Dr. Paul Dease
Assistant Professor of Music
Director of Choral Activities
Dr. Paul Dease
Director of Choral Activities
Office: Potter Hall 108
E-mail: jdease@missouriwestern.edu
Dr. Paul Dease is a native of Dothan, AL. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Choral/Vocal Music from the University of Montevallo (1995), a Master of Music in Choral Conducting with advanced studies in Vocal Pedagogy (1997), and a Ph.D. in Choral Conducting/Choral Music Education from the Florida State University College of Music (2007). His conducting and teaching experience includes Southeastern Louisiana University, Midwestern State University Texas, The Magic City Choral Society, The Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra, members of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Southside Baptist Church Birmingham AL, Red Mountain Theatre Summer Youth Workshop, Opera Birmingham, The University of Alabama, The Florida State University College of Music, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra Chorus, East Carolina University, and The Greenville Choral Society and New Carolina Sinfonia. Dr. Dease has guest conducted across the southeastern and southwestern United States. Dr. Dease has studied with Judy Bowers, Kevin Fenton, Rhonda Fleming, Cliff Madsen, and André Thomas. His early/formative mentors include Kathryn Foster, Judy and Gene Montgomery, and Gilda Wilkerson.
Dr. Lee Harrelson
Professor of Music
Director of Instrumental Studies & Bands
Dr. Ronald Lee Harrelson
Professor
Director of Instrumental Studies & Bands
Office: Potter Hall 222
E-mail: rharrelson1@missouriwestern.edu
Lee Harrelson is Professor of Music at Missouri Western State University. He serves as the Chair of the Department of Music and instructor of low brass and chamber music. Dr. Harrelson attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where he studied music education and music performance before completing his masters and doctorate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance.
Dr. Harrelson is the founder of the Fountain City Brass Band and currently serves as its artistic director and principal euphoniumist. The Fountain City Brass Band (FCBB) is one of the America’s premiere brass and percussion ensembles and has been featured throughout the U.S. and Europe in concerts and competitions. The FCBB is the current top ranked brass band in the United States and the reigning U.S. Open and North American Champions. Under Dr. Harrelson’s artistic leadership the band has won six North American Brass Band Association Championships, eight U.S. Open Brass Band Championships and one Scottish Open Brass Band Championship since it began competing in 2004. During his tenure the FCBB has produced four commercial recordings, performed with countless world-class soloists and developed a youth brass program, the Fountain City Youth Brass Academy, that serves over 100 school aged students per year. At the 2011 All England International Brass Band Competition, as a member of the FCBB, Lee was named Best Instrumentalist; a first for an American at an English brass band competition.
Dr. Harrelson can be heard on numerous commercially released recordings and has appeared throughout North America and Europe as a clinician, soloist and chamber musician. Lee Harrelson is a Buffet Group/Besson Performing Artist.
Bob Long
Assistant Professor of Music
Director of Jazz Studies/Saxophone
Bob Long
Director of Jazz Studies
Office: Potter Hall 218
E-mail: long@missouriwestern.edu
Bob Long serves Director of Jazz Studies/Saxophone Studio at Missouri Western State University. Additional duties include teaching woodwind methods, jazz improvisation, overseeing the jazz combos, and assisting with the Golden Griffons Marching Band. He also directs the Missouri Western Jazz Ensemble, the university’s top big band. Prior to Missouri Western Bob taught for twelve years in the West Des Moines Community School District where he was Coordinator of Jazz Studies for Valley High School. During his time at Valley High School the jazz program included five big bands, three for grades 10 through 12 and two at the freshman level, as well as three combos. Major appearances include a sister city exchange tour to Russia in 1994, performing at the 1996 IAJE Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, and performing at the 1999 Essentially Ellington Jazz Band Festival at Lincoln Center. The Jazz Orchestra was also an evening finalist seven out of eleven years in the Iowa Jazz Championships. While at Missouri Western, the MWSU Jazz Ensemble has performed at the Greater St. Louis Jazz Festival (2005, 2007), was invited to perform at the 2008 North Texas Jazz Festival, and was the featured collegiate jazz ensemble for the Missouri Music Educators Association Conference (2011, 2013).
