Mark Bighley

Chair, Department of Performing Arts
Professor
Fine Arts Building 238
918-444-2709
bighley@nsuok.edu

Courses Taught
Organ
Piano Class
Music History

He has also served on the faculties of Arizona State University, Cornell College, and the University of Iowa.

He is the author of "The Lutheran Chorales in the Organ Works of JS Bach" (St Louis: Concordia, 1986) as well as journal articles published in Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. He has also edited a number of organ and choral works which have been published by Concordia and Augsburg Fortress in Minneapolis. Together with Richard Erikson of New York City, Dr. Bighley compiled and edited "Bach for All Seasons," an anthology of choral music by JS Bach for use throughout the liturgical year(Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999).

Dr. Bighley serves as Dean of the Tulsa Chapter of the American Guild of Organists(term: 1998-2000). He has served as national vice president of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians(ALCM), and was review editor of its journal, Cross Accent, from 1993-96.

Ronald Chioldi

Associate Professor of Piano
Fine Arts Building 236
918-444-2707
chioldi@nsuok.edu

Degrees
D.M.A. Piano Performance - University of Illinois
M.M. Piano Performance - University of Illinois
B.A. Music - Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Courses Taught
Piano
Piano Pedagogy
Music Theory

Ronald Chioldi is Associate Professor of Music at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where he teaches studio piano, class piano, piano pedagogy, and music theory.

Dr. Chioldi is an active performer, appearing as soloist and collaborator throughout the region. In this 2005-2006 season, he will present concerts in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto in Bb, K 595, as well as solo and collaborative programs. Recent performances include Beethoven’s first piano concerto, and solo programs at University of Arkansas, Ball State University in Indiana, Georgia State University in Atlanta, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Chioldi began playing the piano as an undergraduate at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He subsequently, earned both the Master of Music, and the Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance and Literature (1998) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied piano with Ian Hobson and piano pedagogy with James Lyke.

A committed educator, Dr. Chioldi participated in the original planning sessions for the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, and is an active member of Arkansas and Oklahoma Music Teachers Associations and their national counterpart. In March of 2006, he will present a showcase highlighting the popular group-piano textbook, Keyboard Fundamentals, at the national conference of the Music Teachers National Association in Austin, Texas. He has presented workshops/lectures such as Intermediate Piano Concertos and Developing Technique Through Intermediate Literature to piano teachers groups, and he is a sought-after adjudicator. He has served on the summer piano faculties at Georgia State University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Robert Daniel

Associate Professor of Voice
Fine Arts Building 237
918-444-2718
danielrm@nsuok.edu

Degrees
D.M.A. Voice Performance - University of North Carolina at Greensboro
M.M. Voice Performance - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.M. Voice - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Courses Taught
Voice
Voice Class
Vocal Pedagogy
Vocal Diction

Having spent most of his life in the southeast, Robert Daniel has appeared as soloist with southeastern UN opera companies including Piedmont Opera of Winston-Salem (NC), Cullowhee (NC) Music Festival Opera, and with university companies at the Universities of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Greensboro and East Carolina University. Leading roles include the title role in Gounod's Faust at UNC-Greensboro, a production which won acclaim from the National Opera Association. Daniel was also invited to perform the leading role in the southeastern United States premiere of Philip Hagemann's The Music Cure at East Carolina University, a production which was repeated at the national convention of the National Opera Association in Los Angeles, California. He also appears in music theatre as well as in recital.

Daniel received bachelor's and master's degrees in music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He pursued doctoral work at Indiana University and completed the DMA degree in voice performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in August of 1994. He has taught at UNC-Chapel Hill, East Carolina University, Barton College, and Chipola Junior College of Marianna, Florida. He now serves as Associate Professor in the Music Department at NSU where he teaches voice and related courses. While in Tahlequah he has appeared in recital, with the University Singers and University Chorus, and in the annual "Holiday Follies."

Jason Dovel

Assistant Professor of Trumpet
Fine Arts Building 101
918-444-2703
dovel@nsuok.edu

Degrees
D.M.A. Trumpet Performance - University of North Texas
M.M. Trumpet Performance - Bowling Geen State University
B.M. Music Education - James Madison University

Courses Taught:
Trumpet
Brass Methods
Instrumental Pedagogy
Music Technology

A versatile performer on the modern trumpet, Baroque trumpet, and the Renaissance cornetto, Jason Dovel has performed with numerous modern and period instrument ensembles including the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Opera Orchestra, Adrian Symphony Orchestra, Lima Symphony Orchestra, Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra, Lone Star Wind Orchestra, New Lyric Theatre, Heritage Repertory Theatre, North Texas Baroque Orchestra, Texas Baroque Trumpets and the Orchestra of New Spain.

