Faculty
The Frostburg State University music faculty is known for its excellence in teaching, performance, and composition. Department members are active as recitalists, researchers, adjudicators, clinicians, as well as members in and directors of professional choral and instrumental ensembles.
Education
Theory/History/Composition
Winds & Percussion
- Eftihia Arkoudis, Flute
- Donald Albrecht, Trumpet
- Joshua Bishop, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba
- Mark Gallagher, Clarinet
- Mackenzie LaMont, Percussion
- Avery Pettigrew, French Horn
- Brent Weber, Saxophone, Bassoon
Strings & Piano
- Thomas Clippinger, Guitar
- Jay DeWire, Piano
- Karen Lau, Cello
- Talya Schenk, Violin, Viola
- Joseph Yungen, Piano
Vocal
Jazz
- Donald Albrecht, Trumpet
- Tom Clippinger, Guitar
- Tom Harrison, Keyboard & Combo
- Scott Rieker, Vocal Ensemble
- Brent Weber, Saxophone & Jazz Band
Ms. Francesca Aguado
Lecturer
Office: 205 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4119
Email: fraguadomurray@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153
Degrees:
M.M., Towson University
B.M., University of Maryland College Park
Teaching Interests
Voice, Musical Theatre Voice
- Additional Information
Bio
American soprano Francesca Aguado has been praised for her solid sound and excellent support (Opera Britannia) and for her voice’s confident precision and articulation (The Washington Post). Her debut as Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana) with Miami Lyric Opera was described as an “excellent and well-nuanced” performance (translated from el Nuevo Herald). Before recently moving to the soprano repertoire she was a Benenson Young Artist with Palm Beach Opera (2018), were she performed the Baroness and covered the Old Lady (both in Candide) and covered Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro). For the 2018/2019 season she traveled with an active recital schedule, and debuted Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) with Bel Cantanti Opera.
Other past operatic credits include: Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia); Carmen (Carmen); Musetta (La Bohême), Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors); Ma Joad (suite version of The Grapes of Wrath, accompanied by composer Ricky Ian Gordon); Dorabella (Così fan tutte); Dinah (Trouble in Tahiti); Maurya (Riders to the Sea); the Duchess (The Gondoliers); Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte).
Ms. Aguado holds a Master's degree in vocal performance from Towson University and a Bachelor's degree in music from the University of Maryland. In addition to an active performance schedule, she maintains voice studios with several institutions in the Maryland area.
Since 2015 Ms. Aguado has devoted time towards helping young artists, not only in field of higher education but also as an arts administrator. She has worked with several up and coming organizations including the Mediterranean Opera Studio, overseeing its first year presenting three fully staged productions with orchestra and was the Director of Administration for Bel Canto in Tuscany, helping oversee its growth and development during its early stages. In 2019 she became the Direc tor of Operations for three festivals under Partners for the Arts Abroad (Vienna Summer Music Festival, London Summer Music Theatre Academy and the Austria Summer Music Festival).
Dr. Donald Albrecht
Lecturer
Office: 209 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4117
Email: dlalbrecht@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153
Degrees:
D.M.A. University of Illinois
M.M. Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College
Graduate Coursework University of North Texas
B.M. Berklee College of Music
Teaching Interests
Trumpet, Jazz Trumpet
- Additional Information
Bio
Dr. Donny Albrecht enjoys an active career balancing his love of teaching and performing as a freelance trumpet player in the Washington, DC, area. Dr. Albrecht is the Adjunct Professor of Trumpet at Frostburg State University. He has held teaching positions at several musical institutions over his 14-year teaching career from coast to coast. Dr. Albrecht's students have had many careers as professional musicians.
Dr. Albrecht has had the privilege of freelancing all over the US, from coast to coast, performing with groups at the Kennedy Center, Boston Symphony Hall, Kupferberg Center for the Arts, Mondavi Center, Krannert Center, Beantown Performance Center, Murchison Performing Arts Center, JEN Conferences, NTC Conferences, ITG Conferences, Red clay Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Bean Town Jazz Festival, Notre Dame Latin Jazz Festival, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Louis Armstrong Museum, and others. Dr. Albrecht has performed at jazz clubs like Blue Note Nappa, Mr. Henry's, Ryles Jazz Club, Scullers Jazz Club, Wally's Café, The Beehive, Scat Jazz Lounge, Jazz UpFront, The Canopy Club, and others.
