Music Faculty

Dr. Samantha Ryan Barnsfather

Dr. Samantha Ryan Barnsfather taught at the University of Florida and Santa Fe College (Gainesville, FL) before joining the music faculty at Bellarmine University as an Adjunct Professor of Music. She received her B.A. in Voice and History at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, KY, her M.M. in Music Education at Belmont University (Nashville, TN) and a Ph.D. in Musicology (external cognates in Vocal Performance and European History) from the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. 

Her research interests include 19th and 20th century British and Polish vocal music, music and national identity, music and gender, queer musicology, and the works of Frederick Delius and Ronald Stevenson. Dr. Barnsfather has made presentations at the Southern Chapter College Music Society Conference (Student Paper Award Recipient), National Conference of the College Music Society, American Musicological Society Southeast and Pacific Northwest Chapter Meetings, Nineteenth Century Studies Association Conference and the Society for American Music. She is the past-President of AMS’s South-Central chapter, and she has previously served as this organization as Vice-President and Program Committee Chair. She has published two essays in Salem Press’s publication Musicians and Composers of the 20th Century and has an entry on Ronald Stevenson in Grove Music Online.

Dr. Stephen M. Black

Stephen Black has performed extensively on both coasts as an organist, pianist, conductor and singer. For fourteen years he made East Harlem his home, and conducted over fifty choral concerts in the boroughs of New York City. As artistic director of Central City Chorus in NYC Dr. Black presented both classical masterworks with orchestra and NYC premieres of new works. He also served as a resident conductor of the women's chamber choir AMUSE, the Greater New Haven Community Chorus, and Yale University Battell Chapel Choir. He has frequently guest conducted ensembles such as the West Village Chorale, Harlemstage, and the Empire City Men's Chorus.

Dr. Black is also active as a concert organist and professional singer. In 1999 he was one of six finalists in the American Guild of Organists Young Artist Competition, and is a winner of the Charles Ives Prize in organ performance from Yale University. Among his recital credits are performances on the great organs of Washington National Cathedral; St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue and Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City, and St. John's Cathedral in Los Angeles. As a professional singer specializing in contemporary music, Dr. Black has sung in world premieres of new works in Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. He has performed and recorded new music with the New York Virtuoso Singers, the Gregg Smith Singers, the Society for Universal Sacred Music and the Vedantic Arts Ensemble. He has sung in vocal ensembles in concert performances by Barry Manilow and Sarah Brightman in Los Angeles.

Dr. Black holds graduate degrees in organ and choral conducting from Yale University and the University of Southern California. He is the Director of Music Ministry at St. James Catholic Church in Elizabethtown, KY.

Christina Booker

Christina Booker is a music educator and performer based in Louisville, KY. She holds two master’s degrees: one in Kodaly music education and the other in vocal music performance. With more than 10 years of teaching experience, Christina enjoys working with students of all ages and backgrounds in both group and individual settings. She began her teaching career in Muscle Shoals, Alabama before moving to Louisville and currently serves as Music Director and voice faculty for Redline Performing Arts/Redline Institute of Performing Arts, Classic Melodies Performance Institute, and is adjunct faculty at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. She has also served as a guest teaching artist with Kentucky Opera and has been featured on several other masterclasses, theatre camps, and teaching workshops. As a performer, she made her international debut as a soprano soloist for performances of Vivaldi’s Gloria in D and J.S. Bach’s Magnificat in D in Costa Rica and has been the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor and other masses and oratorios. Christina is also a choral scholar and cantor at Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville, KY. Other professional credits include Junie B. Jones the Musical (Music Director/swing) with Derby Dinner Playhouse and Once On This Island (Storyteller/Mama Euralie understudy) with Actor’s Theatre of Louisville.

