Jason Forbach, B.M. 2000
Broadway Actor / Singer

Career actor and singer since 2006; Broadway debut in 2014 as Enjolras in the Tony-nominated revival of Les Miserables; appearances as a guest educator at New York University, Sam Houston University, University of Texas, Westover School, Avila College, Johnson County Community College, DePaul University, University of Washington, Cornish School of the Arts, University of Missouri, and University of Connecticut; performances with the Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston, and Central City Opera in Colorado; placement in New Works of Merit Playwriting Competition with his play Heathen Hill.

Robert Sinclair, Ph.D. 2000
Educator

Director of Choral Activities at VanderCook since 2001; sang in the Nordic Choir under the direction of Weston Noble; 10 years of public school teaching experience and has presented sessions to the Music Educators Associations of Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and Texas, the Illinois Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), as well as the Southwestern and Southern Divisions of ACDA; active choral clinician and adjudicator for junior high and high school students internationally (previously with honor choirs in Australia, The Bahamas, Canada, and Japan in addition to all-state choirs in Illinois and Wisconsin).

Matthew Frederickson Ph.D. 2003 and 2007

Lincoln County R-3 School District Superintendent, DALI Leader of Distinction 2024, William Woods University Adjunct Professor, Missouri Baptist University Adjunct Professor, Bowling Green R-1 School District Superintendent, Grand Center Arts Academy Head of School, National Guard Bureau Military Personnel, Columbia College Adjunct Professor, Rockwood School District Administrative Positions K-12, Community Music School of Webster University Adjunct Professor, Lindenwood University Adjunct Professor, St. Charles Community College Adjunct Professor, Ouachita Baptist University Visiting Instructor, UNION R-XI SCHOOL DISTRICT Head Director of Bands, East Central College Adjunct Professor, Gasconade County School District Band Teacher, PhD in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Educational Specialist Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Missouri-Columbia, MS in Education Administration at Southwest Baptist University, BS in Education at Missouri State University, Certificate in Advanced Education Leadership at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Saint Louis Philharmonic Society Board Member, Phi Beta Mu Professional Fraternity Member, St. Louis Low Brass Collective Board Member. 

Jason Stumbo, Ph.D. 2004 

Interim Chair of the Department of Music at The University of Toledo; Director of Bands at UToledo, where he conducts the University Wind Ensemble and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting, orchestration, and music education; served as the associate director of bands at the University of Missouri, where he directed the 280-member Marching Mizzou, was conductor of the university Symphonic Band, and taught courses in basic conducting, wind repertoire, and music education; active adjudicator, clinician, and conductor, who has presented clinics and conducted ensembles in the U.S., Canada and Australia

Alicia Miles Olatuja, B.A. 2005
Professional Jazz / Opera Singer

Featured soloist with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir at President Barack Obama’s 2013 inauguration; collaboration with Grammy Award winning musician Billy Childs on Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro tour (2014); appearances as a performing artist at the Charlie Parker Festival and the BRIC JazzFest.

Jamila McWhirter, Ph.D. 2005

Professor of Music Education and Director of Graduate Studies for the MTSU School of Music; past Director of the MTSU Master of Arts in Liberal Arts (MALA) program during its inception; served as Coordinator of Music Education for over a decade; recent past National Chair for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Standing Committee on Education and Communication; served on the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Editorial Advisory Board for the Music Educators Journal; author of "A Creative Duet:  Mentoring Strategies for Emerging Music Educators", published by Oxford University Press; presented on numerous occasions at multiple national conferences for NAfME,  ACDA, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Society for Music Teacher Education (SMTE), and Society for Research in Music Education (SRME); served for fourteen consecutive years on the Tennessee Music Educators Association Executive Board in various positions as the State Chair of Research, State Chair of the Tennessee Society for Music Teacher Education, State Chair of Higher Education, and State CNAfME Chair, founded the Tennessee All-Collegiate Ensembles, TNCMENC (CNAfME) State Fall Kick-Off, TNSMTE Symposium, and developed an online proposal submission process for the TMEA Research Poster Session, State Chair for the national Keep Singing Project, served as the Collegiate Chair for the Middle Tennessee Vocal Association (MTVA), clinician and adjudication work with Festivals of Music, Performing Arts Consultants, and Fiesta-Val Music, served as a guest conductor for Mid-America Productions on their 40th Anniversary Concert Series in Carnegie Hall. She taught for 16 years in the state of Missouri, with thirteen of those years as a K-12 choral educator. She was adjunct faculty and lecturer at the University of Central Missouri, Missouri Baptist University, and Stephens College. Taught and conducted the Mizzou Chamber Choir and University Singers, as well as courses in music teacher education. She served as the State Treasurer for the Missouri Choral Directors Association and West-Central District President for the Missouri Music Educators Association.  She served on several committees for the Missouri Fine Arts Academy and Missouri State High School Activities Association. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, ACDA, NAfME, SRME, SMTE, and TMEA.  She has been nominated by students numerous times for inclusions in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.  She is also named in Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who Among American Women, Who’s Who in America and National Chancellor’s List.  She has been honored as one of the 100 Most Beautiful People of Murfreesboro by the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Jamila is in her 36th year of teaching and beginning her 20th year at MTSU.

