Alumni Stories

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Alumni Stories

Department of Music Chair Jaunelle Celaire, second from left, and adjunct instructor Daniel Strawser, third from left, pose with graduating students Ariana Lopez, left, and Ellie Martinson, right,during the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks 2024 Commencement Ceremony Saturday, May 4, 2024 at the Carlson Center. UAF Photo by Eric Engman

Our alumni stories are a testament to the incredible talent, dedication, and success of our graduates. These stories not only inspire our current and prospective students but also showcase the remarkable achievements of our alumni. We take immense pride in celebrating their journeys and contributions to the world of music. Enjoy exploring these uplifting narratives and join us in honoring the vibrant legacy of the UAF Music Department!

Alumni Spotlight

Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey

Dr. Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey, Oxford conductor, educator, and researcher, champions marginalized composers and explores orchestras’ social impact, bridging music and global collaboration.

Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey

Dr. Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey is Director of Performance at St Catherine’s College at the University of Oxford where she teaches undergraduate Instrumental Conducting and is Director of Research for the Oxford Conducting Institute. Alongside an active freelance conducting career where she is known for promoting the works of marginalised female and Global Majority composers, Cayenna serves as the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra’s Conducting Fellow and coordinator of their Side-by-Side programme, giving students elite orchestral experience with the ensemble’s world-class professional musicians. In addition to her conducting and teaching activities, Cayenna is an active scholar focused on the social- psychological and socio-political aspects of orchestral music-making—from the intricacies of co-performer communication in modern and historically informed contexts, to the politics of participation and orchestras' geo-political significance.

Her journey from her hometown of Fairbanks, 91��Ƶ…
Since graduating from UAF with a degree in percussion performance in 2001, Cayenna went on to obtain master’s degrees in orchestral conducting and percussion performance at Ithaca College in Up-State New York where she studied with marimba legend, Gordon Stout. Immediately after graduation she won the audition to become Music Director of the Binghamton Community Orchestra, the largest civic orchestra in the region. A year later she also took on the fledgeling Ithaca Community Orchestra, which—alongside a group of dedicated volunteers—she built from up from 14 players to a full chamber orchestra and saw its establishment as an official 501(c)3 with a strong governance structure. In a wonderful coincidence and bringing things full circle, the orchestra was subsequently led by Cayenna’s first conducting teacher and inspiration Dr Madeline Schatz after Schatz moved to Ithaca for retirement. Cayenna returns to Ithaca once a year to conduct the GrassRoots Festival Orchestra, a semi-professional ensemble she founded in 2004 which is the only ‘classical’ group to perform at the eponymous popular festival of music and dance. The orchestra has commissioned and performed numerous new works addressing environmental and social justice issues.

Whilst conducting the Binghamton and Ithaca orchestras, Cayenna spent four years working at the Cornell Music Library (while also catering and building her extra-insulated house—a passion which has never left this 91��Ƶn). After years of frustration checking out books to other people that she would rather be reading, she left Ithaca to pursue a third master’s degree in musicology at the University of Oxford in 2011. This was followed by a doctorate in music also at Oxford in which she studied the social psychology of orchestral performance, developing a theory of influence and action to understand the power dynamics within complex orchestral systems. She collaborated with computer scientists at Cornell University to develop a new online research tool to collect data from orchestral musicians about their experiences in real-world rehearsing and performing situations using an innovative form of ‘video-stimulated’ recall. Her research methods and findings are published in a number of book chapters and peer reviewed articles. Whilst a doctoral student, Cayenna was selected for several prestigious conducting masterclasses, receiving tuition from Marin Alsop, Valery Gergiev and Marios Papadopoulos.

