Faculty
Gordon R. Brock, Professor, Chair
(904) 620-2961 - grbrock@unf.edu
Dr. Gordon R. Brock is Chair, Director of Bands, and Gerson Yessin Professor at the University of North Florida’s Department of Music in Jacksonville, Florida, where he also conducts the Wind Symphony and Faculty Chamber Winds, performs in the Florida Saxophone Quartet, and instructs courses in conducting and woodwind performance. Earning his B.S. from Dickinson State University, M.M. from Michigan State University, and D.M.A. from the University of Colorado-Boulder, Dr. Brock’s career as a music educator encompasses elementary through university levels.
Under Dr. Brock’s leadership, the Department of Music was awarded an elite flagship designation and has emerged as a program of prominence recognized throughout the region for its renowned faculty, dedication to student learning, and engagement with the community as it continues to garner recognition as one of the fastest growing and leading performance-based programs in the country. Under Dr. Brock’s direction, the UNF Wind Symphony has performed at prestigious events and venues including the annual Upbeat Pink: A Musical Tribute to Breast Cancer Survivorship concert series in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, the Florida Music Educators Association State Conference, Carnegie Hall, and Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.
Before joining UNF, Dr. Brock was Director of Bands at the University of North Dakota, conductor of the Greater Grand Forks Youth Symphony, and the Grand Forks Chamber Ensemble. Under his direction, the UND Wind Ensemble performed at two North Dakota Music Educators Conferences, the Ohio Music Education Association/North Central MENC Professional Conference, and a joint concert series in Great Britain with the Central Band of the White Russian Army. In addition to an annual CD project dedicated to recording the best in traditional and contemporary wind literature, Dr. Brock instituted an annual Conducting Symposium, which attracted both regional and international participants.
Dr. Brock was additionally honored by the Alberta Government for his nationally recognized ensembles and contributions to music education throughout Canada; he was included in the fifth edition of “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.” He has served as a guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States and Canada, including Japan and Israel, and in 2006 was acknowledged as a “Distinguished Alumnus of Dickinson State University.”
Dr. Brock has performed with a broad spectrum of internationally recognized organizations within the mediums of chamber music, jazz, wind band, theater, dance, and orchestra. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association (state chair, 2003-2005), Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Beta Mu, Music Educators National Conference, Florida Bandmasters Association, National Band Association, and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. Additionally, he continues to serve as a Research Associate and author for the instrumental music education series Teaching Music through Performance in Band, a series that now serves as a primary text in more than 300 universities in the United States and 20 countries.
Bunky Green, Professor, Director of Jazz Studies
(904) 620-3859 - bgreen@unf.edu
Performer, educator, composer, arranger, lecturer, and music education consultant, Bunky Green has 14 albums released in his name on vintage labels such as Chess, Exodus, Cadet, and Vanguard. As an international performer, educator, and lecturer, his European tours have taken him to Poland, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and Africa.
Green received film credit for his background solo work in Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun," featuring Danny Glover and Esther Rolle. He is Past President and permanent chair of the Past Presidents Council of the world's largest jazz education organization, the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) and received a rare five-star rating from DownBeat Magazine for his album "Healing the Pain." Along with Gary Burton, Gerald Wilson, Jackie McLean, and Rufus Reid, he was cited in a 1995 DownBeat Magazine article recognizing the nation's leading jazz educators who are also respected players. In January of 1999, Professor Green was inducted into the "IAJE Hall of Fame." In 2003, he was inducted into the "Downbeat Hall of Fame for Jazz Education."
Within the last three years Bunky Green has performed at major jazz festivals in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. Leading European and American jazz magazines have highlighted him as one of the greatest jazz saxophonist on today's jazz scene. In April of 2010 his performance at the Jazz Standard in New York received a great review from
Ben Ratliff in the New York Times. Ben also cited Bunky as being an innovator who has stylistically influenced many of today's great young players. Additionally, he has earned two five star CDs here in the United States and one four and a half in Germany. Green's latest CD "Apex" was released in 2010.
Dennis Holt, Professor, Area Coordinator, Music Education
(904) 910-9197 - dholt@unf.edu
Dr. Holt’s career as a teacher educator encompasses elementary through university levels. Before coming to UNF Dr. Holt taught music in elementary, middle, and high schools in West Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania and music teacher education in the schools of music at the University of Illinois and Ohio State University, where he received the "Joseph A. Leeder Memorial Award for Outstanding Graduate Study in Music."
Dr. Holt is an active tenor soloist and choral singer, having studied with Ken Lesight, Lois Collins, Fritz Kruger, and Joseph Huszti. Dr. Holt has published books, book chapters, and articles in professional journals, including the Music Educators Journal, The Council for Research in Music Education Bulletin, and The Florida Music Director on topics such as strategies for music teaching and learning, assessment tests for music teachers, and portfolios for documenting teaching excellence. He has been awarded funded grants exceeding two million dollars.
Dr. Holt serves as a consultant to colleges and schools for the development of long-range plans and the uses of electronic portfolios for the assessment of teaching and learning. In 2005 he received an International Award for "Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Technology." Dr. Holt was Professor and Chair of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at UNF, 1991-1998. From 1980-1987, he was the Assistant Dean of the College of Education and Human Services.
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Rhonda Cassano, Adjunct Professor, Flute
(904) 620-5862 - rcassano@unf.edu
Rhonda Cassano has been a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra since 1979, is currently the Professor of Flute at the University of North Florida, and has served as Professor of Flute at Jacksonville University. Cassano is an active recitalist and chamber musician, founder of "Sound Effects: Music at MOCA," Synergy Chamber Ensemble, the St. Johns Chamber Players, and the St. Mark's Bach Ensemble and has appeared as a soloist with the Jacksonville Symphony on numerous occasions. Cassano holds a Master of Music degree from Florida State University where she studied with Charlie DeLaney. In subsequent years she studied with Geoffrey Gilbert, former principal flutist with the Royal Philharmonic under Sir Thomas Beecham, and in master classes with the acclaimed British flutist and former solo flutist with St. Martin in the Fields, William Bennett.
In 1987 and 2000, Cassano was a winner of the National Flute Association's newly published music performer’s competition, and has appeared several times as soloist at the NFA conventions. She was awarded an artist-fellow to the 1989 Bach Aria Festival and has participated in the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival and the Colorado Music Festival.
Cassano is a trained Andover Educator and teacher of Body Mapping, a system developed to help musicians perform with efficient, graceful, coordinated, and effective movement.
Guy Yehuda, Associate Professor, Clarinet
(904) 620-3836 - g.yehuda@unf.edu - Website
Clarinetist Guy Yehuda is recognized as an outstanding talent on the international concert stage around the world today. Dr. Yehuda is the top prizewinner of the "2003 Heida Hermanns International Woodwind Competition," the "2004 Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition," and the "2004 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition" (as member of Trio di Colore.) Since his North American Concerto debut with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra and conductor Peter Oundjian, Dr. Yehuda has toured extensively in Europe, North America, and Israel. As principal clarinetist, performances include concerts with the Israel Philharmonic, Lucerne Contemporary Festival Orchestra, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, among others as well as guest clarinetist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Yehuda performed on tours of Europe and the U.S. under the batons of top conductors including Pierre Boulez, Zubin Mehta, Kurt Masur, Kent Nagano, Yuri Temirkanov, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Sir Andrew Davis, Kurt Sanderling, Roberto Abbado, Cliff Colnot, Fabio Mechetti, Peter Oundjian, and Daniel Barenboim. He performed and collaborated with the world’s top composers and performers such as Pierre Boulez, Steve Reich, George Benjamin, Menahem Pressler from the Beaux-Arts Trio, and the Cypress String Quartet to name a few. Recently Dr. Yehuda premiered a new clarinet concerto written for him by the renowned Israeli composer Haim Permont, with the acclaimed Tel-Aviv Soloist Orchestra in a 2009-10 concert tour to raving reviews. A highly demanded musician, he has performed as soloist and chamber musician at the Spoleto Festival (USA), Verbier Festival and Lucerne Festival (Switzerland), Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Parry Sound Festival, Domain Forget Festival (Canada), Fountain Arts concert series, and at the Israeli Chamber Music Festivals of Kfar Blum and Haifa.
