Research
Research
Brian Arreola | Dr. Brian Arreola’s research includes voice and opera. During the pandemic he composed the opera Zavala Zavala, with a libretto by Anna Deeny Morales. Zavala Zavala tells the true story of one of the first victims of the Trump administration’s family separation policy. The Washington, DC, based opera company In Series presented Zavala Zavala on their 2021-2022 season which included performances at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater.
Will Campbell | Dr. Will Campbell’s research includes jazz saxophone, jazz education, jazz composition and arranging. Most recently he was the invited guest conductor for the Texas All-State Jazz Ensemble II at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Clinic/Convention, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, in San Antonio, Texas, held February 8-11, 2023. The Texas All-State bands are regarded as the most advanced bands of their type in the country.
Mira Frisch | Dr. Mira Frisch’s research includes cello performance and pedagogy. Most recently she represented the Charlotte Symphony at the 2022 Charlotte SHOUT Festival, as a member of a string quartet performing music by Daniel Bernard Roumain, a living composer who is known for incorporating jazz and Hip-Hop into his string writing. She performed on WDAV’s Noteworthy concert series with violinist (and UNC Charlotte alumna) Alice Silva and singer-song writer Nathan Kam. Noteworthy is a program that pairs classical and non-classical musicians to perform works by Black and Brown musicians. Her ensemble, the Charlotte Strings Collective, and Hip-Hop artist YUNG Citizen performed a recital program throughout Charlotte, including a February 21, 2022, Faculty and Friends concert on the UNC Charlotte campus that doubled as a CoAA Black History month event.
James Grymes | Dr. James Grymes’ research includes musicology, 20th-century music, music of the Holocaust, and music history pedagogy. On November 10, 2022, he served as an invited speaker for a panel on “Music and the Holocaust: History, Memory, and Justice” at the United Nations.
Kristi Hardman | Dr. Kristi Hardman’s research includes timbre, form, meter, text/music relations, issues of transcription, ethics of analysis, and music theory pedagogy. Most recently she presented an invited talk entitled “Comparing Two Experiences of Beat in Tanya Tagaq’s ‘Ilunikavi'” at a symposium in honor of Dr. John Roeder held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on June 24, 2023. Her paper focused on devising a method for analyzing beat from two perspectives, Hardman’s and Tagaq’s, using ictus points in video recordings, and the cross-cultural understanding that can come from such an analysis.
Hunter Kopczynski | Dr. Kopczynski’s research areas include music conducting, wind band repertoire, and instrumental ensemble culture. Most recently, he served as a guest conductor for the US Army Field Band, the Old Dominion University Wind Ensemble, the Carolina Trombone Project, and several regional honor bands. His article entitled, “Conducting Communication” was published in the Winter 2023 North Carolina Music Educator. Recent presentations include “Less Can Be More: Artistic Innovation During Changing Times,” presented at the College Music Society Mid-Atlantic Conference in March 2023, and “Why Are We Playing This? Developing classroom Culture Through Curriculum, Creativity, and Community,” a virtual presentation in April 2022 at the University of Utah.
Jason Mitchell | Dr. Jason Mitchell’s research includes Caribbean popular music and culture; the music of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao; economic agency and music; music and cultural heritage; and music and digital media. Most recently he completed his Ph.D. dissertation titled “Sounding Out the ABCs: Music and Economic Agency in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao” and presented a paper titled “The ABCs of Social Networking: The Role of Digital Media in the Musical Culture of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao” at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Southeast/Caribbean Chapter.
Evelyn K. Orman | Dr. Orman’s research includes the use of virtual reality to enhance music teaching and learning, the effects of music on heart rate variability, the content of YouTubeTM as it relates to music teaching and learning, and Titleology. Her manuscript, co-authored with Ana Lucia Frega, entitled, “Analysis of Titles and Authors from 50 Years of ISME Research Commission Manuscripts, 1968-2018” was recently published in the International Journal of Music Education and her article entitled, “Windows and Mirrors: Characteristics of Clarinet Performers in YouTubeTM Videos” (currently in press) which examined the diversity of clarinet performers in YouTubeTM videos was presented at the International Society of Music Education (ISME) Research Commission and World Conference.
Dylan Savage | Dr. Dylan Savage’s research includes establishing the value of comprehensive universal skill learning in the music lesson and their application to life. He is author of the book The Transposed Musician: Teaching Universal Skills to Improve Performance and Benefit Life, GIA Publications. It is the first book to present a comprehensive and systematic method for teaching universal skills within the context of the music lesson. He is currently exploring the “consciousness of self” that can develop from the comprehensive application of universal skills in music performance.
Joseph Skillen | Dr. Skillen’s research includes music performance (tuba), applied music pedagogy, entrepreneurship, and curricular design. He recently performed as an invited member of the International Tuba and Euphonium Association (ITEA) Past Presidents and Friends Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble consisting of 20 selected international performers at the 2023 ITEA Conference held in Tempe, AZ on May 31, 2023.
Elizabeth Sullivan | Dr. Sullivan’s research includes applied music performance (oboe), accessibility in higher education and performance, and equity/inclusion practices in music performance. Most recently she collaborated with Trio Village to present a lecture recital tour throughout the southeastern United States featuring all music by living women composers and the group received a completed commission, The Spiral, from composer Shawn Okpebholo, funded by an Illinois Artist Grant.
Jennifer A. Whitaker | Dr. Whitaker’s research includes music teacher effectiveness, equity and diversity in music, and music technology in teaching and learning. Most recently she presented “An Analysis of Music and Music Education Diversity Statements: Values and Behaviors” at the 2022 National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Music Research and Teacher Education Conference held in Washington, DC. Her article, co-authored with Ramiro Limongi and Mariana del Valle Quainelle, entitled, “An examination of gender equity in professional instrumental and voice teaching in Argentina: A preliminary report” (currently in press) was presented at the International Society of Music Education (ISME) Research Commission and World Conference.