Dr. Albrecht is a graduate of Berklee College of Music. At Berklee, he studied with Charlie Lewis and Lin Biviano. Upon leaving Berklee, Dr. Albrecht moved to study with Jay Saunders at the University of North Texas. Dr. Albrecht continued his musical studies in New York City, attending the Aaron Copland School of Music under the tutelage of Michael Philip Mossman with additional studies with Tony Kadleck and Nick Marchione. Upon graduating with his Master's in Music from Aaron Copland School of Music, he would earn his Doctoral Music degree at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign under Tito Carrillo, Ronald Romm, and Charles Daval. Dr. Albrecht would also start to study with Bobby Shew at this time.
Dr. Albrecht's dissertation entitled: Lead Trumpet Style: A stylistic Analysis of Modern Lead Trumpet Playing through the Examination of Five Prominent Lead Trumpet Players features the stylistic analysis and interviews of Wayne Bergeron, Tanya Darby, Jon Faddis, Tony Kadleck, and Bobby Shew.
Personal Email: denny.albrecht@gmail.com
Dr. Eftihia Arkoudis
Lecturer
Office: 209 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4117
Email: evarkoudis@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
D.M.A. and M.M. West Virginia University
Artist Diploma Prayner Conservatory of Arts, Vienna, Austria
Artist Diploma National Conservatory of Arts, Athens, Greece
B.S. Technological Institute of AthensTeaching Interests
Flute
- Additional Information
Eftihia's Full Biography
Bio
Greek flutist and Trevor James Low Flutes Artist Dr. Eftihia Arkoudis is a versatile performer and educator. She is a winner of WVU’s Young Artist and International Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition (2016), an alternate winner of Pittsburgh Concert Society and National Flute Association Convention ‘Into the Music’ Masterclass, a finalist for The American Prize Competition (2018-2019), and an alternate finalist of Byron Hester Competition (2015).
As an orchestral and chamber musician, she has served as the principal flutist of Orpheus Kammerochester Wien, Junges Tonkünstler Orchester, Greek-Turkish Youth Symphony Orchestra, WVU Symphony Orchestra, and numerous other ensembles, giving her the opportunity to perform and record in prestigious venues of Greece, Austria, Germany, and Turkey. Currently, she performs as a founding member of the award-winning BETA Quartet, with whom she won the Flute Society of Kentucky Flute Quartet Competition and were semifinalists in Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (2017).
Arkoudis has performed the world premiere of several new works and has a passion for adding a theatrical element in her interpretations. Her musical activities were supported by grants from WVU and Friends of Flutes Foundation, the Susan B. Hardesty, Eleana T. Donley, and Valerie Canady scholarships. She has performed in the masterclasses of Alberto Almarza, Krzysztof Kaczka, Lorna McGhee, Franscesca Arnorne, Erwin Klambauer, and Caroline Debonne, and was selected as a performer for the Jasmine Choi International Masterclass in Austria (2013) and William Bennett Flute Academy in the US (2017).
Eftihia graduated with her DMA and MM from West Virginia University while on an assistantship. She holds artistic diplomas with honorary awards from Prayner Konservatorium Wien and the Athens Conservatoire, and has a Bachelor’s in Science from the Technological Institute of Athens. Her primary teachers are Nina Assimakopoulos, Reza Najfar, Urs Ruttiman, Panagioti Drakos, and Danae Kioupouroglou.
Learn more
Trevor James Artist
Beta Quartet
Mr. Joshua Bishop
Lecturer
Office: 204 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.3181
Email: jabishop@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
M.M. Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music
B.M. East Carolina UniversityTeaching Interests
Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba, Brass Ensemble
- Additional Information
Bio
Joshua Bishop is a low brass performer and educator residing in Rawlings, MD. He is currently serving as the Lecturer of Low Brass at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland and the Assistant Band Director at Dallastown Area High School in Dallastown, Pennsylvania. He earned his Master’s degree from the Jacob’s School of Music at Indiana University in music performance and his Bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University with a degree in music performance. His primary instructors include Demondrae Thurman, Carl Lenthe, Stephen Ivany, Joanna Hersey and Tom McCaslin.
