Conductor Matthew Westgate “leads with a combination of expressivity and crispness” (San Francisco Chronicle). His performances are praised as “dramatic, incisive, and passionate” (Audiophile Audition) and full of “verve and swagger” (MusicWeb International).
A strong proponent of partnerships with K-12 music educators and arts organizations, Albert continues to be active as a presenter at state, regional, and national music education conferences, has been a featured clinician at schools throughout New England, and, as a public school music teacher, has collaborated with composers and the Community Music School of Springfield (Massachusetts) to create artist-in-residence programs and commissioning projects that enrich the education of school music students.
Tim Anderson (he/him/his) has been a music educator since 1998. In that time, he has taught middle school through college. He has been a band director, as well as taught courses in music education and music appreciation. Before coming to UMass Amherst in 2011, he taught for five years at Fresno State University.
Brent Auerbach is Professor of Music Theory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A pianist and oboist, he attended Harvard University as an undergraduate and received his Ph.D. in music theory from the Eastman School of Music.
Dr. Auerbach's research focuses primarily on extending the concept of the musical motive as it pertains to analysis. Other research interests include the group-mathematic properties of harmonic sequences, pedagogy, and the aesthetics of Baroque composition and counterpoint.
Ben Barnett has made a name for himself in NYC's jazz scene as a consummate musician and educator. He is from Long Island, NY, and is a graduate of the Conservatory of Music, Purchase College, SUNY ('16). There, he studied with John Fedchock and Tim Albright. Ben also received an M.M.Ed. from Hofstra University ('22).
Richie Barshay is an internationally acclaimed percussionist and music educator, equally at home playing Carnegie Hall and finding new sounds in kitchen cabinets. From his work with Herbie Hancock in the 2000s, to tours and recordings with Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, The Klezmatics, Fred Hersch, and Kenny Werner, he's been dubbed “a major innovator who also knows how to have fun,” by The Guardian (UK). His studio and performing work also includes Natalie Merchant, Bobby McFerrin, Joe Lovano, Lee Konitz, Donald Harrison, Lionel Loueke, Julian Lage, the Curtis Brothers, Joey Weisenberg
A recent New York concert by pianist Steven Beck was described as “exemplary” and “deeply satisfying” by Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where his teachers were Seymour Lipkin, Peter Serkin and Bruce Brubaker.
As a trumpeter, educator, conductor, composer, producer and arts leader, Thomas Bergeron is committed to bringing people from all walks of life together through music.
John Bottomley joined the faculty of University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2009, having previously taught at collegiate institutions including: Kent State University, Miami University (Ohio), and Wright State University. John also maintains an active performing career as an orchestral and chamber musician and has performed with such groups as the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Cincinnati Opera and Ballet Orchestras, and the Albany Symphony Orchestra.
At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Dr. Lindsay Bronnenkant directs the Symphony Band, teaches conducting classes, and leads a graduate conducting seminar. Prior to her appointment at UMass Amherst, Bronnenkant taught basic conducting at Nazareth College and led the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Community Wind Ensemble as she completed a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting degree at the Eastman School of Music.
David Casali received his Ph.D. in music education at UMass Amherst in 2026 and is very excited to be joining the faculty here. As an educator for years in the Springfield (MA) Public Schools, his focus was on using music technology to make music more accessible for all students. He has also developed a series of applications for teaching music production concepts to young students. David has spoken on music technology in the elementary music classroom at many conferences, including the 2024 Association for Technology in Music Education conference, the Massachusetts Music Educators Association
Elizabeth Chang, violinist, enjoys a varied career as performer, teacher, and arts administrator. She is currently Professor of Violin at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a faculty member of the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School, and previously served on the faculties of Rutgers and New York University.
Ben Coakley is a choral conductor and baritone based in Amherst, Massachusetts. Ben serves as conductor of the All Campus Choir at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the choir of the First Congregational Church of South Hadley. He also sings with Novi Cantori of Greater Springfield.
Benjamin is a Lecturer in Music History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He grew up in Western New York and received his Ph.D. in Musicology, with certification in Experimental Critical Theory, from UCLA in 2017. His research explores the politics of musical “amateurism” – music by individuals who claimed not to know how to play music, but nevertheless become musicians. He has published articles about the semiotics of punk in the UK, racial formation in rap and punk in New York City during the 1970s, and the Scratch Orchestra’s politics of music education, among other topics, in
Dr. Kristoffer Danielsen is a low brass artist and educator active throughout New England. Kris is currently a member of the New England Repertory Orchestra, The Valley Winds, the Glens Falls Symphony, and the TUNDI Wagner in Vermont Festival.
Praised as “extraordinary” and “a formidable clarinetist” by The New York Times, Romie de Guise-Langlois has appeared as soloist and chamber musician on major concert stages throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia.
