Dr. Timothy Groulx recently completed his Ph.D. in music education at the University of South Florida, where he was a recipient of the Presidential Fellowship in Doctoral Studies. He earned his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Teaching from Oberlin Conservatory, majoring in trumpet performance and music education. After graduation he began teaching band in rural Ohio and then after two years returned to his home state of Florida where he taught band programs in the Tampa Bay area for nine more years. Under his direction, his high school bands have earned superior ratings and awards in both marching and concert band venues. Although the majority of his experience is with high school bands, he has also taught bands at the middle and elementary levels, along with high school and middle school orchestra, choir, guitar, and general music. While at the University of South Florida, he taught courses in the instrumental music education curriculum and assisted with the Herd of Thunder Marching Band, concert band, symphonic band, wind ensemble, and brass choirs.
Dr. Groulx has two published research articles with more currently in review, and his lines of research include historical research in bands, psychology of music, online graduate degrees, and teaching style. Along with teaching and research, he has an extensive performing background with numerous civic and professional ensembles, both large and small. He is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, Indiana Music Educators Association, College Music Society and the College Band Directors National Association.
Dr. Groulx currently teaches courses in instrumental and general music education methods, instrumental techniques, and music theory.
Dennis Malfatti is associate professor of music and director of choral activities at the University of Evansville. At UE, he conducts the University Choir, Women’s Chorus, Men’s Chorus and the Kantorei Chamber Choir. He also serves as Conductor of the Evansville Philharmonic Chorus. Prior to coming to Evansville, Dr. Malfatti was the director of choral activities at Longwood University in Virginia.
In May, 2011 Dr. Malfatti made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli with the New England Symphonic Ensemble and a chorus of one hundred fifty-five singers made up of choirs from across the country. Choirs under Dr. Malfatti’s direction have performed by invitation at both the Indiana Music Educators Association Annual Conference and at the Virginia Music Educators Association Annual Conference. His choirs have also performed by invitation at Washington National Cathedral, and recently performed in a master class with the world renowned vocal sextet, The King’s Singers. In addition to his work with university choirs, he has served as music director of the York River Symphony Orchestra, assistant conductor and chorus master of the Operafestival di Roma, guest conductor of the Virginia Commonwealth University Opera Theatre and Orchestra, chorus master of the Bronx Opera Company in New York City, and he has conducted the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus in multiple performances of Handel’s Messiah.
In both 2005 and 2010, Dr. Malfatti was selected as a participant in Helmuth Rilling’s choral/orchestral conducting master class at the Oregon Bach Festival. As a participant in the master classes, he conducted the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra and Chorus in six performances which included movements from Bach’s B Minor Mass, several sacred and secular cantatas, and Bach’s Fourth Orchestral Suite. He has also conducted members of the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra as a participant in the Illinois Orchestral Conducting Workshop under the guidance of Donald Schleicher. He is regularly invited to conduct choir festivals and is often called upon as a guest choral clinician. He serves on the Executive Board of the Indiana Choral Directors Association where he holds the position of Repertoire and Standards Chair for College and University Choirs. He has published articles and book reviews in both state and national publications of the American Choral Directors Association.
Dennis Malfatti received his doctorate in choral conducting with a minor in orchestral conducting from Louisiana State University, a masters degree in conducting from the Pennsylvania State University, and an undergraduate degree in music theory and composition from the University of the Pacific where he graduated summa cum laude. While at LSU, he was the recipient of the School of Music Graduate Assistant Excellence in Teaching Award. His conducting teachers include Kenneth Fulton, Jindong Cai, and D. Douglas Miller.
John Jordan is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Evansville. He earned master's degrees in music education and conducting from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and a doctorate in musicology and sacred music from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Jordan has done extensive research in the aesthetics, philosophy, and practice of sacred music in 19th-century America. He has catalogued and surveyed the theoretical and practical writings of Thomas Hastings, one of the preeminent figures in American church music of the last century.
Dr. Jordan teaches all music literature and history courses for music majors, as well as the Senior Seminar in World Music, and music appreciation classes for non-majors. Since coming to the University of Evansville, Dr. Jordan has also introduced and taught general education courses in American Music and Music and Film.