Dr. Yehuda is a sought after recitalist throughout North America and Europe. He has performed as soloist in prestigious halls and venues such as Carnegie Hall, Domain Forget, (Canada), Chicago Symphony Hall, Palacio Fuz and Casa di Musica in Portugal, Mann auditorium in Tel Aviv, and Dame Myra Hess Chamber Series to name a few. He is a particularly active chamber musician and tours extensively with the award winning chamber music group: Trio di Colore (with Yuval Gotlibovich-Viola and Jimmy Briere-Piano) of which he is the founding member. Dr. Yehuda has appeared numerous times as a guest artist on CBC Canadian Radio, Radio-Canada, NPR, WFMT Chicago, KUHF Houston, DRS Swiss Radio, Portugal National Radio, and Israel’s Classical radio station, as well as TV appearances on Israel’s Channel 2 and Chicago's Channel 25. Dr. Yehuda has recorded with Hal Leonard productions, IU New Music Ensemble, and number of live recordings for the CBC. A new CD recording for solo and trio music by French composer Jean Francaix, was released on the XII-21 Canadian Label in 2009 as well as a new CD recording with Albany records in the same year.
Dr. Yehuda has given master classes throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Israel. He is a Selmer-Paris artist and an active clinician in the U.S. and abroad and has been frequently invited to judge on national and international competitions, as well as frequent soloist at the ICA ClarinetFest conferences in the U.S. and abroad and the Oklahoma clarinet symposium. Dr. Yehuda is the artistic director of the Florida Clarinet Extravaganza - an annual clarinet festival - and over the summer months he is the Artist–Teacher resident at the acclaimed Orford festival in Quebec, Canada. Currently he serves on the faculty at the University of North Florida as Professor of Clarinet and Chamber Music. As an accomplished conductor, he served as Conductor-in-Residence of the Royal Conservatory Orchestra in Toronto, working with maestros George Cleve, Leon Fleischer, and Gary Kulesha. During his studies at Indiana University, Dr. Yehuda worked with conductors David Effron and Imre Palo and is also a published composer and winner of the prestigious Israeli Sharet composition award, having worked individually with Pierre Boulez, P.Q. Phan, Alexander Rappoport, Yinaam Leef, and Haim Permont.
Dr. Yehuda studied with distinguished clarinetists James Campbell, Eli Eban, Avrahm Galper, Charles Neidich, Larry Combs, Howard Klug, Alfred Prinz, and Yitzhak Katzap. He received his Doctorate and Master’s Degrees from Indiana University Jacob School of Music, as well as a Performer Certificate, the highest honor given to a performer at this venerable institution. Prior to that he received his Artist Diploma and Bachelor’s degree from the Glenn Gould Professional Music School at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Gabriel Bergeron, Adjunct Professor, Bassoon
(904) 620-2961 - N/A
Claudia Minch, Adjunct Professor, Oboe
(904) 620-2961 - c.minch.61856@unf.eduClaudia Minch has been a member of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra since 1979. Minch, who plays the oboe, English horn, and the Oboe D'Amore in the Symphony, was educated at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. She earned her Bachelors and Masters degree graduating with honors.
While she was in Boston, Minch performed with the Portland (Maine) Symphony and toured extensively with the New England Ragtime Ensemble under the direction of Gunther Schuller. Her woodwind quintet, Quintet de Legno, won the Young Artists Guild Competition in New York, in 1977, and was given a Carnegie Recital Hall debut.
Since moving to Jacksonville, Minch has performed with the Savannah Symphony and has participated in the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, Spoleto, and the Cullowhee Summer Music Festival. She has appeared as soloist with the Jacksonville Symphony, the Brunswick Civic Orchestra, the UNF Faculty Woodwind Quintet, and at local Chamber Music Concerts and churches.
Michael Bovenzi, Assistant Professor, Saxophone and Music Theory, Area Coordinator - Winds, Brass, and Percussion (Recruiting Coordinator)
(904) 620-3846 - mbovenzi@unf.edu
Dr. Michael Bovenzi currently teaches saxophone and serves as an instructor in music theory, computer music applications, woodwind courses, and chamber music. Dr. Bovenzi holds the position of Assistant Professor and Music Theory coordinator.
As a performer, Dr. Bovenzi is an active soloist of contemporary music and has performed and premiered numerous works at national meetings of the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) and the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS). His studio recording of Ed Martin’s "Apparitions" appears on the compact disc "Wavefields," a compilation of music from the Experimental Music Studios of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Bovenzi has also appeared as a soloist with the University of Florida Symphony Orchestra, University of Florida and University of Illinois Jazz Bands, and University of North Florida Wind Symphony. He is featured on the album "Hot Sonatas," a collection of jazz-influenced chamber music by Dr. Gary Smart.
Dr. Bovenzi has held teaching positions at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida, where he taught saxophone, woodwind techniques, and coached chamber groups. He has maintained successful private teaching studios in Florida and Illinois and his students frequently receive recognition at the county and state level. His renowned teachers have included Debra Richtmeyer, Jonathan Helton, Chip McNeil, and Joe Lulloff.
Dr. Bovenzi holds the Doctorate in Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois, with a minor in music theory. He earned his undergraduate degrees in performance and composition, and a Masters Degree in performance from the University of Florida.
Laura Dwyer, Adjunct Professor, Secondary Flute
(904) 620-2961 - l.dwyer@unf.edu
Laura Dwyer served as Principal Flute of the Sarasota Opera Orchestra for six seasons and the Musica de Camara for nine seasons. She has also been a member of the Santa Fe Symphony, Opera Southwest, Fox Valley Symphony, the New Philharmonic, and the Classical Symphony, Laura has also performed with The Florida Orchestra, the Sarasota Symphony, the Rockford Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, the University of Chicago Summer Opera Festival Orchestra, The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera. Before leaving New Mexico, Laura was on the faculty of the University of New Mexico and was a member of the New Mexico Woodwind Quintet. Laura is currently instructor of Flute for Jacksonville University and Jazz Flute at The University of North Florida. She is also flutie/picc with the Colorado Music Festival. As a chamber musician, Laura has also performed with Soundings, the Chicago Chamber Music Collective, and the prestigious Cube ensemble of Chicago. As a Jazz flutist, Laura has performed with the Dallas Jazz Orchestra, the University of North Texas Lab Bands, and the University of Whitewater Summer Jazz Camp Faculty Big Band. She has played alongside jazz greats Frank Mantooth, Dennis Diblasio, and Paul Guerrero. A certified yoga instructor, Laura is currently teaching masterclasses for musicians geared toward managing performance anxiety through increased body and breath awareness.
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Randall Tinnin, Associate Professor, Trumpet
(904) 620-3844 - rtinnin@unf.edu - Website
Dr. Randall Tinnin (Rutgers University, D.M.A., Juilliard, M.M., and the University of North Texas, B.M.) is the Associate Professor of Trumpet, and the director of the Brass Ensemble at the University of North Florida.
An active soloist, Dr. Tinnin has appeared throughout the U.S. and in the U.K., and won the "2006 North American Brass Band Association Solo Contest." New York area engagements include appearances with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Queens Philharmonic, and WQXR-NY radio broadcasts. Early music appearances include the American Bach Society, San Francisco Bach Choir, St. Bartholomew's Chamber Orchestra, and the NYC chapter of the Early Music Foundation.
Dr. Tinnin's research has been published in the International Trumpet Guild Journal and the Journal for the Arts in Society and he appears regularly with his trio, Serafini Brillanti.