Bob received his Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Arts degrees from Truman State University (formerly Northeast Missouri State University). From 1985 to 1988 he pursued further graduate studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, serving as a teaching assistant in saxophone and jazz, with his primary studies being with Professors Tim Timmons, Mike Parkinson and Gary Foster. His other teaching experiences include serving for one year as Instructor of Saxophone for Truman State University, and for five years serving as the Teaching Artist in Saxophone for Drake University. Performance credits include the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, the Kansas City Symphony, the Des Moines Big Band, Des Moines Metro Opera Orchestra, Des Moines Symphony, the Latin jazz group Ashanti as well as performing both the Jimmy Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey music books. He has also backed up a variety of performers such as Bobby Shew, Clark Terry, Dick Oatts, Peter Erskine, John Pizzarelli, Marilyn Maye, Lou Rawls as well as Manhattan Transfer, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
Bob’s professional affiliations include the Missouri Association for Jazz Education (Past President), the Missouri Bandmasters Association, the Iowa Bandmasters Association, Missouri Music Educators Association, NAfME, Phi Beta Mu, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Locally he serves on the Board of Directors for the Coleman Hawkins Jazz Society and is a member of the St. Joseph Symphony Board.
Dr. Jennifer Oliverio
Assistant Professor of Music
Dr. Jennifer Oliverio
Assistant Professor of Music
Office: Potter Hall 213
E-mail: joliverio@missouriwestern.edu
Phone: (816) 271-1282
Dr. Jennifer Oliverio is an American cornet and flugelhorn player who holds the positions of principal cornet with the Fountain City Brass Band and flugelhorn with the Athena Brass Band. Jen is currently the Assistant Professor of Music at Missouri Western State University for trumpet and is one of the directors for the Fountain City Youth Brass Academy.
As an orchestral musician, Jen has performed as an extra with the Kansas City Symphony and the Alabama Symphony. She also performed as the second trumpet player with the Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Jen is a founding member of the Trilogy Brass Trio based out of Kansas City and has performed with Trilogy at the International Women’s Brass Conference on multiple occasions.
As a teacher, Jen has had students accepted as semi-finalists to the National Trumpet Competition, semi-finalists for the International Trumpet Guild solo competitions, and as winners in the North American Brass Band Championships solo and ensemble competitions.
Jen is an avid supporter of new music for cornet and flugelhorn, having commissioned and premiered solo works by Lucy Pankhurst, Dorothy Gates, Kevin Day, Andrea Hobson, Jen Mitchell, and Joel Collier for her premiere solo album Enigma. Her work on Enigma received overwhelmingly positive reviews and was nominated for the 2021 4barsrest Album of the Year and resulted in Jen being nominated for 4barsrest 2021 Player of the Year, and her being named to the 2021 Band of the Year.
Dr. Derek M. Jenkins
Associate Professor of Music
Dr. Derek M. Jenkins
Associate Professor of Music
Derek M. Jenkins (b. 1986, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) is an American composer, whose music has been performed throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and Brazil by the Cheyenne and Dubuque Symphony Orchestras; Fountain City Brass Band; Dresdner Bläserphilharmonie; Czech National Concert Band; Banda Sinfônica Municipal de Hortolândia; Seattle Wind Symphony; U.S. Army Materiel Command Band; Youth Symphony of Kansas City; Mid America Freedom Band; the Carinthia, Joseph Wytko, and Saxophilia Saxophone Quartets; Ensemble for These Times; Songeaters; saxophonists Randall Hall, Gilbert Sabitzer, Michael Shults, and Joseph Wytko; trombonist Bruce Faske; as well as university bands, honor bands, and honor orchestras around the country.
