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Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
Mansfield, PA 16933
Phone: 570.662.4000
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French Horn/History
Dr. Rebecca Dodson-Webster's website
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Dr. Dodson-Webster was born in Apollo, Pennsylvania, and has previously taught at the University of Idaho and the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Her academic interests include the study of contemporary repertoire for the horn, fitness for musicians, and the study of the music of indigenous cultures. A member of the American Federation of Musicians Local 60-471, she performs regularly in numerous orchestras and has released a solo CD on the Centaur label. She is also a member of the College Music Society and a member of the International Horn Society, serving on the IHS Regional Chapter Board of Advisors.
Trumpet
Jeff Stempien is a 1970 graduate from North Penn High School, graduated in 1973with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education from Mansfield State College and earned a Master's Degree in Music Education from Ithaca College in 1983.He was chosen to be included in Who's Who In American college in 1973 and in 2005 to Who's Who in Music in America. After college, Mr. Stempien studied classical trumpet with Louis Ranger, then principal trumpet of the American Symphony and New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Other trumpet teachers include: David Bailey (MSC), Bertram Francis (MSC), Dr. James Ode, Dr. Kim Dunnick and Herb Mueller from Ithaca College.
While teaching in Delaware, Mr. Stempien played principal trumpet in the Dover Symphony from 1974-1978 and played in the Bob Wagner big band. Mr Stempien isa life member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Kappa Kappa Psi, International Trumpet Guild and The New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA). He has been in public school education for 42 years retiring from Penn Yan Central School District in 2008.Mr. Stempien also held positions of adjunct professor of instrumental music at Hobart William Smith Colleges for 25 years and at Keuka College for 12 years. Mr. Stempien was both the choir and instrumental director at Penn Yan Methodist Church for 15 years and 25 summers ago started the Penn Yan Community Band which he still conducts.
In retirement Jeff still does some long term substituting, plays principal trumpet in the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes for over 29 years, is a member of the Southern Tier All Star Jazz Band for over 30 years and is very active as a free lance trumpet player and guest conductor.
Jeff lives in Keuka Park, NY with his wife, Elly and has two grown daughters and four grandchildren.
Trombone/Euphonium
Mrs. Ciabattari has held positions in trombone sections of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (SC), Canton Symphony Orchestra (OH), Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, Ohio Light Opera Orchestra, and the Graz Festival Orchestra (Austria). She is a member of the 12-piece touring ensemble,
As an educator, Mrs. Ciabattari has been a faculty member of low brass and/or brass methods at Case Western Reserve University, Hiram College, South Carolina State University, and Lycoming College. She has also instructed beginning and middle school bands through MusicAlliance of Ohio and West Branch School in Williamsport, as well as assisted in course writing for an online music education system through viaAcademies.
In 2011, Mrs. Ciabattari founded the Trombone Consortium of Central PA, a community trombone ensemble dedicated to performances in central Pennsylvania. She has also frequently performed with the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, and currently holds the title of Orchestra Manager/Librarian for the ensemble. Mrs. Ciabattari resides in Williamsport with her husband and three busy children.
Assistant Band Director / Tuba / Instrumental Music Education
Dr. Rinnert co-directs the Pride of Pennsylvania - The Mansfield University Mountie Marching Band, for which he writes all drill, and conducts the Symphonic Band and Mansfield Tuba Ensemble. In 2003 Dr. Rinnert initiated the Mountie Sound Machine, a 25-piece, high-energy ensemble that performs at MU basketball games. In addition, he instructs the tuba studio, supervises music student teachers, and teaches courses in instrumental music methods and conducting. Dr. Rinnert is an active performer, educator, clinician, arranger, and researcher, having performed across the U.S. and Japan. He performed with the 1989 All-American College Band at Disneyland, spent two years playing at the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki, Japan, and enjoyed a five-year stint with Joel Kaye’s “Neophonic Jazz Orchestra,” in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Rinnert’s PhD in music education and conducting culminated with a dissertation entitled A History of the Bands at the Teachers' School in Mansfield, Pennsylvania: 1871-1971.
Dr. Rinnert is the faculty advisor for the Mansfield chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, and a member of MENC, the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, the Collegiate Band Directors National Association, the Pennsylvania Collegiate Bandmasters Association, the International Tuba-Euphonium Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Tau Beta Sigma.