David MacDonald, B.M. 2006

David attended the University of Missouri, first focusing on performance and only then discovering an interest in composition. He later earned a M.M. and D.M.A. in composition from Michigan State University. His primary composition teachers have been Ricardo Lorenz, W. Thomas McKenney, and Stefan Freund. In 2010, he co-founded SoundNotionTV, a podcast network featuring audio and video shows about music and the arts. He previously served as founder co-Artistic Director of SCENE&heard, a new music concert series at the (SCENE) Metrospace gallery in East Lansing, Michigan. Today, he teaches composition, theory, and technology at Wichita State University. Recent projects include a wind quintet recording with Navona Records and the game score for the Apple Arcade launch title Possessions. Current projects include a new work for narrator and orchestra for the Allen Philharmonic Orchestra.

Christopher Baumgartner, Ph.D. 2012

The Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Oklahoma and directs the OU New Horizons Band. Dr. Baumgartner also serves as Associate Director and Graduate Coordinator for the School of Music. Prior to his appointment at OU, Dr. Baumgartner taught music education and bands at Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Missouri. Had guest conducting appearances with the Mizzou New Music Ensemble at Missouri, collaborating with the late Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky and Grammy-nominated composer Anna Clyne. Dr. Baumgartner taught instrumental music in the Kenton (Ohio) Public Schools for four years, directing the high school, middle school, and beginning band programs. He continues to serve as a clinician and adjudicator for school bands of all levels in Oklahoma and beyond and routinely presents at state, national, and international conferences. His research interests include music student teaching, instrumental music methods and rehearsal techniques, community music, and music teacher mentoring. He is published in Journal of Research in Music Education, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, International Journal of Music Education, Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education, Visions of Research in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, and various state music journals. His book chapter on music student teaching appears in the Oxford Handbook of Preservice Music Teacher Education in the United States (Oxford University Press, 2020). His solo text Bridging the Gap: Stories for Music Student Teaching Seminar (2023) is published by Conway Publications. Dr. Baumgartner is a member of the Journal of Music Teacher Education Editorial Review Committee. Recently appointed to the Society for Music Teacher Education Executive Board, he serves as ASPA (Area of Strategic Planning and Action) Coordinator, overseeing the 12 workgroups charged with developing and implementing action plans related to current critical issues in music teacher education. In Oklahoma, he founded the OkMEA Mentorship program, where he designed and initiated a statewide music mentoring program and Beginning Teacher Workshop. Dr. Baumgartner currently serves as President-Elect for the Southwest Division of the National Association for Music Education. He also is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Tau Beta Sigma, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Stephanie Berg, M.M. 2012 

