Release Date: August 11, 2008
Kennesaw State University appoints new music and staff
Contact: Cheryl Anderson Brown, Assistant Director of Public Relations, 770-499-3417 or cbrown@kennesaw.edu
KENNESAW, Ga.—The Kennesaw State University School of Music has announced new and staff appointments, including the appointment of Charles Schwartz, who will assume the interim director position of the recently established School of Music. Paul G. Davis, Tom Gibson, Elizabeth Koch, Laura Najarian, Steve Burton and David Daly also join the and staff of the School of Music.
Charles Schwartz will begin his duties as interim director for the School of Music on Aug. 13. Having started his career in Kentucky, Schwartz was director of choral activities at the University of Minnesota and coordinator and co-founder of the High School Musicians Project, prior to beginning his administrative career. As an administrator, he served as dean of the Conservatory of Music at Lawrence University; dean of the School of Fine Arts at California State University, Long Beach; dean of the School of Music at East Carolina University; and most recently, the interim dean of the School of Music at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. Upon retirement from ECU, he served in interim leadership capacities at the San Francisco Conservatory, within the Department of Music at Linfield College and at Ball State University.
Paul G. Davis will serve as interim conductor of wind ensembles. His extensive professional background spans both the classical and jazz idioms in conducting, performance and teaching. His musical activities have taken him throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, including numerous regional and All-State concerts and a highly acclaimed concert with the Grand Orchestre d’Harmonie des Guides of Brussels, Belgium. He holds a doctorate of musical arts in conducting from the University of Texas at Austin. As assistant professor of music at KSU, he will conduct the KSU Wind Ensemble and the KSU Chamber Players, and teach conducting courses. Prior to his appointment at KSU, Davis served as a member of the conducting faculties at the University of Alabama School of Music, the Petrie School of Music at Converse College in South Carolina and at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. He has conducted celebrated performances of the Alabama Wind Ensemble, the Alabama Chamber Winds, the Huxford Symphony Orchestra and OperAlaBama, as well as being founder and music director of the Rhodes Chamber Players in Memphis.
Tom Gibson joined the at KSU as artist-in-residence in trombone in January 2008. He was most recently an associate professor of trombone at Georgia State University where he taught trombone and music technology, and coordinated the brass area. He is presently on the with the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra and is an outreach musician with the Cobb Symphony Orchestra and the Cobb Public Schools. He earned his doctorate in musical arts at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. while he was a member of the United States Navy Band. He has performed and recorded with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Opera and with ensembles throughout the Southeast. His video podcasts of performances and trombone-related topics have been downloaded 75,000 times by brass enthusiasts worldwide on his website, www.trombonelessons.com.
Adam Kirkpatrick joined the at KSU as assistant professor of voice in fall 2008. Kirkpatrick holds a doctorate of musical arts from Florida State University, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He joins KSU from his previous position as assistant professor of voice at Georgia State University. Kirkpatrick has sung leading and secondary operatic roles and concerts professionally with many opera and symphonies, including the Cincinnati Opera, Atlanta Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Tri-Cities Opera (N.Y.), Dayton Opera, Florida State Opera, Knoxville Symphony, Newton Symphony (Boston, Mass.), Tallahassee Symphony (Fla.), LaGrange Symphony (Ga.) and Axtell Symphony (Neb.).
Elizabeth Koch will serve as artist-in-residence in oboe. She was recently appointed principal oboe of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and began her tenure with the orchestra in September 2007. She has performed as soloist with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, the Colorado College Summer Music Festival Orchestra and the World Youth Symphony. In the 2006-07 season, she appeared as guest principal oboe with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. She has also been a guest artist with the Chateauville Foundation's young residency program. Featured on NPR's “From the Top” and “Live from Studio A” programs, she is a guest of the Georgia Chamber Players, Atlanta Chamber Music Society and Youth Orchestra of the Americas. She has participated in the New York State Summer School for Orchestral Studies, Eastern Music Festival, New York String Orchestra Seminar, Pacific Music Festival and Colorado College Summer Music Festival. She studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy under Daniel Stolper and the Curtis Institute of Music under Richard Woodhams.
Alison Mann joined the KSU in 2008 as assistant professor of choral music education. Mann earned a doctorate in music education from the University of Oregon, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music education in choral music education from Florida State University. A gifted teacher and singer, Mann served previously as an assistant director of the Orlando Chorale, director of choral activities at Boone High School in Orlando and as a soloist throughout Florida and Georgia. As a scholar, Mann has presented her research at numerous conferences in the United States, and presented at the International Society of Music Education in Bologna, Italy in summer 2007.
Laura Najarian will join the at KSU as artist-in-residence in bassoon in the fall 2008. She joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as second bassoonist in 2006. Prior to her appointment with the ASO, she was a member of the Savannah Symphony and the Des Moines Metro Opera. She has also performed with orchestras in Nebraska, Florida, South Carolina, Utah and North Carolina as well as with the Houston Grand Opera. She spends her summers at the Tanglewood and Aspen Music Festivals. After earning a bachelor’s degree in performance from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music with Otto Eifert, Najarian went on to study with K. David Van Hoesen at the Eastman School of Music, earning a master’s degree in performance and literature and a performer's certificate.
Steve Burton joined the staff at KSU as the performing arts library manager in February 2008. He comes to KSU from Southern Polytechnic State University where he held a position in the university libraries. With degrees in music education, library and information science, and previous experience in KSU's Sturgis Library collection, Burton brings the skills, understanding and connections necessary to move the College of the Arts' Performing Arts Library forward as a center of learning for students, particularly in the KSU Department of Theatre and Performance Studies and KSU School of Music.
David Daly will begin his duties as coordinator of the Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center on Aug. 18. He served most recently as director of operations and artistic administration at the Eastern Music Festival and School in Greensboro, N.C. His prior experience includes positions with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, where he held several administrative positions culminating as orchestra operations manager. He is a graduate of the Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia. At KSU, Daly will coordinate concert logistics for the College of the Arts' Premiere and Starlight Series concerts and other special events.
For more information about the KSU School of Music and , visit www.kennesaw.edu/music.
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A member of the 35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State University is a comprehensive, residential institution with a growing student population of more than 20,000 from 142 countries. The third-largest university in Georgia, Kennesaw State offers more than 60 graduate and undergraduate degrees, including new doctorates in education and business.
The KSU College of the Arts is one of only four Georgia institutions to have achieved full national accreditation for all of its arts programs.