Faculty & Staff

Music Program Head
FA 312C
sanderk@nku.edu
(859) 572-6922

Kurt Sander's compositions have been performed in 15 countries on five different continents. Much of his choral and instrumental work takes its inspiration from the sublime dimensions of the Eastern Orthodox faith and the richness of its artistic traditions.​

His sacred choral work has been recorded and performed by professional ensembles throughout the world including Cappella Romana, the Kastalsky Choir (RUS), the Cincinnati Camerata, the Cantata Singers of Ottawa (CAN), the St. Romanos Cappella, the Clarion Choir, Archangel Voices, the Patriarch Tikhon Choir, and The Orthodox Singers (RUS) and the PaTRAM Institute Singers.

In 2017, he received a commission by the Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute (PaTRAM) for a new English-language setting of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. This 90-minute work was recorded by the PaTRAM Institute Singers under the direction of Peter Jermihov and released as a 2 CD set on Reference Recordings label in 2019. The CD of this work was nominated for a Grammy in 2020 under the "Best Choral Album" category.

Sander was one of five featured composers on the collaborative composition "Heaven and Earth" which was commissioned by the St. John of Damascus Society and will be recorded in 2021 by the renowned choral ensemble Cappella Romana under the direction of Michael Boyer. The CD is scheduled for international release in 2022 on the Cappella Recordings label.

Sander has also acquired notoriety for his chamber and orchestral writing. He was recently named a finalist in the American Prize for his song cycle "Ella's Song" about the life of St. Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia. Other instrumental works have been performed by the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the Brasov Philharmonic (Romania), the Pleven Philharmonic (Bulgaria), the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Synchronia, the Corbett Trio, the Solaris Wind Quintet, and the St. Petersburg Quartet.

​Sander currently serves as Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition at Northern Kentucky University. He holds degrees in composition from Northwestern University, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Cleveland State University where he studied with Bain Murray, Alan Stout, Rudolph Bubalo, and Andrew Imbrie.

Sander's music is published through Musica Russica and Media Press, Inc.

Music Program Advisor
FA 337
brummerj1@nku.edu
(859) 572-5902

Director of Music Preparatory Division
FA 368
attarh1@nku.edu
(859) 572-5649

Programs and Production Assistant
FA 205
deatona3@nku.edu
(859) 572-6362

Greaves Concert Hall Coordinator
FA 238
malesevick1@nku.edu
(859) 572-5901

Box Office Manager
FA 259
mcnayr1@nku.edu
(859) 572-5809

Associate Teaching Professor
Director of Choral Studies
FA 365
bartonm2@nku.edu
(859) 572-1376

Professor Katie Barton is the Director of Choral Studies at Northern Kentucky University and conductor of the Northern Chorale, Women’s Choir, and Chamber Choir. She also teaches courses in ensemble accompanying and conducting, as well as applied organ. This academic year is her 14^th year at NKU.

She earned her Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Arts in Teaching degrees from the University of Louisville where she studied choral conducting with Dr. Kent Hatteberg, piano with Dr. Brenda Kee, organ with Melvin Dickinson, and voice with Edith Davis Tidwell. She taught choral music for eight years at Lloyd Memorial High School and Tichenor Middle School in Erlanger, Kentucky. During this time, she served as district choral chair and festival manager for the Northern Kentucky district. She has frequently performed with area high schools as an accompanist for concerts, solo and ensemble competition, and choral festivals.

Under her direction, the NKU Women’s Choir was chosen as a performance group for the 2020 KMEA State Conference and the NKU Chamber Choir was invited to perform in New York City at Carnegie Hall in June 2022. In May 2024, the Chamber Choir will be traveling to Europe to sing in London, England and Edinbugh, Scotland.

Professor Barton has served as accompanist for the Kentucky High School All-State Choirs as well as the Kentucky All-Collegiate Choir since 2009, and is currently in her third year as the College and University Repertoire and Resources Chair for the Kentucky American Choral Directors Association.

Guest conducting invitations have included the Northern Kentucky 5^th Grade Honor Choir in 2016, the D13 High School Honor Choir in Kings Mills, Ohio, in 2020, and the District 6 7^th/8^th Grade Honor Choir in March 2022. Upcoming events include the District 6 Junior High Treble Honor Choir and a “Come and Sing” event with the Northern Kentucky Community Chorus in April 2024.

In the spring of 2018, she was named the Outstanding University Clinical Educator for NKU. She was also named the College/University teacher of the year for District 6 of the Kentucky Music Educators Association in 2018, 2020, and 2022.

In 2004, she auditioned and was chosen to participate in the Robert Shaw Chorale Workshop in New York City, culminating in a performance at Carnegie Hall.

Active in church music ministry, she is currently the Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Mary Parish in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is also the director of the Diocesan Choir of the Diocese of Covington at the Cathedral Basilica. Her choral composition, “Victimae Paschali Laudes,” is published with GIA Publications.

She serves on a national committee for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians and is also a member of the American Guild of Organists, American Choral Directors Association, and the National Association for Music Education.

Visiting Teaching Professor
Voice
FA 360
wallacejo@nku.edu
(859) 572-5157

Dr. Joy Burdette, dramatic soprano, is in her twenty-third year as a professor of voice at Northern Kentucky University. She has performed opera, oratorio, and various concert works regionally and internationally. Her operatic roles include Leonore in Il Trovatore, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Vanessa in Vanessa, Mrs. Maurrant in Street Scenes, Magda in The Consul, and Mother in Hänsel und Gretel. Joy has performed various roles, as well as professional chorus work, with Opera Theatre of Lucca, Italy, Cincinnati Opera, Kentucky Opera, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the University of Louisville School of Music. Joy has performed concert works with the Opera Theatre of Lucca, Italy, Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestra, Lebanon Symphony Orchestra, Voices of the Commonwealth, University of Louisville, University of Virginia, Northern Kentucky University, Hartnell Chorus, and the Northern Kentucky Community Chorus. Joy presents recitals and masterclasses regularly, and is in demand as an adjudicator.

A regular with Cincinnati Opera, she has been a member of the company’s professional chorus for twenty years and is often featured as a soloist in outreach events and chorus showcase concerts.

Equally comfortable in the field of musical theatre, Joy has taught in the theatre departments of Xavier University and Northern Kentucky University. She is the past music director for the NKU Preparatory Department’s Mainstage Theatre Company.

Joy earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Louisville School of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from the University of the Cumberlands (Williamsburg, Kentucky).

In the summers of 2012 and 2019, Joy spent five weeks teaching music courses in Salzburg, Austria as part of the Kentucky Institute of International Studies.

Joy is a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She is married to Tony, also a singer, and they have two children, Calia and Benjamin. They reside in the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati area.

Part-Time Faculty
Music Theory & Aural Skills
burdickc1@nku.edu

Carl Burdick is a part-time faculty member at NKU, teaching music theory and aural skills. He holds a PhD and MM in music theory from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, and a BM in trumpet from Syracuse University. Dr. Burdick has previously taught music theory and aural skills at Hofstra University, Hunter College, the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and the University of Cincinnati. He is a dedicated teacher and researcher who seeks both to help his students develop their personal creative and critical minds, and to broaden the diversity of music, musicians, and musical concepts that are considered worthy of study in the college music curriculum.

Dr. Burdick’s research areas include 20th-century compositional practice, metaphor and embodiment as they relate to both perception of and the ways we write about musical time, and the early symphonies of Joseph Haydn. He has presented research in these areas at regional, national, and international conferences. While researching his dissertation, he was awarded the Presser Graduate Music Award, allowing him to travel to Vienna and study archival documents pertaining to Haydn’s musical upbringing. His current creative work includes developing materials from his dissertation on the sonata-fugue hybrid in Haydn’s early symphonies, as well as beginning a research project on the intersection of race, disability, and time in the writings and music of JJJJJerome Ellis, who describes himself as “an animal, artist, and proud stutterer.”

Dr. Burdick has played trumpet in the orchestras for many amateur and community musical theater productions in the Cincinnati area over the past decade. He is an avid birder, ultrarunner, gardener, sourdough baker, and general advocate for time spent outside.

Part-Time Faculty
Aural Skills, Music History
buzzas1@nku.edu

Scot Buzza has had an international performing career over the past two decades, including solo appearances with orchestras in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and Venezuela. In 1987, he was appointed principal violist of the Tokyo Philharmonic and in 1990, he became soloist-principal violist of the Chamber Orchestra of Barcelona, Spain.