Dr. Dovel has recorded several discs for the GIA Windworks label as a member of the North Texas Wind Symphony and has also recorded with the Lone Star Wind Orchestra (Naxos Records) and the Bowling Green Philharmonia (Albany Records).

He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education with a minor in jazz studies from James Madison University, where he studied classical trumpet with James Kluesner and jazz trumpet with Charles Dotas, a master’s degree in trumpet performance from Bowling Green State University, where he studied classical trumpet with George Novak and jazz trumpet with Charles Saenz, and a doctorate in trumpet performance from the University of North Texas as a student of Keith Johnson. He is an active member of the International Trumpet Guild and serves as a recordings reviewer for the ITG Journal. Prior to his appointment at NSU, Dr. Dovel taught at the University of North Texas and North Central Texas College.

For more information, visit the NSU trumpet studio website at www.nsutrumpet.com.

Tracy Hunsaker

Assistant Professor of Music Education
Fine Arts Building 205A
918-444-2702
hunsaker@nsuok.edu

Degrees
Ph.D. Music Education - University of Florida
M. Ed. with Choral Emphasis - Utah State University
B. A. Music Education - Utah State University

Courses Taught
Music in the Elementary Classroom
Elementary Music Methods
Secondary Music Methods

Tracy Hunsaker is the NSU music education specialist.   Ms. Hunsaker is an Orff-Schulwerk certified instructor.  She completed Levels I and II at the University of Florida under Jim Solomon and Mary Helen Solomon.  She completed Level III at SMU in Dallas under Rick Layton.   Ms. Hunsaker received her Bachelor of Arts in music education from Utah State University (USU) in instrumental and choral music education, specializing in both flute and voice. While at USU, Ms. Hunsaker was active in multiple instrumental and choral ensembles. She also performed as soloist with those ensembles, was the drum major of the marching band, and participated in musical theater and opera productions. Her senior year she received the Outstanding Senior Award for the department of music at USU.

Amanda Mansheim

Assistant Professor of Voice
Fine Arts Building 238
918-444-2721
mansheim@nsuok.edu

Courses Taught
Voice
Voice Class
Music Theatre Appreciation
Rock and Roll History
Opera Workshop

Soprano Amanda Mansheim earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Wartburg College in Waverly Iowa and a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of Northern Iowa. A Benton-Schmitt Scholar and Hoving Fellow, she is currently completing the Doctor of Musical Arts in vocal performance at the University of Oklahoma.

Equally at home on the opera and concert stage, Ms. Mansheim has most recently been seen as Barbarina in Tulsa Opera’s production of Le nozze di Figaro and Tulsa Oratorio Chorus’ Messiah. She apprenticed with Tulsa Opera during the 2002–2003 and 2003–2004 seasons and also appeared as Annina in Tulsa Opera’s La Traviata. Additional roles performed include Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Juliette in Romèo ét Juliette, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Cinderella in Seymour Barab’s Cinderella.

Future engagements include the role of Papagena in Tulsa Opera’s production of Die Zauberflöte.

Amanda McCandless

Assistant Professor of Clarinet
Fine Arts Building 229
918-444-2723
mccandle@nsuok.edu

Degrees
D.M.A. Clarinet performance - Michigan State University
M.M. Clarinet performance - Michigan State University
B.M. Clarinet Performance - Eastern Kentucky University

Courses Taught
Introduction to Music
Elementary Theory
Applied Clarinet
Woodwind Class

Amanda McCandless teaches clarinet and music theory. She holds a DMA and MM from Michigan State University, where she studied with Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr and a BM from Eastern Kentucky University, where she studied with Connie Rhoades. Professor McCandless has also studied with Theodore Oien, Charles Neidich, Colin Lawson and Peter Jenkin.

Professor McCandless has performed recitals throughout the U.S. and abroad. She was a guest artist at the 2006 University of Oklahoma and has been a guest artist and clinician at the Bolivian National Conservatory of Music and the University of Puerto Rico. She was a finalist in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the International Clarinet Association’s Young Artist Competition. She has performed in the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra, the Midland (MI) Symphony Orchestra and the Grand Forks (ND) Symphony Orchestra, and will perform in the Tulsa Opera Orchestra’s 2006-2007 season.

