The halls of the Westbrook Music Building are once again busy and our faculty, staff, students and alumni are all doing amazing things! Read about them here:

Dale Bazan

Dale Bazan


I will be presenting five sessions at the World Conference of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) this July in Brazil. The first will be a policy paper with Daniel Hellman of Missouri State University about social justice commitment levels of music education students. This presentation will take place at the pre-conference policy seminar in Natal, Brazil before travelling to the main conference in Porto Alegre. In Porto Alegre, I’m chairing and presenting in a symposium on the use of informal and vernacular music making experiences in music teacher education including Frank Heuser (UCLA), Clint Randles (South Florida), and Sharon Davis (Loudon County Schools, Virginia). I’m also presenting in a symposium on social justice issues in music education with Daniel Hellman (Missouri State), Connie McKoy & Mark Dillon (North Carolina Greensboro), and Cindy Wagoner (East Carolina).  Fourth and fifth, I’ll be presenting paper sessions on the use of technology in elementary-level band programs, and the use of alternative rehearsal strategies in secondary band programs. The latter two are collaborations with UNL music education Ph.D. student Danni Gilbert. Read the abstracts...

I’ve also been providing final edits for an in press book chapter on social justice in music teaching to appear in the next volume of Advances in Music Education Research.   

Finally, I’ll be teaching the Woodwind Pedagogy and Literature course as part our on-campus master in music education program in June. I’ve also been instructing an assessment course online for Kent State University’s (Ohio) masters in music education degree.

Doug Bush

Doug Bush


I plan on spending time here in Lincoln biking/running and refueling for the next school year. I'll probably take in a few of the Jazz in June events. I will be making a trip to Kentucky to visit family and then will spend a week on the beach either on Hilton Head Island, SC or Nag's Head, NC. Professionally, I will be serving as clinician for the Cornhusker High School Marching Band Camp and completing visual design for high school bands. Of course, I will be tweeting about all of it. :) @DougBush2

Carolyn Barber

Carolyn Barber


I'll be headed up to Ithaca College (Ithaca, New York) June 29-July 1 to present a clinic at the Ithaca Conference on Instrumental Music Education: http://www.ithaca.edu/music/cbdna

Ensembleship for the 21st Century Artist-Teacher

Ensembleship is the ability of musicians to function effectively (i.e. creatively and artistically) in groups. For more than a century, wind band conductors have pursued that goal with a relentless focus on individual preparation and connection through convergent thinking. However, it is only since the turn of the 21st century that scholars and scientists have focused their attention in earnest on the psychological and neurological underpinnings of creativity, including the crucial element of divergence. The scientific predisposition against the study of creativity has been mirrored in the development of the American system of music education. As a result, this bias has been firmly embedded in the rehearsal practice of conductor/teachers for generations.

This session will connect contemporary scientific thought to traditional rehearsal practice to build a more effective and ultimately artistic method of developing ensembleship, including rehearsal activities and techniques based on interactive and improvisatory modes of thought common among actors. Material to develop character, define point of view, and enable interaction (as opposed to simple presentation which tends to be the ensemble musician’s default) will be woven into the flow to tip the balance from philosophical to practical. The emphasis for the session will be on how to achieve the shift in values and behaviors that supports ensembleship.

Kevin Hanrahan

Kevin Hanrahan


In May, Kevin Hanrahan performed the Dvorak Stabat Mater at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria with the University of Arizona Concert Choir, the Tuscon Symphony Orchestra Chorus and the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra, and at the Rudolfinum in Prague, Czech Republic with the City of Prague Orchestra.  In July Dr. Hanrahan will travel to Porto Alegre, Brazil and perform a recital of repertoire for the developing voice along with Dr. Jamie Reimer at the International Society of Music Education World Conference.