Josh is active as a performer having performed with ensembles such as the Triangle Brass Band and the world-renowned North Carolina Brass Band. As a competitor, Josh was named a finalist in the artist division of the Southeast Regional Tuba Euphonium competition and won the 2018 East Carolina University Concerto Competition Brass Division. As a soloist Josh has performed with various high schools across North Carolina, the Triangle Brass Band, and was featured on a performance of Karl King’s Melody Shop with the Indiana University Wind Ensemble. Josh is active in chamber music currently performing with the Sequence Quartet, a professional euphonium quartet based in Southern Indiana.
As an educator, Josh teaches privately and has given clinics to middle and high schools across the East coast and has also given masterclasses to collegiate low brass students across both the United States and Canada. Josh currently performs on a Besson Prestige 2052 euphonium and an Edwards T-350E tenor trombone.
Dr. Thomas Clippinger
Lecturer
Office: 205 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4119
Email: tmclippinger@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
D.M.A. University of Texas at Austin
M.M. Florida State University
B.M. Peabody ConservatoryTeaching Interests
Guitar, Jazz Guitar
- Additional Information
Bio
Grammy-nominated guitarist Dr. Tom Clippinger has been described as “one of the finest young players I’ve heard,” and “someone to watch” by Oren Fader, guitarist and faculty at Manhattan School of Music. As an advocate for new music, Clippinger frequently works with composers to expand the classical guitar repertoire, and in this process has been the dedicatee of several new works by composers such as Donald Grantham, Celil Refik Kaya, José Maria Sanchez-Verdú, Nailah Nombeko and Kile Smith. He holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory (BM), Florida State University (MM) and the University of Texas at Austin (DMA). Clippinger maintains an active performing schedule as a soloist, chamber musician and member of the New York City Guitar Quartet. He is an Ex-Aequo Artist, and endorses Augustine Strings, Chase Bliss Audio, Wampler Pedals and MONO Creators.
Dr. James (Jay) DeWire
Assistant Professor
Office: 105 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4115
Email: jadewire@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
D.M.A. University of Maryland- College Park
M.M. New England Conservatory of Music
M.A. and B.A. University of VirginiaTeaching Interests
Piano, Pedagogy, Music History
- Additional Information
Bio
Jay DeWire, piano, has performed across the United States as a soloist, collaborator, and member of the West Shore Trio. Highlights include two performances as soloist with the Prince George’s Philharmonic, concerts in Chautauqua, Los Angeles and New Mexico. with the West Shore Piano Trio, a performance at the North American Saxophone Alliance in Lubbock,Texas with Dr. Brent Weber and Dr. Mark Gallagher, and the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts with Dr. Mark Gallagher. He teaches piano and history at Frostburg State University.
Dr. DeWire began playing piano at the age of four and gave his first solo recital at age 12. He received a B.A. with High Distinction and a Master of Arts in piano performance from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory. In December of 2007 he received a D.M.A. from the University of Maryland School of Music (College Park). He has studied with such distinguished pianists as Joanne Haroutounian, Mimi Tung, Gabriel Chodos, Bradford Gowen, Steve Drury, John Moriarty, and Larissa Dedova. He has performed in master classes for Claude Frank, Andre Watts, Ruth Laredo, and Tigran Alikhanov, the Director of the Moscow Conservatory, and appeared in several competitions including: The National Society of Arts and Letters Competition, National Symphony Orchestra Competition, Baldwin Competition, Washington, DC Beethoven Competition (Honorable Mention), and was a finalist in the American Musicological Society (Mid-Atlantic Chapter) Writing Competition. Dr. DeWire has also received numerous prizes including the Brander Wyatt Morrison Prize, and a Dean of Faculty Fellowship (UVa), as well as scholarships at the University of Maryland, New England Conservatory and University of Virginia.
Personal Email: jaydewire@gmail.com
Website: West Shore Piano Trio
Dr. Mark Gallagher
Associate Professor
Office: 104 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4381
Email: mgallagher@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
D.M.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.M. Eastman School of Music
B.M. Oberlin Conservatory of MusicTeaching Interests
Clarinet, Music Theory, Alexander Technique
- Additional Information
Bio
Clarinetist Mark Gallagher is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he received a B.M. degree and studied with Lawrence McDonald. He also holds a M.M. degree from the Eastman School of Music having studied with D. Stanley Hasty and D.M.A degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he studied with Dr. Linda Bartley. Other major teachers included Robert Marcellus and Alfred Zezter, both of the Cleveland Orchestra. Dr. Gallagher has performed with the Contemporary Music Forum of Washington, Washington Opera, United States Navy Band, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Bronx Symphony, New York City Ballet Orchestra, and the Skylight Opera Theatre Orchestra.