Dr. Thomas Josenhans is associate professor of music and a member of the Harlaxton Quintet, the woodwind quintet in residence, at the University of Evansville. He currently serves as Chair of the Department of Music and teaches courses in applied clarinet, applied saxophone, music management/technology, and music theory. His prior teaching appointments include positions at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, and Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Josenhans holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and State University of New York at Stony Brook. Charles Neidich, Franklin Cohen, Theodore Johnson, and Lawrence McDonald are among his primary teachers.
Dr. Josenhans is principal clarinetist of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. During summers he is principal clarinetist and a member of the Artist Faculty at the Wintergreen Music Festival in Virginia. He has served as guest principal clarinetist with the Charleston Symphony during the Piccolo Spoleto Festival and was principal clarinetist with the Roanoke (VA) Symphony Orchestra from 1992-2007. He has also performed with the Owensboro, Abilene, Springfield, Champaign-Urbana, Akron, Youngstown, and Greenville Orchestras.
An active performer and chamber musician, Dr. Josenhans has appeared as soloist with groups as diverse as the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Abilene Community Band. In 2008 he was soloist with the UE Wind Ensemble for a performance of Dana Wilson's Liquid Ebony, and he has been featured as a soloist in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante at the Wintergreen Festival, and in Mozart's Clarinet Concerto with the Roanoke Symphony. Recent performances also include appearances at James Madison, Capital, Texas Tech, Abilene Christian and Hardin-Simmons Universities, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He has played at conferences of the International Clarinet Association (2008), the International Double Reed Society (2006) and performed recitals at the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium (2006, 2010). He is an active clinician in area schools and has presented clinics at the Indiana Music Educators Association (IMEA) Convention, the Texas Music Educators Association Convention, and the Texas Tech Clarinet Symposium. He has also been heard at the Aspen, Blossom, Sarasota, and Chautauqua Music Festivals.
Josenhans is a member of the International Clarinet Association, North American Saxophone Alliance, Music Educators National Conference, and the Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Kappa Lambda honor societies. He is on the CD review staff for The Clarinet, a publication of the International Clarinet Association.
Dr. Timothy Zifer, Professor of Music, holds a bachelor's degree in music education from Ohio University, a master of music in trumpet performance from Louisiana State University, and a doctorate in trumpet performance with a minor in wind conducting at Louisiana State University. He currently serves as Director of Jazz and teaches courses in applied trumpet, jazz studies, and music management. Dr. Zifer received the Dean's Teaching Award in 2010.
Dr. Zifer is the principal trumpet of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed recitals throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Most recently he was trumpet soloist with the Hong Kong Baptist University Orchestra on a tour of China. He also serves as the principal trumpet and founding member of the Shepard Brass (UE Faculty Brass Quintet), music director of the Evansville Symphonic Band, and music director of the Bend in the River Brass Band.
Prior to the jazz appointment, Dr. Zifer served as director of bands (1996-2008). During this time the University of Evansville wind ensemble toured over 20 states and appeared at the 2001 International Trumpet Guild Conference, competed in the 2002 International Hawaiian Music Festival, and performed at the 2006 and 2008 Indiana Music Educators Association conventions. Dr. Zifer and the wind ensemble also commissioned several works by noted composers Eric Ewazen, Lowell Liebermann, Andrew Rindfliesch, and Ty Alan Emerson. In 2001 he served as the conference host for the International Trumpet Guild Conference at UE. The conference brought in over 800 attendees from around the world and featured recitals, lectures, exhibits, and clinics by some of the world's leading trumpet professionals.
Dr. Mary Ellen Wylie earned a Bachelor's degree in music education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and advanced degrees, including a Doctorate, from the University of Kansas. She is an experienced music therapist having worked with children with severe developmental delays and multiple handicaps; adults with mental handicaps; the elderly and terminally ill; and patients with cancer.
Dr. Wylie is President-Elect of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and has served a number of years on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the organization. She has also held several appointed and elected positions in the Great Lakes Region of AMTA, including President of the Region. In March 2010 she was awarded the Honorary Life Member award from the region for distinguished contributions made over the years.