David George

David George is a native of Louisville, Kentucky and received his Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Louisville where he studied with Lee Luvisi. He is a member of the piano faculty at Bellarmine University, and is staff accompanist for the Vocal Department at the University of Louisville. David has served as keyboardist and musical director of children’s musical theatre, church pianist and organist, and as accompanist for the Governor’s School for the Arts, All-County Choir, and the Louisville Suzuki String Institute. He has worked with Bryn Terfel (Ryder Cup Closing Ceremony), Jake Heggie (Composers Workshop Program), and most recently for Irish Tenor Anthony Kearns. He also appears on CD recordings of new music by past and present composition faculty at the University of Louisville. David performs regularly with many area musicians in both public and private venues. As a recitalist, chamber musician and accompanist, he has performed in a multitude of settings both in the U.S. and abroad, and is often found on the concert stage in student or faculty recitals.

Dr. S. Timothy Glasscock

Dr. S. Timothy Glasscock, Choral Director and Department Chair for the Bellarmine Music Department, has spent nearly three decades teaching and performing in the Louisville Metro area. He holds the bachelors and masters degrees from U of L and a Doctorate in conducting from University of Kentucky, and spent 12 years as Director of Vocal Studies at Youth Performing Arts School, Kentucky's only full-time high school for the performing arts. Dr. Glasscock is an active clinician and master class presenter, leading European concert tours and conducting major works with orchestra over a wide spectrum of musical literature. He has sung and conducted in 17 countries, and now serves as Artistic Director of The Louisville Vocal Project, a professional chamber choir specializing in renaissance and newly composed choral works. Glasscock's research centers on Johannes Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem, baroque-era burial music, and the intersection of music, aging, and end-of-life issues.

Jane Halliday

Violinist, Jane Halliday, is a versatile musician with extensive performance experience in a variety of musical genres. She studied violin with Paul Kling, Philipp Naegele, Peter McHugh, and Timothy Baker, and has performed with orchestras and ensembles throughout Kentucky. She has a B.A. in English from Smith College, and a B.M. in music performance and an M.A. in Humanities & Civic Leadership, both from the University of Louisville.

Jane has a rich background providing support to artists such as Stevie Wonder, Josh Groban, Smokey Robinson and Rachel Grimes, played many shows for the Broadway series at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, and currently serves as Artist-in-Residence at Christ Church Cathedral in Louisville KY. She also has an avid interest in “early music” which she has pursued over the years as a vocalist, a baroque violinist and as a viola da gambist, through study and performance with various early music ensembles.

Besides her work as a classical musician, Jane is a superb jazz violinist specializing in “gypsy jazz” which honors the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli. She is an original member of Swing ‘39, an ensemble devoted to this unique genre of swing jazz. In 2016 she and singer-songwriter, Marion Halliday, formed a band called Trickster Sister with bassist Donna Bostock. They just celebrated the release of their first EP of original music, “Walking in the Tall Grass” at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia in November 2017.

Look for more info about Jane and her music on YouTube, Facebook, Swing39.com and Trickstersister.com.

J. Bryan Heath

J. Bryan Heath, a native of Slaughters, KY, is the Bass Trombonist of the Louisville Orchestra. He has previously held positions with the Owensboro Symphony, the Illinois Symphony, and Orchestra Kentucky of Bowling Green. He completed his Doctorate in Trombone Performance at Indiana University. Bryan’s principal teachers include Raymond L. Conklin, M. Dee Stewart, and Arnold Jacobs. An active teacher, he served as Adjunct Trombone Faculty at Indiana State University from 2006-2009, and has been a guest lecturer for the Indiana University CAP program. As a freelance artist Bryan has performed with the Chicago, Nashville, Alabama, New Mexico, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati Symphonies. Having grown up on a horse farm in rural Kentucky, Bryan enjoys reaching back to his roots by serving as the lead singer, guitarist, and yodeler in the traditional Cowboy Band Suede Saddle.

Dr. Louie Hehman

Assistant Professor Louie Hehman serves as coordinator of Piano and Music Theory, as well as director of the Preparatory Music Program at Bellarmine University. Dr. Hehman is an active performer, educator, clinician, and researcher, and has performed or presented at the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Conference, the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), the MTNA Collegiate Symposium, and the Indiana, Kentucky, and South Carolina Music Teachers Association state conferences. An active adjudicator, and award-winning teacher, he served as the 2019 Chair of the Young Jury for the Arthur Frasier International Piano Competition and is a two-time recipient of the Steinway and Sons Top Teacher Award.