In 2012 she was selected as a resident composer of the Mizzou International Composers Festival, where her piece Ravish and Mayhem was premiered by the internationally acclaimed ensemble, Alarm Will Sound. This work was also performed on a subscription concert by the St. Louis Symphony and has also been selected for performance in 2016 by the Rochester Philharmonic.  Her music, both for large and small ensembles, has been heard across the region with performances by the Quincy Symphony Orchestra Association, Parkville Symphonic Band, DDG Oboe Trio, Columbia Civic Orchestra, Mizzou New Music Ensemble, Ninth Street Philharmonic, and University Philharmonic of Mizzou.  She has enjoyed premieres at the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum, The Sheldon Theatre, and has received commissions from the Ninth Street Philharmonic and the Columbia Civic Orchestra.  Her chamber work, Of Air Sweet and Water Deep, earned her a spot as one of eight national finalists in the 2011 MTNA competition in composition, and in 2013 she was selected as the winner of the Missouri Composers Orchestra Project. In 2009, she won the prestigious Sinquefield Composition Prize, which resulted in the commissioning of a work for the MU University Philharmonic. Berg also enjoys a performance career, playing clarinet, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, and saxophone. For two years she was a member of the Mizzou New Music Ensemble, where she performed regularly throughout the state including annually at the Mizzou New Music Festival, and at venues like the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum, and the World Chess Hall of Fame. She has also enjoyed performances at Sheldon Hall in St. Louis, on the Odyssey Chamber Music Series, and extensive orchestral experiences, having performed with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Philharmonic, University Philharmonic of MU, Ninth Street Philharmonic, Columbia Civic Orchestra, Missouri Symphony, and Philharmonia Columbia. Berg earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Missouri, where she studied with W. Thomas McKenney, Stefan Freund, Paul Garritson, and Edward Dolbashian.  She was selected to participate in composition masterclasses with Armando Bayolo and Andrew List, and has performed in masterclasses with Jane Carl, Anthony McGill, David Shifrin, and Tina Ward.  During her coursework at MU she also served for four years as the graduate assistant for the Creating Original Music Program, where she organized a state-wide composition contest and festival for children of elementary through high school age.

José Martínez M.M. 2016 

Martínez is a composer whose music has been performed by groups such as Alarm Will Sound, Wild Up, and Grammy award-winning quartet Third Coast Percussion. An alumnus of percussion and composition at the National University of Colombia, he studied composition at the University of Missouri and UT Austin. José was a visiting professor at East Carolina University and the New College of Florida. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Music at Colby College. His music has also been presented by Spanish ensemble Taller Sonoro, LA-based Piano duo Hockett Duo, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s from New York City, Grupo de Cámara de Bogotá, and Austin-based percussion ensemble Line Upon Line, among others. Other collaborators also include Sarasota Contemporary Dance, Teatro del Valle (Colombia), and visual artist Yulia Lanina. He has participated in institutes and festivals such as the Banff Ensemble Evolution program, DeGaetano, Splice, SEAMUS, Missouri International Composer Festival, Line Upon Line Winter Composer Festival, ClarinetFest, and VIPA. José is a recipient of the 2008 National Composition Prize for Young Composers, the 2011 “Ciudad de Bogotá” Composition Award, and the 2013 National Cultural Prize. In the US, he received the 2013 Sinquefield Composition Prize and the 2019 Rain Water Grant for Innovation.

Oswald Huynh, M.M. 2022 

As a composer, Huỳnh has collaborated with artists such as the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, North Carolina Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Composers Orchestra, Pacific Chamber Orchestra, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Music From Copland House, Tacet(i) Ensemble, Trio Sheliak, Quatuor Bozzini, Del Sol String Quartet, [Switch~ Ensemble], Fear No Music, IU New Music Ensemble, Nefelibata New Music Collective, deaf rabbit duo, Li-Chin Li, Megan Ihnen, Payton MacDonald, Yoshiaki Onishi, and Leo Schlaifer. Huỳnh’s music has been presented at Orchestra Hall (MN), Conservatoire de musique de Montréal (Canada), Tiara Koto Hall (Japan), Palazzo delle Feste (Italy), Jacobs School of Music, Jordan Hall, Copland House, SONiC Festival, Conservatorium Maastricht (Netherlands), Mizzou International Composers Festival, Powell Hall, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (Thailand), Ear Taxi Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Northwestern University New Music Conference, and The Sheldon Concert Hall, among others. He is the winner of the Luigi Nono International Composition Prize (Italy), New England Philharmonic Call for Scores Competition, Musiqa Emerging Composer Commission, IPO Classical Evolve Composer Competition, Black Bayou Composition Award, and has received recognition from the New York Youth Symphony, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Society of Composers, and ASCAP. Huỳnh will serve as the Composer-in-Residence with the Louisville Orchestra for their 2024/25 season as part of their Creator Corps program.