Dr. Wylie has given numerous presentations locally, as well as at national, regional, and state music therapy conferences. In recent years her presentations have focused on incorporating Blues techniques in to music therapy interventions. She has been published in the Journal of Music Therapy and Music Therapy Perspectives. As Director of the music therapy program, Dr. Wylie teaches courses in music therapy, supervises music therapy practica, and coordinates internships.
Kathleen Murphy earned her doctorate in music therapy from Temple University in 2008. She received a bachelor's degree in music therapy from Duquesne University in 1981 and a master's degree in music therapy in 1992. Dr. Murphy has worked in medical, mental health, and educational settings with both children and adults. She has created music therapy programs in nursing homes, hospitals, and schools. Prior to coming to the University of Evansville, Dr. Murphy worked in addictions where she developed a sleep hygiene protocol and a stress managements program based on the principles of AA/NA. She holds licenses in New York (Licensed Creative Arts Therapist) and in Pennsylvania (Licensed Professional Counselor).
Dr. Murphy has presented nationally and internationally on music therapy clinical practice and education. She has consulted with medical centers and universities wanting to start music therapy programs. Dr. Murphy has been invited to speak about her clinical work at several colleges and universities. Currently her research interests are focused on music therapy in addictions treatment and music therapy practice in short-term settings. Dr. Murphy also supervises music therapy professionals.
Dr. Murphy has been actively involved in the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), serving at the national, regional, and state levels. She is past President of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the AMTA. Dr. Murphy has been actively engaged in music therapy advocacy working to increase access to and funding for music therapy programs. She has received several service awards from the Mid-Atlantic Region of the AMTA.
Dr. Murphy teaches courses in music therapy and supervises music therapy practica.
Dr. Brian St. John is assistant professor of music and director of orchestral activities at the University of Evansville. At UE Dr. St. John directs the University Symphony Orchestra and String Ensemble and teaches conducting courses. Prior to joining the faculty at UE, Dr. St. John was at Minnesota State University Moorhead as director of orchestras. From 1995-2008 he lived in Boulder County, Colorado, where he was resident conductor for the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Longmont Youth Symphony, and music director for the Niwot Timberline Symphony (now the Boulder Symphony Orchestra). In addition to conducting hundreds of concerts in that span, Dr. St. John wrote and premiered seven original ballets, a piano concerto, a concertino for String Bass and Orchestra, and a double concerto for Mandolin, Mandola, and Strings. Prior to his years in Colorado, Dr. St. John was assistant conductor of the State Ballet of Missouri (now the Kansas City Ballet) and assistant conductor for the Philharmonia of Kansas City. St. John was also assistant conductor for the Colorado MahlerFest orchestra from 1993-1999.
Dr. St. John earned a bachelor's degree in viola performance and a master's degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance and a doctor of musical arts degree in orchestral conducting from Arizona State University. At ASU Dr. St. John was an assistant conductor for the Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra as well as a conductor for the ASU Sinfonietta. While at Arizona, he also served as music director for the North Valley Chamber Orchestra and served as adjunct faculty at Paradise Valley Community College, both in Scottsdale, Arizona. Dr. St. John serves on the conducting staff of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra where he conducts the Evansville Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.
Dr. Kenneth Steinsultz is Assistant Professor and Director of Bands at the University of Evansville. Prior to coming to Evansville he served as assistant to the Director of Bands at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Dr. Steinsultz is a member of the Board of Directors for the Evansville Symphonic Band as well as serving as ESB principal euphonium. An active performer, Dr. Steinsultz has been featured soloist with the Bend in the River Brass Band (Evansville), the Concert Band of Central Illinois, and was guest soloist with the University of Illinois Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble at the Army Band (Pershing's Own) Tuba/Euphonium Conference. In 2005, he was guest clinician for the Association of Concert Bands national conference and performed as a guest artist on the finale concert.
Dr. Steinsultz has served as music director at Lewistown (Illinois) Community High School and director of bands for Brown County Unit Schools in Mt. Sterling, Illinois, prior to his appointment at the University of Illinois. He has been a member of the Quincy Park Band, Quincy Symphony Orchestra, and Mississippi River Brass Band. He has performed with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Danville (Illinois) Symphony, Illinois Symphony of Springfield/Bloomington, and the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. In the summers of 2003 and 2004, he was co-director of the Mark Foutch Brass Band in Champaign, Illinois.