As a chamber musician, Mr. Buzza has performed worldwide, and his recitals have been broadcast on Radio France, PBS, Radio Amsterdam, Tokyo NHK and Radio Catalunya (Spain). In the United States, he has performed regularly with both the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Part-Time Faculty
Music Appreciation
cabezasv1@nku.edu

Victor Cabezas is a contemporary composer, hornist, pianist, and singer based in Cincinnati, Ohio. His music has been described as “incredibly inventive” with “vivid soundscapes”. His acoustic and electronic works have been selected for performance at Bowling Green State University, SPLICE Institute, and the International Horn Society Symposium. In addition to his compositional endeavors, he is an experienced performer and teacher. He has performed with both the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and Toledo Symphony Youth Orchestras and is a winner of the 2020 Concerto Competition at Northern Kentucky University. He is currently on faculty at Northern Kentucky University as an adjunct professor and the Assistant Director of the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. He holds a B.M. in Music Composition from Northern Kentucky University and an M.M. in Music Composition from Bowling Green State University. 

Part-Time Faculty
Double Bass
carterb18@nku.edu

Brenton Carter, a native of Winchester, Illinois, is the Acting Principal Bass of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra. He is an active freelance bassist performing with many orchestras in the region including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.

Brenton holds a Masters of Music and an Artist Diploma from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he studied with Owen Lee. He has also studied with Rachel Calin, Kurt Muroki, Lawrence Hurst, Tim Pitts, Nicolas Crosse, Max Dimoff, and Stephen Lester.

When he’s not teaching, practicing, or performing, Brenton likes to spend his time biking, hiking, and running.

Part-Time Faculty
Opera Workshop
chaita1@nku.edu

Audrey Chait is a director, writer, and producer of opera and theater. In the 2019-2020 season, Ms. Chait directed The Bartered Bride and the North American premiere of Dark Star Requiem, both at CCM, and La fille du regiment for Winter Opera St. Louis. Due to COVID-19, her 2020 productions at Tri-Cities Opera, Westminster Choir College, and Opera Las Vegas were cancelled. In summer 2020, Ms. Chait joined the prestigious Merola Opera Program. Ms. Chait’s production of L’elisir d’amore for Winter Opera St. Louis was nominated for a St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Best Opera. Other recent credits include Dinner at Eight and the Bach St. John Passion for CCM, La cenerentola with Opera Las Vegas, Scalia/Ginsburg with Opera North, and Magic Flute Outreach Tour with Kentucky Opera. Ms. Chait holds a BA in Literary Arts from Brown University and an Artist Diploma from CCM. She is a 2019 recipient of the NOA JoElyn Wakefield-Wright Stage Director Fellowship.

Part-Time Faculty
Jazz/Commercial Guitar, Arranging, and Music Technology
colemanb8@nku.edu

Having been called a “wonderful composer” and “sophisticated player” as well as “one of the most unique guitar voices to emerge over the last decade”, Brandon Coleman is an on-the-rise and in-demand performer in the world of creative guitar playing.

Based out of Cincinnati, OH, Coleman performs and composes music that is intricate, personal, and cinematic, inspired by his musical idols and his roots in the Appalachian mountains.

Coleman regularly performs with his own groups, Brandon Coleman Trio and Quartet, fusion powerhouse Spherical Agenda, renowned saxophonist Randy Villars, Sam Blakeslee Quintet and Large Ensembles, Grammy-Nominated Dan Pugach Nonet, and jam-rock band Miller.

Coleman has performed at notable venues including – but not limited to – Smalls, The Blue Wisp Jazz Club, Caffe Vivace, Bop Stop, BluJazz+, Bar Next Door at La Lanterna, 55 Bar, Club Bonafide, The Jazz Estate, Cliff Bell's, Rudy's Jazz Room, Jimmy Can't Dance and Merriman’s Playhouse. His festival appearances include the Loja Jazz Festival (2012) in Loja, Ecuador, the 2014 CBGB Festival in NYC, and the 2014 and 2016 Columbus Jazz & Rib Fests.

As a recording artist, Coleman has appeared on numerous commercially available albums, as well as recording for TV/Film such as the soundtrack to DC Comics’ Legends of Tomorrow.

As a clinician, Coleman has performed masterclasses for universities throughout the Americas including, among others, UNAH-VS (San Pedro Sula, Honduras), UNAH (Tegucigalpa, Honduras), UDLA (Quito, Ecuador), Universidad de Loja (Loja, Ecuador), West Virginia State University, Morehead State University, University of Virginia, and Belmont University.

Part-Time Faculty
Music Education
combsj15@nku.edu

Judy Yelton Combs is a graduate of NKU and thrilled to return as faculty. She had a full career in the elementary music classroom, with children's choirs, drama clubs and dulcimer ensembles. Judy has a heart for individuals with challenges and represented KMEA District #6 Special Learners in Music on a local and state level. Mrs Combs married her NKU sweetheart, Curt, and resides in Pendleton County.

Part-Time Faculty
Jazz Piano
connerleyj1@nku.edu

Pianist Jim Connerley has been an active member of the Cincinnati and surrounding tri-state jazz community since 1990. He graduated magna cum laude with a master's degree from the Indiana University School of Music. He has performed with such internationally known jazz artists as Barry Ries, Don Braden, Antonio Hart, David "Fathead" Newman, Rich Perry and Delfeayo Marsalis. Since moving to the Cincinnati area, he has been a member of some of its finest jazz groups, including the Pat Harbison Quintet, the Cohesion Jazz Ensemble, the salsa band, Tropicoso, the Brent Gallaher Quartet and the Dan Faehnle Quartet. Currently, he is a member of the Art Gore Quartet, the John Zappa trio and the Gary Gorrell Quartet.

Along with his own jazz trio and quintet, Jim also leads the United Methodist Jazz trio, an exciting group who performs jazz treatments of gospel songs, hymns and spirituals. Their album, Spirit Songs, re-released in 2006, received critical acclaim from both jazz and liturgical circles. Music critic Larry Nager of the Cincinnati Enquirer gave the album 4-½ stars and called it "music of the highest level."

He also leads the Vintage Keys Project, a group dedicated to music showcasing the Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos. The group performs classic arrangements by artists such as Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Cannonball Adderley and Dave Douglas, as well as originals and original arrangements by members of the band.

Jim has appeared on over twenty CDs, including the recent releases Frequency by vibraphonist Rusty Burge (2009), his own release of Private Party: A Collection of Jazz Duos (2010), featuring six of Cincinnati's finest jazz artists, including guitarist Dan Faehnle, vibraphonist Rusty Burge and vocalist Ann Chamberlain, and the 2012 release of Not Too Slow, Not Too Fast by drummer John Zappa.

Part-Time Faculty
FA 128
culliganm1@nku.edu
(859) 572-5421

Michael Culligan was appointed Associate Principal Percussionist of the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestras by Louis Langree in 2015, Michael is from Glen Ellyn, Illinois. After receiving a Bachelors in Science in Music Education from Duquesne University where he studied with Pittsburgh Symphony percussionists Chris Allen and Andrew Reamer, Michael earned his Master of Music at Temple University under the tutelage of Alan Abel, Chris Deviney, and Angie Nelson. Following post-graduate work with Jeremy Branson and Ed Stephan at Duquesne, Michael was appointed 2nd percussion in the West Virginia Symphony and Canton Symphony. From 2010-2015, he performed as a regular extra in the Pittsburgh Symphony, including several tours with performances at Carnegie Hall, the BBC Proms, and the Berlin Philharmonie, among others.

Part-Time Faculty
Applied Flute
douglasb@nku.edu

Ms. Douglas is a dynamic and versatile performer with an extensive background in orchestral and chamber music. She served as the 3rd flute/piccolo with the Lexington Philharmonic for six years and as the 2nd flute with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in South Carolina. Internationally, she has performed with orchestras in France and Austria. Locally, she plays with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony, and Richmond Symphony (IN). She also performed with the innovative chamber group, School House Symphony, for seven years. Renowned for her piccolo playing, Ms. Douglas is a winner of the National Flute Association’s Piccolo Competition. Her wind quintet, the Antares Quintet, was awarded a year-long NEA residency in Kansas, where they performed over 100 concerts.

In addition to her work at Northern Kentucky University, Ms. Douglas has taught at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Morehead State University, Earlham College, Thomas More University, and the UC-CCM Preparatory Department. She has trained in Suzuki Pedagogy and maintains a substantial private studio. Ms. Douglas holds a Master of Music Degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the State University of New York at Potsdam

Part-Time Faculty
Oboe
farrb2@nku.edu

Bonnie Farr is a freelance oboist with an active performing career throughout the Midwest. She is the Principal Oboe of the Lexington Philharmonic, and plays both oboe and English horn in the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic, Owensboro Symphony, and Richmond Symphony. She is also a frequent guest musician in the Louisville Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, and Fort Wayne Philharmonic, among others. A committed pedagogue, she serves as oboe faculty at Northern Kentucky University and Ohio Northern University, and maintains a private studio at her home in Cincinnati. She also holds a yoga certification from the Association for Yoga and Meditation in Rishikesh, India, and specializes in teaching “Yoga and Meditation for Musicians.” Bonnie grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, and earned her BM and MM degrees at Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music studying with Mark Ostoich.