Jenkins has received recognition from WASBE, Sonus International Music Festival, The American Prize, National Band Association, MMTA/MTNA, Missouri State University Composition Festival, Red Note Music Festival, MACRO, ASCAP, and at conferences and festivals across the U.S. and abroad. Recent commissions have come from a consortium of bands led by the University of Central Missouri Wind Ensemble (Corey Seapy, conductor); a consortium of bands led by the Wichita State University Wind Ensemble (Timothy Shade, conductor); the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra; the National Youth Brass Band of America; the Arkansas State University Concert Choir; and trombonist Bruce Faske among others.
Jenkins currently serves as Associate Professor of Music Theory at Missouri Western State University and previously held a similar position at Arkansas State University. In 2023, he was awarded the Arkansas State University College of Liberal Arts and Communication’s Faculty Award for Emerging Scholarship for his research and creative pursuits. He has given masterclass presentations at the Sveučilište U Zagrebu Muzička Akademja, the University of Salford, and several universities and high schools around the country. Jenkins holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (DMA Composition, MM Musicology, 2017; BM Composition, BM Theory, 2010) and Rice University (MM Composition, 2013). Additionally, he has received further instruction at the Kärntner Landeskonservatorium and the Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt. Beyond music, he was a Preparing Future Faculty Fellow at UMKC where he earned a Graduate Certificate in College Teaching and Career Preparation, and he briefly studied mathematics at Loras College.
His music can be heard on the ABLAZE Records, Mark Custom Records, and World of Brass labels, and is available through BrookWright Music, Murphy Music Press, Veritas Musica Publishing, and under his own imprint.
More information can be found at: www.derekmjenkins.com.
Dr. Stacey S. Uthe
Assistant Professor of Music
Vocal Coordinator
Dr. Stacey S. Uthe
Assistant Professor of Music
Vocal Area Coordinator
Office: Potter Hall 111
E-mail: suthe2@missouriwestern.edu
Phone: (816) 271-1282
A native of South Dakota, Dr. Uthe earned a B.A. in Music Education from Augustana University and began her professional career as a K-12 Music teacher in her hometown of Sioux Falls, where she honed her conducting skills as the Assistant Choral Director at Washington High School. After six years, a desire to continue her education took her to UMKC. While there she earned a M.M. in Choral Conducting, a M.M. in Vocal Performance, and a D.M.A. in Vocal Performance. While finishing her doctorate, Dr. Uthe began her career as a professional classical singer. The following twenty year period produced a series of professional credits of over thirty operatic roles with professional opera companies and appearances with professional symphony orchestra organizations across the United States, and in Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Bangkok, Thailand.
In addition to her professional singing career, Dr. Uthe has remained passionate about teaching, serving as Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Evansville in Indiana, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Voice at UMKC, Instructor of Voice with the Encore Program at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, KS, and Instructor of Voice for her own thriving private studio of singing students ranging in age from 10 to 60.
Dr. Uthe resides in Kansas City with her husband, Reed, and their two senior cats, Leonardo (Leo) DiCatrio and Maximus (Max) Augustus, and she is looking forward to joining the amazing team at Missouri Western. For more detailed professional information: https://www.vocalartistsmgmt.com/stacey-stofferahn
Dr. Patrick Yeh
Director of Athletic Bands
Dr. Patrick Yeh
Director of Athletic Bands
Email: pyeh1@missouriwestern.edu
Dr. Patrick Yeh (he/him) is a tubist and educator based in the Kansas City area. He currently serves as the Director of Athletic Bands at Missouri Western State University and is the Adjunct Tuba Professor at William Jewell College. He has been on staff with the Blue Springs High School Marching band for the last six years and is currently on staff with the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. Patrick received his DMA and Masters of Music from the University of Missouri – Kansas City, and Bachelors of Music from Northern Arizona University. While attending the UMKC Conservatory, he was a member of Volker Brass, a highly decorated collegiate brass quintet which competed in various competitions including Fischoff, MTNA, Coltman, and the National Brass Quintet Competition where they won first prize. He also provides on location streaming and recording services focused on creating high quality audio and visual productions at an affordable price. In addition to his teaching and recording career, Patrick is an active performer and regularly plays Bb Bass with the Fountain City Brass Band and sousaphone in the Back Alley Brass Band.