In 2018, Louie spent a summer studying in Vienna, Austria under acclaimed Schubert interpreter Hafez Babashahi, and in the same year participated in the South Carolina premier of Leonard Bernstein's MASS. Important teachers have included Charles Fugo, Kate Boyd, and Meme Tunnell; pedagogy mentors have included Sara Ernst, Scott Price, and current MTNA president Karen Thickstun. Louie earned his DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) degree at the University of South Carolina and also holds an MM degree in piano pedagogy from Butler University and BA degrees in Music and History from Bellarmine University. In 2021, Louie was awarded a gold medal in the Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition and was consequently a featured artist for the International Goldberg Variations Charity Project. During the summer, Dr. Hehman teaches for the highly prestigious summer music camp at Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Todd Hildreth

Todd Hildreth is instructor of jazz piano at Bellarmine University where he also teaches courses in Jazz, Pop, and Rock History. Todd's musical interest began with the accordion at 10, and moved to Jerry Lee Lewis, Frank Zappa and Queen at 12. He enrolled at Bellarmine University in 1985 with the intention of becoming an English teacher, but discovered Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett by the end of his first semester and has never looked back. He has founded or been in collaboration with groups such as The Java Men, King Kong, Liberation Prophecy, Squeeze-bot, Vgroove, The Louisville Improvisors, and the Todd Hildreth trio. He teaches at the annual Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops, leads the music program at Ascension Lutheran Church and is the musical director for The WHAS Crusade for Children's annual telethon. He has performed or recorded with Don Braden, Stephanie Courtney (Flo from the Progressive commercials), Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones, Dave Liebman, Rufus Reid, Joan Rivers, Bobby Shew, Dave Stryker, and many others.

Margaret Foote Jamner

Margaret Foote Jamner is adjunct music faculty at Bellarmine University where she teaches applied flute. Her teaching spans three decades, including The Westport School of Music (Connecticut), East-West International Music Academy (Germany), Music Academy of St. Francis in the Field (Louisville), Indiana University Southeast, and flute coach for Western Middle School in Portland (Louisville).

Margaret holds a Bachelor of Music degree in flute and a Master of Arts degree in music history from the University of Louisville. For twelve years she performed as assistant principal and second flutist in The Louisville Orchestra. Her teachers have included Francis Fuge, Robert Dick, Michael Parloff, and Keith Underwood. Margaret has performed chamber music as guest artist with the Kentucky Center Chamber Players, as faculty of the East West International Music Festival in Altenburg, Germany, and as a founding member of Concorde: The Chamber Music Society of Westport, in Connecticut. Currently she is a member of the chamber ensemble les six.

Dr. Mark Kano

Dr. Mark Kano is Assistant Professor of Music, Vocal Music Area Coordinator, and Director of Chapel Music at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY where he teaches Applied Voice, Vocal Pedagogy, Diction for Singers, Vocal Literature, Opera History, and directs the Men’s Choir and Lyric Theatre Workshop. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Middle Tennessee State University and both the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Vocal Performance from the University of Kentucky. Kano’s research is on Francesco Paolo Tosti songs and their pedagogical benefits for the undergraduate lyric tenor voice. 

Mark has performed regionally with opera companies and orchestras, such as Kentucky Opera, OperaLex, Cincinnati Opera, Nashville Opera, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, and Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as others nationally. He is a member of the American Spiritual Ensemble, as well as the National Chorale, and is a frequent recitalist. Mark served as tenor section leader and soloist for 3 years with the Lexington Singers and has also performed with as a member and soloist with the Louisville Vocal Project and Bellarmine University Oratorio Society. Kano has garnered performances in some of our nation’s leading concert venues, such as the Kennedy Center for the Arts, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall.

Mark made his international debut singing the role of Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus in Rome, Italy. Other roles in his repertoire include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Nanki Poo in The Mikado, Kaspar in Amahl & the Night Visitors, and the Witch in Hansel & Gretel. Additionally, he has performed many comprimario roles, including Gastone in La Traviata, Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, the Emperor in Turandot, Borsa in Rigoletto, Ruiz in Il Trovatore, Remendado in Carmen, as well as roles in Porgy & Bess, La Bohème, and Samson et Dalila. Kano has been the tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, Dubois’ The Seven Last Words of Christ, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, as well as other masses and oratorios.

