DMA Students & Alumni

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Liam Battle

  • Position: 1st-Year DMA Student, Cello
    MM: Cleveland Institute of Music
    BM: University of Cincinnati
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Jared Beu

  • Position: 1st-Year DMA Student, Conducting
    MM: Southern Methodist University
    BM: University of Texas, Austin
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Francisca de Castanheiro de Freitas

  • Position: 3rd-Year DMA Student, Piano
    MM: Bowling Green State University
    BM: Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
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Shelly Du

  • Position: ABD DMA Student, Harp
    Artist Diploma: Cleveland Institute of Music
    MM: Cleveland Institute of Music
    BM: Oberlin Conservatory of Music

Website: www.shellyduharp.com
Document Topic: “Twenty-First Century American Pedal Harp Music: Analyzing Non-traditional Works by American Female Harpist Composer-Performers”

Read Shelly's bio

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Stephen Eckert

  • Position: 4th-Year DMA Student, Piano
    Artist Diploma: University of Ottawa
    MM: Piano Performance, University of Ottawa
    BM: Piano Performance with honors, minor in Composition, Memorial University of Newfoundland
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Chris Harris

  • Position: 2nd-Year DMA Student, Percussion
    MM: California State University, Sacramento
    BM: California State University, Sacramento
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Haley Harrison

  • Position: 2nd-Year DMA Student, Clarinet
    MM: Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
    BM: Eastern Illinois University
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Will Hermanowski

  • Position: 1st-year DMA Student, Composition
    MM: Bowling Green State University
    BM: College of Wooster
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Martha Haydee Hudson

  • Position: 3rd-Year DMA Student, Oboe
    MM: Bowling Green State University
    BM: Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas
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Niayesh Javaheri

  • Position: 2nd-Year DMA Student, Piano
    MM: University of Oklahoma
    BM: Vienna Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Arts
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Otávio Manzano Kavakama

  • Position: ABD DMA Student, Cello
    MM: Bowling Green State University
    BM: University of Southern Mississippi

Website: www.otaviomk.com
Document Topic: “Integrating the Brazilian Viola and the Cello: A Deep Look into Creative Processes in Cross-Cultural Collaborations”

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Jacob Koch

  • Position: 3rd-Year DMA Student, Percussion
    MM: Kent State University
    BM: University of Toledo
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Jacob Loitz

  • Position: 1st-year DMA Student, Saxophone
    MM: Bowling Green State University
    BM: Augustana College
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Shannon Lotti

  • Position: 4th-Year DMA Student, Flute
    MM: University of Nebraska
    BM: University of Texas at Arlington

Website: www.lottiflute.com 
Document Topic: "Student Perceptions of Effective Practice and its Effect on Self-Efficacy and Performance Anxiety"

Read Shannon's bio

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Anthony Marchese

  • Position: ABD DMA Student, Cello
    Adjunct Instructor of Cello: Bluffton University
    MM: Bowling Green State University
    BM: Eastern Michigan University
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David Munro III

  • Position: ABD DMA Student, Oboe
    MM: Bowling Green State University
    BM: Virginia Commonwealth University

Document Topic: “‘Friends of Dorothy’ in the 21st Century: Musical Constructions of Gay Male Identity in Post-Brokeback Mountain Films”

Read David's bio

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Wesley Nielsen

  • Position: 1st-year DMA Student, Trombone
    MM: Indiana University, Bloomington
    BM: Boise State University
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Katherine Pracht Phares

  • Position: ABD DMA Student, Voice (Mezzo-Soprano)
    Assistant Professor of Voice: Bowling Green State University
    MM: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
    BM: The University of Iowa

Website: www.katherinepracht.com
Document Topic: “Factors That Affect Career Trajectories of Professional Opera Singers Over the Age of Forty”

Read Katherine's bio

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Keri Lee Pierson

  • Position: ABD DMA Student, Voice (Soprano)
    Assistant Professor of Voice: Northern Michigan University
    MM: University of South Carolina
    BM: University of Central Florida

Website: www.kerileesoprano.com
Document Topic: “Practicing Collaboration: A Comparative Study of Music Entrepreneurship Programs in Higher Education”

Read Keri Lee's bio

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Sam Valancy

  • Position: 3rd-Year DMA Student, Saxophone
    MM: University of Missouri-Kansas City
    MM: Northwestern University
    BM: University of Miami
    Artist's Certificate: University of Missouri-Kansas City
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Hila Zamir

  • Position: ABD DMA Student, Clarinet
    Professional Studies Diploma: Brooklyn College
    MM: Manhattan School of Music
    BM: Tel Aviv University

Document Topic: “The Honest Journey to Musical Growth: Strategies to Improve Inner Thinking in Music Practice”

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Carolyn Anderson (Voice)

MM: Bowling Green State University
BM: Oberlin Conservatory

Website:
www.carolynsoprano.com/
Member: PACEM

DMA Document: Revisualizing Opera as Film: An Examination of the Pandemic-Era Film-Operas of David T. Little

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Curtis Biggs (Trombone)

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Hong-Da Chin (Composition)

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Rachel Constantino (Horn)

MM: University of California, Los Angeles
BM: Manhattan School of Music

Website: www.rachelconstantino.net
Member: PACEM

DMA Document: Feeling & Feedback: A Survey of Cybernetic Approaches to Electronic Instrument Building & Performance

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Mark Cook (Percussion)

Adjunct Instructor: Bluffton University; Bowling Green State University

Website: www.markcookpercussion.com

DMA Document: Telematic Music: History and Development of the Medium and Current Technologies Related to Performance

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Ariel Magno da Costa (Piano)

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Maria Mercedes Diaz Garcia (Conducting)

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Derek Emch (Clarinet)

Box Office Associate for the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts
Freelance Clarinetist:
Northwest OH/ Southeast MI

DMA Document: Pathways to the Practice of Free Improvisation

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Garrett Evans (Saxophone)

MM: University of Hartford
BM: Lawrence University

Member:
PACEM

DMA Document:  Massive Forces: A Study of Contemporary Maximalist Performance Art Works

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Noa Even (Saxophone)

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Nick Fox (Percussion)

Adjunct Instructor of Percussion: Bowling Green State University

MM: Northern Illinois University
BM: University of Wisconsin Whitewater

Member: Altered Sound Duo

Document Topic: Utilizing Unconventional Percussion Instruments in Solo Electroacoustic Composition: A Literature Survey and Performance Guide

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James Fusik (Saxophone)

Saxophone Lecturer and Director of Athletic Bands: Wayne State University

DMA Document:
 The Theatrical Saxophone: Visual and Narrative Elements in Contemporary Saxophone Music

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Humay Gasimzadeh (Piano)

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Ioana Galu (Violin)

Website: www.ioanagalu.com

Assistant Professor of Violin/Viola: University of South Dakota
Member: Rawlins Piano Trio

DMA Document: The Solo Violin Works of Samuel Adler, Chen Yi, and Shulamit Ran: A Performer's Perspective

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Yen-Lin Goh (Piano)

Senior Lecturer of Piano: Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
Graduate Coordinator: Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
International Coordinator/Pianist: Ge Gan-ru Ensemble
Youtube Channel
OneBeat 2018 Fellow

DMA Document: Reimagining the Story of Lu You and Tang Wan: Ge Gan-ru's Wrong, Wrong, Wrong! and Hard, Hard, Hard!

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Joshua Heaney (Saxophone)

Website: www.heaneymusic.com

Saxophone Instructor & Recruitment Coordinator: Oklahoma City University                   
Program Director Assistant: Snow Pond Music Festival

DMA Document: The Development of Luciano Berio's Sequenza IX and Its Implications for Performance Practice

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Jeffrey Heisler (Saxophone)

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Gunnar Hirthe (Clarinet)

Website: www.gunnarowenhirthe.com/

Adjunct Instructor of Clarinet: College of Wooster
Adjunct Instructor of Clarinet: Cleveland State University

NO EXIT New Music Ensemble

DMA Document: Identity in the Clarinet Music of Michael Finnissy and Evan Ziporyn

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Isabelle Huang Hubbard (Percussion)

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Aaron Hynds (Tuba)

Website: www.soundcloud.com/aaron-hynds

Assistant Professor of Music Industry and Technology, Marshall University School of Music

DMA Document: The Composer's Guide to the Tuba: Creating a New Resource on the Capabilities of the Tuba Family

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Cory Ryan Kasprzyk (Composition)

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Katherine Kilburn (Conducting)

Website: www.katherinekilburn.com

Assistant Director of Orchestras: Michigan State University

DMA Document: Pedagogical Approaches to Conducting Gesture in Contemporary Music

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Yeji Kim (flute)

Assistant Professor of Flute: Mokwon University
Principal Flute: Seoul Royal Symphony Orchestra
Founding member: Contemporary Ensemble Trois C

DMA Document: Hybridity in Flute Music of Four Contemporary Composers

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Garrett Krohn (Horn)

Website: www.unwsp.edu/bio/garrett-krohn

Adjunct Instructor: University of Northwestern, St. Paul, MN

DMA Document: Horn and Live Electronics A Survey of and Performance Guide for a Neglected Repertoire

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Jose Augusto Duarte Lacerda (Percussion)

Website: Youtube

Professor of Percussion: Federal University of Mato Grosso (Brazil)
Freelance Percussionist: Singapore

DMA Document: Self-Actualization: Transcendentalist Discourse in the Work of Stuart Saunders Smith

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Karl Larson (Piano)

Website: www.karllarsonpiano.com/

Brooklyn-based Freelance Pianist (chamber, collaborative, solo)
Co-Founder and PianistBearthoven
Co-Founder and NYC CuratorPermutations
Company Manager, Bang on a Can Summer Institute
Karl Larson and Ashley Bathgate EXCELcast: Making New Music in the Jungle
Youtube

DMA Document: The Solo Piano Music of David Lang

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Jeff Manchur (Piano)

Symphony Orchestra Director Octavio Más-Arocas

Octavio Mas-Arocas (Conducting)

Director of Orchestras: Michigan State University

DMA Document: Fearless Programming: Invigorating the American Orchestral Tradition through New Music

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Chris Murphy (Saxophone)

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Zachary Nyce (Piano)

Minister of Music: Faith United Church
Piano and Voice Faculty: 5th Music Studio
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DMA Document: Heartening Folk: Frederic Rzewski's North American Ballads as an Extension of Folk Culture

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Liz Pearse (Soprano)

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Olman Piedra (Percussion)

Website: www.olmanpiedra.com

Associate Professor of Percussion/Jazz: University of Toledo

DMA Document: Creative Musical Improvisation in the Development and Formation of NEXUS Percussion Ensemble

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Mihai Popean (Composition)

Website: www.popean.com

Vice-Dean of Research/
Director of the Music and Transdisciplinary Research Center:
West University of Timisoara (Romania)

DMA Document: The Stillness of the Silent Sound: A Tantric Analysis of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Aus den sieben Tagen

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Spencer Prewitt (Clarinet)

Website: www.spencerprewitt.com

Assistant Professor of Clarinet: Austin Peay State University
Principal Clarinet: Gateway Chamber Orchestra
Clarinet: Nashville Scoring Orchestra
Substitute Clarinet: Nashville Symphony
Clarinet Faculty: Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp

DMA Document: A Comparison of Teacher-Guided Instruction and Self-Guided Student Practice Strategies

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Michiko Saiki (Piano)

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Timothy Stulman (Composition)

Course Director of Topics in Music Theory
Dean of Music Production:
Full Sail University

DMA Document: A Cultural Analysis of Chen Yi's Si Ji (Four Seasons) For Orchestra

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Stephanie Titus (Piano)

Website: www.stephanietitus.weebly.com

Adjunct Instructor of Music Education: Music Theory: Ohio Northern University
Instrumental Accompanist: University of Findlay
Adjunct Instructor of Piano and Music Theory: Bowling Green State University

DMA Document: Japanese Contemporary Piano Music: Cultural Influence and Identity

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I-Chen Yeh (Piano)

Website: www.oakland.edu/smtd/faculty-staff/i-chen-yeh

Applied Instructor: Oakland University
Adjunct Instructor: Bowling Green State University

DMA Document: The Piano Etudes of David Rakowski

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Matthew Younglove (Saxophone)

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Nicholas Zoulek (Saxophone)

Updated: 08/16/2025 01:44PM