Part-Time Faculty
James Albright
Bass
James Albright
Part Time Faculty of Bass
E-mail: jalbright5@missouriwestern.edu
James Albright holds a B.A. Music degree from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, which includes coursework in music, audio production and business administration. There, he was a full tuition scholarship winner and outstanding soloist award winner with the university orchestra, big band and small group ensembles. While in Nebraska, he honed his skills as a classical bassist by performing with the Lincoln Symphony and the Omaha Symphony. By the end of his schooling he had begun playing in clubs and halls across the country as a jazz bassist.
He came to Kansas City in 1992 and currently makes his living playing gigs, concerts, events, recording music and audio engineering. James continues to use his classical bass skills through his principal positions with the Northland Symphony and Liberty Symphony in the Kansas City area. He teaches bass at his private studio, at William Jewell College and at Missouri Western State University.
In addition, he performs with a wide variety of groups including, the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, the Knucklebusters, Tim Whitmer, the Terry Hancock Band, Tom Jacobs, the Kansas City Bass Quartet and The Bon Ton Soul Accordion band. He is equally at home in the classical, rock, country, jazz and pop music styles on both upright and electric bass. His on-stage persona makes him as much fun to watch as he is to listen to.
James is also an audio engineer and session producer. He owns and operates a project studio, which interfaces with full scale studios and home studios alike. Live sound engineering is also a regular part of his schedule including everything from club dates to concert halls. Whether generating custom bass tracks, engineering a show or producing large multitrack works, versatility, creativity and great sound are trademarks of Albright productions.
Lorrie Dixon
Piano
Lorrie Dixon
Accompanist and Collaborative Pianist
E-mail: ldixon2@missouriwestern.edu
Lorrie Dixon is the rehearsal accompanist and collaborative pianist for the School of Fine Arts. She received her bachelors degree in music education (with piano emphasis) from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. She has over 30 years of experience accompanying university, high school, musical theater, private studios, and honor choirs throughout Tennessee, Kansas, Arkansas, and Missouri. She is the Collaborative Pianist for the St Joseph Community Chorus and is currently pursuing a Collaborative Pianist/ Vocal Coach master’s degree from the UMKC Conservatory of Music.
Richard Galbreath
Clarinet
Richard Galbreath
Part Time Faculty of Clarinet
E-mail: rgalbreath1@missouriwestern.edu
With a unique melding of technique, grace, and nuance, clarinetist Richard Galbreath captivates audiences with his passion for performing and commitment to musical storytelling. As a soloist and chamber musician, Richard has performed numerous recitals and has been featured as a soloist across the United States as well as abroad. Most recently, Richard was selected as a 2024 Clarinet Performance Fellow for the Cortona Sessions for New Music in Ede, Netherlands. There, he worked with various composers and performers to create and premiere new contemporary music. Richard performs with the Red Room Chamber Ensemble, who recently became finalists in the North American Saxophone Alliance FLEX Competition. In 2022, Richard was selected to perform in the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project in Schladming, Austria. He was also featured at the 2019 ClarinetFest in Knoxville, Tennessee with the Nicholls State University Bass Clarinet Ensemble, “Bassic.” As an educator, Richard serves as Instructor of Clarinet at Missouri Western State University in Saint Joseph, Missouri and MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas, where he utilizes a student-centered approach to teaching. He also maintains a private studio in the area. His students have placed in state, district, and county honor band auditions and school solo and ensemble festivals, with many placing first chair and one earning admittance to the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Richard has also been on staff at several music camps and academies around the United States. Originally from Houma, Louisiana, Richard is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Clarinet Performance at the University of Kansas, where he serves as a clarinet studio Graduate Teaching Assistant. Richard holds degrees from Colorado State University and Nicholls State University, and his primary teachers include Dr. Stephanie Zelnick, Dr. Robert Walzel, Dr. Wesley Ferreira, and Dr. Michael Bartnik.
