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

Strings & Piano

Voice, Musical Theatre Voice & Jazz Voice

Jazz

Bands

Choirs

Opera Theatre

Jazz Bands



Dr. Donald Albrecht

Lecturer
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Office: 209 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4117
Email: dlalbrecht@frostburg.edu

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

Mr. Joshua Bishop

Lecturer
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Office: 204 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.3181
Email: jabishop@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

M.M. Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music
B.M. East Carolina University

Teaching 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. Chun-Ting Chao

Lecturer
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Office: 205 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4119
Email: cchao@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A. The Catholic University of America
M.M. Tunghai University
B.F.A. Taipei National University of the Arts

Teaching Interests

Voice

  • Additional Information
    Bio

    Dr. Chun-Ting Chao, originally from Taiwan, performs as a lyric soprano and a dramatic actress. She has obtained a Doctorate of Musical Arts from The Catholic University of America, a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Institute, a Masters of Fine Arts from Tunghai University, and a Bachelors of the Fine Arts from the Taipei National University of the Arts. Dr. Chao has taught privately and with a music studio.

    Dr. Chao has performed as a classical singer and chamber musician in the U.S., Europe, and Taiwan. Dr. Chao has been cast in the roles of Ortlinde in Wagner’s Die Walküre by National Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan, L'ecureuil in Ravel's L'enfant et les Sortilèges by the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, and Cio Cio San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly by Catholic University of American, Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette by Bel Cantanti, Pousette in Massenet's Manon by Peabody.  and Micaëla, Frasquita, and Flora in highlights of various operas with Tunghai University Orchestra.  She has also sung the solos in Magnificat by Pergolesi, and Organ Solo Mass K. 259 by Mozart, and she has been invited to perform with the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, the Opera Studio in Taiwan, and the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra. In 2007, she was named Young Artist of the Year by the Mondial Chinese Vocalist Concourse. 

    Dr. Chao believes by making music education fun, she can keep students motivated to improve their skills. She encourages her students to learn new techniques or repertoire every lesson so they can move closer to their goals. She helps her students at their own pace to achieve their goals and enjoy music.

Dr. James (Jay) DeWire

Assistant Professor
James DeWire

Office: 105 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4115
Email: jadewire@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A. University of Maryland- College Park
M.M. New England Conservatory of Music
M.A. and B.A. University of Virginia

Teaching 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
Mark Gallagher

Office: 104 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4381
Email: mgallagher@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.M. Eastman School of Music
B.M. Oberlin Conservatory of Music

Teaching 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.

    Mark's Personal Email
    Mark's Website

Dr. Felipe Garibaldi de Almeida Silva

Lecturer
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Office: 207 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4132
Email: falmeida@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A. Peabody Conservatory
B.M. & M.M. University of São Paulo

Teaching Interests

Guitar, Jazz Guitar

  • Additional Information
    Bio

    Brazilian guitarist Felipe Garibaldi is an active performer, academic, and educator, having toured extensively through Brazil and the United States, presenting audiences with a varied and creative repertory, as well as mentoring students in their artistic pathways.

    Felipe Garibaldi fosters innovation in the guitar repertory through premier performances and recordings, scholarly work, collaborations with composers, and through his own compositions. Some of his recent projects include the world premiere recording of Claudio Santoro’s works for guitar, as well as its premiere performance in the USA; an article featured on the Soundboard Magazine of the Guitar Foundation of America; a lecture at the annual GFA convention; and a number of radio broadcast premiere recordings of Brazilian guitar music for the São Paulo State Radio Station Cultura FM, in Brazil.

    Felipe Garibaldi’s eclectic interests and skills have led him to thrive on the concert stage and in the recording studio, being awarded with the Premio Nascente by the University of São Paulo, performing the music of J. S. Bach, as well as working as a session musician and arranger on many recording projects for Sony Music.

    Having worked with and being inspired by great masters of the classical guitar – such as Leo Brouwer, Julian Gray, Manuel Barrueco, Sérgio Assad, David Russell, Fábio Zanon, Eliot Fisk, Henrique Pinto, and Gilson Antunes – Felipe Garibaldi has been mentoring guitar students for over 20 years. Felipe Garibaldi is currently a lecturer of guitar at Frostburg State University, an affiliate artist in classical guitar at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and an adjunct lecturer at the Peabody Conservatory, where he is also a doctoral candidate in Guitar Performance.

