Department Administration
Dr. Shandra Helman
Professor of Music | Clarinet & Saxophone| Woodwind Area Coordinator | Chair of the Music Department
- B.Mus. 2000, Lawrence University
- M.A. 2004, University of Iowa
- D.M.A. 2008, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Joined ISU Faculty in 2008
Dr. Shandra Helman is Chair of the Music Department, Professor of Clarinet & Saxophone, and Woodwind Area Coordinator at Idaho State University. She is also tenured as the 3rd/Bass Clarinet of the Boise Philharmonic and the Principal Clarinet of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, and was selected as a finalist in the 2012 Orchestral Audition Competition for the International Clarinet Association Conference. Her extensive orchestral experience includes performances on clarinet and bass clarinet with the Utah Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Opera and Ballet companies, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra, and the American Wind Symphony Orchestra. Shandra broadcast her first virtual duo performance at ClarinetFest® 2021 and was also invited to participate as a feature recital artist at ClarinetFest® 2013 in Assisi, Italy.
Shandra has taught applied clarinet and saxophone and served as the Woodwind Area Coordinator at ISU since August 2008. She is a founding member of the ISU faculty woodwind quintet, City Creek Winds (established August 2010), and metaFOUR (established August 2013), a saxophone quartet featuring university and community professionals. Both ensembles enjoy a great amount of outreach and recital performance opportunities throughout the Mountain West region. Additionally, Shandra is a founding member of the Faculty Chamber Music Recital Series at ISU, which began in January 2015.
Shandra's academic course rotation at ISU includes core surveys of music history; woodwind methods; instrumental pedagogy; clarinet/saxophone pedagogy and literature; and advanced music history seminars. Her ongoing research and performance endeavors include a bass clarinet specialty; analysis of the ever-expanding amount of published bass clarinet repertoire; saxophone chamber music; and saxophone pedagogical methods.
Her primary instructors include Linda Bartley (DMA, University of Wisconsin-Madison), Maurita Murphy Mead (MA, University of Iowa), Fan Lei (BM, Lawrence University), and Melvin Warner (private study, Northern Illinois University). Shandra has also participated in additional studies with Kalmen Opperman and Kenneth Grant, and master classes with Steve Hanusofski, Lee Livengood, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, Richard Stoltzman, and Patrick O'Keefe.
Shandra is a D'Addario Performing Artist. She currently resides in Pocatello, Idaho with husband and horn player, Michael, their sons, Alec and Ian, and their cats, Gracie and Hattie.
Dr. Thomas E. Kloss
Professor of Music | Associate Director of Athletic Bands | Coordinator for Music Education | Associate Department Chair
- B.M. 1997, 1998, University of Arizona
- M.M. 2005, Arizona State University
- Ph.D. 2011, Arizona State University
Awards:
- 2023 - Benny Award for Faculty of the Year
- 2023 - Outstanding Faculty Advisor of the Year
- 2017 - Distinguished Service Award
- 2016 - College of Arts and Letters Faculty Excellence Award
Joined ISU Faculty in 2011
Thomas E. Kloss received his Bachelor of Music degrees in music education and saxophone performance at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. He received his Master of Music and Ph. D. in music education from Arizona State University, where he taught courses in instrumental pedagogy, research in music education, and string methods. He is also certified in Kodaly (Level 2) and Orff (Level 1) elementary methods.
His research interests include the effects of band teacher turnover, oral histories of retired music educators, and student centered learning in large ensemble classes. He has presented research at several venues, including the Society for Music Teacher Education Symposium, the 13th Latin American Regional Conference and 5th Pan American Regional Conference, NAfME Northwest and Biennial Conferences, and the Idaho and Arizona Music Educators Conferences, and has been published in Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Arizona Music News, Research and Issues in Music Education, Praxis: Sam Houston Journal from the Center for Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education (Spring 2022), and Idaho Music Notes.
In 2015, Dr. Kloss became the Associate Director of Athletic Bands. His duties include the Bengal Marching Band and Basketball Pep Band. He is also the Director of the ISU Summer Marching Band Camp, which is held in June at ISU. Dr. Kloss is also a member and associate conductor of the Pocatello Municipal Band, and conducts the ISU Civic Concert Band.
Brass Faculty
Dr. Patrick Young
Assistant Professor | Director of Bands | Low Brass
Office: Fine Arts 211
Joined ISU Faculty in 2022
Dr. Patrick E. Young currently serves as the Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Low Brass at Idaho State University. Prior to assuming his position at ISU, he previously served as the Director of Bands and Low Brass instructor at Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia. Dr. Young, an alumnus of Young Harris himself and Georgia native, received a Bachelor of Music Education degree at YHC before going on to receive a Master of Music Performance in Tuba from the University of Georgia. He then completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Music Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2020. Dr. Young’s dissertation, entitled “Sorting Shapes: The F-Tuba Helper,” discusses the performance experience between low brass performers and their collaborative pianists.
In addition to his duties at ISU, Dr. Young also serves as the principal tubist of Opera Colorado, a renowned opera company located in the heart of Denver, CO. He also serves as the bass trombonist in the Idaho State-Civic Symphony. He formerly served as the principal tubist with the Longmont Symphony Orchestra and Arapahoe Philharmonic in Colorado. As a soloist he has performed at the Southeastern Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference as a guest artist and with the University of Georgia British Brass Band under the direction of Mr. Phil Smith, former Principal Trumpet of the New York Philharmonic. Dr. Young has received First Place in the Rocky Mountain Brass Solo Contest, was a semi-finalist in the International Lenard Falcone Festival and Competition in Michigan, and was awarded Second Place at the Northwestern Tuba Euphonium Conference in Washington. He has been runner-up or semi-finalist in numerous premiere military bands, including the Army Field Band and the President’s Own Marine Band.
As an educator, Dr. Young was a recent guest artist at the Moscow Conservatory, the Gnessin Musical College, and the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia during the 2019 Russian Tour with the Fortress Brass Quintet. While abroad in Russia, he performed as a soloist with the St. Petersburg Conservatory Orchestra, taught masterclasses, individual lessons, and gave numerous recitals with the Fortress Brass Quintet.
His primary tuba instructors include Professor Mike Dunn (CU Boulder), Professor David Zerkel (UGA/University of Michigan), Dr. David McLemore (Central Washington University, and Simon Wildman (President’s Own Marine Band). Dr. Young’s primary conducting influences include Dr. Don McKinney (CU Boulder), Dr. Dan Bara (UGA), Dr. Jaclyn Hartenberger (UGA), Dr. John Lynch (University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point), Dr. Mary Land (Western Michigan), and Dr. Mike Campbell (Young Harris).