Atla DeChamplain is a jazz vocalist, lyricist, and educator known for her compelling sound and sincere interpretations of jazz standards. A Connecticut native, she studied at the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School of Music and earned her Master’s degree from the University of Toledo, where she was mentored by the legendary vocalist Jon Hendricks. Specializing in vocalese—the art of setting lyrics to instrumental jazz solos—Atla is recognized for her original lyrics, expressive phrasing, vocal control, and authenticity on stage.
A strong advocate for the musical arts, Cobus is an avid soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue who is on the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. As an international soloist and chamber musician, Cobus has performed with orchestras in Russia, South Africa, and the United States and on concert series in Taiwan, Japan, Germany, and France.
Robert Ferrier holds a BM in Performance from Berklee College of Music and an MM in Jazz Composition/Arranging from UMass Amherst. A freelance guitarist and teacher, Ferrier has performed with Jon Faddis, Randy Brecker, Eddie Bert, John Fedchock, Claudio Roditi, Yusef Lateef and Peter Erskine. His teachers have included John Laporta, William Leavitt, Herb Pomeroy, Bill Pierce and George Garzone.
Cellist Christopher Gross' performances have been praised by The New York Times ("beautifully meshed readings....lustrous tone") and The Strad Magazine (“...the tone of Gross’ cello enveloped the crowd [as he] showed energy and intonational accuracy, even when racing around the fingerboard”). He is a founding member of the Talea Ensemble, a member of the Da Capo Chamber Players, and has appeared at venues and festivals throughout the US and Europe including Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Disney Hall, Darmstadt Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival, Wien Modern, the Composers Conference and
Soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine is acclaimed for her “utterly thrilling, agile voice” and praised for bringing “pathos, beauty, and heartbreaking skill” to her performances. She has performed on the stages of Los Angeles Opera, Minnesota Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Chicago Opera Theater, Austin Opera, Utah Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and on the concert stage with the Madison Symphony, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, The National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, and the Santa Fe Symphony, among many others.
Assistant Professor, Director of Orchestral Studies
From the conducting class of Eduardo Marturet and Teresa Hernández, Gonzalo has directed some of the most important youth and professional orchestras in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, United States and Argentina. Gonzalo was one of the finalists in the international competition for associate conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, as well as a finalist for the position of principal conductor of the Longwood Symphony Orchestra in Boston.
William Hite is a critically acclaimed tenor who has appeared internationally in opera, concert works, chamber music and solo recitals in a career that has spanned four decades. His reputation as an expressive and engaging artist has led to appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Dresdner Philharmonie, American Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Boston Baroque, Tafelmusik, Philharmonia Baroque, Washington Bach Consort, New York City Ballet, the Mark Morris Dance Group and Emmanuel Music, under the
Professor, Director of Jazz & African American Music Studies, Composition, Conductor
Holmes plays keyboards with the Paul Winter Consort, leads the Jeff Holmes Big Band featuring his wife, vocalist Dawning Holmes, and plays lead trumpet with the New England Jazz Ensemble. Recent recordings as performer and/or composer/arranger include the Jeff Holmes Quartet release "Of One's Own," the New England Jazz Ensemble’s “Peter and The Wolf“, HGTS’s “…and then they played…” and projects by Paul Winter, colleague Felipe Salles, and Earl MacDonald. He continues to appear as a guest conductor/clinician/adjudicator and performer/composer/arranger.
Jason Hooper is a music theorist specializing in the theory and analysis of tonal music, historical and contemporary theories of form, and new approaches to theory pedagogy. His articles and reviews appear in Music Theory Spectrum, Journal of the American Musicological Society, Rivista di Analisi e Teoria Musicale, and Theory and Practice. Jason was co-editor (vol. 44), editor (vol. 45), and associate editor (vol. 46) of Theory and Practice and served on the editorial boards of Intégral and Indiana Theory Review.
From vaudeville to the vanguard, saxophonist Jonathan Hulting-Cohen is a “distinct” player in contemporary music (Fanfare). Their solo-concerto work includes appearances with the Philadelphia Classical Symphony, Stockton Symphony, Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra, and the Sequoia Symphony Orchestra, among others. As a recitalist, Hulting-Cohen performed for the Virtuosi Concert Series in Winnipeg, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Haverford College Concert Artist Series, and New York’s Ocean Music series. They released their debut album with harpist, Jennifer R. Ellis, on Albany Records in
Kemp Jernigan performs extensively in New York City with ensembles varying in size and style. Regarded as “agile and playful” (New York Classical Review), he is a frequent guest performer with ensembles including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Mark Morris Dance Group Ensemble, as well as a co-artistic director of the Exponential Ensemble. A graduate of the Yale School of Music, Kemp has been a guest artist at festivals such as Music from Angel Fire, Bridgehampton, White Mountains Music Festival, Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society, Ocean Reef, Washington Friends of
Percussionist and marimbist Ayano Kataoka is known for her brilliant and dynamic technique, as well as the unique elegance and artistry she brings to her performances. She has been a season artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2006 when she was chosen as the first percussionist for the society’s prestigious residency program, The Bowers Program (formerly Chamber Music Society Two). A retrospective of her early life along with interviews and performances were featured on the CMS’ live stream program Artist Series in fall 2021.