He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, National Band Association, Indiana Bandmasters Association, Barbershop Harmony Society, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (honorary membership).
Dr. Steinsultz holds degrees from Quincy University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He currently conducts the Wind Ensemble, University Band, Aces Brass Pep Band, and teaches courses in applied low brass.
Carol Dallinger is currently the Oramay Cluthe Eades Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of Evansville where she has been a member of the faculty since 1972. She is also founder and coordinator of the University of Evansville Suzuki Violin Program. An active performer Ms. Dallinger serves as principal second violinist of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and performs regularly on department recitals. Ms. Dallinger has lectured at both state and national music conferences and, as a registered teacher trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas, frequently serves as clinician for summer institutes throughout the United States. She has also taught in New Zealand and Australia. She is a former member of the National Board of Directors of the Suzuki Association.
Ms. Dallinger has been recognized for her contributions to teaching with the UE Alumni Board Outstanding Teacher Award in 1995, and the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award in 2000. In 2006, she received the Suzuki Chair Award for her contributions to the field of Suzuki Talent Education at the American Suzuki Institute, Stevens Point, WI.
Professor Dallinger holds a Bachelor of Music in performance from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Master of Music in performance from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She currently teaches courses in applied violin, applied viola, music theory, and Suzuki violin pedagogy.
Before coming to the United States, Renato Butturi performed throughout Italy, France, Germany, Kenya and the Ivory Coast. As a member of the University of Evansville music faculty, he is much in demand as a soloist and chanber musician and has performed as special instrumentalist with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, the Fort Wayne Symphony and the Indianapolis Symphony. Prof. Butturi is an active jazz performer and is on the summer faculty at the University of Cincinnati Classical Guitar Workshop. He is the founder and artistic director of the Evansville Classical Guitar Society.
Prof. Butturi currently teaches courses in applied guitar, applied lute, and jazz studies.
Anne Hastings Fiedler is professor of music and head of the keyboard area. In 2008 she received the prestigious Exemplary Teacher Award given by University of Evansville and also the Outstanding Teacher Award given by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for the 2007-08 academic year.
An active performer, Professor Fiedler was finalist and prizewinner in the National Beethoven Piano Sonata Competition and has collaborated nationally with a variety of soloists and ensembles, notably in performances at International Trumpet Guild and International Double Reed Society events. She can be heard on the recent CD entitled Oboe Serenade. Professor Fiedler has been featured soloist on numerous occasions with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, the Evansville Chamber Orchestra and the University of Evansville Orchestra. She performs frequently as collaborative pianist with faculty and guest artists on the First Tuesday Series and Tuesday Night Concert Series sponsored by the music department. Fiedler is also principal keyboard and assistant principal second violin of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra.
Professor Fiedler's diverse areas of interest and teaching experience include studio piano, music theory, piano pedagogy, and collaborative piano. She is a collegiate theory text reviewer for McGraw-Hill Publishing and regularly serves as an adjudicator for local and state competitions. She is co-founder and first president of the Greater Evansville Chapter of the Indiana Music Teachers Association and has presented at IMTA state conferences. Other distinctions include biographical listings in American Keyboard Artists, Who's Who in America, Outstanding Young Women of America, and Who's Who Among American Teachers.
Professor Fiedler holds Bachelor of Music with Highest Honors and Master of Music Degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She currently teaches courses in applied piano and music theory.
Garnet Ungar has appeared throughout North America as piano soloist with orchestra, in recitals and masterclasses at major universities, and in solo and chamber broadcasts on Public Radio and the CBC. He has also performed in Switzerland, Sweden, and England, and his recording of the Brahms Second Piano Concerto with the Varna Philharmonic in Bulgaria was described in John Bell Young's Clavier Magazine review as “powerful and precise...having solidity and passion, a magisterial presence, structural integrity, immediacy and intensity.” In 2009 he released his second CD, of Schubert piano works. A review in Fanfare Magazine mentioned "subtle nuances under perfect control and never sounding self-conscious…a fine control of myriad touches and colors… steady, focused, and unrelenting-a really superlative account.” Clavier Companion describes “an impressively imaginative and nuanced musical sensitivity with a refined technique” and “a complexity to his interpretations that cannot be fully appreciated at a first listening.”
