Faculty & Staff

Department of Music

Faculty & Staff

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Andrew Allen

Dr. Andrew Allen

Assistant Professor of Music
Biography

Andrew J. Allen is “a master of all sizes of saxophone.” (The Instrumentalist, April 2018) In response to his New York solo debut, the Examiner opined that he had “performed brilliantly,” and the Wichita Falls Times-Record News has praised the "savory warmth” of his tone. The Saxophonist has lauded his "virtuosic saxophone performance,” and The Saxophone Symposium has cited his “complete control of the instrument.”  As a concerto soloist, Allen has appeared with the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, along with numerous academic ensembles, and he has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, and Croatia as a soloist and chamber musician. He has premiered more than two dozen works from such composers as François Rossé, Robert Lemay, Fang Man, Jesse Jones, Greg Simon, and Jay Batzner. Allen’s recordings include Step Inside: New American Music for Saxophone and Percussion and The Avenging Spirit (as soprano saxophonist of the SAGA Quartet), both on the Equilibrium label. He is also a featured soloist on Spring Shadows: Electronic Solo Works by Anne Neikirk on Ravello Records.

As an ensemble musician, Allen has performed with the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, the Lone Star Wind Orchestra, the Bryan Symphony Orchestra, the Midland Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra Augusta, and the South Carolina Philharmonic. Present chamber ensemble activities include the percussion and saxophone group Rogue Two (with Gordon Hicken) and the flute and saxophone ensemble The Allen Duo (with Elise Naber Allen). He is also the tenor chair of the Palmetto Saxophone Quartet. Equally adept as a jazz and commercial saxophonist, Allen has served as a sideman with a diverse variety of artists including R&B luminaries The Temptations, and country music legend Ronnie Milsap.

Allen is one of the most active researchers and public pedagogues of the saxophone today.  His articles have appeared in The Instrumentalist, Music Educators Journal, Teaching Music, The Saxophone Symposium, College Music Symposium, The NACWPI Journal, JazzEd, and School Band and Orchestra, among many other publications. His transcriptions and arrangements are available through Dorn Publications and Lovebird Music. Allen has lectured throughout the United States and abroad, and has presented clinics across the country, including at the state music education conventions of Georgia, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas.  He has presented masterclasses at some of the most prestigious schools of music in the United States, including Duquesne University, Emory University, Shenandoah Conservatory, and the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, among many others. He has previously served as editor of the NACWPI Journal and is currently assistant editor of The Saxophone Symposium, the peer-reviewed journal of The North American Saxophone Alliance.

Andrew J. Allen is Assistant Professor of Saxophone; Coordinator of Woodwinds, Brass, & Percussion; and Coordinator of the Undergraduate Degree in Music at Georgia College, and he serves as President-Elect of the North American Saxophone Alliance.  His previous academic appointments include Midwestern State University, Valley City State University, and Claflin University. Allen holds degrees from Tennessee Technological University, Central Michigan University, and the University of South Carolina.  His primary teachers include Phil Barham, John Nichol, and Clifford Leaman, and he has received additional instruction from Joseph Lulloff at the Brevard Music Center; Claude Delangle, Vincent David, and Arno Bornkamp at the European University of Saxophone; and Christine Rall at the Rascher Saxophone Quartet Workshop.  Allen is a Conn-Selmer Artist-Clinician, a Vandoren Performing Artist, and a Key Leaves Endorsing Artist, and he performs exclusively on Selmer Paris saxophones and Vandoren mouthpieces, reeds, and ligatures.

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Picture of Gabrielle Banzon

Ms. Gabrielle Banzon

MT Lecturer/Clinic Coordinator
134 Health Sciences
478-445-8579
Biography

Gabrielle “Gabby” Banzon, MA, LPMT, MT-BC (she/her/hers) serves as clinical coordinator and lecturer at Georgia College & State University. She holds a Bachelors in Music Therapy with a minor in Creative Music Media/Music Technology from Georgia College & State University and a Masters of Arts in Music Therapy from Texas Woman's University. With clinical experience across a wide range of contexts, her work primarily centers around mental health and community. Her previous roles include Graduate Assistant and Clinical Supervisor at Texas Woman’s University, Therapy Programs Manager at North Texas Performing Arts, Music Therapist and Music Programs Instructor at Annandale Village, and Activity Therapist at various behavioral health and acute psychiatric hospitals.

Gabrielle has presented and published internationally on songwriting, technology, community music therapy, and cultural sensitivity/awareness. Desiring to contribute creatively to the field of music therapy, she also has developed a variety of resources to support students and professionals. She is the author of "Space: A Journal for (Future) Music Therapists to Explore and Express through Songwriting," a learning tool intended to promote the development of therapeutic songwriting skills. She co-founded and co-hosts Clinical BOPulations, a podcast intersecting the art of songwriting with music therapy practice and theory. She also founded and manages the Tech Nook, a collaborative online resource for technology in music therapy. In addition to developing these resources, she serves on the Asian Music Therapy Network - U.S Steering Committee, the Qualitative Inquiries in Music Therapy Communications Team, and the AMTA International Relations Committee.

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Picture of Dr. Jennifer Flory

Dr. Jennifer Morgan Flory

Director of Choral Activities, Professor of Music
478-445-4839
Biography

Dr. Jennifer Flory has been Director of Choral Activities at Georgia College since August 2005. She serves as Professor of Music at Georgia College in Milledgeville. She conducts University Chorus and the auditioned Max Noah Singers, and teaches choral and vocal music education and conducting courses. Flory made her Carnegie Hall debut with two world premieres in 2018. Flory has commissioned a number of new choral works from composers such as Emma Lou Diemer, David Hamilton, and Carrie Magin, and premiered them with Georgia College ensembles. She is also busy as guest conductor for honor choirs and serves as an adjudicator for LGPE and Literary. She has been Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Milledgeville since 2006 and performs in the community as a mezzo-soprano soloist.

Flory’s most recent research began as graduate mentored research in 2017, and was published in 2019 as an eighty-seven-page compilation of literature for treble choirs written by American composers since 1988 in Research Memorandum Series (RMS), a Journal of The American Choral Foundation, initially published by Chorus America. That index transformed into an undergraduate mentored research project to publish an online database (americantreblechoral.org) in 2020. Dr. Flory, the graduate alumna, and the undergraduate student presented: “American Treble Choral Index: A Concert Building and Reading Session” at the Georgia Music Educators Association Annual In-Service Conference in 2021. Flory has also researched, performed, and published about the music of prolific New Zealand composer, David Hamilton, including three issues of the Research Memorandum Series (2012-2014), In 2019, she took professional leave to visit Hamilton in New Zealand and work on an index of his music. Flory was also compiler for the Spring 2008 and 2009 issues of RMS; the first article details the choral-orchestral music and the latter article indexes the choral music of Emma Lou Diemer.

In 2014, Flory was initiated into Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society, and, after a highly competitive application and selection process, Flory was selected as a Governor’s Teaching Fellow. In 2018, Flory was awarded the Council of Public Liberal Arts College's Charles Dunn Award, which recognizes a faculty member whose commitment to student success goes "above and beyond" the classroom and office, the traditional roles of teacher, academic advisor, and mentor. In 2021, Flory was recognized with a Noteworthy Performance Post-Tenure Review with excellence in following areas: service to the community, mentorship, leadership, and research. In 2022, Flory was invited to join Phi Kappa Phi, a multidisciplinary collegiate honor society. Flory holds both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Music Education Degrees from Otterbein College (now University); and both a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

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Dana Gorzelany-Mostak

Dr. Dana Gorzelany-Mostak

Associate Professor of Music
478-445-7320
Biography

Dana Gorzelany-Mostak is an Associate Professor of Music at Georgia College. A musicologist by profession, she teaches various music history courses, including Music History I & II, American Music, Studies in World Music, and American Music and Politics, as well as conducts Women’s Ensemble and Music Theatre Scenes. Her research on music and American presidential campaigns appears in Music & Politics, the Journal of the Society for American Music, and the Journal of Popular Music Studies. Her work on America’s Got Talent star Jackie Evancho appears in the edited volume Voicing Girlhood in Popular Music: Performance, Authority, Authenticity (Routledge) and in the journal American Music. In 2018 Gorzelany-Mostak won an Award of Excellence from the Broadcast Education Association for “Songs in the Key of President C: Music on the Campaign Trail,” a digital lecture funded by a grant from the Society for American Music. Gorzelany-Mostak is the founder of Trax on the Trail, a website and research project that tracks and catalogues the soundscapes of US presidential elections. At present, Gorzelany-Mostak is working with Jennifer Flory (Professor of Music, Georgia College) to create a recording of 19th-century campaign songs as part of the project "Songs of Political Persuasion: Hearing Music on the US Presidential Campaign Trail, 1840–1918." In addition to writing essays for several public musicology websites, Gorzelany-Mostak has provided her expert opinion for news outlets such as the BBC, The GuardianVariety, Pacific Standard, Inverse, and The Boston Herald. Her forthcoming book, Tracks on the Trail: Popular Music, Race, and the US Presidency, analyzes the official and unofficial musical activity surrounding 21st-century presidential campaigns, shedding light on how the racialization of sound intersects with other markers of difference and ultimately shapes the public discourse surrounding candidates, popular music, and the meanings attached to race in the 21st century (University of Michigan Press, 2023).

