2023 Faculty

Guest Artist

Jeffrey Palmer

Jeffrey Palmer, Guest Artist

Ithaca, New York

Jeffrey Palmer, a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, is an award-winning filmmaker and media artist. He describes his work as a multimedia exploration of Indigenous people's lives in 21st century America. He recently completed his first feature film, "N. Scott Momaday: Words from a Bear", examining the life and mind of the first Native American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for literature. The film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and aired nationally on the PBS series, American Masters. In 2020, the film was nominated for an Emmy in support of American Masters' 33rd season, for Outstanding Documentary or Non-Fiction Series. Palmer received numerous awards, grants, and recognition from the Sundance Institute, ITVS, Ford Foundation, Mellon Foundation, and the Firelight Media Documentary Lab. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America, International Documentary Association, Television Academy, and is an associate professor of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell University.

vimeopro.com/user2833074/jeffreypalmer

Dom Flemons, Guest Artist

Chicago, Illinois

GRAMMY Award Winner, Two-Time EMMY Nominee, 2020 U.S. Artists Fellow Dom Flemons is originally from Phoenix, Arizona and currently lives in the Chicago area with his family. He has branded the moniker The American Songster® since his repertoire of music covers over 100 years of early American popular music. Flemons is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, actor, slam poet, music scholar, historian, and record collector. He is considered an expert player on the banjo, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, fife and rhythm bones. Flemons was selected for the prestigious 2020 United States Artists Fellowship Award for the Traditional Arts category which was generously supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

In 2020, Dom Flemons re-issued his album titled Prospect Hill: The American Songster Omnibus on Omnivore Recordings. The two CD album features three parts: the original Prospect Hill album, the 2015 EP What Got Over, and The Drum Major Instinct which includes twelve previously unissued instrumental tracks. His original song “I Can’t Do It Anymore” was released on a limited edition wax cylinder recording. Recently, he released a cover of the Elmore James classic “Shake Your Money Maker”, recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, alongside Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band and featured guest, legendary guitarist Steve Cropper. He played his six-string banjo (Big Head Joe), Quills, and Bones on Tyler Childers groundbreaking album Long Violent History and played jug alongside Brandford Marsalis on the soundtrack to Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on Netflix. 

Flemons currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Steve Martin Banjo Prize, Music Maker Relief Foundation and is a Governor on the Board of Directors for the Washington, D.C Chapter of the Recording Academy. 
 

Acting

Tatiana Pandiani

Tatiana Pandiani, Instructor

Miami Beach, Florida/Brooklyn, New York

Tatiana Pandiani is a writer, director, and professor who works in Spanish and English. Recent: Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare), Our Town (Dallas Theatre Center), Blood Wedding (Yale), What the Constitution Means to Me (Associate, Broadway and National Tour), LEMPICKA (Associate Director to Rachel Chavkin). Upcoming: Torera (The Alley), First Gen (Milwakee Rep). Pandiani has directed and developed new work at the Park Theatre (London), Cleveland Playhouse, NYTW, IATI, Primary Stages, Signature and others. Pandiani is the New Works Director at Miami New Drama and a professor at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. She is currently developing the South American tour of "Seven Deadly Sins". Her bilingual musical AZUL has been developed at the O'Neill Center, NAMT, NYTW and many others and is having its EP Release at 54 Below and Joe's Pub in spring 2023. Member of SDC. MFA: Columbia. Reps: Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

tatianapandiani.com

Andrea Ferro, Voice Coach

Miami, Florida/New York, New York

Andrea Ferro is an actress, singer, producer, and educator who works in both English & Spanish. She trained at the Atlantic Acting School, a studio of NYU’s Tisch program. Selected theater credits: Anna in The Tropics (Miami New Drama), Big Love (Lenfest Center for the Arts), Last Stop on Market Street (Atlantic Theater Co.), Les Miserables (Area Stage) The Dreams of Anne Frank (Area Stage). Ferro is a teaching artist with Atlantic Acting School programs Staging Success & Atlantic For Kids. Recently, she finished filming DRUNKS, an independent film set to premier at the end of 2023. Currently she is the TV & Film coordinator for Goldenbird Films based in Miami & Mexico. Reps: Vault Entertainment.