After finishing the doctorate, Cayenna was selected to lead the empirical research component of a UK research-council funded multidisciplinary £1M ($1.2M) research project, Transforming 19 th -Century Historically Informed Practice. In collaboration with eminent music psychologist, Professor Eric Clarke, she developed new approaches to tracking musicians’ synchrony in large ensembles, deploying a large number of contact microphones to collect detailed timing data from each musician. Triangulating this data with player and audience perspectives shed new light on 21 st century experiences of experimental approaches to 19 th -century style. You can read more about this research in

During this first post-doctoral research position, Cayenna was appointed as the Associate Conductor of the Orchestra of St John’s, a professional orchestra based between London and Oxford. In addition to leading impactful engagement work with young asylum seekers in the and Many Worlds in One Place, she led the orchestra in developing a close relationship with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul. After travelling to the country in 2018, Cayenna facilitated a 10-day residency for the Afghan Women’s Orchestra (Ensemble Zohra) in the UK and oversaw a distance learning programme with OSJ players and Afghan students, including teaching online conducting lessons herself to over a dozen conducting students in Afghanistan nearly every week until the Taliban took over the country in August 2021.

Concerned that she did not know enough about the orchestral practices in Afghanistan to adequately guide this next generation of Afghan musical leaders, Cayenna applied for and was awarded a prestigious three-year Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship to return to Afghanistan to pursue research. With music now banned in the country and musicians who were able having fled, over the past three years, Cayenna has worked with Afghan musicians and scholars living in exile to undertake collaborative original research and promote through commissioning and performing new works. She is currently working on a collaboratively written book about the historical and contemporary practices of Afghanistan’s unique orchestral traditions.

This past year has been quite busy and has included conducting the Oxford University Orchestra on a 10-day tour of Northern Italy including performances at Teatro A. Ponchielli in Cremona and the Auditorium Paganini in Parma, performing works by Brahms, Tchaikovsky and the Italian premiere of Ruth Gipps’ Second Symphony; recording all of the surviving keyboard concerti of 18 th -century female composer, Marianna Martines, with pianist Idith Korman and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra for the Signum label; conducting concerts in France and Sicily including the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Berlin Philharmonic violinist, Hande Küden; and producing a powerful with famed Hazara vocal artist, Elaha Soroor. Premiered in Tirana, Albania at the historic All Afghan Women Summit on 11 September, the song was featured in the Financial Times, Channel 4 News and The Guardian.

Cayenna currently lives in Oxford, England with her partner, Graeme Bailey, retired professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at Cornell University.

Cicely “Vanessa” Cox

Cicely “Vanessa” Cox, a music educator turned attorney, now advocates for minors after pursuing her lifelong dream of law, inspired by students’ legal struggles.

Cicely “Vanessa” Cox

Cicely “Vanessa” Cox, Soprano, a 2008 and 2009 graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Bachelor of Music Education, respectively. Vanessa has enjoyed a career in music education that allowed her to combine her passion for music and the arts with instruction and engagement with young people as a fine arts teacher. During her tenure in education, she taught choir, drama, musical theater, and strings. She segued her passion for education into the regular education classroom as a World Cultures, History, and Reading & E.S.L. (English as a Second Language) teacher.

Forever a lover of music and vocal performance, when time permitted during her military transitions accompanying her husband of twenty-nine years in the U.S. Army and their five children, Vanessa has performed with various musical organizations. Soloist and choir member with the Aiken Choral Society, Aiken, S.C.; Aldonza/Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha with the Aiken Community Playhouse (rebranded Aiken Community Theatre in 2020) in Aiken, S.C.; Central Florida Community Arts Choir, Orlando, Fl., and Orlando Opera.

Her classroom experiences and encounters with students facing legal issues were profoundly impactful. Though some of her students were in legal troubles because of their own choices; others were embroiled in heart wrenching problems because of their parents or other relatives’ choices. These facts along with a childhood aspiration of being a lawyer led her to go back to school to pursue this goal.

She received her Juris Doctorate from the Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU), in May of 2024, passed the July 2024 Florida Bar Examination, and has accepted a position with The Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association as a Staff Attorney for the Guardian ad Litem Program. There she will be an advocate in the courtroom for minors and young people victimized by abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

Inspired by her grandmother’s mantra to “be a help and not a hindrance” Vanessa aspires always to fulfill that mantra. She can be heard still singing in her local church congregation and hopes to one day return to the stage performing with area vocal organizations very soon.

Heather Waters

Heather Waters, Associate Professor at Adelphi University, holds a PhD in music education and specializes in various teaching methods. She enjoys NYC life and outdoor activities.