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Dr. Bryan Hall picture - Music Department

Dr. Bryan Emmon Hall

Director of Orchestra Activities, Assistant Professor of Music
Biography

Hailed by Cincinnati City Beat as “extraordinarily evocative” for his performances and reviewed by the Salisbury Post as playing with “great beauty and extraordinary brilliance,” for his Sibelius Violin Concerto, Dr. Bryan Emmon Hall has enjoyed success as both a performer and teacher. Bryan has performed in such venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, China. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, Shasta Symphony Orchestra, Balcones Symphony, Salisbury Symphony Orchestra, Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad Symphony Orchestra, Austin Civic Orchestra, Central Texas Orchestra, Juneau String Ensemble, Cincinnati Accent Festival Orchestra, and many others. Dr. Hall has performed extensively in the United States and abroad as a chamber, orchestra, violinist, violist, and conductor.

Most recently Bryan Hall has appeared on stage for guest performances and/or masterclasses at Seattle University, Denison University, Idaho State University, Seattle Pacific University, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Chatter Chamber Series in New Mexico, University of Houston, Truman State University, Western Washington University, Colburn Performing Arts School, Stanford University, South by Southwest Festival in Austin, University of California at Santa Barbara, Gumi, Korea; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Beirut, Lebanon; Erbil, Iraq; Bali, Indonesia; and Pörtschach, Austria. Bryan Hall has performed in the sections of leading professional orchestras including the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Lyric Opera, Round Rock Symphony, Juneau Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Boise Baroque, and the Utah Symphony Orchestra.

Bryan attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts during high school where he studied with Nicholas Mann, Joseph Genualdi, and Kevin Lawrence. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he studied with Kurt Sassmannshaus. He completed both his Masters and Doctoral degrees at The University of Texas at Austin, Butler School of Music, under the tutelage of Brian Lewis. Other significant teachers at Texas include David Kim and Anne Epperson. Bryan Hall has won numerous awards including Starling Scholarship at UT and CCM, Baur Scholarship Competition, and the Young Texas Rising Stars Competition.

Dr. Hall is a deeply committed teacher who began teaching privately while still in high school. In Cincinnati, he taught violin and school orchestra for numerous elementary, middle, and high schools in the area where he started over 200 new violin students. Bryan has a passion for teaching people of all ages and skill levels. Bryan Hall held the position of Violin Teaching Assistant for the totality of his graduate studies at The University of Texas at Austin. In addition to his collegiate teaching duties, he also taught in the famous UT Austin String Project at the pre-college level. Dr. Hall has been on faculty at numerous summer festivals including Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival (where he is artistic director), Seattle-Japan Suzuki Institute, 6th Asian International Suzuki Institute in Bali Indonesia, Honolulu Suzuki Institute, Fairbanks Suzuki Institute, Louisville Suzuki Institute, UAF Summer Academy, UT Austin Longhorn Band Camp, Brian Lewis Young Artist Program in Kansas, American Voices YES Academy (Youth Excellence on Stage) held in Beirut, Lebanon and Erbil, Kurdistan, University of San Jose, Costa Rica Masterclass Series, and the Seattle Young Artist Coleman/ James studio. Bryan also enjoys playing different styles of music in his Persian Classical/ Independent Rock Band called Tehranosaurus that actively tours around the United States and abroad.      

Dr. Hall served on the faculty of The University of Alaska Fairbanks as the violin/ viola professor and pedagogy coordinator.  He was Concertmaster of the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, conductor of the Northern Lights Symphony Orchestra, and conductor of the Fairbanks Youth Symphony Orchestra. He was visiting Concertmaster of the Juneau Symphony Orchestra 2018-2019. Dr. Hall was president of the Alaska ASTA Chapter 2015-2016. His articles are published in publications like String Magazine. Bryan Hall is currently the Assistant Professor of Upper Strings and Orchestra Conductor at Georgia College and State University.

https://www.bhallviolin.com

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Tina Holmes-Davis

Dr. Tina Holmes-Davis

Coordinator of Music Education, Associate Professor of Music
478-445-4966
Biography

Tina Holmes-Davis is associate professor of music, specializing in music education at Georgia College and State University.

            Holmes-Davis’ primary research interests include self-regulate musical learning and impacts of disability in music education. She also conducts research on and supports mentored undergraduate and graduate student research. Her music education students have completed 30+ guided research projects since 2015 on topics including: teaching students with special need in the music classroom, music program advocacy, trauma-informed and culturally-responsive teaching strategies, and the roles of women composers and conductors.

            Holmes-Davis’ teaching duties include undergraduate foundational courses in music education and specialized courses in elementary and middle school music pedagogy. She teaches graduate courses in curriculum, research, and community and philosophical music perspectives. She is also the founder and executive director of the Center for Music Education (CME) at Georgia College, which functions as a public outreach arm of the music education area. The CME was designed to promote collaboration and mutual achievement through departmental and community-based interaction. Toward that end, the CME delivers 8-12 professional development workshops for pre-service and in-service music teachers annually, and supports several community-based music endeavors within the music department, such as BASF Bobcat keys and a Suzuki-style strings initiative at the Baldwin County Early Learning Center.

            Holmes-Davis is a stroke survivor and plays a one-handed adaptive clarinet.

Prior to her appointment at Georgia College, Holmes-Davis taught middle school band in the Clayton County Public Schools (2002-2008), elementary music in Rockdale County (2008-2010), and middle school band in Henry County (2010-2015). She earned Bachelor of music and music education degrees from Georgia College and State University, a Master of Education degree in music education from Auburn University, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in music education degree from Boston University.

Holmes-Davis currently lives in Warner Robins, GA with her adoring husband, Jay Davis, and the wonder twins, who are off to college soon.

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Hue Jang

Dr. Hue Jang

Staff Pianist, Academic Professional
Biography

Pianist Hue Jang has been noted for her insight and passion in both her solo and collaborative performances. She has presented solo performances at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and other world-class venues in Europe, Asia, and throughout the US. Her Seoul Arts Center debut recital was reviewed in The Piano, a major music magazine in Korea, and described as a “… performance in complete harmony, along with Jang’s elegant and confident intuition, perfect technique, noble, and intellectual expression.” Her live performances have been broadcasted on WIN-TV Chicago News 24, the University of Illinois radio station WILL, and from Valdosta State University.

Dr. Jang’s collaborations include performances with the Azalea String Quartet and piano duet partner Dr. Reid Alexander. Additionally, she gained substantial experience in opera coaching and accompanying with Carlos Montané and Maestro Ubaldo Gardini, ensemble coaching with Ian Hobson, Dennis Helmrich and Sibbi Bernhardsson, and master classes with Vladimir Feltsman, Ursula Oppens, and Boaz Sharon, among others. 

Dr. Jang published her article "Apex by Sukhi Kang: Cultural Differences Reflected in Performance Practice" in the Korean Dalcroze Journal, and presented her doctoral thesis research on the piano music of Sukhi Kang and Chul-Ik Hwang at the annual Conference of the Illinois State Music Teachers Association. As a member of MTNA and a dedicated teacher, she regularly adjudicates auditions and competitions, and gives lectures and invited talks at universities, conferences, and seminars. She also contributed to Sekwang Publishing’s Korean translation of the widely used Piano Repertoire Guide: Intermediate and Advanced Literature by Cathy Albergo and Reid Alexander (Stipes, 2011).

Dr. Jang is currently a staff pianist and piano instructor at Georgia College. She previously served as a member of the music faculties at Valdosta State University in Georgia, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Millikin University in Illinois. She received her D.M.A. in piano performance and literature and second M.M. in piano pedagogy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, M.M. in piano performance and post-graduate Performance Certificate from DePaul University in Chicago, and B.M. from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Her most influential teachers include Ian Hobson, Reid Alexander, Eteri Andjaparidze, Dmitry Paperno, and Edward Auer.

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David Harned Johnson

Dr. David Harned Johnson

Professor of Music
478-445-7321
Biography

David Harned Johnson is a composer and violinist currently teaching at Georgia College. He has previously taught at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington and Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music in Macon, where he was chair of theory and composition as well as concertmaster of the Macon Symphony Orchestra.

Born and raised in California’s High Desert, he completed a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance and composition at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. At Yale University, he earned an Masters of Music degree in composition, and went on to receive a Doctor of Music Arts degree in composition from Indiana University.