Part-Time Faculty
Music Education
gatewoods1@nku.edu

Shana Gatewood received her Bachelors in Music Education from Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, KY and Masters of Music Education from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, IL. Gatewood taught for five years in Atwood, IL, grades 5-12 band, including beginning band, JH band, and HS band (Concert, Marching, & Pep Band). She has been teaching music classes at Gateway Community & Technical College since January 2012 and Northern Kentucky University in the Music Education area since August 2015.

Gatewood is originally from St. Louis, MO but currently resides in Florence, KY. She is married to fellow musician and former Twenhofel Band Director AJ Gatewood. They have three children. She has played trumpet for 25+ years, toured Brazil with the Campbellsville University Jazz Band, and has even met and performed with the rock band Chicago in a live concert. Currently, Gatewood plays for Florence Baptist Church on Mt Zion in the Praise Band, leads Preschool Praise, and teaches private Trumpet and Horn lessons for local music students.

Assistant Professor
Associate Professor, String Area Coordinator, Director of Orchestras, Applied Cello
FA 364
gillinghaa1@nku.edu
(859) 572-1568

Amy Gillingham Culligan is a multi-faceted artist dedicated to leveraging her roles to advance, empower, and inspire others. She holds the Corbett Endowed Principal of Strings distinction at Northern Kentucky University where she serves as Associate Professor of Strings (Cello) and Director of Orchestras.

Dr. Culligan has dedicated a significant part of her career to creating accessible string education opportunities for youth and college students. She has written and received over $200,000 in grant awards for outreach and creative endeavors, co-founded the nationally recognized NKU String Project, and went on to help start and cultivate over 40 String Project sites across the United States. Dr. Culligan has served as Executive Director of the 501(c)3 National String Project Consortium, is currently President of the Kentucky American String Teachers Association, and National Chair of the American String Teachers Association Student Advisory Committee.

As a performer, Dr. Culligan balances a meaningful variety of creative projects as a conductor and cellist. She is a collaborative conductor with the Los Angeles Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, which led to her Walt Disney Concert Hall debut in 2022, and regularly guest conducts with a variety of youth and honor orchestras. Her work as a conductor and educator has been featured in a national PBS documentary. As a cellist, she has over 50 published and internationally distributed recordings with labels including Sony Entertainment, Mark Records, Universal Music Group, Crossroads Music Group, and Legend that have streaming reach into the millions. Dr. Culligan enjoys working with a diverse group of artistic collaborators from classical to country to gospel, and has collaborated with artists including Amy Grant, Lecrae, Rayne Johnson, eighth blackbird, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Carlos Nakai, and Michael W. Smith. She has performed on national tours of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Josh Groban, and Michael W. Smith. Dr. Culligan enjoys a diverse array of music but has a particular soft spot for the Haydn cello concertos and wrote a book entitled, Cultivating Perception, about Haydn’s musical patterns and audience expectations.

A proud product of a public-school education, she started the cello at 6:30 a.m. in a before-school program and went on to earn a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) degree from North Carolina School of the Arts and both a Master of Music (M.M.) and Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Dr. Culligan has received national and regional awards for her teaching, creativity, and service, and credits the feedback, encouragement, and wisdom or many incredible teachers who invested in her. Prior to her appointment at Northern Kentucky University, she held faculty positions at Indiana Wesleyan University and the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.

Although music and the arts are a significant part of Dr. Culligan’s life, she is also an avid runner, loves to cook, and has many outside passions that align with her overall vision of living a compelling life that empowers and inspires others. Fervent in the belief that your past circumstances do not have to determine your future, she has a heart and passion for foster care, and is a licensed foster and adoptive parent. She is married to Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Associate Principal Percussionist, Michael Culligan, and together they get to parent awesome children and a lot of cats.

Part-Time Faculty
Percussion, Steel Band
ginnw1@nku.edu

Stan Ginn is a drummer/percussionist in Cincinnati. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in percussion performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Since then, he has studied privately with teachers in New York City, San Francisco, and Havana, Cuba. He has performed and/or recorded with a wide variety of artists, including Louie Bellson, Mary Wilson and the Supremes, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Pan Ramajay, Dr. Loco's Rockin' Jalapeño Band, Songo, Janet Pressley, Bailando Desnudo, Donna Summer, Monk, Phil Hawkins, the 4Track All-Stars, and many more. He can currently be seen with Phil Degreg's Brasilia, Dave Hawkins and Celtic Core, blues guitarist Noah Wotherspoon, and his groups Pancaribbean and Mambo Diablo.

In addition to his performance career, Stan has also been involved in music education for over 20 years, teaching private and group lessons and providing educational programs in schools. His current educational show is entitled Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, in which he teaches kids to drum on buckets, barrels, and car parts.

When not performing or teaching, Stan is usually hanging out with his lovely wife Kerry and their three amazing boys.

Part-Time Faculty
Jazz/Commercial Trombone
grangerz1@nku.edu

Zachary Granger was born in Columbus, Ohio, and began playing the trombone in the ninth grade as part of his public school jazz program. After taking trombone lessons with local guitarist and former trombonist, Jim Pelz, Zachary was changed forever by recordings of Frank Rosolino and J.J. Johnson. Zachary decided at the age of 14 that making music every day of his life was top priority and has since evolved into a renowned trombone soloist and freelance musician. Zachary's trademark as a trombonist is the beauty of his sound, stellar technique, and deep emotional connection to the music. With an ever-growing mastery of the instrument and extensive knowledge of jazz harmony, Zachary has distinguished himself as one of the pre-eminent musicians in Cincinnati, Ohio and the surrounding tri-state area, not only in the realm of jazz and improvisation, but performing some of the more difficult music in the commercial music world as well.

Zachary is a fixture in the recording studios, the big band music scene and is highly sought after by many musical groups in Cincinnati and touring acts. Zachary studied under Marc Fields, a trombonist who worked with the great Ray Charles Orchestra, for nearly 8 years. Zachary has performed and recorded with Bobby Broom, William Menefield, Brian Newman, Sam Blakeslee, Steve Kortyka, Rufus Ried, Jeff Hamilton, The Legends Show and John Von Ohlen up until his recent passing.

Part-time Faculty
Applied French Horn and Music Theory
hannonj4@nku.edu

Dr. Josh Hannon serves as Adjunct Professor of Horn at Northern Kentucky University where he runs the NKU horn studio, teaches applied horn lessons, and teaches additional courses in music theory. Prior to his appointment at NKU, he served as instructor of horn at Earlham College. 

Dr. Hannon is an active contributor to the International Horn Society giving clinics and presentations at regional workshops and international symposia. Dr. Hannon is the author of Trailhead: a Horn Method, which serves as a pedagogical resource for horn players and music educators across the nation and focuses on making the journey of learning the horn approachable and fun. 

On stage, Dr. Hannon has performed as a soloist, orchestral musician, and chamber musician across the United States and in Europe. He performed backup for artists like Ne-Yo and Josh Groban, and has performed with multiple ensembles including the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Richmond (IN) Symphony Orchestra, and the Evansville Philharmonic.

Dr. Hannon has served as a clinician for various middle and high school clinics including the 2020 ASBOA All-Region clinic, Missouri State Band and Orchestra UMKC audition clinic, and has worked with band programs in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas. He has served as the social media coordinator for the International Horn Society and has served on the board of directors for the Kansas City Horn Club. 

Dr. Hannon earned his DMA from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music ('24), his Master's in Horn Performance from the University of Missouri- Kansas City ('20), and his Bachelor's in Music Education from the University of Arkansas ('18). He has formally studied with Denise Tryon, Margaret Tung, Marty Hackleman, and Tim Thompson." 

Associate Professor
Aural Skills Coordinator, Violin
FA 369
herzogw1@nku.edu
(859) 572-5958

Violinist William Herzog is an accomplished performer of solo and chamber music and a devoted educator. His performances and recordings range from Beethoven and Bach, to Ysaye, Lutoslawski and improvised music for violin and steel drum. Herzog has taught violin to students of all ages, from beginners to accomplished career violinists.

Dr. Herzog’s performing career began early, with him winning a coveted seat in the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra at the age of 10, the youngest musician ever admitted. He went on to produce and star in a yearly concert series at the age of 14, which garnered him appearances on TVOntario and CBC radio. Since then, William has concertized across the continent, including performances at Roy Thompson Hall (Toronto, Ontario), Maureen Forester Hall (Waterloo, Ontario), Kodak Hall (Rochester, NY), The South African Embassy (Washington, DC), and the Gordon Center (Baltimore, MD), and worked with renowned composers and performers, including James Ehnes, Christian Tetzlff, Rachel Barton-Pine, Franz Welser-Möst, Ryan Chase, and Shulamit Ran. Throughout his career, Dr. Herzog has been recognized with numerous awards, including a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, second prize in the Samuel and Elinor Thaivu competition in Chicago, the Penderecki String Quartet Chamber Music Prize, and first prize in the Wilfrid Laurier University concerto competition. He has also been the recipient of notable scholarships, receiving the Buxton Fellowship and C.C. Barsh scholarship at the Eastman School of music as well as the Premiere Young Artist Award at Indiana University.