Catrina's work in Romantic form focuses on fragmentary treatments of the sonata and the slow introduction in the music of Fanny Hensel and other nineteenth-century composers; articles on Hensel's chamber music is forthcoming in Music Theory Spectrum and Modeling Musical Analysis, edited by John Peterson and Kim Loeffert (Oxford University Press). Catrina also writes on the intersections of music theory pedagogy with service, labor, diversity, and feminist thought; this work appears in Theory and Practice, Music Theory Spectrum, and Expanding the Canon: Black Composers in the Music Theory
Knyt specializes in nineteenth- and twentieth-century music, aesthetics, music history pedagogy, performance practice issues, and Bach reception, and has written extensively about Ferruccio Busoni. Her articles have appeared in numerous journals, including American Music, Eighteenth Century Music, Journal of Musicology, Journal of Music History Pedagogy, Journal of Musicological Research, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, Musicology Australia, Music and Letters, 19th-Century Music, Nineteenth-Century Music Review, and Twentieth Century Music.
Ludmila Krasin is a Senior Lecturer II in Piano at the University of Massachusetts, teaching Piano Classes for music majors and serving as collaborative pianist for students and faculty. Her recent appearances as a guest artist (2018) include the Association of Brazilian Trumpeters, in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, and a recital tour to Ohio with Dr. Joshua Michal and Allyson Michal where they performed at Ohio State University, Bowling Green University and Ohio University.
Lisa J. Lehmberg specializes in general music education, music education for students with special needs, world music education, and music education technology. Her research interests include urban music education and senior citizens’ participation in music.
Evan A. MacCarthy is Associate Professor of Music History in the Department of Music and Dance at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research focuses on the history of fifteenth-century music and music theory, late medieval chant, German music in the Baroque era, as well as nineteenth-century American music.
Professor Macchia has performed in the European and jazz traditions throughout America and Europe, and has been the contrabass soloist with the Berkshire Choral Festival Orchestra, Dinosaur Annex under Gunther Schuller, Springfield (MA) Symphony Orchestra (where he serves as principal bass), Jazz Composer's Orchestra and at the Boston Festival of Quarter Tone Music. He has premiered nearly 100 compositions featuring the doublebass.
Mezzo-soprano Marjorie Melnick, Senior Lecturer in Voice, has been on the faculty since 1999. She spent many years singing opera, oratorio and recitals in Europe. Her leading roles include: Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Cinderella in Cenerentola, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, and Hansel in Hansel and Gretel. Ms. Melnick has taught at Smith and Mt. Holyoke Colleges as well as the Hartt School in Hartford, CT. She has a Masters in Music from the Juilliard School.
A native of Ohio, Joshua Michal is the Associate Professor of Horn at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. He is a member of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and a faculty member at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in Michigan.
Lecturer, Marching Band Winds Coordinator, Conductor
Hudson Moore is serving as conductor of the UMass Concert Band and Winds Instructor of the Minuteman Marching Band for the 2026-2027 year. She graduated from UMass in 2026 with her M.M. in Music Education with a concentration in conducting. During her graduate program, she was a graduate assistant for the UMMB and UMass Wind Studies and conducted the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Band, Concert Band, and Hoop/Ice Band.
Born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Uniondale, NY, Haneef N. Nelson has been a lifelong lover of music. His original music and Big Band arrangements have been featured around the world and on the records of the New London Big Band as well as Dr. Emmett Goods album Another Level.
Omojola’s research focuses on African music, with emphasis on West African, Nigerian, and Yorùbá traditions. His work has explored indigenous and modern musical traditions, and addressed themes including: performance practice; creative ethnomusicology; music, identity, and social dynamics; music and politics; diasporic perspectives; and intercultural aesthetics.
Assistant Professor, Music Theory, Honors Program Director
Miriam Piilonen is a music theorist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. She is the author of Theorizing Music Evolution: Darwin, Spencer, and the Limits of the Human (2024, Oxford University Press), a critical examination of ideas about musical origins, with emphasis on nineteenth-century music-evolutionary texts by Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer. Her second book, currently in progress and tentatively titled Music Theory on the Internet, historicizes and critically analyzes “music theory” as it has appeared online from the 1960s to the present.