A dedicated voice teacher, Dr. Kano’s students have been winners in various vocal competitions, participated in summer music festivals in the states and abroad, and have gone on to pursue music studies at University of Michigan Musical Theatre Program, Indiana University, Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, The Julliard School and many others. Mark was selected to participate in the prestigious NATS Intern Program at the University of Colorado-Boulder in 2018 and served as the NATS Kentucky District Governor (2017-2019). Dr. Kano is an active masterclass clinician and adjudicator and has served as Visiting Instructor of Voice at the University of Kentucky, as well as on the voice faculties of Centre College, Transylvania University, Kentucky Center Governor’s School for the Arts, and Operafestival di Roma. He serves as Director of Music at St. Marks United Church of Christ in New Albany, IN and Mid-South Region Governor for National Association of Teachers of Singing (2019-2021). 

Danny Kiely

Danny Kiely, instructor of jazz bass and director of several jazz combos, is a graduate of Bellarmine University and holds a BA in Music and Fine Art. He played in the Dominic Spera Big Band while pursuing further coursework at Indiana University. 

An accomplished performer in a wide range of styles on both upright and electric bass, Danny has performed nationally coast-to-coast and internationally in France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Canada and Japan. He has played with a wide array of artists including Ira Sullivan, Josh Ritter, BonnIe Prince Billy, and Kandace Sprigs.

Danny also has extensive experience in music production and recording. As a recording engineer, mixer and/or producer for both independent and major label artists and film, Danny has recorded projects for Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Prince Phillip Mitchel, Tyrone Cotton and many others.

Danny is a lover of all music and is particularly drawn to jazz. His teaching experience spans over three decades. And he is currently an adjunct professor teaching jazz bass at Bellarmine University.

Danny lives in Old Louisville with his wife, Catherine, and their two dogs and two cats.

Chris Kincaid

Chris Kincaid is a musician, audio engineer, and educator spending his free time building synthesizers and audio equipment.

He completed his M.M. in Music Composition at the University of Louisville writing works for opera, orchestra, and chamber ensembles. As an audio engineer Chris specializes in on-location recording of classical music. He is the recording engineer for the Louisville Orchestra and has recorded many other ensembles including the Louisville Winds, the Louisville Chamber Choir, as well as countless high school orchestras, bands, and choirs.

He lectures at Bellarmine University and the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology on topics including digital audio and recording techniques. Chris has designed innovative curriculum in applied music technology, as the laptop/midi controller combo becomes as mainstream as traditional instruments. He has presented his findings at both the International Computer Music Conference and the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) Annual Meeting. He serves as the program director of Audio Builders Workshop (ABW), a workgroup of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) which promotes DIY audio electronics education. As an active member of AES Chris has chaired the ABW technical program for several national AES conventions. Chris has presented his work related to music technology at conferences including AES, Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and American Music Therapy Association Conference.

Chris enjoys writing and performing music with modular synthesizers and continues writing concert music, most recently a string quartet inspired by the weaving traditions of Appalachia. His music can be found on Spotify, Bandcamp, and through his own website at ChrisKincaid.com.

Jonathan Mueller

Violist Jonathan Mueller has been a member of the Louisville Orchestra since 2006 and has served as Adjunct Instructor of Viola and Violin at Bellarmine University since 2009. Mr. Mueller finished his Master of Music in Viola Performance at Rice University’s Shepherd School in May of 2006 under the instruction of former Cleveland Quartet Violist, James Dunham. While at the Shepherd School, Mr. Mueller performed in master classes for the Tokyo, American and Mendelssohn Quartets. During his years at Rice, Mr. Mueller obtained orchestral experience with the Austin Symphony and the Symphony of Southeast Texas in Beaumont. He received the Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University where he studied with former LA Philharmonic Principal Violist, Alan DeVeritch. While in Indiana, Mr. Mueller was a member of the Evansville Philharmonic for two seasons. In 2002, Mr. Mueller attended the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado where he had the opportunity to perform Bach’s 6th Brandenburg Concerto. In 2003 and 2004 Mr. Mueller attended the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany, where he had the pleasure of playing under the batons of Neville Mariner, Christoph Eschenbach, Heinrich Schiff and Kurt Masur. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Mueller now lives in the Highlands with his wife Krista and their son Everett.