Mr. Tom Harrison

Lecturer
Tom Harrison

Office: 138 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4109
Email: teharrison@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

B.M. Frostburg State University

Teaching Interests

Jazz Piano; 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. Colin Johnson

Lecturer
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Office: 207 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4132
Email: cbjohnson@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A. & M.M. Shenandoah Conservatory
B.M. University of Iowa

Teaching Interests

Voice; Musical Theatre Voice

  • Additional Information
    Bio

    Known for his warm resonant voice, Colin B. Johnson, bass-baritone, is a dynamic educator, performer and researcher. He currently serves as a Lecturer in Voice at York College of Pennsylvania and Frostburg State University. Dr. Johnson earned his Doctorate of Music in Voice Pedagogy at Shenandoah Conservatory. In addition, Dr. Johnson maintains a private voice lessons in a variety of genres including both classical and contemporary commercial music. His approachable but passionate style generates a fun collaborative environment.

    As a performer, he has been heard in many opera houses and theatres across the country as well as in Germany and Italy. In 2005, Colin had the honor of performing with Stephanie Blythe in Opera Colorado's production of Handel's opera Guilio Caesare. Another performing highlight was singing at Carnegie Hall in 2008 as the Norman Carlberg Award Winner in the Liederkranz Foundation. His roles include Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore, Méphistophélès in Faust, Caspar in Der Freischütz, and Sam in Trouble in Tahiti. He has performed with such opera companies as Opera Lancaster, Opera Naples, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Colorado, Connecticut Opera and Sarasota Opera. His other concert works include Baritone Soloist in Brahms' Requiem, Elijah in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Bass Soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and Handel’s Messiah. Colin had the honor of performing the bass solo in Verdi’s Requiem in Lancaster, Pennsylvannia. Colin is also a devoted Lieder singer having performed Schubert’s Winterreise, Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Vier erneste Gesänge by Brahms.

    Dr. Johnson also holds a Masters of Music in Voice Pedagogy from Shenandoah Conservatory and Bachelor of Music in voice performance from the University of Iowa. His research interests include applying motor learning strategies to the singing voice studio as well as vocal tract acoustics. Dr. Johnson has presented research on motor learning feedback in the singing voice studio at the Voice Symposium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and at the Pan American Vocology Symposium (PAVA). He also is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), PAVA and has completed the Summer Vocology Institute with renown voice researcher and educator Dr. Ingo Titze and the Acoustic Vocal Pedagogy Workshop with the esteemed Ian Howell..

Dr. Mackenzie Lamont

Assistant Professor
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Office: 103 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.7453
Email: mjlamont@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A. and M.M. University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
B.M. University of Indianapolis

Teaching Interests

Percussion, Music Industry, Composition, Percussion Ensemble

  • 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
Karen Lau

Office: 206 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.7458
Email: klau@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A. and M.M. Catholic University of America
B.M. Sichuan Conservatory of Music

Teaching Interests

Cello

  • 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, Fairmont Chamber Music Society, Music at Penn Alps, and the National Gallery of Art. She taught orchestra classes and general music at Washington County Public School in Maryland. She also has given cello workshops at Langley High School and Patrick Henry College. She joined the Black Dimond Philharmonic as principal cello since 2018.

    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, and is now an internationally certified teacher of the Alexander Technique. In 2023, she presented a lecture on Alexander Technique at the XIX World Saxophone Congress in Las Palms, Spain. She has also trained in Craniosacral Therapy. 

Peter B. Lewis

Assistant Professor
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Office: 207 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.7452
Email: pblewis@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

M.M. University of Massachusetts Amherst
B.M. Kent State University

Teaching Interests

Director of Bands, Instrumental Music Education, Jazz and Classical Bass (acoustic & electric), String Ensemble

  • Additional Information
    Bio

    Peter B. Lewis is the Director of Bands at Frostburg State University and conducts the Marching Bobcats, Chamber Orchestra, and Wind Ensemble, as well as teaches coursework in conducting and music education.  Previously, he served as the Assistant Director of Bands at the SUNY Potsdam Crane School of Music.  He holds dual bachelor's degrees in performance (percussion) and music education from Kent State University where he studied conducting with Wayne Gorder, and dual Masters of Music degrees in research in music education and wind conducting from UMass Amherst where he studied with Malcolm W. Rowell, Jr.  He has additional study in conducting with Shanti Simon, Mark Davis Scatterday, Courtney Snyder, Craig Kirkhhoff, Michael Haithcock, Emily Thrienen, Col. Jason Fettig, and H. Robert Reynolds.