Heather Waters

Heather Waters is an Associate Professor of Music Education and Chair of the Music Department at Adelphi University. Heather completed her PhD (music education) at Temple University as a University Fellow, her Master of Music degree (piano performance) at Ithaca College, and two Bachelor of Music degrees (music education, piano performance) at the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks. In addition to National Board Certification in Music, she completed Orff-Schulwerk Levels I-III (Colorado State University), Music Learning Theory Elementary General certification (University of South Carolina), Kodály Levels I-III (New York University), as well as Dalcroze training from the Lucy Moses School in New York.

At Adelphi University, she primarily teaches courses on music education methodology. While completing her doctorate at Temple University, she was Lead Teacher of the nationally-renowned Early Childhood Music Foundations program. Heather taught on the faculty of the Kodály Summer Institute at New York University for four years. She has also guest taught for Boston University and SUNY Buffalo State, and was a curriculum author and Master Teacher Trainer for the Music Essentials Curriculum and Music Essentials Teacher Training for Tianjin Juilliard. She was the Managing Director of the Early Childhood Music & Movement Association, and is beginning a term as the President-Elect of the Early Childhood Special Research Interest Group of the National Association for Music Education.

She presents nationally and internationally, including at the International Society for Music Education Conference, the European Music Education Researchers of Young Children Conference, the International Symposium on the Sociology of Music Education, the Ireland International Conference on Education, the Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities, the Hawaii International Conference on Education, the Musichildren International Conference, the Desert Skies Symposium on Music Education Research, the Early Childhood Music & Movement Association International Conference, the National Association for Music Education National Conference, the Organization of American Kodály Educators National Conference, and others. Her work has been published in journals including the International Journal of Music and Early Childhood, the International Journal of Innovations in Online Education, the Journal of Music Teacher Education, Visions of Research in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, Perspectives (Journal of the Early Childhood Music & Movement Association), and in the Routledge book Music Education: Navigating the Future.

In addition to all these stuffy sounding academic things, she currently lives in Queens, New York City, where she can enjoy all the NYC music and food but still be able to garden and not have to hunt quite so much for parking. She is running the NYC marathon for the second time this fall, and loves coming back to visit her hometown of Juneau to go hiking, fishing and whale watch.

Heather can be contacted at hwaters@adelphi.edu

Learn about more of our distinguished alumni!

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At the heart of the Fairbanks music community

UAF music alumni frequently become an integral part of the Fairbanks music scene and beyond, sharing their talents and passion in various musical ventures. Their continued involvement helps keep our vibrant community alive and thriving.

UAF Music alumni have achieved remarkable success, including Grammy nominations, prestigious international performances, and leadership roles in renowned music organizations. Their accomplishments reflect a strong foundation and vibrant career paths forged at UAF.

This degree program has introduced me to a vast variety of classical music, 91��Ƶn culture, and the opportunity to become a well-rounded music educator. Edward Brown '24 BM, Music Education, Voice

Alumni

Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey

Dr. Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey is an internationally renowned conductor, scholar, and educator, currently serving as Director of Performance at St Catherine’s College, University of Oxford. Known for her commitment to amplifying marginalized voices in classical music, she actively promotes works by female and Global Majority composers. Cayenna’s innovative research explores the socio-psychological dynamics of orchestras and their cultural significance, bridging academic inquiry with practical artistry. She also coordinates transformative educational initiatives, such as the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra’s Side-by-Side programme. From 91��Ƶ to Afghanistan, Cayenna’s career reflects a profound dedication to fostering global musical connections and championing social justice through music.

Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey

Dr Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey is Director of Performance at St Catherine’s College at the University of Oxford where she teaches undergraduate Instrumental Conducting and is Director of Research for the Oxford Conducting Institute. Alongside an active freelance conducting career where she is known for promoting the works of marginalised female and Global Majority composers, Cayenna serves as the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra’s Conducting Fellow and coordinator of their Side-by-Side programme, giving students elite orchestral experience with the ensemble’s world-class professional musicians. In addition to her conducting and teaching activities, Cayenna is an active scholar focused on the social- psychological and socio-political aspects of orchestral music-making—from the intricacies of co-performer communication in modern and historically informed contexts, to the politics of participation and orchestras' geo-political significance.