Marilyn Nije

Marilyn Nije graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Music Education, a Master´s degree from Manhattan School of Music and a performance certificate from the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, Holland where she studied with George Pieterson from the Concertgebouw Orchestra. She was Assistant principal Eb clarinet in the Mexico City Philharmonic for almost 20 years. Since 2009, she has lived in Louisville playing extra clarinet-Eb with the Louisville, Indianapolis, Evansville, Owensboro and Lafayette Symphony Orchestras.She is a founding member of Sinfonietta Ventus, a woodwind octet based in Mexico City and since 1990 has played clarinet and Eb with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria.

Marilyn has recorded under the direction of Carlos Miguel Prieto, Jorge Mester, Eduardo Mata and Guido Maria Guida. She is adjunct professor of clarinet at Bellarmine University and has also taught clarinet at the University of Louisville and Campbellsville Universities.With Sinfonietta Ventus and the Mexico City Philharmonic she has toured extensively in Mexico, Europe, China, Colombia and the United States.

Allison Braid Olsen

Allison Braid Olsen, cello, received a Bachelor of Music degree in Violoncello Performance from Rice University, a Master of Music degree from the University of Akron, and participated in the Professional Studies Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her teachers have included Stephen Geber (former Principal Cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra), Desmond Hoebig (former Principal Cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra), and Shirley Trepel (former Principal Cellist of the Houston Symphony).

Ms. Olsen is currently a member of the Louisville Orchestra. Her previous positions include Principal Cellist of the Akron Symphony Orchestra, Principal Cellist of the Owensboro Symphony, and the Marini String Quartet. She has participated in numerous music festivals in this country and around the world: the Lancaster Festival, Spoleto USA, Jerusalem International Symphony Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, the National Orchestral Institute, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, North Carolina School for the Arts European Tour, Grand Teton Music Festival College Seminar, and the Lakeside Summer Symphony.

In addition to Bellarmine University, Ms. Olsen teaches at Indiana University Southeast. Her previous teaching positions include the University of Akron Musical Arts Program, Cleveland Public Schools, and the Educator's Music Studio in Cleveland.

Karl Olsen

Karl Olsen received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, studying with David Dunn, and his Master of Music degree from Indiana University, studying with Bruce Bransby. Mr. Olsen also counts as invaluable his study with pedagogues Gary Karr and Stuart Sankey, as well as with Stanley Ritchie’s Baroque Orchestra.

The Louisville Orchestra first brought Mr. Olsen to Kentucky in 2001, direct from working with the illustrious New World Symphony Orchestra, a fellowship intensive orchestra under the baton of Michael Tilson-Thomas, Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. As a member of the Louisville Orchestra bass section, Mr. Olsen began performing and teaching throughout the area, and started with Bellarmine University in 2015.

Mr. Olsen also serves as Principal Bassist of Orchestra Kentucky Bowling Green, and has performed with the Cincinnati Symphony, Charleston Symphony and New Mexico Philharmonic Orchestras, with the Sarasota Opera Orchestra, and as Assistant Principal Bass for both the Evansville Philharmonic and Owensboro Symphony Orchestras.

Terry O'Mahoney

Terry O'Mahoney is Adjunct Professor of Music at Bellarmine University, where he teaches Jazz Drums, Applied Percussion, Rock Drums, Percussion Ensemble, and Jazz Combo. He is an active performer in the Louisville area with various jazz and classical ensembles, including the Louisville Orchestra. He was formerly a Professor of Music at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish (Nova Scotia, Canada), where he taught classical and jazz drumming, World Music, and directed the Latin Jazz, Percussion Ensemble, and small jazz ensembles. He is active as a performer, adjudicator, and clinician throughout the US and Canada. He holds a B.M.Ed. from the University of Louisville and a Masters in Jazz Performance from the University of Miami (FL). He also studied privately with jazz drumming legend Jeff Hamilton (Los Angeles, CA). He has performed on drumset with numerous jazz artists (Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Phil Woods, Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Heath, Lew Soloff, and others) in addition to his frequent symphonic performances with Symphony Nova Scotia (Halifax, NS) on percussion and drum set. He has three books in print - Motivic Drumset Soloing, Jazz Drumming Transitions, and 100 Essential Drumset Lessons - for the Hal Leonard Corporation. His articles have appeared in Modern Drummer and Percussive Notes magazines and his compositions have been published by Per-Mus Publications. He plays Vic Firth drumsticks and Crescent Cymbals exclusively.