Johnson’s original works for orchestra have been performed by the Macon Symphony Orchestra, the University of Arizona Philharmonic, the Lake Union Civic Orchestra in Seattle, the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Honduras. Johnson’s original chamber music has been performed at many national conferences, including the National Flute Association, the North American Saxophone Alliance, and the International Double Reed Society.

Website: www.davidhjohnson.com

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Youngmi Kim

Dr. Youngmi Kim

Voice Coordinator, Associate Professor of Music
478-445-1249
Biography

South Korean soprano Dr. Youngmi Kim is an Associate Professor of Music and Voice area Coordinator at Georgia College. She has previously taught at Radford University in Virginia and Wilberforce University in Ohio. She received her education at the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) at the University of Cincinnati (DMA and MM) and Ewha Womans University (BM) in Korea.

Dr. Kim is the recipient of numerous accolades including first prize at the William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition and third prize at the Louisville Bach Society Gerhard Herz Young Artist Competition. She made the finals of The Lyndon Woodside Solo Competition where she won the Richard Westenberg Award for 18th-Century Stylistic Interpretation. At CCM, Dr. Kim won the Emilie Dieterle Award and has been the recipient of numerous graduate scholarship awards and a featured soloist in numerous productions. Her outstanding voice has been hailed by San Francisco Classical Voice as “one of those silvery, "strand-of-pearls"-type voices.” The Columbus Dispatch complimented “the liveliness of her voice,” while The Flint Journal commented that, “From [Ms. Kim’s] petite frame and gentle presence bellowed a forceful, yet graceful and flowing voice.” Music in Cincinnati also praised that “[Youngmi Kim’s] clear, flexible voice brought beauty and substance to everything she sang… Her coloratura was every bit as spectacular as his in their mutual cadenza, earning them a warm round of applause.”

A versatile artist, Youngmi Kim is an accomplished interpreter of early music. She is a regularly featured vocalist with the Catacoustic Consort, an acclaimed Cincinnati based early music chamber ensemble. Dr. Kim has also performed with other important period performance ensembles including La Donna Musicale and Apollo’s Cabinet and she is featured on the recording, Le Stagioni (The Seasons): Virtuoso Italian Madrigals, with the early music ensemble, Gravitación. Dr. Kim has participated at the Vancouver Early Music Festival, and at L’Accademia D’amore in Seattle where she worked with celebrated early music specialist, Stephen Stubbs.

As a recitalist and chamber music artist, she has performed in prestigious venues, including Spivey Hall, Franz Liszt Museum in Hungary, Newton Free Library in Boston, Moss Arts Center in Virginia, and Weil Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. She also has performed and given masterclasses at numerous universities, such as Murray State University (KY), University of Texas, Arlington (TX), Lee University (TN), Toccoa Falls College (GA), Ewha Womans University (Seoul, Korea), Ball State University (IN), Central State University (OH), and University of Mount Union (OH).

Dr. Kim has appeared as a soloist with the Richmond Symphony, Flint Symphony, Honolulu Symphony, Kentucky Symphony, Lebanon Symphony, and Louisville Bach Society.  She is a frequent performer in her native Seoul and has performed with the Korean Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions, notably with conductor, James Judd. Dr. Kim was also featured as soprano soloist in Brahms’s German Requiem with the Seoul Philharmonic under the direction of maestro Myung-Whun Chung.

She has served as a Georgia chapter’s Treasurer at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) since 2020. 

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Owen Lovell

Dr. Owen Lovell

Keyboard Coordinator, Associate Professor of Music
478-445-2744
Biography

Pianist Owen Lovell has appeared as a soloist and critically acclaimed chamber musician in twenty U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.  Commercial releases include tracks with rock musician Kip Winger (2008, Frontiers Records) and ASCAP award–winning composer Randall Bauer (2016, Albany Records). Owen has performed in live broadcasts on Wisconsin Public Radio and Austin, Texas NPR affiliate, KUT–FM. He has worked with many prizewinning composers, most notably Lowell Liebermann, Michael Torke, Samuel Adler, Joan Tower, Dan Welcher, Eric Ewazen, David Maslanka, Denis Smalley, and Roberto Sierra. Owen maintains professional two–piano and violin and piano collaborations, delighting audiences in settings ranging from rural community churches to the Kennedy Center.

Dr. Lovell earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. His principal instructors included Boris Slutsky, Dr. Betty Mallard, Gregory Allen, and Julian Martin. Owen is an MTNA Nationally Certified Teacher of Music, serving actively on the executive board of its state and local affiliates, and is frequently in demand as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States.

Appointed in the fall of 2016, Dr. Lovell is an Associate Professor of Music and coordinates the keyboard area and Bobcat Keys after school program at Georgia College, the state’s designated public liberal arts university.  Additionally, he is a piano technician and the piano review editor for Larry Fine’s Acoustic and Digital Piano Buyer (www.pianobuyer.com and printed semiannually), the standard consumer reference for piano shoppers. He previously served on the keyboard faculties of the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, the University of Texas - San Antonio, and Texas State University.  Visit his personal website, www.owenlovell.com or his YouTube channel for more information and links to recordings.

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Don N. Parker

Dr. Don N. Parker

Department Chair
Biography

Dr. Don N. Parker serves as Chair and Professor of Music (Percussion) at Georgia College and State University. In 2018 Dr. Parker performed with the Three Rivers Percussion Ensemble (All-Collegiate Directors Group) at the North Carolina Day of Percussion and the All-Star Jazz Combo, featuring Mr. Ronald Carter (former Director of Jazz Studies at NIU), as a part of the first annual Fayetteville State University Jazz Day. He presented a percussion clinic/masterclass and recital at the University of Mount Olive (NC) with his trumpet/percussion duo, Double Take, which released its second CD of commissioned works, Atmospheres, in 2008. Dr. Parker has served as an artist-in-residence and guest clinician/conductor for a variety of festivals and organizations, including the River City Drum Corp, the annual Keeper of the Dreams Celebration (Louisville, KY), the HBCU-NBDC All-Star Percussion Ensemble, and the H.O.P.E. Summer Percussion Camp at the University of Louisville. Dr. Parker also served as director for the summer music camps at Fayetteville State University.  

Dr. Parker has performed with the Fayetteville Jazz Orchestra and Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra since 2003 as a featured soloist and principal percussionist. The Haydon/Parker Duo’s second CD, Reunion (2015), is available on the ACA Digital Recordings/Albany Record. As part of the album release tour, Parker’s jazz vibes/piano duo presented jazz clinics and concerts at Fayetteville State University and Claflin University (SC). 

In 2007 and 2015 Dr. Parker contributed a teacher resource guides to Teaching Music through Performance in Jazz,Vols. I & II, a series complied and edited by Richard Miles and Ronald Carter (GIA Publications). He recently presented an open forum panel discussion titled “Beyond the Tradition: Preparing the 21st-century Musician at Historically Black Colleges and Universities”at the 2017 National Association of Schools of Music conference in Phoenix (AZ). 

Dr. Parker holds active membership in PAS, NACWPI, MENC, JEN, and the American Federation of Musicians and has served as president of the NC Percussive Arts Society State Chapter. Prior to his appointment at Georgia College, Dr. Parker taught and served as Interim Chair/Director of the Fine Arts Series and Assistant Chair at Fayetteville State University, and held teaching positions at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Chadron State College (NB), and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Dr. Parker has a B.M. in Performance and Music Business from DePauw University and a M.M. and D.M.A. in Percussion Performance from the University of Texas-Austin. Dr. Parker has endorsements with Sabian Cymbals, Mapex Drums, Mike Balter Mallets, Vic Firth Sticks, Remo World Percussion, LP Music Group, and Majestic Percussion. For more information go to: www.parkerlinchmusic.com.

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Laurie Peebles

Dr. Laurie Peebles

Assistant Professor of Music Therapy and Graduate Coordinator
478-445-8512
Biography

Laurie Peebles is currently the Assistant Professor of Music Therapy and Graduate Coordinator at Georgia College. Laurie received a Bachelor’s of Music in Music Therapy and a Master’s of Music in Music Education at Converse College and a Doctor of Philosophy in music education with an emphasis in music therapy at the University of Miami. She completed her music therapy internship with the Fulton County School System and she joined the music therapy team at The George Center for Music Therapy, in Atlanta, GA a private practice, which specializes in catering to children with exceptionalities. She worked with children with autism, Emotional Behavioral Disorders, mental disabilities, survivors of abuse, children who have lost parents or siblings, and/or other varying health impairments. From 2012 to 2014, Laurie served on the executive board as secretary of the Music Therapy Association of Georgia. In 2014, she began working as the music therapist on the Oncology units at Greenville Memorial Hospital, in Greenville, SC, a program funded by a LiveSTRONG grant. Beginning in 2016, she began providing music therapy services at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, FL providing music therapy services on the cardiology, neurology, and intensive care units. During this time, she also providing music therapist services with the private practice Wholesome Harmonies Music Therapy, LLC in Miami, FL.