Dr. Ungar has served on the piano faculties of Mount Royal College in Calgary and the University Settlement House in Toronto. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Evansville in Indiana and served on the piano faculty of the Music at Maple Mount Summer Institute in Kentucky. He regularly adjudicates piano competitions including, most recently, the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival. In demand as a private teacher, his students have won several other important local and state competitions. They have included six first prizewinners in the Evansville Philharmonic Competition, four finalists in the Indianapolis Symphony Competition, and first and second place winners in the Murray State/Paducah Symphony Competition. He has also taught multiple State MTNA and Evansville Schmidt Award winners.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Dr. Ungar obtained degrees in piano performance from the Universities of Toronto, Calgary, and Houston, where his principal teachers were William Aide, Marilyn Engle, Abbey Simon, and Ruth Tomfohrde. Additional studies include sessions at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto, where he obtained an Associate Performer's diploma, with Marek Jablonski at the Banff School of Fine Arts, Marc Durand and Anton Kuerti at the Centre d'Arts Orford in Quebec, and Bernard Ebert at the Academie de Musique de Sion in Switzerland.
Dr. Ungar currently teaches courses in applied piano, accompanying, and basic piano.
Dr. Douglas Reed is Professor Emeritus of Music and the University Organist at the University of Evansville. He has performed extensively in the United States, Europe, and the Far East. Dr Reed’s numerous recordings include In Memoriam William Albright on the EQUILIBRIUM label, the premiere recording of the C.B. Fisk Organ, Opus 110 in the Minato Mirai Concert Hall, Yokohama, Japan.
His “North American Organ Music after 1800” appears in The Cambridge Companion to the Organ, Cambridge University Press).
Dr. Reed has received grants for commissioning new music from the Indiana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mesker Trust, and the University of Evansville. The University also awarded him a Global Scholar grant and the Sadelle and Sydney Berger Annual Award for Scholarship and Creative Activity.
Reed holds the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in organ performance from the University of Michigan and the Doctor of Musical Arts in organ performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music where he also earned the Performer's Certificate. His major organ teachers include Robert Clark, Robert Glasgow and Russell Saunders.
Cellist Jennifer Wingert holds a Bachelor Degree in music performance from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and a Performance Diploma from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Her teachers include Dr. Helga Winold, Eric Kim, Robert deMaine, and Dr. Eric Edberg. Ms.Wingert has appeared as soloist with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, the Warren (MI) Symphony Orchestra and the DePauw University Symphony Orchestra. She appears frequently on music department recitals as soloist and chamber musician and performs as assistant principal cellist with both the Evansville Philharmonic and Owensboro Symphony Orchestras.
Ms. Wingert currently teaches courses in applied cello.
In 2008 after a teaching career of 48 years, including 41 years at the University of Evansville, Dr. Lacy retired from full-time teaching and continues to teach courses in applied bassoon. Before his retirement, his primary duties included teaching bassoon, saxophone, oboe, jazz, and music theory. Dr Lacy is founder of the UE Jazz program and was its director for 40 years. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Lacy served as chair of the Department of Music on three occasions for a total of seven and one-half years. His many honors include the Oramay Cluthe Eades Distinguished Professor of Music, the Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UE and was named co-winner of the national "Advisor of the Year" by Sigma Alpha Iota in 2002.
Dr. Lacy serves as principal bassoonist and saxophone soloist with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, of which he has been a member for 44 seasons. He was also principal bassoonist of the Owensboro (KY) Symphony Orchestra for nineteen seasons and has served as principal bassoonist of the Indianapolis Festival Music Society Orchestra and the Harlaxton Quintet. He has performed solo recitals at the University of Colorado, the University of Georgia, Western Michigan University and Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. His chamber music performances have included appearances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Interlochen Arts Academy and on the Wisconsin Public Radio Network.
Lacy has been a member of the International Double Reed Society since its inception in 1972 and has been a member of the International Association of Jazz Educators. Other professional memberships include Pi Kappa Lambda music honorary society, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, which has made him a recipient of their Orpheus Award. He is also an honorary member of Sigma Alpha Iota music fraternity. At the University of Evansville, he served as faculty advisor to SAI for 25 years and advisor to Phi Mu Alpha for over 30 years.
