2018 Faculty

Fresno, California

Dr. Cari Earnhart serves as the Director of Choral Activities at California State University, Fresno, where she conducts the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers and teaches undergraduate/graduate conducting. In demand as a conductor, clinician, and adjudicator, Dr. Earnhart has worked with choirs in the United States and abroad. Abroad she served as Director of Choral Activities at the American University of Sharjah and guest conductor with the Budapesti Vándor Kórus in Budapest, Hungary, and the Istanbul International Chamber Choir; served as Maestro of Ensemble Vocale Tempus Floridum and as Maestro Collaboratore of Coro dell’ Accademia del Diletto and Coro Polofonico del Caricentro, all in Florence. Dr. Earnhart was the first female conductor of the University of North Texas Men’s Chorus and served as Assistant Conductor of Schola Cantorum of Texas in Fort Worth. In addition, she has served as guest conductor for honor choirs and choral festivals. In 2017, the Fresno State Chamber Singers, under her direction, performed at the Library of Congress to honor the 21st US Poet Laureate. An accomplished vocalist, Dr. Earnhart has appeared as a guest artist with numerous university, professional, community, and church choirs throughout the country and abroad. She began her professional singing career in New York City and has performed professionally as a soloist in the US, Europe, and the Middle East. She holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Oklahoma State University and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting with related field studies in Vocal Pedagogy from the University of North Texas in Denton.

Valencia, California

André Tyson, a native of Greenville, North Carolina, began his training at the School of the Garden State Ballet and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater/Joan Weill Center for Dance. He is a former Principal Dancer and Company Teacher with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and also a Certified Pilates Instructor. He has created works for a broad range of companies from Ailey II, to the Milwaukee Ballet. Additionally, Mr. Tyson has taught at renowned dance festivals in Asia and Europe, served as an assistant to Talley Beatty and received several choreographic grants and academic awards. Throughout his career he has studied and worked with a stellar list of distinguished master teachers, choreographers, directors and performing artists in concert dance, commercial theater, film, television and video. After ten years as an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts, Mr. Tyson is now Assistant Dean at California Institute of the Arts Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance
Mr. Tyson’s position as Assistant Dean at the California Institute of the Arts Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance provides him with exciting new challenges that nourish him as an artist, administrator and an educator. Presently, Mr.Tyson is delighted and honored to be the Gilman Fellow at Jacksonville University Masters in Choreography Program working on his M.F.A. in dance andchoreography. This is Mr. Tyson’s second year as Supervisor for the CAP/Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Program for Teenagers.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Beau Leland has been working as a film and video editor in Oklahoma City for over ten years, and has edited various narrative features, documentaries, commercials, and music videos. Now working as a full time editor for Oklahoma City-based firm, VI Marketing and Branding, he spends a great deal of time working on Oklahoma tourism and public health-related video. Beau lives with his wife, Stefanie, and children, Oliver and Violet, in Oklahoma where they spend all of their time homesteading a small farm on 20 acres. He is super excited to return for his eighth year at Quartz Mountain!

Stony Point, New York

A former clarinetist with the Atlanta Symphony, Larry Guy has performed with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, New Jersey Symphony, and Orpheus. For many years, he was principal clarinet of the Long Island Philharmonic, Joffrey Ballet, Queens Symphony, and Lake George Opera. He is the author of seven textbooks for clarinetists and has produced four educational CDs for Boston Records showcasing the artistry of Daniel Bonade, Ralph McLane, Mitchell Lurie, and Rosario Mazzeo. He has presented masterclasses at the Curtis Institute, Juilliard, Tanglewood, Northwestern, and Rice, and he has lectured at clarinet festivals in Stockholm, Los Angeles, and Oklahoma City. For three years, he was the International Clarinet Association's Chair of Pedagogy. He has taught at New York University and Vassar College and presently serves on the faculties of the Pre-College Programs at the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music.