Chorus

Edith Copley

Edith Copley, Conductor

Flagstaff, Arizona

Edith A. Copley is Regents’ Professor Emeritus at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where she conducted the Shrine of the Ages Choir and taught choral conducting and graduate choral literature. Her ensembles have performed at state, region, and national choral conferences and toured internationally. Prior to her 31-year tenure at NAU, she taught secondary choral music in Iowa and later in Vienna, Austria at the American International School. Copley has received numerous honors, including the Arizona Music Educator of the Year, The Weston H. Noble Award from her alma mater, Luther College, and AzACDA Lifetime Achievement Award. She has conducted all-state choirs in over 30 states and international choral festivals in Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Luxembourg, Tasmania, England, Australia, China, Oman and Turkey. She has served ACDA in various leadership roles over the years and is currently ACDA National President-Elect.

Dan Bishop

Daniel Bishop, Section Faculty

Fresno, California

Dan Bishop is the newly appointed Director of the Visual and Performing Arts for the Visalia Unified School District. Dan served the Clovis Unified School District for 24 years as the Visual and Performing Arts Administrator, Secondary Choral Resource Teacher, and founding Choral Director at the new Clovis East High School. Dan has served at Fresno Pacific University, CSU-Fresno, and Clovis Community College. Dan’s previous teaching/church jobs include Madera High School, Immanuel High School in Reedley, Washington Intermediate in Dinuba, Reedley Mennonite Brethren Church, University Presbyterian in Fresno, and the Kingsburg Community Church. Dan received his B.A. in vocal and instrumental music education from Tabor College, in Hillsboro, Kansas and his M.A. and M.M. degrees from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri, at Kansas City, where he was a Graduate Teaching Assistant. He has a clear California Administrative Services Credential.

Cari Earnhart

Cari Earnhart, Section Faculty

Fresno, California

Dr. Cari Earnhart serves as the Director of Choral Activities at California State University, Fresno. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she is in high demand as an adjudicator, clinician, guest conductor and presenter. She has held positions both in the US and abroad.
In 2022, the Fresno State Concert Choir was selected to perform at the California All-State Music Educators Conference (CASMEC) and in April 2017 the Fresno State Chamber Singers were invited to perform at the Library of Congress to honor the 21st US Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera. Earnhart has served on the choral faculty of the OSAI since 2018, serving as the Institute Chorus conductor in 2021. Earnhart holds a DMA in Choral Conducting with related field studies in Vocal Pedagogy from the University of North Texas and an MM in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy and a BM in Vocal Performance from Oklahoma State University.

Heather Bishop

Heather Bishop, Collaborative Pianist

Fresno, California

Heather Bishop is currently the Choir Director and has been the Department Chair of the Performing Arts at Clovis North High School since it opened in 2007.  She has also been the CUSD Elementary Music Resource Specialist for VAPA and a mentor teacher for the district. She served 10 years on the California ACDA Board as Repertoire & Standards Chair for women’s voices and two terms as Central Regional Representative. In 1986 she received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music in Piano Performance. Her choirs have received top honors in places all over the country including performances at the Heritage Festival of Gold and World Projects Festivals. Heather has served on the voice faculty at Idyllwild Summer Arts Academy since 2007. She has conducted several county honor choirs and is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator, as well as accompanist. She has accompanied for numerous honor choirs, including several California All-State Honor Choirs and ACDA conferences, ECCO conferences, reading sessions, and conventions and vocal coached several musical drama productions.  Heather is married to Dan and has three children, Ben, Rebecca, and William, and is enjoying watching their journey through the world of music and performing arts.

Creative Writing

Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas, Instructor

Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Dave Lucas was born and raised in Cleveland. He studied literature and poetry at John Carroll University (BA, 2002), the University of Virginia (MFA, 2004), and the University of Michigan (PhD, 2014). His first book of poems, Weather (VQR / Georgia, 2011), received the 2012 Ohioana Book Award for Poetry. Named by Rita Dove as one of thirteen “young poets to watch,” he has also received a “Discovery/The Nation Prize and a Cleveland Arts Prize. In 2018, he was appointed the second Poet Laureate of the State of Ohio. A co-founder of Cleveland Book Week and Brews + Prose at Market Garden Brewery, he lives in Cleveland, where he teaches at Case Western Reserve University.

