Notable Teaching Projects and Models

In my current position, I taught the following classes:

MUS 1200/2200/3200/4200-04, Voice Lessons
MUS 1350-01, Opera Scenes
MUS 1360-01, Musical Theatre Scenes
FYS 1000-16, The American Musical
THE/MUS 1010-01, Exploration of Performance
MUS 3550-01, Czech/Regional Music and Musicians (in collaboration with the Prague Institute, Czech Republic)
MUS 3830-01 Intro to Opera Performance/Production (in collaboration with the Prague Institute, Czech Republic)
MUS/GBS 3651-01, Rock Me Amadeus: Mozart’s music, his life, and his legacy (including May study abroad travel component in Salzburg, Vienna, and Prague)
MUS 4444-01, Music Independent Study

MUS 1350-01 (Opera Scenes) meets every fall semester and culminates in a staged student production of opera scenes. I inherited this class with a preexisting infrastructure. Over the course of several semesters I redesigned the curriculum, focusing on a) creating an environment that simulates and prepares students for professional careers; b) exposing students to established professionals, varied repertoire, and numerous skill sets within the genre; and c) enhancing the quality of performances in the scenes showcase. Students enrolled in MUS 1350-01 attend opera productions at North Carolina Opera, Piedmont Opera, and Greensboro Opera, and interact with field professionals. The fall 2013 semester was a particular achievement, resulting in three fully staged performances of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel for community and elementary school audiences. This production was in collaboration with colleagues Brad Lambert, Communications (scenic design), Ami Shupe, Theatre (costumes), and Greensboro Opera (set and props). Other opera scenes themes included Mostly Mozart (2014), Ominous Opera (2015), Opera and the Orient (2016), and American Opera (2017).

MUS 1360-01 (Musical Theatre Scenes) meets every spring semester and is set up with a model and objectives similar to MUS 1350-01. In spring 2014 I hosted award-winning composer Charles Strouse (Annie, Bye Bye Birdie) for a series of master classes and a public performance of scenes from his musicals, along with a set of original works sung and played by the composer. The class also included workshops with the composer’s director/choreographer wife Barbara Siman and his publicist, Carolyn Rossi Copeland. President Qubein hosted a private reception for Charles Strouse prior to the performance and presented him with a key to the University. In 2016 I secured the rights for Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World and presented the musical theatre song cycle in its entirety. The 2017 project was titled Movie Musicals and was performed in the Extraordinary Cinema. Clips from famous movie musicals were screened with muted sound, which was replaced by live vocals from students and augmented by a small instrumental ensemble. In 2018 I presented Party!, which was an exploration of party scenes from popular musicals and asked the audience to consider the question, “how does a composer codify the spontaneity of a party into a replicable system of notes and words, and still maintain the organic nature of the situation?” Every Opera Scenes and Musical Theatre Scenes class emphasizes a collaborative environment and challenges students to think outside of the typical confines of genre and traditional performance practice.

I served the theatre department as music director for every musical theatre production since 2010 with the exception of 2015 (Nunsense), for which I served a secondary role as vocal coach. As music director, I am responsible for musical preparation, performance, and administration of mainstage musical theater productions, including casting input, assembly and rehearsal of instrumental ensemble, and conducting of rehearsals and performances. This is a rigorous and lengthy service that usually requires in excess of 130 contact hours for each production, mostly in evenings and on weekends. Notably, Professor Ed Simpson and I were nominated for a Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Direction Award for Into the Woods in 2013.

I created MUS/GBS 3651-01 (Rock Me Amadeus) for the Spring 2014 semester with a Maymester component. The class culminated in a study abroad trip to study Mozart’s life and legacy in Salzburg, Prague, and Vienna. I steered all course development through appropriate committees and independently designed and led class excursions. I collaborated with the Office of Study Abroad to create the itinerary and provide logistics, independent of a tour operator. I also carefully shaped the itinerary to allow for students to participate in the choir tour that year, which intersected in Prague and Salzburg.

In Spring 2015 I was Faculty-In-Residence in Prague. I coordinated logistics with the Prague Institute and created two courses to be taught that semester, MUS 3550-01 (Czech/Regional Music and Musicians), a hybrid history and theory course that corresponded with student travel and experiences, and MUS 3830-01 (Intro to Opera Performance/Production), in which students learned about various aspects of the performance industry, attended live performances, and interacted with field professionals on-site and as guest artists. I was responsible for eight HPU students during that time abroad and worked with the NCSU Prague Institute to create a travel itinerary that included Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, Munich, Česky Krumlov, Kutná Hora, and Terezín.

I co-created THE/MUS 1010-01 with Professor Jay Putnam as part of the Arts Alive Living/Learning Curriculum. The curriculum included approaches to music and theatre composition, interactions with industry professionals, and a capstone writing/performance project.

I had a positive experience teaching a first year seminar in spring 2017, FYS 1000-16 (The American Musical). I adopted a curriculum that was created by theatre colleague Matthew Emerson. The class dealt with social justice issues through the lens of musical theatre and resulted in many meaningful discussions and reflections. Though I only taught one semester of this course, I was able to work successfully with a student population outside of the performing arts and feel that I was able to affectively achieve the course outcomes. The course reviews for FYS 1000-16 were highly positive, with several students citing a newfound appreciation for the subject matter, thoughtful viewpoints on complex issues, and improved writing skills. I would enthusiastically teach this class again if schedule and demand allow.

As a studio voice instructor (MUS 1200/2200/3200/4200-02, Voice Lessons), I teach weekly voice lessons and mentor upperclassmen through junior and senior recitals. The personal contact time allows me to have a meaningful impact on my students’ careers and external training. While 2/3 of all HPU music majors complete a second degree, reducing the number of students working exclusively toward artistic vocation, many of my students have embarked on diverse music careers and gained acceptance into masters degrees and apprenticeships. Voice lessons are a standard part of a university music curriculum and the studio voice model follows the same format in virtually every university music department. I designed a model that challenges that traditional format, and my students have responded very positively to the changes, both in growth and in enthusiasm. I chronicled these adaptations in a poster session for the Southeast region NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) conference in Spring 2018. The poster and the abstract are available here.

My connections in the performance industry afford me the opportunity to bring many field professionals to campus. These include legendary Broadway composer Charles Stouse (Annie, Bye Bye Birdie), international opera conductor Timothy Myers, North Carolina Opera General Director and former Columbia Artists agent Eric Mitchko, acclaimed opera singers Sydney Outlaw and Melissa Whittington, Broadway veterans Mark Ledbetter and Jen Taylor, rock composer and artist Demir Demirkan, award-winning musical theatre playwright Michael Lluberes, Opera Orlando Executive Director Gabriel Preisser, Julliard faculty coach/accompanist Arlene Shrut, Duke Voice Care Center Clinical Singing Voice Specialist Leda Scearce, and authors of What Every Singer Needs to Know About the Body MaryJean Allen and Melissa Malde. I organized recitals, workshops, and class visits with all of the aforementioned artists.

I am indebted to High Point University for awarding me with Faculty Cultural Enrichment Grants for the 2012 Body Awareness Symposium with MaryJeanAllen and Melissa Malde, the 2013 production of Hansel and Gretel, the 2014 Celebration of Charles Strouse, and the 2017 recital and master class with soprano Melinda Whittington. The University’s affirmation of my creative objectives and awarding of resources allows me to continue to embark on significant projects and bring high-profile artists to campus.