Dr. Stephen Penn

Dr. Stephen Penn works in the voice area at Bellarmine University as a pianist and vocal coach. He recently served as a Guest Artist with Centre College 2015-2017. Prior to returning to Kentucky, he was Music Director of Outreach with Opera Tampa and Music Director with The University of Tampa Opera Workshop. Previously, Dr. Penn was a Lecturer in Opera with the UK School of Music. Recent engagements include pianist and vocal coach for St. Petersburg Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Central City Opera, Kentucky Opera, the Kentucky Opera Young Artist Program, and the Orlando Opera Company. Mr. Penn taught for seven summers as Music Director of the Music Theatre Discipline at the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts.

While pursuing doctoral studies in Collaborative Piano at New England Conservatory as a student of Grammy Award-winning artist Margo Garrett, Stephen worked closely with noted vocal coaches Pierre Vallet, Warren Jones, Martin Isepp, and John Moriarty. Former positions include Music Director of Opera Workshop at New England Conservatory; coaching, diction and repertoire at The Hartt School; North Carolina School for the Arts; the University of Connecticut at Storrs, and The Boston Conservatory. Dr. Penn also trained at The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, on a Gramma Fisher Fellowship for coaching studies. BM, University of Kentucky; MM, Western Michigan University; DMA, New England Conservatory of Music.

Chris Roseland

Chris Roseland holds a Bachelor of the Arts from Bellarmine University from 2011. He has an undergraduate degree in Music Performance with an emphasis in Jazz Guitar. While obtaining his undergraduate degree Chris studied with Jeff Sherman and Craig Wagner for his jazz education while simultaneously studying Classical Guitar with Stephen Mattingly and David Walker. He has been invited by organizations such as the Louisville Guitar Society, University of Kentucky Guitar Society and Bellarmine University Music Department as a featured soloist. During the 2013 Guitar Foundation of America Festival, Chris, along with the University of Louisville Guitar Ensemble, premiered Gerald Garcia “Blue Nose Ballads” before an evening concert of Aniello Desiderio. In 2014, Chris graduated from the University of Louisville with a Masters in Classical Guitar. Chris has been lucky enough to experience master classes with a great deal of brilliant artists such as Marcin Dylla, Dale Kavanagh, Denis Azabagic, and Oscar Ghiglia.

Dr. Alexander T. Simpson Jr.

Alexander T. Simpson Jr., Associate Professor, directs the Bellarmine Handbell ensemble, teaches Music Literature and teaches courses in the IDC and Veritas Programs. Dr. Simpson received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, his M.M. from Converse College, and his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky. Simpson has accompanied for the Kentucky Opera, the Charleston Opera Company, the Spartanburg Opera, the Converse College Opera Workshop, and the University of Louisville Opera Theatre.

Dr. Simpson has taught on the Music Faculty of the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts for 26 years, serving as Choral Director and Vocal Division Chairperson. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the Black Classical Artists of Louisville, an ensemble specializing in compositions by African-American composers. This group has performed throughout the Kentuckiana region as well as at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston South Carolina, boasting members who have who have performed with the Louisville Orchestra, the Cincinnati Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony, the San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera.

Both a founding member and president of the Kentuckiana Branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians, Dr. Simpson serves as advisor for the Bellarmine Black Student Union (BSU) and coordinates the annual ‘Traditional Negro Spiritual’ Voice Competition as well as many other Black History Month commemorations.