His teaching experience has included six years in the public schools of Indiana and Illinois and one year at the University of Charleston in West Virginia, in addition to his 43 years at the University of Evansville. He has also served as visiting professor of music at the University of Louisville and at Indiana University.
Dr. Lacy holds the bachelor of music education degree from Murray State University and the master of music in bassoon and doctor of music in woodwinds from Indiana University.
Dr. Robertson attended the Eastman School of Music and Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Music in oboe performance and a Bachelor of Arts in applied mathematics, both with high honors. She continued her studies at Indiana University where she earned a Master of Music in oboe and a Doctor of Music in oboe literature and performance. Her primary teachers were Richard Killmer, Daniel Stolper, Marc Lifschey and Theodore Baskin.
Dr. Robertson has been principal oboe of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra since 1995 and principal oboe of the Lancaster Festival in Ohio since 2001. She has performed as principal oboe of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra and has substituted with the Louisville Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Robertson is a member of the Harlaxton Quintet, woodwind quintet in residence at the University of Evansville.
Dr. Robertson is an active member of the International Double Reed Society and performed at the 2003 and 2006 Conferences. As the youngest of five finalists, she won second place in the IDRS Fernand Gillet Performance Competition in 1991. She has published several articles on the oboe works of Antal Dorati in the IDRS Double Reed journal. Robertson is also a member of the College Music Society and is the CMS campus representative for the University of Evansville. She recently released the CD Oboe Serenade, and currently teaches courses in applied oboe.
Shauna Kay Thompson is consortium instructor of flute at the University of Evansville and principal flute with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. She is also a member of the Harlaxton Woodwind Quintet, resident faculty ensemble at the university. Originally from Houston, Texas, Ms. Thompson has vast experience as a teacher and performer. She won the 26th annual Myrna Brown competition with the Texas Flute Society and is looking forward to returning to the 2012 convention as a guest artist. Ms. Thompson is also a laureate of many other competitions, including winning the Pittsburgh Flute Club Young Artist competition. She was selected as a finalist or semi-finalist in the National Flute Association's Young Artist Competition, the Frank Bowen Competition , the Claude Monteux Flute Competition and Music Teachers National Association.
An enthusiastic orchestral musician, Ms. Thompson has previously served as principal flute with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra and as second flute with the Midland Odessa Symphony Orchestra, as well as many other orchestras. She has also been fortunate to perfrom as a concerto soloist on multiple occasions with the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra, Symphony North of Houston, the HSPVA Orchestra, and the Texas Tech University Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Thompson is currently working towards her doctorate of musical arts degree from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where she previously served as the teaching assistant for the flute studio. She earned her master of music degree in flute performance at CCM with Brad Garner and her bachelor of music degree in flute performance at Texas Tech University with Lisa Garner Santa.
Ms. Thompson currently teaches courses in applied flute.
Marc Zyla is Consortium Instructor of Horn at the University of Evansville and Principal Horn of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra where he holds the Eykamp Family Chair. He is also a member of two resident UE faculty ensembles: the Harlaxton Woodwind Quintet and the Shepard Brass. In addition, Mr. Zyla plays Principal Horn in the Champaign-Urbana Symphony and is a member of the Aduro Brass Quintet, a group of educator/musicians who specialize in school education performances.
Zyla has been featured soloist with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, performing the world premiere of Kaoru Wada's Toone for Horn and Wind Orchestra. He has also soloed with the Urbana Pops Orchestra and has been a featured guest on WILL-FM radio. Mr. Zyla has performed with the Illinois Brass Quintet, the University of Illinois Graduate Brass Quintet, the Pittsburgh Brass Project and the Looking Glass Wind Quintet at the Banff Chamber Music Festival. He has previously held positions in the Quad City Symphony, the West Virginia Symphony, the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, the Peoria Symphony and the Heartland Festival Orchestra.
Mr. Zyla earned a Bachelor's degree in Musical Arts from West Virginia University and a Master's degree in Horn Performance from Carnegie Mellon University. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Horn Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois. His teachers include William Caballero, Thomas Jöstlein, Robert Lauver, Virginia Thompson, C. Scott Smith and Luke Zyla.