An established pedagogue, Dr. Herzog has been praised for “his deep understanding of the technical, psychological, and emotional aspects of violin-playing, and his ability to communicate this knowledge clearly and empathetically” (Will Ejzak, former student). This engaging and creative pedagogical style have given rise to an article published in the peer-reviewed journal American String Teacher, and earned him invitations to present at the American String Teacher’s Association national conference for the past two years.

Dr. Herzog received his Doctor of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music with an advanced certificate in college teaching and a Performer’s certificate. Prior to his work at Eastman, he received his Master’s degree from Northwestern University and his Undergraduate from Indiana University.

Part-Time Faculty
Piano, Class Piano
hickmanm2@nku.edu

Melinda Hickman teaches Applied Piano and Class Piano at Northern Kentucky University. Originally from Las Cruces, New Mexico, Melinda Hickman began piano lessons at age seven. As a teenager, she was a soloist several times with the Las Cruces Civic Symphony. She started her own piano teaching studio at the age of 14, which continues to this day. For college, she moved to Arizona, then to Cincinnati, teaching music in various forms along the way. At the College-Conservatory of Music she earned three degrees in piano, culminating in the Doctor of Musical Arts.

Her D.M.A. degree is in Piano Performance with a cognate in Music History. Lecture Recital:  Religious Symbolism in Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor:  A Study of Formal and Programmatic Aspects. Doctoral Thesis:  Meaning in Piano Music with a Religious Theme:  A Philosophical and Historical Approach. Her major piano teachers include James Ruccolo, Eugene Pridonoff, Elizabeth Pridonoff, and Frank Weinstock. Chamber music study was with Sandra Rivers, and piano pedagogy study with Michelle Conda.

During her college years, Dr. Hickman won many scholarships and awards, including first prize in the Rildia Bee O’Bryan Cliburn Piano Competition in Cincinnati.  Upon completion of her Bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude), she also won the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award for graduating with the highest G.P.A. in the College-Conservatory of Music.  She was chosen twice to perform live on Cincinnati’s classical radio station, WGUC.  She also performed in summer festivals including the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival in Alaska, and the Academie de Musique de Sion in Switzerland.

From 1997 to 2019, Dr. Hickman was an adjunct professor at Cincinnati Christian University, where she enjoyed teaching several classes including Applied Piano (to majors and non-majors), Piano Pedagogy, Class Piano, Music in World Cultures, Introduction to Musical Styles, and Music History. As master teacher, she oversaw all types of applied music lessons. She was the founder and director of the New Horizons Piano Competition for high school students held at CCU. Each year from 2010-2014, top students competed for $1600 in cash prizes as well as scholarships.

After CCU closed in December of 2019, Dr. Hickman joined the faculty at NKU and also opened Espressivo Piano Studio where she teaches children and adults. She is a member of MTNA and an active performer and adjudicator in the Cincinnati area.

Part-Time Faculty
instructor of Commercial Music Production and Songwriting
hinesc5@nku.edu

Charlie Hines is a music producer, composer, and owner/operator of Charlie Hines Studios and Cave Records which has worked for major industries including Fortune 500 companies in music production and TV /radio commercials.  Hines has over 20 years of experience as a music director and producer in churches of all sizes and is a published songwriter with Word Records, Home Sweet Home Records, and Vineyard Music.  His work in the industry includes varied experiences in merchandise management, organizational psychology, and project/business management.    

Associate Professor
Jazz Coordinator, Saxophone
FA 363
hoggw1@nku.edu
(859) 572-5885

William Hogg is an international performer, recording artist and Conn-Selmer and Harry Hartmann Fiberreed Endorsing artist known for his fierce and moving performances. Hogg boasts over 25 years of playing and teaching experience in the United Kingdom, Canada, Morocco North Africa, France, South Africa, Mexico, and several states across the United States. Hogg’s passionate approach to music touches the lives of thousands of people yearly on the stage and in the classroom.

Hogg has performed with or accompanied a wide array of artists including the Temptations, the Coasters, the Dells, Josh Groban, the Cab Calloway Orchestra, the Drifters, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the Blue Wisp Big Band, Scott Hamilton, Mahmoud Guinia, Brad Goode, John Von Ohlen, Manhattan Transfer, Lonnie Mack, Steve Turre, the Gypsy Kings, Carl Weathersby, Jeff Coffin, Rick Margitza, and Little Anthony and the Imperials to name a few.

As a recording artist William Hogg, can be found playing on over 50 professional recordings with such artists as Fred Wesley, Bootsy Collins, The Goshorn Brothers, and over 50 radio, television, motion picture, and commercial recordings. Notable recordings include “Christmas 4 You” and “Tha Funk Capital of the World” with Bootsy Collins, “Death by Stereo” with Umphrey’s McGee, “Town and Country” with Magnolia Mountain, and “Cincinnati” by King of the World. His own group “The Voyager Quartet” released a debut album in 2014 titled “Rencontre” recorded in Marseille France, also to international critical acclaim. He consulted, co-arranged and performed on “Late Night-Elixir of Sara Martin” by Laurie Jane and the 45s. A finalist in the recording division of the International Blues Challenge, the recording has received international acclaim and radio play.

Also, William Hogg is noted as an instrumental composer and arranger, Hogg brings a fresh approach to writing for the big band and chamber jazz ensembles. Over 10 of William’s compositions and arrangements are published by EJazzLines Publishing Company and Walrus Publishing, available for purchase at most popular sheet music websites.

Theatre performances include the Off Broadway hit Love, Janis at Actor’s Theatre, Louisville Kentucky and the Cincinnati Playhouse, Cincinnati Ohio. He has also served as a consultant for the Cincinnati Playhouse and other local and regional performing businesses. He has performed with the Cincinnati Pops, Richmond Symphony and has been a featured soloist with the Kentucky Symphony, the Springfield Symphony and the Blue Ash Symphony.

William Hogg is the Associate Professor of Saxophone at Northern Kentucky University. He also teaches a variety of jazz courses including pedagogy, performance ensembles, improvisation, jazz appreciation and jazz styles and analysis. Finally, Hogg works with a number of community service organizations in the United States, Morocco, and South Africa.

Part-Time Faculty
Piano, Class Piano
jantzenj1@nku.edu

Jill Jantzen, a native of Oklahoma, began playing piano at the age of five. She received her Bachelors of Music in Piano Performance (2010) from Oklahoma City University, Bass School of Music. In 2013, she completed her Masters of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Awadagin Pratt.

Jill began her teaching career in 2008 as the piano department chair and main instructor at a fine arts high school in Oklahoma City. In 2011, she was awarded a Graduate Teaching Assistantship at the University of Cincinnati, College Conservatory of Music, where she worked with college music majors and non-music majors. By the end of her term in 2013, she was recognized as CCM’s Outstanding Graduate Assistant of the Year.

Jill specializes in teaching intermediate to advanced levels, but loves working with students of all levels, who are excited to learn piano. Jill strives to allow her own love for art and music to spread to her students. She teaches classical, pop, and jazz music, and likes to include improvisation, rhythmic, and other musical activities in her lessons.

Outside of teaching, Jill maintains an active performing career by giving frequent solo and collaborative recitals. It is through her own performing that she is able to explore new ways of teaching her own students. Past piano instructors, who have ignited her passion for music, include Sergio Monteiro, Amy I-Lin Cheng, and Claudia Carroll-Phelps.

part-time instructor of applied cellomailto: kovacj1@nku.eduBio

Joe Kovac is a cellist and music educator from Macon, Georgia. He is a second-year Doctorate of Musical Arts student at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) where he is the graduate teaching assistant for Alan Rafferty of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Since 2019, Joe has been a member of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and is active in the orchestral scene of Cincinnati and the surrounding areas. He plays with orchestras such as the New World Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Richmond Symphony, Lima Symphony, and is substitute principal cello for the Ohio Valley Symphony. In 2023, Joe was a finalist for the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra Cello Fellowship. Joe performs in the string duo Atlantic Harmony based in Cincinnati with his wife, Shannon Mustard. In 2024, they performed a recital series of folk and classical music in Scotland, raising over $1500 for local charities. In June of 2025, a recital in Georgia raised $1200 for the Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia. Joe performed as a fellow in the National Repertory Orchestra for their 2021 and 2022 seasons, conducted by Michael Stern and Carl Topilow. In 2019, Joe attended Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival on scholarship and performed on the Emerging Artist Series with his piano trio. A dedicated teacher, Joe’s emphasis on cello technique and practice methods inspired the curriculum for the warmup, technique, and etude classes that he currently teaches at CCM. Joe has been on the faculty at Northern Kentucky University Music Preparatory, Cincinnati School of Music, and the Otis Redding Center for Creative Arts, and has gained experience teaching students from a range of backgrounds and levels. Joe holds degrees from Florida State University, where he was the student of Professor Gregory Sauer, and Miami University, where he was the graduate teaching assistant to Dr. Sarah Kim.