Dance

Tomiko Magario, Ballet Instructor

Ossining, New York

Tomiko Magario is the founding director of the New Rising Sun Dance Project and is currently a full-time faculty member at the Joffrey Ballet School. She has also taught for the New York City Public School System through the Brooklyn Ballet’s outreach program. In 2023, she has been invited to work as a choreographer with the “Got My Wings” project of composer Daniel Blake and the Westchester Ballet Company. In 2022, her multi-discipline live arts presentation of “An Imperial Message” based on a short story by Franz Kafka has been presented at the residency program of the Bethany Arts Community. Ms. Magario is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed all levels of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She has been a Ballet faculty member of OSAI 2019, and is looking forward to returning to Quartz Mountain, exited to join the team of the 2023 faculty!

tomikomagario.com

JoLea Maffei

JoLea Maffei, Modern Dance Instructor

New York City, New York

JoLea Maffei is a master teacher of the Lester Horton modern dance technique and has been teaching Horton in New York City for over twenty-five years. She is currently on the faculty of the Ailey School, Ailey Fordham, Steps on Broadway, The Steps Conservatory and the Peridance Center. She has also been on the faculties of The Joffrey School, Hofstra University, Marymount Manhattan College, New York University, City College of New York and Ballet Arts at City Center. Ms. Maffei has had an extensive performing career dancing with the Maffei Dance Company, Milton Myers Dance Company, and numerous projects and independent choreographers. As a choreographer, JoLea Maffei has premiered work at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Theatre of The Riverside Church, the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colorado, the Clark Studio Theater, The Tribeca Center for the Performing Arts, the Cunningham Studio, and Hofstra University and has participated in showcases throughout NYC.

Mary Carpenter

Mary Carpenter, Conditioning Instructor

Latham, New York

Mary studied at CCM, the official school for Cincinnati Ballet Company, and on scholarship at the David Howard Dance Center.  She holds a BA with high honors in dance from Butler University. She danced for The Metropolitan Opera Ballet at Lincoln Center; performed as a principal guest artist for Ohio Dance Theatre and Granite State Ballet, as a soloist with  Ballet Artists of Cincinnati, Maryland Ballet, Lexington Ballet, and Charleston Ballet and in numerous off-Broadway productions. Mary was previously on the faculty of  Broadway Dance Center, The Ballet Hispanico School, Barnard College, and The New School University. She is on the current faculty of Ballet Academy East and the world-famous Steps on Broadway. She directed nine ballet classroom music recordings with Roper Records from creative movement through advanced ballet and is a featured teacher in two DVDs for RizBiz Productions, "Budding Ballerinas'' and "From Tights to Tutus." Mary created "The Magical World of Ballet" with Roper, a DVD designed for young dancers, teachers, and parents. Mary has been certified in Pilates mat since 2014 and holds a certification in Progressing Ballet Technique. You can take her ballet classes virtually on the Dancio.com website, where she is a featured master teacher for adult beginners. Ms. Carpenter’s latest project is a classroom recording collaboration with Metropolitan Opera Ballet pianist Steven Mitchell for his music app Balletrax. Mary is a master pointe shoe fitter with over thirty years of experience working with dancers in ABT, The Royal Ballet, and NYCB - to name a few. She has given pointe shoe lectures at prestigious summer programs for ABT/JKO, Dance Theatre of Harlem, NYSSA, and Oklahoma Summer Arts at Quartz Mountain. She has served as a panelist on pointe shoes alongside Misty Copeland, coached Julia Stiles for her role in the movie “Save the Last Dance”, and assisted NYCB principal dancer Jenifer Ringer with pointe shoes for Oprah Winfrey for TV. Mary is the featured pointe shoe expert for the last video project by the late master teacher David Howard “I’ll Be Seeing You” on Vimeo. In 2015 she launched her Youtube channel “Dancewithmary NYC” where she shares her pointe shoe expertise in monthly segments.