In 2019, Laurie was the recipient of the AMTA Music Therapy Perspectives Graduate Research Award for her research study Trends in Music Therapy Preprofessional Supervision: A Systematic Review. Her research on music therapy reimbursement practices in the United States has been published in Music Therapy Perspectives. She has presented at several national, regional, and state music therapy conferences on topics which include supervision, the clinical use of technology, and her experience starting a music therapy program in Zhengzhou, China. She has been member of AMTA since 2008. Her other professional affiliations include Pi Kappa Lambda and the Music Therapy Association of Georgia.

When not practicing music therapy, Laurie continues to enjoy performing on flute. In 2014, Laurie was the winner of the South Carolina Flute Society Masterclass competition. In 2015, Laurie performed for Sir James Galway in a masterclass at the Galway Flute Festival in Weggis, Switzerland. In 2018, Laurie performed at the National Flute Association conference with the University of Miami Frost Flute Ensemble under the direction of Trudy Kane.

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Lev Ryabinin

Dr. Lev Ryabinin

Staff Pianist, Academic Professional
917-385-2533
Biography

Dr. Lev Ryabinin graduated with distinction from the Kharkov Institute of Arts, Ukraine, continued his education at the Samuel Rubin Academy of Music at Tel-Aviv University and received his Master’s Degree in Piano Performance from Roosevelt University in Chicago. Dr. Ryabinin earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa, where he held a three-year teaching assistantship. Dr. Ryabinin won First Prize in the Tel-Aviv Academy Competition and was a finalist in the Kankakee Piano Concerto Competition. Dr. Ryabinin has worked as a collaborative pianist/accompanist for Interlochen Center for the Arts, Chicago Opera Theater, Roosevelt University, the University of Iowa, and numerous music theatre productions. He has also presented recitals in Germany, Ukraine, Israel, Spain and the United States. Dr. Ryabinin currently serves as staff accompanist and piano instructor at Georgia College.

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picture of Robert Stewart

Dr. Robert Stewart

MT Lecturer
131 Health Sciences
478-445-2264
Biography

Robert Stewart is currently a Lecturer of Music Therapy at Georgia College. Robert received a Bachelor of Science in Music from Florida Southern College and both a Master of Music Therapy as well as a Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education with an emphasis in Music Therapy from Florida State University. He completed his music therapy internship with Trustbridge Hospice in West Palm Beach, FL and then went on to work at Florida State Hospital, a forensic psychiatric hospital in Chattahoochee, FL, as a music therapist in the Treatment Department. In this capacity, he worked with residential adults experiencing severe and persistent mental illness addressing goals such as readiness development, creative wellness, substance abuse recovery, illness management recovery, and court competency. Robert also spent much of his time at the Medical Services Unit providing one-on-one music therapy services to residents who were also experiencing medical crises during their stay at FSH. In addition to providing music therapy services, Robert also began a partnership with the Monticello Acting & Dance Co. in Monticello, FL where he offered private lessons in guitar, electric bass, and ukulele and continues to provide instruction virtually. In 2019, Robert left his position at FSH to begin his doctoral degree at FSU. In 2020, he was hired at the Apalachee Center, an acute psychiatric hospital in Tallahassee FL, to provide music therapy services part-time while completing his degree. In 2022, he earned the Jayne Standley Scholarship in Music Therapy award for his academic efforts.

Robert is NICU-MT certified and has been a member of AMTA since 2013, with whom he presented at National Conference, discussing topics such as using music therapy to address court competency restoration and digital/audio recording techniques for music therapists. His other affiliations include Order of Omega Honor Society and Theta Chi Fraternity.

Outside of music therapy, Robert is an avid guitarist. He has performed with the Trinity United Methodist "Circle of Friends" Praise Band, two theatrical productions (Beehive and Winter Wonderettes) with the Monticello Opera House, the Tallahassee Homeless Shelter Rock Band, and the Florida Southern College Jazz Band. Additionally, he has studied classical technique under the guidance of several esteemed educators including Bruce Holzman, Silviu Ciulei, Morgan Stuart, Mark Switzer, and Jeff Rogers.

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Clifford N. Towner

Dr. Clifford N. Towner

Director of Band Activities, Professor of Music
478-445-4346
Biography

Dr. Clifford N. Towner is Director of Band Activities and Professor of Music at Georgia College and State University. His responsibilities include conducting the Wind Symphony and Jazz Band, as well as teaching classes in conducting and music education. Dr. Towner holds a D.M.A. degree in Wind Conducting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he studied with Dr. Carolyn Barber, a Masters of Music degree in Music Education from Wright State University, where he studied with Dr. David Booth, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Dr. Terrence Milligan. Dr. Towner has also taught in the public schools for ten years in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Dr. Towner has several scholarly pursuits including wind repertoire and concert programming. He has presented at many conferences including the Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA), the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE). He has been published in the Association of Concert Bands Journal and the Journal of Band Research. His dissertation An Evaluation of Compositions for Wind Band According to Specific Criteria of Serious Artistic Merit: A Second Updatehas been downloaded thousands of times and is utilized at universities around the country.

Dr. Towner maintains an active schedule as a popular guest conductor and clinician. He holds membership in CBDNA, WASBE, GMEA, NAfME, JEN, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Cliff resides in the Milledgeville, GA with his wife Gina, and their daughter Laura and son Nathan.

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Mr. Gregory Wascoe

Lecturer in Voice and Aural Skills
Biography

Prior to joining Georgia College and State University, Gregory Wascoe was a member of the Jones College fine arts faculty from 2011-2022 in Ellisville, Mississippi, after having taught at Mississippi State University for 3 years. He holds a Master’s degree from the University of North Texas, a Bachelor’s from the University of Texas at Arlington and completed classwork towards a Doctorate at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.  

Equally at home in opera, musical theater, concert and recital, Wascoe’s versatile acting provides him an opportunity to portray a boundless variety of diverse roles. Most recently he was seen as Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe as a guest artist at William Carey University, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Opera Huntsville and Geronimo in Il matrimonio segreto with Mobile Opera. Engagements with Mississippi Opera have included the Grand Chancellor, Ping in Turandot, the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance. Marullo in Rigoletto, and made his debut with Mississippi Opera as Pooh-Bah in The Mikado, a role he revived as a guest artist at the University of Southern Mississippi.  In the musical theatre genre, he appeared as Javert in Les Misérables, the Wolf and Cinderella’s Prince in a new production of Into the Woods; he was Emile DeBecque in South Pacific, where he delivered, “a powerful and, at the same time, gorgeous vocal performance” in which he made, “a lasting impression on every theatergoer present” (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal); he took on the high lying tessitura of Pontius Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar, and Edward Rutledge in 1776. He was additionally seen as the title characters in Jekyll and Hyde and portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in Rob Mullholand’s highly successful, A Christmas Carol: The Musical. Other favorite stage highlights include, Tonio in I Pagliacci, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana, Marcello in La Bohéme, Peter in Hansel and Gretel, Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and the title roles in Gianni Schicchi and Don Giovanni. He has been a soloist in the Requiem settings by both Faure and Mozart, as well as Handel’s Messiah, Vaughn Williams’s Five Mystical Songs, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.  

His baritone voice has been heard in other various concerts and recitals as well as a voice over actor throughout the United States and performances internationally. He was the bass narrator on the premier performance of George Walker’s Canvas which was also recorded on the album Time Pieces. Additionally, he has premiered and recorded songs by Mississippi composer, Len Bobo, and premiered a new song cycle, Pencil Songs, by Texas composer, George Chave in 2020. He has had the privilege to present Master Classes in Texas, Mississippi, Idaho, Illinois and Italy. Mr. Wascoe maintains a private voice studio and is the proud father of three amazing children.

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Katie Whipple

Ms. Katie Whipple

Lecturer in Music Therapy, Undergraduate Music Therapy Program Coordinator
478-445-2647
Biography

Katie Whipple is a licensed (MUT000005) and board-certified (08094) music therapist with thirteen years of experience working with a variety of client populations including children and adults with intellectual disabilities, autism, significant medical conditions, cancer survivors, sensory impairments, age-related health issues, and emotional and behavioral health issues. Currently she serves as the undergraduate music therapy program coordinator, music therapy clinic coordinator and lecturer in music therapy in the Music Department. She has taught a range of courses from foundational music theory and the psychology of music, to advanced practicum music therapy courses. She has presented at several national music therapy conferences on a variety of topics including research and community music therapy. She has also presented at various related community events such as nursing symposiums, a healthy community summit, and local organizations. She has received awards for her work with the community and music therapy students. Most recently she received the Excellence in Clinical Instruction by the Dean of the College of Health Sciences in 2016. She also received the Department of Music Therapy Community Partner Award in 2009 for her work in involving music therapy students in engaged learning experiences at a local non-profit organization. She has organized and directed numerous community music therapy performances highlighting the talents of adults and children with intellectual disAbilities as a way to advocate for individuals with disAbilities and to provide music therapy students with engaged learning experiences. She studied classical guitar during her undergraduate work at Georgia College and has taught private guitar and piano lessons in the community. She is currently ABD and seeking a Doctor of Education in Leadership, with a concentration in Higher Education. Her dissertation focus is a qualitative inquiry studying the pre-internship clinical experiences of music therapy students.