Dr. Young is a member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association (ITEA), American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He is also on call to perform with the Colorado Ballet, the Boulder Philharmonic, Steamboat Symphony Orchestra, Cheyenne Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and Boise Philharmonic. His other research interests include history of rap music and exploring creative ways to make young music students hirable immediately after their university experience. In his free time, Dr. Young enjoys grilling, going on hikes with Kirby, his Siberian Husky, and watching the Atlanta Braves play baseball.
Dr. Eddie Ludema
Assistant Professor of Music | Trumpet
Office: FA 318
- B.Mus. University of Utah
- K.A. Freiburg Hochschule für Musik
- M.M. Indiana University
- D.M.A. Indiana University
Eddie is Assistant Professor of Trumpet, Music Theory and Tech at Idaho State University. He’s principal trumpet with the Idaho State Civic Symphony and performs with the Portneuf Brass Quintet and the ISU New Music Faculty Ensemble. He and Prof. Jon Armstrong formed and co-direct the acoustoelectric Video Game Music Ensemble as a part of the exciting Commercial Music Program at Idaho State. He works with the trumpet studio, trumpet ensemble, brass ensemble and teaches music theory, music technology and improvisation. Prior to moving to beautiful Pocatello, he taught at Indiana State University and was an associate instructor at Indiana University. He was principal trumpet with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and Terre Haute Symphony and was the Jazz Ensemble director at Indiana State. He’s performed with the Utah Symphony, The Orchestra at Temple Square (Utah), the ORSO Rock Orchestra (Germany), the Classical Music Festival Orchestra (Austria), the Carmel (Indiana) Symphony, and the Indiana University New Music Ensemble. He was a founding member of the Mirari Brass Quintet and toured internationally with the ISU (Indiana State University) Faculty Ambassador Brass Quintet. He produces the “Anthony Plog on Music” podcast (give it a listen!) and - as a professional coder (some would say “hacker”) - has built the intonation practice app “Dr. Drone” (a collaboration with Dr. Jason Sulliman) and the “Set Class Calculator” for his music theory students. He received doctoral and masters degrees from Indiana University with John Rommel, an Artist’s Diploma with Anthony Plog at the Freiburg Music Conservatory (Germany), and a bachelor’s with Nick Norton at the University of Utah. He also performed on masterclasses with Wolfgang Guggenberger, Frits Damrow, Karl Schuhwerk, Bernhard Bär, Allan Dean, Josef Eidenberger, Stanley Friedman, Balázs Nemes, Steven Verhaert, and Allen Vizzutti.
Eddie loves teaching and learning - learning from wonderful people around the world who he’s been blessed to work with; and teaching by helping students broaden their perspectives and artistic power while assisting them in their process of discovery. In addition to his musical life, he’s a foodie on a never-ending hunt for the best tamales, lasagnas and Käses-Spätzle (everything the spicier the better.) He and his lovely wife, Beth – a vocalist, oboist, and incredible music educator - thoroughly enjoy life with their hilarious little boy, Hendrik… who in his young age has become a coder and can sing nearly every tune from the Super Mario Bros. series – up two octaves.
Michael Helman
Instructor of Music | Horns
- B.Mus. 2001, Columbus State University
- M.A. 2004, University of Iowa
Joined ISU Faculty in 2008
Michael Helman joined the faculty of Idaho State University in 2008 and is an instructor of music and horn for the department of music. He also serves as the director of bands at Franklin Middle School (2014) and School District 25’s middle school music coordinator (2019). His teaching responsibilities within the School of Performing Arts include applied horn while also coaching student brass ensembles. He is an active clinician, adjudicator and performer throughout Idaho and works with all levels of musicians. He currently performs as Principal Horn with the Idaho State Civic Symphony, Portneuf Brass Quintet, City Creek Winds, and serves as the personnel manager for the symphony. He has been featured as a guest soloist multiple times with the ISU Wind Ensemble, has been featured as a guest artist with area local groups, and has performed with the Boise Philharmonic and Idaho Falls Symphony Orchestra.
Prior to taking on the FMS band program, he was the business manager for the School of Performing Arts at ISU. Other previous teaching and performing includes being the Director of Bands and Music Education for Oaklawn Academy in Edgerton, Wisconsin. He held this position for three years while maintaining a private studio and performing with the Oshkosh Symphony Orchestra and Four Seasons Theater.
Michael attended the University of Iowa from 2002-2004, where he earned a Master of Arts degree in horn performance. During his time in Iowa City, he studied with Jeff Agrell and worked as the teaching assistant to the horn studio. In addition to performing extensively with both the orchestra and band programs, he was active within the Center for New Music and Evan Mazunick’s “soundpainting” ensemble throughout his tenure. Other Iowa chamber ensembles include the Old Capitol Brass Quintet, UI Graduate Woodwind Quintet, Iowa Brass Choir and the Iowa Horn Trio. He holds the Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from Columbus State University (Columbus, GA), where he studied horn with Dr. Kristen Hansen.
Michael’s other professional experience includes performances with the American Wind Symphony (2003), St. Louis Chamber Winds, North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Opera Company, and the Brevard Music Festival (2000/2001). He has had additional studies and/or master class appearances with Jack Masarie, Dr. John Ericson, Allen Spanjer, Gregory Hustis, Gregory Miller, Andrew McAfee and Jean Rife.
His favorite chamber musician to collaborate with is his wife, Shandra, with whom he is raising two boys and two cats.
Colin Brien
Instructor of Music | Brass and Instrumental Methods
Jazz and Commercial Music
Jon Armstrong
Associate Professor of Music | Jazz & Commercial Music
- B.A. 2006, University of Washington
- B.Mus. 2006, University of Washington
- M.F.A. 2008, California Institute of the Arts
Joined ISU Faculty in 2015
Jonathan Armstrong is a fiercely creative musician, composer, and educator living in Pocatello, ID where he serves as the Director of Jazz Studies at Idaho State University. His background is a mix of intensive academic training and extensive professional experiences on saxophones, bass, and electronic sampler. While living in Los Angeles, Jonathan maintained a busy performance schedule as a highly sought after musician. Along with frequent gigs and recording sessions, he played regularly with bands led by Bennie Maupin, Mike Barone, Vincent Gallo, Vinny Golia, and Dan Rosenboom. Jonathan also co-founded the critically acclaimed modern jazz quartet Slumgum and the cutting edge electronic psychedelic group Pitch Like Masses and has toured throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan.