Donald Studebaker

Professor
Fine Arts Building 219
918-444-2715
studebak@nsuok.edu

Degrees
D.A. - University of Northern Colorado
M.M. - Illinois State University
B.M. - Eastern Illinois University

Courses Taught
University Chorus
University Singers
Music History
Conducting

Donald Studebaker is professor of music at NSU where he has been Director of Choral Activities since 1984. He also conducts of the Northeastern Oklahoma Symphony and teaches Music History, Conducting, Voice and Music Appreciation. He holds degrees from Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University, and the University of Northern Colorado. He has conducted concerts in England, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the US including performances at Carnegie Hall. He has conducted numerous state and regional festivals including the Arkansas All-State Orchestra. From 1990-93 was the associate conductor/chorusmaster of the Breckenridge Music Festival where he conducted concerts with the BMI Chamber Orchestra and Chorus. In 1989 he was a member of, and soloist with, the Robert Shaw Festival Singers in France where he performed bass solos with the Bourdeaux Symphony in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. In addition to his work with Robert Shaw he has also been bass soloist for Leonard Slatkin, Margaret Hillis, Tom Peck, and Sir David Willcocks. He served as chair of the NSU Music Department from 1997-99. In 2001, he was a conducting fellow at the Oregon Bach Festival where he was a student of Helmuth Rilling. In 2002, he became the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Tulsa Oratorio Chorus. During the 2004-05 academic year, he is the Kirk Distinguished Visiting Professor of Music at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. In 2004, he received the Oklahoma Governor’s Arts Award for Education.

Arthur White

Director of Jazz Studies, Assistant Professor
Directs the big bands & combos
Jazz Lab
918-444-4602
whitea@nsuok.edu

Degrees
D.M.A. Saxophone Performance - University of North Carolina at Greensboro
M.M. Jazz Pedagogy/Saxophone Performance - West Virginia University
B.A. Music - Emporia State University

Courses Taught
Saxophone
Jazz Ensembles
Jazz Combos
Jazz Improvisation

Arthur White is the Director of Jazz Studies and Assistant Professor of Music at Northeastern State University. Originally from Kansas, Dr. White earned a BA in music from Emporia State University, a MM in jazz pedagogy from West Virginia University, and in 2008 completed the the Doctor of Musical Arts in saxophone performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Music. Prior to his appointment at NSU, Dr. White taught at WVU, UNCG, Frostburg State University (MD) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His teachers include Dr. Steven Stusek, Curtis Johnson, Paul Scea, James Fleisher, and jazz legend Branford Marsalis. His dissertation is a harmonic analysis of the improvisations of jazz saxophone great Joe Henderson.

Norman Wika

Assistant Professor, Director of Bands
Fine Arts Building 108
918-444-2706
wika@nsuok.edu

Norman A. Wika joins the Northeastern State University music department having recently completed a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting at the University of Connecticut.  At NSU he will conduct the Wind Ensemble and Concert Band as well as director the Riverhawk Marching Band and teach the low brass studio.  Prior to his arrival in Oklahoma, Dr. Wika served as a Special Lecturer and Director of Bands at Providence College where he conducted the Wind Ensemble and Concert Band.  Dr. Wika has also held the posts of Assistant Conductor of the University of Connecticut Wind Ensemble, Graduate Assistant Director of the UConn Marching Band and Director of the Basketball Pep Bands, where he led the band at two NCAA National Championship Games in 2003 and 2004.

As a guest conductor, Dr. Wika has made appearances with the Windham Concert Band, Windham, CT and the Classic Brass Band, Manchester, CT.  He has also served as Musical Director for several theater companies including the Keys Players and the Tolland Youth Services Community Theater.  Recent productions include You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Copacabana, and Beauty and the Beast.

Originally from Kansas, Dr. Wika received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami.  He began his teaching career in the Florida Keys at Coral Shores High School and then moved to Palm Beach Gardens High School in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.  He has studied conducting with Dr. Jeffrey Renshaw, Gary Green, Dr. Richard Fiese, and Dr. Nicholas DeCarbo.

In addition to appearances as a conductor, Dr. Wika also maintains an active career as a performer and teacher of trombone.  He has served as principal trombone of the Manchester Symphony, Manchester, CT, as well as an active substitute player in the Classic Brass Band, Mansfield, CT.  Dr. Wika maintains active membership in the International Trombone Association, College Music Society, Music Educators National Conference, and the College Band Directors National Association.  In addition, he is a lifetime member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi.