Music Faculty

 

 

Dr. Calvin Hofer is currently Head of the Music Department and Director of Wind Studies at Colorado Mesa University where he conducts the CMU Wind Symphony and teaches applied trumpet. Dr. Hofer is principal trumpet with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra as well as the Colorado Mesa University Faculty Brass Quintet. He also plays principal B-flat cornet with the Rocky Mountain Brass Band in Silverton, Colorado. Dr. Hofer received his undergraduate degree from South Dakota State University, his Master of Music Education degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas. While at UNT, Dr. Hofer was a finalist in the concerto competition and voted outstanding graduate student in instrumental music.

Before coming to Colorado Mesa, Dr. Hofer was Director of Bands and trumpet instructor at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa as well as a member of the Sioux City Symphony, Sioux City Jazz Orchestra and Symphony Brass Quintet. Before graduate school Dr. Hofer was the Assistant Director of Bands at Central High School in Rapid City, S. D. where he taught instrumental music in grades 5-12.

 

MPAC 134
970.248.1178
flanigan@coloradomesa.edu

 

 

 

Dr. Sean Flanigan is very excited about his new appointment as Assistant Professor of Low Brass at Colorado Mesa University. Over a long professional career, he has developed a reputation as an extremely versatile performer. Equally at home in the symphonic and jazz idioms, his wide range of professional experience has included principal trombone and featured soloist with the Cedar Rapids Symphony, performances with the Des Moines Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Toledo Opera Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, American Jazz Philharmonic, North Texas Wind Symphony and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra.

As a freelance trombone artist, Dr. Flanigan has backed such artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Heath, Clark Terry, Urbie Green, the Temptations, Johnny Mathis and Jack Jones, recorded for television, radio, and commercial CDs and has performed for numerous touring Broadway shows in the Des Moines area.

Dr. Flanigan has presented solo recitals and clinics in South America at the National Conservatory in Caracas, Venezuela and as featured guest artist (along with the Empire Brass and Jacques Mauger of the Paris Conservatory) at the Ibero-American Brass Festival in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

Holding a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas, as well as a Master of Music in Trombone Performance and a Master of Science in Music Education from the University of Illinois, Dr. Flanigan has served on the faculty of Drake University, Bowling Green State University, the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.

As an educational clinician and consultant for Conn-Selmer, Inc., Dr. Flanigan is in demand as a performer and teacher throughout the United States. He is very pleased to be a part of the dynamic music program at Colorado Mesa and looks forward to developing relationships with directors throughout the Rocky Mountain region.

 

MPAC 107

970.248.1866

 

 

 

Diana Musselman, horn instructor, is principal horn with the Grand Junction Symphony. Mrs. Musselman earned her degrees in music education and performance from the University of Northern Colorado. She has played with the National Repertory Orchestra, the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, the Crested Butte Chamber Music Festival, the Western Slope Music Festival in Crested Butte, and the Marsha Thomas Chamber Music Festival. She is currently a music specialist at Tope Elementary and a member of the Grand Junction Symphony Woodwind Quintet. Ms. Musselman is instructor of horn at Colorado Mesa University and teaches music education and music appreciation courses.

MPAC 133

970.248.1124

aballif@coloradomesa.edu

 

 

 

Dr. Adam Ballif holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree in clarinet performance from Arizona State University. Before coming to Colorado Mesa University, he was Assistant Professor of Clarinet at the University of Evansville in Evansville Indiana and served as Principal Clarinetist with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Brigham Young University. While in Utah, he performed with the Orchestra at Temple square, which included performing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and recording soundtracks for motion pictures produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In July 2002, he participated in the Belgium Clarinet Academy and presented a paper titled, "Benny Goodman Influences Classical Composition, " at the 2002 International Clarinet Association's convention in Stockholm Sweden. In Arizona Adam was principal clarinetist with the Mesa Symphony Orchestra and taught instrumental music at the elementary and middle school levels. His principal clarinet teachers include Robert Spring, William Holman, and Alan Stanek.

www.adamballif.com

 

MPAC 131

970.248.1054

kballif@coloradomesa.edu

 

 

 

Kristi Ballif, flute, currently teaches flute at Colorado Mesa University and plays in the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, the Western Colorado Flute Choir, and the Colorado Mesa University Faculty Woodwind Quintet. She is the author of Music Theory for the Flutist, a theory book designed especially for flute students. As a clinician, she has presented for the National Flute Association Convention, the Colorado Flute Association, the Colorado Music Educator’s Association Convention, and the Gateway Canyons Lecture Series.