Kevin Reid, Adjunct Professor, Horn
(904) 620-2961 - kreid@unf.edu
A native of Florida, Reid is currently the principal hornist of the Jacksonville Symphony. Prior, he was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. Professor Reid's former teachers include Greg Hustis and William Capps. He has played with symphony orchestras in Dallas, Waco, Tallahassee, Albany, Aspen, Boston, Breckenridge, and the Dominican Republic.
Professor Reid maintains an active role in chamber music, performing several times a year with the First Coast Woodwind Quintet. He spends his summers teaching and performing at the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Note: For Dr. Marc Dickman and Dr. Clarence Hines' bios, please see Jazz Studies section on this page.
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Charlotte Mabrey, Professor, Percussion
(904) 620-3831 - cmabrey@unf.edu - Website
Charlotte Mabrey was honored as a "Gerson Yessin Professor" and a Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of North Florida. Since 1977, Mabrey has been the principal percussionist of the Jacksonville Symphony. As a result, she has performed as soloist with the JSO on several occasions, including on Milhaud’s "Concertino, Ney Rosauro’s "Concerto for Marimba and Strings," and "Concerto for Percussion" by Richard Rodney Bennett as a part of the JSO Master Works Series.
Mabrey's duties at UNF include applied percussion lessons, percussion techniques, the "Live Music in Jacksonville" lecture class, and conducting the UNF Percussion Ensemble, which is extremely active both on and off campus. The group's performances include area colleges, at guest artists with the JSO, and at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.
Each year Mabrey presented as entertaining and eclectic recital at UNF titled, "An Evening of 20th Century Music." This innovative programs included works for solo marimba, multiple percussion, and chamber ensembles, as well as original works with fellow artist, Robert Arleigh White. In 1997, Professor Mabrey established the "Evening of 20th Century Music Scholarship Program." After 25 years, the event had its last performance in 2008.
In 2001, Professor Mabrey was named "Distinguished Professor" at UNF.
Kevin Garry, Adjunct Professor, Percussion
(904) 620-2961 - N/A
Kevin Garry currently performs in the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Prior to joining the JSO, Garry was a member of the New World Symphony (Miami Beach) where he performed regularly under the leadership of Michael Tilson Thomas. While living in Michigan, Garry was Principal Percussionist with the Flint Symphony Orchestra (1988-1991) and a member of the Saginaw Symphony and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. In 1992, Garry was elected by his colleagues to be the recipient of the "New World Symphony's Community Board Award for Leadership and Artistic Excellence."
Garry started drumming in the fourth grade as a member of the Colonial Musketeers Fife and Drum Corps while growing up in Hackettstown, New Jersey. He remained with the group for eight years marching in parades festivals and competitions. Garry won the "New Jersey State Rudimental Snare Drum Championship" in 1979 and 1981. His primary rudimental snare drum instructors were famed DCI instructor Bobby Thompson and Peter Hubert. Throughout middle school and high school, Garry studied snare drum and drum set with Vincent "Muzzy" Mizzoni, and studied timpani and keyboard percussion with Alfred Jorgensen, timpanist with the New Jersey State Opera. During his college years, Garry performed with Disney's All-American College Band (1986), the American Waterways Wind Orchestra (1987), the National Repertory Orchestra (1988), Summit Brass (1988), and the Pacific Music Festival (1991). He graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in Biology and a B.M. in Percussion Performance. While at Oberlin, Kevin studied with Michael Rosen. He received his Masters Degree from the University of Michigan where he studied with Dr. Michael Udow and Salvatore Rabbio.
Garry taught in the percussion department at Stetson University from 2005-2010, and currently teaches at Florida State College at Jacksonville, serves as an adjunct instructor at the University of North Florida and maintains a large private studio in the Jacksonville area.
Note: For Danny Gottlieb's bio, please see Jazz Studies section on this page.
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Simon Shiao, Associate Professor, Violin/Viola
(904) 620-3835 - sshiao@unf.edu
Dr. Simon Shiao is a versatile performer who holds the distinction of having performed at Carnegie Hall in three different capacities, as a recitalist and with both string quartet and orchestra.
Dr. Shiao has appeared around the world in concert, as well as on broadcasts of CNN's Science and Technology program and on Public Radio's Live on WGBH Radio. Highlights of his performances include concerts at the Museum of Oceanography in Monte Carlo, the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston, and as soloist with the New World Symphony in Miami. He has also appeared at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, A Winter Festival in Jerusalem, and the Heidelberg Schloss Festspiele in Germany. As co-concertmaster of the New World Symphony, Dr. Shiao led that orchestra at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas and John Adams.
Dr. Shiao currently performs with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra in Wyoming. At the University of North Florida he teaches violin and viola and is the Director of Orchestral Studies. He has adjudicated the Music Teachers' National Association Young Artist Competitions and the UNF String Competition, and has presented lecture-recitals and master classes at numerous universities and conservatories in the U.S., Belize, Taiwan, and China. He is currently the chair of the solo competition for the Florida Chapter of the American String Teachers Association.
Dr. Shiao holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and Master and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Nick Curry, Assistant Professor, Cello, Area Coordinator - Strings
(904) 620-3837 - nick.curry@unf.edu
Dr. Nick Curry was recently appointed as Professor of Cello at the University of North Florida. He is a founding member of Trio Florida with violinist Simon Shiao and pianist Gary Smart, featuring new compositions as well as timeless classics. From 2004-2007, he served as the professor of cello and the cellist in the Rawlins Piano Trio at the University of South Dakota.
He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where he studied cello with David Starkweather from the University of Georgia. Nick received his Bachelor of Music from Vanderbilt, where he studied with Grace Mihi Bahng. While at Vanderbilt, he served as Professor Bahng’s teaching assistant and was the recipient of the Jean Keller Heard Award for Excellence in string performance. Nick then served as Hans Jorgen Jensen’s teaching assistant for five years at Northwestern University, where he earned his Master of Music and Doctoral degrees. He also was the teaching assistant to Professor Jensen at the Meadowmount School of Music for four summers. While at Northwestern, Nick performed as soloist with the Northwestern Philharmonic Orchestra and won the Northwestern Chamber Music Competition.
Nick has played in master classes for Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirschbaum, Paul Katz, David Geber, the Emerson String Quartet, the Pacifica String Quartet, and the Blair String Quartet. Private studies have also included Harvey Shapiro, David Finckel, and John Kochanowski. Nick has played concerts in Taiwan, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, France, Austria and throughout the United States. He has presented in national conferences and is a sought after clinician, adjudicator and plans special projects for the state chapter of the American String Teachers Association.
In April of 2006, he performed as a soloist on National Public Radio (USA) Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion on the King Amati (ca. 1538) cello. The performance was heard by over 4,000 people live and by approximately 4 million on radio and can be found on the Prairie Home Companion website archives.
This summer, Dr. Curry will be visiting faculty at the Meadowmount School of Music, will teach for ten days in Costa Rica, will premiere a piece by Daniel Roumain all over South Africa and will be on faculty at both the UNF string camp and the Tennessee Valley Music Festival.
Renate Falkner, Adjunct Professor, Viola
(904) 620-2961 - r.falkner@unf.edu
Praised for her versatility and creativity, American violist Renate Falkner enjoys an active career as an orchestral and chamber musician, performing across the U.S. and abroad. Equally at home on both modern and baroque viola, she is a member of the New Haven Symphony, Boston Baroque, and performs regularly with groups such as the Baltimore Symphony and Orchestra New England, as well as orchestras and opera companies throughout Florida. Falkner is a regular guest artist with the Fontenay Chamber Players and also frequently collaborates with internationally renowned flutist Sergio Pallottelli in diverse chamber ensembles with guitar (Trio Tropicale) and harp (Anthos Trio and Trio Salzedo.) She has also performed alongside such artists as violinist Erick Friedman, violist Jesse Levine, harpist Rita Costanzi, and oboist Joe Robinson. She has been heard in chamber collaborations in venues as diverse as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Yale's Beinecke Rare Book Library, in orchestras at Carnegie Hall and Boston’s Jordan Hall, as well as such forums as the American Harp Society and the National Association of Composers, U.S.A.