Her journey from her hometown of Fairbanks, 91��Ƶ…
Since graduating from UAF with a degree in percussion performance in 2001, Cayenna went on to obtain master’s degrees in orchestral conducting and percussion performance at Ithaca College in Up-State New York where she studied with marimba legend, Gordon Stout. Immediately after graduation she won the audition to become Music Director of the Binghamton Community Orchestra, the largest civic orchestra in the region. A year later she also took on the fledgeling Ithaca Community Orchestra, which—alongside a group of dedicated volunteers—she built from up from 14 players to a full chamber orchestra and saw its establishment as an official 501(c)3 with a strong governance structure. In a wonderful coincidence and bringing things full circle, the orchestra was subsequently led by Cayenna’s first conducting teacher and inspiration Dr Madeline Schatz after Schatz moved to Ithaca for retirement. Cayenna returns to Ithaca once a year to conduct the GrassRoots Festival Orchestra, a semi-professional ensemble she founded in 2004 which is the only ‘classical’ group to perform at the eponymous popular festival of music and dance. The orchestra has commissioned and performed numerous new works addressing environmental and social justice issues.

Whilst conducting the Binghamton and Ithaca orchestras, Cayenna spent four years working at the Cornell Music Library (while also catering and building her extra-insulated house—a passion which has never left this 91��Ƶn). After years of frustration checking out books to other people that she would rather be reading, she left Ithaca to pursue a third master’s degree in musicology at the University of Oxford in 2011. This was followed by a doctorate in music also at Oxford in which she studied the social psychology of orchestral performance, developing a theory of influence and action to understand the power dynamics within complex orchestral systems. She collaborated with computer scientists at Cornell University to develop a new online research tool to collect data from orchestral musicians about their experiences in real-world rehearsing and performing situations using an innovative form of ‘video-stimulated’ recall. Her research methods and findings are published in a number of book chapters and peer reviewed articles. Whilst a doctoral student, Cayenna was selected for several prestigious conducting masterclasses, receiving tuition from Marin Alsop, Valery Gergiev and Marios Papadopoulos.

After finishing the doctorate, Cayenna was selected to lead the empirical research component of a UK research-council funded multidisciplinary £1M ($1.2M) research project, Transforming 19 th -Century Historically Informed Practice. In collaboration with eminent music psychologist, Professor Eric Clarke, she developed new approaches to tracking musicians’ synchrony in large ensembles, deploying a large number of contact microphones to collect detailed timing data from each musician. Triangulating this data with player and audience perspectives shed new light on 21 st century experiences of experimental approaches to 19 th -century style. You can read more about this research in

During this first post-doctoral research position, Cayenna was appointed as the Associate Conductor of the Orchestra of St John’s, a professional orchestra based between London and Oxford. In addition to leading impactful engagement work with young asylum seekers in the and Many Worlds in One Place, she led the orchestra in developing a close relationship with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul. After travelling to the country in 2018, Cayenna facilitated a 10-day residency for the Afghan Women’s Orchestra (Ensemble Zohra) in the UK and oversaw a distance learning programme with OSJ players and Afghan students, including teaching online conducting lessons herself to over a dozen conducting students in Afghanistan nearly every week until the Taliban took over the country in August 2021.

Concerned that she did not know enough about the orchestral practices in Afghanistan to adequately guide this next generation of Afghan musical leaders, Cayenna applied for and was awarded a prestigious three-year Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship to return to Afghanistan to pursue research. With music now banned in the country and musicians who were able having fled, over the past three years, Cayenna has worked with Afghan musicians and scholars living in exile to undertake collaborative original research and promote through commissioning and performing new works. She is currently working on a collaboratively written book about the historical and contemporary practices of Afghanistan’s unique orchestral traditions.