Dr. Fanny Head
Piano
Dr. Fanny Head
Dr. Fanny (Po Sim Head) is a passionate pianist and musicologist who is dedicated to rediscovering lesser-known musicians and their compositions. She hails from Hong Kong, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Music Composition and Production from Hong Kong Baptist University. Dr. Fanny then pursued her master’s degrees in Piano Performance and Musicology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and her doctorate degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Kansas, where she studied under the renowned pedagogue Dr. Scott McBride Smith.
Dr. Fanny is an active member of academia, frequently presenting at various music conferences and contributing articles to Interlude.hk. She has also established a website that offers invaluable teaching resources for young piano teachers and students.
With over 20 years of teaching experience, Dr. Fanny has helped her students become active participants in piano recitals, festivals, and competitions. She is an active member of local music teacher associations and is often invited to judge local and international competitions.
Despite her busy schedule between school, writing, and teaching, Dr. Fanny still finds time to perform on stage and participate in music events and masterclasses worldwide. Her commitment to teaching and music is commendable and exemplifies her passion.
Dr. Tom Hueber
Voice
Dr. Thomas Hueber
Dr. Thomas Hueber, tenor, has enjoyed a varied career as a performer, teacher and opera stage director, serving on the faculty of Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, Wheaton, Illinois, where he taught applied voice, foreign language diction, and vocal pedagogy; prior to his appointment at Wheaton, Dr. Hueber served as Professor of Voice, Coordinator of Vocal Studies, and Director of Music Graduate Studies at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.
Dr. Hueber’s students have pursued graduate studies at institutions such as the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute, the University of Michigan, the University of Kansas, the University of Colorado at Boulder, the Hartt School of Music, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, leading them into successful professional solo singing careers, appearing with opera companies such as New York City Opera, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Kansas City Lyric Opera, Opera Colorado, and Chautauqua Opera, while others have enjoyed performing with professional choral ensembles such as Chanticleer, The Dale Warland Singers, the United States Navy Sea Chanters and the Kansas City Chorale. Some have successfully pursued teaching careers in public schools and institutions of higher education such as Boise State University, the University of South Carolina, and the University of Michigan Dr. Hueber is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and has served as the Missouri District Governor and as Governor of the Central Region of NATS. Dr. Hueber holds degrees in voice performance from the Conservatory of Music at Wheaton College and the University of Michigan.
Kathleen Holeman
Voice & Piano
Kathleen Holeman
Part Time Faculty of Voice & Piano
E-mail: mholeman@missouriwestern.edu
Kathleen Holeman has been a working jazz vocalist, pianist and trombonist in the greater Kansas City area and the Ozarks for over 25 years, performing with many great artists such as Gary Foster, Louie Bellson, Kim Park, and the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra. She has also performed in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi, Indiana and Georgia for festivals, series and private events. She directs the Ray Alburn Big Band and leads smaller combos in clubs, restaurants and private venues. She has been a judge at several jazz competitions, including the Iowa Vocal Jazz Championship.
Kathleen is Director of Vocal Jazz and Jazz Piano at Missouri Western State University, where she has also taught Aural Skills and served as Music Theater music advisor. She holds a Bachelor of Instrumental Music Education with a vocal certification degree from Missouri Western State College and a Master of Music degree from University of Missouri–Kansas City. She directs the Missouri Western Vocal Jazz Ensemble, formed in 2009.
Kathleen has enjoyed working in many genres of music over the years, including country, salsa, musical theater and rock, and was employed as a director of church music for over 25 years.
Kathleen loves to bring all of this experience and knowledge to her students, helping to create well-rounded musicians and educators at Missouri Western State University.
Yi-Miao Huang
Violin
Dr. Wendy Raines-Grew
Oboe and Bassoon
Dr. Wendy Raines-Grew
Part Time Faculty of Oboe and Bassoon
E-mail: wrainesgrew@missouriwestern.edu
www.wendygrew.com/
Dr. Wendy Raines-Grew is currently the adjunct Professor of Oboe and Bassoon at Missouri Western State University. She received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in oboe performance in August 2014 from the University of Memphis, under the direction of Dr. Michelle Vigneau. She was the first person to receive a Doctorate in oboe performance from the University of Memphis; after receiving her Masters of Music in Oboe Performance from Sam Houston State University, and Bachelors in Oboe Performance from Stephen F. Austin State University, under Dr. John Goodall.