Ross Erickson is Consortium Instructor of Percussion at the University of Evansville and is Principal Percussion with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and the Owensboro Symphony. Prior to coming to Evansville, Mr. Erickson performed as percussionist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, and the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic.
Erickson's diverse musical experience includes performances with the IU Brazilian Ensemble, IU Steel Pan Ensemble and IU Afro-Cuban Folkloric Ensemble. He has attended the Aspen Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, and toured for one season with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Erickson earned both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Performance from Indiana University. His principal teachers include John Tafoya, Dean Borghesani, Kevin Bobo, and Michael Spiro. He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society.
Dr. Jon Truitt, Associate Professor of Music, holds both Bachelor and Master degrees in performance from Baylor University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in performance from Louisiana State University. He currently serves as head of the voice area, director of the opera program, and teaches courses in applied voice. His students have been featured in many choral and operatic performances, and some have gone on to professional performing and graduate programs. Others are already making their mark in the fields of music therapy, music education, sacred music, or in the world of music business.
A native of Houston, Texas, Dr. Truitt appears regularly with professional opera companies across the United States, including the New Orleans Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera, Mobile Opera, Pensacola Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, Opera Illinois, the Crested Butte Music Festival, Jacksonville Opera, and the Jefferson Performing Arts Society. He has appeared as Figaro in Barber of Seville, Marcello in La Boheme, Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni, Guglielmo in Cosi Fan Tutte, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Ford in Falstaff, Captain Corcoran in HMS Pinafore, and more than forty other roles in the lyric baritone repertoire. On the concert stage, he has sung with the Evansville, Jacksonville, Acadiana, Waco, Florimezzo, Baylor, and LSU symphonies and in numerous public solo recitals. He is a two-time apprentice artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera, a Metropolitan Opera Regional finalist, and a NATSAA Indiana State Winner. He is also a Sigma Alpha Iota National Arts Associate, the organization's honor for nationally recognized distinguished contribution to the arts.
A frequent collaborator with noted American composer Richard Faith, he performed the title role in the world premiere of Faith's Scenes from Macbeth and also sang the premiere of his song cycle, Songs from the Voice of Gaia. Dr. Truitt is the founder of the Crested Butte Music Festival's Opera Young Artist Program in Paradise, which attracts aspiring operatic artists from across the United States, and has also worked extensively with young artists with St. Petersburg Opera's Emerging Artist Program.
Dr.Truitt is also making his mark as an operatic stage director across the United States, having recently directed professional productions of Le nozze di Figaro, Barber of Seville, Die Fledermaus, La Boheme, Little Red Riding Hood, Don Giovanni, The Elixir of Love, and Die Zauberflote. His recent production of Die Zauberflote was featured in Opera America magazine.
Stacey Uthe, soprano, is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Evansville. Dr. Uthe received the bachelor's degree in music education from Augustana College as well as master's degrees in vocal performance and in choral conducting, and a doctorate degree in vocal performance, all from the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She currently teaches courses in applied voice and diction.
Prior to coming to Evansville Dr. Uthe served as Adjunct Instructor of Voice at UMKC. While studying at UMKC, Dr. Uthe was a graduate assistant for the Opera Department in 2000 and a graduate teaching assistant for the Vocal Studies Division from 2001-04. She also spent six years as a music education teacher and associate choir director at Washington High School in the Sioux Falls Public Schools system.
An active performer, her solo credits include performances with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Lyric Opera San Diego, Wichita Grand Opera, Union Avenue Opera, Townsend Opera, and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. Abroad, Dr. Uthe has performed for audiences in Belguim, Austria, and Germany. Recent performances included Faure's Requiem with the Augustana Concert Choir and Orchestra, the role of "Contessa" in New York Lyric Opera's concert version of Le nozze di Figaro, and holiday concerts with both the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Ohio, and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. Future engagements include recitals in Shreveport and Kansas City, Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra, and Rossini's L'occasione fa il ladro in New York .Some of her favorite roles include Hanna in The Merry Widow, Mimi in La Bohème, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Magda in La rondine, and Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Dr. Uthe was first prize winner of the Missouri Federation of Music Clubs and the Kansas City NATS (Professional Category). She has also been a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, a finalist in the Charles Lynam Vocal Competition, and a finalist in the National Opera Association Vocal Competition.