He made his New York recital debut performing with violinist Sylvia Rosenberg at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall and is also a winner of the Artist International Competition in New York City being award a solo recital in Weill Hall. An active chamber musician and co-founder of I Venti Semplice, Dr. Gallagher has performed throughout the United States, Europe and China, with recent concert tours of the Netherlands, which included a live national radio broadcast from the Concertgebouw, and performances in Beijing and Changsha, China. He has also had solo and chamber appearances in Germany and the Czech Republic. Other performances include appearances in Washington, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Ann Arbor, Wisconsin Public Radio, as well as a concert tour of Sweden. Dr. Gallagher has recorded with the Albany Records label and can be heard on the Eastman “American Music” Series.
In addition to a busy performance schedule, Dr. Gallagher is an active teacher and clinician, lecturing on occupational health issues for musicians and the Alexander Technique. Currently he is an instructor of clarinet and music theory at Frostburg State University and has held pedagogical posts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Carroll College. During the summer, Dr. Gallagher has been the director of faculty at the Semplice Harbor School of Music and Chamber Music Festival on Washington Island, Wisconsin and director of the Savage Mountain Summer Arts Academy at Frostburg State University.
Dr. Ashley (Ash) Glenn
Assistant Professor
Office: 207 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.7452
Email: aeglenn@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
Ph.D. University of Southern Mississippi
M.M. American Band College
B.M. University of TennesseeTeaching Interests
Director of Bands, Music Education
- Additional Information
Bio
Originally hailing from Chattanooga, TN, Ashley Glenn is the Director of Bands and Visiting Lecturer of Instrumental Music Education at Frostburg State University. His duties include directing the Wind Ensemble and Bobcat Marching Band, teaching instrumental conducting, teaching brass and secondary general music methods, and supervising interns and student teachers.
Prior to his appointment at Frostburg State University, Ashley served on the faculties of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan and Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. Ashley taught middle school band at Jefferson Middle School in Jefferson City, TN, for fourteen years before leaving to complete his doctoral studies. His bands were known for their musicianship and resonant sound and earned multiple Excellent and Superior ratings.
Ashley holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a Master of Music in Wind Conducting from The American Band College, and a Ph.D. in Music Education with a cognate in Wind Conducting from The University of Southern Mississippi. His primary field of research is in transfer student experiences and engagement in collegiate music education. His research was most recently presented at the South Carolina Music Education Association Convention in Columbia, SC.
Ashley is a member of The National Association for Music Education, College Band Directors National Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, and Kappa Kappa Psi Honorary Band Fraternity.
Mr. Tom Harrison
Lecturer
Office: 138 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4109
Email: teharrison@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
B.M. Frostburg State University
Teaching Interests
Jazz Piano; Director of Jazz Combo
- Additional Information
Bio
Mr. Harrison has extensive performance experience in jazz and popular music as multi-instrumentalist. With jazz piano as the major focus, Tom has performed with Ray Brown, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, the Maryland Symphony, Ted Nash, John Fedchock, Eddie Gomez, Sean Jones, Jeff Coffin, Scott Wendholt, Allison Miller, Chuck Redd, Rosana Eckert, Curtis Johnson, Chris Vadala, James Moore, Gary Grainger, Paul Bollenback, and more.
Tom currently teaches jazz piano, jazz combo, and jazz theory and analysis at Frostburg State University. He is retired from the Allegany County school system as instructor of instrumental music.
Tom has presented jazz clinics/concerts through the Cultural Events Series at Frostburg State University, Allegany Community College, and the Cumberland Jazz Society. He is a co-founder and president of the Cumberland Jazz Society.
Mr. Harrison received his Music Education degree from Frostburg State University, studied classical and jazz piano at West Virginia University with James Miltenberger, music theory with former professor Asher Zlotnik of the Peabody Conservatory, and has done additional studies in music education and music technology at Duquesne University and Villanova University.