dancewithmarynyc.nyc

William Catanzaro

William Catanzaro, Collaborative Musician

Yonkers, New York

Mr. William Catanzaro is an electric composer, multi-instrumentalist and educator based in New York. Born in Buenos Aires, Catanzaro established himself in NY as a world-class pianist and percussionist. His expertise as a performer and composer led him to write scores for many renowned choreographers such as Anna Sokolow, Steve Paxton, Viola Faber, Motoko Hirayama, Sara Rudner, Larry Kaigwin and Milton Myers. He is currently on faculty at The Alvin Ailey School, Sarah Lawrence College, and Steps on Broadway. His CDs “Percussion Works, compositions for the choreography of Milton Myers”, “Evolution Suites”, and “Percussion for the Technique of Lester Horton Vol. I and Vol. II” have been received with great acclaim. He is currently working with Larry Keigwin composing a score for the Paul Taylor Dance Company to be premiered at Lincoln Center November 2023. He will be performing live at the venue with his Percussion Ensemble, CHAIN.

williamcatanzaro.com

Drawing & Painting

Richard Hull

Richard Hull, Instructor

Chicago, Illinois

Born in Oklahoma City, Hull received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1977, and his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1980. Before graduating, he attracted the attention of dealer Phyllis Kind, who began exhibiting his paintings in both her Chicago and New York galleries. At Kind's gallery, Hull joined the company of well-known Imagists such as Roger Brown, Jim Nutt, Gladys Nilsson, and Karl Wirsum. Besides a number of one-person shows at Phyllis Kind Gallery, Hull's work has been exhibited across the United States. His paintings may be found in many private and public collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Milwaukee Art Museum; the Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City; and the San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas. Hull is Adjunct Professor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Painting and Drawing Department.

Film & Video

Deborah Dickson

Deborah Dickson, Instructor

Brooklyn, New York

Deborah Dickson, three-time Academy Award nominee, is a non-fiction filmmaker whose over 30 documentary films have premiered at Sundance, Berlin and many other film festivals, and has been awarded Emmys, the DuPont-Columbia Award, the Peabody Award and Ace awards. Among her best known, award-winning films are Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House, Lalee’s Kin: Legacy of Cotton (with Susan Froemke and Albert Maysles), Frances Steloff: Memoirs of a Bookseller, The Education of Gore Vidal, Witnesses to a Secret War, The Lost Bird Project, and Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse (with Anne Belle). Her more personal films include Water’s Dream, Country Days, and True Hearts (to be released in 2023.) In addition to producing and directing, Dickson teaches directing at the School of Visual Arts Masters Program in Social Documentary, a two-year program she helped found in 2009 and for which she developed the curriculum.

deborahdickson.com

Scott Anger

Scott Anger, Visual Journalist

Los Angeles, California

Scott Anger is a three-time Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker and visual journalist who specializes in telling stories around international relations, human rights, and the natural environment. Over the last 20 years, his work for the flagship PBS documentary series FRONTLINE has won numerous awards, including Columbia University’s Alfred I. duPont Gold Baton Award for Excellence in Journalism, television’s highest journalism award. 

In addition to his current affairs work, Anger has filmed and helped produce eight feature-length documentary films: Home Front (SHOWTIME), Greensboro; Closer to the Truth (PBS/theatrical), Witnesses to a Secret War (PBS), Life in Limbo (independent/theatrical), The Lost Bird Project (independent/theatrical), The Return (independent/theatrical), Elephant Path (independent/theatrical), and True Hearts (independent/theatrical). He has also directed, produced, photographed, and edited non-fiction work for clients such as The International Rescue Committee, Starbucks Coffee and the Open Society Foundations.

scottanger.com

Bryan Cardinale-Powell

Bryan Cardinale-Powell, Film Editor

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.

