2020 Faculty

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Bryan is a teacher, filmmaker, and photographer who currently serves as Chair and Associate Professor of Film at Oklahoma City University. His professional experience includes working for Panavision-Chicago and as a freelance producer, writer, editor, and cameraman based out of Atlanta where he won a Southeast Region Emmy Award. His film interests include American independent cinema and personal documentary, and his writing is included in "Devised and Directed by Mike Leigh," a collection of essays on the British director’s work that Bryan co-edited with Marc DiPaolo.

Morgantown, West Virginia

Violinist Dr. Mikylah Myers’ performances have been called “energetic and virtuosic” by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and “captivating” by Boulder, Colorado’s Daily Camera. Myers is Assistant Dean of Student Artistic Achievement and Professor of Violin at West Virginia University. She has performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. She was formerly concertmaster of the San Juan Symphony and was a 19-year member of the Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, Oregon. Myers received her doctoral and master’s degrees in violin performance from the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, where she studied with Fredell Lack, and her bachelor of music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she studied violin with Roland and Almita Vamos. She was also a four-year-member and co-captain of the Oberlin College varsity women’s soccer team. She can be heard on Delos and Parma Records.

music.wvu.edu/faculty/mikylah-myers

Fort Worth, Texas

Dr. Misha Galaganov, chair of strings at TCU, has performed in Russia, Korea, China, Italy, Israel, Czech Republic, Mexico, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and the USA in many prestigious venues, including Concertgebouw, Carnegie, and Shanghai Concert Halls. He has premiered more than 20 compositions by composers from all continents. An active advocate for chamber music, Galaganov has founded and directed chamber music programs in the Greater Youth Orchestra of Fort Worth, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, and at TCU (Chamber Music Roundup festivals and Academy). He was also a co-founder of the chamber music program at Steinway Hall in Fort Worth. Galaganov has taught in many festivals and given master classes in Europe, America, and Asia. Many of his viola and violin students have successful solo, teaching, and orchestra careers in many countries around the world. Galaganov performs and records on Mansuy a Paris viola.

Iowa City, Iowa

Acclaimed for his musicality and virtuosity, Volkan Orhon was a prizewinner in the  Concert Artists Guild Competition  in NY and was the co-first place winner of the  International Society of Bassists  Solo Competition. Additionally, he distinguished himself as the first double bass player ever to win the grand prize overall at the  American String Teacher's Association  Solo Competition.

Orhon has performed with internationally recognized musicians including  Gary Karr,  Fazil  Say,  as well as JACK, Emerson  and  Tokyo String Quartets.

Orhon has recorded CDs  under the Albany, Centaur, and Crystal Records labels. Most recently, he recorded  the Double Bass  Concerto with the  Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, a work written for him  by the composer David Gompper.  This recording  will be released  under  the Naxos label in 2020.

Orhon is the professor of double bass at the  University of Iowa.

volkanbass.com

Chicago, Illinois

Deb Stevenson has been a freelance oboist in the Chicago area for over 30 years. She is founder and oboist with the Metropolis Quartet. She is also a member of the Metropolis and Lake Forest Symphonies, and is co-founder of the Mozart Journey—a collaboration with the St. Charles Singers and orchestra. Other groups frequently performed with are the Milwaukee Symphony, Ars Viva Orchestra, Handel Week Festival, and the Apollo Chorus. Ms. Stevenson can be heard on recordings of the Strauss Alpine Symphony and Stravinsky's complete Firebird with the Chicago Symphony; I Know Where I'm Going and Christmas in St. Charles with the St. Charles Singers; The Soundstage Sessions with Stevie Nicks, Messiah with Apollo Chorus; numerous recordings for GIA music publishing company and the Milwaukee Symphony; and Music from the Bolivian Rainforest with the Metropolis Symphony. As a contractor, Ms. Stevenson has hired performers for the St. Charles Singers concerts, recordings and Mozart Sacred Choral Works series—the Mozart Journey, as well as for the Heartland Voices and Canterbury Singers. In her work for the Paramount Arts Center, the Rialto Square Theater, and the Chicago Theater, she has provided musicians for artists such as Bernadette Peters, Bob Newhart, Marie Osmond, Smokey Robinson, Eddie Vedder, Video Games Live, and Mannheim Steamroller. She has provided orchestras for the Paramount Arts Center’s highly acclaimed, in-house-produced Broadway musical series. In addition to teaching at Wheaton College, Vandercook, and North Park Universities, she also maintains an active private teaching studio. Her students have gone on institutions such as Eastman, Interlochen Arts Academy, DePaul, Roosevelt, the University of Illinois, and the President’s Own Marine Band. Ms. Stevenson has studied oboe and English horn at the University of Louisville, Northern Illinois University, Boston University, and Northwestern University, where she received her Master of Music degree. She has studied with Grover Schiltz, Ray Still, Marion Gibson, Carl Sonik, and Larry Thorstenburg.