Howard Helvey, B.M. 1990
Composer

Current choirmaster, Calvary Episcopal Church; Co-founder and conductor of the Cincinnati Fusion Ensemble (2013-); Editor for music publishing imprint H.W. Grey (2016); internationally recognized composer and arranger with pieces performed and recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Kings College (Cambridge) Choir, The BBC Singers, and others; collaborator, performer in Steinbach/Helvey Duo with Richard Steinbach (1997-2012).

Todd Waldecker, B.S. Ed./B.M. 1990

Served since 1998 in the School of Music at Middle Tennessee State University where he teaches applied clarinet, clarinet pedagogy and chamber music. He received the MTSU Foundation Outstanding Teacher Award in 2006. He holds degrees from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music (D.M.), Yale University (M.M.), and the University of Missouri. (B.M.)  He serves on the faculty of the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts and has taught at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, the University of Northern Iowa, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Purdue University, and as a guest instructor at Indiana University in 2011. Waldecker has performed as a soloist and chamber musician across the United States, Europe, Asia and South America.  He has performed by invitation at several International Clarinet Association ClarinetFests, the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium, the Mississippi Single Reed Summit, the Eastern Plains Clarinet Celebration, and the University of Southern Mississippi Clarinet Day.  As a member of the MTSU Faculty Stones River Chamber Players he has performed live on National Public Radio and at conventions of the National Flute Association and the Guitar Federation of America. He plays Principal Clarinet with the Nashville Opera and is a frequent performer with the Grammy Award-Winning Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Waldecker can also be heard on commercial recordings for film, television, and video games including productions for Netflix, Amazon, Universal Studios Tokyo, The History Channel,  and the "Minecraft", "Fortnite", "Call of Duty" and other video game franchises. Waldecker is a Buffet Crampon Performing Artist.

Linda Porter Thornton, M.Ed. 1993, Ph.D. 1998
Educator

Music professor, SUNY-Fredonia (1998-2003); Professor of Music Education, Penn State University (2003-); “Partners In Music” collaboration recognized in 2015 with Penn State’s Community Engagement and Scholarship Award and the College Music Society’s Robby D. Gunstream Education Music Award; chair-elect for the Society for Music Teacher Education; research coordinator for the eastern division conference of the National Association for Music Education; North American review editor for Research in Music Education; reviewer for the Journal of Teacher Education and Educators; former adviser for the Music Educators Journal; chair for the Music Teacher Education Special Research Interest Group within NAfME; research chair and strategic planning committee member for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA); author of articles in journals including The Bulletin for the Council for Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, and Musicianship: Composing in Band and Orchestra.

Caroline Worra, M.M. 1993
Professional Opera Singer

Performed with over eighty opera companies including The Metropolitan Opera, The Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Boston Lyric Opera; international opera performances in Hong Kong, Sicily, Brazil, and Ireland; recitals in Carnegie Hall (2006, 2011, 2012, 2016); recipient of the Shoshana Foundation/Richard F. Gold Career Grant; Humanitarian Grant Award Recipient (2019);  current voice instructor at the Janiec Opera Company and at the Brevard Music Center's Summer Music Festival; recorded the part of Jenny in The Mines of Sulfur, the 2009 Grammy Nominated Album from The Glimmerglass Opera; University of Missouri College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumna Award (2014).

Dean Southern, M.M. 1993
Educator/Arts Administrator/Internationally Recognized Clinician

Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs & Dean of the Institute at the Cleveland Institute of Music; Master Teacher at the 2020 NATS Intern Program; executive director of the Art Song Festival at CIM; spent eleven years on the faculty of the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria; taught at summer programs in Italy, China, California and Massachusetts; jury member of the Bologna International Vocal Competition in Italy. 

