Large Ensemble Directors
Hover your mouse over any faculty member to read a short biography.
David Bixler
M.A., Montclair State University
Instructor (jazz saxophone)
David Bixler A veteran sideman on the New York Jazz scene; performed and toured with the orchestras of Lionel Hampton, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Duke Ellington and Bobby Sanabria; member of the Grammy-nominated Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, taking over the lead-alto chair two years ago; the band has toured throughout Europe, North America and Central America, in addition to performing at Birdland in New York City; collaborated with trumpeter Scott Wendholt, guitarist John Hart, Ugonna Okegwo on bass and Andy Watson on drums; debut Jazz Quintet CD, titled Lost in Queens, was released May 2000; released second CD fall 2003, Show Me the Justice, which received national airplay and critical praise for demonstrating his creative abilities as composer as well as improviser; current CD, Call It a Good Deal, was released July 2006 on the Zoho label and features all original compositions by the performer, is garnering critical acclaim, received 3 ½ starts in Down Beat and was an honorable mention selection in All About Jazz’s “best of 2006;” a new work for alto saxophone and string quartet debuted January 2007 with the South Dakota Symphony string quartet; composition, Heptagon, is on a recording by the Ancia Saxophone Quartet on the Naxos label released in spring 2008; Selmer Artist and performs Selmer saxophones exclusively.
Dr. Emily Freeman Brown
D.M.A., Eastman School of Music
Professor, Director of Orchestral Activities (orchestral activities)
Dr. Emily Freeman Brown Director of Orchestral Activities; studied at London’s Royal College of Music, where she was a two-time winner of the Sir Adrian Boult Conducting Prize, and the Eastman School of Music, where she served as associate conductor of the Eastman Philharmonia and conductor for the Eastman Opera Theater; principal teachers have included David Effron, Leonard Slatkin, Herbert Blomstedt and Franco Ferara; 1988 finalist of the internationally known Affiliate Artists Conductor’s Program; articles published in BACH journal and Journal of the Conductors Guild; has appeared with orchestras in the United States, Europe and South America; recent engagements have included appearances with the Toledo Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonia, Dearborn Symphony, Eastman Virtuosi, Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra, Sioux City Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Chicago Civic Orchestra, State Philharmonic of Sibiu (Romania), National Symphony of Latvia, Pleven Philharmonic (Bulgaria), National Symphony of Macedonia and the National Symphony of Chile and Bartok Ensemble in Santiago, Chile; festival appearances include the Skaneateles, Interlochen and Chautauqua Music Festivals and the American Festival of the Arts in Houston; conductor for the Ohio, Minnesota, Washington and Missouri All-State Orchestras as well as the All-New England Orchestra; served as music director for the Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra (1977–2000); president of the Conductors Guild (2003–2005); her students, who have come from Europe, South America, Asia and the United States, have successfully participated in international conducting competitions and master classes—many have continued to doctoral studies at major music schools, and to positions with orchestras or universities.
Tim Cloeter
M.M. Westminster Choir College
Instructor (choral activities)
Tim CloeterConducts the Men’s Chorus and the A Cappella Choir, and teaches conducting and a graduate choral seminar; holds a bachelor’s in education with majors in vocal music and math from Concordia University in Nebraska, and a master’s in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College; completing a doctorate in choral conducting from the University of Arizona; conducting teachers include Joseph Flummerfelt, Bruce Chamberlain and Helmuth Rilling; one of only five in the nation chosen by audition to conduct movements of Robert Levin’s new completion of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor at a 2005 Carnegie Hall master class with Helmuth Rilling and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s; recorded choral works by Richard Hillert with the Kapelle of Concordia University in Chicago for release by the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians in 2003; solo singing credits range from Schütz’s Musikalischen Exequien (Evangelist) to Haydn’s Creation and from Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors (Kaspar) to the national anthem at New York Mets games; as a professional chorister, has sung in the Aspen Chamber Choir (Aspen Music Festival), the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Bachakademie Stuttgart and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus; as a member of the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and the Bachakademie, he performed on both the U.S. and European premieres of Penderecki’s Credo, and was one of five Americans hired to perform the piece on a tour of Poland, Russia and Germany; chorister with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Robert Shaw, Kurt Masur, Helmuth Rilling and Ricardo Muti; multiple seasons in the opera chorus at the Festival de Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C.; has served at Martin Luther High School in New York, Carroll University, Concordia University, the University of Arizona and Schenectady County Community College.
Jeff Halsey
M.M., Bowling Green State University
Professor (double bass)
Jeff Halsey Teaches jazz history and improvisation, as well as applied jazz bass studies; director of Jazz Lab Band II; has toured Europe and the United States performing with such artists as Tommy Flanagan, Jimmie Forrest, Clark Terry, Jay McShann, J.C. Heard, Dizzy Gillespie, Arturo Sandoval and Stanley Cowell; has recordings on the Azica, Cadence, Cimp, Hiroko, Steeplechase and Timeless labels with artists such as Jack Schantz, Chip Stephens, Ernie Krivda, J.C. Heard, Stanley Cowell and the Cadence Jazz All Stars; member of the Faculty Jazz Group.