Applied Percussion – Commercial/Jazz
leighd2@nku.edu

Devon Leigh's love affair with music started on the piano when he was five years old. After several years of classical piano lessons, he eventually found and fell in love with the drums at the age of twelve, which ultimately landed him a scholarship to attend the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where he majored in Jazz Studies on drum set and percussion. Since then, he has made a name for himself as one of the most in demand and versatile drummers in the Cincinnati Tri-State area, having recorded and played with a wide variety of musical ensembles across the U.S. With twenty years of performance experience ranging from jazz, fusion, latin, funk, hip hop, blues and country acts, to big bands, musical theater companies, and some of the region’s top pop acts, private event, and tribute bands, Devon brings an impressive breadth and depth of expertise to bear on every musical opportunity. In addition to maintaining a rigorous performance schedule, Devon is a dedicated and passionate music educator, having taught and mentored hundreds of students over a teaching career that spans nearly two decades. He has been fortunate to serve as a drum instructor for many of the Tri-State area’s premier music academies, being highly sought after as a teacher capable of inspiring and bringing out the best in students coming from an extensive range of backgrounds, ages, and skill levels. Devon is honored to have the opportunity to help further mold the next generation of great musicians as a member of the NKU jazz and commercial music faculty. Aside from his work as a freelance performer and session drummer, Devon can regularly be seen on stage playing with musical acts such as jazz fusion powerhouse, Spherical Agenda, Genesis Retouched (Genesis tribute band), Aja (Steely Dan tribute band), the Qtet, Just Strange Brothers, All In, and many others.

Vocal Area Coordinator, Applied Voice
FA 361
gelbwassek1@nku.edu
(859) 572-1563

Kimberly Gelbwasser Lazzeri, soprano, is Associate Professor of Voice at Northern Kentucky University’s School of the Arts (NKU SOTA).

Dr. Lazzeri’s passion lies in performing art song. Of her singing, American composer Jake Heggie wrote, “In addition to a wonderful humanity, beautiful voice, and depth of feeling, Kimberly also brought joy: the joy I feel is essential to singing—and sometimes missing! She loves to sing and she loves to sing songs.” Dr. Lazzeri also regularly pursues her love for theatre. Locally, she has appeared with The Commonwealth Theatre Company and the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts. Nationally, she has appeared with Sierra Repertory Theatre, Pear Avenue Theatre, and Bus Barn Stage Company. Dr. Lazzeri’s operatic roles include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Despina in Così fan tutte. Her concert repertoire includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Brahms'sEin deutsches Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's Elijah and Psalm 42, Mozart’s Requiem, Respighi's Laud to the Nativity, and Vivaldi's Gloria.

Additionally, Dr. Lazzeri enjoys an active performance career in chamber music. She is pleased to be a member of the Zia Trio (soprano, clarinet, and piano), whose repertoire includes Gordon’s Orpheus & Euridice, Rorem’s Ariel, and Spohr’s Sechs deutsche Lieder, which the trio was invited to perform at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest. As part of other chamber-music collaborations, Dr. Lazzeri has been invited to perform at the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy.

Dr. Lazzeri’s research has focused on the following topics: The Musical Portrayal of "Lust for Life and Adversity" in Selected Songs by Leonard Bernstein and "To Be an American": How Irving Berlin Assimilated Jewishness and Blackness in his Early Songs. She is currently a cantorial soloist at the Isaac M. Wise Temple, which holds services at the historic Plum Street Temple in downtown Cincinnati. Dr. Lazzeri looks forward to recording her first album this fall, of classically arranged Yiddish folksongs.

Dr. Lazzeri is a former president of the Kentucky Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and has twice served as music faculty at the Kentucky Institute for International Studies in Salzburg, Austria. Prior to arriving in Kentucky in 2014, she served as Instructor of Voice at Eastern New Mexico University and as Visiting Professor of Voice at the University of North Florida.

In 2016, Dr. Lazzeri was awarded the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in the College of Arts and Sciences at NKU. One of her favorite courses to teach at NKU is “Yoga for Creativity,” as she is a certified Kripalu yoga instructor.

Dr. Lazzeri holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Barbara Honn. Dr. Lazzeri holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University. To learn more, visit “Kimberly Gelbwasser Lazzeri Voice Studio” on Facebook.

Director of Vocal Jazz Ensemble
Applied Jazz/Commercial Voice
mackenziek3@nku.edu

Kelly MacKenzie-Thurley is a graduate of both Northern Kentucky University and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She has sung in operas, musicals, cabarets, recitals & concerts throughout the United States, Australia, Italy, Czech Republic, Austria, the United Kingdom and Germany, including performances at Cincinnati’s Music Hall, Harlech Castle in North Wales and at the Sydney Opera House. Kelly has been on the voice faculty at NKU’s School of the Arts for six years and has also run voice studios in Sydney, London & Cincinnati where she worked with private students, recording studios and vocal ensembles. In 2018 she took over as Director of the NKU Vocal Jazz Ensemble and has continued her studies with Darmon Meader of New York Voices. Kelly is very active locally with committees for the Junior Women’s League, Hamilton Community Foundation and Hamilton City Schools.

Part-Time Faculty
Music Theory and Composition
mcfarlanea1@nku.edu

Coming Soon

Part-Time Faculty
Music Appreciation
mcintyrej6@nku.edu

Jonathan McIntyre is a doctoral candidate at the University of Kentucky within the Musicology/Ethnomusicology program. He is originally from Bellevue, KY and received a bachelor’s in music with a double major in Composition and Classical Saxophone Performance and a focus in Pre-Law from Northern Kentucky University. Jonathan has been involved in interdisciplinary research with the Neurology department at the University of Kentucky where they studied the “Mozart Effect” and the brain’s response to musical stimulus in recovering stroke patients. He has also had a paper accepted at the American Musicological Society South-Central conference titled “The Tragedy of the (Musical) Commons: Addressing Issues in Orality and Ownership.” Jonathan’s research interests include the Classical Saxophone in the Parisian Opera, Friedrich Nietzsche’s life as a composer, and Copyright Law/Intellectual property. Jonathan has worked as a teaching assistant in both Music Theory and Musicology.

Part-Time Faculty
Percussion Ensemble, Applied Percussion
ottmerj1@nku.edu

Dr. Jacob Ottmer, percussionist, features a multi-faceted career that includes composing, arranging, performing, and educating. His current projects include revitalizing the percussion repertory’s chamber music and exploring live electronics, while in his off time he enjoys baking desserts.

Jacob has a special interest in writing chamber music that explores textures with classical instruments, but in ways not traditionally pursued in the past. While he writes in ways that can be demanding of the instruments, performers have often said his writing is, “very idiomatic to play.” Jacob frequently pursues collaboration with performers and composers, this has even led him to become the Director of Cincinnati New Music, a new music collective.

Recently, Dr. Ottmer presented the lecture “Audiovisual Enhancements for the Contemporary Artist,” and published his paper, “Forging Better Practices for Electro-acoustic Music” as the culminating acts of his DMA at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). He is still pursuing the creation of art in the audiovisual genre. Now, Jacob enjoys teaching at both Xavier University and Northern Kentucky University as Adjunct Professor of Percussion as well as serving as the Lima Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Percussionist.

Assistant Professor
Director of Bands
FA 362
pilaton1@nku.edu
(859) 572-5284

Dr. Nikk Pilato serves as Director of Bands at Northern Kentucky University, where he conducts the Symphonic Winds, the Concert Band, and teaches conducting and other courses in the Music Education curriculum. Dr. Pilato earned the Bachelor of Music Education, a Master of Music Education, and a Ph.D. in Conducting and Music Education from the Florida State University College of Music in Tallahassee, Florida, where his primary conducting teachers were Richard Clary, Jim Croft, and Patrick Dunnigan.

In 2008 he created and developed the Wind Repertory Project, a comprehensive online database of wind literature expanded by user contributions, much like Wikipedia. The database includes detailed information on works for winds, such as instrumentation, program notes, errata, study resources, articles, category listings, and more. In the fourteen years since its inception, the WRP has amassed 22,000 entries, and has been visited thirty-five million times.