John Toenjes, M.M. 1995
Composer

Current Professor and Undergraduate Director of dance, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign (2001-); past President of the International Guild of Musicians in Dance; past member of the University of Missouri’s Advanced Technology Center as Composer and Sound Designer of multimedia programs, such as the national award-winning pediatric asthma program IMPACT Asthma–Kids (1994); international appearances as conference presenter and lecturer; published articles in The Journal of Dance Education and International Guild of Musicians in Dance Journal; established the Laboratory for Audience Interactive Technologies (LAIT); performance appearances with the San Francisco Symphony, the Baroque Arts Ensemble, and his improvisation group, Crossing Vistas.

Darrin Thornton, M.M. 1995 

Thornton is associate dean for academic affairs and outreach, and a teaching professor of music at Penn State University. His teaching areas include music education foundations, secondary instrumental methods and techniques courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels; and formerly served as an assistant director for the Penn State Marching Blue Band. He was named the interim head of the Department of Graphic Design for the spring 2024 semester. Thornton’s research interests include teacher preparation and continued professional development, educational access, and outreach, learning in ensemble settings, and lifelong music engagement. Thornton further contributes to the field of music education as a performing percussionist, conductor, adjudicator, clinician, guest lecturer, and consultant, while providing professional and administrative service to the school, college, and professional organizations. He was appointed Musical Director and Conductor of the State College Area Municipal Band in 2018. Prior to his School of Music appointment, he taught band/instrumental music at the elementary, middle, and high school levels in the state of New York; served on the conducting faculties at the University of Missouri and SUNY-Fredonia; and held administrative posts at the University of Missouri, SUNY-Fredonia, and Penn State.

ChengGang Yang, M.M. 1996
Educator, International Performer

Current Vice Chair and Professor of Piano, Sichuan Conservatory of Music; active clinician and adjudicator, including master classes in China, Hong Kong, Germany, and the United States; awarded the prestigious YAMAHA Teaching Award (2013); Excellent Teacher Award of Kayserburg National Piano Competition (2013); Sichuan Conservatory Excellent Teacher (2012-2014).

Linda Thornton, MED/Ph.D. 1998

Thornton earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from Northwestern University, and graduate degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She taught band in public schools in northern and southern Illinois. Prior to her appointment at Penn State, she held a similar position at the State University of New York, College at Fredonia. She is the current Professor of Music education at Penn State University where she teaches instrumental methods courses with a focus on elementary and middle school levels, freshman seminar, and advises music education students in the Schreyer Honors College. She teaches Psychology of Music and advises dissertations for Ph.D. students. Her “Partners in Music” initiative with Dr. Robert Gardner, a collaboration between the State College Area School District, Our Lady of Victory, and Penn State, was recognized in 2015 with Penn State’s “Community Engagement and Scholarship Award” and in 2016 with the College Music Society’s “Robby D. Gunstream Education in Music Award.” Her research interests include pedagogy for beginning instrumentalists, composition and improvisation for instrumental students, music teacher recruitment and socialization, and reflective practice. She has published articles and chapters on these topics in several journals and books, including The Bulletin for the Council for Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, and Musicianship: Composing in Band and Orchestra (GIA). She has presented workshops and research and conducted ensembles throughout Pennsylvania as well as nationally and internationally. Thornton serves as the chair-elect for the Society for Music Teacher Education, research coordinator for the eastern division conference of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), North American review editor for Research in Music Education, and as a reviewer for the Journal of Teacher Education and Educators.  She has served as an adviser for Music Educators Journal, chair for the Music Teacher Education Special Research Interest Group within NAfME, and as research chair for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) as well as PMEA’s strategic planning committee.

Christopher Jewell, B.M. 1999
Professional Bassoonist and Educator

Current Assistant Principal Bassoonist for the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra (2000-); adjunct faculty at George Mason University; lecturer in bassoon at The Catholic University of America; regular performer with the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, Post Classical Ensemble, Wolf Trap Opera Company, and the Chesapeake Chamber Orchestra; has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, New World Symphony, and Aspen Festival and Chamber Orchestras; performances as a soloist in the American Youth Symphonic Orchestra; served as a judge for the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Woodwinds Competition; masterclass educator at James Madison University, the University of Missouri, and at the Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony in Caracas, Venezuela; woodwind coach for the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras and at Bishop Ireton High School; chamber music performer at Corcoran Gallery of Art, Georgetown University’s Friday Music Series, and the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage.

