Dr. Nathanael May
Chair | Associate Professor
Dr. Nathanael May
Associate Professor of Music – Piano & Department Chair
Office: Potter Hall 112 A
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: nmay@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
As a festival producer, concert organizer, recording artist, consultant, educator, and pianist, Nathanael May seeks to engage audiences with music of the modern era. Noted for ‘quicksilver grace’ (Fanfare) and ‘highly developed, extremely differentiated touch and sound’ (Fuldaer Zeitung), Nathanael has performed on three continents and was named the 2012 Winner of the American Prize in recorded solo piano performance. As a founding member of the Strung Out Trio, he has commissioned many works, receiving a Barlow Foundation Grant for a trio by German microtonal composer Michael Quell. SOT gave the American premiere of this work as a featured ensemble at the national conference of the College Music Society in Boston. He is also the founder and artistic director of the soundSCAPE Composition And Performance Exchange; a festival dedicated to the promotion of music by emerging composers and performers. Since its inception in 2005, soundSCAPE has attracted 400 participants from 40 countries, resulting in the creation of hundreds of new works. He has also co-founded the international Piano Days Festival & Competition, which in 2015 presented Juilliard professor of piano, Jerome Lowenthal, along with 20 students from Asia, Europe and the USA.
Nathanael has been awarded the Mehl and Scanlon awards for contributions to faculty scholarship and university service at Missouri Western, in addition to being named the 2011 Outstanding Recent Alumnus of his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Areas of research interest include piano repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries, with presentations at the Euro Mediterranean Music Conference (Cyprus), World Piano Conference (Serbia), Composition in the 21st Century Conference (Ireland), and the International Festival for Artistic Innovation (England). Nathanael holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (MM) and the University of Kansas (DMA), with appointments to teaching posts at Eastern Mediterranean University (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) and Missouri Western State University, where he currently lectures as an associate professor of piano.
Links
www.NathanaelMay.com
soundscapefestival.org
www.PianoDaysFestival.org
Edna Christian
Administrative Assistant
Edna ChristianAdministrative Assistant
Office: Potter Hall 114
Office Hours: MWF 10:00-12:00
Phone: (816) 271-5852
E-mail: echristian@missouriwestern.edu
Edna Christian earned a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Therapy from Southern Methodist University. She homeschooled her two children for 11 years and is thrilled to be working with the students and faculty in the Department of Music now. She loves traveling and has been to 49 states; only Alaska remains. Edna also loves baseball, and she has visited all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums.
Dr. Matthew Edwards
Professor
Dr. Matthew Edwards
Director of Keyboard Studies
Office: Potter Hall 222
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: tedwards7@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
Matt Edwards is a musician of many facets. As a pianist, he has been hailed by critics for his “…considerable talent…honest musicianship and a formidable technique.” His performances have taken him throughout the United States, appearing as recitalist, guest artist, concerto soloist, and collaborative artist. He has performed in South Korea, and has given masterclasses at several prestigious Korean schools, including Yonsei University, and the Seoul Arts High School.
His competition winnings include the Grand Prize in the Stravinsky Awards International Competition, and First Prize in the Music Teachers National Association National Collegiate Finals. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland, where he studied with Robert McDonald. Currently, he is Professor of Music and Director of Keyboard Studies at Missouri Western State University. Through his efforts, Missouri Western became an All-Steinway School, and the piano department has been recognized across the state for excellent training, attracting students from around the country, and from Asia.
His piano students have won numerous prizes, in competitions such as the National Association of Christian Schools National Competition, the Delta Symphony Orchestra Competition, and the Missouri MTNA Collegiate and High School Competitions.As a lecturer, he has been featured at the National Conference of the Music Teachers National Association, the World Piano Pedagogy Conference, and at the World Piano Conference in Novi Sad, Serbia.
As a conductor and coach, Dr. Edwards has served as the rehearsal pianist/coach for the Annapolis Opera, and musical director for Opera AACC. In 2012, he served as guest conductor with the Jefferson City Symphony Orchestra.
As a composer, he has had major works premiered in Chicago, Salt Lake, and Baltimore, and he is a contributing author for the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library.
Dr. Edwards is also an editor for the Schirmer Classics Performance Editions, published by G. Schirmer Publications; currently eight of his books in this series are available internationally, with more planned.
He is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, and served a term on the Editorial Committee of American Music Teacher Magazine. He lives in Kansas City, MO with his wife, Kelly, and their three children, Audrey, Jackson, and Cole.
Dr. Nathan Gay
Associate Professor
Dr. Nathan Gay
Associate Professor
Director of Athletic Bands
Office: Potter Hall 113
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: ngay2@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
Nate Gay is currently Director of Athletic Bands at Missouri Western State University. He is one of the new young forces in euphonium performance and has won honors at the most prestigious solo and chamber competitions including the Ern Keller Memorial International Soloist Competition, Leonard Falcone International Solo Euphonium Competition, Music Teacher’s National Association National Solo Brass Competition, North American Brass Band Association Solo Competition, U.S. Open Brass Band Championships Solo, and the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference Quartet Competition, to name a few.