Kristi earned her Master of Music degree in Flute Performance from Arizona State University and her Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from Brigham Young University. Her primary instructors have included Elizabeth Ruppe, Trygve Peterson, and Elizabeth Buck.

Kristi and her husband Adam Ballif comprise the Ballif Duo, a flute and clarinet duo that performs regularly throughout the Western United States. The Ballif Duo is committed to the development of new music for the flute and clarinet ensemble and has commissioned works from composers Sy Brandon and Shirish Korde.

Visit Kristi Ballif's Personal Website.

 

MPAC 131

970.248.1036

mbailey@coloradomesa.edu

 

 

 

Mary Lindsey Bailey is the Lecturer of Oboe at Colorado Mesa University and is Principal Oboe of the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra. She formerly served as Principal Oboe of the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra in Shenzhen, China, and as Co-Principal Oboe of the Long Bay Symphony Orchestra in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She has also performed with the Louisville Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Baroque Orchestra, and South Carolina Philharmonic. During her career, Dr. Bailey has performed internationally in cities such as London, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Turin. As winner of the Concerto Competition in Oboe at the University of Cincinnati, she gave the world premiere performance of Piotr Szewczyk’s Concertino Parroso. She has participated in the Sarasota Music Festival, Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca (Italy), Brevard Music Center, and Piccolo Spoleto Festival. She has also performed with prominent artists and conductors such as Lang Lang, Yundi Li, Claude Frank, Awadagin Pratt, Deborah Voigt, Vadim Gluzman, Joseph Silverstein, Xian Zhang, and Erich Kunzel. Dr. Bailey holds a Bachelor of Music degree and performance certificate from the University of South Carolina and a Masters of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. In addition to her degree studies, she spent a semester abroad in London, England studying at King’s College London. Her principal teachers have been Mark Ostoich, Rebecca Schalk Nagel, and Tess Miller. Other studies include Richard Killmer, Nancy Ambrose King, Neil Black, Allan Vogel, and Eric Ohlsson.

 

 

MPAC

Barbara (Cataldo) Pytlewski began her serious study of the bassoon as a scholarship student of legendary bassoon teacher, Simon Kovar.She attended the Univ. of Southern Calif. School of Music on a full performance scholarship, studying with renowned bassoonist, Norman Herzberg (principal bassoonist with Warner Bros. Studios). She also studied with the acclaimed Leonard Sharrow. She was a scholarship student at the Music Academy of the West/Maurice Abravanel, conductor. She graduated from USC, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Music in Performance. While in Los Angeles, she was principal bassoon of the American Youth Symphony (Mehli Mehta); bassoon in the YMF Debut Orchestra (Michael Tilson Thomas); principal bassoon of the YMF Debut Orchestra(Paul Polivnick); and principal bassoon of the Beverly Hills Symphony.She was a soloist with the YMF Debut Orchestra in the Hayden Symphonia Concertante. She was a member of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony (Idaho) along with musicians from the Pittsburgh Symphony, Dallas Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Utah Symphony and others. She was a member of the Aspen Chamber Symphony (Jorge Mester, Sidney Harth and Gerard Schwartz). Mr. Mester invited her to become the principal bassoon of the Louisville Orchestra. She was a member of the Bozeman Symphony and was an adjunct professor of bassoon at Montana State Univ. She was principal bassoon of Intermountain Opera and Montana Ballet. She performed with the Utah Symphony; Ballet West and the Las Vegas Philharmonic.She has performed in numerous musical theatre orchestras and chamber music groups. She has recorded for National Geographic soundtracks and the sountrack for the movie "The Son of Mask", sequel to Jim Carrey's "The Mask". She is pleased to be the newest member of the Colorado Mesa University Woodwind Quintet, and the new bassoon instructor at Colorado Mesa.