Orchestra

Jung-Ho Pak

Jung-Ho Pak, Conductor

Monterey, California

Described by the New York Times as a conductor who "radiates enthusiasm" and the Los Angeles Times as "a real grabber", Jung-Ho Pak is known for his unique approach and vision of symphonic music. Mr. Pak is Artistic Director and Conductor of the Cape Symphony in Massachusetts, Artistic Director of the Bay Philharmonic, and Calliope, an innovative theatrical and musical company. He has been Artistic Director of Orchestra Nova, New Haven Symphony, and San Diego Symphony. As a nationally recognized educator, he was Music Director of the University of Southern California (USC), San Francisco Conservatory of Music, U.C. Berkeley, Disney Young Musicians Symphony, the Debut Orchestra, Colburn Chamber Orchestra, and Diablo Ballet, and Director of Orchestras and Music Director of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Mr. Pak is also a frequent speaker including TED Talks and NPR, as well as a clinician and conductor at national music festivals.

CapeSymphony.org

Lee Taylor

Lee Taylor, Violin

Tallahassee, Florida

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Lee Taylor enjoys a varied musical career involving performance, education, and administration. Lee is currently a member of the Atlanta Ballet and Tallahassee Symphony Orchestras and is a founding member of Amati Chamber Music. She has played with the Alabama Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, and Colorado Music Festival. As a chamber musician, Lee has performed at the Cincinnati Young Artists Chamber Music Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival and Chamber Music Quad Cities in Davenport, Iowa. 

An avid educator, Lee maintains an active home studio and is on the music faculty of Perimeter College of Georgia State University. In 2020, Lee joined forces with Dr. Shannon Thomas to establish MusicBridges Tallahassee.

Taylor received her Bachelor’s in Violin Performance, Summa Cum Laude, at the University of Michigan as a student of Paul Kantor. She currently resides in Tallahassee with her husband, Greg Sauer, and their wonderful crew of teenagers.

musicbridgestallahassee.org

Lisa Tipton.jpg

Lisa Tipton, Violin

Sunnyside, New York

Dr. Lisa Tipton, violinist, co-founder of the award-winning Meridian String Quartet, has toured, held residences and won distinctions from the Evian International Competition, Artists International and Chamber Music America. A devoted interpreter of new music, Lisa, established the Made in America series at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, performed on the Interpretations series at Merkin Hall and recently launched The NY Chamber Music CoOP, in NYC devoted to social justice programming. Lisa's critically acclaimed recording of Charles Ives’ violin sonatas, Hammers and Strings, was released on Capstone Records in 2006. This season Lisa launched The Unsung Chamber Music series on YouTube, a NYYS repertoire initiative to feature composers from diverse cultures. Lisa’s performances include Phantom of the Opera, Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Spamalot, Sunset Boulevard, Spongebob, Aladdin and My Fair Lady on Broadway. Dr. Tipton has taught as Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music/Queens College,  is the Director of the NY Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program, on the faculty of School for Strings and the Music Conservatory of Westchester, earned her B.A. from Cornell University, M.A. from The Aaron Copland School of Music and DMA from the CUNY Grad Center.

tiptonviolin.com

Gabrielle Padilla

Gabrielle Padilla, Viola

Morgantown, West Virginia

Dr. Gabrielle Padilla is a violist dedicated to teaching, performance, and chamber music. Gabrielle has served as interim viola faculty of Virginia Tech, West Virginia University, and as a member of the Quartet-in-Residence at the Interlochen Arts Camp. She has conducted masterclasses at the Puerto Rico Summer Music Festival, Longwood University, and West Virginia University’s Viola Bootcamp, with an upcoming appearance as a masterclass guest artist with the Nashville Symphony’s Accelerando Program.

Gabrielle has presented and performed at events such as the International Viola Congress, American Viola Society Festivals, National Flute Association Convention, and the American String Teachers Association National Conference.

As a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Gabrielle’s studies were at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, Ball State University with Dr. Katrin Meidell, and West Virginia University where she proudly served as the Graduate Teaching Assistant of Andrea Priester Houde. Gabrielle is a Board Member of the American Viola Society.

Greg Sauer

Gregory Sauer, Cello

Tallahassee, Florida

Praised for his versatility, Gregory Sauer performs in many different musical arenas. He has appeared in recital at the Old First Concert Series in San Francisco, the Brightmusic Concert Series in Oklahoma City, at universities such as Vanderbilt, and Rice University. Mr. Sauer has performed concertos with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, the Quad City Symphony, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the Columbus (GA) Symphony, the Tallahassee Symphony, and the Missoula Symphony, among others.