Lindsay Pope is Director of Choral Studies at UMass Amherst, where she directs the Chamber Choir and teaches conducting. Previously, she directed the programs at Mount Holyoke College and Williams College. She was also Assistant Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Chorus, for which her work was praised as “exemplary and well-prepared” (Texas Classical Review). Pope’s research interests include early music performance practice, the ethics of choral programming, and the intersection of women and gender studies with choral music.
Michelle Marinelli Prindle is an active soprano with a Bachelor of Music degree from The Hartt School and a Master of Music degree from University of Massachusetts Amherst, both in classical voice performance. Michelle has performed with the Five College Opera, UMass Opera Workshop, Hartford Opera Theatre, PANOpera, New York Opera Forum, and Berkshire Opera Company.
Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, and teacher Dan Prindle has over 25 years of experience as a music educator and professional musician. Dan holds a Ph.D. in music theory from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he also completed a Master of Music in music theory. Dan completed his undergraduate education at Berklee College of Music in Boston, earning a Bachelor of Music in Composition.
Dan started his successful musical career playing electric bass, keyboards, and cello with the New England jam-band juggernaut Rane in the mid 1990s. The intervening decades have been
Associate Professor, Music History, Area Coordinator
Emiliano Ricciardi is associate professor of music history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His main research area is the late Italian madrigal, with an emphasis on the settings of Torquato Tasso’s poetry. Ricciardi has published articles and reviews in journals such as Early Music, Journal of Musicology, Cambridge Opera Journal, and Renaissance Quarterly.
Marianna Ritchey is Associate Professor of Music History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She spent much of her young adulthood in Portland, Oregon, playing and touring in various indie rock bands, before going to UCLA for a PhD in Musicology. She has written about Berlioz, comedy, the dies irae, the films of Guy Maddin, music history pedagogy, and operatic representations of Steve Jobs.
A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Felipe Salles has been an active musician in the US since 1995, where he has worked and recorded with prominent jazz artists, including Randy Brecker, Paquito D’Rivera, David Liebman, Melissa Aldana, Lionel Loueke, Jerry Bergonzi, Chico Pinheiro, Magos Herrera, Sofia Rei, Yosvany Terry, Jovino Santos Neto, Oscar Stagnaro, Luciana Souza, and Bob Moses. He has toured extensively in Europe, North and South America, India and Australia, as a sideman and as a leader of his own group.
Violist Hyobi Sim made her debut at the age of 13 at the Kumho Prodigy Concert in South Korea. Since then, she has won numerous awards, including the Special Prize at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, first place at the Music Chunchu Competition, Hanjeon Arts Center Competition, and the Grand Prize at the Korea-US International Music Competition. She has performed worldwide at various venues, including the New York Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Sydney Opera House, and others as part of tours.
Lecturer, Assistant Director of the Minuteman Marching Band
Christine Sirard has been the Assistant Director of the UMass Marching Band, serving as Color Guard Director and Visual Coordinator, since 2015. She previously worked as Color Guard Instructor for the UMMB from 1990-1995.
Trombonist Greg Spiridopoulos has gained recognition as one of the most sought after trombonists in New England. Since 2001, Mr. Spiridopoulos has been principal trombone of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, which is dedicated to commissioning and recording new American works. He can be heard on the Albany Symphony’s 2014 Grammy winning album, Conjurer, featuring music by John Corigliano, and the 2016 Grammy nominated album, Kabir Padavali, featuring music by Christopher Rouse.
Assistant Professor, Bassoon, Woodwind Area Coordinator
Rémy Taghavi is a highly sought-after bassoonist based in the Northeast, and has performed, toured and recorded with numerous groups across North America, South America, and Asia. Praised for his “precise fingerwork…and impeccable breath support” (Washington Classical Review), Rémy has held the position of principal bassoon with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra since 2018 and has performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Orchestra New England (ONE), and the Cape and Princeton Symphonies, among others.
Fumi Tomita is a jazz bassist, composer, educator, and author. As a bassist, he was active in the New York jazz scene for over fifteen years. His 2019 recording, The Elephant Vanishes: Jazz Interpretations of the Short Stories of Haruki Murakami, was released to critical acclaim by Origin Arts records and was listed in the top ten records of 2019 by Jazziz. His 2020 release Celebrating Bird: The Music of Charlie Parker was similarly received.
Winner of a 2008 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Swiss-born American pianist Gilles Vonsattel is an artist of uncommon breadth. With repertoire that ranges from Bach's Art of the Fugue to Xenakis, as well as equal comfort as a soloist and chamber musician, Vonsattel displays a musical curiosity and sense of adventure that has gained him many admirers.
Professor, Music Theory, Graduate Program Director
Christopher White remains an avid organist, having studied with Haskell Thompson and James David Christie. As a member of the Three Penny Chorus and Orchestra, he has appeared on NBC's Today Show and as a quarterfinalist on America's Got Talent. He currently serves as secretary for the New England Conference of Music Theorists.
