Alumni notes
Read on for notes on accomplishments and accolades for College of Music alumni in 2020
Sarah Bierhaus (DMA ’09)
Bierhaus is principal oboe at Opera Colorado.
Brianne Borden (MM ’15)
Borden graduated in Spring 2020 with a DMA from Arizona State University.
Callie Brennan (BM ’16)
Brennan recently won the Dorothy Gruber Horowitz Endowed Chair as principal first violin in the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra.
Zachary Bryant (MM ’19)
Bryant sang the role of "Sciarrone" in Annapolis Opera's production of Tosca.
Joshua DeVane (MM ’18)
DeVane was a studio artist at Sarasota Opera and sang the role of Marullo in Rigoletto.
Mary Evans (MM ’19)
Evans won a section violin position in the Fort Collins Symphony.
Diego Gaetano (DMA ’15)
Gaetano has been appointed assistant professor of piano at Sam Houston University.
Ciara Glasheen-Artem (MM ’13)
Glasheen-Artem plays principal oboe with Camerata Ireland and Cork Opera.
Cody Goetz (MM ’19)
Goetz joined the Mundi Project in Utah as community coordinator and teaching artist. He also co-presented a national webinar with Professor of Piano Pedagogy Alejandro Cremaschi for the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy.
Chris Hanning (DMA ’95)
As the new President of the Percussive Arts Society, Hanning planned and directed the hugely successful Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in November 2019 and will do the same in 2020.
Aaron Jensen (MM ’17)
Jenson graduated in Spring 2020 with a DMA from the University of North Texas.
Geary Larrick (DMA ’84)
Larrick wrote the article "Marimba Classics" in the December 2019 issue of Rhythm! Scene magazine, published by the Percussive Arts Society. His first article for PAS appeared in the Percussionist journal in 1968.
Eneida Larti (DMA ’11)
Larti was appointed assistant professor of piano at the University of Idaho.
Otto Lee (DMA ’17)
Lee is lecturer in music and director of jazz bands at the University of California, Davis.
Keven Lehman (BM ’91)
Lehman was elected president of the Colorado PAS chapter in Fall 2019.
Jose Leonardo Leon (DMA ’18)
Leon was appointed trombone instructor at Florida Atlantic University. His arrangement of Der Jüngling, das Mädchen und der Tod for trombone quartet was also published by Warwick Music.
Alison Mayes (BME ’06, MME ’15)
Mayes was awarded the 2020 Elizabeth A. H. Green School Educator Award from the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and was presented with the award at the ASTA national conference in Orlando. Mayes is the founding orchestra director at Parker Performing Arts School in Douglas County.
Landon Morrison (MM ’12)
Morrison is a college fellow at Harvard University.
Mitchell Ohriner (BM ’04)
Ohriner is currently assistant professor of music theory at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. His monograph “Flow: The Rhythmic Voice in Rap Music” was published by Oxford University Press in 2019.
Sharon Park (DMA ’17)
Park became executive director of the Denver Chamber Music Festival and won the principal second violin position at Opera Colorado.
Kimberly Patterson (DMA ’12) and Patrick Sutton (DMA ’14)
In June, Patterson and Sutton released their second album titled, Still Life: Collected Music for Cello and Guitar by Steve Goss on the Parma/Navello Records Label.
John Peterson (MM ’11)
Peterson is currently assistant professor of music theory at James Madison University. His co-authored article, "Alternative Paths, Phrase Expansion and the Music of Felix Mendelssohn," was published in Music Theory Spectrum in Fall 2019.
Ashley Pontiff (MM ’17)
Pontiff was awarded a full-time teaching position at the University of Northern Colorado.
Josh Reed (DMA ’16)
Reed was hired as an assistant professor of jazz trumpet at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Alan Reese (MM ’13)
Reese is currently in his second year as an instructor of music theory at the Cleveland Institute of Music. His article on Karol Szymanowski’s keyboard works will be published in Music Theory Spectrum in Fall 2020.
Anisha Rush (BM ’17)
Rush is an affiliate faculty member in the saxophone area at Metropolitan State University.
Sarah Rushing (DMA ’18)
Rushing was appointed assistant professor of piano and piano pedagogy at West Texas A&M University.
Carl Schultz (DMA ’14)
Schultz is director of jazz studies at Santa Clara University.
Leslee Smucker (DMA ’17)
Smucker’s essay on Gabriel Fauré, "Fauré Studies," was published by Cambridge University Press. Smucker co-authored the piece with Associate Professor of Musicology Carlo Caballero.
Michiko Theurer (DMA ‘17)
This summer, Theurer started a collective quilt of sonic postcards dedicated to anyone feeling disconnected during the COVID-19 crisis.
Kristin Weber (DMA ’18)
Weber was hired as instructor at Oral Roberts University and was principal oboe of the Wichita Symphony.
Abby Yeakle Held (MM ’14)
Held represented oboe maker Marigaux at the Texas Music Educators Association conference in San Antonio.