Summer appearances abroad have included the Verbier Festival, Switzerland, the Spoleto Festival, Italy, and a faculty appointment at the Carvalho Festival of Music in Fortaleza, Brazil. She also performs annually at the Bellingham Festival of Music, WA, and the Quartz Mountain Music Festival, OK. Falkner is also an active performer of popular music, regularly accompanying such diverse artists as Frank Sinatra, Jr., Smokey Robinson, Bernadette Peters, and Johnny Mathis. She has recorded for the Chandos, Nimbus, and Rezound music labels.
An accomplished teacher, Falkner received her undergraduate training at the Oberlin College and Conservatory, earning degrees in both viola and Ancient Greek, studying with Roland Vamos. She completed her graduate studies at Yale University as a scholarship student of the late violist Jesse Levine. Currently, she is pursuing a doctoral degree in viola at Florida State University, studying the viola music of English composer York Bowen.
Jason M. Lindsay, Adjunct Professor, String Bass
(904) 620-2961 - drjml@hotmail.com
Jason Lindsay is among the most versatile and in-demand bassists in Florida. His career has spanned the gamut from Touring with Tony-Winning Broadway productions to his critically acclaimed recordings for Klavier Records in Boca Raton.
A graduate of Florida State University and the University of Miami, Lindsay earned the Doctorate of Musical Arts while studying with Lucas Drew in Miami. A former faculty member of the Suwanee Summer Music Center, South Carolina Governors School of the Arts, the New World School of the Arts, and the University of Miami, Lindsay has been an Artist for the past 11 seasons with the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival, and is featured on five of their critically acclaimed CDs.
Lindsay currently performs with the Jacksonville Symphony and the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra.
Melissa Barrett, Adjunct Professor, Violin
(904) 620-2961 - m.barrett.119891@unf.edu
Coming soon.
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Krzysztof Biernacki, Associate Professor, Baritone (Head of Applied Voice)
(904) 620-3852 - k.biernacki@unf.edu - Website
Dr. Krzysztof Biernacki established strong reputation as a powerful performer, versatile stage director, and talented pedagogue. Born and raised in Poland, his professional credits include opera, oratorio, concert, and recital performances in Canada, United Sates, and Europe. Dr. Biernacki holds degrees from University of Manitoba (B. Mus.), University of Western Ontario (M. Mus.), and University of British Columbia (D.M.A). He holds the position of Assistant Professor and Head of Applied Voice at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
As a singer Dr. Biernacki has appeared in principal roles with Vancouver Opera, Manitoba Opera, Calgary Opera, Orchestra London Canada, Theaters of Jablonec and Usti nad Labem in Czech Republic, as well as opera ensembles of University of British Columbia and University of Western Ontario. Highlights of his operatic engagements include "Eugene Onegin," "Barber of Seville," "Madam Butterfly," "La Boheme," "Cunning Little Vixen," "La Fanciulla del West," "Rigoletto," "Carmen," "Dido & Aeneas," "The Crucible," "Merry Widow," "Die Fledermaus," "Der Freischütz," "Un Ballo in Maschera," "Don Pasquale," "Gianni Schicchi," and "Merry Widow."
Dr. Biernacki's commitment to contemporary music is highlighted by world premiere performances heard on CBC Radio and CBC Saturday Afternoon at the Opera including a highly acclaimed production of "Filumena" co-produced by the Calgary Opera and Banff Centre for Performing Arts. Last summer Dr. Biernacki made his Carnegie Hall debut with UNF Wind Ensemble (now Wind Symphony) performing works of Tchaikovsky and Tosti. In October 2009 he was reengaged for a recital of opera arias and duets at Carnegie Zankel Hall.
Praised for excellent musicianship and respected as a solo recitalist, Dr. Biernacki frequently performs song recitals ranging in repertoire from Haydn to Szymanowski, Shostakovich, and Britten. His concert and oratorio appearances include Vancouver, Winnipeg, Okanagan, and Calgary Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Vancouver Bach Choir. His summer 2009 engagements included solo recitals in Italy and Poland, concerts with North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and two opera engagements at the European Music Academy in Czech Republic. Additional stage directing accomplishments include establishment of UNF Opera Ensemble which produces complete opera productions, engages in community outreach, student recruitment, and propagation of operatic arts in the Jacksonville community. In 2010, Dr. Biernacki's student Opera Ensemble toured the Czech Republic performing Mozart's "The Magic Flute."
Dr. Biernacki is often engaged as an adjudicator, competition judge, Master Class presenter, and clinician. He is in high demand as a voice teacher and his students have been accepted to prestigious graduate programs including Manhattan School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, University of Michigan, Boston Conservatory, and New York University.
James Hall, Assistant Professor, Area Coordinator - Applied Voice
(904) 620-5792 - james.hall@unf.edu
Dr. James Hall, tenor, enjoys an active and varied career that includes opera, oratorio, chamber music, and solo recital. His artistic versatility is evident through a diverse repertoire that spans baroque to contemporary music. Consistently praised for his elegant musicality and soaring high register, Hall has performed as a soloist throughout the United States with groups such as Mercury Baroque, Masterworks Chorus and Orchestra of Washington, D. C., Shepherd School of Music Chamber Orchestra, and St. Matthew’s Cathedral. A new music advocate, Hall has participated in projects with renowned composers Kirke Mechem, Daniel Catan, Carlyle Floyd, and Ann Gebuhr.
Recent and upcoming engagements include appearances with Miami Bach Society as haute-contre soloist in Andre Campra’s "Requiem" and as tenor soloist in Carl Orff’s "Carmina Burana" with The University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory Dancers, Choirs, and Wind Symphony.
Well-regarded as an accomplished pedagogue, Dr. Hall has presented master classes in Los Angeles, Kansas City, Washington, D.C., and throughout Texas. He maintains an active voice studio at the University of North Florida, where he joined the faculty in 2011. Dr. Hall holds advanced degrees from The Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland as well as Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.
Cara Tasher, Associate Professor, Soprano (Director of Choral Activities)
(904) 620-3839 - cara.tasher@unf.edu
Due to her own meaningful experiences in renowned organizations such as the Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Atlanta Symphony Chorus, Trinity Choir at Wall Street, Conspirare, and Experiment in International Living, Dr. Cara Tasher strives to instill the passion for excellence in choral music in her singers along with an appreciation of different cultures. In addition to life in Jacksonville as Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Voice at University of North Florida, she occasionally serves as chorus master for Opera de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. As a soprano soloist, Dr. Tasher has performed at Jacksonville's Friday Musicale, Chicago's Grant Park, NYC's Merkin Hall, the 92nd Street Y, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Dublin's National Concert Hall and continues to keep a selective voice studio.
Dr. Tasher has prepared masterworks for professional organizations and worked with numerous high schools, universities, and community ensembles both in the U.S. and abroad as guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator. She has conducted choral ensembles in Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, and the United States and toured with her own ensembles to Bulgaria, Canada, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
Following her tenure as associate conductor of the Young People's Chorus of New York City where she designed two ensembles and two annual workshops that continue to bloom, she co-developed and conducted the Vocalizze Festival in Portugal from 2004-2009. Dr. Tasher studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, winning the 2006 university-wide "Excellence in Teaching Award," University of Texas at Austin, La Sorbonne, and Northwestern University.