Dr. Mackenzie Lamont
Lecturer
Office: 103 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.7453
Email: mjlamont@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
D.M.A. and M.M. University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
B.M. University of IndianapolisTeaching Interests
Percussion, Music Industry, Composition
- Additional Information
Bio
Mackenzie (Mack) Jacob LaMont (b. 1989) is an active composer, performer (percussion), music educator, music copyist and arranger, and owner/operator of a small music recording company. His recent music has been focused on the environment as well as political and philosophical issues, with the sound world inhabiting a space somewhere between minimalism and post-progressive rock (with dashes of randomness here and there). Mack has a DMA in music composition with a cognate in percussion from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music where he studied composition with Michael Fiday, Joel Hoffman, and Douglas Knehans, and percussion with James Culley and Allen Otte. He holds prior degrees in composition, percussion performance, and music technology/recording, and previously studied composition and percussion at the University of Indianapolis with John Berners and Paul Berns respectively. You can find out more at mackenziejacoblamont.com
Website: mackenziejacoblamont.com
Dr. Karen Lau
Senior Lecturer
Office: 206 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.7458
Email: klau@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
D.M.A. and M.M. Catholic University of America
B.M. Sichuan Conservatory of MusicTeaching Interests
Cello, String Ensemble
- Additional Information
Bio
Karen Lau began her cello studies at the age of seven. A graduate of the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Karen earned her Masters and Doctoral degrees in cello performance from the Catholic University of America. Her primary teachers included Michael Mermagen, Sara Male, and Shi-Dong Luo, with additional studies with Hai-Ye Ni and Amit Peled.
Karen attended the Vivace Music Festival on full scholarship from 2006-2008. From 2005-2009, Karen held the rank of assistant professor at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. She has performed and taught at a wide variety of venues throughout Asia and the United States such as the Xiamen University Chamber Music Festival, the Kennedy Center, NPR Studios, Music at Penn Alps, and the National Gallery of Art. She also has given cello workshops at Langley High School and Patrick Henry College.
Since 2013, Karen has been teaching strings-related courses at Frostburg State University, where she founded the Frostburg State University Summer Music Academy in 2016. In addition to her performing and teaching activities, Karen has been training in Alexander Technique since 2014. Also, she has trained in Craniosacral Therapy.
Dr. Avery Pettigrew
Lecturer
Office: 209 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4117
Email: lapettigrew@frostburg.eduDegrees:
D.M.A. and M.M. University of Maryland School of Music
B.F.A. & B.S. Tulane UniversityTeaching Interests
French horn
- Additional Information
Bio
Dr. L. Avery Pettigrew is a freelance musician and music educator engaged throughout the DC area. She performs regularly with several of the local orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony, the Maryland Symphony, and the Mid-Atlantic Symphony. She has been the featured soloist with several community ensembles including the Washington Sinfonietta, the Manassas Symphony, and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Greater Washington.
As a student with Samantha La Pointe-Woolf at Tulane University in New Orleans, she earned both a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Music Performance and a Bachelors of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Dr. Pettigrew earned both her Doctorate of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees at the University of Maryland-College Park, where she held a performance-based graduate assistantship as a student of Gregory Miller and Phil Munds. Her additional teachers include Denise Tryon, Michael Thornton, and Shawn Hagen.
In addition to operating a large and successful private studio based in Chantilly, Dr. Pettigrew has been the horn instructor at Frostburg State University since 2019. She teaches online students across the east coast and is the horn specialist instructor with several schools in Fairfax and Loudoun County. Her students regularly place into their state's honors ensembles and have earned scholarships to top music schools in the country.
Mr. Gary Phillips
Senior Lecturer
Image
UnavailableOffice: 204 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.3181
Email: gjphillips@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
List of degrees needed*
Teaching Interests
Percussion, African Drumming, World Music, Musical Lyrics and Life
- Additional Information
Bio
Gary Phillips’ background covers a wide range of the percussion field. In the early years of his career, he focused on marching percussion, instructing and arranging for a top 10 DCI Drum Corps as well as several major university marching bands, including the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University. Additionally, he has performed extensively as a jazz and commercial percussionist in small jazz and rock ensembles as well as in big bands and numerous shows and reviews.