Dr. Pilato maintains a busy profile as a guest conductor, lecturer, clinician, adjudicator, and arranger. He holds memberships in CBDNA (College Band Directors National Association), CMS (the College Music Society), the Conductor’s Guild, NAfME (National Association for Music Education), NBA (National Band Association), WASBE (World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles), and the honor society Pi Kappa Lambda, and is an honorary brother of Kappa Kappa Psi.

Part-Time Faculty
Commercial Music Production & Mixing Techniques
pleimana2@nku.edu

Adam Pleiman is a creative director, chief engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. He has worked in music and sound in many capacities since 2001, including studio recording, audio post-production, live reinforcement, and strategy. He believes in the ability that music and sound possess in conveying emotion and strives to help others understand this connection.

Adam's career in audio has earned notable credits in multiple disciplines. As a music engineer he has worked with bands including Coldplay, 30 Seconds to Mars, and The Collingsworth Family who's 2017 release "Best of the Collingsworth Family" earned a roots gospel album of the year Grammy nomination. As a composer and producer he has written and produced music for Gillette, John Frieda, Secret, and ADM among others. In audio post-production he has landed credits for dialog work on films including Disney's Frozen as well as The Hunger Games.

Part-Time Faculty
Harp
rebmanj1@nku.edu

Joseph Rebman is a rising harpist and composer with a passion for new music. A recipient of the Alice Chalifoux prize for harp, Rebman has performed solo and with ensembles in thirteen different states. In the summer of 2019, he will be premiering his concerto "Hyperion" for harp and orchestra at the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY. Previous accolades include semi-finalist for both the Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh competition and the Classics Alive Artists Competition, and a finalist for the National Collegiate Solo Competition hosted by The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own". He was also a finalist for the Anne Adams Awards competition, and a finalist and honorable mention in the Coeur d'Alene Symphony's Young Artist Competition. During the spring and summer of 2014 he performed the Debussy, Mozart, and Handel concertos with orchestras in Oklahoma and Colorado. He was a winner of the Rocky Ridge Music Center's concerto competition, and a finalist for the Eastern Music Festival's concerto competition. Rebman is currently principal harpist with the Kentucky Symphony, the Huntington Symphony (WV) and the Queen City Opera (OH). Previously he was acting principal with the Amarillo Symphony (TX) and guest principal with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Fort Smith Symphony (AR).

A strong believer in new music, Rebman is frequently involved in the premieres of new music and promoting the harp to young composers. April of 2017 saw the culmination of a passion project to commission and premiere five new works for solo harp, designed to expand the repertoire of the instrument and explore the many capabilities of the harp that are often ignored. This was followed by a second recital in September of 2018 featuring six new works. These works will be the foundation of his first album of harp solos. Rebman was a featured harpist and composer for the 2018 inaugural season of the Mostly Modern Festival at Skidmore College and the TUTTI 2017 and 2015 New Music Festival at Denison University. He was also harpist in the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival – Yale School of Music's New Music Workshop in the summer of 2016. He first discovered a love of new music as principal harp for the FiveOne Experimental Orchestra in Cleveland.

After seeing a need for increased communication between harpists and composers, Rebman created a presentation and packet on the basics of composing for the harp. This lecture has been given to composition students at the Mostly Modern Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, Cleveland Institute of Music Young Composers Program, Rocky Ridge Music Festival, University of Oklahoma, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Based on this experience, Rebman was invited to be a featured presenter at the 2018 American Harp Society National Conference, speaking as part of a panel on the topic of commissions and working with composers.

As a composer, Rebman has written for a variety of ensembles while also specializing in modern techniques of harp composition. He was a winner of the Mostly Modern Festival concerto competition and will premiere his harp concerto Hyperion in their 2019 season. 2017 featured the premiere of Twilight for solo harp at the 2017 TUTTI New Music Festival at Denison University. 2016 premieres included He Would Not Stay: Seven Poems of A.E. Housman for Baritone and piano, premiered by "The Secret Opera" in New York City, Prana for solo violin, commissioned by Catherine Rinderknecht, and Hyperion: Concerto for Harp and Orchestra premiered by the composer with piano. Mnemosyne, a suite of character pieces for harp and flute, was selected for performance at the NACUSA 2016 convention in Knoxville, Tennessee and the 2015 TUTTI New Music Festival. Eros for solo harp was featured at the 46th annual Ball State Festival of New Music in 2016, and won third prize in the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs' Collegiate Composers competition. Summer of 2014 found Rebman in Estes Park, Colorado, as a participant in RRMC's composition program. The Faculty Ensemble there premiered his song cycle He Would Not Stay: Seven Poems of A.E. Housman for Baritone and pierrot ensemble. Rebman also participated in the Atlantic Music Festival, where Mnemosyne was first premiered. Elegy for solo alto flute was selected by the Greater Cleveland Flute Society for inclusion in their Composers' Connection concert.

Aside from performing and composing, Rebman is also an active teacher. He directs the harp program at Cincinnati's School for the Creative and Performing Arts, where students in grades 4-12 have daily harp ensemble rehearsals during the school day. They also perform solo repertoire and perform in the school orchestra. Rebman is also a part-time faculty at Northern Kentucky University, where he teaches harp and runs a private studio with students from age 9-80!

Rebman is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He has studied harp with Michelle Gwynne, Yolanda Kondonassis, Gaye LeBlanc, and Gillian Benet Sella. Compositions studies have been with Jeremy Allen, Robert Paterson, and Marvin Lamb.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Rebman discovered the harp at age ten through Disney's Fantasia, creating a love for all things harp that was fostered through study with the late Michelle Gwynne and performance in his school's string orchestra for eight years. Happiness is also found in video games, yoga, dogs, and Italian food.

Official Website

Part-Time Faculty
Songwriting, Commercial Music Composition
reiderr1@nku.edu

Full Professor
Theory & Composition Coordinator
FA 359
sanderk@nku.edu
(859) 572-6922

Kurt Sander's compositions have been performed in 15 countries on five different continents. Much of his choral and instrumental work takes its inspiration from the sublime dimensions of the Eastern Orthodox faith and the richness of its artistic traditions.​

His sacred choral work has been recorded and performed by professional ensembles throughout the world including Cappella Romana, the Kastalsky Choir (RUS), the Cincinnati Camerata, the Cantata Singers of Ottawa (CAN), the St. Romanos Cappella, the Clarion Choir, Archangel Voices, the Patriarch Tikhon Choir, and The Orthodox Singers (RUS) and the PaTRAM Institute Singers.

In 2017, he received a commission by the Patriarch Tikhon Russian-American Music Institute (PaTRAM) for a new English-language setting of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. This 90-minute work was recorded by the PaTRAM Institute Singers under the direction of Peter Jermihov and released as a 2 CD set on Reference Recordings label in 2019. The CD of this work was nominated for a Grammy in 2020 under the "Best Choral Album" category.

Sander was one of five featured composers on the collaborative composition "Heaven and Earth" which was commissioned by the St. John of Damascus Society and will be recorded in 2021 by the renowned choral ensemble Cappella Romana under the direction of Michael Boyer. The CD is scheduled for international release in 2022 on the Cappella Recordings label.

Sander has also acquired notoriety for his chamber and orchestral writing. He was recently named a finalist in the American Prize for his song cycle "Ella's Song" about the life of St. Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia. Other instrumental works have been performed by the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the Brasov Philharmonic (Romania), the Pleven Philharmonic (Bulgaria), the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Synchronia, the Corbett Trio, the Solaris Wind Quintet, and the St. Petersburg Quartet.

​Sander currently serves as Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition at Northern Kentucky University. He holds degrees in composition from Northwestern University, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Cleveland State University where he studied with Bain Murray, Alan Stout, Rudolph Bubalo, and Andrew Imbrie.

Sander's music is published through Musica Russica and Media Press, Inc.

Part-Time Faculty
Piano, Class Piano
sealc2@nku.edu

Praised for her "effortless" playing and "admirable improvisations," pianist Christina Lalog Seal completed a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Colorado-Boulder specializing in Collaborative Piano. While at CU-Boulder, Christina enjoyed her time as Music Director of the Eklund Opera's Opera Theater Singers and Music Director for CU-NOW's Composer Fellows' Initiative.

Christina has spent summers as a collaborative pianist at Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, Brevard Music Center, Castleman Quartet Program, "Si parla, si canta," and the Rocky Mountain Summer Conservatory. As a staff pianist, she has performed with the National Summer Cello Institute, Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, Gesher Music Festival, Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts, Wisconsin Public Radio's Neale-Silva Young Artists' Competition, and the Jefferson Symphony's International Young Artists Competition.

Some of Dr. Seal's performance highlights include live broadcasts on Wisconsin Public Radio, a recording of Festive Arias, Volume II with mezzo-soprano Kitt Reuter-Foss and trumpeter David Cooper, and performances with the acclaimed Mark Morris production of Benjamin Britten's Curlew River. A varied musician, Christina prepared the keyboard reductions for Handel's Messiah: The Solo Variants with critical commentary by Chester Alwes.

Previous studies include a Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance at Stetson University (summa cum laude) in the studio of Michael Rickman, followed by a Masters degree in Piano Accompanying and Chamber music at the Eastman School of Music as a pupil of Jean Barr. At the University of Colorado-Boulder, Christina studied with Margaret McDonald and Alexandra Nguyen.

In addition to her role as part-time piano faculty and staff pianist at NKU, Dr. Seal is an active freelance pianist in the Cincinnati area. She has performed with the Music for All Seasons Series, Cincinnati Opera Outreach, and numerous vocal and instrumental degree recitals at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Visiting Teaching Professor
Brass Coordinator, Brass Choir, Low Brass
FA 371
setzerl1@nku.edu
(859) 572-5421

Dr. Louis Setzer is the Lecturer of Low Brass at Northern Kentucky University. Prior to his appointment at NKU, he served as Instructor of Low Brass at Marian University of Indianapolis, where he taught low brass lessons, aural skills, music theory, directed the pep band, and worked as staff for the concert and marching bands.

Dr. Setzer is the author of Solo Literature for Trombone and Harp – An Annotated Bibliography.  This book contains information on over 200 solos, transcriptions, trios, quartets and chamber works featuring the trombone and harp. He has commissioned and recorded several works for trombone and harp as a direct result of this book. In 2017 he and NKU’s own Instructor of Harp, Joseph Rebman, formed the JOLO Duo. Their mission is to raise awareness for this genre of music through performance, and collaboration of new works. JOLO Duo released their debut album in February 2020, JOLO Duo: The Bounds of Spring. It features eight previously unrecorded works for trombone and harp. They maintain an active schedule, and have been invited to perform at international festivals and universities throughout the country.

Recent solo engagements include performing Frank Gulino’s Capriccio with the Indiana Wind Symphony, Joseph Turrin’s Fandango with the Marian University Wind Ensemble, and his own arrangement of Four Songs from Dichterliebe at the American Trombone Workshop. In addition JOLO Duo has performed for both the International Trombone Festival and the American Trombone Workshop’s Guest Artist Recital series. Dr. Setzer was a featured soloist of the Penn State alumni trombone choir on their concert tour of Santiago Cuba – an experience he will not soon forget.

Dr. Setzer earned his BM in Music Education from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania (’11), his MM in Trombone Performance (’13) from The Pennsylvania State University, where he served as the Graduate Teaching Assistant for Mark Lusk, and his DMA from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (’17). His primary teachers were Stephen McEuen, Mark Lusk, Timothy Anderson, and Peter Norton

Official website

Part-Time Faculty
Percussion
stuckeye@nku.edu

Erwin Stuckey, NKU Jazz Studies vibraphone faculty, has performed extensively in the United States and South America and is internationally recognized as a true multi-instrumentalist (piano/ jazz organ, percussion, brass) capable of handling a multitude of musical genres ranging from traditional jazz, European classical, Afro-Cuban and contemporary gospel. He has performed high profile concerts with some of the world’s finest musicians such as John Blake, Malachi Thompson, Frank Foster, Joshua Redmond, Ben Tankard, Kenny Garrett, Terrel Stafford, Steve Wilson, Marlon Jordan, Pharez Witted, Mary Wilson (Motown Supremes), Marion Meadows, Jeff Coffin of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, James Carter, Slide Hampton, Arturo Sandoval, and steel drum virtuoso Othello Molineaux. His discography includes over 30 recordings, including his most recent personal release titled Giants of Jazz Piano Tribute, in which he pays homage to piano greats from Scott Joplin through McCoy Tyner. As a distinguished educator, Erwin Stuckey is also a 2007 recipient and continuing member of the Nobel Society for educators and scholars. In March of 2010, he presented six jazz workshops for students and semi-professional jazz artists in Krakow, Poland. Since 2005, he has directed the Jazz and Percussion programs at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati.

Part-Time Faculty
Piano
suhh1@nku.edu

Hye Eun Suh is an active freelance teacher and pianist in the Cincinnati area. Born in South Korea, Ms. Suh is a major prizewinner in several national and international piano competitions. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, OH. While pursuing the degree, she appeared in numerous recitals and concerts as a soloist and chamber musician, including a concerto concert with Oberlin Orchestra.

Ms. Suh continued her study at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where she received her Master of Music degree in piano performance and began a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance with a cognate in piano pedagogy. While at CCM, Ms. Suh received a graduate teaching assistantship and taught various levels of piano classes and applied piano lessons. In addition, she was a staff accompanist and a substitute piano instructor for the CCM Preparatory Department of Music. As an active member of MTNA, she participated in group presentations and poster sessions in MTNA Collegiate Chapters Piano Pedagogy Symposium and OhioMTA conference.

Currently, Ms. Suh is a part-time faculty member at Northern Kentucky University teaching piano and a piano instructor at the University of Cincinnati Communiversity. In addition, she is a piano instructor at The Seven Hills School and a private studio teacher in the Cincinnati area. She also serves as a staff pianist at Northern Kentucky University and an organist/pianist at Kennedy Heights Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati.

Assistant Teaching Professor
Keyboard Coordinator
FA 235
vandyker1@nku.edu
(859) 572-5792

Richard Van Dyke, DMA, NCTM is the Keyboard Area Coordinator at Northern Kentucky University where he teaches Piano Pedagogy, Keyboard Literature, Applied Piano to majors and minors, Class Piano and coaches Chamber Music. Dr. Van Dyke completed his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance and Master of Music Degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where his primary teachers were Elisabeth and Eugene Pridonoff and Richard Morris. He studied collaborative piano and chamber music with Sandra Rivers. His primary mentor in Piano Pedagogy was Michelle Conda.

Dr. Van Dyke’s students have been recognized for their performances at the David Dubois International Piano Competition, Depauw Young Artists Piano Competition, MTNA National Competitions, the Overture Awards and OhioMTA Pre-Collegiate Buckeye Competition. His advanced students have been accepted into the music programs at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University Jacob School of Music and other fine institutions.

As an active member of MTNA, he served MTNA as the OhioMTA Southwest Association district president and OhioMTA state president. In 2010 he was chosen as the OhioMTA Independent Music Teacher of the Year and in 2017 was recognized as a MTNA Fellow in recognition of his contributions to the organization.

Dr. Van Dyke’s performs solo and chamber music recitals regularly and has presented workshops and master classes nationally at state and local conferences and music camps. He has been a guest lecturer at the University of Cincinnati, Kent State University and Miami University of Ohio and has been selected to speak at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in Chicago, IL (July 2011, 2015 and 2019), and Music Teachers National Associations National Conference in Anaheim, CA (March, 2013) and Orlando, FL (March, 2018).

Visiting Teaching Professor
Woodwind Coordinator, Clarinet
FA 367
weissk2@nku.edu

Krista Weiss is the clarinet professor at Northern Kentucky University. In addition to her position at NKU, Krista maintains a large studio of private students in the Cincinnati area and coaches masterclasses and sectionals at schools throughout Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. She previously served as the clarinet instructor at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN.

Krista earned both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Clarinet Performance from Indiana University, where she was a student of Eli Eban. She has also spent summers studying and performing at the Aspen Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, Chautauqua Music Festival, Brevard Music Festival, and Marrowstone Music Festival.

Since moving to the Cincinnati area in 2013, Krista has had an active career as a freelance musician and has recently performed with ensembles including the Cincinnati Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Louisville Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, Columbus ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Richmond (VA) Symphony, Kentucky Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and the New World Symphony. In addition to orchestral playing, Krista also enjoys playing as a studio musician and can be heard on dozens of concert band recordings for the Hal Leonard Corporation.

Krista has served as an Artist Clinician for D’Addario Woodwinds since 2013, presenting masterclasses on woodwind equipment, pedagogy, and fundamentals at hundreds of public schools, colleges, and music conferences across the Midwest.

Assistant Professor
Music Education Coordinator, Choral/Vocal
FA 366
whitea45@nku.edu
(859) 572-5410

Adam G. White is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Northern Kentucky University. He teaches courses in choral music education, conducting, and directs the low-voice choir.

Adam holds a PhD in music education from Northwestern University. His research and academic interests include sight-singing, singer assessment, vernacular music making in the United States, issues of hearing loss among musicians, and cooperative rehearsal practices. Adam has presented at state, regional, and international conferences. He has a bachelor’s degree in music education from Kansas State University and a master’s degree in music education (choral pedagogy) from the University of Kansas.

Adam began his teaching career in rural Kansas where he taught K-12 vocal music, eventually becoming the Vocal Music Director at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka. Under his direction, the Washburn Rural Chorale received top ratings at festivals each of the 11 years he taught there. The Chorale also commissioned and premiered new choral works by Timothy Takach, Andrea Ramsey, and Jacob Narverud. Adam’s choirs have twice been invited to perform at the Kansas Music Educators Conference, the state’s top honor. In 2008, Adam was honored as the WRHS Educator of Excellence.

Adam is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the Society for Music Perception and Cognition, the College Music Society, and the National Association for Music Education.

Part-Time Faculty
Jazz Bass
wilesm1@nku.edu

Based in Cincinnati, OH, Matt Wiles is an in-demand acoustic, electric, and synth bassist performing throughout the United States.

Matt has performed with bands of all styles around the midwest region and beyond: Theaters such as the Aronoff Center, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, and on large festival stages such as the Columbus Jazz and Ribs Fest.

His regional club appearances include dates at The Blue Wisp Jazz Club, The Greenwich, Schwartz's Point, Caffe Vivace, Dick's Den, Natalie's, Filament, BluJazz+, The Bop Stop, Jimmy Can't Dance, Rudy's Jazz Room, An Die Muzik, Rockwood Music Hall, Shrine, and Bar Next Door at La Lanterna di Vittorio.

Matt can be heard on stage with jazz/rock/fusion band Spherical Agenda, trombonist/composer Sam Blakeslee's Wistful Thinking, guitarist/composer Brandon Coleman, singer/songwriter David McGlynn, renowned saxophonist/pianist Randy Villars, and many others. His playing is featured on the albums Arcane Wisdom (Spherical Agenda), The Long Middle (Wistful Thinking), Life's Moments (David McGlynn), and many more. Matt has performed with highly acclaimed artists such as Snarky Horns, Gary Versace, Colin Stranahan, Noah Preminger, Joel Frahm, Fareed Haque, Peter Mazza, Dan Wilson, Teddy Kumpel, Glenn Zaleski, Victor Provost, Bobby Selvaggio, Sam Blakeslee, and The Drifters.

Part-Time Faculty
Guitar
winnera1@nku.edu

Based in Cincinnati, OH, Matt Wiles is an in-demand acoustic, electric, and synth bassist performing throughout the United States.

Andrew Winner formerly held teaching positions simultaneously at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky and Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the founder of and former co-owner of the Guitar Academy of Bowling Green: a music academy that continues to thrive and serves numerous students. He was also the founder of the guitar studies program at The Renaissance Center in Dickson, Tennessee a flourishing program that drew students from Nashville, Tennessee and the surrounding community. He is currently on the faculty of both Northern Kentucky University and Thomas More College.

In addition to teaching, Andrew Winner performs frequently. He is credited with numerous recitals, radio, and television appearances. He currently has two internationally released recordings. "An Italian Serenade" features Neapolitan and Italian folk songs newly arranged for concert guitar by Mr. Winner. "Spanish Pastorale" features recordings of all the Catalonian folks songs arranged by Miguel Llobet Solés and the suite "Platero y Yo" by Eduardo Sainz de la Maza. His recording is available on Amazon and Cdbaby.com or at iTunes and other popular music download sites.

Part-Time Faculty
Piano
yongk1@nku.edu

Kang Ning Yong is a piano instructor, pianist, and church music director in Ohio. She is also a part-time faculty member, teaching Aural Skills at Northern Kentucky University. She teaches piano with students of all ages at the West Chester Academy and also teaches at students' homes in the Cincinnati area. Additionally, since 2018, she has been a certified music teacher in the Music for Young Children program. Kang Ning has also been associated with the National Teachers of the Royal Conservatory of Music in the US region.

In 2021, she was awarded the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Teacher Enrichment Grant, which allowed her to further pursue her piano studies with her piano professor, Prof. Siok Lian Tan, at Miami University. She also performed a charity piano recital at Berkeley Square in 2022.

Born and raised in Malaysia, Kang Ning received a graduate assistantship and completed her Master's Degree in Music Performance at Miami University under the tutelage of Prof. Siok Lian Tan in 2018. During her graduate studies, she also served as a teaching assistant for the Functional Piano course for non-piano undergraduate music students. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Universiti of Putra Malaysia, where she studied piano with Dr. Loo Fung Chiat, Ms. Geneviene Wong, and Ms. Carolyn Lo in 2014.

Beyond her teaching role, Kang Ning serves as the Music Department Leader at the West Chester Academy, where she helps and sustains the music teachers' teaching qualities by conducting teaching observations twice a year at the academy.

Throughout her professional journey, Kang Ning finds joy in creating piano arrangements of popular songs and sharing her piano performances through social media videos.

Part-Time Faculty
Bassoon
youngr13@nku.edu

Rachael Young is the Principal Bassoonist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and Springfield Symphony Orchestra and a member of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus. She is also the Principal Bassoonist of the Shippensburg Festival Orchestra.

Rachael has maintained an active and varied orchestral career, holding positions with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Kentucky Symphony, and Symphony of Southeast Texas in addition to performing with the Cincinnati Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Chicago Sinfonietta and many others. She has also performed as a soloist with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a chamber musician, Rachael won a silver medal at the 2008 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, has performed at the Kennedy Center, and was invited as a fellow to Yale’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. She also received the John Celentano Award for Excellence in Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music.

Alongside performing, Rachael has always maintained a passion for outreach and education. In addition to teaching Bassoon at NKU and Xavier University, she performs over 90 in-school educational concerts a year as a member of the DPO Wind Quintet, reaching students all over the greater Dayton and Southwest Ohio region. She has also participated in the Dayton Performing Art’s Alliance Spark Program, using music to enhance core curriculum in kindergarten classrooms.

Rachael graduated from the Eastman School of Music as a student of John Hunt and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music as a student of Benjamin Kamins.

Visiting Teaching Professor
Trumpet, Jazz
FA 370
zappaj1@nku.edu
(859) 572-6988

John Zappa is a performer and educator. At Northern Kentucky University, he teaches trumpet, Jazz Theory, Arranging, Jazz History, Composition, Improvisation and Jazz Appreciation as well as coaching a variety of ensembles. As an educator, Zappa has written a text book for Jazz Appreciation and developed Jazz Theory and Arranging courses to fit the needs of the students at NKU. He also developed a course called Composition For Commercial Media which blends composition with technology. Many of Zappa’s former students have gone on to successful performing careers and some as successful music educators. His trumpet students range from serious jazz players to lead/commercial players and classical players looking for better technique.

He also maintains a performing schedule and has appeared throughout the United States, Asia and Europe. Zappa’s professional credits as a trumpeter run the gambit of musical styles and ensembles. While primarily a jazz trumpeter appearing regularly with several big bands and jazz combos, he also plays with salsa bands, concert orchestras, pit orchestras, and show bands. John is also an accomplished studio musician recording music for theme parks and T.V. commercials as well recording for various album projects which have included the Grammy nominated “When Bullfrogs Croak” by Zach Morgan and “We Want the Funk” by Bootsy Collins for the movie “Undercover Brother.”

Zappa has recorded his own music on albums including “Not Too Slow, Not Too Fast” and “Moon and Shadow” with famed and legendary Cuban drummer, Ignacio Berroa. Another album called “Now Hear This” is also the name of his band that features his original compositions and arrangements that explore world beat rhythms in a contemporary jazz setting. John has worked consistently as a band leader fronting dance bands of different sorts as well as jazz groups for 22+years. One such group featured the drummer of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton fame John Von Ohlen.

John has performed a variety of concerts with headliners including Don Rickles, Eddie Money, Wayne Newton, Leslie Gore, The Temptations, The O’Jay’s and Frankie Vallie, in addition to jazz concerts with well-known artists including Joe Henderson, Clark Terry, Ignacio Berroa, Jimmy Heath, Lew Soloff, Terell Stafford and Jeff Coffin.

Interim Director of Orchestras

Spencer Zembrodt is a versatile conductor and arts leader, recognized for his dynamic musicianship, inclusive programming, and deep commitment to music education. He is thrilled to be the Interim Orchestra Director at Northern Kentucky University.

Currently serving as Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Men’s Chorus, Mr. Zembrodt’s tenure has been marked by bold artistic growth, increased membership, and innovative collaborations with regional arts organizations including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Art Museum, and the Cincinnati Boychoir. His leadership has emphasized inclusive repertoire, cross-genre partnerships, and community engagement.

Mr. Zembrodt has held positions with the Orchard Park Symphony Orchestra and the Shippensburg Festival Symphony, and has guest conducted educational ensembles throughout the Midwest and Northeast. As a composer and arranger, his works have been programmed by community, high school, collegiate, and professional ensembles across the US and beyond.

A dedicated educator, Mr. Zembrodt maintains a private teaching studio, has served on faculty for the Universal Artist Festival, and has been engaged as a guest conductor by school and extracurricular music programs. 

He holds a Master of Music in Conducting from SUNY Fredonia and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Louisville.