Joseph Rackers, B.S. Ed. 1999
Professional pianist, Educator

Current professor of piano, Eastman School of Music and adjunct professor of piano, University of South Carolina; international performer in Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Spain, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and extensively throughout the United States; recording artist for MSR Classics, Navona, Centaur, Equilibrium, and Beauport Classics labels; serves as artist faculty for the Perugia International Music Festival in Italy, Burgos International Music Festival in Spain, Texas State International Piano Festival, and Southeastern Piano Festival in the United States; performer in Lomazov/Rackers Piano Duo; honored by the South Carolina House of Representatives and South Carolina State Senate for his personal contribution to the arts in South Carolina and leadership of the Southeastern Piano Festival; has given masterclasses at Indiana University, University of Michigan, Boston University, Gina Bachauer International Piano Festival, UCLA, UNLV, Vanderbilt, and at conservatories and music festivals across Europe, China, and South Korea;

Jeffrey Brown, B.M. 1999

Chair of our Center for Music at The Music Settlement. A graduate of the University of Missouri, Jeff holds a BM in Piano Performance as well as a Performer’s Certificate, a Master of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Eastman School of Music. He studied with Natalya Antonova and served as her teaching assistant, and his early training was with Jane Allen at the University of Missouri. He has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia as a solo recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with orchestras. He was a prizewinner in the Kosciuszko Chopin Competition, the Eastman Concerto Competition, and the Kneisel German Lieder Competition, and he was a recipient of the Artist Presentation Society Award of St. Louis. He has been on the collaborative piano faculty of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Austria, La Musica Lirica International Music Festival in Italy, and the DaXia Vocal Arts Festival in China. Prior to joining The Music Settlement, he served for many years on the faculty at Western Illinois University as Professor of Piano and Director of the School of Music and is an active member of the Music Teachers National Association 

Sheryl Crow, B.S.Ed. 1984
Professional Popular Singer / Songwriter

Elementary music educator, Fenton, Missouri (1986-1987); backing vocalist for Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Buffet, and others; nine-time Grammy Award winner, singer, songwriter, and popular performing artist.

Gregory Fuller, M.M. 1986, Ph.D. 2000
Director, Choir Conductor

Director of choral activities, University of Southern Mississippi (2000-)

Áureo DeFreitas, B.M. 1989
Educator, Conductor

Founder and conductor for the Orquestra de Violoncelistas da Amazônia [Amazon Cello Choir] (1998); Founder and Director of the Center for Graduate Research at the Federal University of Pará, Brazil (centered on research about developmental disorders and learning disabilities in music).

Hadley Haux, B.S. Ed. 1989

Former band director at Ritenour High School after 30 years of teaching, founder of the Wurst Bavarian Band. He has been involved with Marching Mizzou and the alumni band for more than 40 years. Saint Louis Brass Band member and secretary. 

C. Earl Coleman Jr., B.S.Ed. 1970, M.M. (Voice) 1976, M.M. (Violin) 1980
Educator, Administrator, Performing Violinist

William and Isabelle Curry Eminent Faculty Scholar Chair in Voice at Columbus State University; former dean of the School of Music, University of Michigan; ”Master Teacher" recognition by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (2010); first violinist with the Rollins String Quartet; Principal Second Violin of the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, the North Arkansas Symphony, and the Tupelo Symphony; former National Board Member for NATS and Regional Governor for the Great Lakes Region of NATS; performed as soloist under noted maestros Leonard Bernstein, George Solti, Robert Shaw, Gustav Meier, Boris Goldovsky, Margaret Hillis, Edward Murphy, Gregg Smith, Carl Topilow, Franz Krager, and John Ruetter; University of Missouri College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumnus Award (2004).

Mike Metheny, B.S.Ed. 1971
Professional Jazz Musician, Educator, Philanthropist

Co-founder and chairman, Metheny Music Foundation (2007-); published Old Friends Are the Best Friends: The Letters of John McKee and Mike Metheny (2016); U.S. Army Field Band (1971-1974); Adjunct Lecturer and Assistant to the Head of the Trumpet Department at the Berklee College of Music (1976-1983); named "Outstanding Brass Player" by the Boston Music Awards (1988).