While attending the University of Memphis, her specialization was the electro-acoustic abilities of the oboe/English horn and the related compositions. Her doctoral dissertation, “A Guide to Electro-Acoustic Performance for the Acoustic Oboist” focuses on allowing the novice in the field of electronics to feel comfortable performing the new repertoire, whether fixed media, interactive computer, or live electronic processing. She has setup the most extensive database online for oboists looking to find electro-acoustical compositions. Wendy has been invited to present her research twice at the International Festival of Woodwinds in Rio de Janeiro. An advocate of electro-acoustic music, Wendy commissions music for oboe and electronics including a piece for oboe and fixed media commissioned by Dr. Scott Hines. The piece In Memoriam was a needed addition to the repertoire.
Before coming to St. Joseph, Wendy was an adjunct professor at Drury University in Springfield MO teaching Music Appreciation and coaching chamber music groups. While pursuing her Doctorate, she taught Music Appreciation at the University of Memphis. Previously, she taught elementary music K-5 in the Houston Independent School District, having a majority of ESL students. Wendy continues to maintain a vibrant oboe studio of upcoming double reeds since 1996, with students going on to pursue music and oboe in college. Her studio has resided in Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alaska, and Missouri.
Wendy has performed in Buda, Prague, Vienna, Shanghai, Beijing; as well as Alaska, and many other states. She was the principal oboist of the Memphis Repertory Orchestra from its inception until moving from Memphis. During this time she was the English hornist on a CD with MRO featuring Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 available on iTunes. She has been a soloist at Pauline Oliveros’ Deep Listening Institute of Houston’s “60 Minutes of Minutes” and was the 2010-2011 winner of the Raymond M. Lynch Oboe Award for Outstanding Achievement. Wendy was chosen to perform the Strauss Oboe Concerto at an International Double Reed Society Conference during a masterclass with Eugene Izotov. She has performed in masterclasses for John Mack, Mark Fink, Joseph Robinson, Kevin Vigneau, Mark Ostoich, David McGuire, Jacqueline Leclair, and Tom Boyd. She performed a medley of Hollywood themes with Tom Boyd (oboist of over 1000 Hollywood soundtracks) in concert at the University of Memphis Double Reed Festival. Wendy was a Classical Music Contributor to KCMetropolis.org, Kansas City’s former online journal of the arts
Wendy is on the substitute list for the Memphis, Corinth, Springfield, Paducah, and Jackson Symphonies. She has performed new music with NewEar Contemporary Ensemble in Kansas City. During the summers she is frequently a musician at the SPLICE Workshops in Kalamazoo, MI working with electro-acoustic composers performing new works for the instrument. Before summers at SPLICE, she could be found at the Taneycomo Festival in Branson, Mo. Wendy plays in numerous ensembles in the Kansas City and surrounding areas including new music groups, orchestras, wind ensembles, chamber ensembles, and musicals.
Wendy is a member of the International Double Reed Society, and the Kansas City Alumni Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota.
Danielle Schueller
Flute
Danielle Schueller
Flute
Danielle Schueller is a passionate performer and educator whose experience ranges from orchestral playing to chamber music and solo recitals, as well as teaching students of all ages and backgrounds. She approaches each student with vibrant curiosity, creating a safe and enriching environment to foster growth. Danielle holds her Bachelor’s in Music from the University of Missouri- Kansas City Conservatory of Music, Dance, and Theater, and her Master’s in Music from the Mannes School of Music at The New School in New York City. She has played in orchestras and chamber groups internationally, including the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra, the Trentino Festival Orchestra, the Missouri Symphony, and more. In her free time, Danielle enjoys spending time with her two cats, Bindi and Samba, and exploring new restaurants and coffee shops around Kansas City.