Part-Time Faculty

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Ms. Elise Allen

Flute Instructor, Flute Choir Director
Biography

Elise Naber Allen is adjunct instructor of flute at Georgia College and State University. She has performed with the Bismarck Mandan Symphony Orchestra and the Wichita Falls Symphony. In 2017, she performed at the National Flute Association conference as a member of the NFA Professional Flute Choir, and she has performed at multiple conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance as a member of the Allen Duo, a flute and saxophone ensemble committed to commissioning and performing new music. Prof. Allen has been published in The Instrumentalist and The Woman Conductor, and she has presented research and clinics at both the Texas and Georgia Music Educators Association Conferences.

Along with her duties at Georgia College, Ms. Allen is a band director at Oak Hill Middle School in Milledgeville. Prior to working in the Baldwin County Schools, she taught band at Monroe County Middle School in Forsyth. Before returning home to Georgia in 2019 she was the band director at Jacksboro Middle School, Windthorst Independent School District, and Wichita Christian School in Texas. 

Ms. Allen holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and a Performer’s Certificate in flute from the University of South Carolina and a Masters of Music in Music Education from the University of North Texas. She has received additional training in flute pedagogy at Texas Woman’s University. Her primary teachers include Jennifer Parker-Harley, Pamela Youngblood, and Lisa Mahoney.

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Dr. Bell-McRoy

Dr. Zandra Bell-McRoy

Graduate Music Education
Biography

A native of Monroe, Georgia, Zandra Bell-McRoy has been a music educator since 2002.  Upon graduating from the University of Georgia in 2001 with degrees in music and music education, Dr. Bell-McRoy began her career as a high school band director in Troup county, and later Clayton county.  She has also served as a middle and high school band director in Clayton, Walton, and Gwinnett counties.  Bands under her direction have consistently received superior and excellent ratings.  Her most recent appointment is as Director of Bands at Cedar Shoals High School, in which she oversees all aspects of the comprehensive band program as well as serving as a teacher leader.  Dr. Bell-McRoy also serves as the Virtual PLC Lead for 6-12 Band with the Georgia Department of Education.

Dr. Bell-McRoy received her Doctor of Education in Music Education from the University of Georgia under the direction of Dr. Roy Legette in 2014.  While studying at the University of Georgia, Dr. Bell-McRoy served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant earning awards for teaching and being selected to participate in the Future Faculty Program, a small cohort of promising graduate teaching assistants poised to serve as scholars and educators in higher education.  She maintains an active research presence, being invited to present her research at conferences and symposia across the country.  She was honored to serve as the Tau Beta Sigma Women in Music Series speaker for the Southeastern Division Conference in Athens, Georgia in 2011.  Her research interests include multicultural music education, gender and music education, music teacher preparation, and music teacher evaluation and supervision. 

Professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA), National Band Association (NBA), American Educational Research Association (AERA), Phi Beta Mu (International Bandmasters Fraternity), Pi Kappa Lambda, Kappa Delta Pi, Tau Beta Sigma (Honorary), Sigma Alpha Iota, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.  Dr. Bell-McRoy serves as a flutist with Tara Winds Symphonic Band, as well as a freelance performer around the Atlanta area.  Dr. Bell-McRoy is an active clinician and adjudicator in the state of Georgia.  She resides in Monroe, Georgia with her husband, Darvin, who is a band director in Gwinnett County.

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Mrs. Rebecca Cooke

Clarinet Instructor
Biography

Rebecca Rowell Cooke, the daughter of Edd and Ruth Rowell of Macon, began her journey in music singing harmonies with the family of five on road trips. She sampled violin, oboe, and piano before deciding clarinet was her favorite. Rebecca participated in All-State band or orchestra every year from 7th grade through the 12th grade. She went to Governor’s Honors Program in music as a sophomore and the following year received the Bellsouth Scholarship to study at Brevard Music Center for the summer.

Cooke studied with William E. Fitzgerald, Dr. James E. Jensen, and Dr. Theodore E. Jahn. Rebecca holds degrees from Samford University and the University of Georgia in clarinet performance, piano, voice, and music history. She has performed as principal and assistant principal with the Macon, Alabama, Gainesville, Toccoa, and Monroe Symphonies, and as soloist with the Alabama Symphony Chamber Orchestra and at Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston on Eb Clarinet. Although Rebecca has not yet crossed off the bucket list goal of singing back-up with Billy Joel, she has performed in groups with John Berry and Special Consensus, and performed for master classes with Wynton Marsalis, Richard Stolzmann, and Howard Klugg.

Rebecca has been teaching clarinet privately since 1990 and has served as instructor for bands and band camps in Georgia and Alabama, including the Band and Drum Major Academy at GC&SU for several years. At the University of Georgia, Rebecca served as Dr. Jahn’s assistant, teaching the freshmen clarinet majors and any minors or elective students brave enough to sign up for her class. In 1999, she was named “Outstanding Teaching Assistant” for the university. While at Samford and UGA, Cooke performed with the wind ensembles, orchestras, contemporary chamber ensembles, and countless other chamber groups including a chamber group dedicated solely to the music of Iannis Xenakis.

Rebecca is currently serving as adjunct faculty at Georgia College and Wesleyan College where she teaches clarinet, seminars, and woodwind ensembles. She also serves as Graded Choir Coordinator at First Baptist Church of Christ, Macon. Rebecca is a member of the International Clarinet Association, the professional fraternity Delta Omicron, and MMC of Macon. She lives in Macon with her husband, the Honorable K. David Cooke, Jr., and their three children, just a block down from her mother, where their children take piano lessons from her first piano teacher.

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Susan E. Craig

Ms. Susan E. Craig

Part-time Lecturer in Creative Arts Therapists
Biography

Susan E. Craig has worked with people who have Developmental Disabilities from since 1976. She began in 1978 as a Team Leader, and in 1986 she was promoted to Service Director/Nursing Home Administrator of the 135-bed unit. This unit closed in 2010 and she then became the Nursing Home Administrator for a Skilled Bed Facility and this program closed in 2015. During the downsizing of the Skilled Care Facility, she became an Adjunct instructor with Georgia College, and she was assigned duties as a Practicum Supervisor. She later began teaching Piano for Music Therapists and the Instrumental Survey Class for Music Therapists. As the Skilled Care Facility continued to close, Susan accepted a part-time position working in the community auditing records and was later asked to assume the role of the Director of the Developmental Division. Susan retired from working in the community in 2019, and she assumed a Part-time Lecturer Position in the Creative Arts Therapists Department at Georgia College. She was asked to teach the Advanced Practicum, Piano for Music Therapists, Instrumental Survey and Leadership Classes for the FY 2019-2020. During her Tenure at Central State Hospital Susan wrote, choreographed, and directed at least ten Mayor’s Day Performances, which were shows that involved the individuals and staff and they performed for the Governor’s wife as well as other dignitaries. Susan has been the organist at a local Church since 1977. Susan is a member of the Music Therapy Association of Georgia and the American Music Therapy Association.  She is Licensed as a Music Therapist in Georgia and she is Board Certified.

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DeLaine Crutchfield

Voice Instructor
Biography

DeLaine Crutchfield is a soprano from Macon, GA. She graduated in May of 2021 with her Master of Music in Voice Performance at The University of Tennessee, where she worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. DeLaine graduated with her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance and a minor in Italian Studies in 2019 from Baldwin Wallace University. 

During her time at The University of Tennessee, DeLaine was described by Arts Knoxville as “a persuasive blend of youthful spark and lovely Donizetti lyricism” for her portrayal of Adina in the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre’s production of L’elisir d’amore. DeLaine also frequently worked at Knoxville Opera as a chorus member during her time in Tennessee. Other credits include the Amelia in Menotti's Amelia al ballo(2020),  Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress(2019), and Elisetta in Il matrimonio segreto(2018). She also was seen as Cat in the world premiere of Jennifer Connor’s Dog Meets Cat at Cleveland Opera Theatre’s N.O.W. Festival.

In addition to teaching at Georgia College and State University, DeLaine runs a successful private voice studio in Warner Robins, Georgia, where she instructs passionate singers from all walks of life. 

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Ms. Sarah Davis

Cello Instructor
Biography

Cellist, violist, and violinist, Sarah Davis, was born and raised in the western desert of Nevada to a family of 8 children. She was homeschooled her entire life and when she turned 14, her mother helped her start an online jewelry business. This business thrived and eventually provided her with the means to support her future aspirations in music as well as purchasing a vehicle and home for her family. 