Lubbock, Texas

Cellist Jeffrey Noel Lastrapes is an active soloist, chamber musician and teacher having performed and taught in Europe, South America, Asia, and in every region of the United States. He holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School where he studied with Orlando Cole and Harvey Shapiro respectively. He has recorded for New World Records and Centaur Records. In 2009, Mr. Lastrapes gave his New York Debut at Merkin Hall to critical acclaim. Recordings of sonatas by Rachmaninoff and Chopin, and Duos for violin and cello by Ravel and Kodaly, both on Centaur Records, have recently been released as well as his print edition of the Six Suites for Solo Cello by Bach (BCMP Ltd). He is currently Associate Professor of Cello and Chair of Strings at Texas Tech University, is the cofounder of Caerus Ensemble, is on the faculty of the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, and has been on the faculty of the Interlochen Center for the Arts since 1996. Mr. Lastrapes performs on a Francesco Ruggieri cello dated 1684 and a Paul Schuback cello dated 1987.

Chicago, Illinois

Susan Saylor is an active soloist and chamber musician who has performed throughout North America and Europe. She is currently principal flutist of Camarata Chicago and Metropolis Symphony, and a founding member of the Mozart Project. She performs regularly with Broadway in Chicago, The Paramount, and Drury Lane Theaters and has toured nationally with Lion King and Les Miserables. She appears regularly with the Milwaukee Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta, Apollo Chorus, Handel Festival, Chicago Chorale, St. Charles Singers, Valparaiso Bach Institute, The Kithara Trio, and WFMT radio broadcasts. She may be heard on various recordings including the Milwaukee Symphony and Camerata Chicago. Other accomplishments have included a Ford Foundation grant for flute study; a fellowship at Tanglewood Music Festival, and performing with the Philadelphia and Boston Symphony Orchestras. An active teacher and clinician, Susan has a private studio ranging from elementary to college levels, and gives masterclasses and clinics throughout the Chicago-land area.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Anne Eisfeller is the principal harpist of the New Mexico Philharmonic and Santa Fe Symphony and an adjunct instructor at the University of New Mexico. In addition, she has performed with the symphonies of San Antonio, El Paso, Hartford, and Springfield (MA). Summer takes her to Italy for the Assisi Festival and Colorado for Music in the Mountains. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in harp from Indiana University with high distinction and had assistanceships in both harp and music theory.

Tallahassee, Florida

John W. Parks IV, Professor of Percussion at The Florida State University, holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University and Furman University. He is artist/clinician for Malletech, Avedis Zildjian Cymbals, Black Swamp Percussion, and Remo. Parks made his Carnegie Hall solo recital debut in Weill Recital Hall in May of 2007, and has performed with diverse organizations ranging from the Eastman Wind Ensemble on their 2000 tour of Japan and Taiwan and the Schlossfestspiele Orchestra of Heidelberg to the Kansas City, Alabama, Key West, and Jacksonville Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Florida Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, and Eastern Music Festival Faculty Orchestra. John also leads the FSU Percussion Ensemble, winners of the 2007 and 2011 Percussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Competitions, and in 2013 was inducted into the Engineering Wing of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences as a voting member of the Grammy Awards.

Harrisburg, North Carolina

From 1998-2013, Dr. Royce Lumpkin served as Chair of the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he is now Professor of Music (Low Brass). From 1971-1998, he taught trombone and performed regularly in the Texas Brass Ensemble at the University of North Texas, where from 1990-1993, he also served as assistant dean of the College of Music. He holds music education degrees from UNT and a doctorate in trombone performance from the University of Oklahoma. He is known nationally as a trombonist, clinician, and adjudicator, and he was the principal tenor tuba and bass trumpet player with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for over 20 years. He has performed as a trombonist with orchestras in Texas, New York, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Louisiana and North Carolina, and appeared as a trombone soloist/clinician in Oklahoma, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Carolina, Washington, D. C., Kansas, Idaho, New York, Oregon, Texas, Colorado, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Canada, Taiwan, and Germany. Dr. Lumpkin served as President of the International Trombone Association form 1990-1992.

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.

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.