As a composer, Jonathan has written music for dance, theater, film, television, and podcasts. In 2013, he formed the Jon Armstrong Jazz Orchestra, a 22 piece modern big band that is dedicated to realizing his daring long form compositions. These compositions are the culmination of his career incorporating sophisticated structures of modern classical music, complex rhythms and forms of world music, and expressive jazz solos.
Jonathan has been experimenting recently with compositions that combine improvisation with just intonation resonance and trance rhythms. Since moving to Idaho, he spends a lot of his time hanging with his wife and taking in the awesome and dynamic natural beauty.
Dr. Jenna McLean
Assistant Professor of Music | Applied Voice | Commercial Music
- B.M. in Vocal Performance - University of Wyoming
- M.M in Jazz Studies - University of Northern Colorado
- DMA in Jazz Studies - University of Northern Colorado
Joined ISU Faculty in 2023
Jenna McLean is an accomplished contemporary vocalist and educator specializing in helping singers in the commercial music realm develop a solid technical foundation upon which they can rely for a long and varied career. She has a Doctor of Arts degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado where she completed a dissertation entitled "A Study in Effective Teaching Methods in Jazz Voice Technique in Higher Education". She also completed a secondary emphasis in vocal pedagogy studying under Dr. Melissa Malde. She completed her Master of Music Degree in Jazz Studies at UNC and has a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Wyoming. Jenna is a member of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) and JEN (Jazz Education Network) and is certified in Level I of Somatic Voicework™ with Jeanie LoVetri.
As a performing artist, Jenna has a penchant for celebrating timeless standards with improvisational prowess, swing and simplicity that feels familiar yet contemporary. Her diversity of skill in many genres contributes to her songwriting style and inspires her to continue investigating ways to honor the jazz tradition and still push forward in time.
Jenna was a semi-finalist in the 2023 American Traditions Vocal Competition, the 2019 winner of the Downbeat Student Music Awards Graduate Vocal Soloist Category, and a recent recipient of the Pathways to Jazz Grant through which she recorded her album Brighter Day. She has performed at renowned venues nationwide including Dazzle Denver, Nocturne Denver, Black Cat, The 1905, Rudy's Jazz Room, The Jazz Station, and has performed and presented multiple times at the Jazz Education Network conference and the Five Points Jazz Festival in Denver. She has had the pleasure of performing alongside renowned musicians such as Joel Frahm, Pat Coil, Bobby McFerrin, Aubrey Logan and the New York Voices, and also performs regularly with incredible Denver-based jazz musicians such as Annie Booth, Ben Markley, Eric Gunnison, Tom Amend, Dawn Clement, and others. Her music can be found at http://www.jennamcleanmusic.
Keyboards
Dr. Kori Bond
Professor of Music | Piano Area Coordinator
- B.A. & B.S. 1992, Walla Walla College
- M.M. 1994, Northern Illinois University
- D.M. 1999, Indiana University
Joined ISU Faculty in 1999
Dr. Kori Bond is Professor of Piano at Idaho State University, where she coordinates the piano program, teaches piano and related courses, and directs the Preparatory Piano Program. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Indiana University in Piano Performance, a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Northern Illinois University, and Bachelors degrees in Music, Biology, and Religion from Walla Walla University. She began her piano studies at age 6 with Florence Brinton in Salt Lake City and her other primary piano teachers were Edward Auer, Donald Walker, and Leonard Richter. She also studied chamber music extensively with Gyorgy Sebok, Leonard Hokanson, members of the Vermeer Quartet, and faculty at the Sarasota Music Festival, where she studied for two summers.
Bond has performed in numerous states as a solo and collaborative artist and as a soloist with orchestra. She frequently appears in concert with pianist Karlyn Bond and with other colleagues at ISU. She has also performed with numerous internationally esteemed artists such as sopranos Caroline Worra and Diane Ragains, violinist Corey Cerovsek, flutist Christina Jennings, and violist Roland Glassl, along with many others. Recent performances include recitals at the Summer Festival at Indiana University, the University of Montana, Boise State University, Westminster College of Salt Lake City, the College of Idaho, Brigham Young University, Walla Walla University, Brigham Young University-Idaho, and recitals on the Temple Square Concert Series in Salt Lake City. Recent concerto performances include Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 3 and Nights in the Garden of Spain, by Manuel de Falla with the Idaho State Civic Symphony, and Mozart’s Concerto No. 27 with the Idaho Falls Symphony Orchestra. Every summer, she directs the ISU Summer Piano Institute, and has also been a guest artist at the Sierra Music Festival in Mammoth Lakes, California, and a guest faculty member at the Edward Auer Piano Festival at Indiana University. This school year she will be featured performing solo recitals in several venues, including the “Stars of Steinway Series” in Boise, and the University of Wyoming.
In 2007, Bond released her first CD of the Complete 24 Preludes and Fugues of Dmitri Shostakovich, published by Centaur Records. Her playing on this recording has been acclaimed as featuring the “technique to play Shostakovich’s sometimes knotty piano writing without dropping a note, but she also plays with immense musicality” (Allmusic). Her second CD, featuring songs by Howard Boatwright performed with soprano Diana Livingston Friedley, has just been released, also by Centaur Records.
While a student, Kori Bond was a prizewinner in numerous regional and national competitions. She is now a frequent adjudicator and clinician throughout the West. Her students have been prizewinners at the state and division levels of the MTNA competition and winners of numerous other local and state competitions, including the Federation of Music Clubs Collegiate Competition and the Musicians West competition.
Michelle Adams
Instructor of Music | Class Piano | Voice
- B.Mus. 2001, Idaho State University
- M.Mus. 2003, Northern Illinois University
Joined ISU Faculty in 2005
Ms. Adams has considerable experience as a performer and teacher for both piano and voice. Prior to returning to Idaho, she served as a Teaching Assistant in Music Theory at Northern Illinois University. She also taught piano and voice in the NIU Community School of the Arts.
Mark Neiwirth
Instructor of Music | Piano
Joined ISU Faculty in 2005
Pianist Mark Neiwirth, a Distinguished Steinway Artist, has gained a national reputation as soloist, chamber musician, teacher and adjudicator. He was Chairman of the Piano Department at the Sun Valley School of Music for seven years and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Idaho State University and Director of Artistic Planning for the ISU Summer Institute for Piano and Strings.