metropolisquartet.com

Nashville, Tennessee

Maya Stone is a champion of music. She has commissioned and premiered several works by American composers. Currently, Stone is the tenured Second Bassoonist with the Huntsville Symphony and Second Bassoon with the Sphinx Symphony in Detroit. Stone is a freelance musician in the Nashville region. She is also passionate about participating in the rise of musicianship and life skills in youth. She gives recitals and master classes around the U.S. each year. Dr. Stone was a visiting professor at Universities in Missouri and Ohio. Prior to that, she was Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Middle Tennessee State University, and in 2004, she held a visiting professorship in Double Reeds at Austin Peay State University. Dr. Stone has a D.M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.M. in from Michigan State University, and a B.M. from SUNY Potsdam. Her teachers include Kristin Wolfe Jensen, Barrick Stees, and Frank Wangler.

Jonesboro, Arkansas

Dr. Christopher Wilson is the Principal Trumpet of the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra and Artist/Associate Professor of Trumpet at Arkansas State University. The journal of the Music Critics Association of North America described Wilson’s playing as “eloquent” and “masterful” in a 2018 review. He is an active soloist and clinician and has performed throughout the United States, Italy, and Japan, including multiple featured performances at the International Trumpet Guild Conferences. Previously, Wilson was a member of the United States Air Force Band, Washington, DC, where he was a featured tour soloist performing the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto. Wilson released New Horizons in 2013, a solo album of new original recital pieces for trumpet. The album was featured on National Public Radio as its “delight of the week.” Wilson often performs with the Arkansas Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Memphis Symphony, and Wheeling Symphony orchestras and is a Yamaha Performing Artist/Clinician.

chriswilsontrumpet.com

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

An accomplished knitter, bundt pan aficionado, and Arlington, Virginia native, Dr. Genevieve Clarkson joined the faculty of Oklahoma City University in fall of 2018. Genevieve has performed around the world as a soloist and ensemble player, including performances at the Harbin Opera House in Harbin, China, the Brucknerhaus in Linz, Austria, and the Teatro Caio Melisso in Spoleto, Italy. Genevieve also serves as Conference Manager for the International Tuba Euphonium Association, and assisted with the planning and execution of the 2014, 2016, and 2019 conferences in Bloomington, Knoxville, and Iowa City. Genevieve studied at Indiana University, Cincinnati Conservatory, and James Madison University and her past teachers have included Daniel Perantoni, Timothy Northcut, Kevin Stees, John Cradler, and John Mueller.

Norman, Oklahoma

Konrad Eek is a photographer, custom framer, and arts educator based in Norman, Oklahoma. A product photography specialist his portfolio ranges from frying pans to fine art. As a framer his work varies from the simplest frame to multi floor office installations, with a new emphasis on individual hand crafted frames for artists and collectors. As an educator he has served as an adjunct professor for Oklahoma City Community College for over 15 years. Eek has facilitated many workshops for a diverse group of arts organizations and commercial clients. He is the author of many courses and articles for Lynda.com covering framing, exhibiting, photo lighting, Photoshop, and traditional black and white photography. He has also served the Oklahoma Arts Institute in a number of roles for over 25 years.