This past year has been quite busy and has included conducting the Oxford University Orchestra on a 10-day tour of Northern Italy including performances at Teatro A. Ponchielli in Cremona and the Auditorium Paganini in Parma, performing works by Brahms, Tchaikovsky and the Italian premiere of Ruth Gipps’ Second Symphony; recording all of the surviving keyboard concerti of 18 th -century female composer, Marianna Martines, with pianist Idith Korman and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra for the Signum label; conducting concerts in France and Sicily including the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Berlin Philharmonic violinist, Hande Küden; and producing a powerful with famed Hazara vocal artist, Elaha Soroor. Premiered in Tirana, Albania at the historic All Afghan Women Summit on 11 September, the song was featured in the Financial Times, Channel 4 News and The Guardian.

Cayenna currently lives in Oxford, England with her partner, Graeme Bailey, retired professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at Cornell University.

Cicely “Vanessa” Cox

Cicely “Vanessa” Cox, a 2008 and 2009 graduate with degrees in Music and Music Education, has had a diverse career in both music education and performance. She taught choir, drama, and musical theater while later transitioning to teach history and E.S.L. Her love for music continued alongside her military family life, performing with various choirs and theater groups. Inspired by her experiences with students facing legal challenges, she pursued a law degree, graduating in 2024 from FAMU. She now works as a staff attorney with The Legal Aid Society, advocating for minors in court.

Cicely “Vanessa” Cox

Heather Waters

Heather Waters is an Associate Professor of Music Education and Chair of the Music Department at Adelphi University. She holds a PhD in music education from Temple University, as well as degrees in piano performance and music education. She has extensive training in various music education methods, including Orff-Schulwerk, Kodály, and Dalcroze. Heather has taught at several institutions, including Adelphi University and New York University, and served in leadership roles for national music education organizations. In addition to her academic work, she enjoys living in Queens, NYC, and has a passion for running, hiking, and exploring her 91��Ƶn roots.

Heather Waters

Ariana Horner Sutherland

Ariana Horner Sutherland, a lyric soprano from Nome, 91��Ƶ, began her musical journey at the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks, earning a Bachelor of Music Education. She then obtained a Master’s of Music in Vocal Performance from Sam Houston State University and is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of California Santa Barbara. Her education and performance experiences have profoundly shaped her musical path. Ariana's dedication to her craft promises significant contributions to the opera world. Her evolving career leaves audiences eagerly anticipating her future achievements in the realm of opera.

Ariana Horner Sutherland

Ariana Horner Sutherland, a lyric soprano hailing from Nome, 91��Ƶ, has embarked on an extraordinary musical odyssey. Her journey, deeply rooted in her educational and performance experiences, began at the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks.

Ariana's musical education began with a Bachelor of Music Education from UAF, where she discovered her profound passion for music and honed her vocal skills. This foundational period laid the groundwork for her educational journey. She continued her educational journey with a Master’s of Music (MM) in Vocal Performance from Sam Houston State University, and is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA) at the University of California Santa Barbara.

Ariana's musical journey continues to evolve, promising more significant contributions to the world of opera. Her unwavering dedication leaves us eagerly anticipating what this soprano from 91��Ƶ will conquer next.

Rose Crelli

Electric and acoustic violinist Rose Crelli began playing at age six and holds four music degrees, including from the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks and the University of Louisville. Conservatory-trained, she has performed in seven countries such as Italy and South Korea. She has played solo halftime shows at NBA Golden State Warriors games and performed with renowned artists like Andrea Bocelli and Michael Bublé. Her corporate clients include Rolls-Royce and Meta. Featured on CBS News and in the San Francisco Examiner, Rose was born in China and adopted by a family in 91��Ƶ, where she grew up. She is a proud 91��Ƶn and dual US-Canada citizen.

