DMA Students & Alumni
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- DMA Students & Alumni
Liam Battle
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Position: 1st-Year DMA Student, Cello
MM: Cleveland Institute of Music
BM: University of Cincinnati
Website: www.liambattle.com
Jared Beu
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Position: 1st-Year DMA Student, Conducting
MM: Southern Methodist University
BM: University of Texas, Austin
Francisca de Castanheiro de Freitas
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Position: 3rd-Year DMA Student, Piano
MM: Bowling Green State University
BM: Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Shelly Du
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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”
Stephen Eckert
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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
Chris Harris
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Position: 2nd-Year DMA Student, Percussion
MM: California State University, Sacramento
BM: California State University, Sacramento
Haley Harrison
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Position: 2nd-Year DMA Student, Clarinet
MM: Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
BM: Eastern Illinois University
Will Hermanowski
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Position: 1st-year DMA Student, Composition
MM: Bowling Green State University
BM: College of Wooster
Website: www.willhermanowski.com/
Martha Haydee Hudson
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Position: 3rd-Year DMA Student, Oboe
MM: Bowling Green State University
BM: Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas
Niayesh Javaheri
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Position: 2nd-Year DMA Student, Piano
MM: University of Oklahoma
BM: Vienna Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Arts
Otávio Manzano Kavakama
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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”
Jacob Koch
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Position: 3rd-Year DMA Student, Percussion
MM: Kent State University
BM: University of Toledo
Jacob Loitz
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Position: 1st-year DMA Student, Saxophone
MM: Bowling Green State University
BM: Augustana College
Shannon Lotti
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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"
Anthony Marchese
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Position: ABD DMA Student, Cello
Adjunct Instructor of Cello: Bluffton University
MM: Bowling Green State University
BM: Eastern Michigan University
David Munro III
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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”
Wesley Nielsen
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Position: 1st-year DMA Student, Trombone
MM: Indiana University, Bloomington
BM: Boise State University
Katherine Pracht Phares
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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”
Keri Lee Pierson
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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”
Sam Valancy
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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
Hila Zamir
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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”
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
Claudia Aizaga (Flute)
Website: www.claudiaaizaga.com
Member: Newphonia
Member: Diverge Trio
DMA Document: Hidden Gems from Latin America: People, Pedagogy and Literature of the Festival Internacional de Flautistas en el Centro del Mundo (1991-present)
Amanda DeBoer Bartlett (Voice)
Member: Ensemble Dal Niente and Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble
Founder: Omaha Under the Radar
Website: www.amandadeboer.com
DMA Document: Ingressive Phonation in Contemporary Vocal Music
Henrique Batista (Percussion)
Website: www.henriquembatista.com
DMA Document: "Africa! Africa! Africa!" Black Identity in Marlos Nobre's Rhythmetron
Curtis Biggs (Trombone)
Adjunct Instructor: Snow College
Website: www.curtistrombone.blogspot.com
Member: Radium Duo
DMA Document: The Pedagogy of Norman Bolter as Examined through the Frequency Bone Summer Music Connection
Hong-Da Chin (Composition)
Website: www.hongdachin.com
Assistant Professor of Theory/Composition: Western Illinois University, Fall 2018
DMA Document: The Music of Marc Battier, Kee Yong Chong and Gene Coleman: Compositions for Traditional Asian Instruments and Electronics in the Twenty-First Century
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
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
Ariel Magno da Costa (Piano)
Freelance Pianist: Northwest OH/ Southeast MI
Website: www.arielmagnodacosta.com
DMA Document: Basque and Modernist Influences in Gabriel Erkoreka's Works for Solo Piano (1994-2019)
Sandy Coursey (Piano)
Maria Mercedes Diaz Garcia (Conducting)
Freelance Conductor: Munich, Germany
Website: www.mercedesdiazgarcia.com
DMA Document: The Shaping of Time in Kaija Saariaho's Émilie: a Performer's Perspective
Pablo Gómez-Estévez (Composition)
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
Garrett Evans (Saxophone)
MM: University of Hartford
BM: Lawrence University
Member: PACEM
DMA Document: Massive Forces: A Study of Contemporary Maximalist Performance Art Works
Noa Even (Saxophone)
Lecturer and Head of Woodwinds-Rowan University
Co-Founder and Executive Director: Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP)
Member: Ogni Suono
Member: Patchwork
Website: www.noaevenmusic.com
DMA Document: Examining François Rossé's Japanese-Influenced Chamber Music with Saxophone: Hybridity, Orality, and Primitivism as a Conceptual Framework
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
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
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
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!
