposium, and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) National Conference, among others. Prior to her appointment as Assistant Professor, Dr. Bannerman served for three years as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Alabama. Before Alabama, she served for three years on the Music Education Faculty at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in Potsdam, New York, as the Early Childhood General Music specialist. Dr. Bannerman's public school teaching career includes over five years working in early childhood, elementary, and middle school general and vocal music in Washington state and California. She served for two years in the United States Peace Corps as an education volunteer in Nicaragua, Central America. She has studied varied pedagogical approaches to general music education including Kodály (Levels 1 & 2), Orff (Level 1), Dalcroze, and World Music Pedagogy. Dr. Bannerman was a Modern Band Higher Education Fellow (2021) and incorporates popular music pedagogy into methods courses.

Dr. Karli Viña

He is a member of "Madera Viva," a bassoon and percussion duo with Dr. Karli Viña that explores a variety of repertoire from different time periods, genres, and styles, including many adaptations and arrangements created by the duo.

Dr. Kenneth Ozzello

Job Titles:

Director
Director of Bands
Professor of Conducting, Director of Bands

Dr. Kenneth Ozzello is the director of bands and a professor of music at The University of Alabama. Dr. Ozzello joined the University faculty in 1989. He holds a Bachelor of Music in music education and a Master of Music in conducting degrees from West Virginia University. He earned the Doctorate of Education from The University of Alabama. Dr. Ozzello is also the director of The University of Alabama "Million Dollar Band," one of the most widely recognized symbols of The University of Alabama and Crimson Tide Football. In 2003 The University of Alabama "Million Dollar Band" received the prestigious Sudler Trophy, which is the only national award honoring excellence in the college marching band activity.

Dr. Paul Houghtaling

ph..@ua.edu

Job Titles:

Coordinator of Voice
Director of Opera
Director of Opera Theatre
Professor, Co - Coordinator of Voice, and Director of Opera, Bass - Baritone

Edisher Savitski

es..@ua.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Professor of Piano

Ellary Draper

Job Titles:

Associate Professor of Music Therapy

Ellary Draper is Associate Professor of Music Therapy at The University of Alabama. She holds degrees in music education from Westminster Choir College, music therapy from Florida State University, and music and human learning from The University of Texas at Austin.

Eric Yates

ey..@music.ua.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Professor of Trumpet
Associate Professor of Trumpet, Brass Area Coordinator
Coordinator of Brass
Professor at the University of Alabama School

Frank Moody

The School of Music occupies the Frank Moody Music Building, which provides a spacious and beautiful environment in which to study and perform. The centerpiece of the building is the 1,000-seat concert hall with its Holtkamp organ, standing three stories high with four manuals, 65 stops, and more than 5,000 pipes. The building, which has 135,000 square feet of floor space, includes a recital/lecture hall; choral and jazz rehearsal rooms; pipe-organ practice rooms; large teaching studios; 52 practice rooms; a media center; research labs for music education and therapy; and studios equipped for electronic and computer music. Additionally, Moody Music Building holds three instrumental rehearsal spaces, one of which is large enough to hold the entirety of the world-renowned Million Dollar Band. The Moody Music Building is located at the east end of the University of Alabama campus and has ample parking directly across the street. The flowers, trees, and benches in the building's large courtyard complete the picture of a modern facility in a graceful setting.

Gesa Kordes

Job Titles:

Instructor of Musicology and Chamber

Holtkamp Organ

The organ in the Concert Hall of the Frank Moody Music Building was created by the Holtkamp Organ Company of Cleveland, Ohio, at the instigation of Warren Hutton, then professor of music and university organist. The instrument was funded entirely by private donors.

Jacob Adams

Job Titles:

Assistant Director of Graduate Studies
Associate Professor of Viola

Jane Weigel

jw..@ua.edu

Job Titles:

Director of the Community Music School

Jennifer Caputo

Job Titles:

Instructor in New College
Instructor of African Drumming, Instructor in New College and New College LifeTrack

Jennifer Caputo is an instructor in New College and New College LifeTrack at the University of Alabama. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, CUNY (City University of New York) and a Master of Arts degree in Music (ethnomusicology) from Tufts University. She completed Ph.D. coursework in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University. Ms. Caputo is fortunate to have studied world percussion with a number of outstanding musicians including, Abraham Adzenyah, Emmanuel Agbeli, Robert Levin, Valerie Naranjo, David Locke, Glen Velez, Allesandra Belloni, Raffaele Inserra, Michael Lipsey, David Nelson, I.M. Harjito, Barry Drummond, and Sumarsam. Her teaching and performing interests integrate music, dance, creativity in the arts, cultural studies, arts activism, community engagement, and educational outreach. Jennifer founded the UA African Drumming Ensemble that performs traditional music from Ghana. Most recently, she completed Simon Faulkner's Rhythm2Recovery training and has been facilitating therapeutic drumming sessions with therapists in the Tuscaloosa area. Jennifer just completed a six-year term serving on the Percussive Arts Society World Percussion Committee and served as the Secretary of the Alabama Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society from 2012-2015.

Jenny Grégoire

jg..@ua.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Professor of Violin
Associate Professor of Violin, String Area Coordinator
Coordinator of Strings

Violinist Jenny Grégoire is Associate Professor of Violin and String Area Coordinator at the University of Alabama. Born in Québec, Canada, Ms. Grégoire began to play violin when she was five. At age six, she was admitted in the pre-college division of the Québec Music Conservatoire where she studied with Jean Angers and Liliane Garnier-Le Sage and earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in violin performance, with a minor in chamber music. Upon leaving Québec, Ms. Grégoire attended Northwestern University, where she received a Master's degree in Violin Performance and Pedagogy with Dr. Myron Kartman. She was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for two seasons and worked with conductors Daniel Barenboim, Neeme Jarvi, Mstislav Rostropovich, Pierre Boulez and Cliff Colnot, among others. Jenny Grégoire left Chicago to play one season with the New World Symphony, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, in Miami, FL. Ms. Grégoire is currently concertmaster of the Mobile Symphony Orchestra, a position that she has held since 2001. She is extremely sought-after in the southeast, as she is also concertmaster of the Meridian, North Mississippi and Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestras. In addition to her orchestral career, Ms. Grégoire remains active as a soloist and recitalist. She has performed several times as a soloist with the Mobile Symphony and the Meridian Symphony Orchestra. In May 2019, she performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Adam Flatt. She has been heard in solo and chamber music recitals throughout the United States and Canada. An avid chamber musician, she has notably collaborated with violinists Stefan Jackiw and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, as well as pianist William Wolfram. Additionally, Ms. Grégoire is on faculty at the Eastern Music Festival, where she is the Assistant Principal Second Violin in the faculty orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Gerard Schwarz. Ms. Grégoire recently performed Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4 with the Eastern Music Festival Chamber Orchestra. In 2019, Jenny Grégoire traveled to Brazil with pianist Dr. Robert Holm, to perform recitals and teach masterclasses at the Conservatório de Tatuí and Unicamp University in Campinas. In January 2020, she was featured as a soloist with the Meridian Symphony Orchestra. More recently, Ms. Grégoire performed Vaughan Williams, The Lark Ascending, with the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and conductor Steven Byess. Ms. Grégoire plans to release this spring her first solo recording, "Music of My Homeland", featuring music for violin and piano by French Canadian composers.

Jimmy Liu

Job Titles:

Piano Technician

Jonathan Ligrani

Job Titles:

Instructor of Musicology

Jonathan Noffsinger

Job Titles:

Assistant Director - Director of Graduate Studies / Associate Professor of Saxophone and Jazz / Director of Graduate Studies

Jon Noffsinger maintains an active performing schedule as a concert saxophonist and in diverse jazz and commercial idioms. Exploring and promoting these rich and diverse musical opportunities is central to his creative, teaching, and service activities. Numerous works have been written for Mr. Noffsinger and his students-often receiving their premieres at national and international conferences. Some of his recorded performances may be found in his collaborations with Demondrae Thurman, Snapshots (2013), The Birmingham Seven-Just Passing Through: The Birmingham Seven (2022 Summit 799), Yeah, About That (2016), Second Set (2014), and The Birmingham Seven (2012)-and, as one of the Tuscaloosa Horns, on the Temptations 2001 Motown release of "A Love I Can See" on the Awesome CD (440016 330-2). Jon Noffsinger is proud to be a contributing member of the Alabama Jazz Collective-comprised of Jazz Educators from throughout the state of Alabama, at leading Universities, Colleges, and High Schools. Additionally, he has appeared as featured soloist with the Tuscaloosa and Huntsville Symphony Orchestras in Alabama and the Anderson Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina as well multiple collaborations with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the orchestras of Mobile, Meridian, and the Alabama Gulf Coast. His achievements have been honored by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, the Arts & Humanities Council of Tuscaloosa County, Concert Artists Guild, the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and the Conservatoire National de Region-Bordeaux. Mr. Noffsinger's principal teachers have included James Forger, Griffin Campbell, Jean-Marie Londeix, and Gerald Welker. Jon Noffsinger has served on the University of Alabama music faculty since 1993.

Joseph Sargent

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor of Musicology

Joseph Sargent joined the musicology faculty at the University of Alabama in 2018. Prior to arriving at UA he taught at the University of California-Davis, University of San Francisco, California State University-East Bay, and for six years at the University of Montevallo, where he received the Distinguished Teacher Award from the College of Fine Arts. Dr. Sargent's research focuses on sacred music in Renaissance England and Spain, as well as modern English and American music. He has completed monographs in both these areas, including a critical edition of service music by English composer Nathaniel Giles (Early English Church Music/Stainer & Bell) as well as the first published biography of American composer Leo Sowerby (University of Illinois Press). He is particularly interested in recovering and re-assessing works by previously neglected composers, as well as extending the modern reception of better-known figures to new areas of focus. Articles and reviews on these and other topics appear in Early Music History, American Music, The Musical Times, Revista de Musicología, American Choral Review, National Early Music Association UK Newsletter, Sacred Music, NOTES: Journal of the Music Library Association, Fontes Artis Musicae, and Oxford Music Online. Recent essays also appear or are forthcoming in the edited collections Byrd Studies in the Twenty-First Century (Clemson University Press) and Wegzeichen Neue Musik/New Music Directions (Hollitzer Academic Press). Book chapters on the subject of Renaissance Magnificats appear in several volumes, including Treasures of the Golden Age (Pendragon), Senfl-Studien 2 (Hans Schneider), and Maria "inter confessiones": The Magnificat in the Early Modern Age (Brepols). Dr. Sargent was a Fulbright Scholar in Spain, and his research has been further supported by grants from the University of Alabama, the University of Montevallo, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the American Musicological Society, and the A.A. Heckman Fund. Also active in performance, Dr. Sargent has directed several early music ensembles and has performed and recorded with premier choral groups in wide-ranging repertory. He currently sings with Highland Consort, a Birmingham-based professional ensemble specializing in English Renaissance repertory, and also serves as president of its board of directors. He additionally performs regularly as a bassoonist and clarinetist. Dr. Sargent received a B.A. in music and psychology from the University of Rochester and an M.A. and Ph.D. in musicology and humanities from Stanford University. He holds memberships in numerous professional organizations and recently concluded a two-year term as president of the Southern Chapter of the American Musicological Society.

Kenneth Michael McGuire

km..@ua.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Professor in the School
Associate Professor of Music Education
Education

Kenneth Michael McGuire is Associate Professor in the School of Music at the University of Alabama where he teaches courses in songwriting, piano/keyboard improvisation, and Musicians' Collective, which offers all instrumentalists and vocalists collaborative experiences in improvisation, composition, and performance through chamber groupings. He earned degrees from Syracuse University, and the State Universities of New York at Fredonia and Binghamton. Prior to his appointment at Alabama, McGuire taught music in New York public schools and worked extensively as a songwriter, arranger, performer, and producer of audio recordings and music videos. McGuire's composition and performing interests are diverse and his efforts include both solo and collaborative productions. Items from his catalog are published by Cabin 5 and are distributed by Livingston Records (Listen to some samples below). His teaching approach encourages students to examine their preferences and craft personal, original art. Dr. McGuire's other scholarly activities include numerous research presentations, workshops, articles, and conferences on music education. His articles are published in Journal of Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Therapy, International Journal for Mathematics Teaching and Learning, Southeastern Journal of Research in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, and Teaching Music. He has served the National Association for Music Education, Alabama Music Educators Association, Alabama State Education Department, and locally situated arts and arts advocacy groups in multiple leadership roles.