Keyboard Area Chair
Dr. Eun-Joo Kwak is an internationally admired concert artist and educator, whose professional engagements have taken her across Europe, Asia, and North America. A native of South Korea, her career was launched with top prizes in the Samick National Piano Competition (South Korea), Tokyo International Piano Duo COmpetition (Japan), International Beethoven Sonata Competition (Memphis, TN), and others. Her diverse concert life has included concerto appearances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra (Seoul), Sun-Hwa Philharmonic Orchestra (Seoul), Racine Symphony Orchestra, Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra, and numerous university orchestras. She has given recitals in significant venues, such the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts (Chicago), World Piano Conference (Novi Sad, Serbia), American Landmark Festival (New York), Taipei National Recital Hall (Taiwan), with several broadcast internationally (WFMT-Chicago, KBS-Seoul, Christian Radio-Taiwan, Wisconsin Public Radio-Madison). An avid chamber musician, she was a member of the international prize-winning Cheng and Kwak Piano Duo, the Clarus Piano Trio, and has performed with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra. Her professional recordings are available from Northwestern University Press, Vienna Modern Masters label, and the Naxos Music Library.
Kwak continues to be in great demand as clinician, adjudicator and lecturer. Twice she was a judge for the International Smetana Piano Competition (Czech Republic), and has been an invited guest of the Isidor Bajic Conservatory (Serbia), Shin-Zhu Teachers University (Taiwan), Music Teachers National Association, PianoArts of Milwaukee National Competition, New York State School Music Association, UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, Wisconsin Music Teachers Association, Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association, and many other organizations.
After completing the Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Seoul National University, Kwak emigrated to the United States, where she earned the Master of Music from Roosevelt University and Doctor of Music from Northwestern University. She studied with Jeong-Joo Oh, Kui-Hyun Kim, Pawel Checinski, David Kaiserman, Sylvia Wang, and took master classes with such artists as Robert Levin, Ursula Oppens, and Garrick Ohlsson. Professor Kwak previously taught at Truman State University, Northwestern University, Carthage College, Cardinal Stritch University, and is now Keyboard Area Chair/Assistant Professor of Piano at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania.
곽은주 교수
Dr. Monkelien teaches elementary and secondary methods, supervises student teachers, teaches graduate courses in music education and co-directs the Mansfieldians. Before coming to MU, she taught music at the elementary, middle, high school and college levels in Iowa, Washington, Massachusetts, North Dakota, and Nebraska.
Dr. Monkelien is an experienced jazz singer, conductor and clinician studied vocal jazz for two years at the Phil Mattson School of Music. Her vocal jazz ensembles have performed at numerous festivals, state and regional conferences including the 2003 Eastern Division MENC Conference in Providence, RI and at the 2003 PMEA State In-Service Conference in Hershey, PA; and in 1997 Dr. Monkelien's UNL Vocal Jazz Ensemble was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall with guest conductor Phil Mattson, and has presented throughout the northeast.
Her paper “The Influence of Phil Mattson on Vocal Jazz Education in America” was published in IAJE's 2004 Jazz Research Proceedings Yearbook. She currently serves as Higher Education Chair for District 8, PMEA; and as Vocal Jazz Repertoire & Standards Chair for ACDA-PA. Dr. Monkelien, is a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and The Boston Pops Orchestra under conductors Seiji Ozawa, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Roger Norrington, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Helmuth Rilling and John Williams, and has appeared on several PBS Evening with Pops television specials.
Theory, Composition, Electronic Music
Dr. Walters Webpage
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Andrew Walters studied composition with Robert Chamberlain at Millikin, where he received his Bachelor of Music Education degree. He has also studied with Jan Bach, James Phelps and Robert Fleisher at Northern Illinois University. He received his DMA in composition at the University of Illinois where he worked in the EMS studios under the guidance of Scott Wyatt and James Beauchamp. His dissertation was on the use of texture in the music of Louis Andriessen. While working at the University of Illinois, his primary teachers were William Brooks, Zack Browning, Erik Lund, and Paul Zonn. Walters' music has been performed at various conferences throughout the US and Canada, including SEAMUS, SCI, ICMC, Spark, Imagine II, Electronic Music Midwest, and the Electroacoustic Juke Joint. His piece "IN-EX" won Honorable Mention at the 1998 Russolo Pratella International Electroacoustic Composition Competition and is featured on the "Music from SEAMUS, Volume Nine" compact disk. "Pushing Buttons", a piece for alto saxophone and 2-channel electroacoustic music is featured on the "Music from SEAMUS Volume Sixteen" CD and was performed at the International Computer Music Conference in New Orleans, in 2006. Dr. Walters has taught at Millikin University, Brookhaven College, and the University of Texas at Arlington.
