Faculty by Alphabetical Order | School of Music | SIU

Robert Allison hails from Memphis, Tennessee, and is Associate Professor of Trumpet and Jazz Studies at Southern Illinois University. He has also taught at Millikin University and the Latvian National Conservatory in Riga, Latvia. Besides fulfilling his teaching duties, Dr. Allison is active as a recitalist ...read full profile >>

Education 1965-1969: Béla Bartók Music Conservatory, Budapest, Hungary 1969-1975: Franz Liszt Academy (University), Budapest, Hungary, Degree with Highest Honors as an Artist/Teacher 1975: post-graduate study with Arthur Grumiaux, Belgium Prizes and Honors 1971: Semi-finalist at the Wieniawski ...read full profile >>

Dr. Brittany Benningfield, of Hodgenville, Kentucky, is a lyric soprano and Lecturer of Voice at Southern Illinois University. She received her undergraduate degree in Music Education from Campbellsville University, the Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Kentucky in the ...read full profile >>

Edward Benyas is Professor of Oboe and Conducting at SIU Carbondale, Music Director of the Southern Illinois Symphony, the New Chicago Chamber Orchestra—with which he made his European conducting debut—and founder and Artistic Director of the Southern Illinois Music Festival, which ...read full profile >>

Composer, jazz artist, and music educator, Philip Brown, is Professor Emeritus of Double Bass and Jazz Studies at Southern Illinois University. His performance career has included occasional dates with first-line jazz artists, as well as full-time seasons with professional symphony orchestras. Based in southern ...read full profile >>

George Brozak begins his fifth year as Director of Athletic Bands in the School of Music at Southern Illinois University. A native of Ohio, Brozak received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Master of Music in Music Education Degrees from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and an Ed.D. in Music ...read full profile >>

Dr. Christopher Butler is currently a Lecturer in Percussion at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Dr. Butler proudly endorses Innovative Percussion and Marimba One. Dr. Butler completed his doctorate in percussion performance at the University of Kentucky in 2016 under the advisement of Prof. James ...read full profile >>

Originally from Georgia, Jessica D. Butler is currently a Lecturer in Low Brass and Music History at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She achieved her BM in trombone performance at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia where she studied with Dr. Bradley Palmer. Dr. Butler completed both ...read full profile >>

Susan Davenport is Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at Southern Illinois University. While at SIU, she has also held positions as Assistant Director of the School of Music and Associate Dean for Students and Curricular Affairs in the College of Liberal Arts. Currently, Dr. ...read full profile >>

Baritone David Dillard enjoys a career that encompasses both teaching and performing. Now in his twelfth year at Southern Illinois University, Dr. Dillard teaches applied voice, lyric diction, opera history, and voice pedagogy. Professionally, he appears most summers at Union Avenue Opera and the Southern ...read full profile >>

Tim Fink serves as head of the opera and music theater area in the School of Music. He has also served for 10 years as Artistic/Co-General Director of the McLeod Summer Playhouse, the professional summer stock hosted by SIUC. Tim's teaching duties include Lyric Theater Ensemble, Musical Theater History, ...read full profile >>

Maria Johnson is Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology in the School of Music at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale where she regularly teaches two CORE Curriculum courses-- Music 203 - Diversity & Popular Music in American Culture and Music 303I - Women, Blues & Literature, offers topics ...read full profile >>

Dr. Robert D. Jordan, served as a bassoonist with the United States Air Force Bands for over twenty years. In that capacity, he presented recitals, master classes, and was a frequently featured soloist on tours throughout the United States and Europe. He is a recipient of the prestigious Colonel Findlay R. ...read full profile >>

Yuko Kato has performed as a soloist and collaborative musician in the United States and internationally. She has performed recitals at The Banff Centre in Canada, at Musiksalon Erfurt in Austria, and in various music festivals, including the Friday Recital Series at Carleton University in ...read full profile >>

Richard Kelley has been Associate Professor of Saxophone and Director of Jazz Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale since 2008, performing numerous engagements across the United States, Mexico, Canada, much of Europe and several Caribbean countries. Active in all genres that welcome the saxophone, ...read full profile >>

Dr. Lausell leads the guitar program at SIUC School of Music where he joined the faculty in the Fall 2012. At SIUC Lausell teaches classical and jazz guitar, Fretboard harmony, Guitar ensembles, Sight-reading for guitar, Studio class, History of fretted instruments, and plays with the Jazz ensemble in ...read full profile >>

Pianist Junghwa Lee, a native of Korea, performs actively in solo recitals, chamber concerts and lecture recitals, and has frequently appeared in concerto performances as a soloist including those with the Korean Symphony Orchestra, Salina Symphony Orchestra, Hutchinson Symphony Orchestra and Greeley Philharmonic ...read full profile >>

Eric Lenz, D.M.A., is Associate Professor of Cello at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.   On faculty at SIU since 2003, Lenz teaches studio cello and chamber music, in addition to courses in harmony, analysis and counterpoint. A tenured member of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Lenz ...read full profile >>

Clarinetist and composer Eric Mandat is internationally recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to contemporary clarinet music. The Chicago Reader states, "Mandat is exploring new worlds...with a unique combination of virtuosity and a creative use of multiphonics...he uses them to create highly ...read full profile >>

Paula Melton, a violin scholarship recipient and graduate of the University of Illinois, studied with John Kendall at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville (SIUE) during high school.  At the graduate level, Paula completed extensive long-term Suzuki training with John Kendall at SIUE. A ...read full profile >>

Christopher Morehouse is Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Southern Illinois University, where he serves as conductor of the SIU Wind Ensemble, teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting, wind literature, and instrumental methods, and administers the entire SIU Bands program. He is also the ...read full profile >>

A West Virginia native, Jennifer Presar currently is the Assistant Director and Instructor of Horn and Music Theory at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She holds degrees in Music Theory and Composition and Horn performance from University of Illinois and West Virginia University, respectively. Her ...read full profile >>

James L Reifinger, Jr. is Music Education Coordinator and an Assistant Professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses music education.  He also serves as the faculty advisor for National Association for Music Education Collegiate Chapter ...read full profile >>

ARLENE TRANSUE spent four seasons with the Ohio Light Opera appearing as the title role in Rose Marie, Fiorella in The Brigands, Rose Maybud in Ruddigore, Caslida in The Gondoliers, Arsena in The Gypsy Baron, Yum-Yum in The Mikado, Mercury ...read full profile >>

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and provoked by a family of passionate and latitudinous overachievers, creating music has been a part of everyday life for Christopher Walczak from kindergarten afternoons until the present.  Many years and three degrees later, Christopher finds himself reconciling the ...read full profile >>

After earning his Doctor of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano and Vocal Coaching at the University of Minnesota, Joe returned to his hometown and began collecting work.  As an adjunct instructor at McKendree University, Blackburn College, and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, he teaches ...read full profile >>

In 2018, Douglas Worthen was given a sabbatical leave to study how musicians signal and communicate to both each other and the audience through physical gesture. In addition, his study focused on German sources of early nineteenth century performance practice and repertoire. As of November, 2018, his online ...read full profile >>