Music Department Faculty & Staff

Year Hired: 2000

M.A. in Trumpet Performance, Yale School of Music (1975)
B.A. in Music, Yale University (1972)

Courses taught: Music Appreciation, Chamber Orchestra, Brass Ensemble, Applied Instruction in Brass Performance

Ben Aldridge is an active performer in addition to his teaching work, and currently holds positions in the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra, The Binghamton Philharmonic, The Catskill Brass, The Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic and the Catskill Symphony. He is a charter member of the International Trumpet Guild and a Life Member of the American Federation of Musicians. He can be heard on Columbia, Naxos, Chandos and Redwood records. He enjoys transcribing and arranging music for the ensembles he conducts at SUNY-Oneonta.

Year Hired: 2020

Degrees Earned:

D.M.A. in Data Driven Instruments - University of Oregon
M.M. in Intermedia Music Technology - University of Oregon
B.A. Music History - Denison University

Dr. Nathan M. Asman is a musician, composer, synthesist, music technologist, instrument designer, sound designer, digital artist, and educator. His musical and artistic endeavors reside mainly within the electronic & digital realms, where he specializes in data-driven instrument creation, synthesis & sound design, and electroacoustic music composition. Focusing on the intersection of popular and academic music, he strives to unite the two musical styles utilizing the endless musical and artistic opportunities afforded him by the worlds of synthesis, music technology, and computer-based music. Nathan creates new and original music, performances, and instruments from the ground up by employing innovative and alternative instrument, sound, and synthesis designs in his compositions and performances. His goal is to apply his knowledge and skills to further the fields of music technology and digital art by producing music that can be appreciated by both expert and casual listeners. Strengthening the awareness, enjoyment, and importance of music, art, and technology within the academic community is paramount to his work, but cultivating and bolstering those sentiments outside of the academy is absolutely essential, and permeates his work on every level.

Nathan’s works have been seen and heard around the country and abroad, including the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition (3-time finalist & semi-finalist), NIME, ICMC, SEAMUS, the VU Symposium, the Sundance Film Festival, TEDTalks, Future Music Oregon, 60×60, (SUB)Urban Projections, the PLATFORM Festival, the Human Nature Festival, and the Kaleidoscope Music Festival.

Nathan is an Assistant Professor of Audio Arts at SUNY Oneonta in Oneonta, NY as of fall 2020. He holds a D.M.A. in Data-Driven Instruments and an M.M. in Intermedia Music Technology from the University of Oregon, and a B.A. in Music History from Denison University.

Check out his band & personal music project, Hamilton Beach, and full-length studio album.

View information about Nathan and his work.

Fideliz is a lecturer in piano and accompanist at SUNY Oneonta. She is also an adjunct professor at Hartwick College, teaching Aural Skills and Keyboard Techniques since 2013. She is originally from the Philippines and started playing the piano at the age of 3. She received her formal training from her mother at the age of 5 and took lesson with Madeline Maceda, a pianist from Switzerland. Avelina Manalo, a professor at the University of the Philippines, became her mentor until 1988.

Fideliz received her B.S. in Music Education at Hartwick College in 2012. She also holds a degree in music performance, major in piano at the University of the Philippines, conservatory of music in 1988.

Her Thesis focuses on integrating Kulintang Ensemble (similar to Gamelan of Indonesia) into the American public schools. She spent time with select students teaching them how to play the kulintang and other indigenous instruments. The response was well received by the students and teachers, who welcome the idea of diversified music instructions that includes the eastern cultures and music.

Fideliz enjoys playing classical, jazz, standard music and other diverse repertoire pieces. If she is not busy accompanying students during recital, juries and convocation, she is seen playing at Origins Café in Cooperstown with Dr. Ana Laura Gonzalez, and now with her daughter Ushuaia Diaz.
Fideliz’ graduation recital repertoire includes Concerto in C minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Rupikal ng Kapis by Avelina Manalo, Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, opus 31, Bach Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C minor and Waldesrauschen by Franz Liszt.

Currently, she is the music director at the United Methodist Church in Cooperstown since 2008.