Director of Bands/Conducting/Percussion
Dr. Brennan is an active composer, arranger, performer and clinician in band and percussion. He is the Director of The Spirit and The Pride of Pennsylvania - The Mansfield University Marching Band, a group for which he writes all music. Dr. Brennan conducts the outstanding Concert Wind Ensemble, and works with the Concert Percussion Ensemble, Mexican Marimba Band, and newly formed MU Steel Pan ensemble. He teaches courses in percussion pedagogy, drill design, and instrumental conducting.
Percussion
Conrad Alexander studied with John Beck, Don Liuzzi, Kalman Cherry, Doug Howard, John Bannon, Charles Owen. Teaches in summers at the Brevard Music Center (NC) and has taught at Interlochen Center for the Arts, James Madison University, University of Virginia, the Odessa/Midland (TX) school system and the Blue Lake (MI) Fine Arts Camp. He has performed with the New York City Opera Touring Orchestra, the Albany and Harrisburg (PA) Symphonies, as well as the Dallas, Richmond (VA), Greensboro (NC), Knoxville (TN), Oklahoma, and Anchorage Symphonies. He is the owner of DAY Percussion Repair, www.daypercussionrepair.com, specializing in all facets of keyboard modification and percussion instrument repair.
Orchestra Director/Music Education/Cello and Bass
Dr. Jacobsen is a sought-after conductor and clinician who has been invited to lead orchestras at national and international music festivals and camps. The recipient of the Outstanding Orchestra Conductor Award for 2013 from the Pennsylvania/Delaware Chapter of the American String Teachers Association, he currently serves as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Mansfield University Symphony Orchestra and for two years was Conductor of the Binghamton (NY) Community Orchestra. He has conducted numerous All-District, All-Region, and All-State Honor Orchestras in the United States and Canada as well as professional orchestras in Europe. Dr. Jacobsen served for five seasons as the Conductor of the Orchestra of the Pines in Nacogdoches/Lufkin, Texas and Director of Orchestral Activities and Opera at Stephen F. Austin State University. He founded and served as Conductor of the Blue Valley Chamber Orchestra, a regional orchestra in the Kansas City area. Jacobsen was affiliated with the Youth Symphony of Kansas City, initially as the Conductor of the Symphonette and later as Conductor of the Philharmonic East Orchestra. He taught in public schools in Boulder, Colorado, Overland Park, Kansas, and Williamsburg, Virginia.
Dr. Jacobsen's ensembles have performed at state music conventions, and national and international music festivals. These same ensembles consistently earned highest ratings at competitive festivals and, at several, Jacobsen was named outstanding director. He received the Mary Taylor Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching at Boulder High School and was featured twice on the KCNC-TV's "Teachers Who Make a Difference" series. Jacobsen was the Boulder Valley School nominee for the Sallie Mae National Teachers Award, received the Teacher Recognition Award from the University of Kansas, and was named the Outstanding High School Orchestra Director for the Northeast District of the Kansas Music Educators Association.
Dr. Jacobsen received a Master of Science degree in music education with a secondary emphasis in performance from the University of North Dakota and a Doctorate of Music Education degree with a secondary emphasis in jazz pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado. Jacobsen was selected for the American Symphony Orchestra League Donald Thulean conducting workshop with the Detroit Civic Orchestra. He was invited to the International Conducting Workshop in the Czech Republic and has taken post-doctoral studies in orchestral conducting at Northwestern University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the universities of Iowa, Illinois State and South Carolina. His instructors include William LaRue Jones, Kirk Trevor, Mariusz Smolij, Kirk Muspratt, Tsung Yeh, and Marvin Rabin.
As a professional musician, Dr. Jacobsen has served as principal bassist of numerous ensembles as well as opera companies and symphony orchestras. Jacobsen was most recently Principal Bassist of Millennium Orchestra and a recording artist for Naxos and ERM. He has performed in jazz clubs across the United States as well as overseas, and along with other members of the ensemble, received a Grammy Award nomination for the jazz recording Hot IV.