Diane Barger

Diane Barger


Diane Barger, Hixson-Lied Professor of Clarinet, is currently preparing for her appearance as featured guest artist for the 37th Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium in Norman, OK (http://ouclarinetsymposium.ou.edu/). The symposium is June 12-14th on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Barger's recital features music by Reinecke, Miluccio, and Delano and is scheduled on Friday, June 13th at 4pm in the Paul F. Sharp Concert Hall in the Catlett Music Center. UNL graduate students Jennifer Reeves (MM 2014; new DMA student and GTA, Fall '14) and Lucas Willsie (MM student, GTA) will be attending the symposium with Barger, and Jennifer Reeves is scheduled to perform in one of the symposium master classes. July 30-August 2, Barger will be attending the International Clarinet Association's annual ClarinetFest® (http://www.clarinet.org/clarinetFest2014/), which will take place in Baton Rouge, LA on the campus of Louisiana State University. Reeves, Willsie and Shiana Montanari (MM) will also be attending. Following a peer-reviewed invitation process last fall, Barger accepted the invitation to present two lectures at ClarinetFest® this summer. Her first presentation will occur on Thursday, July 31 at 11am in the Union Theater Room. The lecture is titled, "So You Want to Host an ICA ClarinetFest®…", is an hour in length, and will describe the process of creating the initial site proposal for the ICA Board of Directors and discuss the intricacies of organizing, planning, and managing all aspects of an ICA ClarinetFest®. (As a reminder, Barger served as Artistic Director and Host of the highly successful 2012 ICA ClarinetFest® here in Lincoln on the UNL campus!) The 2nd lecture presentation is shared with co-collaborater Dr. Denise Gainey (from the University of Alabama at Birmingham) and is a 30-minute presentation scheduled for Saturday, August 1 at 4pm in the Union Theater Room. The lecture is titled "Collaborative Teaching and Learning in the Studio" and discusses the way social networking (specifically Facebook) was used during the last academic year as an online, collaborative educational tool between two university clarinet studios. By sharing weekly video clips of each student's lesson, students and teachers were given a unique opportunity for further growth and learning throughout the year. The presentation will describe the conception of the teaching tool and note the benefits the students and teachers gained from the experience. Finally, during ClarinetFest®, Barger will also serve as the E-flat clarinetist in the American Clarinet Professors Choir which will close the conference with a final concert on Sunday, August 2 in the Shaver Theater at 3pm.

Tony Falcone

Tony Falcone


I'm presenting this weekend (May 31) at the CBDNA Marching & Athletic Band Directors Symposium on the Grounds of UVA in Charlottesville, VA. The topic is "Preparations for the Emerging Risk Management Environment." My co-presenter is Dr. Malinda Matney, Senior Research Associate at the University of Michigan. We're presenting under the auspices of the Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity's Hazing and Values Committee, which I chair.

Gretchen Pille


I am doing a marketing internship with Omaha Performing Arts at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha. I'm helping plan their summer events like Jazz on the Green and Cox Music and Movies. Additionally, I'll help with media planning to promote shows in their upcoming season. So far I love it!

David Galant

David Galant


I will be conducting at both the Texas Tech University School of Music Summer Orchestral Conducting Workshop and the University of Oregon Summer Conducting Institute with Neil Varon from the Eastman School of Music: http://uosymphony.com/summer-conducting-institute/

Anna Jessick


I am working two jobs this summer.  I am working as an administrative and working with computers and web design at my dad's construction business.  I am also working at a hotel called Stoney Creek Inn as a conference set-up which helps setup and tear down for meetings, events, weddings, etc.  I am living with my parents in Des Moines, IA.  I am away from friends but I will be back in Lincoln in June to take summer music classes!
Jamie Unger

Jamie Unger


This summer I am working here on campus, completing my graduate assistantship with the Office of Student Engagement.  I work with all of the incoming freshmen and transfer students at New Student Enrollment, where I give presentations on involvement opportunities and collect data to connect students with programs on campus.  I also give parent presentations and assist with scheduling/registration issues.  I will be taking the final course of my Master's program during the first 5-week session and graduating in August. In the fall, I will be teaching test prep courses and substitute teaching in the schools.  The flexible schedules of both of these jobs will allow me to pursue special music projects and audition for professional performing opportunities.