Ms. Davis discovered her love for music in 2010 and after receiving a violin from her oldest sister, began studying with Marina Volynets. Before the first year was over, she heard a recording of a cello performance and instantly fell in love. She purchased a cello and began studying with Vadim Volynets in 2012. 

In 2013, her oldest sister discovered a volunteer orchestra in Milledgeville Georgia, and encouraged Sarah to audition. The Oconee Regional Symphony Orchestra accepted her as a violinist and only one month later, she began playing as a community member for the Georgia College string orchestra. These two ensembles changed Sarah’s life and convinced her that her calling was in music. 

In 2016, Sarah began her undergraduate degree in Music Education at Georgia College & State University. Her primary instructor was Barbara Altman and in 2017, she began studying viola with Dr. William McClain. During this same year, she founded the GC&SU String Quartet and served as cellist and manager until 2019 when their two violinists graduated. As well as managing and performing in the quartet, Sarah co-founded and taught Putnam Strings at Putnam County Elementary School. This was an after school music program that provided students with instruments, books, and training every Tuesday. As well as teaching at Putnam County Elementary School, Sarah was able to teach at Killian Hill Christian School for a semester in her senior year where she taught violin, viola, cello, and orchestra lessons and classes. In addition to these two teaching opportunities, Sarah became the private string instructor at the Greenwood School of Music in Macon where she started with one cello student. As of August 2022, she has three cello students, seven violin students, and coaches the Greenwood Piano Quartet. 

Sarah graduated from GC&SU in 2020 and immediately began her goal of a masters in cello performance. She began her graduate studies at the Schwob School of Music in 2020 and studied with Wendy Warner, Dr. Katrin Meidell, and Paul Hostetter. She graduated with a masters in cello performance in 2022 and will begin an artist diploma at the Schwob School of Music while serving as the cello graduate assistant to Wendy Warner. She will spend the next two years maintaining her teaching and performance positions and preparing for her DMA auditions

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Ms. Mia Eaton

Percussion Instructor
Biography

Ms. Mia Eaton, born in La Paz, Bolivia, grew up throughout the world in a US military family. Her passion for music began at an early age while living in several US cities, overseas in Germany and in the Republic of Panama. She refined her musical skills with a Bachelor of Music Education- Instrumental and a Master of Arts in Percussion Performance, both from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, MI.


Her extensive career as a professional touring musician, concert performer, orchestral performer, recitalist and teacher has allowed her to perform in 49 of the 50 United States of America, the Canadian provinces of Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, and the Republic of Panama.


Ms. Eaton had the distinct privilege of performing with several regional symphony orchestras. As the Principal Timpanist with the Detroit Civic Symphony Orchestra, the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, and the Southern Great Lakes Symphony, she refined her timpani skills. She thoroughly enjoyed her performances as the Principal Percussionist with the Detroit Civic Symphony Orchestra and as the Section Percussionist with the Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra, the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra, the Livonia Symphony Orchestra, the Nassau Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Pontiac-Oakland Symphony Orchestra, the Plymouth Symphony Orchestra, and the Warren Symphony Orchestra.


She was honored to perform on the recording of Sounds of the Season with the Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra and Sound Waves with the Plymouth Symphony Orchestra. Notable performances include sharing the stage with William Warfield, Art Garfunkel and Richie Gajate-Garcia.


Ms. Eaton had the wonderful opportunity to perform the drum set and percussion books in the pit orchestra of several regional theatres, including the Gateway Playhouse in Patchogue, NY; the Lake Dillon Theatre in Dillon, CO; the Mt. Washington Valley Theatre in North Conway, NH, and the Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven, NJ. Favorite shows include Meet Me in St. Louis, Yeston and Kopit’s Phantom, and the Long Island premier of Ragtime at the Gateway Playhouse; Annie, Nunsensations and The Full Monty at the Mt. Washington Valley Theater; Singin’ in the Rain, Grease and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Surflight Theatre; and Cabaret and First Date at the Lake Dillon Theatre.


As a touring drum set and percussion performer, Ms. Eaton’s musical theatre credits include: Altar Boyz (2nd National Tour), Bye Bye Birdie, Cabaret, Crazy for You, Funny Girl, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Little Women, Meet Me in St. Louis, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Music Man, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Who’s Tommy, and Urban Cowboy (The Musical),


Ms. Eaton had the honor and distinct privilege to perform several holiday concert tours and share the stage with the Three Irish Tenors and the Three Irish Divas, as the drum set and percussion performer.


Her drum set performances include the music of country & western, pop rock, punk rock, and indie rock bands. She can be heard on the recording More Will Be Revealed by Diana Berry.


Ms. Eaton recently accepted the Percussion position at Georgia College and State University. She has performed locally with the Oconee Regional Symphony Orchestra, the Middle Georgia Concert Band, the Milledgeville Players, the Milledgeville Singers Guild, Georgia Military College, and at several local churches. She has collaborated with the GCSU music department for concert and jazz performances.


She is an enthusiastic women’s and men’s World Cup football fan, along with being an avid follower of both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

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Chris Enghauser picture - Music

Mr. Chris Enghauser

Double Bass Instructor
478-445-8289
Biography

Chris Enghauser who earned a MM in Music Performance from The University Georgia, a BM in Music Performance from George Mason University, is a section bassist with the Macon Symphony and Albany Symphony, Principal Bassist of the Toccoa Symphony in Toccoa, Georgia, and a frequent section player with the Columbus Symphony and Rome Symphony. Chris’ performing experience includes freelancing in a range of styles including jazz, rock, bluegrass, folk, and world music. Chris has been the recording bassist for Rolling Stones pianist Chuck Leavell, also having toured extensively with him and The Randall Bramblett Band. Chris recorded on Chuck’s cd Back to the Woods, which also features guitar legends John Mayer and Keith Richards, and for the Cartoon Network’s Squidbillies Theme. Other recording credits include Commonality by jazz saxophonist Jeff Coffin (of Bela Fleck and the Flectones and Dave Matthews Band), legendary jazz guitarist Mimi Fox’s DVD Live at the Palladium, Randall Bramblett’s Meantime, and recordings for NPR, Compass Records, Sugar Hill Records and Homespun Video. On the road, Chris performed with national Broadway tours of Pump Boys and Dinettes, A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline, Cole Porter’s Anything Goes, as house bassist aboard The Queen of the West Riverboat, and international touring to Canada and Bermuda with the Billie Holiday Tribute Band. Chris had also performed with Bela Fleck, Roy Wooten, Victor Wooten, Sarah Evans, Amy Ray, Randy Sabien, Barbara Lamb, Mark Feldman, David Blackmon, Chester Thompson, Jeff Mosier, David Greir, Mac Davis, Cecil Welch, Curley Maple, Augusta Symphony, and Gainesville Symphony. Present teaching positions include Adjunct Professor of Bass at Georgia College; Adjunct Professor of Bass and Jazz Combos at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, AL; Director of Bands at Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School in Athens, GA; Jazz/Rock Bass Instructor at the UGA Community Music School; Bass Instructor at The Athens School of Music. Previous teaching experience includes Academic Program Specialist in the Jazz Studies Dept at the UGA, clinician for the UGA Jazz Festival, Jazz Band Director for the UGA Summer Music Camp, co-coordinator of the UGA Bass Symposium, and has twice been the Bass Instructor for the Southeastern Bluegrass Association’s Bear on the Square Bluegrass Festival in Dahlonega, GA.

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Jimmy Helms

Mr. Jimmy Helms

Part-Time Lecturer in Music Therapy
Biography

Mr. James (Jimmy) Helms is a board certified and licensed music therapist. He holds a position at GC as a half-time lecturer in Music Therapy. Mr. Helms began playing guitar at the age of 15. He joined his first combo and began playing professionally when he was 21 years of age. Mr. Helms played music while attending junior college and working toward a degree in electronic technology at GCCC in Panama City, Florida, his home town. After graduating in 1978 he began studying electrical engineering at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Mr. Helms elected to leave engineering school for a position as an electronic technician at Texas Instruments in Houston, Texas. 

Mr. Helms continued to work maintaining computer systems in Midland, Texas, for the next five years. During that time, he married and had three children. Mr. Helms moved his family back to Panama City, Florida, and in 1986, began to pursue a formal musical education. After graduating with a two-year degree in music from GCCC he began his studies at Florida State University. Mr. Helms graduated from FSU with an undergraduate degree in Music Therapy in 1991 and accepted a position at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, where he worked as an activity therapist, supervisor, and clinical training director for music therapy interns. During his time at CSH he delivered music therapy services to several populations of clients with special needs. These included adult psychiatric patients, developmentally disabled patients, veterans, geriatric patients, children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders, and forensics.

During his 20+ years at CSH, Mr. Helms worked closely with the Music Therapy Department at GC as a consultant, teaching guitar and practicum classes. He began to pursue a graduate degree at GC in 2005 and graduated with a Masters in Music Therapy in 2007. Mr. Helms retired from CSH in 2013, at which time he began teaching at GC as a half time lecturer.

Mr. Helms has extensive experience in performing and teaching music. He studied classical guitar at FSU and continued his studies under Terry Cantwell at Mercer University in Macon. He has experience in performing with combos and duos and solo work, covering numerous genres of music, including blues, rock, jazz, country, and folk. Mr. Helms also writes songs and has experience in recording.

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Mr. Stephen Hoy

Low Brass Instructor
Biography

            Stephen Hoy began playing the trombone in southeastern Pennsylvania at the age of ten. During those formative years he studied with Dr. James Thurmond, a former member of the Philadelphia Orchestra and organizer of the U.S. Navy School of Music. While in high school he performed under the direction of a number of well-known conductors and music educators, including:  Col. Arnold Gabriel of the U.S. Air Force, Dr.’s George Cavender and William Ravelli of the University of Michigan, and Albertus L. Meyers, a cornet soloist with the John Phillip Sousa Band in the 1920's.            

            After graduating from Lebanon Valley College (Annville, PA) in 1977 with a performance degree, Stephen enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served for nine years as a trombonist with the 581st Air Force Band in Warner Robins, GA and the 602nd Air Force Band in Biloxi, MS.  During his career in the military he performed all over the southeast, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Antigua, the Azores, and Panama. Highlights of his time in the service include playing with jazz trombonists Rob McConnell, Bill Watrous, and Slide Hampton and performing in the premier of El Camino Real by composer Alfred Reed. 

            A number of years after separating from the Air Force he enrolled at Mercer University in Macon, GA to complete the certification requirements necessary to become a music educator in Georgia. After graduating Stephen was employed as a middle school band director in Warner Robins. While teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th graders he also developed a successful private studio regularly sending students to Georgia's All-State bands. At the same time Stephen continued to be active as a trombonist performing with Colony IV Brass Quintet, the Georgia Big Band, and Wellston Winds. Suring the summer months he participated in Summer Jazz programs in Jackson, MS both as an educator and performer.  Each Summer Jazz event culminated in a recording session of original or newly arranged pieces performed during the week.

            Stephen returned to Mercer and earned his Master’s in Trombone Performance in 2009 studying with Colin Williams, currently co-Principal Trombonist of the New York Philharmonic. Continuing to perform he joined the Ocmulgee Symphony Orchestra as Principal Trombonist. He has also played with the Macon Symphony Orchestra, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, with Sara McLachlan at Atlanta's Chastain Park, with The Temptations, and with a New York based Ray Charles Review. Stephen is a regular participant at the Southeast Trombone Symposium as part of the Professor's Choir. Most recently he founded Slide Effects, a trombone quartet that has performed in a number of different venues in the Middle Georgia area.

            Stephen is married and has two adult children. In addition to his musical activities he is the author of The Fragrance of Paradise, a book chronicling his spiritual journey through illness, a liver transplant, and subsequent recovery. He publishes a free e-newsletter about his rose growing hobby that is sent to subscribers on five continents. In 2019 Mercer University Press published a history Stephen authored entitled, Camp Oglethorpe: Macon Georgia’s Little-Known Civil War Prisoner of War Camp, 1862-1864.

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Dr. Robert Krout

Music Therapy Online
Biography

Robert E. Krout, EdD, MT-BC is Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Music Therapy Department at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Robert moved to Texas from New Zealand, where he founded and directed that country’s first university post graduate music therapy program. He was previously Music Therapy Manager at Hospice of Palm Beach County, Florida, where he founded and directed an AMTA National Rosted Internship. Prior to that, Robert taught at the State University of New York at New Paltz. In addition to teaching at Georgia College, he teaches in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. Robert is the author or co-author of numerous music therapy clinical, educational, and research publications. 

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Camilla Packroff

Camilla Packroff

Voice Instructor
Biography

A native of Germany, soprano Camilla Packroff holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia where she studied voice with Dr. Martha Malone. Prior to her time at Mercer, she attended Berry College where, on top of her studies in Music, she also pursued a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. At Berry College, Ms. Packroff studied under Ruth Powell Baker and was a member of the Berry Singers under the direction of Harry Musselwhite and Dr. Paul Neal. Ms. Packroff is currently serving as an adjunct instructor of voice at Georgia College and State University, the vocal coach at the Academy for Classical Education in Macon, and as a soloist and choir member at Mulberry Street United Methodist Church in Macon.
    As a singer, Ms. Packroff has participated in Master Classes with Gary Wedow, Christopher Halloway, and Christian Sineath, National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) auditions on both the Georgia and Southeastern Level and Jugend Musiziert in Germany, where she was awarded second prize in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2011. She is also the 2017 Recipient of the Rome Music Lovers Club Award and Scholarship. Ms. Packroff has been a member of numerous choral ensembles, including the Berry Singers, Berry Voices and Mercer Singers, where she has contributed both as a soloist and an ensemble member. At Mercer University, she was also featured in Mercer University Opera Productions such as Orpheus in Opera (Euridice), Guys and Dolls (General Mathilda Cartwright) and Operatic Gems. In her solo work, Ms. Packroff specializes in Early Music, especially the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederic Handel, and she has collaborated with instrumental artists including Adam Hayes and John Davis on these works. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda and Phi Kappa Phi.
    In her free time, Camilla Packroff is an avid cook and baker and she can often be found in the grocery store looking for interesting ingredients. She loves to travel and flies home to Germany whenever possible, both to visit her family there and to explore the country. Her love of old buildings, especially the great cathedrals and their remarkable acoustics, has made a significant impact on her appreciation of Early Music.

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Chantae D. Pittman, Ed.D

Chantae D. Pittman, Ed.D

Graduate Music Education
Biography

Dr. Chantae D. Pittman is the Director of Choral Activities at Campbell High School in Smyrna, GA in the Cobb County School District, and adjunct professor at Georgia College and State University. Dr. Pittman is passionate about all forms of music. She is a proud graduate of Tennessee State University having received her Bachelor of Science in Music Education in 2010. She has since earned a Master’s Degree in Music Education at VanderCook College University (Chicago, IL, 2013). In May 2021 Dr. Pittman graduated from The University of Georgia where she completed her Doctorate in Education with an emphasis in Choral Music Education.  During her 12-year career in choral music education she has taught students from elementary through high school. Due to that experience, and her demonstrated commitment to excellence in performance, she is highly respected as a choral clinician, music education consultant, instructor, grant writer, and adjudicator. She is very active as a soprano soloist and choral musician as a member of the Grammy award winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus since 2011, and the Atlanta Women’s Chorus since 2020. Having performed with orchestras, choirs, and small vocal ensembles throughout her career as a musician, Dr. Pittman proudly continues to learn, grow, and develop as a musician and pedagogue. She is a proud and active member of the Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), National Educators Association (NEA), Georgia Association of Educators (GAE), Sigma Alpha Iota, Professional Music Fraternity, Inc., and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

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Matthew Robinson head shot

Mr. Matthew Robinson

Guitar Instructor
matthew.robinson4@gcsu.edu
Biography

"Matthew Robinson earned his graduate degree from the Georgia State University’s School of Music in 2019. He has been invited to numerous academic performances like the 2016 Georgia Music Educators Association as well as participating in chamber guitar events with world-renowned artists. His ongoing venture into the world of guitar ensemble music has been a particularly relevant source of inspiration for his own guitar compositions - which eventually earned him the 2018 Austin Texas Guitar Composition Competition award. With his experience in guitar ensembles he hopes to continue teaching for the guitar as a chamber instrument and to see it prosper as such."

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Picture of Dr. Michele Champion Sampson - Music Department

Dr. Michele Champion Sampson

Biography

Dr. Michele Champion Sampson, a native of Clinton, MS, is the music specialist at Addison Elementary School in Marietta, GA where she teaches K – 5th grade general music and conducts the Addison Elementary Chorus. Dr. Sampson received her Bachelor of Arts in music and Master of Music Education from Mississippi College and her Doctor of Arts in music education from the University of Mississippi, where she studied Kodály and Orff Schulwerk music education and choral music education. She is certified in Orff Schulwerk, First Steps in Music, a methodology for music education in pre-kindergarten through first grade, and is a Microsoft Innovative Educator. She is currently enrolled in the Tier 1 Educational Leadership Program at the University of West Georgia.

Dr. Sampson has taught at both the elementary and collegiate level in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. In addition to her teaching duties, she has conducted several elementary, middle school and high school honor choirs, presented workshops for throughout the southeast, and has served as a curriculum contributor in Mississippi and Georgia. She is currently a member of the Cobb County School District Elementary Music Curriculum Committee and is a CCSD Performing Arts Teacher Leader. 

She is an active member of NAfME: The National Association for Music Education, the American Choral Directors Association, the Georgia Music Educators Association, the Georgia chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, the Atlanta Orff Chapter where she serves as the chapter’s president, and the American Orff Schulwerk Association where she serves on the Social Media Sub-Committee.

In her free time, Dr. Sampson loves watching college football, especially her beloved Ole Miss Rebels, researching current techniques in music education, spending time with her friends and family, and shopping.

 

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Andrew Sehmann picture - Music

Andrew Sehmann

Biography

Andrew Sehmann is a musician based in the South-East United States. He has played under multiple conductors such as Keith Lockhart, Bruno Weil, Kai Rohig, Jeff Tyzik, Dirk Meyer, Jack Walker, Joann Faletta, Ken Lam, Kayoko Dan, Phil Smith, Garrett Keast, Matthias Bamert, John Morris Russell, and Morihiko Nakahara.

Andrew is a native of Central Kentucky and has played with multiple groups around that area, such as the Madison Brass, London Orchestra, and the Lexington Philharmonic. While in Kentucky, he studied at Eastern Kentucky University under his father, Mick Sehmann. Andrew graduated from EKU Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor's in Music Performance. Currently, he teaches at Young Harris College, and Georgia College in Milledgeville. The SWQ does educational outreach programs and community service within the Athens Area, teaching children about the wind instruments. In addition to his chamber experience, Andrew plays with multiple orchestras in the Southeast. He is third horn in the Augusta Symphony, and also a section horn of the Atlanta Ballet orchestra.

In addition to Orchestral and chamber playing, Andrew is an accomplished soloist. He began his soloing career at age 16 when he won the Borchardt Concerto Competition in Central Kentucky. In addition to this, Andrew has soloed with Eastern Kentucky University's Symphony Orchestra three times. While at EKU, he also performed a guest artist series at the University of the Cumberlands in 2014.  In 2016, Andrew won the International Horn Society's Tuckwell and Hawkins Awards. Also, during the convention, he placed second at the yearly Premier Soloist Competition. Finally, in 2017, Andrew won the scholarship competition of the Pro-Mozart Society of Atlanta, an all instrument competition. The winner studies in Salzburg at the Mozarteum.

Andrew is also passionate about teaching.  At GCSU, Andrew teaches both lessons and various classes, such as Music in Civilization. Current and former students have place first chair in the Georgia Allstate Symphonic Band, been accepted to and attended GHP, and attended NYO-USA at Carnegie Hall. Anyone is welcome to take privately from him. Information for this can be found above on the page entitled Lessons.

In addition to Horn, Andrew has played violin since the age of three. While more focused on horn recently, Andrew was a member of the EKU String Orchestra for six years and still performs a few times a year in both Kentucky and Georgia. Andrew graduated from EKU with a minor in violin performance, in addition to the horn performance degree.

His previous teachers have included: Marie-Luise Neunecker, Wolfgang Vladar, Johannes Hinterholzer, Jean Martin-Williams Mick Sehmann, Richard Deane, James Naigus, Hazel Dean Davis, Achim Reus, and Kevin Reid. Andrew's horn of choice is a Rauch (No. 127) and is highly proficient on both Wagner Tuba and Alto-Horn. He lives with his wife Ashley, a private piano teacher in Athens with their rescue dog, Stella.

 

Staff

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Tammie Burke

Ms. Tammie Burke

Administrative Assistant
Biography

Tammie Burke has been the Office Coordinator for Creative Arts Therapies since 2015. She began her career in the Registrar’s Office in May of 2004 as coordinator of Office Services.

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Christina O'Steen

Ms. Christina O'Steen

Administrative Assistant
478-445-8289
Biography

Christina O'Steen has worked as a full time coordinator of office services since January 2012. Chris provides administrative support to the chair of the music Department. She also coordinates the everyday duties of the music office, this includes helping students and faculty with various issues. She has a degree from Georgia College (Bachelor of Business Administration/Management of Information Systems). She enjoys working in the Music Department.

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Kate Phillips

Ms. Kate Phillips

Office Assistant
478-445-8289
Biography

Kate Phillips, a part-time office assistant since March 2016, works mostly with concert programs and publicity. She has two degrees from Georgia College—a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance and a Master of Middle Grades Education. A retired school teacher, Kate is currently a church organist at Milledgeville First Presbyterian Church. She also enjoys her “retirement” job at Georgia College!

Emeritus Faculty

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Richard Greene

Dr. Richard Greene

Professor Emeritus
Biography

Professor Emeritus Richard Greene is a classical guitarist, composer and analytical musicologist. Dr. Greene received a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance degree from Loyola University in 1970, a Master of Fine Arts in Guitar Performance degree from Tulane University in 1976 and a PhD in Analytical Musicology from the University of Leeds in 1992. He is one of the world's leading authorities on the music of the English composer Gustav Holst, whose composition, "Jupiter" (from "The Planets") is a favorite of most bands and orchestras. Dr. Greene's books on Holst and music analysis are published world-wide. As a composer, Dr. Greene has been commissioned to write for many different media and styles, from opera to musical comedy, and from solo guitar to orchestral works. As a performer, he has been involved in solo and chamber recitals from coast to coast, and he has recorded a CD of his own compositions. Dr. Greene teaches courses in music history and literature, music theory, classical guitar and interdisciplinary studies.

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Maureen Horgan

Dr. Maureen Horgan

Professor Emeritus
Biography

Dr. Maureen Horgan taught for the Georgia College Music Department from 2002 to 2018.  Her classes included studio brass, brass ensembles, brass and string methods, aural skills, music and civilization, jazz history, and improvisation. With degrees from the New England Conservatory, Yale University School of Music, and SUNY Stony Brook, Maureen had a long career as a professional musician, performing in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Jordan Hall, and Boston Symphony Hall, and with renowned musicians including Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Victor Borge, Jacki Byard, Phil Wilson, and Brian Wilson. She commissioned four works: for brass quintet (John Hennecken), trombone quartet (Perry Goldstein), trombone and digital media (Douglas O’Grady), and trombone, flute, and digital media (O’Grady). Her solo CD Moe’s Bit o’Blues is distributed internationally by the Centaur Label, and she also has recorded for other labels.  A Shires Trombone Artist, Dr. Horgan’s performing career included 33 years with the New Hampshire Music Festival, and performances with a wide range of ensembles including Monarch Brass, the Opera Company of Boston, the Boston Philharmonic, Nashua (NH) Symphony, and the Jazzabelles. She performed solo trombone at international festivals including the International Trombone Festival, the Eastern Trombone Workshop, and the International Women’s Brass Conference, and was a guest speaker/performer at numerous universities, including Yale University, Florida State, and the University of North Texas. Dr. Horgan’s teaching credits include Wheelock College, Plymouth State University (NH), public school experience in Massachusetts and Hawaii, and the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, where she taught trombone and brass chamber music for twenty years. She also taught and performed in Honduras, most recently in June 2009 where she was the featured soloist with the Banda de los Supremos Poderes de Honduras. Dr. Horgan is a Past President of the International Women’s Brass Conference, and is an avid backpacker, hiker, cyclist, and runner. 

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Dr. Chesley Mercado

Dr. Chesley Mercado

Professor Emeritus
Biography

Chesley Mercado came to Georgia College and State University in 2000 as an assistant professor, the second person to be hired into the Music Therapy Department at that time.  Because she had come from the working world of music therapy, she found time on her hands to develop a performance based music therapy program.  This set the stage for the rest of her 19 year journey with Georgia College and State University. She has served as both State vice president, and president of the Georgia Music Therapy Association, and sat on the state music therapy committee which pushed the Professional Georgia State Music Therapy License bill through the Georgia State Congress. She is the author of the text book The Natural Role of Music Therapist in Administration.

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Patti Tolbert

Dr. Patti Tolbert

Professor Emeritus
Biography

Dr. Tolbert received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Education from the University of Georgia in 1997, the Master of Education in Music Education from Georgia Southern University in 1986, and the Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Berry College in 1970. 
 
Dr. Tolbert has twenty years of experience as an instrumental music educator teaching in Polk, Glynn, McIntosh and Oconee County schools before coming to GC. Dr. Tolbert continues to be an active performer around the state as a professional percussionist with orchestras such as the Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Macon Symphony Orchestra, and the Rome Symphony Orchestra.  She has performed with such artists as Ray Charles, Shirley Jones, Bernadette Peters, Benny Goodman and others. 
 
Honors include the Gene M. Simons Fellowship Award for musical and academic excellence given by the School of Music of the University of Georgia, Student Organization Advisor of the Year at Georgia College as the Sigma Alpha Iota women's music fraternity advisor and GC 2006-2007 Excellence in Teaching Award.  
 
Dr. Tolbert also served as the Music Education Coordinator, CNAfME Advisor and Web Master for the department. She has served as Chair of the College division of the Georgia Music Educators Association.  She is also the Webmaster for the NAfME: National Association for Music Education History Special Interest Research Group (HSRIG) and was recently elected as national chair of the HSRIG for 2014-2016. For a link to the History SRIG, click on hsrig.gcsu.edu.    

Dr. Tolbert retired as Professor Emeritus from Georgia College in 2014.