Cello
Zachary is an educator and performer in Ithaca, NY; director of Ithaca Free Concerts (@IthFreeConcerts), on the faculty at Colgate University and at Mansfield University. He completed his Master’s in Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music in 2006 where he served as a Departmental Assistant for Alan Harris. During his studies there, he became a member of the Eastman Chamber Society, was Principal of Eastman Philharmonia, Eastman Chamber Orchestra, and Eastman Opera Orchestra, and studied chamber music with the Ying Quartet, Elinore Freer, Dr. Jean Barr, Richard Kilmer, Kenneth Grant, and Alan Harris.
As a performer, Zachary has performed extensively throughout the Tri-State area. Venues have included the War Memorial in Syracuse, Shewan Recital Hall at Roberts Wesleyan College, Gibson Hall at Elmira College, Bristol Hall at Westminster Choir College, the Hochstein Performance Hall in Rochester, NY, Kilbourn Hall at Eastman School of Music, Kiplinger Theatre at Cornell University, and the “Nassau at Six” recital series in Princeton, NJ. He has had the honor of performing with artists such as Sharon Sweet, J.J. Penna, Phyllis Lehrer, Jose Melendez, Yin-Min Chang, Tabatha Easley, Patrice Pastore, Leanne Darling, Dr. Peggy Dettwiler and the late Erick Friedman.
Currently, Zachary plays with the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Tri-Cities Opera, and the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra. He has also had the pleasure of mentoring local Youth Orchestras in Tompkins County. From 2001-2003, Zachary held the Talented Students in the Arts Initiative Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival, where he acted as mentor to the Concert and Symphonic orchestras while playing with the Festival Orchestra under the batons of David Zinman and James Conlon.
Violin/Viola
A versatile musician, violinist and violist John Vaida performs regularly as a soloist, recitalist,chamber musician, and orchestral player. He is a dedicated teacher, serving on the faculty at Mansfield University and Wilkes University, and Artist-in-Residence at the Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School. During the summers he is on the faculty at the Killington Music Festival. An avid chamber musician, he is the executive director and co-founder of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Chamber Music Society, an organization dedicated to fostering the growth of chamber music in the Northeastern Pennsylvania region.He has given performances in the United States and Europe, most notably at venues such as Weill Hall, Steinway Hall, Merkin Hall, and the Tenri Institute in New York City; the Eastman Theatre in Rochester, New York; the Goodrich Theater in Oneonta, New York; and the Kirby Center for Creative Arts in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He has appeared on numerous occasions on radio and television including most recently on WVIA FM's Simply Grand concert series.Mr. Vaida has collaborated with renowned artists such as Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet,Randolph Kelly of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and violinist Sergiu Schwartz. He has performed as a member of numerous groups and festivals including the Florestan Piano Quartet, the Terrace Piano Quartet, the Eastman Chamber Music Society, the Manchester Chamber Orchestra, Tangueros De Ley (an Argentinian Tango ensemble), the Killington Music Festival, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, Scranton Bach Festival, the Sunflower Music Festival, the Meadowmount School of Music, the Waterville Valley Music Festival, and AIMS Festival in Graz, Austria. An advocate of new works,in recent years he has premiered compositions such as Three Little Lights by Baljinder Sekhon and the Viola Sonata no. 2 by Hwaen Ch'uqi, both of which were written for him.Mr. Vaida's principal teachers have included Charles Stegeman, Daniel Phillips, and Zvi Zeitlin. Heholds a B.M. from Duquesne University and a M.M. degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, and has studied chamber music with Randolph Kelly, Jean Barr, Richard Killmer, and members of the Ying Quartet.
Guitar
Eric Carlin is a Mansfield University Alumni where he completed his Bachelor of Music degree in classical guitar in 2005 under the direction of Dr. Matthew Slotkin. Mr. Carlin received the MM and prestigious Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music. He is also a faculty member at Nazareth College and the Nazareth Community Music Program where he teaches classical guitar to all ages and levels as well as Guitar Methods. Previous teaching experience includes the Eastman Community Music School and secondary guitar instruction at the Eastman School of Music. A native of Hornell, NY, Carlin enjoys songwriting as well as singing and playing popular music. As an eclectic musician Carlin also enjoys performing electric blues and country. Eric resides in Rochester, NY with his wife Jodie.