As a member of the Carpe Diem String Quartet, Greg played concerts in Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, Siena, Italy, and in the group's first China tour. Other chamber music appearances have been at the Austin Chamber Music Center, the Victoria Bach Festival, the Texas Music Festival, and the Colorado Music Festival.

In 2006, Greg was appointed to the faculty at Florida State University. Prior to that he taught eleven years at the University of Oklahoma, and was named Presidential Professor.

Volkan Orhon

Volkan Orhon, Double Bass

Iowa City, Iowa

Orhon was a finalist and prizewinner in the Concert Artists Guild Solo Competition in NYC and was the co-first-place winner of the ISB Solo Competition. Additionally, he distinguished himself as the first double bass player ever to win the grand prize overall and first prize for double bass at the ASTA Solo Competition. Orhon has performed with internationally recognized musicians, including Gary Karr, Fazil Say, JACK, Emerson, and Tokyo String Quartets, and has played solos with orchestras and recitals worldwide. He was one of the selected performers for the Pulitzer Winner composer John Harbison’s Concerto for Bass Viol and Orchestra. Recently, he recorded the Double Bass Concerto by David Gompper with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. Orhon has been an invited clinician to workshops across the U.S. and abroad, including Turkey, Germany, Brazil, Paris, the Czech Republic, as well the ISB. He is currently a professor of double bass at the University of Iowa.

volkanbass.com

Ebonee Thomas

Ebonee Thomas, Flute

Kansas City, Missouri

Hailed for her “verve and pizazz” and the “gleaming purity” of her artistry by the Miami Herald, Ebonee Thomas is Second Flute and Piccolo of The Dallas Opera and Central City Opera. She previously served as Principal Flute of the Knoxville Symphony and the Florida Grand Opera. She held a one year position as second flute with the Houston Symphony and completed a fellowship with the New World Symphony. Along with performing orchestral repertoire, Ebonee is also an avid chamber musician, hailed as a “standout” by Theater Jones in her latest performance for the Fine Arts Chamber Players. She performs regularly with the Austin Chamber Music Society and with a new music ensemble, Voices of Change, in Dallas, TX. Ebonee received her music degrees from Southern Methodist University and New England Conservatory of Music. She is also the Assistant Professor of Flute at the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory.

eboneethomas.com

Lani Kelly, Oboe

Lansing, Michigan

Lani Kelly serves as Principal Oboe in the Jackson Symphony Orchestra and the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra. She is an active performer, playing with the Memphis, Fort Worth, and St Louis Symphony Orchestras, and in 2013 was invited to perform as Guest Principal Oboe with the Wuhan Philharmonic in China. Kelly loves working with young musicians, and has served as faculty at Alma College and Michigan State University, where she directed several courses and maintained a private studio. She received her Bachelor’s degree from New England Conservatory and her Masters from Michigan State University, where she was awarded the University Distinguished Fellowship. Kelly was a prizewinner at the Sphinx Orchestral Partners Competition in 2023, and a recipient of a fellowship from the Pittsburgh Symphony in 2007. In her free time, she enjoys jigsaw puzzles, reading, and spoiling her two cats!

Wonkak Kim

Wonkak Kim, Clarinet

Eugene, Oregon

Korean-born clarinetist Wonkak Kim has captivated audiences around the world with his “excellent breath control” (The Washington Post) and “exuberant musicianship” (Fanfare). Kim appeared as a soloist and chamber musician at major venues throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. A Naxos Recording Artist, he has garnered international acclaim with his extensive discography. Kim’s live and recorded performances have been featured on Radio France, BBC Radio 3, Swedish Radio, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, CJPX Radio Classique Québec, Hong Kong RTHK-HK, Korean Broadcasting System, and NPR stations around the US. Kim is Associate Professor of Clarinet at the University of Oregon and a performing artist/clinician for Buffet Crampon, Silverstein, and Vandoren. He is regularly invited as a guest artist and teacher at world’s renowned institutions, including the Juilliard, Yale, and Manhattan School of Music.