While an undergraduate student at West Virginia University studying with Professor Philip J. Faini, he was introduced to the percussion music of Africa, which became a major focus of his graduate research and performing interest.
He specializes in the xylophone music of West Africa and has made two research trips to the Republic of Guinea and Bamako, Mali, to study the balaphone music of the Malinke people. His teachers were Jali Djimo Kouyate of Washington, D.C.; Namankoumka Kouyate of Niagassola, Guinea.
Phillips has been teaching at FSU since 2009, and his courses have included: Music of Africa and Asia, and Music Lyrics and Life an interdisciplinary course in Music.
Dr. Scott Rieker
Lecturer
Office: 203 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4110
Email: serieker@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
D.M.A. University of Southern California
M.M. University of Nebraska - Lincoln
B.A. Saint Gregory the Great SeminaryTeaching Interests
Choir, Voice, Choral Music Education
- Additional Information
Bio
Dr. Scott Rieker is Director of Choral Activities and Choral Music Education at Frostburg State University, conducting the Chamber Singers, University Chorale, Troubadours tenor/bass choir, teaching conducting, coursework in music education, and supervising student-teaching interns. There, the Chamber Singers were finalists for the 2021 Ernst Bacon American Prize for the Performance of American Music, and the University Chorale was a finalist for the American Prize in Choral Performance. Rieker’s doctorate in Choral Music is from the University of Southern California (USC). While there, he served as Treasurer of the Santa Monica Youth Orchestra, a non-profit providing free lessons and ensembles to underserved youth. Rieker taught music in the Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools for eight years at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. An active composer and arranger, with his works published with Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Rieker studied composition with Morten Laurdisen. Rieker’s multi-movement Ted Kooser Suite was a finalist for the 2021 American Prize in Composition. His joint research project with Dr. Irene Apanovitch-Leites (Black Hawk College), “COVID and the Choral Educator,” was published in The Choral Journal. Rieker is also the Director of Music at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Cumberland, Maryland, and Past-President of the Iowa Music Educators Association (IMEA).
Dr. Talya Schenk
Lecturer
Office: 205 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4119
Email: tbschenk@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
D.M.A Catholic University of America
M.M. The Hartt School
B.A. University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyTeaching Interests
Violin, Viola
- Additional Information
Bio
Talya Schenk, DMA, violist, is an active performer and teacher who performs with various ensembles in the Washington, DC area. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Catholic University of America, a Master of Music from The Hartt School, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her teachers include Kimberly Sparr, Maria Lambros, Rita Porfiris, and Karin Brown. She maintains a busy private studio of viola and violin students in Rockville, Maryland, and often takes her teaching into the community, through coaching local youth orchestras, as well as teaching in Strathmore's outreach string orchestra programs. Talya began teaching violin and viola at Frostburg State University in 2019.
Mr. Gregory Scott Stuart
Lecturer
Office: 208 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4132
Email: gsstuart@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
M.F.A. The Academy for Classical Acting at the George Washington University
B.M. Ithaca CollegeTeaching Interests
Voice, Opera, Musical Theatre, Aural Musicianship, Diction for Singers
- Additional Information
Bio
Gregory Scott Stuart (baritone) is a performer with a broad experience in the arts, encompassing oratorio, concert and recital appearances, roles in opera and musical theatre, non-musical acting engagements, work as a church musician, and as a stage director. He has been engaged to sing concerts with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Northern Virginia, Anne Arundel Community College, Opus Concert Theatre and the Society of the Cincinnati. In oratorio, he has performed the solos in a goodly number of frequently performed works in the repertory and was a soloist in world premieres of Paul Leavitt's Cantata Emmanuel, his Magnificat and in premieres of his Requiem in Washington, Paris and at Lincoln Center, NYC and on CD. He has sung numerous leading roles in opera with local and regional companies, including principal roles in Carmen, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Lucia di Lammermoor, Così fan tutte, Hänsel & Gretel, I pagliacci, Amahl & the Night Visitors, Faust, La Bohème and The Merry Widow. As an actor, he played in the Helen Hayes nominated ensemble of Optimism or Voltaire's Candide at Spooky Action Theatre and has a slew of Shakespeare roles to his credit with Shakespeare Opera Theatre, Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival, Seacoast Repertory Theatre, New England Shakespeare Festival, and has tread the boards at the Roxy Regional Theatre in Clarksville, TN, Okaboji Summer Theatre in Okaboji, IA, DC’s Studio Theatre and in musicals with Pittsburgh Playhouse, Bay Theatre & Ithaca Opera, including a national tour of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. He has directed 4 operas for Loudoun Lyric Opera, Sadko for Bel Cantanti Opera, the US premiere of a French musical, Bigoudi, world premieres of Phillip Freund’s Jocasta and Sean Pflüger’s opera Children in the Mist. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Ithaca College, and a Master of Fine Arts in Classical Acting from The Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University. Outside of FSU, aside from freelance performing and directing, he is the Assistant Musical Director and a staff singer for St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Arlington, VA, has served on the Board of Directors of Loudoun Lyric Opera in Leesburg, VA, and teaches private singing lessons, theatre, French and yoga.