Gay recently completed his DMA in Euphonium Performance from the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance. He also performs with the Fountain City Brass Band, is an active soloist and clinician, and is in high demand as a studio instructor. Gay has also taught in the public school system and has a strong commitment to music education and young students. He often performs and works with public school programs.
Nathan Gay is a Buffet Group USA Artist performing on a Besson euphonium.
Dr. Aaron Grant
Assistant Professor
Dr. Aaron Grant
Assistant Professor of Music – Music Theory
Office: Potter Hall
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: agrant4@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
Aaron Grant’s research engages issues of form, narrative, and meaning in the music of the nineteenth century. His graduate work (Eastman Ph.D., 2018) investigated the structure, formal function, and narrative resonances of Schubert’s three-key exposition. In his dissertation he showed how Schubert elevated the second tonal area to be on the same hierarchic level as the outer-two key areas, creating a three-part distinctly 19th-century expositional structure. His dissertation then explored the form-functional and narrative implications of that new understanding. This work has been presented at national and regional conferences, winning the Dorothy Payne Award for best student paper from the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic (2015). Along with his work on 19th-century music, Aaron is also interested in the analysis of 20th-century polyscalar music. He has presented this work at various conferences, and won the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic’s best-student paper for a second time (2016).
Aaron is also a dedicated pedagogue. He won the Eastman School of Music Teaching Assistant Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2016, and his commitment to teaching led him to develop a research line on music theory pedagogy. To this end, he has presented work on methods for teaching undergraduate music theory courses in a historically contextualized way at the inaugural Pedagogy into Practice conference in 2017, and he is also currently working on projects that explore the uses of interactive media in the classroom and techniques for teaching musical form.
Outside of music theory, Aaron can most often be found rock climbing, running, or somewhere in the kitchen attempting to perfect the chocolate-chip cookie.
Dr. Lee Harrelson
Professor
Dr. Ronald Lee Harrelson
Professor
Director of Instrumental Studies
Office: Potter Hall 114
Phone: (816) 271-4421
E-mail: rharrelson1@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
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.
Dr. Elise Hepworth
Professor
Dr. Elise Hepworth
Professor
Director of Choral Activities and Music Education
Office: Potter Hall 112c
Office Hours: Mon, Wed, and Fri, 9 – 10 am | Tue and Thur, 11 am – 12 pm
Phone: (816) 271-4428
E-mail: ehepworth@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
Dr. Elise Hepworth is Professor and Director of Choral Activities and Music Education at Missouri Western State University in Saint Joseph. She teaches choral literature, choral conducting, K-6 and 7-12 music methods courses, and conducts the MWSU Concert Chorale and the MWSU Renaissance/Chamber Singers, recently performing at the Missouri Music Educators Association Conference/In-Service in January 2018. She is a member of Kantorei of Kansas City, performing with the ensemble at the 2019 ACDA National Conference in Kansas City, and is the founding director of the Robidoux Chorale, a semi-professional chamber ensemble in Saint Joseph.
Dr. Hepworth is a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University (B.S.Ed.), The University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music (M.M.E.), The University of Mississippi (D.A.), and the New Zealand School of Music (G.Dip.). Additionally, she is nationally certified in the pedagogies of Orff Schulwerk and Zoltan Kodaly.
She currently serves as Repertoire and Resources chair for the Missouri Choral Directors Association, as well as the Advancing Music Education Chair and co-chair of the Advocacy Network Council for the Missouri Music Educators Association. She also holds a membership with the National Association for Teachers of Singing.
Dr. Hepworth was recently awarded the Foundation for Teaching Excellence by Missouri Western State University, the Mayor’s Award for Arts Educator of the Year and the Shine On Award for the community of Saint Joseph, and the MCDA Northwest District Outstanding Director for the year 2016. She is serving as Missouri Western State University’s faculty senate president for 2019-2020, and is an avid performer, clinician, and presenter at state, national, and international conventions.
She lives in Saint Joseph with her husband, Matt, and their two cats, Abby and Alex.
Dr. Paul Hindemith
Assistant Professor
Dr. Paul Hindemith
Director of Vocal Studies
Music Director for Theatre
Office: Potter Hall 102
Office Hours: Mon, Wed, and Fri, 11 am – 12 pm | Tue 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: phindemith@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
Paul Hindemith’s professional career has taken him from coast to coast and overseas performing opera, oratorio, operetta, musical theatre, and art song. Hailed as “touching and expressive” by the Washington Times and as “vocally and theatrically sturdy” by the Baltimore Sun, the baritone has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra; the San Diego, Utah Festival, Ohio Light, Skylark, and Fargo-Moorhead Operas; and theatre companies like Theatre Latté Da in Minneapolis and the Robidoux Resident Theatre in Saint Joseph. Hindemith made his European debut as both singer and stage director in Pergolesi’s La serva padrona with the Grumo Festival in 2014. Favorite roles include the title role in Don Giovanni, the baker in Into the Woods, and Lumière in Beauty and the Beast for which he received a 2017 RRT “Ruby” award for best supporting actor in a musical.