 

 

MPAC 129

970.248.1088

dkamstra@coloradomesa.edu

 

 

 

Darin Kamstra is the Director of Jazz Studies and Percussion at Colorado Mesa University. He currently holds the principal timpani/percussion position with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, performs actively as a jazz drummer across western Colorado, and appears frequently as a percussion and jazz clinician.

Dr. Kamstra received a D.M.A. in Percussion Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he received degrees in Percussion Performance and Music Theory/Composition from the University of Northern Colorado (M.M.) and Eastern Washington University (B.M. & B.A.).

Previously, Dr. Kamstra was a Lecturer of Music in Percussion at Western State College of Colorado. He served as principal timpanist of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra and has performed with professional orchestras, jazz groups, and music theater companies throughout Colorado, Illinois, and the Pacific Northwest. Also an active composer and arranger, Dr. Kamstra’s works are published by Grand Mesa Music Publishers and Walrus Music Publications, and they have been featured at regional, national, and international conventions and at universities across the United States. He is a contributor to the Percussive Arts Society Online Research Journal, a Local Education Artist for Pearl/Adams Percussion, and a Regional Endorser for Sabian Cymbals.

To hear recordings featuring Dr. Kamstra, please see the percussion and jazz studies home pages.

MPAC 132

970.248.1181

celias@coloradomesa.edu

 

 

 

Carlos Elias began his musical studies at the age of five at the National Center of Arts in San Salvador. After graduating from high school and coming to the United States, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Biola University in California, obtaining a Bachelor's degree in violin performance. He earned his Masters degree from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music and an Artist Diploma from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Among his teachers are Elizabeth Holborn, Mark Baranov, Valentin Stefanov, Won Bin Yim, and Hong-Guang Jia. He has also played in several master classes given by Ruben Gonzalez, Dorothy Delay, Andres Cardenas, Jacques Israelievitch and Sylvia Rosenberg. Mr. Elias has performed in solo recitals and in orchestras in the United States, El Salvador, and Japan, and was the winner of the Biola University Concerto Competition in 1988 and 1989, and 2nd place in the El Salvador Violin Competition in 1985. In 1986, he represented his country at the World Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Lorin Maazel. He has been a member of the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra in Sendai (Japan), Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, and assistant concertmaster of the El Salvador Symphony Orchestra. He has participated in several music festivals, such as Congress of Strings, Aspen Music Festival (CO), Sarasota Music Festival (FL), Casals Festival (Puerto Rico), Affinis Music Festival (Japan), Western Slope Music Festival (CO), and, most recently, at the Corsi Internazionali di Musica (Italy). He studied conducting with Marlin Owen and Gerhard Samuel. He has conducted the Sendai Philharmonic Junior Orchestra in Japan and the National Center of the Arts Chamber Orchestra in El Salvador. Mr. Elias is currently Director of Strings/Orchestra at Colorado Mesa University and Concertmaster of the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra. He and his wife, pianist Andrea Arese-Elias, gave their New York debut at Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall on March 28, 2002. Mr. Elias was invited to make his conducting debut in Bulgaria with the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra on May 20, 2003. Carlos Elias plays a 1985 violin by the late American maker Sergio Peresson.

Elias Duo Website

 

MPAC 107

970.248.1792

 

 

 

Kirk Gustafson received his formal training from the University of Colorado and the University of Washington, where he earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts in opera and orchestral conducting. As a guest conductor, Dr. Gustafson has appeared with the Rogue Valley, South Dakota, Southwest Illinois, Littleton, and Salt Lake Symphonies, the Boulder and Arapahoe Philharmonics, the Arvada Chamber Orchestra, and the Colorado Festival Orchestras, where he was assistant conductor for eight seasons. He currently is Music Director and Conductor of the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, an accomplished cellist and chamber musician, and Lecturer at Colorado Mesa University.

 

MPAC

970.245.4687

 

 

 

J. Cameron Law received his Bachelor's of Music degree with university honors and academic distinction in cello performance from Colorado State University. He completed a Masters degree in cello performance at the University of Michigan, where he was awarded a music fellowship and teaching assistant. Mr. Law has performed as the Assistant Principal Cellist of the Fort Collins and Cheyenne Symphonies, and is currently Principal Cellist of the Grand Junction Symphony. He is very active as both a performer and clinician. He has performed for three seasons at the Western Slope Summer Music Festival in Crested Butte. In 1997, he was selected to conduct the Colorado All-State String Orchestra. In addition, he is on the string faculty at the CSU Summer Music Camp and serves as the Camp Director for the CASTA Middle School String Camp. In 1999, he was awarded the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Educator Award. He is also past president of the Colorado chapter of the American String Teacher's Association. Mr. Law is currently the Director of Orchestras at Grand Junction High School and is on the adjunct faculty at Colorado Mesa University.

 

MPAC

970.248.1053

 

 

 

Eric Nohe has a Bachelor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance from Southern Methodist University. He has trained students who have been offered scholarships at Northwestern University, Yale, Manhattan School of Music, University of Denver, and the University of Colorado in classical and jazz guitar performance. Mr. Nohe performs in concerts, clubs, and receptions, in both classical and jazz idioms and has performed for President Ford, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Henry Kissinger, and others.

 

Classical guitarist, Javier de los Santos, began his formal music studies in 1998 in Guitar Performance under Francisco Javier Muro Guevara at the Unidad Académica de Música de la Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas (UAMUAZ) in the State of Zacatecas, Mexico. In 2006, under the guidance of Mr. Eric vanDiver Nohe, Javier earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Guitar Performance at Colorado Mesa University (Mesa State College) in Grand Junction, CO. Javier holds a Master of Music Degree in Guitar Performance from the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music studying with renowned Maestro Ricardo Iznaola.

Javier has performed extensively in different places, including: the XV Semana Cultural de Zacatecas in Zacatecas, Mexico, various recitals and performances in Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico and other municipalities, Spain, Maine, Texas, and in different venues in the State of Colorado, USA.

Javier is First Place Winner of the "2009 Denver Classical Guitar Society Solo Debut Competition” and semifinalist at the 2010 “Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival.”

www.portfolio.du.edu/jdelossa

MPAC 126

970.248.1457

atkinson@coloradomesa.edu

 

 

 

Dr. Monte Atkinson has been Director of Choral Activities at Mesa State College, now Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, Colorado, since 1985, where he leads an active choral area, oversees choral music education, and conducts the Colorado Mesa University Concert Choir and Chamber Choir. Choirs under his direction have performed with the Denver Chamber Orchestra, Mexico National Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, annually with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, and the Colorado Mesa University Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted the Colorado Mesa University Chamber Choir in performance throughout the United States and Canada, Europe and Great Britain.

Dr. Atkinson continues to serve as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Western Colorado Chorale, a 45-voice semi-professional choral ensemble he founded in 1985. The Western Colorado Chorale's concert series showcases choral and solo repertoire of great diversity, highlighted by their annual masterworks in which they are joined by the Grand Junction Symphony Chamber Orchestra. In addition, as chorusmaster for the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Atkinson has prepared many of the great choral works for the symphony's annual masterworks concert. Prior to his appointment at Colorado Mesa University, Dr. Atkinson served on the choral faculty at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. An accomplished pianist, he holds a Bachelors degree in choral music, piano and strings from Utah State University. His Masters in Choral Conducting and Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Music were earned at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1999 Dr. Atkinson was honored as the recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Award at Mesa State College. In February, 2008, Dr. Atkinson will make his first appearance as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall of the New England Symphony and Festival Chorus, which includes the Mesa State College Chamber Choir and Western Colorado Chorale. A long-time member of the American Choral Directors Association, Dr. Atkinson is married to flautist Gail Patten Atkinson, and continues to be in demand as an adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor.

