Alumni

Where Percussion Graduates are Now

• Keith Ballard (BM 1993) director of community relations, Sweetwater Union High School in San Diego.
• Margaret Billin (BM 2004) master’s candidate and graduate teaching assistant at Eastman School of Music and James Madison University.
• Mark Breen (BM 2002) graduate teaching assistant at Northern Illinois University.
• Stan Dahl (MM1997) faculty associate at Central College in Pella, Iowa.
• Robert Edgar (BM 1994) director of bands at Gilbert High School in Gilbert, Arizona.
• Pete Ellingson (MM 2000) adjunct faculty in the College of Arts and Media at the University of Colorado at Denver.
• Corey Fogel (BM 2002) graduate student at California Institute for the Arts.
• Kyle Forsthoff (MM 2006) DMA student at the University of Kentucky.
• Kevin Fuhrman (BM 1990) vice president of Minnesota Percussion Association and freelance musician in Minneapolis, St. Paul.
• Eric Gewirtz (BM 2004) public relations department with the New York Philharmonic.
• Joe Goglia (BM 2006) freelance percussionist and adjunct faculty at Mesa Community College.
• Julie Hill (MM 1996) assistant professor of music at University of Tennessee –Martin. She also is a member of percussion trio Caixa and DMA recipient from the University of Kentucky.
• Paul Koch (MM 2002) assistant band director at Desert Ridge High School in Gilbert, Arizona.
• Jeremy Kushner (DMA 2003) former assistant professor at Missouri Southern State College in Joplin, Missouri.
• Scott Lang (BM 1990) director of bands at Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe, Arizona.
• Keith Lienert (MM 2003) instructor at Elgin Community College in Elgin, Illinois.
• Gabe Lugo (BM 1999) teaching assistantship at the University of Las Vegas and currently director of bands at Moon Valley High School in Phoenix.
• William Meldrum (BM 1990) director of bands at Agua Fria High School in Phoenix.
• Aaron Morales (BM 2006) master’s candidate and graduate teaching assistant at the University of New Mexico.
• Thomas Murphy (MM 2003) adjunct faculty at Mesa Community College and percussion director for the Phoenix Symphony Guild.
• Mike Nichols (MM 1996) former drummer for A. J. Croce.
• Doug Nottingham (DMA 2002) assistant professor at Glendale Community College in Glendale, Arizona.
• John Pennington (DMA 1996) professor of music at Fort Lewis College in Durango Colorado. He also is section percussionist for the Santa Fe Opera.
• Daryle Redmond (MM 1996) faculty associate at Plattsburgh State University in Plattsburgh, New York.
• Chris Reidy (BM 1999, MM in progress) formerly teaching fellow at the University of North Texas and director of bands at Coronado High School in Scottsdale. He extensively toured with the Broadway production of Blast and was featured soloist at Disney Tokyo in Spring 2004.
• Michael Richau (BM 2004) percussionist for Disney production of Blast in Anaheim, California.
• Steve Ridley (BM 1995) Los Angeles free-lance composer and former teaching assistant at the University of California at Los Angeles.
• Tim Rush (MM 2001) free lance percussionist and teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He performs with Caribbean Eclipse and is co-director of CALYPSO, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra's new Steel Band program.
• Dave Sabine (MM 2001) percussion instructor at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan.
• Sandy Schaefer (DMA 1994) professor of music and director of jazz studies at Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska.
• Melanie Sehman (Tebay) (MM 2001) percussion instructor at Queens College. Graduate teaching assistant and DMA recipient from the Eastman School of Music.
• Steve Sehman (BM 2001) master’s student and librarian at the Eastman School of Music.
• Ian Templin (BM 2002) director of bands at Cesar Chavez High School in Laveen, Arizona.
• Ryan Watson (BM 1999) teaching assistantship at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.
• Leo Werner (BM 1990) director of bands at Mountain Pointe High School in Tempe, Arizona.
• Scott Werner (MM 1996) assistant director of bands at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe, Arizona. He performed with Arizona Opera and recorded CDs with Yoshiro Kanno and Summit Brass.
• Valerie Whitchurch (BM 1993) national manager, education for American Musical Instruments
• Andrea Venet (BM 2005) master’s candidate at Rutgers University.

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