Faculty and Staff

Dr. Emily Pence Brown serves as Associate Professor of Music Education at Bowling Green State University, where she teaches choral music education undergraduate courses and directs the Volaré Ensemble. She holds a Bachelors degree in music education from Rutgers University, a MME from The Florida State University and a PhD from The University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Brown taught high school choir, piano, and musical theater for five years in Florida before pursuing her PhD.

Dr. Brown’s research agenda includes teacher wellness, vocal health, self-determination, and the eradication of teacher attrition. She has presented her research nationally at the Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Education, and National Association for Music Educators conference, internationally at the International Society for Music Education’s bi-annual conference, and state music educator conferences in Florida, Indiana, and Ohio. Dr. Brown’s research on teacher vocal health and job-related stress has been published in Journal of Music Teacher Education and Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education. Additional publications include Music Educators Journal, Research Perspectives on Music Education, and TRIAD.

Dr. Brown regularly commissions and premieres new works with the BGSU Volaré Ensemble. Recent commissions and premier recordings can be found in the Bowling Green State University Choral Series through Santa Barbara Music Publishing. Dr. Brown has guest conducted numerous festivals including the BGSU Falcon Choral Festival and Ball State University’s “Women in Song” festival.

Dr. Brown is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, and the Ohio Music Educators Association. She serves as the chair of the professional development committee for the Ohio Choral Directors Association.

Heather McEwen Goldman is a pianist at Bowling Green State University where she accompanies both Volaré and Collegiate Chorale. She is also the Music Director and Organist at First Presbyterian Church in Bowling Green, OH.  She has an MM in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY where she played for Musica Nova, the Eastman-Rochester Chorus, and toured the country as part of the University of Rochester’s capital campaign. Prior to her time at Eastman, she was a New York City Teaching Fellow and obtained an MS in Math Education from City College in New York. She made her concerto debut with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. Heather has collaborated with many opera singers and choruses, and enjoys playing chamber music both classical and modern.

Laney Mitchell is an emerging choral conductor, vocalist, and music educator whose work focuses on the empowerment of the individual voice in the choral setting. A national finalist for the Lift Every Voice Conducting Symposium and the winner of the Marjorie Conrad Art Song Competition, Mitchell brings a diverse background in solo performance, choral singing, conducting, and contemporary a cappella music.

As a performer, Mitchell has a wide variety of experience, performing in professional works with Toledo Symphony, including Holst’s The Planets and Handel’s Messiah, as well as performing internationally with BGSU’s Collegiate Chorale and at various conference performances as a featured soloist with the Chorale. A regular solo performer, Ms. Mitchell has appeared on multiple recitals and premiers of compositions, including Cruz Stock’s “Too Noisy”

Laney also brings in a vast knowledge of contemporary pop a cappella, fresh off of her three-year tenure as music director of Tonal Eclipse A Cappella, where she received the award for “Best Arrangement” at the 2023 ICCA Midwest Quarterfinals. Mitchell finds her favorite results of her work in the classroom. After teaching grades 5-12 choir at Liberty Benton Schools for her student teaching, she found her happiest moments in her career seeing her students succeed. She also spends her summers teaching private lessons in voice, piano, and strings, giving her the opportunity to work with students individually and support their growth as musicians in many stages of development

Hannah Gerig is a music educator and singer from Fort Wayne, IN. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in music education from Taylor University and recently completed her third year as the Choral Director at Bluffton Middle and High School in Bluffton, IN. Hannah is passionate about creating opportunities for her students to develop into competent, creative musicians, and teaching choir brings her a lot of joy. 

Gerig is an experienced theatre director, having worked with the Concordia Theatre Department in Indiana as a resident music director for the past four years. In addition to directing, she also performs with the company in their summer musicals, having recently been seen as “Lucille Frank” in Parade and “Margo” in Bright Star. 

While pursuing a master’s degree in Choral conducting at BGSU, Gerig happily serves as a Choral Area Graduate Assistant. She is also a Choral Scholar with the Maumee United Methodist Church Choir. Gerig is grateful to be at BGSU and to be working and singing with Volaré!