Hindemith appears on a recording of Bach arias published by the International Trumpet Guild; he also appears as Baron Weps in the Ohio Light Opera’s recording of Carl Zeller’s The Birdseller. A 2012 finalist in the National Association of Teachers Singing Artist Award Competition for the north central region, Hindemith has twice been a finalist in the Michael Ballam International Opera Competition. He has performed on concert series at the Mindekirken in Minneapolis, the Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe in Dallas, and at several colleges and universities.
Recently, Hindemith joined Kantorei, a professional chamber chorale based out of Kansas City, a group known for its “flawless intonation coupled with an irresistible warmth and depth.” He has performed with the Omaha Chamber Singers, Opera Omaha Chorus, Basilica of St. Mary (Minneapolis, Minn.) Schola Cantorum and Cathedral Choir, Minnesota Opera Chorus, Washington (D.C.) Choral Ensemble, Fargo-Moorhead Choral Artists, and the SMU Meadows Chorale. He also sings in the bass section of the First Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir and the newly formed Robidoux Chorale in St. Joseph.
Hindemith has a growing resumé as both a stage director and music director. At Georgia College (Milledgeville, Ga.), he served as music director for Kander and Ebb’s Chicago, Ifa Bayeza’s The Ballad of Emmett Till, and the Georgia collegiate premiere of Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays; he also served as stage director for two programs of Music Theatre Scenes at Georgia College, and numerous opera scenes at Concordia College (Moorhead, Minn.). As director of opera at the University of South Dakota (Vermillion, S.D.), he translated and directed a production of Humperdinck’s opera Hansel and Gretel. At Missouri Western, he has served as music director for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and The Wedding Singer and will music direct Schoolhouse Rock Live! this fall and Spring Awakening next spring.
Hindemith is also a passionate and dedicated educator; the Omaha native is currently an assistant professor of voice at Missouri Western State University where his duties include music direction for musical theatre and coordinating the voice area. Previously, he has taught at Omaha North High School, the University of South Dakota, Concordia College, and Georgia College. He graduated summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University in Dallas with minors in Chemistry, Math, and German. Hindemith holds a doctorate from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree from the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland – College Park.
Hindemith is particularly interested in vocal pedagogy that enables singers to function a variety of vocal and musical styles, from opera to pop. He is also interested in the scholarship of teaching and learning, particularly on the topic of encouraging students to take academic risk. He regularly presents on practical vocal techniques and vocal repertoire, vocal health, audition techniques, and text/music analysis for performers and teachers. His doctoral thesis was entitled The Singer as Communicator. In his spare time, Hindemith enjoys gardening, doing logic puzzles, playing games, and spending time with his husband Fred and cats Figaro, Timonium, and Josephine.
Jeff Hinton
Assistant Professor
Jeff Hinton
Director of Bands
Office: Potter Hall 108 B
Phone: (816) 271-4429
E-mail: hinton@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
Jeff Hinton has been the Director of Bands at Missouri Western State University since 1995 and the coordinator of Instrument Music Studies since 2005. His ensemble responsibilities include directing the Golden Griffon Marching Band, the Missouri Western Symphonic Winds, and the University Concert Band. During his tenure the Golden Griffon Marching Band has performed at numerous marching festivals throughout Missouri and Iowa and the Symphonic Winds have toured the Midwest and presented performances at the Missouri Music Educators Association’s program. He also teaches courses in conducting, marching band techniques and music education.
Mr. Hinton has held previous band directing positions at Fort Hays State University, Truman State University, and public schools in Missouri including Union, Marshall, Wentzville, and Fulton.
He is a very active guest conductor and clinician having conducted numerous honor bands across the country. Mr. Hinton has also served as guest conductor for the St. Joseph Symphony, the Fountain City Brass Band, the Cameron Municipal Band and many other professional ensembles. He has attended and presented at many conducting clinics including the College Band Directors National Association’s conducting symposium in Boulder. Colorado. Mr. Hinton also serves as an adjudicator for marching band, concert band and jazz ensemble festivals and competitions.
Jeff Hinton is an active advocate for music education in our schools and believes that preparing outstanding young musicians to teach, as well as perform, in integral to the welfare of our society. His involvement in education includes serving as an elected Board of Education member for the Riverside School District in Doniphan County, Kansas where he resides with his wife Kayla and his three sons.
Dr. Joshua Knight
Assistant Professor
Dr. Joshua Knight
Assistant Professor of Music – Percussion
Office: Potter Hall 219
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: jknight4@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
Josh Knight is the newly appointed Assistant Professor of Percussion at Missouri Western State University. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma, and earned his Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of Central Arkansas. His teachers include Lance Drege, Blake Tyson, Thomas Burritt, and Benjamin Finley.
Knight has presented and performed at regional and international events such as the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy, Texas Music Educators Association conference, College Music Society regional conference, and numerous state percussion festivals including the Arkansas Day of Percussion, Oklahoma Day of Percussion, and University of Central Arkansas Percussion Festival.
As an active performer and clinician Knight has appeared at numerous high schools and universities throughout the United Sates, and has performed with the Abilene Philharmonic, Fort Smith Symphony, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Lawton Philharmonic, Pine Bluff Symphony, and Conway Symphony orchestras. Knight is also active in commissioning new works for percussion that include Inside The Shining Stone by Blake Tyson, published by blaketysonmusic; Shatteredby Cody Criswell, published by C-Alan Publications; Halcyon Days by Nathan Daughtrey, published by C-Alan Publications; and most recently, The Wind That Turns The World by Blake Tyson, published by blaketysonmusic.