Leslie Thompson
Vocal
Leslie Thompson
Vocal
Leslie (Heinz) Thompson received a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from Missouri Western and a Master of Arts in Vocal Performance from Bowling Green State University, where she was a graduate assistant. She has performed roles in Gianni Schicchi, The Long Christmas Dinner, Street Scenes, Company, Sweeney Todd, Godspell, and A Little Night Music. She has been an alto soloist for Handel’s Messiah, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Bach’s
Cantata #80, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She was the alto in the Temple Adath Joseph’s High Holy Days quartet from 2001-2019. Mrs. Thompson began as an adjunct vocal instructor at Missouri Western in 1991. She has been a member of the St. Joseph Community Chorus since 1991. She began leading the adult choir at Hope United Church of Christ in 1992, where she is also the assistant organist. She is an accompanist for local high school students for District Music Contest and she maintains a private voice and piano studio.
Jason Riley
Guitar
Jason Riley
Part Time Faculty of Guitar
E-mail: jriley1@missouriwestern.edu
As a versatile guitarist, Jason Riley’s professional experience includes recording, composing, teaching and performing in multiple styles. His education in classical guitar and commercial music included extended study in American styles, the Jazz idiom and improvisation.
As a recording artist, Jason has produced and released four solo CDs, Notes to Self (a compilation of original compositions) , Outtakes (original arrangements of traditional works), Spirit of Things (traditional American spirituals), and Funky Folk (familiar folk melodies and some quiet-time classical). An equally successful and dedicated sideman, his playing has been featured extensively on many albums by other artists.
Riley’s uniquely personal playing style, an improvisation-based approach utilizing “live” looping and tongue-in-cheek technical and technological effects, is demonstrated through his humble stage presence, acclaimed work with acoustic and electric instruments and heart-felt tributes to his many musical influences. His versatility of style, mood and character is seemingly unlimited: he can play soft and subtle, frantic and aggressive, he can swing, he can rock, he can play unaccompanied, with other guitarists or with symphony orchestra. His work on stage not only reflects his understanding of classical form and balance, but shows a highly original combination of this classical/rock/jazz background that very few guitarists can successfully execute in live performance.
Jason has won competitions and reader’s polls in both the rock and country genres and has opened for and performed with national and international artists. He has also made numerous radio and television appearances. When not on tour, Jason serves as adjunct professor of guitar at Benedictine College in Atchison, KS and Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, MO. He has also served as co-director at the Festival Chartres – an international guitar festival in Chartres, France.
Jena Vangjel
Trumpet
Jena Vangel
Trumpet
Jena Vangjel is a freelance trumpeter and teaching artist based in Kansas City, MO. She has performed with orchestras across the country including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Tucson Symphony, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Vangjel is fiercely passionate about using music to create community. She got her start in this work as a musician and administrator with Street Symphony in Los Angeles, CA. In the fall of 2018, Vangjel founded Community of Note–an organization committed to fostering community and relationship through music. Vangjel also teaches Music Entrepreneurship at Missouri Western State University, is the Principal Trumpet of the Northland Symphony, and plays with the Fountain City Brass Band. She holds a Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from The Colburn School in Los Angeles, CA, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory.
Dr. Brianna Volkmann
French Horn
Dr. Brianna Volkmann
French Horn
Dr. Brianna Volkmann (she/her) is an emerging orchestral and chamber musician, and an avid music educator. She currently serves as the Adjunct Professor of Horn at Missouri Western State University, and as principal hornist of the Kansas City Civic Orchestra and the Kinnor Philharmonic. She is also a regular substitute member of the Kansas City Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Wichita Symphony, Topeka Symphony, and St. Joseph Symphony. She served three years as the hornist of Plaza Winds, the graduate fellowship woodwind quintet at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, where she recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Horn Performance. She holds prior degrees from Indiana University (MM) and Baldwin Wallace University (BM). Her primary teachers include Alberto Suarez, Denise Tryon, Martin Hackleman, Jeff Nelsen, Dale Clevenger, Richard Seraphinoff, and Jesse McCormick.