wonkakkim.com

Marissa Olegario

Marissa Olegario, Bassoon

Tucson, Arizona

Dr. Marissa Olegario is the bassoon professor at the University of Arizona and was nominated for the 2021 Five Star Faculty Award. Marissa enjoys a varied musical career involving performances in the US and internationally as soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. She has played with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony and San Diego Symphony and is second bassoonist of the Music in the Mountain Festival. Her chamber collaborators include musicians from Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmoniker and the Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet and is member of the Arizona Wind Quintet. Devoted to community engagement and innovation, her projects have involved Dance for Parkinson’s, Tucson’s Beyond Foundation and UA’s Laboratory of Tree Ring Research. She was a semi-finalist for the 2016 Matthew Ruggiero International Woodwind Competition and recipient of the NYC Council on the Arts grant. Marissa holds degrees from Northwestern University, Yale, and SUNY Stony Brook. 

marissaolegario.com

Kristen Sienkiewicz, Horn

Clarksville, Tennessee

Kristen Sienkiewicz is Professor of Horn and Music Department Chair at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. She is in demand as an orchestral and studio horn player in Nashville and the broader region. Prior to moving to Tennessee, Dr. Sienkiewicz taught and performed in Boston and throughout New England. Dr. Sienkiewicz can be heard on recordings with the Bala Chamber Brass, a Boston based brass quintet with international acclaim. Their three albums, "Revealed," "Deus Ex Machina," and "Passports," feature premieres, commissions, and previously unrecorded works.

Dr. Sienkiewicz completed her undergraduate work at the Eastman School of Music, where she received her Bachelor of Music in both Horn Performance and Music Theory and was awarded the school's prestigious Performer's Certificate. She earned both her Master of Music and a Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory. Dr. Sienkiewicz received her Doctor of Musical Arts in 2013 from Boston University.

kristen.sienkiewicz.org

Aaron Witek smiles while holding a trumpet.

Aaron Witek, Trumpet

DeLand, Florida

Dr. Aaron Witek is Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Coordinator of Brass and Percussion at Stetson University. Prior to his appointment at Stetson, Witek was Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Ithaca College and the University of Louisiana Monroe where he was also a member of the faculty ensemble in residence, Black Bayou Brass. As an active performer and educator, Witek has performed and given masterclasses throughout the U.S., China, Australia, and Bangladesh. He can be heard on "Scenes from the Bayou," "The OXtet Does Hindemith," and his first solo album, "Premiere." Witek currently serves as a Brass Pedagogical Consultant for the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps and was previously the Assistant Brass Caption Manager. He earned his D.M. and M.M. degrees from Florida State University, and a BMEd from the Crane School of Music SUNY Potsdam. Witek is proud to be a Yamaha Artist.

aaronwitek.com

Headshot of David Begnoche smiling and holding a trombone.

David Begnoche, Low Brass

Denton, Texas

Dr. David Begnoche is Associate Professor of Trombone in the TCU School of Music and maintains an active performing calendar with groups throughout the U.S. and abroad. His extensive professional performing experience includes titled positions with the Joffrey Ballet Orchestra (Chicago), Sarasota Opera (FL), Albany Symphony (NY), Spoleto Festival Orchestra (Italy), Charleston Symphony Orchestra (SC) and AIMS Festival Orchestra (Austria). He has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and has recorded with the Boston Pops under John Williams. Dr. Begnoche has been active in the commissioning of solo and chamber works for trombone and has published articles in the International Trombone Association Journal, the Brass Herald, and the American Composers Forum. Dr. Begnoche serves at Second Vice President of the International Trombone Association and holds degrees from University of North Texas (DMA), the Manhattan School of Music (MM) and the New England Conservatory of Music (BM).