Knight’s article, Trends and Developments Through Thirty Prominent Snare Drum Method Books is a featured cover story in Percussive Notes, the official research journal of the Percussive Arts Society. Additionally, he serves on the Education Committee and Ed Companion SubCommittee for PAS.
Among the numerous awards and honors received throughout his career, the most current include the Ronald Dyer award for excellence in the area of percussion awarded by the University of Oklahoma in 2008 and participation in the semi-final round of the Southern California International Marimba Competition in 2009.
Knight is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, College Music Society, TMEA, MMEA, and is an artist endorser for Vic Firth sticks and mallets.
Bob Long
Assistant Professor
Bob Long
Director of Jazz Studies
Office: Potter Hall 218
Phone: (816) 271-4430
E-mail: long@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
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. David McIntire
Associate Professor
Dr. David McIntire
Associate Professor
Director of Music Technology Studies
Office: Potter Hall 201
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: dmcintire@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
David McIntire, born in upstate New York, was exposed to music through Protestant hymnody and playing clarinet in the small town band. Hearing the music of Sibelius in the fifth grade made a deep impact. As a teen he was inexplicably drawn to electronic and modern music, to the frustration of several of his teachers. For three decades, he has maintained his livelihood through playing, teaching, composing, and writing about music. As a young adult, he played clarinet and saxophone in a number of eccentric and overly idealistic musical groups, most notably the Colorblind James Experience (with whom he toured and recorded extensively), the Whitman/McIntire Duo, and the Hotheads. Presently, he leads the Ensemble of Irreproducible Outcomes (EIO) an improvisational trio based in Kansas City. He also runs Irritable Hedgehog Music, a small label devoted to minimal and electroacoustic music. Several of their releases have been widely praised for their sound quality, historical importance and musical content.
McIntire holds music degrees from Nazareth College of Rochester, Ithaca College, and a DMA in composition from the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he was a Preparing Future Faculty Fellow. He is also completing a master’s degree in musicology at UMKC. His research interests include soundscape composition, minimalism and postminimalism, the “American Mavericks” tradition, and the music of Harrison Birtwistle. He is a current board member of Electronic Music Midwest, a founding member of the Society for Minimalist Music, and has given papers at three of their international conferences. In 2009, he co-directed (with Kyle Gann) the Second International Conference on Music and Minimalism in Kansas City
Rico McNeela
Associate Professor
Rico McNeela
Director of Orchestral Studies
Office: Potter Hall 109
Phone: (816) 271-4516
E-mail: rmcneela@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
Rico McNeela is the Conductor and Music Director of the St. Joseph Symphony in St. Joseph, MO where he is also the Director of Orchestral Activities and teaches violin and viola at Missouri Western State University. He has also taught at The University of Toledo in Toledo, OH, the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville AR, Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington IL, and at Allegheny College in Meadville PA. During summers he has taught at the Luzerne Music Center in Lake Luzerne, NY the Hot Springs Music Festival, the Arkansas Music Festival, The Canary Islands International Opera Festival, and the Allegheny Summer Music Festival. He attended the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of David Cerone. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he studied with Paul Makanowitsky, Eugene Bossart, Steve Errante, and Gustav Meier. He is deeply committed to the education and cultivation of young musicians. He regularly conducts regional and district Honors Orchestras, and presents public school clinics throughout the mid-west.
Dr. Kristin Newbegin
Assistant Professor
Dr. Kristin Newbegin
Assistant Professor of Music – Voice
Office: Potter Hall 112
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: knewbegin@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Fall 2019 Office Hours
Coming soon
Soprano Kristin Newbegin is quickly establishing herself as an innovative performer in the Kansas City area. She has sung with companies such as Des Moines Metro Opera, Lyric Opera Kansas City, Opera for the Young, New Ear Contemporary Music Ensemble, Kansas City Metro Opera, KC VITAs Chamber Choir, and Seagle Music Colony.
Newbegin was a Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice, where she performed partial roles of Mimí and Marguerite. She was also a Seagle Music Colony young artist, where she sang the role of Donna Anna (Don Giovanni). Newbegin’s previous roles have included Mimí (La Bohème), Dorine (Tartuffe), Papagena (Magic Flute), Mabel (Pirates of Penzance), Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), Miriam (The Christmas Rose), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Female Chorus (Rape of Lucretia), Mayor’s Wife (Jenůfa), Popelka (Comedy On The Bridge), and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni).
Newbegin earned her DMA at the University of Kansas where she studied with Joyce Castle. Her research focused on Spanish song and opera, with extensive study of Granados’ opera, Goyescas. She is also particularly interested in vocal pedagogy and the singing athlete, researching how body alignment and strength work to improve vocal function. Newbegin received her M.M. in Opera Performance from University of Kansas and a B.M. in Music Education from the University of Minnesota where she studied with Wendy Zaro-Mullins.