 

MPAC 111

970.248.1960

jdelmore@coloradomesa.edu

 

 

 

Dr. Jack Delmore holds a Masters of vocal performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Arizona, Tucson. He is currently a professor of music/voice & vocal performance at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Dr. Delmore has performed such diverse chamber works as Britten’s CANTICLES, WINTER WORD’S, Schumann’s DICHTERLIEBER, Faure’s LA BONNE CHANSON, and Poulenc’s TELLE JOUR TELLE NUIT. He has also studied and performed the Russian repertoire of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and The Mighty Five as well as more obscure early 20th-Century American and British art song.

Dr. Delmore is a frequent soloist with the Grand Junction Symphony and the Western Colorado Chorale, Casper, Wyoming Symphony and the Tucson Masterworks Chorale. He has been a frequent tenor soloist with these organizations performing such works as Bach’s, B MINOR MASS, Verdi’s REQUIEM, CARMINA BURANA, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, and THE CREATION and MESSIAH. Dr. Delmore also premiered the chamber opera, IN THE SHADOW of the GLEN, by acclaimed American composer, Nancy Van de Vate – in 2001, he traveled to Vienna and Bratislava to record this same work.

As a full professor at CMU, Dr. Delmore frequently serves two active departments, Music and Theatre and has directed and/or coached many musicals, operettas, and, as of late, operas. For example, he has directed THE PIRATES of PENZANCE, MY FAIR LADY, JOSEPH and the AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, SHE LOVES ME, GUYS and DOLLS, THE MIKADO, NO, NO, NANETTE, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, Sondheim’s ASSASSINS, KISMET, and Purcell’s DIDO and AENEAS and Menotti’s, AMAHL and the NIGHT VISITORS. More recently he directed Gilbert & Sullivan’s charming fairy-tale operetta, IOLANTHE, and Samuel Barber’s, A HAND of BRIDGE and Gian Carlo Menotti’s, THE TELEPHONE, and Britten’s, NOYE’S FLUDDE (Noah’s Flood). In the Spring of 2009 Dr. Delmore directed CMU’s first fully staged opera, Mozart’s delightful singspiel, THE MAGIC FLUTE to rave reviews.

Dr. Delmore has also served as Chair or Co-chaired MSC’s Lectures & Forum Committee for almost ten years, which has sponsored countless guest lectures and special events in all disciplines and areas.

 

 

MPAC 109

970.248.1791

 

 

 

Carol Ann Niles, soprano, received her Bachelor of Music Education from St. Mary College (Kansas), and her graduate studies were at Miami University (Ohio). She was a member and soloist with Denver's Classic Chorale and performed often with the Denver Symphony Orchestra. While living in New Zealand, she recorded for the N.Z. Broadcasting Corporation. Ms. Niles has been on the voice faculty at Colorado Mesa University since 1979 and performs frequently with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra as well as the Western Colorado Chorale. She has sung numerous lead roles in both oratorio and opera. Ms. Niles maintains a large private voice studio and teaches Class Voice and directs the Women's Chorus at Colorado Mesa University. She was a member of the voice faculty at the Corsi Internazionali di Musica summer music program at the University of Urbino, Italy for four years. Ms. Niles is currently serving as the President of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) for the Colorado and Wyoming region. NATS is the largest association of singing teachers in the world and provides support and educational opportunities to university, college and private voice teachers.

 

Kathleen Ruhleder has appeared as a soloist with the Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa and Scottsdale symphonies, and with The Phoenix Chorale, The Valley Art Chorale (Phoenix) and The Valley Chamber Chorale (Phoenix). As a member of the Phoenix Chorale for ten seasons, she sang on the Grammy Award-winning Spotless Rose CD, and participated in tours across the United States. Ms. Ruhleder was a member of the Arizona Opera Chorus and the Phoenix Opera Chorus, and served as the Phoenix Vice Steward for the American Guild of Musical Artists. Ms. Ruhleder has performed in three school tours with the Arizona Opera Outreach Program, and performed several operatic roles with ASU’s Lyric Opera Theatre. She has also been an active performer of Broadway repertoire. Her favorite rolls have included Domina in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Arizona Broadway Theatre), The Mother/The Witch in Hansel and Gretel (AZ Opera Outreach) and The Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music (Broadway Palm West, 2005 and 2011). Ms. Ruhleder is a graduate of California State University at Northridge and Arizona State University, and teaches voice at Colorado Mesa University.