Director of Culture for the Jacksonville Sister Cities Association, Tasher is also editor of the International Federation of Choral Music Choral Bulletin Composer's Corner and serves as the Florida Repertoire & Standards Chair for College and University Choirs for the American Choral Director's Association. She is honored to receive the "2010 Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award" at UNF.
Marilyn Smart, Adjunct Professor, Soprano
(904) 620-2961 - m.smart.61857@unf.edu
Marilyn Smart's musical career has been both active and diverse. She has worked with such luminaries as Robert Shaw, Seiji Ozawa, and Dave Brubeck, and has sung in unique venues in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Smart’s singing has delighted audiences not only in public and university concert halls, but also in rural American schools, special cultural outreach venues in Japan, and even Eskimos villages in northern Alaska.
Awarded a special citation by the Ford Foundation's Contemporary Music Project, she has long championed the work of contemporary composers and, with her husband, composer-pianist Gary Smart, is recognized for their performances of American art song. A former student of Margaret Harshaw, Josef Metternich, and Phyllis Curtin, Smart has taught at the University of Wyoming, Kobe College, and Osaka University. Since joining the faculty of UNF in 1999, she has performed as soloist with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, for the Friday Musicale, the St. Cecelia Society, and many other local musical organizations. At UNF, she teaches Applied Voice, French, Italian, and German Diction, as well as Vocal Literature.
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Gary Smart, Professor, Piano/Composition/Improvisation
(904) 620-3856 - gsmart@unf.edu- Website
Dr. Gary Smart's career has encompassed a wide range of activities as composer, classical and jazz pianist, and teacher. Always a musician with varied interests, he may be the only pianist to have studied with Yale scholar/keyboardist Ralph Kirkpatrick, the great Cuban virtuoso Jorge Bolet, and the master jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. A true American pluralist, Dr. Smart composes and improvises a music that reflects an abiding interest in Americana, jazz, and world musics, as well as the Western classical tradition.
Dr. Smart’s work has been supported by the Guggenheim Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Music Educator's National Conference, the Music Teacher's National Association, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Dr. Smart’s music has been performed in major venues in the U.S., including the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, as well as venues in Europe and Asia. His "Concordia" for orchestra won the "Concordia Jazz Composition Award" and was premiered at Lincoln Center, New York.
Dr. Smart's compositions are published by Margun Music (G. Schirmer) and his work has been recorded on the Mastersound, Capstone and Albany labels. His CDs "The Major’s Letter," which features his songs for voice and piano, "American Beauty – a ragtime bouquet," "Hot Sonatas," a collection of jazz-influenced chamber music, and "Turtle Dreams of Flight," original music for solo piano performed by the composer, have all been released recently by Albany Records. His "Song of the Holy Ground" for string quartet and piano won the "2008 John Donald Robb Musical Trust Composers’ Competition" and was premiered at the 2009 Robb Composers’ Symposium at the University of New Mexico.
Dr. Smart has spent two residencies in Japan, teaching in programs at Osaka University and Kobe College. He has also taught in Indonesia as "Distinguished Lecturer in Jazz" under the auspices of the Fulbright program. From 1999-2003, he served as Chairman of the UNF Music Department.
Dr. Smart is currently a "Presidential Professor of Music at the University of North Florida."
Erin K. Bennett, Assistant Professor, Area Coordinator - Piano/Pedagogy
(904) 620-3854 - e.bennett@unf.edu - Website
Dr. Erin Bennett is Assistant Professor of Piano and Pedagogy at the University of North Florida, where she teaches applied and class piano, piano accompanying, and coordinates the new degree program in Piano Pedagogy. During her summers she teaches piano and piano pedagogy at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan.
Prior to her appointment, Dr. Bennett served as the Interim Coordinator of Secondary Piano and Piano Pedagogy at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she also taught piano through the University of Cincinnati’s Communiversity program. She has maintained private piano studios in Florida, Ohio, and Texas, and served as an adjunct instructor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Dr. Bennett has presented at both the national conference of Music Teacher’s National Association and the National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum (GP3). Her research has been published in Clavier Companion and American Music Teacher.
As a performer, Dr. Bennett has appeared throughout the U.S. and in the Czech Republic, Belgium, France, and Spain. She has performed as a soloist with the University of Florida Symphony Orchestra and in collaboration with members of the Oregon Mozart Players. 2010-2011 engagements include chamber music performances at the Jacksonville MOCA and the Jacksonville Friday Musicale, a lecture-recital with the EMMA Concert Association, as well as solo recitals throughout Northeast Florida and Ohio and performances with her trio, Serafini Brillanti.
Dr. Bennett received degrees in piano performance from Rice University, the University of Florida, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she pursued dual cognates in music history and piano pedagogy. Her principal teachers have included Eugene and Elizabeth Pridonoff, Robert Roux, Michelle Conda, and Virginia Hawley Buhn.
Michael Mastronicola, Adjunct Professor, Piano
(904) 620-2961 - m.mastronicola@unf.edu
Michael Mastronicola performs extensively as a solo and collaborative pianist, appearing in concerts throughout the United States and Europe. He currently teaches at Jacksonville University, the University of North Florida, and the Northeast Florida Conservatory.
He has performed Bach, Handel, and Fauré with the Boulder Philharmonic and has taught previously at Front Range Community College. His most recent recording is “Then Sings My Soul” with soprano Tresa Waggoner.
Dr. Mastronicola has been praised for his “expressive” and “intelligent, skilled” playing. He was selected to be the coach accompanist and harpsichordist with the Opera Colorado Outreach Ensemble, during which time he was recognized for his “outstanding dedication and exemplary community service.” In addition to adjudicating numerous music competitions, he served as guest conductor of the Boulder County Multiple Piano Festival. He has presented lectures to area music groups including local MTNA chapters, and his students have won recognition in local festivals and competitions.
Dr. Mastronicola holds degrees from the University of Colorado-Boulder (D.M.A), the University of Wisconsin-Madison (M.M.), and Ithaca College (B.M.).
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Michelle Amato, Adjunct Professor, Voice
(904) 620-2961 - m.amato.61435@unf.edu - Website
Michelle Amato is a dynamic vocalist whose abilities to convey the deep passion of a lyric, as well as soar effortlessly through the stratosphere, are making her one of the most in demand names in music today.
Amato performs regularly at the Van Dyke Café on South Beach, Timpano's Restaurant, and The Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando, as well as numerous music festivals. She has been a featured soloist with the Memphis Symphony, the South Florida Pops, the Baton Rouge Symphony, the Florida West Coast Symphony, the Orlando Philharmonic, and the All-American College Orchestra at Epcot Center. Amato also stays extremely active in the recording studio singing and contracting for Royal Caribbean, Costa and Carnival Cruise Lines, Warner Brothers and Shawnee Press Publishers, Walt Disney World, and numerous jingle production companies throughout the country.
Amato has performed and recorded with an incredibly diverse array of artists including Liza Minelli, Jon Secada, Al Green, Sandi Patty, Jon Hendricks, Donna Summer, Michael McDonald, Celia Cruz, Rita Marley, and has most recently been recording and touring with world renowned composer Yanni. Her solo work can be heard on his latest CD "Ethnicity" and she is a featured soloist on his newest video, "Yanni Live." She recorded the title cut on Dirty Martini's debut CD "Save Your Love for Me" and her own debut CD "I'm All Smiles" is completed and available for purchase at www.michelleamato.com.
Amato, who holds a Master's Degree from the prestigious University of Miami School of Music, is also in great demand as an educator and clinician. She has coached vocalists for Cirque du Soleil and taught private students and directed jazz vocal ensembles at The University of Miami, Miami Dade Community College, The University of Memphis, Rollins College, and is currently teaching at The University of North Florida. She has conducted vocal Master Classes and clinics for the International Association of Jazz Educators, The North American Cultural Center in San Jose, Costa Rica, and various groups at Walt Disney World, including the popular Voices of Liberty, a group she also had the pleasure of performing in for several years. Her adjudicating duties include the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, the Florida Vocal Association, and various jazz societies.