Newbegin is also an avid proponent of arts education. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Voice at Missouri Western State University. Previously, Newbegin she has taught Benedictine College, University of Kansas, Raintree Montessori, Prairie Moon Waldorf School, Groveland Elementary School, Deephaven Elementary School, and Clear Springs Elementary School. She maintains an active private voice studio and in her spare time she enjoys fostering dogs and riding her bike.
Part-Time Faculty
Shaun Agnew
Voice
Shaun Agnew
Part Time Faculty of Voice
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: sagnew@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Shaun Agnew, a St. Joseph native, is an area performer, instructor and director. Shaun is a frequent artist with Robidoux Resident Theatre with significant roles in shows such as Shrek: the Musical, A Streetcar Named Desire, Sondheim on Sondheim, Our Town, The Little Mermaid, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Willy Wonka, Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, Forever Plaid, Holiday in Plaid, and South Pacific. He’s also been “behind the baton” having musically directed shows including Next to Normal, Oklahoma, Tarzan, My Fair Lady, Chicago, Hello Dolly, Honk, Forever Plaid, Fiddler on the Roof, Midlife Crisis: The Musical, Bingo: The Musical, and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Shaun has also been a past soloist for the St. Joseph Symphony and the St. Joseph Community Chorus, performing in such works such as Faure’s Requiem, the Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio, and Conte’s The Nine Muses.
Shaun returned to Missouri Western State University, where he graduated in 2004 with a vocal music education degree, to join the faculty as an adjunct voice professor where he teaches applied voice. He has previously served as musical director for Missouri Western’s productions including Cabaret, Annie, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Drowsy Chaperone, for which he received a KCACTF Commendation for Musical Direction. Shaun additionally holds a MA in choral conducting from the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory of Music.
Since 2004, Shaun has served as Director of Worship Arts and Web Ministries for Ashland United Methodist Church where he directs and coordinates all worship and music programs as well as the technology and web ministries. He is also an active advocate for the arts in the St. Joseph community having served multiple terms on the RRT board of directors, including two terms as president, as well as being an active participant on the Allied Arts Council.
James Albright
Bass
James Albright
Part Time Faculty of Bass
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: jalbright5@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
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.
Dr. Elizabeth Birger
Voice
Dr. Elizabeth Birger
Part Time Faculty of Voice
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: ebirger@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
David W. Brewer
Choral
David W. Brewer
Part Time Faculty of Choral Studies
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: dbrewer7@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Applied Voice
MUS 338 Concert Chorale
MUS 441 Advanced Choral Conducting
Spring 2020 Teaching Schedule
Applied Voice
MUS 328 Choral Literature
MUS 338 Concert Chorale
David W. Brewer, native of Kansas City, Missouri, has performed with choirs throughout the Midwest and Southern Regions; along with international tours through Italy, Austria, and the Czech-Republic. Choral highlights of his career include performing at numerous Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma Music Education Conferences; St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, and St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice; St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna; and the 2017 American Choral Directors Association Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Aside from performing, David has also been a clinician for choirs in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Colorado.
In his free time, David is a budding composer, having works performed at numerous music conferences, university, and high school events. He has works published through Alliance Music Publications and his website, dwbrewermusic.com. Currently, he performs with and is composer in residence of the Robidoux Chorale in St. Joseph, Missouri.
David received his undergraduate degree from Northwest Missouri State University and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Oklahoma State University, where he studied with world renowned conductor and composer Dr. Z. Randall Stroope.
Dr. Jennifer Fox-Oliverio
Brass
Dr. Jennifer Fox-Oliverio
Part Time Faculty of Brass
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: joliverio@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Dr. Jennifer Fox Oliverio works as an Adjunct Professor of Music at Missouri Western State University. At Missouri Western Jen has had the opportunity to teach a variety of theory and methods classes as well as performing in the faculty brass quintet. Jen recently graduated from the University of Missouri – Kansas City where she earned her doctorate in trumpet performance as well as completing the Preparing Future Faculty certificate program for higher education teaching.
Jen is currently a member of the Fountain City Brass Band and has performed with the South Dakota Symphony, the St. Joseph Symphony, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, the MahlerFest Orchestra and was principal trumpet of the Northland Symphony Orchestra in 2015-2016. Jen is an active teacher and clinician and currently works as the trumpet clinician at Blue Valley North H.S. as well as teaching a private studio in the Kansas City area.
Jen received her Master’s degree in trumpet performance from the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville where she had the pleasure of teaching technique lessons to undergraduate students and worked as a trumpet teacher for the University of Arkansas community music school. in 2011 Jen earned her Bachelor’s degree in music education and trumpet performance from Ithaca College.
Some of Jen’s accomplishments include winning second place in the graduate solo division of the 2014 National Trumpet Competition and winning first place in the adult high brass technical division of the North American Brass Band competition in 2016. Jen is an Eclipse sponsored artist.
Helen Harrelson
Brass
Helen Harrelson
Part Time Faculty of Brass
Phone: (816) 271-4420
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Helen Tyler Harrelson gained her BMus (Hons) in Baritone and Euphonium performance at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK in 2003. While at the RNCM, Helen studied with world-class musicians and conductors such as Bob Childs, Sandy Smith, Steven Mead, James Gourley, Clark Rundell, and Bramwell Tovey. Her time in the U.K. saw her perform as a member of some of the worlds’ finest brass ensembles with whom she recorded many CDs, radio broadcasts and television appearances as well as winning numerous national titles.
Upon graduating from the RNCM, Helen taught in the Manchester area and regularly worked with bands across Europe. In 2005 she completed her Post Graduate Certificate of Education from the Open University, which lead her into the roles of Head of Music Curriculum for Bolton Music Service and Student Teacher Mentor at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Summer 2007 saw Helen take a voluntary sabbatical to Kansas City, as part of a cross-cultural study of music education. During this time she played with the Fountain City Brass Band and formed the Fountain City Youth Brass Academy. The FCYBA has since won many national titles and was nominated for the 4BR International Lower Section Band of the Year in 2016 & 2018. Helen has worked as Head of Instrumental Studies at St. James Academy since 2008 and has built the reputation of band and orchestra program within the Archdiocese and greater music community, winning the KC Blue Star Orchestra Award in 2013, 2014, and 2016.
In 2015, Helen completed her Masters of Arts degree at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance and also became a member of the Phi Kappa Phi honors society. She has been a guest artist and clinician for the Northern Ireland Summer School, the North American Brass Band Summer School, the International Woman’s Brass Conference, the International Tuba & Euphonium Conference, Kansas Music Educators Association, Missouri Music Educators Association, was recognized for outstanding contribution to music education from the Kansas Bandmasters Association, and nominated as the ECKMEA High School Band Director of the Year in 2018.
In 2019, Helen started her doctorate at the University of Salford, became the founding Artistic Director at the National Youth Brass Band of America, and started work as adjunct faculty at Missouri Western State University.
Helen lives in Lenexa, KS with her husband Lee and son Liam.
Kathleen Holeman
Voice & Piano
Kathleen Holeman
Part Time Faculty of Voice & Piano
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: mholeman@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
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.
Dr. Ezgi Karakus
Cello
Dr. Ezgi Karakus
Part Time Faculty of Cello
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: ekarakus@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Turkish cellist, Ezgi Karakus began her cello education at the age of eleven with Prof. Dr. Caglayan Unal SUMER and attended Dokuz Eylul University State Conservatory in her native Izmir, Turkey. While attending the conservatory she thrice won the concerto competition and before arriving in the U.S., joined several festivals including the Bremen Youth Symphony Orchestra in Bremen, Germany. Ezgi completed her Master of Arts at Marshall University under Dr. Solen Dikener’s mentorship, where she was awarded first price in the Belle and Lynum Jackson Balshaw Music Competition, and the Marshall University Concerto Competition.
She gave the world premiere of the Suite for Violoncello and Live Electronics by Mark Zanter and performed for the Society of Composers, Inc. 2013 National Conference at the Ohio State University School of Music. She also performed with several orchestras in the past including Dokuz Eylul Symphony, Ohio Valley Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Medical Arts Symphony (acted principal), Spire Chamber Ensemble and Kansas City Jazz Orchestra.
Ezgi completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Cello Performance at the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory of Music & Dance under Prof. Carter Enyeart, Mark Gibbs, and Micheal Mermagen. Additionally, she was chosen to perform for Yo-Yo Ma’s Master Class at the Kauffman Center of the Performing Arts on March 22, 2018. At this performance, Ezgi gave the world premiere of Dok Zulfunu Meydana Gel, a Turkish folk song which she arranged with composer Anil Altinsoy.
Currently, Ezgi is an Adjunct Professor of Cello at Missouri Western State University, Emporia State University, and Ottawa University, a teaching artist at the Harmony Project Kansas City, a section cellist at the Topeka Symphony, a substitute cellist at the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and Kansas City Symphony.
Dr. Judith Mathers
Voice
Dr. Judith Mathers
Part Time Faculty of Voice
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: jmathers@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Kelly Csillam Misko
Horn
Kelly Misko
Part Time Faculty of Horn
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: kmisko@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
A native of Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, French hornist Kelly Misko has emerged as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician, and an entrepreneur in collaborative performances both in the United States and abroad. She is currently the principal horn player with the Northland Symphony Orchestra and the Harmonie Winds Octet, and is the Adjunct Professor of French horn at Missouri Western State University. She also is a frequent substitute with the Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Opera, Starlight Theater Orchestra, and St. Joseph Symphony. Mrs. Misko performed with Josh Groban at Starlight Theater in 2016 and the touring Broadway production Cinderella in 2015. She also was the principal horn player with the Kansas City Civic Orchestra in 2014. She was the French horn professor at the Fine Arts Summer Academy in Nashville, Tennessee from 2011 -2014 and performed with them on the Grand Ol’ Opry Stage. She was a member of the horn quartet known as Genghis Barbie in 2011 with which she toured across the United States, giving interactive performances and masterclasses at the college level. Mrs. Misko performed with the Long Island Philharmonic for their 2011 season and was also honored to perform in the off-Broadway musical, Queen of the Mist as well as performances of Peter and the Wolf at the Guggenheim Museum. In 2010 she appeared as a soloist at the world premiere and podcast of Douglas Townsend’s Chamber Concerto No. 3. In 2009 Mrs. Misko was named the principal horn player of the New York String Orchestra and gave two performances of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No.1 with the Musica Bella Orchestra. She has also given solo performances of the concerti of Mozart, Haydn, Gliere, and Richard Strauss. Mrs. Misko has had the honor of touring throughout Japan with the Pacific Music Festival in 2008 and in 2007 she toured throughout China with the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. During the years 2003, 2004, and 2006 she toured with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra to California; Latvia, Estonia, and Russia; and Spain and Portugal respectively. Mrs. Misko has received numerous distinctions through the world premiere of Eric Ewazen’s Bachauer Fanfare with the Vandalay Brass Quintet on radio station WQXR, performing Richard Strauss’ Sonatina No. 2 with members of the Vienna Philharmonic, performing with the American Brass Quintet on its 50th year anniversary concert, and the commissioned premiere by the Arcadian Winds of Trinity; a chamber work composed by Mrs. Misko herself.
Mrs. Misko received her Masters of Music Degree and her Bachelors of Music Degree from the Juilliard School in 2012 and 2010 respectively under the tutelage of Jerome Ashby and Julie Landsman. There she had the opportunity to work with conductors Alan Gilbert, Michael Tilson Thomas, James Conlon, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nicholas McGegan, Anne Manson, John Adams, and Keri-Lynn Wilson to name a few.
Steve Molloy
Trumpet
Steve Molloy
Part Time Faculty of Trumpet
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: smolloy@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Steve Molloy is an Artist in Residence at Missouri Western State University, where he provides instruction in Applied Trumpet, the MWSU Jazz Lab, Perspectives in American Popular Music, High Brass Methods, and Chamber Brass Ensembles. He is also an Applied Brass instructor at Kansas City Kansas Community College. He has held similar positions at Mid America Nazarene University and as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Kansas. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree from St. Cloud State University and a Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Kansas.
A busy freelance schedule keeps him occupied with a wide variety of musical tasks. He is the section leader and lead trumpet player with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, a founding member of the award-winning Fountain City Brass Band, and he can be found playing as a pit orchestra musician for many theatrical venues, including the Starlight Theater, KC Repertory Theater, Kansas City Music Hall, the New Theater, and the Musical Theater Heritage.
His passion for performing both classical and commercial music has resulted in performances either as a member or a substitute/extra with the Kansas City Symphony, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the St. Joseph Symphony, the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, the Topeka Symphony, the Lawrence Chamber Orchestra, the Kansas Brass Quintet, the Kansas City Brassworks, the Brookside Brass, the Boulevard Big Band, the Trilogy Big Band, the New Vintage Big Band, the New Red Onion Jazz Babies, and a former appointment as lead trumpeter with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
He has performed as a backup musician for Natalie Cole, Lou Rawls, Aretha Franklin, il Divo, Barry Manilow, They Might Be Giants, the Manhattan Transfer, the Temptations, Mannheim Steamroller, the Drifters, and the Ojays. He has also been a musician for Walt Disney World. He is a member of the Kansas City Federation of Musicians and the International Trumpet Guild.
Dr. Frank Nawrot
Music Theory
Dr. Frank Nawrot
Part Time Faculty of Music Theory
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: fnawrot@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Frank Nawrot (b. 1989) is a Kansas-based, Michigan-born composer, guitarist, and educator. His musical style is inspired by Julia Wolfe, Meshuggah, Julius Eastman, Steve Martland, and Prince. Nawrot’s music has been performed around the world—in Chicago, New York City, Kansas City, Hong Kong, Croatia, and Canada. He has earned a reputation for writing music that is accessible due to his roots in rock and roll and hip-hop, but still challenging enough to provide audiences with a fresh and exciting experience. Nawrot is regularly commissioned to compose music for saxophone, voice, piano, concert band, and more. His scholarship on composition pedagogy has been presented across the U.S., and his research on minimalist music has been presented domestically and abroad.
Frank Nawrot’s first training as a musician began in high school choir and band. In 2006, he and Thaddeus Kennedy formed the successful regional rock band Absinthe in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As Absinthe’s singer, guitarist, and songwriter, Nawrot first learned how to write music and connect with audiences.
Before college, Nawrot’s musical roots were nearly exclusively in rock, R&B, and hip-hop. It was in his first year in college that he heard and fell in love with the music of Maurice Ravel. By way of the so-called “impressionists” (Satie and Ravel in particular), Nawrot became increasingly interested in minimalism and post-minimalism. He presented his research on the recently re-discovered minimalist composer Julius Eastman at the Fifth International Conference of Minimalist Music in Finland.
Nawrot studied classical guitar and composition at Grand Rapids Community College and Grand Valley State University with Bill Ryan. Nawrot received his master’s degree in composition from Central Michigan University under the tutelage of Jay Batzner and David Gillingham. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Kansas in the spring of 2019; his primary instructor was Ingrid Stölzel, with mentorship and instruction from Forrest Pierce, Kip Haaheim, and Brad Osborn.
Websites:
www.FrankNawrot.com
www.soundcloud.com/franknawrot
Dr. Wendy Raines-Grew
Oboe and Bassoon
Dr. Wendy Raines-Grew
Part Time Faculty of Oboe and Bassoon
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: wrainesgrew@missouriwestern.edu
www.wendygrew.com/
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
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.