Mr. Neiwirth has performed a repertoire of 31 piano concerti with orchestras throughout the country. For sixteen years he was the featured concerto soloist with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony. An avid chamber musician, he was a founding member of Davidsbund (New York City), the California Trio (Los Angeles), the Vista Trio (Salt Lake City), the Sun Valley Chamber Players, and the Amadeus Trio of Idaho
After growing up in Idaho as a student of Faun King, Olive Boren Stirland and Teala Bellini, he pursued his advanced studies with Raymond Hanson (The Hartt School) in Connecticut, and Constance Keene and Dora Zaslavsky (Manhattan School of Music) in New York, where he served as Mme. Zaslavsky’s teaching assistant. Other major teachers were Aube Tzerko (UCLA) and Thomas Schumacher (Eastman School of Music). He worked with notable chamber music coaches Lillian Fuchs, Erick Friedman, Rafael Bronstein, Joseph Seiger, Gary Karr and Arianna Bronne, and studied vocal coaching with Ellen Faull, William Metcalf and Judith Raskin.
Mr. Neiwirth is a champion of new music and premiered several pieces, many of which were written expressly for him by major composers. He is a favorite interpreter of Thom Ritter George’s compositions and premiered Piano Sonata No. 3; Six American Folk Songs for flute and piano with Patricia George, and subsequently recorded them with Laurel Ann Maurer on 4Tay Records; Introduction and Waltz after Ysaÿe for violin and piano with Ardith Moran; Piano Trio No. 1 with Charles Castleman and Terry King; and Piano Concerto No. 3, composed for the sixtieth anniversary of the Idaho State Civic Symphony. Neiwirth also premiered Wilderness Suite for Two Pianos with Jeanne Green Sherman by Randy Earles, and a soon to be released recording of Old Playgrounds by Thom Hasenpflug. Other premieres include pieces by Lukas Foss, Carl Byron, Leon Levitch, Jett Hitt, Ralph Kessler, Tully Cathey and Terrence Napier.
He is the founder of Musicians West, Inc., a non-profit corporation that sponsors musical events in the state of Idaho. Now in its eighteenth year, the Musicians West Piano Competition presents Idaho’s finest students and has become one of the most prestigious musical events in the region.
Percussion
Dr. Thom Hasenpflug
Professor of Music | Percussion | Composition
- B.A; B.A. 1989, Ithaca College
- M.M. 1993, Ithaca College
- D.M.A. 1996, University of Colorado
Joined ISU Faculty in 2003
Dr. Thom Hasenpflug is nationally recognized as a unique performer and educational voice, while his compositions for percussion receive international recognition and are played all over the world.
He has presented performances, clinics, residencies, and master classes at many universities, high schools, festivals, and Percussive Arts Society conventions and chapter days. A prize-winning composer, he has been commissioned by some of the field’s leading percussionists. His percussion quartet, Bicksa, remains one of the most widely-programmed collegiate percussion works of the past 30 years. International performances of his works have occurred in Vienna, London, Barcelona, Moscow, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Dublin, Brazil, Venezuela, Sweden, and other locales by various percussionists of note. Perhaps of equal importance, he has embraced working with music programs in the local high schools of Idaho, from Idaho Falls to Boise. He is a member of the College of Arts and Letters Liberal Arts High team, and serves as a regional clinician to public schools on demand.
Currently a Professor of Music at Idaho State University, Dr. Hasenpflug has been the recipient of ISU faculty recognition awards for both Outstanding Researcher (2013, 2017) and Outstanding Service (2010), and most recently received the award for Distinguished Researcher (2022). As a resident of Pocatello, Idaho, he serves as Principal Timpanist of the Idaho State Civic Symphony. He has furthermore performed as a member of numerous symphonic organizations, including as principal in the South Dakota Symphony, as a sub in Boise Philharmonic, and in symphonic and freelance capacities with artists as diverse as Bela Fleck, Peter Cetera, the Moody Blues, Blood Sweat and Tears, and many others.
He received his degrees in percussion and composition from Ithaca College and the University of Colorado. He has held prior teaching posts at Drake University, the University of South Dakota, Emporia State University, and the summer Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts. His principal teachers have included Gordon Stout and Doug Walter for percussion, and Greg Woodward, Dana Wilson, and Joe Lukasik for composition.
Thom Hasenpflug has percussion works published through K.P.P. (a division of Malletech – MPI), Alfred Music, Bachovich Music, Tapspace, and C. Alan Publications, former publishers Go Fish Music and Penn Oak Press, as well as his own label, “Hasenworks.” He is a proud product endorser of Salyers Percussion (sticks and mallets), Remo Drumheads, Sabian Cymbals and as a performing artist for the Yamaha Corporation of America.
He has a wife and as of this writing four bunny rabbits; Originally from New York, he has lived in Pocatello, Idaho, since 2003. He enjoys cooking, skiing, poker, craft breweries, Mexico, and fantasy sports.
Robert Wilson
Strings
Dr. Nell Flanders
Assistant Professor | Director of Orchestral Activities
- B.M. 1994, Oberlin Conservatory of Music
- M.M. 1996, University of Akron
- M.M. 2015, Mannes College of Music- The New School
- D.M.A. 2020, Peabody Conservatory of Music- Johns Hopkins University
Joined ISU faculty in 2022
Nell Flanders received a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance with a minor in piano performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, OH, a Master of Music degree in violin performance from the University of Akron and a Master of Music in orchestral conducting from Mannes College- The New School in New York City, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.
Active as a conductor, violinist, violist, and educator, Nell Flanders brings her dynamic musicality to performances in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral classics to contemporary music, tango, blues, and period instrument baroque. She is the Director of Orchestral Activities/Assistant Professor at Idaho State University, where she leads the Idaho State-Civic Symphony and the ISU Chamber Orchestra.
From 2018-2021 she held the position of Georg and Joyce Albers-Schonberg Assistant Conductor with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, conducting the PSO in ballet, popular classics, and holiday concerts and creating highly successful online educational programs. Dr. Flanders’ opera credits include the premiere of a set of one-act operas by composer Daniel Felsenfeld with The Secret Opera, Kamala Sankaram’s The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace with New Camerata Opera, and serving as Assistant Conductor with Peabody Opera Theater. She is a regular conductor and violinist with The Chelsea Symphony in New York City, with whom she will appear this season in performances at Merkin Concert Hall and the DiMenna Center.
Dr. Flanders travels frequently to Panama to work with both professional and student ensembles. She was the conductor of the Symphony and Repertory Orchestras at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division from 2014-2021. Previous academic positions include the University of Maryland- Baltimore County, the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College- City University of New York, University of Chicago, and Utah State University.