    He is the founder of the chamber wind ensemble, Bay State Winds, and served as their artistic director and conductor from 2016 until 2022.  As a champion of new music for winds and percussion he commissioned several new works for chamber winds including compositions by composers Robert Spittal (Winsome Variations - 2020) which premiered in Boston, and Jake Gunnar-Walsh (Tower of the Winds - 2018).

    During his tenure as a public high school music educator, his ensembles performed at Boston Symphony Hall (2014), Chicago Symphony Center (2014, 2018), and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. (2015).  His ensembles also had the privilege to work with composers/conductors John Mackey, Frank Ticheli, Brian Balmages, Robert Spittal, Anthony Maiello, Malcolm W. Rowell, Jr., and Lt. Col. Arnold Gabriel.

    Peter has had the distinct privilege to share the stage with performers such as jazz piano legend Hank Jones, Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan, and Nexus Percussion Ensemble founding member Bob Becker.  Many of his students have enjoyed successful careers in music including Sean Rosati, guitarist for pop music stars Ava Max and Doja Cat.

Dr. Avery Pettigrew

Lecturer
Avery Pettigrew

Office: 209 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4117
Email: lapettigrew@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A. and M.M. University of Maryland School of Music
B.F.A. & B.S. Tulane University

Teaching 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
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Office: 202 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4109
Email: gjphillips@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

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.

Ms. Anna Reitsma

Lecturer
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Office: 209 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4117
Email: anreitsma@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

M.M. Youngstown State University
B.M. Seton Hill University

Teaching Interests

Flute

  • Additional Information
    Bio

    As a nationally recognized musician Anna has performed at the National Flute Association conventions in Phoenix, Chicago, and Salt Lake City. In addition she is First prize winner of the Mid-Atlantic Young Artist Competition, an alternate winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society, and winner of the Dana Young Artist Competition.

    Anna can be heard on the Derek Dixie Studio Orchestra recording of America the Beautiful for the 2019 Super Bowl. She has performed with the Greenville Symphony, Warren Philharmonic Orchestra, and Stambaugh Festival Orchestra, and has been a featured soloist with the Mercer County Community Band and the Dana Symphony Orchestra.

    As an educator Anna has served as an Adjunct Professor of Music at Saint Vincent College, taught private lessons in flute, clarinet, saxophone, and piano, and taught the 2017 Annual YSU Flute Festival Junior High Masterclass. In addition Anna worked for the Pittsburgh Flute Club teaching private lessons, conducting flute ensembles, and presenting master classes on warm-ups, intonation, and vibrato exercises.

    Anna has performed in master classes for Lorna Mcghee, Alberto Almarza, Marianne Gedigian and Amy Porter. She is currently a second year doctoral student at West Virginia University studying for her Doctorate of Musical Arts with Nina Assimakopolous. She has an Artist Diploma from Duquesne University, a Master’s in Flute Performance from Youngstown State University, and a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Seton Hill University. Her primary teachers include Nina Assimakopolous, Jennifer Steele, Dr. Kathryn Umble, and Wendy Kumer.

Dr. Scott Rieker

Lecturer
Scott Rieker

Office: 203 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4110
Email: serieker@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A. University of Southern California
M.M. University of Nebraska - Lincoln
B.A. Saint Gregory the Great Seminary

Teaching Interests

Choirs, 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
Talya Schenk

Office: 205 Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4119
Email: tbschenk@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A Catholic University of America
M.M. The Hartt School
B.A. University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Teaching 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.

Dr. Brent Weber, Chair

Associate Professor
Brent Weber

Office: 202B Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4116
Email: bmweber@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A. and M.M. University of Georgia
B.A. Southern Oregon University

Teaching Interests

Saxophone, Jazz Orchestra, 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
Joseph Yungen

Office: 127A Performing Arts Center
Phone: 301.687.4245
Email: jsyungen@frostburg.edu

Degrees:

D.M.A. The Juilliard School
M.M. Eastman School of Music
B.A. Southern Oregon University

Teaching Interests

Piano, Collaborative Pianist

  • Additional Information
    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.

    Joseph Yungen's web site

Programs Offered by the Department

  • B.S./B.A. Music
    Major and Minor
    Concentrations in Vocal Performance, Music Management, Instrumental Performance, Music Studies, Teaching Option