Lynne Arriale, Associate Professor, Piano
(904) 620-3840 - l.arriale@unf.edu - Website
Lynne Arriale has been critically praised as a pianist and composer with a singular voice and signature sound. Her compelling compositions, refreshing melodies and reinterpretations of pop and rock classics have helped create new audiences previously unfamiliar with jazz.
“I really can’t compare her to anyone,” said recent collaborator and multi-Grammy winner Randy Brecker. “Her music transcends the word ‘jazz’ – it is just pure music.”
“Lynne Arriale’s brilliant musicianship and bandstand instincts place her among the top jazz pianists of the day” (The New York Times)
“Arriale is putting the heart back into jazz” (Clive Davis, London Times).
Arriale has recorded 12 highly acclaimed albums as a leader. Her newest, Convergence, which reached #4 on the National Jazz Radio Charts, is an eclectic program influenced by Mid-eastern, Celtic, Americana and pop music. Her previous release, Nuance, featured jazz icons Randy Brecker, George Mraz and Anthony Pinciotti. Winner of The Great American Jazz Piano Competition, Arriale continues to perform internationally at major festivals such as The Gilmore Piano Festival, Burghausen, Stuttgart, Spoleto Arts, Cork, Montreux, Montreal, Monterey, Sardinia, North Sea, Pori, Perth and Brisbane Jazz Festivals, to name a few, and recently in South Africa with full symphony orchestra. Arriale’s recordings have topped the National jazz radio charts and numerous“Best Of” lists; she has been featured on the PBS Profile of a Recording Artist; multiple NPR programs and in Billboard, Downbeat, JazzTimes, cover stories for JazzEd, One Way and M Magazines; and international media interviews. Lynne was recently awarded the SESAC National Performance Award. Selected to tour Japan with the acclaimed 100 Golden Fingers ensemble in 1991, Lynne performed with jazz legends including Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Barron, and Cedar Walton. She then went on to win the 1993 Great American Piano Competition. Lynne is currently Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and Director of Small Ensembles at The University of North Florida in Jacksonville and was recently invited to be part of the Yamaha “Artists in Education Program.”
Marc Dickman, Associate Professor, Low Brass: Trombone/Euphonium/Tuba
(904) 620-3841 - mdickman@unf.edu
Dr. Marc Dickman, from Valdosta, Georgia, is a founding member of the acclaimed Jazz Studies Program at the University of North Florida. Dr. Dickman earned degrees from Troy State University, McNeese State University, and the University of North Texas. His versatility on euphonium, trombone, bass-trombone, and tuba in the classical and jazz styles places him in much demand in the United States.
At UNF he teaches applied low brass and jazz ensemble. His students have won awards in the jazz and classical areas. Dr. Dickman was a featured jazz artist at the 2000 International Tuba Euphonium Conference in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, the 2001 ITEC in Lahti, Finland, the 2002 ITEC in Greenville, NC, and the 2004 ITEC in Budapest, Hungary, and the 2005 and 2008 U.S. Army Tuba Euphonium Conference.
Dr. Dickman is a founding member of the groundbreaking jazz ensemble, the Modern Jazz Tuba Project. The MJT Project has two critically acclaimed releases: "Live From the Bottom Line" and "Favorite Things." Marc's CD, "A Weaver of Dreams," is available at cdbaby.com and tubagear.com. It is the first jazz euphonium recording to be available through popular services such as iTunes and Real Networks. Dr. Dickman has performed in the following countries: USA, Japan, Finland, Hungary, Paraguay, Uruguay, Canada, Honduras, and Columbia. Dr. Dickman is a Besson performing artist.
Danny Gottlieb, Associate Professor, Drumset
(904) 620-3830 - dgottlie@unf.edu - Website
Danny Gottlieb is one of the most popular jazz drummers in the world. While best known as a founding member of the original Pat Metheny Group, Gottlieb has performed and recorded with some of the greatest names in music. They include: Gary Burton, Gil Evans, Sting, Bobby McFerrin, John Mclaughlin, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Clark Terry, Wayne Shorter, Eddie Gomez, Lew Soloff, Al Di Meola, Jeff Berlin, Michael Franks, The GRP Big Band, the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Jon Faddis and the Carnagie Hall Jazz Orchestra, the Manhattan Jazz Orchestra, Mike Stern, John Scofield, Jim Hall, the Manhattan Transfer, Larry Coryell, the NDR Big Band (Hamburg), the WDR Big Band (Cologne), Booker T and the MG's, and the Blues Brothers Band featuring Steve Cropper and Eddy Floyd.
Gottlieb's projects have included performances at the Internatioanl Association of Jazz Educators Convention in Toronto; National Asscociation of Music Merchandisers Convention (Anaheim); Jacksonville Jazz Festival; Hamburg (Germany) Jazz Festival; Hannover (Germany) Jazz Festival; Paderborn (Germany) Percussion Festival; European and U.S. Military benefit concerts with bass playing actor Gary Sinise (with wife Beth Gottlieb on percussion), including a concert at the Pentagon and Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C.; a feature at the Alabama Day of Percussion; a Paris concert with guitarist Nguyen Le; the JVC Jazz Festival in New York with bassist Jay Leonhart and trombonist Wycliff Gordon; the International Composer's workshop featuring Jim McNeely and Bill Holman; recordings with guitarist Muriel Anderson, guitarist Peter Fessler, bassist Jeff Berlin, and a live DVD featuring the NDR Big Band of Hamburg, Germany.
A long time student of legendary jazz drummer Joe Morello, Gottlieb's teaching experience includes Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, and the University of South Florida in Tampa. A graduate of the University of Miami, Gottlieb brings 30 years of professional experience, musical diversity, and enthusiasm to the UNF Jazz Faculty.
Barry Greene, Professor, Guitar, Area Coordinator - Jazz Studies
(904) 620-3850 - bgreene@unf.edu - Website
Barry Greene began playing guitar in 1971. Strongly influenced by Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, George Benson, and Pat Martino, Barry has developed into a world class guitarist, arranger and composer. He has recorded or performed with such artists as Tim Hagens, Danny Gottlieb, Gene Bertoncinni, Scott Wendholt, Kenny Drew Jr., Adam Nussbaum, Warren Berndhardt, Russell Malone, Ron Affif, and Colin Bailey.
Greene currently has three CDs out as a leader "Sojourner," "At Home," and "Urban Jazz." Just Jazz Guitar Magazine says his improvisations were creative with impeccable technique, while 20th Century Guitar wrote, "Greene's work has all the urgency of the best of Pat Martino's work . . ." and allaboutjazz.com describes him as "an excellent player, a superior musician with power to spare . . ."
Greene has performed at the Long Island Guitar Show held in New York, and has been an instructor at the prestigious National Guitar Workshop held each summer in Connecticut. Greene is a Professor of Jazz Guitar at UNF, where he has been since 1995. He has composed or arranged over seventy pieces of guitar ensemble music, as well as several big band compositions.
Greene has several books published with Mel Bay Publications. He
continues to endorse Thomastik-Infeld strings, Clarus amplifiers,
Raezors Edge speaker cabinets, and Buscarino Guitars.
Clarence Hines, Associate Professor, Trombone
(904) 620-3845 - c.hines@unf.edu - Website
Dr. Clarence Hines has received recognition and awards for several of his compositions and arrangements, including DownBeat Magazine awards for "Best Jazz Arrangement" and "Best Performance." His works have been premiered at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the International Association for Jazz Education Conference, and most recently at the Rochester International Jazz Festival and the International Tuba – Euphonium Conference. Dr. Hines’ works were featured in recent performances by the U.S. Army’s Jazz Ambassadors and the Army Blues, and can also be heard on the UNF Jazz Ensemble I recordings "And the Melody Still Lingers On," "Second Thoughts," and "Things To Come." UNC Jazz Press, the largest publisher of advanced music for jazz ensembles, publishes many of Dr. Hines’ compositions.