Genevieve Clarkson

Genevieve Clarkson, Tuba

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

An accomplished knitter, Dr. Genevieve Clarkson currently resides in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where she serves as the Associate Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Oklahoma City University. Dr. Clarkson has been featured as a soloist and clinician at a variety of conferences and workshops, including the Midwest Clinic, the Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma Music Educators’ Conferences, and the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference. She serves as the Lead Tuba Instructor for the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps, and was named the recipient of Oklahoma City University’s 2023 award for Distinguished Achievement in the Innovation of Teaching and Learning. She received her DM in Tuba Performance from Indiana University (2017), her MM in Tuba Performance from the University of Cincinnati (2011), and her BM in Music Education from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA (2009). Dr. Clarkson is a Buffet Crampon Performing Artist and performs on B&S tubas and Buffet euphoniums.

genevieveclarkson.com

Chris Nappi, Percussion

New York, New York

Chris Nappi has performed and/or recorded with Steve Reich and Musicians, the SEM Ensemble, Newband, the North Carolina Symphony and Ben E. King. As a composer he has created music for the dance, theatrical and multi-media installations and has recorded for the asphodel, BIS, Dog w/a Bone, Ear-Rational, EMI, Mode, New Tone, New World Records, Renè Block Editions, Tzadìk, and Wergo, labels. As Music Director for the Erick Hawkins Dance Company he has conducted at major dance venues in the US, including the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC. He serves on the Percussion faculties of The Manhattan School of Music Precollege, East Carolina University and the Ostrava Center for New Music, Czech Republic where, since 2001, he has been guest soloist playing European as well as world premieres of percussion solo and chamber music by such composers as John Cage, Morton Feldman, Alvin Lucier and Christian Wolff.

Photography

Isaac Diggs, Instructor

Atlanta, Georgia

Isaac Diggs is a photographer and educator. For over two decades he has photographed the urban fabric of cities and communities in the United States and abroad. His work has been exhibited in the United States and Japan, and is part of the collections of the New York Public Library, the Walker Art Center, the Whitney Museum of American Art and MOMA, among others. Diggs has received support from the Asian Cultural Council, The Center for Photography at Woodstock, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and The Puffin Foundation. His work has been published most recently in Vanity Fair, Harper’s and i-D Magazine. A native of Cleveland, OH, Diggs received his B.A. in English Literature at Columbia University, his M.F.A. in photography from the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College, and studied independently with Daido Moriyama and Stephen Shore. He has taught at the International School of Photography (ICP), the Parsons School of Design, and in the BFA and MFA programs at the School of Visual Arts in New York. His three books include 125th: Time in Harlem (with Edward Hillel), Middle Distance or the Anxiety of Influence: Photographs from Los Angeles (2019), and Lagos (2019). His fourth title, Electronic Landscapes: Music, Space and Resistance in Detroit (with Edward Hillel), was shortlisted for the Aperture/Paris Photo Book Award in 2021.

diggsand.co

Ben Long

Ben Long, Digital Technician

San Francisco, California

Ben Long is a San Francisco-based photographer, writer, and teacher. The author of over two dozen books on digital photography and digital video, he is also the author of several best-selling LinkedInLearning.com photography courses. His photography clients have included 20th Century Fox, Blue Note Records, Global Business Network, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Pickle Family Circus, and Grammy-nominated jazz musicians Don Byron and Dafnis Prieto. He has taught and lectured on photography around the world, including workshops at the Santa Reparata International School of the Arts in Florence and a class for imaging engineers at Apple, Inc. He occasionally dabbles in computer programming and has written image editing utilities that are used by National Geographic, the British Museum, and the White House. Long was an OSAI acting student in 1985.

completedigitalphotography.com

Community Lab

Jonathan Stalling

Jonathan Stalling, Jueju Instructor

Norman, Oklahoma

Dr. Jonathan Stalling lives in Norman Oklahoma with his family (wife and three kids, four dogs, and a cat). He is the editor or author of seven books and is the Harold J. & Ruth Newman Chair of US-China Issues and Professor of International and Area Studies where he directs The Newman Prize for Chinese Literature, The Newman Prize for English Jueju, Chinese Literature and Thought Today journal, and the CLT book series (University of Oklahoma Press). He is also the founder and Curator of the Chinese Literature Translation Archive and an Affiliate Professor of English. Dr. Stalling specializes in Comparative US-China Culture, Literature, and Poetics. He is the translator of Winter Sun: Poety of Shi Zhi (1966-2005), which was a finalist for the National Translation Award. His opera Yingelishi (吟歌丽诗) was performed at Yunnan University in 2010, and a portion of a newly scored version was staged by Opera 180 in Kansas City in 2018.

ou.edu/cis/ias/faculty/jonathan-stalling-

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