Dr. Brent Weber, Chair
Associate Professor
Office: 202B Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4116
Email: bmweber@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
D.M.A. and M.M. University of Georgia
B.A. Southern Oregon UniversityTeaching Interests
Saxophone, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz History and Theory, Music Theory
- Additional Information
Bio
Saxophonist Brent Weber has enjoyed a diverse musical journey as performer and educator. After earning degrees in saxophone performance from Southern Oregon University (BA) and University of Georgia (MM) Dr. Weber joined the faculty as Assistant Professor of Saxophone at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in the capitol of China’s Sichuan province, Chengdu. After two incredible years teaching and freelancing in Southwest China, Dr. Weber returned to the U.S. to pursue his Doctorate in Musical Arts at the University of Georgia. From 2009-2012 he had the opportunity to study with teachers Kenneth Fischer, Eugene Rousseau, Joseph Wytko, and Connie Frigo. These experiences have uniquely shaped Dr. Weber into the artist and pedagogue he is today.
Experienced in multiple genres of music from classical to jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and beyond, Dr. Weber advocates versatility. His work with the contemporary jazz group Jake Mowrer Quartet, featured him performing and recording throughout Northern Georgia. As a concert saxophonist, he is active with the North American Saxophone Alliance performing in conferences in Minnesota, Louisiana, Florida, Oregon, and Georgia. In 2007 he presented the European premiere of Todd Barton’s Diastems II at the World Saxophone Congress XIV in Ljubljana, Slovenia. As winner of the UGA Concerto Competition in 2009, he performed Ingolf Dahl’s Concerto for Saxophone and Wind Ensemble. Most recently Dr. Weber was part of the 2012 Naxos release Street Song featuring the University of Georgia Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. John Lynch.
Dr. Weber is currently Department Chair and Assistant Professor of Saxophone in the Department of Music at Frostburg State University in Western Maryland where in addition to maintaining the saxophone and bassoon studios he also coordinates the jazz studies program.
Personal Email: brent_weber@hotmail.com
Duo Vif: Saxophone/Clarinet Duo
Dr. Joseph Yungen
Lecturer
Office: 127A Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4245
Email: jsyungen@frostburg.edu
Fax: 301.687.3153Degrees:
D.M.A. The Juilliard School
M.M. Eastman School of Music
B.A. Southern Oregon UniversityTeaching Interests
Piano
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Bio
JOSEPH YUNGEN is a musician who happens to play the piano. He has established an international reputation for his consistent excellence as soloist and collaborator in a wide variety of musical contexts and repertoire, including chamber music, art song, new music, as well as choral and orchestral music. His performances and teaching appearances have been met with acclaim across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Known for his insatiable musical curiosity, Joseph is constantly expanding his musical knowledge, most recently by exploring unconventional tunings and unequal temperaments. When it comes to piano tuning, he is particularly fond of Young's Temperament, which he has featured in many of his performances.
In 2021, Joseph returned as faculty to the prestigious Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, where he participated as a Collaborative Piano Fellow in 2012. He is currently based in Maryland as full-time faculty at Frostburg State University, where he enjoys making music with the students and faculty while maintaining an active schedule of performing and recording throughout the country.
Joseph studied with Jonathan Feldman at The Juilliard School, where he earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree. He received Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance & Literature and in Accompanying & Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Jean Barr and Douglas Humpherys, and the Bachelor of Arts degree in Piano Performance at Southern Oregon University under the instruction of Alexander Tutunov.
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