Dr. Hyeri Choi
Associate Professor of Music | Violin | Strings Area Coordinator
- B.M. 2006, Ewha Womans University (Korea)
- Certificate, 2007, Toho Gakuen School of Music Orchestra Academy (Japan)
- M.M. 2009, Eastman School of Music
- D.M.A. 2014, Eastman School of Music
Joined ISU Faculty in 2016
Dr. Hyeri Choi is Associate Professor of Violin at Idaho State University where she coordinates the string program, teaches violin, viola, and related academic courses, and directs the string division of the ISU Summer Institute for Piano and Strings. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music.
Dr. Choi is a passionate orchestra, solo, and chamber musician. As an orchestral musician, she has been the Concertmaster of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony since 2016 and is also a section violin of the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra in Montana. She served as a guest concertmaster of the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra in 2016, assistant concertmaster of the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes from 2012-16, and principal second violin of the Seoul Metropolitan Youth Orchestra in Korea.
As a soloist, Hyeri made her New York debut at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, as the First Prize Winner of 2014 American Protégé International Strings and Piano Competition. During her Eastman years, she gave a solo recital in the Musicales Concert Series at George Eastman House in 2012. As a chamber player, Dr. Choi is a violinist in the Monarch Piano Trio at ISU, a member of Duo “Raon,” and a member of the Piano Trio “Dante Deo” which was created by Eastman alumni. She was invited to perform at the 2017 / 2019 Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF) Summer Season Preview Concert and was invited as a full scholarship fellow of the 1st and 2nd New Mexico Chamber Music Festival in Albuquerque. Hyeri has participated internationally with renowned artists in various summer festivals with full scholarships, including the Kirishima International Music Festival (Japan), the Music Alp Festival (France), and the Music Academy of the West (USA).
Dr. Choi was on the faculty of Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, and Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts Extension Division in New Jersey. During the summer, she serves as an assistant concertmaster at the MostArts Festival in Alfred, NY, and she is on the faculty at Montecito International Music Festival in Riverside, CA, and InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy.
Dr. Eleanor Christman
Assistant Professor | Cello
- B.Mus. 2001, Indiana University
- M.Mus. 2003, University of Wisconsin
- D.M.A. 2009, University of Wisconsin
Joined ISU Faculty in 2014
Dr. Eleanor Christman is the Assistant Professor of Cello and Director of the Preparatory String Program in the School of Performing Arts at Idaho State University, where she teaches applied cello and various music courses. She is also the principal cellist in the Idaho State Civic Symphony.
Known for her rich, sensitive melodic lines, Ms. Christman has appeared in recital as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, both on faculty recitals and as a guest artist. She has held faculty positions at Ripon College, Utah Valley University, the University of Utah Preparatory Division, and Salt Lake Community College. As an orchestral musician she has performed with the Green Bay Symphony, Madison Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, Choral Arts Philadelphia, and Ballet West.
On baroque cello Ms. Christman has performed nationally and internationally with such groups as the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, Madison Bach Musicians, Utopia Early Music, Jeune Orchestre Atlantique, American Baroque Orchestra, and Great Basin Baroque. A proponent of new music, she has worked with composers John Harbison, David Ludwig, and Stephen Dembski, whose Suite for Solo Cello she premiered.
As a Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst, Ms. Christman is pursuing research on the relationships of function and expression and exertion and recovery in musicians. Her research was presented at the Laban 2018 International Conference and published in Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis: Contemporary Applications, by Colleen Wahl.
Ms. Christman's primary teachers include Irene Sharp, Helga Winold, Emilio Colón, and Uri Vardi. She has also received instruction from Jaap ter Linden, Richard Aaron, Tanya Carey, members of the Audubon, Emerson, and Borodin Quartets, Bonnie Hampton, and Laurence Lesser.
Craig Green
Instructor of Music | Guitar
Craig Green is an accomplished guitarist and composer with over 25 years of experience creating a diverse array of artistic and academic works. A native of New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, Craig has released over 15 solo albums, including his critically acclaimed "Love Notes in Binary Code" on the UK Discus label, which features collaborations with English drummer Clive Deamer of Portishead and Radiohead. His work as a session guitarist and arranger has been celebrated globally, earning accolades such as "The son of Bill Frisell and grandson of Derek Bailey" by All About Jazz and comparisons to "Thelonious Monk set ablaze!" by Downbeat Magazine.
As a composer, Craig has made significant contributions to film, theater, dance, and contemporary music ensembles. His recent work, the score for the PBS documentary "On Grizzly Ground," garnered him an Emmy Award in 2024. Other notable compositions include "EX VOTO," a string quartet piece commissioned by the Idaho School of Ballet.
Craig’s academic journey is marked by studies with some of the world's most renowned jazz and world music artists, including guitarist Pat Martino, French guitarist Pierre Bensusan, and Spanish composer Rafael Rena. He attended the Conservatory von Amsterdam, where he specialized in the Contemporary Music Through Non-Western Techniques program, applying global music techniques, primarily from India, to both classical and jazz compositions.
With over two decades of teaching experience, Craig has conducted workshops and lectures on various topics, including guitar fundamentals, improvisation, and the integration of world music techniques into Western music. His TED talk on the art of active listening for non-musicians has further solidified his reputation as a thought leader in the field.
Craig’s research endeavors include a Rotary Fellowship that took him to India to study and collaborate with East Indian musicians and educators, a residency in Berlin to explore extended techniques and tuning systems for the guitar, and travels to Spain and North Africa to immerse himself in gypsy, flamenco, and Arabic musical tradi;ons.
Craig Green continues to inspire and educate through his multifaceted career as a musician, composer, and educator, contributing to the evolution of contemporary music and its intersection with global traditions.
Voice
Dr. Jeffrey Francom
Assistant Professor of Music / Director of Choral Activities
Office: FA 315
Dr. Geoffrey Friedley
Instructor of Music | Voice | Music History
- B.A. 1987, Lawrence University (English)
- B.Mus. 1987, Lawrence University (Trombone)
- M.A. 1991, Eastman School of Music (Musicology)
- M.Mus. 1997, Rutgers University (Voice)
- D.M.A. 2014, University of Utah (Vocal Performance)
Joined ISU Faculty in 2003
Dr. Friedley teaches voice, class voice, music history, music appreciation, and First Roar for first-year students. Previously he held faculty positions at California State University, Fresno, and Drew University. He also served as Director of the Rutgers Community Music Program, where he managed a faculty of 45 and a student body of 450. His versatility is demonstrated by his education. He holds bachelor's degrees in both English and trombone performance, master's degrees in both musicology and vocal performance, and a doctorate in vocal performance with a secondary emphasis in music history.