Dr. Stacy Simpson

Stacy Simpson is Instructor of Trumpet at Bellarmine University. She has been lead trumpet at Derby Dinner Playhouse for twelve years and performs regularly with the Louisville Orchestra. Stacy is a former member of the St. Louis Symphony and has performed with many of the top orchestras in the country. She has won numerous awards and competitions, including first place at the International Trumpet Guild Mock Orchestra Audition, the prestigious Fischoff Chamber Music Competition with the Canterbury Brass, the University of Louisville Solo Competition (twice), the Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music Solo Competition, and has been a featured artist on WGUC of Cincinnati, Ohio. Stacy loves sharing her passion for music-making by maintaining a full trumpet studio in her home. She has held teaching positions at Campbellsville College, Central State University, and Sinclair Community College as well at Indiana University and University of Kentucky. Stacy received her BM from University of Louisville, MM from Indiana University, and is currently working on her DMA at the University of Kentucky.

Dr. Lynn Steeves

Lynn Steeves received her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in horn performance from Stony Brook University where she studied with Ann Ellsworth and Bill Purvis. She earned her Bachelors degree in horn performance from the University of Kentucky, studying with David Elliott, and her Masters degree in horn performance from Florida State University where she studied with Michelle Stebleton and served as the horn studio's teaching assistant. In addition to teaching theory at Bellarmine, Dr. Steeves currently teaches horn sectionals at several area schools and maintains a private horn and piano studio. Dr. Steeves has performed around the country with such groups as the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the Long Island Concert Pops, and is currently first horn in the Louisville Winds.

Sonny Stephens (In Memoriam)

In Fall of 2021, the Bellarmine Music Department lost our beloved bass instructor Sonny Stephens. Sonny Stephens was a native of Louisville, KY, and held a BME from the University of Louisville where his primary instrument was flute. While at UofL, Sonny also began playing jazz bass with fellow students and trumpeters Pat Harbison and Dave Rogers. Sonny became one of Louisville’s most in-demand bassists, playing regularly with saxophonist Ron Jones and as a member of Walker & Kays, where he not only played bass but sang. Sonny studied with Rufus Reid and sited Paul Chambers, Jimmy Garrison, and George Mraz as major influences. Sonny was a greatly versatile musician who performed R&B, rock, and pop music in Japan and across the nation.

In addition to a busy performance schedule, Sonny was a truly beloved member of our department, where he taught bass and coached small jazz ensembles for many years. His impact upon our students, faculty and alumni is immeasurable and he will be dearly missed.

Meme Tunnell (Distinguished Professor Emerita)

Meme Tunnell is a former Assistant Professor of Music at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, where she taught piano and served as Staff Accompanist for thirty years, and also founded the Preparatory Music Program. She has performed as adjunct keyboardist with the Louisville Orchestra since 1988, and formerly was principal keyboardist for the Meridian Symphony, Gulf Coast Symphony, and Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestras, and the Sinfonia da Camera of Illinois. Ms. Tunnell’s recording credits include the Coronet label CDs Melancholia and Lumen, and the Centaur Records Passages, The Morning Trumpet, and Nevolution with trumpeter Michael Tunnell; Mixed Doubles with Michael Tunnell and tubist Fritz Kaenzig, on the Coronet label; Chamber Music, featuring saxophonist Joseph Lulloff, on the Veriatza label; and the 2009 TNT Productions CD Look Within with trumpeter Patrick Henry Hughes. She is a former member of the piano faculties at the University of Southern Mississippi and S.U.N.Y.-Potsdam College. Since her retirement from regular teaching in 2021, Ms. Tunnell continues to be an active presence in the music department, presenting guest lectures, masterclasses, and participating in the Oratorio Society.

Craig Wagner

Craig Wagner graduated from Bellarmine University in 1993 with a BA degree in Music and is recognized as one of the most versatile young guitarists on the jazz scene today. Craig currently teaches at Bellarmine University and the University of Louisville, Steilberg String Instruments, Kentucky Country Day School and for the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops. As a faculty member at the University of Louisville, Craig has been a performer/clinician in Poland and Brazil and has performed with many jazz luminaries including Lee Konitz, Dave Samuels, and Bill Watrous. He has also performed Rhapsody in Blue arranged for two guitars and orchestra with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Kunzel, and the Windsor Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by John Morris. Craig is featured on numerous recordings, including the Mel Bay DVD Masters of Fingerstyle Guitar Volume 2. He has several new fingerstyle guitar arrangements of jazz standards in Fingerstyle Jazz in conjunction with Warner Bros and Mel Bay. In 1998 he released an instructional/performance video called The Art of Solo Fingerstyle Jazz Guitar for Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop video series. A quick Google search yields a vast array of Craig’s musical activities. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife and three sons.