Dr. Ana Laura González serves as instructor of flute at SUNY Oneonta since 2016 and at Hartwick College since 2011. She is a native of Argentina and her repertoire spans from classical to contemporary music, with an emphasis on academic music from her homeland. Her dissertation “European Cosmopolitanism to Folkloricism” analyzed elements of nationalistic language in earlier Argentinean academic music to the pure expression of traditional elements in flute music by Amancio Alcorta, Alberto Williams, and Angel Lasala. She has also been published in the Flutist Quarterly.

Dr. González holds a D.M.A. from the University of Arizona, an M.M. from Ohio University, and a BM from the National Conservatory of Buenos Aires (IUNA). As an orchestral player, she has appeared with the Utica Symphony, Irving Symphony in Dallas, Texas, the Nueva Leon, Symphony Orchestra in Monterrey, Mexico, the Arizona Chamber Artists and the Arizona Repertory Theatre Orchestra in Tucson, and the Camerata Exaudi in Buenos Aires.

She has been a member of many chamber music ensembles, among them the Elision Quintet, the Shimmering Silver Flute Quartet, the Artemise Quartet, and the Seven Degrees Flute Quartet. Recent performances include the National Flute Association convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Mid-Atlantic flute festival in Washington DC, the Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires, Delta State University in Mississippi, and the Conservatory of Junin in Argentina. She has also performed at many music festivals including the National Flute Association conventions of Nashville, San Diego, Albuquerque and Kansas City, The Opera in the Ozarks at Inspiration Point, Chamber Music in Sedona, Music on the Edge in Highland Heights, Kentucky, and Music from Japan Today in Baltimore, MD.

Pianist Adam Kent has performed in recital, as soloist with orchestra, and in chamber music throughout the United States, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Latin America. A winner of the American Pianists Association Fellowship and Simone Belsky Music Awards, Dr. Kent also received top prizes in the Thomas Richner, the Juilliard Concerto, and the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competitions, and is a recipient of the Arthur Rubinstein Prize and the Harold Bauer Award. Dr. Kent made his New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall in 1989, and has been featured on WQXR, WNYC, WFUV, WVOX and Sirius Radio stations. Chamber music has been an important part of Dr. Kent’s concert life, most recently with the Damocles Trio, which has performed both in the United States and abroad. The group’s recording of Joaquín Turina's complete piano trios and quartet with Emerson Quartet violist Lawrence Dutton was released by Claves Records in 2004, followed up by their recording of Heitor Villa-Lobos’s complete piano trios and Oscar Lorenzo Fernândez’s Trio brasileiro in 2009.

Spanish music has been a specialty of Dr. Kent’s, whose advocacy has been acknowledged by the Spanish government on numerous occasions. In 2011, King Juan Carlos I of Spain honored the pianist by bestowing Spain’s Orden al MÃrito Civil, and the Consulate General of Spain in NY underwrote Dr. Kent’s course on the history of Spanish music at Brooklyn College. The Spanish Consulate has also sponsored numerous appearances by Dr. Kent at NY’s Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the Spanish Ministry for Education and Culture awarded him a grant for Música por doquier/Hispanic Music Everywhere, a year-long celebration of Spanish and Latin-American in NYC with the Damocles Trio and Spanish composer and conductor Salvador Brotons. The Foundation for Iberian Music at the CUNY Graduate Center and the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center at NYU have also sponsored a number of Dr. Kent’s Hispanic-themed projects, including commissions of new works by Tania LeÃn, Salvador Brotons, Miguel-Ãngel Roig-Francol, and others.

Dr. Kent’s critically acclaimed recording of the complete piano works of Ernesto Halffter is available on Bridge Records, and a recent performance of Book I of Albéniz’s Iberia suite was praised in the Indianapolis Star as “Albénizian to the core...his suave legato touch wedded to a tone with an Old World patina about it.” Excelsior of Mexico City enthused about a recent all-Spanish recital, “Adam Kent brought not only magnificent technical ability to the music, but managed to go beyond the printed page, delving into the essence of what the composer sought to express.” Dr. Kent’s expertise in this repertory has also extended to interviews and performances in several recent documentaries on Spanish composers Enrique Granados and Manuel de Falla. At present, a recording of Tania LeÃn’s complete piano music is in the works as well as a documentary on Isaac Albéniz.

Summers find Dr. Kent serving as Director of Cultural Outreach at the Burgos International Music Festival in Spain and teaching and performing at the Summit Music Festival in N.Y. and at the Cursos de Verano of the FundaciÃn Princesa de Asturias in Oviedo. Recent performances include a concert of works by Ibizan composer Miguel-Angel Roig-Francoli at Carnegie Hall, a recital at N.Y.C.’s (le) poisson rouge broadcast on The Classical Network radio station, the world-premiere of a newly-written piano trio by Argentine composer Sebastian Zubieta’s at N.Y.C.’s Look and Listen Festival, performances with the Westchester Chamber Symphony and the New Jersey Baroque Orchestras, concerts in Havana, Cuba and a recital of works by Tania LeÃn at the University of California at Riverside.

Dr. Kent received a D.M.A. from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Jerome Lowenthal and served as an adjunct professor. His dissertation, The Use of Catalan Folk Materials in the Works of Federico Mompou and Joaquín Nin-Culmell, was awarded the school’s Richard F. French Prize, and his writings have appeared in Clavier, Music in Art and Cambridge Scholars, and Horizon journals and in a Spanish-language monograph on Xavier Montsalvatge published by the Spanish Society of Authors and Editors. He holds B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Solomon Mikowsky. Assistant Professor of Music, SUNY Oneonta since 2016. Other current affiliations: Piano Faculty Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division; Music Director Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation in White Plains, NY. Past affiliations: Professor of Piano New Jersey City University and Brooklyn College.

www.adamkentmusic.com

Degrees: B.A in Film Scoring, Berklee College of Music (1995)

In addition to his work as a percussion, Robert is schooled in guitar, composition, orchestration and arranging, He performs and records regularly with various ensembles and bands including The Swindlers and Eye Jazz Eye. He has written and recorded original scores for various student films and documentaries including "Winter '44," "Roses in December: The Son of Mohegan Island" and "The Birds." He is currently working on an instructional book entitled "The Timekeeping System" and a textbook entitled "Arranging for Drum set." Visit Professor Lipari's Personal Website.

Dr. Lara Mitofsky Neuss is an educator, clarinetist, and recording engineer and she joined SUNY Oneonta’s faculty in 2023 as Lecturer of Music and Music Industry. Dr. Mitofsky Neuss has taught classes across the US and Sweden on topics in performance, audio engineering, music business, and improvisation. Prior to joining the faculty at SUNY Oneonta, she taught music technology and general music courses at Montclair State University and Essex County College. In addition to her work in higher education, she is a recording engineer at Arts Laureate, where she records, edits, and mixes groups that include the Kansas City Symphony, United States Air Force Band of the West, Bang on a Can, Westminster Choir College, Mostly Modern Festival, Arkansas Tech University, and New Jersey Music Educators Association. She is also the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Arts Laureate and the Tonsehen Record Label, whose albums have been recognized by organizations which include the American Prize and Fanfare Magazine.

As a clarinetist, Dr. Mitofsky Neuss has been a featured performer and presenter at the International Clarinet Association, Third Practice Electroacoustic Festival, Americans for the Arts, SPLICE Electroacoustic Festival, American Single Reed Summit, Bang on a Can Music Festival, and Banff Center for the Arts. As a recitalist and concerto soloist, she was named the winner of the Golden Classical Music Awards and the Eastern Music Festival Concerto Competitions. She is currently a performer and organizer for PROTESTRA, a volunteer-run orchestra and 501(c)(3) organization that bridges the divide between advocacy and classical music, and she is Clarinet Program Manager of the New Works Project, a 501(c)(3) organization that enables musicians to participate in the commissioning of new music at an accessible price.

Dr. Mitofsky Neuss earned her D.M. degree from Florida State University where her doctoral research was focused on creating accessible learning approaches for students with dyslexia. She received her M.M. degree from Colorado State University where she focused on clarinet performance/pedagogy and mindfulness research, and her B.M. degree from San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying clarinet and auxiliary clarinet performance.