In addition to performing throughout the United States and Canada, Dr. Hines has also toured Central America and Europe and performed with Slide Hampton, Bob Brookmeyer, Dick Oatts, Richie Cole, Johnny Mathis, Josh Groban, the Temptations, Allen Vizzutti, John Pizzarelli, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Harry James Orchestra. His festival appearances include the North Sea Jazz Festival, the East Coast Jazz Festival, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, and the Rochester International Jazz Festival.
Prior to teaching at UNF, Dr. Hines coached combos and directed the Jazz Lab Band at the Eastman School of Music where he also studied composition and arranging with Bill Dobbins and Dave Rivello. Dr. Hines has also served on the faculty of summer music programs such as the Birch Creek Summer Jazz Session, Eastman Summer Jazz Studies, and the Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camp.
Dennis Marks, Associate Professor, Bass
(904) 620-3843 - dmarks@unf.edu - Website
Dennis Marks, one of the most in-demand bass players on the jazz scene, has been playing with Arturo Sandoval for 13 years. In addition, he has performed with many of the great musicians of today, including Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Liebman, Bob Mintzer, Maynard Ferguson, and Pat Metheny. Dennis has appeared on Sandoval's last six recordings, including the Grammy-Award Winning "Hot-House." For one of the recordings, "My Passion for the Piano," he wrote two of the compositions.
Marks has performed at almost every major jazz festival during the last several years, including the JVC Festival in New York, the Playboy Festival in L.A., and the North Sea Festival in Holland. In 1996, Marks recorded his debut album "Images" on the Fantasy/Contemporary label. This album, which contains all original compositions, has received much critical acclaim.
Marks has been very active in the educational field, teaching at Florida International University for nine years and at the University of Miami for two. He has given clinics at Virginia Tech, the University of Illinois, and the University of Texas. Marks holds a B.M. in Jazz Performance and a M.M. in Studio Jazz Writing from the University of Miami.
William Prince, Professor Emeritus
(904) 620-2961 - wprince@unf.edu - Website
Dr. William Prince comes from a background rich in music. He has performed with numerous bands and orchestras including Buddy Rich, Billy Maxted, the NORAD BAND, the Denver, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Jacksonville Symphonies, and the American Wind Symphony Orchestra. His TV credits include The Today Show, The Tonight Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Steve Allen Show, and numerous other shows throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, the Philippines, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Ecuador.
Dr. Prince has appeared on over 50 albums recorded in the studios of Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, and Miami including his "The Best Kept Secret In Jazz" (Revelation Records). He can currently be heard on Duffy Jackson's CD, "Swing! Swing! Swing!" and Buddy Rich's rereleased CDs "Mercy Mercy" and "The Best of Buddy Rich." One of Dr. Prince's unique talents is his ability, to perform professionally on several instruments. For example, although he played trumpet with Buddy Rich, he was first offered a chair in the saxophone section. In the NORAD Band he regularly played tenor sax though he was often called upon to also play trumpet. In the various symphony orchestras listed he usually played clarinet or bass clarinet, though he has also performed on trumpet and saxophone. His performing instruments include trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, flute, clarinet, saxophone, piano, and electric bass. He also writes his own arrangements for his solo endeavors.
Dr. Prince holds the Doctor of Music Arts Degree with a major in Theory and Composition from the U of Miami. He has taught at Florida Atlantic U, the U of Colorado/Denver, St. Francis Xavier U, Nova Scotia, and the University of North Florida. He has performed or lectured at more than 100 colleges and universities and conventions throughout the USA and Canada. He has also performed and/or lectured in various countries in Western and Eastern Europe, most of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. At the University of North Florida Bill has received an "Undergraduate Teaching Award" and an "Outstanding Teaching Award." His student groups twice won the "NAJE/Southern Comfort Collegiate Dixieland Jazz Band" competitions. Corre Chica, an original band score, was awarded "first place in an NAJE Composition Contest."
As an indicator of his teaching success, on the UNF Jazz Ensemble's recent CDs, 15 of the 24 selections were arranged or composed by his students. Dr. Prince's future dreams include the release of a big band CD on which he will write all the music and play all the parts; the writing or a book on jazz orchestration; and the writing of a concerto for jazz clarinet and symphony orchestra.
J.B. Scott, Associate Professor, Trumpet (Director of Great American Jazz Series)
(904) 620-3835 - jbscott@unf.edu - Website
J.B. Scott earned his B.A. Degree in Music as the first graduate of the acclaimed jazz program at the University of North Florida, under the tutelage of the legendary Rich Matteson and faculty members Bunky Green, Dr. Bill Prince, Bruce Silva, and Jack Peterson.
While in college, Scott performed with several established groups that included the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, was a band member on the 1988 Japan Tour with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and performed regularly in the Walt Disney World theme parks. After graduating, he did a three year stint in New Orleans as the trumpeter and musical director of the world famous Dukes of Dixieland and was featured in the PBS special, "Salute to Jelly Roll Morton." In 1996, Scott earned his M.S. Degree in Music Ed. at Florida International University, where he studied with the legendary trumpeter, Arturo Sandoval. In addition to his collegiate big band performances, Scott performed professionally with the Mickey Finn Show and numerous Latin bands led by such legendary names as Eddie Palmieri, Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval.
After teaching for a year in Orlando, Scott returned to the University of North Florida in 1996 to carry on the Rich Matteson 'old school swing' legacy, teaching trumpet, music history courses, and to direct the UNF Jazz Ensemble 1, one of the most respected, award-winning collegiate big bands in the country. He is currently an Assoc. Professor of Jazz Studies at UNF, is a member of and President elect of the State of Florida jazz organization, Florida Jazz Educators, is a member of JEN (Jazz Education Network,) of MENC, and of the Florida Band Masters Association. Scott was also a 20-year member of the International Association of Jazz Educators (serving for 6 years as the IAJE Florida Secretary).
As a soloist, Scott has performed on many festivals including the Macieo Jazz Festival, (Brazil), the Elkhart Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and many others. He has appeared with such notables as Nick Brignola, Ira Sullivan, Rufus Reed, and Ed Calle, to name just a few. Partnering with respected vocalist Lisa Kelly in 1997, Scott and Kelly have performed internationally for major festivals, jazz clubs, and jazz societies, as featured soloists with big bands and with their own big band and small groups. They are highly regarded adjudicators and guest artist/clinicians for secondary to collegiate music programs, competitions, and music camps. Scott has been featured on many TV and radio commercials, on CD recordings, and has co-released several successful CDs, including "Home" and "Keeping Out of Mischief" with the Swamp Dog Jazz Band, and "Memories of Tomorrow" and "Live at Simons" with Lisa Kelly. Scott is a YAMAHA artist/clinician. They are highly regarded adjudicators and guest artist/clinicians for secondary to collegiate music programs, competitions, and music camps.
Scott has performed and presented clinics for IAJE, FMEA/FMENC, Chicago Midwest, the 2010 inaugural JEN (Jazz Educators Network) in St. Louis, and was the 2009 Florida All-State Jazz Band Director for the annual FMEA/MENC Conference in Tampa, Florida. Scott is a featured artist in the book “The New Face of Jazz,” on Amazon.com, released July 2010.
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Peter Mathews, Adjunct Professor, Theory
(904) 620-2961 - p.mathews@unf.edu - Website
Dr. Peter Mathews was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1944 and studied violin and piano under the Toronto Conservatory system. His early piano training was with Edward Parker, of the renowned Parker family of Canadian pianists. In 1963-64 he studied in England with Morris Taylor, one of the last students of Dame Myra Hess, and received a Licentiate Diploma in Piano Performance at the Royal Academy of Music, London. His undergraduate degree in Music and History is from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Graduate studies include both a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Missouri at Kansas City where he worked with Eph Ehly.