Dr. Daniel Worley

A native of Louisville Kentucky, Daniel has a D.M.A. in Music Composition from the University of Michigan and a B.M. in Theory/Composition (Guitar emphasis) from the University of Louisville. He’s received commissions from the Albany Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, SEAMUS/ASCAP, and saxophonist Timothy McAllister among others. His dissertation, Freak Show, was the first concept album accepted as a dissertation by a major composition program. In the last 15 or so years Daniel has: built and run two recording studios; produced, recorded and/or mastered more albums than he can remember, including records from his roots-rock band CityGoat, the experimental improvisation ensemble, the Trace Trio, and most recently Midnight Sun, Morning Moon with vocalist Jennifer Diamond and saxophonist Dave Clark, and High Crimes with The Afrophysicists; taught composition, electronic music, orchestration, counterpoint, guitar, music production, and the History of Rock and Roll, at UofM, UofL, Centre College, and Bellarmine University. He is currently performing as often as possible as a guitarist and/or singer-songwriter, both with jam-band 4th Street Station, and as part of the Diamond/Worley/Clark trio, and is now the newest guitarist in the Louisville-based Afrobeat band The Afrophysicists.

Andy Oberhausen

Andy Oberhausen, Adjunct Instructor of Saxophone, is a Louisville native who recently returned home after more than 20 years. He received his BM in Saxophone Performance from Vanderbilt University, a MM in Jazz Studies from College-Conservatory of Music at University of Cincinnati (CCM), and his Teacher’s Certification in Music Education from DePaul University. Andy is an active performer, educator, composer, and clinician and has lead and joined several groups including his most recent project of original music, Ida Lupino, Andy Oberhausen’s Breadwinners, Alysheba, and numerous others. Andy is currently on staff at Louisville Male High School as a sectional coach and saxophone instructor, and has held positions as the jazz band director and saxophone instructor at Buffalo Grove High School in Buffalo Grove, IL, and the general music, band, and orchestra teacher at Edgewood Middle School in Highland Park, IL. In addition, he has been a saxophone instructor at numerous other schools throughout the years and currently maintains a thriving online and home lesson studio as well. Andy had been active in numerous music scenes before returning to Louisville, including the last 14 years in the vibrant Chicago jazz and improvised music scene as well as scenes in Nashville, TN, Cincinnati, OH, Raleigh, NC, and Aspen, CO. He lives in the Highlands neighborhood with his wife Stephanie and twin sons Dash and Fisher.

Aaron Eaves

Baritone and Kentucky native Aaron Eaves is a professional singer and teacher of singing. He is currently finishing a Doctorate in Musical Arts at the University of Kentucky and recently was a hired choral fellow with the Spoleto Festival where he was a part of the production of Barber's Vanessa. In the fall of 2023 he will join the voice faculty at Bellarmine University as an adjunct professor of voice. He has performed many opera roles and recently sang the role of Papageno in The Magic Flute and Schaunard in La Boheme with the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre. He has performed other major roles such as the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Estates Theatre in Prague and Marcello in La Bohème in Croatia. He received a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College in 2018 before attending the University of Kentucky. He also performed in many productions with the Westminster Opera Theatre while at Westminster Choir College including Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus and Le Marquis de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites. He has performed in major concerts including the bass soloist in Messiah with the Garden State Philharmonic Orchestra and the title role of Elijah with the Westminster Symphonic Choir. He has also competed in many competitions and was a 2020 Alltech Vocal Scholarship Contest finalist and encouragement award winner. He was also a semifinalist at the Orpheus National Vocal Competition and a district competitor for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 Metropolitan Opera
Laffont competition.