Dr. Christopher McKim, B.M. –Vocal Performance, Wichita State University; M.M. – Music Theatre, Arizona State University; and D.M.A. – Vocal Performance and Pedagogy, University of Colorado-Boulder, is currently an instructor of Voice at Colorado Mesa University. There he also directs Opera scenes and does some music directing for the Theatre department. He has previously been the head of the voice area at the University of Puget Sound, and has been a member of the vocal faculty at Metropolitan State College in Denver. While in Denver he also performed with St. Martin’s Chamber Choir. In Grand Junction he has performed with the Western Colorado Chorale, High Desert Opera, Creative Avenues Theatre Project, and has Music Directed at Grand Junction High School.

Dr. McKim has performed and trained extensively in Music Theatre, enjoying well over thirty different professional productions. He enjoys working in the various styles of Musical Theatre; performing shows by Jerome Kern, Gershwin, Cole Porter, standards by Rogers & Hammerstein, and Frank Loesser, as well as more contemporary works such as Forever Plaid, Secret Garden, Cats, and Tom Alonzo’s Phantom of the Opera. Since Musical Theatre continues to develop stylistically, Dr. McKim considers himself a continuing student of musicals: learning, performing, and teaching as new shows are written.

An experienced interpreter of Opera and Operetta, Dr. McKim has performed in France with the Lyrique en Mer festival at Belle-Ile, as well as opera companies in Colorado, Arizona, Kansas, and Maine. He has performed operatic stage works ranging from Monteverdi to Mozart as well as many contemporary works. Some highlights include the Mozart roles of Papageno and Figaro, and premiers of two American operatic roles: Billy Blythe (Bill Clinton) in the opera Billy Blythe by Bonnie Montgomery and Florentino Ralston in Sara McKinnon by Mark Medoff and Randall Shinn. Dr. McKim also performs extensively in the genre of operetta, and holds a great fondness for the shows by Gilbert & Sullivan – particularly The Mikado, Patience, and The Gondoliers.

When not on the stage, Dr. McKim is an accomplished recitalist and concert singer. His recitals cover a wide variety of literature, but he is most dedicated to presenting Romantic German Lied and the art songs of 20th century American and British composers. He often sings in concert, having performed the Requiems of Faure and Brahms, and Orff’s Carmina Burana among others.

Dr. McKim truly enjoys the creation and sharing of art that is teaching. He was honored by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) when he was included in their Teaching Intern program, working under master–teacher Donald Simonson. Dr. McKim also works with students and colleagues though stage directing or music directing. He has directed numerous successful productions of full shows and scenes programs. Educational outreach is an important part of Dr. McKim’s mission. He has appeared in over 75 performances of full “childrens operas” such as Hansel & Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Help, Help the Globolinks!. During his three years as a member of Central City Opera’s Education and Outreach program he performed for thousands of schoolchildren throughout Colorado. He frequently presents master classes and workshops for High School and College age performers. He is available for master classes, adjudicating, pre-competition screening, and workshops on coping with stage fright and stage presentation skills.

MPAC 130

970.248.1069

ahoule@coloradomesa.edu

 

 