Adam Har-zvi (Composition)
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
Jeffrey Heisler (Saxophone)
Website: www.oakland.edu/smtd/faculty-staff/jeffrey-heisler
Associate Professor of Saxophone: Oakland University
Member: Assembly Quartet
DMA Document: Anatomy and Evolution of Morton Subotnick’s In Two Worlds for Alto Saxophone and Interactive Computer
Gunnar Hirthe (Clarinet)
Website: www.gunnarowenhirthe.com/
Adjunct Instructor of Clarinet: College of Wooster
Adjunct Instructor of Clarinet: Cleveland State University
DMA Document: Identity in the Clarinet Music of Michael Finnissy and Evan Ziporyn
Isabelle Huang Hubbard (Percussion)
United Airlines B777 First Officer
Freelance Percussionist
DMA Document: A Study of the Relationship Between Traditional Peking Opera and Contemporary Western Percussion Music in Mu Kuei-Yin in Percussion by Chien-Hui Hung
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
Cory Ryan Kasprzyk (Composition)
Website: www.coryryancomposer.com
Lecturer of Music: York College (CUNY)
DMA Document: Found Composition: Ecological Awareness and its Impact on Compositional Authority in Music Employing Electronics
Katherine Kilburn (Conducting)
Website: www.katherinekilburn.com
Assistant Director of Orchestras: Michigan State University
DMA Document: Pedagogical Approaches to Conducting Gesture in Contemporary Music
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
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
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
Karl Larson (Piano)
Website: www.karllarsonpiano.com/
Brooklyn-based Freelance Pianist (chamber, collaborative, solo)
Co-Founder and Pianist, Bearthoven
Co-Founder and NYC Curator, Permutations
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
Hillary LaBonte (Soprano)
Jeff Manchur (Piano)
Website: www.jeff.manchur.com
Assistant Instructor of Piano: Heidelberg University
DMA Document: But why is it so Long?: Eschatology and Time Perception as an Interpretation of Morton Feldman's For Philip Guston
Octavio Mas-Arocas (Conducting)
Director of Orchestras: Michigan State University
DMA Document: Fearless Programming: Invigorating the American Orchestral Tradition through New Music
Octavian Moldovean (Flute)
Website: www.moldoveanoctavian.wixsite.com/website
Freelance Musician: Bucharest, Romania
Chris Murphy (Saxophone)
Member: Altered Sound Duo
Director of Bands: Maumee City Schools
DMA Document: Mindfulness and Metacognition: A Guide to Implementing Beneficial Mental Habits in Music Teaching
Zachary Nyce (Piano)
Minister of Music: Faith United Church
Piano and Voice Faculty: 5th Music Studio
Katz 22
DMA Document: Heartening Folk: Frederic Rzewski's North American Ballads as an Extension of Folk Culture
Jonathan Taylor de Oliveira (Piano)
Liz Pearse (Soprano)
Website: www.lizpearse.com
Lecturer of Music: University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire
Adjunct Instructor of Voice: Winoa State University
Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble
Damselfly Trio
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
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
Alex Popovici (Conducting)
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
Michiko Saiki (Piano)
Website: www.michikosaiki.wordpress.com
Freelance pianist/artist: Leipzig, Germany
(con)temporary (in)sights
YouTube Performance
DMA Document: The Vocalizing Pianist: Embodying Gendered Performance
Andrew Martin Smith (Composition)
Website: www.andrewmartinsmith.com
Senior Adjunct Instructor: State University of New York at Fredonia
Instructor of Music Theory/Composition: Interlochen Summer Arts Camp
General Manager: Society of Compoers, Inc.
Co-owner: ADJ•ective New Music, LLC
Head of Institute Database Management: Institute for Composer Diversity
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
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
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
Matthew Younglove (Saxophone)
Website: www.mattyounglove.wixsite.com/mattyounglove
Assistant Professor of Saxophone: Tennessee Tech University
Member: Assembly Quartet
DMA Document: The Saxophone Music of Alex Mincek and Eric Wubbels: Uses of Form, Repetition, and Extended Technique
Nicholas Zoulek (Saxophone)
Website: www.nickzoulek.com
Sole Proprietor: NZ Media
DMA Document: Analyzing the Intersections of Saxophone and Digital Media Through Media Theory
After the initial review of applications (due January 1, 2026), selected applicants will be invited for auditions February 23–February 25, 2026.
DMA Program Coordinator
Dr. Ryan Ebright
eryan@bgsu.edu
Upcoming DMA Events
Updated: 08/16/2025 01:44PM