Jason Riley
Guitar
Jason Riley
Part Time Faculty of Guitar
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: jriley1@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
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.
Dr. Dennis Rogers
Percussion
Dr. Dennis Rogers
Part Time Faculty of Percussion
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: rogersd@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Dennis Rogers is adjunct professor of music and teaches percussion at Missouri Western State University. His college career started at the University of Missouri at Kansas City-Conservatory of Music where he taught for nine years. His teaching career at Missouri Western started in 1978. Dr. Rogers holds five college degrees, has published four books and holds offices and memberships in the Percussive Arts Society on the state and international levels. He is a very active clinician and performer. His performing career has taken him to 47 states in the U.S. and extended tours to Europe and the Far East. He is presently the music director and performs with Sticks of Thunder at the Kansas City Union Station as well as with his own steel drum band Steel.
Trevor Stewart
Clarinet
Trevor Stewart
Part Time Faculty of Clarinet
Principal Clarinet, Wichita Symphony Orchestra
Principal Clarinet, Symphony of Northwest Arkansas
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: trevor6776@gmail.com
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Trevor Stewart serves as principal clarinetist of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, NAVO Chamber Orchestra, and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, with whom he was featured as a soloist in 2013. He has performed with the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, newEar Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, the Missouri Symphony, the Fort Smith Symphony, the Conway Symphony Orchestra, and the Interlochen Philharmonic.
He earned a Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance and an Artist’s Certificate at the Conservatory of Music and Dance of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he studied with Jane Carl. He held the Clarinet Fellowship in the UMKC Conservatory Graduate Fellowship Woodwind Quintet and served as the Graduate Teaching Assistant for the clarinet studio. Stewart graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, where he studied clarinet with David Carter.
As a member of the UMKC Graduate Fellowship Quintet, Trevor was a national finalist in the 2015 MTNA Young Artist Chamber Competition in Las Vegas, NV. The same year, the quintet was chosen as the winner of the St. Louis Artist Presentation Society competition. Stewart was the winner of the Arkansas state round of the MTNA Young Artist Woodwind Competition, and served as principal clarinetist of the Arkansas All-State and Intercollegiate Bands for five years. In 2013, he won the principal clarinet position of the College Band Directors National Association Intercollegiate Band. He was a finalist in the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium Young Artist Competition in 2006, the same year he attended the Interlochen Arts Camp, where he studied with Daniel Silver. His early mentors also include Kelly Johnson, Luc Jackman, and Kristen Denny. He was awarded the UAFS Academic Excellence Award for Music Education, and won the 2012 Undergraduate Research Symposium with his project “New Technologies for Viewing Beethoven’s Residences in Vienna.” Stewart was an adjunct clarinet instructor for several school districts in Arkansas prior to serving as a clinician and private educator in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Leslie Thompson
Voice
Leslie Thompson
Part Time Faculty of Voice
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: heinz@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Leslie Thompson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with a Performance Emphasis in Voice from Missouri Western State University and a Master of Arts in Vocal Performance from Bowling Green State University.
Mrs. Thompson has performed as an alto soloist with the St. Joseph Symphony and is an active member of the St. Joseph Community Chorus. Other performing experiences include Gianni Schicchi, The Long Christmas Dinner, Macbeth, Lucia di Lamermoor, Street Scenes, Die Fledermaus, Company, Sweeney Todd, Godspell, and A Little Night Music.
Currently she serves as an adjunct instructor at Missouri Western State University. She is also the choir director at Hope United Church of Christ at Cosby, Missouri, and maintains a private studio.
Lory Lacy Zuptich
Flute and Voice
Lory Lacy Zuptich
Part Time Faculty of Flute and Voice
Phone: (816) 271-4420
E-mail: lzuptich@missouriwestern.edu
Fall 2019 Teaching Schedule
Coming soon
Lory Lacy earned her master’s degree in flute performance from the San Francisco Conservatory, graduating with a 4.0 average. She won the conservatory’s Woodwind Concerto Competition, playing Nielsen’s Concerto at Herbst Theater and receiving a glowing review in the San Francisco Chronicle. She also attended Oberlin Conservatory and The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree with high honors.
Lacy’s original projects include a studio release called “Alien Water Sky”, which aired regularly on 95.5 KLOS in Los Angeles. Her jazz quartet was featured live on CNBC’S “Power Lunch”. As a studio musician, she has been heard on The Disney Channel, Fox Movie Channel, and BET. Her original jazz disc, As the Crow Flies, is played on radio stations around the country and has received positive reviews in L.A. Jazz Scene and JAZZIZ Magazine.
After moving to Missouri, Lacy recorded an oral history for The American Jazz Museum for the “Women in Jazz” archives. She has also performed with the Brad Cox Ensemble, and her rock band, Firebox, has played all over the Midwest. Lee Hartman of KC Metropolis wrote of her performance of Poulenc’s Sonata for Flute and Piano at A Poulenc Soiree stating, “Lacy’s dexterity, clean articulations, and sense of line were showcased, bringing a fresh, informed performance…”.
She currently plays principal flute with the St. Joseph Symphony and is the Adjunct Professor of Flute at Missouri Western State University.