Dr. Arthur Houle is Professor of Music and Director of Keyboard Studies at Colorado Mesa University as well as the founder and director of the Festival for Creative Pianists. He is in frequent demand as a clinician, adjudicator and performer, both as a soloist and collaborator. Houle holds degrees from the University of Massachussets-Lowell, New England Conservatory and the University of Iowa. A frequent presenter for national and regional professional conferences, he was the only pianist to be invited to perform twice, to critical acclaim, in the 1995 International Chopin Music Festival. He has given coast-to-coast lecture/recitals and master classes for various teacher organizations and schools. Frequent radio airings include two live interview/performances on NPR's "Eklektikos" program for KUT-Austin, TX - once to perform original jazz trio compositions, and a second appearance to perform and discuss the music of Chopin. His chamber music collaborations include performances with the Langroise Trio, Copley Chamber Players, and renowned soloists such as cellist Dennis Parker, whose Carnegie Recital Hall debut with Houle was critically acclaimed. Houle's Chopin Nocturnes CD features live performances with authentic variants, along with original variants as Chopin might have done. Other CDs feature lesser-known cello/piano repertory and the music of contemporary composers. Cowboy Jazz, Dr. Houle's collection of original piano solos for intermediate level students, was published in November, 2008 by the Hal Leonard Corporation, the largest sheet music publishers in the world. Houle was a frequent contributor to Piano & Keyboard and has also written for Clavier, Clavier Companion, Piano Quarterly, Piano Today, American Record Guide, The College Music Society Newsletter, The Piano Adventures Teacher FJH Pedagogy Newsletter, North Dakota Music Educator Journal, Arkansas Music Educator Journal ("Segue"), and the IMEA's Idaho Music Notes. Houle wrote a regular interview column for American Music Teacher from 2004 to 2007. Houle's principal piano teacher was Leonard Shure; chamber music coaches included Eugene Lehner, Colin Carr, Benjamin Zander and Victor Rosenbaum. A studio piano teacher since the age of 13, Houle taught previously at the New England & Boston Conservatories, the Universities of Iowa, North Dakota & Texas-Austin, and, most recently, at the College of Idaho (formerly Albertson College). For downloadable full vita and recordings, please see at bottom www.pianofestival.org/arthoule.htm.

 

MPAC

970.241.3953

 

 

 

Philip Wyse was born and raised in Managua, Nicaragua. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Denison University and his Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. He has been a college music professor in Kentucky and in South Dakota. For over fifteen years he has been a member of the piano faculty of the International Music Camp in the Peace Gardens of North Dakota and Manitoba. Mr. Wyse is also a harpsichordist and has toured the Dakotas and Wyoming under the auspices of the South Dakota Arts Council. He recently performed with the Grand Junction Symphony Chamber Orchestra at the Avalon Theatre. Mr. Wyse teaches piano privately, accompanies voice students, and teaches Harpsichord at Colorado Mesa University. He is organist at the First Presbyterian Church.

 

 

 

 

 

Laine Cross, piano, attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and San Diego State University (CA). She was instructor of piano at the University of Redlands (CA), where she also accompanied the University Singers. She has taught piano in Grand Junction for many years. Currently, she teaches private piano lessons and is a staff accompanist at Colorado Mesa University.

 

Misty Sothers received her BA degree in Piano Performance from Bethany College in Kansas, and her MM degree in Piano Pedagogy from Butler University in Indiana.  She has been an adjunct faculty member at McPherson College, Bethany College, and Butler University, as well as an instructor for the Indianapolis Piano Academy and the world-renowned Indianapolis Children's Choir. Ms. Sothers has collaborated with artists in the International Society of Bassists Symposium and the NATS Award Artist Competition Finals.  Currently she accompanies the Schumann Singers and Messiah Choral Society along with guest artists, faculty, and students at Mesa State.  In addition to accompanying, Misty also teaches piano at Colorado Mesa University and operates her own private studio.

 

Douglas Morrow is a Colorado native and has spent many years performing and teaching on the Western Slope. He studied at the University of Northern Colorado and Mesa State College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music, with an emphasis in piano performance. He is active as a soloist, collaborative pianist, teacher, chamber musician and music theatre pianist. He is a versatile performer that is comfortable in many different and varied styles of music and has performed throughout much of the western United States. Currently he is a freelance musician and maintains a private teaching studio, as well as working with the Colorado Mesa University music and theatre departments.