Dr. Mathews conducts choirs, teaches piano, music history, theory, composition, orchestration, and form and analysis. For the past 30 years he has received choral anthem and instrumental commissions from churches and individual musicians from many parts of the United States. While composing music for worship, Dr. Mathews’ commissions have also included art songs and chamber music with voice and instruments in varying combinations.
From 1977-1982 he was the Composer-in-Residence at Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral under John Schaefer in Kansas City. As a male alto, he has sung in the Early Music Consort of Kansas City and in various cathedral churches. Dr. Mathews gained a significant reputation as a conductor and composer in central Florida where he directed the Florida Hospital Chorus, a community choir in Orlando, from 1984-1997; and Orlando XIII, an a cappella group, from 1993-2002. From 1999-2010 he served as Choirmaster for St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in DeLand, Florida, and currently teaches music history and form & analysis at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
As a conductor and workshop clinician, he conducted (a commissioned work, "Song of the Three Young Men" for SATB, brass and organ) at the 1993 Southeast Regional Convention of the American Guild of Organists. The 1994 Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida Choir Festival also featured the composer in this dual capacity. Dr. Mathews was awarded the anthem commission in 1999 for the 49th Annual Sewanee Church Music Conference, long recognized for excellence by the Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Church Music. In January 2000 he conducted two commissioned choral premières at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Augusta, Georgia, as part of their 250th anniversary celebration. A fanfare for brass and organ and an anthem were commissioned for the 150th anniversary of the First Congregational Church in St. Joseph, Michigan in 2004.
The music of Dr. Mathews is regularly performed at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando, Florida, under the direction of Ben Lane and Claire Hodge. In 2005 he completed a two-part treble Missa brevis setting for their childrens’ choirs and organ for their European tour during the Christmas season, now available from Alliance Music Publications. The same venue saw the première of his Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in 2007 for the 20th anniversary of the Orlando Deanery Girls Choir conducted by Hazel Somerville, founder of the choir.
Commissioned works of Dr. Mathews continues to gain exposure through live performance and compact disc projects for the choirs of Edith Ho (Church of the Advent, Boston), Anton Armstrong (St. Olaf College), and David Brensinger (Atlanta Singers). The 1994 Florida All-State High School Chorus, Boston's Youth Pro Musica, DePauw University, Stetson University, Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal, and the Vancouver Chamber Choir have included works by Dr. Mathews on their CDs and in their choirs' concerts and tours. His liturgical music was featured in June 2000 at the Regional Convention of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians held in Orlando. In 2006, the Centaur label issued a CD with his "Four Seasons" for cello and organ, performed by Donald Moline, Chicago Symphony cellist, and Holy Name Cathedral organist Ricardo Ramirez. His Intermezzo has also been recorded by the Murray-Lohuis Duo in their CD series in "Volume 5, All American Works for Violin and Organ" by Raven Recordings. Dr. Mathews has written 185 compositions, of which over 80 are published by Alliance, Choristers Guild, H.W. Gray, Kjos, Lawson-Gould, Lorenz, MorningStar, St. James Press, and Southern. All the unpublished works have been engraved by the composer and are available upon request.
Paula Thornton, Adjunct Professor, Music Education
(904) 620-2961 - p.thornton@unf.edu
Paula Thornton has taught for 33 years in the state of Florida. She currently serves as
Instrumental Music Specialist for the Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville. During her thirteen-year tenure at Buchholz High School in Gainesville, her bands performed at the Midwest Clinic, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and The Today Show. They received the Sudler Flag of Honor in 2003. Ms. Thornton is a member of the American Bandmasters Association, the Midwest Clinic
Board of Directors, Phi Beta Mu Omega Chapter, and has held the office of First Vice
President of The National Band Association. She is a Past President of the Florida
Bandmasters Association, and has served as clinician/conductor for numerous
regional
and All-State honor bands. In November of 2007, Ms. Thornton
was
inducted
into the Florida Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame.
Jason Hibbard, Adjunct Professor, Music Theory/Piano
(904) 620-5861 - j.hibbard@unf.edu
Jason Hibbard is a musicologist and pianist with research interests in recent American art music, particularly experimental music and minimalism. He teaches piano and music history courses at University of North Florida, and has previously taught at the University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, and the University of Florida.
Prof. Hibbard has presented research at the International Music and Minimalism Conference, the biennial Music Since 1900 Conference in the UK, the ECHO Music Conference at UCLA, and the national Nineteenth-Century Studies Association Conference. While in Cincinnati, he acted as editor of the academic journal Music Research Forum. He was also winner of the Presser Award, a competitive research grant.
He has studied piano with Boaz Sharon and K. Wayne Bumpers. At UF, he performed with the New Music Ensemble, collaborated with student composers, and accompanied the double bass studio. He has performed at the annual conference of the Southeastern Composers League and the national conference of the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music (SEAMUS).
Prof. Hibbard holds degrees from the University of Florida, and will receive his doctorate in musicology from the University of Cincinnati.
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Lois Scott, Office Manager
(904) 620-3834 - lscott@unf.edu
Lois Scott has been with the UNF Department of Music for more than 20 years (since 1988) and continues to stay active in the UNF community through her memberships in UNF’s Staff Affairs Committee and the Bookstore Advisory Council.
Prior to her employment at UNF Scott worked for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Duval County School Board, and the City of Jacksonville.
As Office Manager, Scott works closely with the Chair and faculty members in UNF’s Department of Music, as well as administrators in various offices throughout the UNF campus. Scott manages a variety of tasks including, but not limited to scheduling, contracting, and budgeting.
In addition, Scott provides advising services for music students and enjoys giving them the best assistance possible.
Ashley Earles-Bennett, Director of Public Relations
(904) 620-2864 - a.earles-bennett@unf.edu
Ashley has been the Director of Public Relations for the University of North Florida’s Department of Music since the summer of 2007. Prior to her appointment at UNF, she was Creative Manager for a cell phone carrier whose duties included creating static and animated content (utilizing 3rd party celebrity, college sports, and artist materials) and managing a team that created and prepared content for distribution by major cell phone companies.
In addition, she served as Assistant to the Senior Vice President of Marketing for a major website firm, specializing in advertising materials for Web Acquisition Services, which included working with major clients to ensure a successful design solution. She specializes in a wide variety of design services and has won several awards including Employee of the Year Honoree.
She graduated with honors from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications focusing on Advertising and Photography (as well as additional studies in Journalism) and continued her studies through UNF’s Post Baccalaureate Program in English/Literature. In 2008 she was awarded a UNF Grad Program Scholarship for “Excellent Scholarship” and received the same award in 2009. She earned her Master of Arts Degree in English (as a member of Sigma Tau Delta - International English Honor Society) in 2010.
Joseph Martin, Business Manager
(904) 620-1762 - joseph.martin@unf.edu
Joseph joined the
Department of Music in August, 2011, transferring over from the Dean’s office,
College of Arts and Sciences, where he served 3 years as the Dean’s
Administrative Assistant. Engaged in campus activities, Joseph is a UNF Red
Cross Volunteer, a committee member for the Faculty/Staff Campaign, and enjoys
participating in the UNF Book Club. Past
service activities include memberships on the USPA Staff Affairs Committee, the
Gabor Award Nomination Committee, and he was Chair of the Bookstore Advisory
Council.
A military veteran,
Joseph retired from the US Navy in 2001 holding the rank of Commander. Before employment with UNF Joseph also held
positions in finance with the IRS and the Florida Dept of Revenue, worked in
marketing for Nova Southeastern University, AAA, and the Florida Times-Union,
and was a software programmer and Relationship Manager for Computer Associates.
He graduated from
Jacksonville University with a Bachelor degree in Mathematics and from the
University of North Florida with a Master of Human Resource Management.
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