Double Reeds
Dr. Laib teaches oboe and bassoon, and coaches woodwind chamber ensembles. An active performer, Dr. Laib holds the position of principal oboe in both the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes and the Williamsport Symphony. In frequent demand as a free-lance oboist and double reed clinician, she has performed for numerous organizations throughout Pennsylvania and New York and presented master classes in New Jersey as well as the Twin Tiers. Previously a member of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and on the faculty of Tennessee Technological University, as a member of the Cumberland Quintet, Dr. Laib toured Belgium and Holland in the spring of 1988 and performed in the group's successful 1986 debut in the Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City. She was also a featured performer at the convention of the International Double Reed Society at Ithaca College in 2007, and the University of Victoria in Victoria, B.C., in August, 1988. Her teachers include Robert Sprenkle, Thomas Stacy, David Abosch, Ronald Roseman, Richard Killmer, and she has attended master classes with Barrick Stees, Christopher Weait, John Mack, Joseph Robinson, and the 2005 Glickman-Popkin Bassoon Camp.
Flute, Keyboard Skills
Christine Fish Moulton is a member of the Manhattan Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra, the Savoy Company productions in Philadelphia and the annual Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival. On baroque flute she is a member of Bethlehem Baroque. She has performed with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra at NYC’s Symphony Space and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall and has participated in the Spoleto Festivals both in the USA and Italy. Allan Kozinn said in the review in the New York Times of Richard Auldon Clark’s Four Sketches for flute and string trio, “Christine Moulton gave its flute line a shapely, colorful reading…” Concerts and presentations include the Pocono Flute Society, Flute Fest of Central PA, New York Flute Club’s Flute Fair in Manhattan and the National Flute Convention. First place winner in the James Pappoutsakis Flute Competition, 1993.
Her Bachelor of Arts degree is from the Boston Conservatory of Music, Masters of Music from Manhattan School of Music and DMA from Rutgers University. Principal teachers include Keith Underwood, Bart Feller, Sandra Church and William Grass. She serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Marcel Moyse Society.
Saxophone, Music Education
Joseph Murphy's website
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Dr. Murphy has studied with some of the best saxophonists in the world, including Fred Hemke, John Sampen, and Jean-Marie Londeix (as a Fulbright scholar). He is an educational clinician for the Selmer Corporation, and has written several pedagogical articles on the saxophone. He has performed over 500 concerts in all 50 states, 8 Canadian provinces, and 30 countries on 6 continents, and has recorded six CDs. Memberships include MENC, NACWPI, MTNA, World Saxophone Congress, Phi Mu Alpha, and Kappa Kappa Psi.
Clarinet
Richard MacDowell's website
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Richard MacDowell has taught and performed extensively throughout the United States and abroad. He is known to be one of the strongest pedagogues in the Robert Marcellus and Stanly Hasty traditions. Before teaching at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was Associate Professor of Clarinet for over 20 years, he taught at the Interlochen Arts Academy and the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan .
He has given recitals and master classes at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Michigan, Oberlin Conservatory, Oberlin, Ohio, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina, and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Nebraska. He participated in the 2010 China Clarinet Festival in Naning, China, and the Taiwan Clarinet Festival.
He's been the principal clarinet of the Dallas Chamber Orchestra, the Lakewood Ensemble of Dallas, Mozart-fest of Austin, the Chamber Soloists of Austin, Salon Concerts, and the Victoria Bach Festival. Two years ago in 2011, his final year prior to his retirement from UT, he was co-artistic director and host for the 2010 ICA International ClarinetFest in Austin. Locally, he has been a frequent guest with the Finger Lakes Chamber Ensemble, and has been on the faculties of Ithaca College, State University College at Oneonta, and Hartwick. He's played principal clarinet with the Glimmerglass Opera, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Catskill Philharmonic, and played with the Binghamton Philharmonic, Binghamton Pops, the Northeast Philharmonic, and Tri-Cities Opera, among others.