 

Brita Fay, pianist, holds her Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music (summa cum laude), and Bachelor’s degree from California State University, Fullerton (summa cum laude), with additional human biology studies at Biola University. Fay is the winner of numerous awards and competitions in Los Angeles, New York City, and Western Europe, and is equally at home as a soloist, adjudicator, collaborator, clinician, and pedagogue. Brita’s writings and performances of Camille Saint-Saëns Op. 22 Concerto have received critical acclaim, both in New York and Colorado. Fay was the subject of a music education film sponsored by the Chinese Government, and has served as a collaborator for demo projects at Universal Studios, Los Angeles. She received the Distinguished Performance Award at Competition Internationalé of Santa Fe, recently premiered a duo-piano work by composer Yoni Levyatov on National Public Radio (NYC), and has appeared locally with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra. Constance Keene hails Brita’s playing, "A wonderful experience to hear such a professional performer, one full of integrity and verve." Brita’s pedagogy studies were under Martha Baker-Jordan and Dennis Alexander (Alfred Publishing Company); new music studies with Anthony De Mare; chamber coaches include Renato Premezzi (Michelangeli's prodigy), Arkady Aronov, Hakän Rosengren, Andras Diaz, Phillip Kawin, Jeffrey Coehn, and Paul Posnak. Brita’s primary teachers were Larry Graham, Eduardo Delgado, Marc Silverman, and George Kern (Mozarteum, Salzburg); summer festivals include Corsi Internationali Di Musica (Urbino, Italy), and University of Miami’s School of Music at Salzburg. In addition to accompanying and teaching piano at Mesa State College, Brita is the founder of Sera Schools (www.seraschools.com), which serves students in the Vail Valley and Mesa County with after-school and early childhood music programs.

 

Andrea Arese-Elías born in Cordoba, Argentina, has performed extensively as a solo and chamber musician
in countries which include Argentina, Mexico, El Salvador, Japan, Bulgaria, and the United States. As a chamber
musician she has collaborated with renowned artists such as Andres Cardenes, Stephen Balderston, Robert
Spring, Rafael Figueroa and Susan Salm. She has performed as a soloist with the Cordoba Symphony Orchestra (Argentina), the Pleven Symphony Orchestra (Bulgaria), Cincinnati’s Philharmonia Orchestra, Symphony in the Valley and the Grand Junction Symphony, among others. She has won many awards, prizes, and scholarships. Among them, J. S. Bach National Piano Competition (Argentina), Trelew’s National Piano Competition, Cordoba’s Municipal Orchestra Concerto Competition, Buenos Aires’ Citibank Chamber Music Scholarship, Cincinnati Three Arts Scholarship, University of Cincinnati Graduate Scholarship, Cordoba University Prize, and Cordoba Rotary Club Prize. As a winner of the Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition, she was invited to play under the baton of the world-famous Spanish conductor Jesus Lopez Cobos. Andrea Arese-Elias made her recital debut at age eleven and her orchestral debut at fourteen with the Cordoba National Symphony Orchestra of Argentina. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree with honors from the National University of Cordoba and completed her Master and Doctoral degrees in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, where studied with Rudolph Serkin’s protegé, Eugene Pridonoff. She has also participated in numerous workshops and masterclasses with eminent pianists such as Rosalyn Tureck, Gerhard Oppitz, Elizabeth Pridonoff, James Tocco, Sandra Rivers, and Alfonso Montecino. In Argentina she studied with pianists Dante Medina, Roberto Castro, and Irene Timacheff de Gabetta. Her chamber music studies include masterclasses with members of the Tokyo and Lasalle String Quartets, and the Camerata Bariloche of Buenos Aires. She has taught piano at the National University of Cordoba, University of Cincinnati Preparatory Department, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado. She has participated in numerous music festivals including the Western Slope Music Festival in Crested Butte, Music in the Mountains in Durango, and most recently, in the International Festival of Contemporary Music in El Salvador. She has also been a piano faculty member and collaborative pianist of the Conservatory Music in the Mountains since 2006. Dr. Arese-Elias frequently performs concerts with her husband, violinist Carlos Elias as part of the Elias Duo. Together they made their New York debut at Carnegie Hall in 2002. Their recent CD, Let’s Tango, was awarded Best of the Best on eMusic in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. In addition she is a founding member of Mesa State College’s resident ensemble “Piano Trio Las Americas” since 2000.

 

Dr. Monte Atkinson also assists in the piano area. See his biography under the vocal area.