Degrees Earned:
A.A. in Liberal Arts from Nassau Community College (1986)
B.A. in Liberal Arts from University of Northern Iowa (1997)

Courses taught: R&B Band, Jazz Improvisation, Electric Bass, Jazz Band and String Bass Studio, Electric Bass Studio

International bandleader, performing and recording artist RC Mollin has been a part of the music industry since 1980. He has been a leader of modern musical groups including show bands, Rock, Jazz, R&B, Blues, Funk, and Free Improvisation ensembles. Sideman and Bandleader on Norwegian Cruise lines, Costa lines, Holland America, and Carnival lines, Rich worked on stage with hundreds of headline acts. As Bandleader for Michael Carney Music in Manhattan, Rich led a Jazz trio 6 nights a week for 9 years with many of New York's finest pianists and drummers. His trio performed for dignitaries, heads of state, and jazz fans in venues throughout the east coast. He currently heads one of the largest bass studios in the SUNY system teaching String Bass and Electric Bass. He also began the jazz improvisation studies class and performs regularly in the area now in a variety of genres with The Catskill Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Theatre, Mask and Hammer Productions and innumerable jazz settings and recording as house Bassist with Sonart recording studios in Woodstock, NY. As well as other projects.

She is active in the development of Distance Learning initiatives and policies and has taught online and hybrid classes to an international audience. She developed and taught a course on virtual promotion and event production in the virtual world, Second Life.com. She has taught an online course for the SUNY Learning Network entitled Copyright for Higher Education.

She has presented several conferences to national audiences on Teaching and Technology: Copyright for Higher Education. She enrolls in Music and Entertainment Industry seminars on a regular basis with the Practising Law Institute and has completed a seminar at Cornell University entitled "Computer Law and Policy."

Dr. Nepkie started SUNY Oneonta's Music Industry program and is its principal designer. She is a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and Coordinator of the extensive Music Industry Internship Program. She has been nationally profiled as one of the leading Music Industry Educators in ROLLING STONE magazine and was interviewed for Pollstar Magazine. Dr. Nepkie developed and taught the first Honors course for the Music Department and she served on the college-wide Honors Committee. She has served as Chair of the University Faculty Senate Undergraduate Academic Programs and Policies Committee, Chair of the Senate Ethics and Institutional Integrity Committee, Chair of the Senate Programs and Awards Committee and Chair of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Grading Authority. She is past-President of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association, an international organization of music educators and business executives. She chaired the University Faculty Senate committee that authored the Senate Guide for Planning, Implementing and Assessing Undergraduate Internships and Co-ops.

She is the SUNY Oneonta Teaching, Learning, and Technology Fellow for Copyright Inquiry and Implementation. She is the Chair of the SUNY Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching & Technology and she chaired the FACT2 Task Group on Intellectual Property. She is a member of the Copyright Society of the USA and has served on the Board of Trustees of that organization. She has written articles for the music industry trade press and daily newspapers and presented numerous conferences on intellectual property and computer law and policy as they relate to academia. She is principal 'cellist with the Glimmerglass Opera Company, the Catskill Symphony Orchestra and she also works with numerous symphonies, chamber ensembles, and in recording studios where she has performed on recordings of albums, movie soundtracks and jingles.

Courses Taught:
Fundamentals of Guitar, Private Guitar Studio, Rock Combo and the Frank Zappa Ensemble

Degrees Earned:
B.S. in Music Ed., Hartwick College (1998)

Joseph Michael Pignato is a drummer, composer, and music education scholar with extensive graduate, undergraduate, secondary, and distance teaching experience. He holds the position of Professor in the Music Department at the State University of New York, Oneonta, where he teaches music industry courses, digital music and beat production, and directs ensembles that perform experimental music and improvised rock.

Pignato has received numerous awards for excellence in scholarship, creative activity, teaching, and advising. Notable recognitions include the Susan Sutton Smith Award for Academic Excellence, recognition as an international “Thought Leader” in the field of music (SUNY Oneonta President’s Report), and the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. The Chancellor’s Award is the highest academic award bestowed on teaching faculty in the SUNY system. Additionally, Pignato has been recognized with the Student Association award for Faculty Advisor of the Year; was twice recognized as Outstanding Faculty by the SUNY Oneonta Inter-Greek Council; and has been awarded multiple grants for travel, professional development, research, and creative work.

Recognized as a “drummer extraordinaire” (JazzTimes), Pignato leads Bright Dog Red, an ensemble celebrated for “sublimely marrying jazz with hip-hop, funk, and electronic music" (JazzTimes). Long “a fixture on the NYC jazz and improvisation scene” (Jazz Journal), Bright Dog Red's "proudly unanchored improvisation" (Downbeat) has been likened to “part Ornette Coleman and Prime Time, part Lounge Lizards, part A Tribe Called Quest” (JazzTimes). Others have compared the group to “Mahavishnu Orchestra meets Digable Planets” (Paul Schulman), “Romantic Warrior era Return to Forever” (Rimas e Batidas), and “electronic Ahmad Jamal" (Don Lucoff). The ensemble has released multiple albums on Ropeadope Records, the influential Philadelphia label.

Mixing elements from "jazz-experimental-hip-hop” and “krautrock” drumming (Best of Jazz), Pignato’s “spacious groove” (Downbeat) and “relentless, energetic trap work” (Glide Magazine) feature a “balance of minimal tactile grooves with massive improvisational freak-outs” (The Bolg). On his drumming with Bright Dog Red, Modern Drummer observed, “key to the group’s inner workings and flow is Joe Pignato. Displaying taste, groove, and sensitivity, Pignato provides an admirable foundation for this inspired music.” Working under the moniker u.joe, Pignato has recorded drum tracks for DJs, producers, MCs, and remix artists, most notably internationally renowned DJ M A N I K. English writer Gareth Dylan Smith aptly described Pignato’s style, “Swings like Bonham hugging Questlove.”

As a composer, Pignato’s work has been noted for its “intriguing” conceptual characteristics (Haaretz News Service) and “haunting” qualities (Charger Bulletin). His compositions have been premiered, performed, or exhibited as part of installations in the United States and abroad.

As a scholar, Pignato has presented research on five continents, publishing on composition, improvisation, music teaching and learning, music technology, and drumming. Publications appear in peer reviewed journals, edited volumes, anthologies, and practitioner journals. He was a principal investigator for and co-author of “The Music Learning Profiles Project,” published by Routledge in 2017 and was an editor for the “Cambridge Companion to the Drum Kit,” published by Cambridge University Press in 2021.

Hailed by Tape Op as a “musician, educator, and music business visionary,” Pignato regularly consults organizations in the areas of music, music technology, and music education. He has held management positions at leading music companies, including N2K Incorporated, BMG Classics, RCA Victor, ECM Records, CMP Records, and Latin Percussion.

Professor Pignato holds degrees from Boston University (D.M.A.), where he was a Tanglewood Scholar, New York University (M.A.), where he studied composition with Dinu Ghezzo, and the University of Massachusetts (B.A.), where he studied composition with Yusef Lateef. In addition, Pignato has studied drum set with noted pedagogue Sal La Rocca and drumming icon Max Roach. He endorses Taye Drums, T-Cymbals Handmade Turkish Cymbals, Regal Tip Drumsticks, and Dynaton Drumheads.

Additional details are available at http://joepignato.com and http://brightdogred.com

Associate Professor

Year hired: 2005
Tenure date:2013
Degrees:M.M, Kansas State University, 1997

Professional Affiliations:
NASM, NYSSMA

Courses:
Survey of Music Theory 1, Survey of Music Theory 2, Concert Producing, Jazz Octet, Piano Lab.

About:
Robert Roman joined the SUNY Oneonta faculty in 2005. He is a pianist, educator and has worked extensively in arts management. Prior to joining the faculty at Oneonta, he held a position as Director of Education at San Jose Jazz, where he produced the San Jose Jazz Festival. He serves as a faculty member for the New York Summer Music Festival (NYSMF) and is an active performer in the area of jazz piano.

Professor of Music and Music Industry, joined the SUNY Oneonta faculty in 2005. He current teaches Music Theory, Jazz Performance, and Concert Promotion. Prior to joining the faculty at Oneonta, he held a position as Director of Education at San Jose Jazz, where he produced the San Jose Jazz Festival. He serves as a faculty member for the New York Summer Music Festival (NYSMF) and is an active performer in the area of jazz piano.

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MBA - University at Albany (2012)
BM Music Composition - University of the Arts (1991)
Advisor: Singer Songwriter, Publishing
and Production Club

In fall of 2007, Mr. Scafide began teaching as a lecturer in SUNY Oneonta’s Music Industry program. As of 2008, he has been a tenure track assistant professor teaching core classes in music industry studies as well as music ensembles. SUNY Oneonta’s Inter-Greek Council has twice recognized Mr. Scafide as "Outstanding Faculty" member. Additionally, Mr. Scafide has received several honors from SUNY Oneonta recognizing his creative and academic contributions to the university and faculty. Mr. Scafide teaches core music industry courses which include, Music and the Marketplace, History of Record Labels in Pop Culture and the Rock and Pop Ensemble, Financial Management for Not for Profit Organizations.

Previous to joining the faculty at SUNY Oneonta Mr. Scafide was the founding Principal/Partner for Generation Media (1998-2008), a publicity, radio promotion and management company dedicated to serving classical, jazz, and indie artists. Generation Media also promoted and created live events promotions and productions for NYC clubs, festivals, national competitions and modern opera. A brief listing of clients for Generation Media includes, KOCH Classics, BBC LEGENDS, SONY Classics, MODE Records, Chesky Records, Angelok 1 Records, Mutable Music, Center for Contemporary Opera, Robert Craft Foundation, the World Piano Competition, and the HORDE Festival. Other companies that Mr. Scafide has worked for include E-One Entertainment (KOCH International), Philips Media N.V. / Polygram, and New World Records. Mr. Scafide continues his work with the Robert Craft Foundation for licensing the sound recordings, writings and archival images of the late conductor, writer and 20th century luminary Robert Craft.

As a composer and performer, he has written numerous works of chamber music, theater songs, jazz ensemble; flute harp and viola, saxophone quartet, mixed ensemble, solo piano works, piano trios, among others. Mr. Scafide’s music is published by True Legacy LLC. Mr. Scafide began composing at the age of 18. He began theory and harmony studies with Vincent Persichetti and Stanley Wolfe at the Juilliard School (1986-89) and later with Andrew Rudin (1989-91). Mr. Scafide has been the recipient of the Long Island Composers Alliance Award, the ASCAP Leonard Bernstein Award, NYC Composers Forum New Music New Composition Recipient, among others. His compositions have been performed in Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Poland, Scotland, France, and Germany.

Courses taught: Woodwind Ensemble, Clarinet Lesson Studio

Clarinetist Robin Seletsky is a multi-faceted performer with interests in the classical music world as well as folk and avant garde styles. After graduating from New England Conservatory, she attended the Juilliard School and for many years was Principal Clarinetist with the Binghamton Philharmonic and the Glimmerglass Opera Festival. In 2008 she was cited by the New York Times for her work with Glimmerglass: "Robin Seletsky, the principal clarinetist, blew a jazzy solo onstage during "Too Darn Hot"...and offered stylish solos from the pit."

Robin is equally at home with the klezmer style. She is a second generation klezmer clarinetist having grown up listening to her father, Harold Seletsky, a klezmer master. Robin has performed around the country and as far away as India both as a klezmer soloist and as a member of her ensemble, Big Galute. She has given master classes on both classical and klezmer clarinet styles at colleges and universities including Skidmore, Sonoma State, Hartwick and SUNY Binghamton, and her recordings and original compositions have been featured on NPR programs. Additionally, several of her works served as the inspiration for choreography by the St. Louis Ballet and the Vassar Dance Repertory Company.

In addition to her work as a performer and teacher of clarinet, Robin is an adjunct instructor at SUNY Oneonta where she teaches studio clarinet and conducts the Woodwind Ensemble. Professional affiliations include memberships in the International Clarinet Society and the American Federation of Musicians

Robin can be found on the web at:
www.robinseletsky.com - personal website where Robin blogs regularly and gives online lessons

Follow Robin’s Clarinet page on Facebook

YouTube channel which features Robin's popular series of Tutorials "Learning to Play Klezmer"

Degrees Earned:
Bachelors in Clarinet Performance - New England Conservatory
Masters in Music History from Binghamton University

Courses taught: Voice, American Musical Theatre

Ms. Thomas is originally from Huntington, New York and has been an actress and singer in the US and in Europe for more than seventeen years. She joined the SUNY Oneonta Music Department in 2004, directing, and teaching voice, History of the American Musical, and a vocal performance workshop, which includes coaching repertoire from opera to the contemporary musical. She received a Masters in Vocal Performance from Syracuse University and a BA in Music, and minor in Speech, Communications, and Theatre from SUNY Oneonta. Her professional training also includes: The Roger Hendricks Simon Studio for Actors, Directors and Playwrights, the Riverside Shakespeare Company, Bob Sills Improvisation Workshop, and Nico Costell’s Master Class Series.

Professional credits include a nine-year stint as ‘Christine Daae’ in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s PHANTOM OF THE OPERA at the Neue Flora Theater in Hamburg, Germany. She appeared on tour throughout Europe, including Paris, Nice, , Gothenburg, Munich, and Basil, as Laurey in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s OKLAHOMA! Off-Broadway, regional, and national tour credits include, Beatriz in Offenbach’s CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, musical director, Jonathan Tunick; Maria in WEST SIDE STORY; Luisa in THE FANTASTIKS; Josephine in HMS PINAFORE; Mabel in THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, starring Sir John Reed, Anne in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, and Princess Tuptim in THE KING AND I, directed by Jamie Hammerstein, son of Oscar Hammerstein II.

Ms. Thomas continues to perform in the New York area, as her teaching schedule allows. She appeared in the title role in the premiere of the new opera, MOLLY OF THE MOHAWKS; for which she was nominated for a Native American Music Award. She also performed at the Baseball Hall of Fame, singing the role of Lili in COOPERSTOWN, a Jazz Opera by composer Sasha Matson. Ms. Thomas has worked with the Chenango River Theater in Greene, NY, appearing as Felicia in I HATE HAMLET and Mrs. Van Dann in THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.

Her concert appearances as the Soprano Soloist include, Carl Orff’s CARMINA BURANA and the Poulenc STABAT MATER with the Catskill Choral Society; the Poulenc GLORIA, and Samuel Barber’s KNOXVILLE, SUMMER OF 1915 with the Catskill Symphony; most recently, in Handel’s Messiah with The Voices of Cooperstown; and sung the role of Lola in CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA with the Schenectady Symphony at the Proctor Theater, and at the Stanley Theater, with the Utica Symphony.

Year hired: 2012

M.A. from Stony Brook University

B.S. in Music Performance and Education from State University of New York at Potsdam, Crane School of Music

Courses taught: Violin and Viola studio lesson, Director of String Ensemble; Assistant Director (String Specialist) Chamber Orchestra

Marie Tucker is an active performer as well as instructor. She has performed with the Catskill Symphony Orchestra as well as the Catskill Consort. She enjoys performing varied genres of music, including fiddle, jazz and popular music along with Classical. She encourages her students to explore any area of musical interest while attending SUNY Oneonta. Her main teaching philosophy is “we all must love the way we sound making music to get the"

Year Hired: 2014

Degrees Held:

BS Electrical Engineering – Polytechnic Institute of NYU (2010)

MS Electrical Engineering – Polytechnic Institute of NYU (2013)

Courses Taught: Studio Assistant I, Studio Assistant II, Principals of Audio, Fundamentals of Vacuum Tube Amplifiers, Intro to Musical Electronics

My interests generally revolve around analog electronics.

Year Hired: 2002
Tenure: 2009

Degrees Earned:
M.M. in Studio Composition - Purchase College (2001)
B.F.A. in Music Composition - California Institute of the Arts (1974)

Courses taught: Contemporary Issues in the Music Industry, Contemporary Songwriting, Music Theory II, Funk Band, Jazz Improvisation, Pop and Jazz Piano Styles and Advanced Songwriting

Jeremy Wall is best known as founding member, pianist, composer and producer of the landmark jazz-fusion group Spyro Gyra. He has recorded extensively as producer, keyboardist, composer and arranger in all genres of music and has released over 70 of his own compositions. Served as an Adjunct Professor at Ramapo College and Purchase College. Has been nominated for several Grammy's as a producer, pianist and composer. His composition "Shakedown" was nominated for Grammy award for "Best Pop Instrumental." He was the featured soloist at the Shenandoah Bach Festival in 2004.