Dr. Uthe's professional affiliations include American Guild of Musical Artists and National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).
Gregory Rike is an Assistant Professor of voice and also serves as Musical Director for the nationally-recognized UE Theater. Prior to coming to Evansville Dr. Rike held teaching positions at the University of Mississippi, The Ohio State University, Ohio Northern University, Heidelberg College, and the University of Findlay.
In demand as a performer, clinician, and coach, Dr. Rike is equally comfortable with opera, oratorio, art song, and musical theater genres. He has coached such shows as A Little Night Music, Follies, Company, Urinetown, Grand Hotel, The Last Five Years, Into the Woods, Parade, and Assassins as well as The Marriage of Figaro, Baby Doe, and Tartuffe. He has performed with various opera companies as well as the Evansville, Toledo, Charleston, Columbus, and Ohio State Symphony Orchestras. The last two summers Dr. Rike has also served as the Musical Director of Lincoln, Upon the Altar of Freedom at the Lincoln Amphitheater in Lincoln City, IN. He has judged National Association of Teachers of Singing competitions in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Ontario, Canada, as well as the Metropolitan Opera auditions in Memphis, Tennessee.
Dr. Rike currently teaches courses in applied voice and diction.
Soprano Elizabeth Truitt has performed across the United States with companies including Fort Worth Opera, Mobile Opera, Pensacola Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, Crested Butte Music Festival, Waco Lyric Opera, Granbury Opera, Oklahoma Shakespeare Festival, and in numerous educational tours. She has performed such roles as Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, the Countess in le nozze di Figaro, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Lady Billows in Albert Herring, Mimi in La Boheme, Alice Ford in Falstaff, and other roles in the lyric spinto repertoire. Equally comfortable on the concert stage, Ms. Truitt has sung a variety of works including Handel's Messiah, Vaughn William's Sinfonia Antartica, Dubois's Seven Last Words of Christ, Faure's Requiem, and Verdi's Requiem with such noted ensembles as the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony, Waco Symphony, and the Baylor Symphony. Ms. Truitt is also a frequent recitalist and enjoys collaborating with other musicians to bring attention to rarely heard repertoire. She has recently performed in Chicago, Illinois; Springfield, Missouri; Crested Butte, Colorado; Evansville, Indiana; and St. Petersburg, Florida. Noted for her interpretation of the 20th century repertoire, she sang the role of Lady Macbeth in the world premiere of American composer Richard Faith's Scenes from Macbeth (a role specifically written for her) and has appeared to critical acclaim in Carlisle Floyd's one-woman opera Flower and Hawk in the role of Eleanor of Aquitaine. In the competition arena, Ms. Truitt was a semi-finalist in the Orpheus National Music Competition and a winner of the Houston Gilbert and Sullivan Society's Opera Career Grant.
Ms. Truitt received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Baylor University, where she was the recipient of a full graduate assistantship and studied under internationally recognized pedagogue John Van Cura. An adjunct instructor of voice at the University of Evansville, Ms. Truitt teaches both traditional vocal students and members of the University's award-winning theatre program. Her students have gone on to such prestigious graduate programs as Yale, NYU, Brown, ACT, UCSD, Rutgers, and UC Irvine. She has previously served on the faculty of the University of Mary Hardin Baylor and taught voice at Baylor University. A sought after master clinician, Ms. Truitt has presented classes on singing both the traditional and musical theatre repertoire across the United States.
Richard Williams, tenor, holds a bachelor of music education and a master of arts degrees from The Ohio State University and is currently completing his DMA in voice. Mr. Williams has an extensive performance career in both the United States and throughout Europe, including the Vienna Staats Opera, Carnegie Hall, and The Kennedy Center. He has worked with Leonard Bernstein, Keith Lockart, Eric Kunzel, Robert Shaw, and many other internationally- known conductors. He has taught voice at The Ohio State University, Muskingum College and Kenyon College Mr. Williams is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Mr. Williams currently teaches courses in applied voice (traditional and musical theatre) and vocal techniques.
Cindy Jones, Department of Music Senior Administrative Assistant, holds an A.S. degree in Accounting from Ashworth College. Her responsibilities include music office, accounting and resource management. She also serves as secretary/treasurer of Friends of UE Music.