Rose Crelli

Electric and acoustic violinist Rose Crelli started playing violin at the age of six. Conservatory and classically trained, she holds four music degrees and has performed internationally in seven different countries including Italy, Austria, Costa Rica, South Korea, Germany, France, Mexico, and Canada. Rose performed solo halftime shows for the NBA Golden State Warriors games at the Chase Center Stadium against the Sacramento Kings and the Chicago Bulls, as well as sold out shows with award winning artists Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble, the Trans Siberian Orchestra and Oakland’s own Tony! Toni! Tone! Clients that Rose performs for include Rolls-Royce, Golden State Warriors, Salesforce, Oakland A’s, Workday, BetterUp, Meta, Deloitte, Palo Alto Networks, Genentech, Menlo Ventures and Scenic Luxury Cruises. Rose has been featured on CBS News, ABC7 News, KRON 4 News, San Francisco Examiner and KCBS Radio. Born in China, Rose was adopted at eight months old to her family in 91��Ƶ. She is a proud 91��Ƶn, Asian American, and dual citizen of the US and Canada. Rose received a double degree in Violin Performance and Music Education at the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks, a Masters in Violin Performance from the University of Louisville on full scholarship through the Graduate Teaching Assistantship, a Professional Studies Certificate from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Christopher Hull

Christopher Hull is a percussionist and ethnomusicologist blending tradition and innovation. With degrees in classical percussion from Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks, and a performing arts certificate from the Arts Institute of Indonesia Denpasar, he is now pursuing a doctorate in ethnomusicology at the University of Toronto. His genre-defying work reflects his diverse, global experiences.

Christopher Hull

Christopher Hull is a percussionist and ethnomusicologist whose work focuses on tensions between tradition and innovation in contemporary music. As a passionate performer of solo, chamber, and orchestral percussion, he seeks to ground his work in his classical training while simultaneously transcending the conventions of the conservatory. With classical percussion degrees from Wilfrid Laurier University and University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks, a performing arts certificate from the Arts Institute of Indonesia Denpasar, and his current doctoral studies in ethnomusicology at the University of Toronto, Christopher’s genre-defying work exhibits a world of experience.

As an orchestral percussionist, he frequently works with the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, the Hamilton and Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestras, and Sinfonia Ancaster. He has appeared as a chamber musician and soloist in festivals such as Open Ears, International Gamelan Festival Munich, Young Artists Niagara, and Sacred Rhythm Jakarta, the Royal Shakespeare Company (UK), and can be heard playing drums, vibraphone, and synthesizer on commercial recordings by Call Me Moon and Treephones. He is Associate Artistic Director of Toronto-based Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan (now celebrating its 40th anniversary season), commissioning and premiering new works for Sundanese degung, and director of the University of Toronto’s Balinese gamelan ensemble, Dharma Santi, as well as the newly formed Clover quartet.

Christopher’s doctoral research explores various aspects of musical manifestations of culture. At the Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting in Ottawa in 2023, he presented a paper entitled Tacit Knowledge, Affect, and Desa Kala Patra in Balinese Gender Wayang, which investigates the affective properties of gendér wayang to show how the oral practice of gendér relies on embodied, emplaced, tacit knowledge. Such knowledge reflects the Balinese concept “desá, kala, patra” — often translated as “place, time, situation” — which references the manifold, plural form knowledge takes when it is viewed within context. By aligning theories of tacit knowledge, affect, and desá, kala, patra, the paper queries the extent to which they are congruent. In doing so, he lays the groundwork to ponder the impact of video sharing as gendér pedagogy and how it serves as a new transmission medium for tacit and affective aspects of practice. That same year, he was also Keynote Speaker at Indonsian-language International Conference on Local Wisdom at Universitas Hindu I Gusti Bagus Sugriwa in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.

Jonathan Dillon

Jonathan Dillon is a music educator specializing in music education for children, with interests in general music, Kodály-inspired pedagogy, and youth choral music. Joining the University of Utah's music education faculty in 2023, Dillon teaches various music education courses and has an extensive background in K-5 music education in 91��Ƶ. Recognized for his excellence in teaching, Dillon's research focuses on the professionalization of music educators and empowering students in general music education.

Jonathan Dillon

Jonathan Dillon is a music teacher educator and specialist in music education for children. Dillon's teaching interests span general music, Kodály-inspired pedagogy, and youth choral music—interests he regularly aims to innovate within and expand beyond, including engagements with songwriting, popular music education, and technology.

In 2023, Dillon joined the music education faculty at the University of Utah, where he teaches courses in general music, music integration, educational theory, and more. Prior to this appointment, Dillon taught K-5 music in 91��Ƶ for eleven years. While in that role, Dillon was named a 2017 BP Teacher of Excellence and was awarded a 2016 91��Ƶ Arts Educator Fellowship by the 91��Ƶ State Council on the Arts. A frequent presenter on topics relating to general music education, Dillon recently shared professional development sessions locally with the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program, regionally at state conferences in Utah and California, and nationally at the Organization of American Kodály Educators conference.

Dillon's current research interests involve the professionalization of music educators and the subject-ness of students engaged in general music education. Through this latter line of inquiry, Dillon explores ways in which general music educators, curricula, and methods enable-and/or limit-student perceptions of themselves as subjects in their own lives, as opposed to objects in the lives of others. Essentially, Dillon is interested in critical, possibility-oriented excursions in general music which seek to expand what an education in and through music can be "good for." Dillon's scholarship has been presented at various research conferences and published in the International Journal of Education & the Arts, the Journal of Popular Music Education, and the Journal of General Music Education.

Dillon is a doctoral candidate at Boston University, previously studied music education at the University of Montana (MM) and the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks (BM), and earned a Kodály Certificate through the Kodály Levels Program of Seattle. Many of Dillon's formative experiences as a musician and educator took place in Fairbanks studying voice with Dr. Jaunelle Celaire, teaching music to children at the Bunnell House, volunteering with Melissa Downes and the Northland Youth Choir, elementary student teaching with Doug Lange at Joy Elementary, secondary student teaching with Bruce Hanson at North Pole High School, and so on. Dillon can be contacted at j.dillon@utah.edu.

Dr. Emerson Eads, courtesy of Emerson Eads

Emerson Eads, PhD

Emerson Eads, PhD, Director of Choral Activities at Minot State University, is a renowned composer, conductor, and singer. With degrees from the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks and the University of Notre Dame, he has studied under notable mentors and has an extensive performance and composition portfolio. Notably, he has premiered works with the Fairbanks Symphony and received several commissions, including "Give Me Room" for UAF. Eads' music has been performed internationally, earning multiple accolades, and he continues to contribute to the choral and musical community globally.

Emerson Eads, PhD

Dr. Emerson Eads, composer, conductor, and singer is Director of Choral Activities at Minot State University. He began piano lessons with his father when he was six years old. He holds music degrees from the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks and from the University of Notre Dame. While in Fairbanks, he studied composition with John Luther Adams, voice from Dr. Jaunelle Celaire, and conducting from Dr. Eduard Zilberkant. At the University of Notre Dame, he studied choral conducting with Dr. Carmen-Helena Téllez, where he worked with some of the greatest choral conductors of our time including Ann Howard Jones, Stephen Cleobury, and Joseph Flummerfelt.

Opera Fairbanks, at the request of their Metropolitan Opera Artistic Director, Gregory Buchalter, was the first organization to commission him with an ode to 91��Ƶ’s 50th celebration of statehood, Homeland, for full orchestra, chorus, and soloists, featuring the great 91��Ƶn mezzo-soprano, Vivica Genaux.

While in Fairbanks, at the request of Dr. Zilberkant, he inaugurated the Fairbanks Symphony Chorus, a volunteer 80-member mixed choir. preparing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, Verdi’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and numerous Design 91��Ƶ’s Christmas Concerts. It was with the Fairbanks Symphony that his early compositions were given their premieres.

He was recently commissioned by the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks and Dr. Jaunelle Celaire to write an accompanied choral work, Give Me Room, on a text by Meta Herrick Carlson, dedicated to philanthropist and UAF alumnus, Steve Holmberg.

Dr. Eads has performed in England, France, Italy, Norway, Bulgaria, Austria, Canada, Chile, and Mexico. His music has also been performed internationally, with recent highlights including the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Ann Arbor, who commissioned him for an accompanied choral work, At The Dawn and his Dona Nobis Pacem which was premiered in Vancouver by the Vancouver Cantata Singers. His Mass for the Oppressed, written to rally support for the Fairbanks Four, has been performed in six states, and has recently been awarded as a Finalist & Honorable Mention for The American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award and is recorded featuring the great British tenor, Barry Banks. The Gleaners, song cycle on a text by Patrick Milian for soprano and mezzo-soprano with piano trio, was awarded Third Place for the American Prize in Composition– Vocal Chamber Music (professional division).