His research interests include music of the early Baroque period, especially the music of Giulio Caccini, Claudio Monteverdi, and Heinrich Schütz, as well as the music of Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms, Fauré, Wolf, Ravel, Poulenc, Britten, and American composer Stephen Paulus.
Dr. Friedley has considerable experience as a tenor soloist. He has sung the tenor solo parts in dozens of oratorios in New Jersey, California and Idaho, and given numerous solo recitals. His operatic credits include roles in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Puccini's La Bohéme, Johann Strauss Jr.'s Die Fledermaus, and Cavalli's L'Egisto. He served as Music Director for the ISU production of Man of La Mancha for the grand opening of the L.E. & Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center in 2004. He has since directed music and conducted for numerous productions in ISU Theatre-Dance as well for ISU summer musicals since 2014.
Selected Performances:
- G. F. Handel, Messiah, December 2021, Idaho State Civic Symphony, Dr. Scott Anderson, guest conductor
Dr. Diana Livingston Friedley
Professor of Music | Voice
- B.Mus. 1987, Westminster Choir College
- M.Mus. 1991, Indiana University
- D.M.A. 2002, Rutgers University
Joined ISU Faculty in 2002
Dr. Diana Livingston Friedley has appeared as a guest soloist with numerous organizations including: Idaho State Civic Symphony, Idaho Falls Symphony, Idaho; The Fresno Philharmonic in California; The Nebraska Choral Arts Society in Omaha; St. Cecilia Chorus and Chamber Orchestra of New York; The Central Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Master Chorale; Bremen Camerata Instrumentale in Bremen, Germany; Princeton University's Concert Jazz Ensemble; and The Hunterdon Choral Union and Symphony of New Jersey. As a guest artist she has performed in Merkin Hall's Composers' Series, N. Y.; Michigan State University’s Fifth Contemporary Clarinet Festival in Lansing, MI.; the Orpheus Concert Series in Fresno, California; a five-city concert tour of Taiwan in 2001; and The Taiwanese American 9/11 Benefit Concert held at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago. With ISU’s Trio Lyrique Diana performed for the McCall Concert Series in McCall, ID; the Inaugural Concert for the Joseph C. and Cheryl H. Jensen Grand Concert Hall in Pocatello, ID, and many recitals.
Diana Friedley has also performed many operatic roles including: Lucy in Menotti's The Telephone, at The Old Town Actors Studio (OTAS), Pocatello; Woman in Poulenc's La voix humane also at OTAS and ISU and The College of Southern Idaho as part of Women's History Month; Mrs. Webb in Ned Rorem’s Our Town, with Opera Idaho, Boise; Ichi Ban, in Napa De Monk, Queen of the Lost Waters of Mars, Bloomington Playwright’s Project, Bloomington, Indiana; Peggy Shippen in A Twist of Treason at the John Waldron Arts Center in Bloomington, Indiana; and Mimi Manini with the Zwei-Groschen-Oper's production of 1001 Nights in Venice at the Theaterhof in Humbach, Germany. Diana has also performed with ISU's Theatre/Dance department as Fraülein Kost in the musical Cabaret. Other operatic roles include: Fiorilla in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and Musetta in a critically acclaimed production of La Bohéme, which received the 1995 National Opera Association's "Best Production" Award. Diana has also worked with numerous opera companies in New York including: Opera Orchestra of New York, The Bronx Opera Company, The American Chamber Opera Company, and The Liederkranz Foundation.
Directorial projects for The College of Arts and Letters Summer Musicals since 2014 include: The King and I; Anything Goes; Oliver! and Fiddler on the Roof.
Recent projects at ISU include: releasing "The Songs of Howard Boatwright" with ISU piano faculty, Professor Kori Bond, on Centaur Record label. In April, 2015 she performed Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne with The Idaho State Civic Symphony. April 2016 Diana performed the Israelitish Woman from Handel's Judas Maccabaeus with the Boise Baroque Orchestra. Upcoming 2017 projects will include: recording the chamber-vocal works of Howard Boatwright with ISU Faculty and Guests, and singing as the soprano soloist in Vivaldi's Gloria for ISU's annual Joy to the World Concert.
Diana Friedley completed a Doctor of Musical Arts at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts under Judith Nicosia, a Master of Music at Indiana University and Bachelor of Music at Westminster Choir College. Dr. Livingston Friedley is currently Professor of Music in The School of Performing Arts at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho.
"In each work, Livingston Friedley created a different vocal character…she sang with a lovely florid tone that blended excellently with the strings…" George Warren for The Fresno Be
"...Soprano Diana Livingston as Fiorilla turned in a marvelous performance, both vocally and dramatically. Ms. Livingston is a gifted actress with an extremely flexible voice. The soprano has clarity, brilliance of tone and a seamless compass throughout her registers." Sonia Lewis for CLASSICNJ@AOL.COM
"...An extraordinarily beautiful personality, in the middle voice secure, and the high with an unchanging clarity, a loaded lyrical voice has Diana Livingston, whom the audience took as their own." Ernst Naredi-Rainer for Kleine Zeitung-Graz, Austria
"...the evening's star proved not to be one of the aristocratic primaries but the slightly secondary role of the chamber maid Adele, exquisitely portrayed by Diana Livingston. When this kind of acting was matched with her kind of voice, Adele easily became the most memorable part of the show...Adele was silly and as opportunity-seeking as the others but Livingston balances the stock negative stereotype with humanizing comic touches and vulnerability that made her like any of us." Robert W. Butts for CLASSICNJ@AOL.COM
"...Most effective was Diana Livingston as Zerlina. Livingston has the kind of charismatic stage presence one loves to see. Graceful as a ballerina, she smiles, cavorts and sings with beauty of tone...Her work in the famous duet, "La ci darem la mano" is a delight." Albert H. Cohen for The Home News & Tribune
Winds Faculty
Susan Hughes
Instructor of Music | Oboe
- B.M.E. 1985, Idaho State University
Joined ISU Faculty in 2001
Ms. Hughes has held the principal oboe chair with the Idaho State Civic Symphony since 1990. She is a founding member of the City Creek Winds and has been a featured soloist with Idaho State University Wind Ensemble and the Idaho State Civic Symphony. She has also performed with the Idaho Falls Symphony Orchestra as an oboist and on English Horn. Her chamber music experience includes performances with the Teton Chamber Orchestra, the Snake River Chamber Orchestra and The Sun Valley Summer Symphony. Susan has also played in orchestras supporting many popular artists such as Kurt Bestor and Chris Botti.
She is currently instructor of oboe at Idaho State University and has maintained a presence in the state as a studio teacher and clinician. Her private students have been successful in state and regional festivals, honor groups and competitions. Several of her students are pursuing advanced training in preparation for careers in performance and education.
Susan has participated in Master classes with John Mack, Robert Stephenson, Martin Schuring and Carolyn Hove. In addition to her studies as a performer, Susan has studied Body Mapping with founder Barbara Conable and oboist Dr. Stephen Capland.
Kristi Ballif
Instructor of Music | Flute
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B.M. 2000, Brigham Young University
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M.M. 2002, Arizona State University
Joined ISU Faculty in 2021
Kristi Ballif teaches the flute studio at Idaho State University and performs as Principal Flute with the Idaho State Civic Symphony. She also teaches Flute Ensemble, Elementary Music Methods, and Music and the Humanities at Brigham Young University-Idaho. Prior to moving to Idaho, Kristi taught the flute studio at Colorado Mesa University and played with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra and the Western Colorado Flute Choir. As a performer, Kristi won the National Flute Association Convention Performer's Competition in 2012 and 2019 and has been a guest for the Music at Temple Square Concert Series and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She and her clarinetist husband have also performed together at the National Flute Association Convention, as well as the International Clarinet Association Clarinetfest. As a clinician, she has presented for the National Flute Association Convention, the Colorado Flute Association, the Colorado Music Educator’s Association Convention, and the Gateway Canyons Lecture Series. In addition to her classical flute studies, Kristi enjoys playing the Irish flute and Highland Bagpipes.
Kristi earned a Bachelor of Music degree in flute performance from Brigham Young University in Provo, where she studied with Elizabeth Weissman. She then earned her Master of Music degree in flute performance from Arizona State University, studying with Trygve Peterson and Liz Buck. She is also certificated in the Kodály Method of teaching from the Organization of American Kodály Educators.
In her spare time, Kristi enjoys spending time in various art mediums, but especially in photography. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in photography from Brigham Young University-Idaho.
Dillin Diggie
Instructor of Music
Office: Fine Arts 204A
Dillin Diggie is currently instructor of bassoon at Idaho State University and performs as principal bassoon in the Idaho State Civic Symphony. He has also performed in various ensembles within the Southeastern Idaho area, including the Idaho Falls Symphony.
He studied at Idaho State with Dr. George Adams and prior studying privately with Jan Eddington. He has also participated in masterclasses with John Clouser and Amy Pollard.
In addition to this, Dillin works in language revitalization for the Shoshone-Bannock tribes with a focus on the Bannock language.
Emeritus
Dr. Scott Anderson
Professor Emeritus | Director of Choral Activities
- B.A. 1982, Whitworth College
- M.Mus. 1984, Westminster Choir College
- D.M.A. 1993, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Joined ISU Faculty in 1992 (1992-2003; returned in 2005)
Dr. Scott Eric Anderson conducts the ISU Chamber & Concert Choirs, the Camerata Singers, and teaches Choral Conducting, Choral Methods, and voice. Dr. Anderson has received Idaho State University's "Master Teacher" and "Outstanding Public Service" awards on three occasions. He has studied conducting with such eminent teachers as Eph Ehly, Joseph Flummerfelt, Allen Crowell, Frauke Hassemann, Wilhelm Ehmann, Robert Shaw, and many others.
Choirs under Dr. Anderson¹s direction have traveled throughout the United State, Europe, and South America. As Director of Choral Activities at Idaho State University, Anderson has led the Idaho State University Chamber Choir or Camerata Singers on performance tours of Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Brazil, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Italy, Greece, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Peru, France, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Idaho State University choral ensembles have performed under Anderson's direction at state, regional and divisional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and the Music Educators National Conference.
Dr. Anderson serves as the Artistic Director of the Idaho International Choral Festival where choral groups from around the world join together in Pocatello, Idaho for a week of choral performances, conducting master classes and artistic and cultural exchange. He has served the American Choral Directors Association in state, divisional, and national offices, and has been featured as guest conductor, lecturer and teacher throughout the United States and abroad.
Kathleen Lane
Emeritus Faculty | Voice Studio
- B.M.E. 1978 University of Montana
- M.Mus. 1988 Yale School of Music
Joined ISU Faculty in 1993
Professor Kathleen Lane joined the Idaho State University voice faculty in 1993, after teaching singing for five years at the Yale University School of Drama, where her studio included award-winning actors Paul Giamatti and Liev Schreiber. She currently serves in the Department of Music as Vocal Coordinator and head of Opera ISU, while appearing as a singer and actress throughout the region and maintaining a busy and successful vocal studio. Last January, she was featured in the title role of Gian-Carlo Menotti’s opera The Medium at Old Town Actors Studio here in Pocatello. Also well known as a choral conductor, Prof. Lane founded the ISU Women’s Choir and directed it over two decades. This fall, she served as the guest clinician and conductor for the annual District VI Choral Festival in Ashton.
As general director of Opera ISU since 1996, Prof. Lane has mounted major productions ranging from Johann Strauss and Franz Lehar to Mozart and Puccini. She collaborated with Theatre ISU in 2016 as music director for Frank Loesser’s popular musical Guys and Dolls.
Foremost a dedicated teacher, she offers clinics and master classes throughout the Northwest, presenting in 2015 and 2017 at the biennial conference of the National Association for Music Educators, Northwest Region. Since 2015, she has appeared as a lecturer at the summer Utah Festival Opera Music Theater in Logan.
Throughout Prof. Lane’s entire university career, she has maintained a commitment to youth outreach. Even while teaching graduate students at Yale, she spent summers as the music teacher and assistant director of a large Connecticut day camp with students aged 6-15. During her tenure in Idaho, she has taught voice and opera workshop to middle- and high-school students at the Sun Valley Summer Symphony Youth Program; in 2013, she founded the youth opera workshop at the annual Star Valley Junior Music Festival outside Jackson, Wyoming. For the past two decades, her Opera ISU Outreach Program has brought thousands of Idaho students to her productions at ISU, and has exported ISU Opera Workshop on tour to area schools.
Professor Lane earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree at the University of Montana, followed by post-graduate studies in choral conducting at Portland State University. After winning the 1986 district Metropolitan Opera Auditions, the mezzo-soprano was recruited into the Yale University Opera Program, where she earned her Master of Music degree in 1988, along with the Yale School of Music Alumni Prize.
Dr. Patrick Brooks
Emeritus Faculty | Professor of Trombone
- B.M.E. 1980, University of Illinois
- M.Mus. 1985, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
- D.M.A. 1995, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Joined ISU Faculty in 1991
Patrick Brooks is in his twenty-first year as Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Idaho State University. In this capacity he conducts the Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band I and guides all other aspects of the ISU Band Program. Dr. Brooks also teaches conducting, trombone, and coaches various small ensembles. Active as a trombonist, for eighteen years he performed as a member of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony where he played alongside members of many of the nation’s major symphony orchestras. He has also performed with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, the Portneuf Brass, and is principal trombone in the Idaho State Civic Symphony Orchestra. Prior to coming to Idaho State he held similar positions at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, and at The Latin School of Chicago. Under Dr. Brook’s leadership, the ISU Band program has grown in size and quality, and has developed into a complete band program with a strong regional reputation.
Dr. Brooks holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Master of Music degrees in Wind Conducting and Trombone Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting from Cincinnati. He is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, the International Trombone Association, and Phi Kappa Lambda, and is past- President of the College Band Directors National Association - Northwest Division. Dr. Brooks has appeared as a clinician, guest conductor, and performer throughout the Northwest and Canada. Ensembles under his direction at Idaho State have been invited to perform at numerous state and regional conferences. The ISU Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the College Band Directors National Association Conference in 2004 and 2010, and ISU Jazz I Big Band toured Europe in 2000 and 2007. In 2012 the ISU Wind Ensemble performed at the Idaho Music Educators Association Biennial Conference in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Dr. Randy A. Earles
Emeritus Faculty Former Department Chair and Associate Dean for the College of Arts & Letters | Professor of Music
- B.Mus. 1974, University of Houston
- M.Mus. 1976, University of Houston
- D.M.A. 1991, University of Oklahoma
Joined ISU Faculty in 1991; Retired Summer of 2019
Dr. Earles has won several awards for his compositions, and many of his creative projects have been published or recorded commercially. His transcription for concert band of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite was recorded on compact disc by Frederick Fennell and the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, and published by Ludwig Music. Recently he completed commissions for the Twin Falls Municipal Band, and for the piano duo of Mark Neiwirth and Jeanne Green-Sherman. His Bluebrass Music was performed by the Portneuf Brass for the presidential investiture gala concert for ISU President Arthur Vailas, and his Oklahoma Elegy was performed by the Magic Valley Symphony. In Summer 2013 his choral composition, Sing the World Together, was used once again as the grand finale for the Idaho International Choral Festival, where it was sung jointly by nine choirs from eight countries on four continents. His band composition, Idaho Celebration, was commissioned by the State Department of Education and was performed by many Idaho high schools bands. His new composition, Five Metric Dances, was given its premiere performance in February 2013 by the ISU Wind Ensemble.
Dr. Earles has performed on trumpet with the Portneuf Brass, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Pops Orchestra, the Houston Ballet Orchestra, the Oklahoma City Community Orchestra, the Idaho State Civic Symphony, the Idaho Falls Symphony, the Magic Valley Symphony, the Snake River Chamber Orchestra, and he has toured the USA with show bands.
Dr. Thom Ritter George
Professor Emeritus of Music Past Director of Idaho State-Civic Symphony
- B.Mus. 1964, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
- M.Mus. 1968, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
- D.M.A. 1970, Catholic University of America
Joined ISU Faculty in 1983. Retired in 2007.
Dr. George conducted the Idaho State Civic Symphony in more than 190 programs featuring a wide repertoire and many internationally recognized soloists. He was a frequent performer at the White House during his years as composer/arranger for the United States Navy Band in Washington, D.C. Upon completing his doctoral degree, he was appointed music director and conductor of the Quincy, Illinois, Symphony Orchestra until 1983, when he accepted the position at ISU.
Dr. George has composed more than 350 works. Many of his works are recorded and many have won prestigious awards, including the Edward B. Benjamin Prize, the Howard Hanson Award, and the Seventh Sigvald Thompson Award. He is also a recipient of annual awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) since 1965. His compositions are published by Boosey and Hawkes, Southern Music Company, and Tuba-Euphonium Press, among others.
Recently completed scores include Orpheus, a large choral-orchestral score that received its premiere in April 2005, Psalm 121 for choir, and a Trio for flute, bassoon, and piano which was featured at the 2002 International Double Reed Society's conference in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
Dr. George is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, ASCAP, National Band Assocation, American String Teachers Association, and the American Symphony Orchestra League. He is listed in many references including Who's Who in America, the World Who's Who of Musicians, and Bernard Garaude's Dictionary of Conductors. Dr. George received the Excellence in the Arts Award from Idaho Gov. Phil Batt in 1998, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Pocatello Mayor Roger Chase in 2005.
Dr. Alan E. Stanek
Professor Emeritus and Past Department Chair
- B.M.E. 1961, University of Colorado
- M.Mus. 1965, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
- D.M.A. 1974, University of Michigan
joined ISU Faculty in 1976. Retired in 2001
In addition to his administrative duties Dr. Stanek was responsible for teaching clarinet, clarinet performance literature, woodwind methods for music education majors, coaching chamber music ensembles, and supervising student teachers. From 1976 to 1980 he was the Conductor/Music Director of the Idaho State Civic Symphony. He served as principal clarinetist of the Idaho State Civic Symphony from 1980 until his retirement in 2001, and the Pocatello Municipal Band for thirty-six years.
Dr. Stanek is an active member of the International Clarinet Association, serving as its President from 1996 to 1998 and Historian for the association 2003 to 2016. He has performed internationally in France, Belgium and Hungary in addition to guest artist appearances at ICA ClarinetFests® held at major universities in the United States. He is the author of numerous articles about clarinet performance and literature and has published reviews of various conferences, new clarinet music and recordings in the association's quarterly journal The Clarinet. His article entitled Clarinet Solo Preparation: A Course of Study and a Review of Recommended Solo Literature is published electronically on The Online Clarinet Resource.
Dr. Stanek was honored with the Governor's Award for Support of Arts Education in October 1998, was inducted into the Idaho Music Educator's Hall of Fame in January 2006, and received the President’s Medallion Award for outstanding accomplishments, exceptional service and personal generosity which reflect the admirable principles and ideals which bring distinction to Idaho State University in 2017. More recently, the International Clarinet Association awarded Honorary Membership to Dr. Stanek for Lifetime Achievements in Performance, Teaching and Professional Service at its annual ClarinetFest in July 2019.