Dr. Carol Hayward
D.M.A., Ohio State University
Assistant Professor (band activities)
Dr. Carol Hayward Director of the Falcon Marching Band and Athletic Band; conductor of the Concert Band; holds a bachelor degree from Capital University, a master’s degree in music education and a doctorate in conducting from Ohio State University; served for over 20 years as a high school band director; bands under her direction have performed at the national convention of the American School Band Directors Association; awarded the National Band Association Citation of Excellence in 2000; member and past state chair of the American School Band Directors Association; member of the College Band Directors National Association, the Ohio Music Education Association and Phi Beta Mu, National Honorary Bandmasters Fraternity; honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma; president of Mid-American Conference Band Directors Association.
Dr. Bruce Moss
Ph.D., Ohio State University
Professor, Director of Band Activities (band activities)
Dr. Bruce Moss Professor, director of band activities; conducts the Wind Symphony and teaches conducting and music education courses, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University; former director of bands at Eastern Illinois University; served as chairman of the music department and director of bands at York Community High School in Elmhurst, Ill. where his ensembles were widely recognized through performances at the MENC National Convention and at major high schools and universities throughout the United States and Canada; continues to serve as music director of the Wheaton Municipal Band in Illinois, a professional summer community ensemble that is regarded as one of the finest of its kind in the nation; organized and conducted a professional wind ensemble for the College of DuPage; has taught courses at numerous universities and serves as a frequent guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States and Canada; serves as new music reviewer for The Instrumentalist; elected member the American Bandmasters Association, president of College Band Directors National Association, North Central Division.
Dr. Mark Munson
D.M.A., Cincinati College-Conservatory of Music
Associate Professor (choral activities)
Dr. Mark Munson Holds bachelor’s degree in music education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, master’s degree in choral music education from the University of Michigan and doctorate in choral conducting from the University of Cincinnati; during 2005–06 academic year was visiting professor of music at Sweden’s Musikhögskolan i Malmö (Malmö Academy of Music) of Lunds universitet, choral music specialist at Fröknegårdskolan of Kristianstad, and visiting conductor of Christianstads Motettkör; taught eight years of high school choral music in Pennsylvania and Ohio; has conducted the Collegiate Chorale, University Choral Society, A Cappella Choir, and University Women’s Chorus; currently conducts the University Choral Society; teaches choral methods, repertoire and conducting at the undergraduate level, as well as choral literature and conducting at the graduate level; supervises student teachers and serves on thesis committees for students pursuing master’s degrees; president of the Ohio Choral Directors Association; active as a guest conductor, adjudicator and clinician; has presented sessions at national, divisional, and state conventions for the American Choral Directors Association and for the Music Educators National Conference; has conducted many festival choruses inside and outside of Ohio; founder and past director of the Bowling Green Children’s Chorus and of the Ohio Ambassadors Chorus, an ensemble of high school singers that tours Europe biannually; articles published in ACDA’s Choral Journal and Student Times, MENC’s Teaching Music and Journal of Music Teacher Education, OMEA’s TRIAD and Worship Arts, a journal for church musicians.
Dr. Sandra Frey Stegman
Ph.D., University of Michigan
Assistant Professor (choral education)
Dr. Sandra Frey Stegman Graduate of the University of Michigan and former public school teacher; active in music education and choral studies; has conducted various university ensembles and performed as music director and conductor of the Waterloo (Iowa) Metropolitan Chorale; conducts the Collegiate Chorale and University Women’s Chorus; served as music educator and consultant to schools and communities in North Queensland, Australia; toured abroad as an assistant director with the Ohio Honors Chorale; directed the Toledo Opera Children’s Chorus and conducted the All-State Intermediate Choir in Interlochen, Mich.; founded the Junior Choral Society and Cantare, which performed under her direction at state and division music conferences (ACDA and MENC); active as a clinician, consultant and guest conductor, appeared as conductor of the 2001 OMEA District 1 Middle School/Junior High Honors Festival and 1998 American Choral Directors Association Central Division Junior High Honor Chorus; scholarship and research has included: presentations at the 2005 International Conference on Arts and Humanities, the 2000 MENC National Convention and the 1998 College Music Society Annual Conference, articles in the Choral Journal and the Journal of Music Teacher Education and author of Student Teaching in the Choral Classroom.
Dr. Kenneth Thompson
D.M.A., University of Iowa
Assistant Professor (band activities)
Dr. Kenneth Thompson Holds a D.M.A. in conducting and master’s degree in music education from the University of Iowa and bachelor’s degrees in music education and trumpet from Limestone College, where he was recently honored as Young Alumnus of the Year; artistic director and conductor of the Toledo Symphony Youth Orchestra; conductor for numerous regional conventions, live radio broadcasts and recordings released by KJOS music in both the Conservatory Editions and Bandworks series; research and writings have been published in Journal of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, School Band and Orchestra Magazine, Journal of the Australian Band and Orchestra Directors Association, Journal of the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, The Instrumentalist, Bandmusic PDF Archives and the BCM International Web Archive; has appeared as a guest speaker, performer, conductor or lecturer for local, regional and international conventions, including presentations or performances for the University of Michigan School of Music, the University of Iowa School of Music, Sigma Alpha Iota, Phi Mu Alpha, the International Society for Music Education, the national conferences of MENC and CBDNA, the Missouri Bandmasters conference, the Midwest Composers Symposium, the Iowa Center for New Music and the South Carolina, Iowa, Ohio and Missouri Music Educators Association conferences; maintains an active clinician and adjudication schedule throughout the Midwest; teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting and repertoire, band methods, coordinates student teaching seminar, supervises instrumental techniques and field experience placements, has conducting responsibilities with ensembles in the band area, and is the director of the New Music Ensemble