He lives in Minot, ND with his wife, cellist, and conductor, Abbie Eads, and his two cats, Lake & Palmer. He misses 91��Ƶ friends and family, especially his two nieces, Adelle & Reaghann. 91��Ƶ gave him his first opportunities as a musician and it will always feel like home

Mallory Bernstein

Born in White Plains, New York, pianist Mallory Bernstein has a diverse career in collaborative work, solo performances, and nonprofit management. She studied at Ithaca College, the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks, and the University of Denver, performing with various ensembles and orchestras. Bernstein founded Education Through Music-Colorado, providing music education to 2,500 students in the Denver metro area.

Mallory Bernstein

Born in White Plains, New York, pianist Mallory Bernstein has built a diverse and robust career through collaborative work, solo performances and nonprofit management. She studied with Dr. Charis Dimaras at Ithaca College and discovered her passion for collaborative piano. She then journeyed to Fairbanks, 91��Ƶ to study with Dr. Eduard Zilberkant for her Master’s degree and with an assistantship to provide accompaniment for the studio of Dr. Jaunelle Celaire. Mallory continued her studies with a full ride to the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver for a Performance Certificate and Artist Diploma. She found many performing and teaching opportunities in Denver and in addition to solo performances in Germany, Italy and Portugal, she has performed with the Sonoma Philharmonic, Aurora Symphony, Opera Colorado, The Playground Ensemble and Opera on Tap. She has been featured on concert series including Devil Moon, Englewood Arts and Five Points Chamber series. She is a founding member and performs regularly with Art Song Colorado. In recent years, Mallory has performed with Mexican tenor, Humberto Borboa in Colorado, Arizona and California in recitals featuring Schumann's iconic song cycle, Dichterliebe.

As Mallory began to find accompanying opportunities in outreach settings, she noticed the impact of brief musical experiences on the students. This prompted her to explore the need for high-quality music education programming in Denver and she subsequently founded Education Through Music-Colorado. While there is still much work to be done, she is very proud that Education Through Music-Colorado now provides music programming for 2,500 students in the Denver metro area that didn't previously have access. Mallory resides in Denver with her husband, three young daughters and two dogs.

Jon Heintz

Jon Heintz earned his Bachelor’s in Music Education from the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks in 2014, studying double bass under esteemed instructors. He has actively participated in Fairbanks' music scene, performing with various groups and festivals. Currently, he is the orchestra director at Rainier Middle School and Auburn Mountainview High School in Auburn, Washington, and maintains a private double bass studio. Heintz credits UAF and Fairbanks for transforming his passion for music into a calling.

Jon Heintz

Hailing from interior 91��Ƶ, Jon Heintz received his Bachelor’s in Music Education from the University of 91��Ƶ Fairbanks in 2014. Jon studied double bass with Dr. Karl Knapp, Dr. Vince Cee, and Bob Olsen of the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra. Running parallel with his formative studies was a constant presence in the local music scene. Jon performed with numerous folk, rock, and jazz groups in the city, and participated in music festivals across 91��Ƶ.

Jon proudly serves as the orchestra director at Rainier Middle School and Auburn Mountainview High School (IG: @amhs_orchestra) in Auburn, Washington. Jon also keeps busy with a private double bass studio. His students have consistently performed at State Solo and Ensemble and WMEA All-State and NAfME All-Northwest. Former students of his studio are currently performing at the University of North Texas, Eastern Washington University, and the University of Washington.

From Jon: “The UAF Department of Music and the city of Fairbanks gave me the opportunity to experiment, fail, practice, collaborate, and ultimately grow in the best ways imaginable. The chance to perform with passionate musicians throughout the community and to learn from incredible educators shaped (as a wise music ed professor once said) my hobby into a passion, and my passion into a calling.”

Jon’s bass playing can be found recorded on:

Emily Anderson: Salt and Water**

Jazz Underground: Notes from the Underground

Kittiwake: Hibernal**

Granddad: Quitter**

Velvet Jupiter: Velvet Jupiter, EP2

Termination Dust: Growing Down**

**91��Ƶn artists

91��Ƶ

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