Voice
Dr. Alissa Rose's webpage
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Dr. Rose has performed numerous operatic roles, recitals, and concerts throughout the United States and in Europe. She spent several years in Germany, where she sang at the State Theaters in Osnabrück, Münster, and Bielefeld, as well as singing with the West German Radio Chorus. Dr. Rose made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2006 as a soloist with the American Composers Orchestra in the world premiere of Kristin Kuster's Myrrha, and has appeared as a soloist with many other orchestras, including the Billings Symphony, the Battle Creek Symphony, and the Bielefelder Philharmoniker. Operatic roles she has performed include Adina (L'elisir d'amore), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Frasquita (Carmen), Célie (Pasatieri's Signor Deluso), Berenice (Rossini’s L'occasione fa il ladro), and Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance). Her recording of Célie in Signor Deluso is available on Albany Records. Dr. Rose’s primary teachers have been Lorraine Manz, Joyce Farwell, and Freda Herseth. She is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), and was selected to be a member of the 2012 NATS Intern Program. Dr. Rose joined the faculty of Mansfield University in the fall of 2008, after teaching at Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan. She teaches voice, diction, vocal pedagogy, and voice class.
Choral Director
Dr. Peggy Dettwiler's webpage
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Peggy Dettwiler is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Mansfield University, where she conducts the Concert Choir, Festival Chorus, and Chamber Singers, and teaches choral conducting and methods. She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. She also has a Master of Music Degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Master of Music Degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The Mansfield University Concert Choir, which she has conducted for twenty-three years, has been invited each of the last twenty years to perform at state, regional, national, or international choral conventions. In 2010, she received the Elaine Brown Award for Choral Excellence from the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, and she placed second for The 2011 American Prize for Choral Conductors at the College/University level. Dettwiler has served as a guest conductor and lecturer throughout the country and has given presentations at numerous NAfME and ACDA Conventions. She has produced two DVDs, one entitled, Developing a Vocal Color Palette for Various Choral Styles and the second, Sing in Style.
Voice
Dr. Kim has been an active performer appearing in a variety of operatic roles, over 30 major oratorios, and many recitals throughout North America, Korea, Japan, Canada, Italy, the Czech Republic, and France. His stages have included Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Roy Thompson Hall in Canada, the Tokyo Performing Arts Center, the Korean National Theater and the Center for the Performing Arts in Korea, and the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Nice, France.
Since joining the faculty in 1988, Dr. Kim has developed a second career as a conductor. He has directed and conducted many musical productions including: Forever Plaid, The Tender Land, Die Zarberflote, Le Nozze di Figaro, Sweeney Todd, The Music Man, Into the Woods, The Telephone, Gallantry, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Assassins, Big River, Nunsense, Mikado, Guys and Dolls, Phantom, Godspell, Sister Amnesia’s Country Western Nunsense Jamboree, and Dido and Aeneas. He has been a regular guest conductor for the past fifteen years, introducing American musical theater to professional choirs in Korea such as the Korean National Choir, Ulsan City Chorus, Buchon Civic Chorale, Goomi City Chorus, Pusan Opera Chorus, Ulsan Symphony Orchestra, and Seoul National Symphony Orchestra etc. In May of 2001, Dr. Kim led a 15-day performance tour of Mansfield University’s Forever Plaid in Korea, the first ever musical theater group from an American university to perform.
His most recent performance was a tenor solo in Handel's Messiah with the Korean National Choir and the Korean Symphony Orchestra. He was also honorably invited by his Alma Mater to direct Seoul National University’s annual opera production, Gianni Schicchi. And he performed a tenor solo in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda (National Music Honor Society), NATS (the National Association of Teachers of Singing), and has been listed in the premier edition of Who’s Who Among Asian Americans by virtue of significant social, civic, and professional contributions to American society. Dr. Kim teaches voice, opera workshop and art song literature at Mansfield University.
Voice
Todd E. Ranney, Baritone, has performed over 100 productions throughout the Midwest with the Michigan Opera Theater, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Iowa, Ohio Light Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Cleveland Opera, and Dayton Opera. Some of his roles include Figaro, Don Giovanni, Guglielmo, Papageno, Marcello, and Sharpless. He has been a featured soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra at both the Blossom Music Center and Severance Hall and has sung with the Symphony Orchestras of Dayton, Akron, Lakeside, Wooster, and the Cleveland Pops. He performed 12 seasons with Cleveland Opera and was featured in numerous productions including Carmen, Die Meistersinger, Romeo and Juliet, and H.M.S. Pinafore. Dr. Ranney is the founding Artistic Director of Akron Lyric Opera Theatre where he has directed Madama Butterfly, Cosi fan Tutti and La Bohème among others. Dr. Ranney has additionally directed and produced operas for The Wooster Symphony in Wooster Ohio and The Summit Choral Society of Akron Ohio.