James Lester “Jim” Widner, B.S.Ed. 1971
Professional Jazz Musician, Educator

Bandleader for the Jim Widner Big Band (1977-); performer, Lionel Hampton and Montreaux Jazz Festivals; concert appearances with Clark Terry, Marilyn Maye, Lou Marini, Mulgrew Miller, Louie Bellson, Randy Brecker, Bill Watrous, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and appearance before former President Bill Clinton; director of Jazz Studies, The University of Missouri-St. Louis (2003-2019); Downbeat Magazine Achievement Award for work in jazz education (2009); inducted into the Lebanon, Missouri Wall of Honor (2011); recognized as a St. Louis Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association (2018).

Charles T. Menghini, B.S.Ed. 1976
Director of University Bands, Administrator, Professional Trumpet Performer

Current President Emeritus, Vandercook College of Music; President and Director of Bands at Vandercook College of Music (2004-2017); co-author, Essential Elements 2000 Band Method (2000); member of the board of advisors, The Instrumentalist;  editor, InTune Monthly and School Band and Orchestra; performer, lead trumpet, the Kansas City Chiefs Professional Football Band; director for bands that performed in the Tournament of Roses Parade, Orange Bowl Parade, and XV Olympic Winter Games; current trumpeter, City Club of Chicago.

Margaret Merrion, M.Ed. 1976, Ph.D. 1979
Educator, Administrator

Coordinator of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies, School of Music, University of Northern Iowa (1981-1986); appointed Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts, Dean of the College of Music, Ball State University (1986-1999); Dean of the College of Fine Arts, Western Michigan University (1999-2013); author or co-author of six books, two monographs, four book chapters, and thirty-seven articles; served two terms on the Board of Directors and one term as President of the International Council of Fine Arts Deans; member of the Board of Directors of Imagining America; served as national chair for research strategy group of the Music Educators Research Council; participated as consultant and evaluator for Higher Learning Commission.

Charles K. Smith, M.Ed. 1963
Director, Educator

Director of Choral Activities, Michigan State University (Professor Emeritus); Former Associate Conductor, University of Texas at Austin.

Josephine Wright, B.M. 1963, M.A. (Musicology) 1967
Musicologist, Educator, Internationally Recognized Scholar

Current advisor for the revised Grove Dictionary of American Music published by Oxford University Press; Member of inaugural Editorial Board for Lever Press (2016); Society for American Music Lifetime Achievement Award (2015); Former Editor - American Music, (first female appointed editor for this society, first Black American appointed to such a position by a national musicological organization in the United States, 1994-1997); Distinguished Alumna Award from the University of Missouri (1999); Board of Directors of the American Musicological Society; Current member in The Society for American Music, The National Endowment for the Humanities, and Pi Kappa Lambda Upsilon Chapter; named to the national artistic directorate of The American Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum of Cincinnati (1997); The Clark Fund Award; The Henry Luce Award (Distinguished Scholarship); co-authored African-American Traditions in Song, Sermon, Tale, and Dance, 1600s-1920 (1990) and Images: Iconography of Music in African-American Culture, 1770s-1920s (2000).

Judith A. Jellison, M.A. 1967
Educator, Scholar

Founding director of Music Therapy, University of Minnesota (1972-1983); Head of the Division of Music and Human Learning and Mary D. Bold Regents Professor of Music in the School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin (1983-); Senior Researcher Award from MENC: The National Association for Music Education (2004); Publications Award from the American Music Therapy Association; Outstanding Music Education Award from the Texas Music Educators Conference student organization.

John Patterson, B.S. Ed. 1959, M.Ed. 1964
Educator, Band Director, Administrator

Director of High School Bands; Chair of the Columbia Public School District Music Education Program; Director of Columbia Community Bands, Columbia, MO (2005-); University of Missouri Honorary Alumni Award (2003).

Eugene Watts, B.M. (Trombone) 1959
Trombone Virtuoso, International Touring Artist

Canadian Brass Quintet (founder); North Carolina, Milwaukee, San Antonio, and Toronto symphony orchestra positions; honorary doctorates from The University of Missouri, New England Conservatory of Music, Hartwick College, McMaster University; University of Missouri College of Arts and Science Distinguished Alumnus Award (2003).