Luke Abruzzo Music Program Director, Lecturer
215.571.3528
laa24@drexel.edu
Biography
Luke Abruzzo received his M.M. in jazz studies from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts in 1998, and a B.A. in music from the University of Pittsburgh in 1996. He is currently a full-time auxiliary instructor of music at Drexel University teaching music theory, composition and arranging, as well as guitar. Luke Abruzzo resides in the Philadelphia area and maintains an active career as a freelance guitarist and composer.
He is nationally recognized for his jazz big-band arrangements and original compositions. His work has been performed at jazz festivals in Colorado, California, and Philadelphia as well as at national conferences for the College Music Society. Locally, Luke Abruzzo is the staff arranger for Up Front, a Philadelphia based big-band. He has also brought his music to Drexel University through a series of commissions by the Drexel University Keyboard Ensemble. In the spring of 2008 he premiered his first piece for concert band, “Reflections of Prague”, written exclusively for the Drexel University Concert Band.
In December of 2008, with his band Up Front, some of Luke Abruzzo’s arrangements will be featured in a live radio broadcast in Philadelphia. He is currently working on another commissioned piece for the Drexel University Keyboard Ensemble, planning to be premiered in 2009. Also premiering in spring of 2009 is a concert band arrangement of Astor Piazzolla’s “Libertango”, to be performed by the Drexel University Concert band.
Luke Abruzzo is an active member of the College Music Society, National Association of Music Education, and the Society of composers.
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Scott D. Bacon Lecturer, Director; All-College Choir, Advisor for Pi Nu Epsilon
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Karen Banos Director; Chamber Strings Ensemble
215.895.2451
kmb53@drexel.edu
Biography
Karen is violin and viola instructor at Drexel University. She attended Carnegie-Mellon University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the New School of Music, where she studied with Jascha Brodsky. She also studied with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School for Strings, and had additional chamber music studies with Charles Castleman at the Quartet Program.
Karen is currently a member of the orchestras of the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Key West Symphony and the Philly Pops. She toured with the NYC Opera, National Company, and is also currently a regular substitute for Broadway musicals. She is a founding member and first violinist of the Rittenhouse String Quartet, and spends her summers playing with the Lake George Opera Company in Saratoga Springs, NY and the Endless Mountain Music Festival in Wellsboro, PA.
Committed to the education of the underprivileged, Karen has worked for the Institute for Arts in Education (trained by the Lincoln Center Teaching Artists) as well as the PA Arts in Education Partnership. These residencies in the city schools of Philadelphia provide music education to students who attend schools that no longer offer general music
In addition to classical performing, Karen has enjoyed performing with headlining stars like Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, Vic Damone, Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach and Bernadette Peters, to name a few. She has performed with the Trans Siberian Orchestra, and on Broadway has played in the pits for Secret Garden, Tommy, Ragtime, Boy from Oz, and West Side Story.
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Mark Beecher Director; Percussion Ensemble
215.895.2451
meb26@drexel.edu
Biography
Mark Beecher has over 30 years experience, playing and teaching worldwide. Mark attended Widener University, where he performed & toured with their Jazz Ensemble, directed by Woody Herman alumnus, John Vanore. Mark studied with Latin percussion masters Frankie Malabe and Jose Luis 'Changuito' Quintana, African drumming master Oscar Sulley, Eastern Indian drumming master T.N. Bala, and Frank Zappa drummers, Chad Wackerman & Chester Thompson.
Mark has recorded over 30 albums with a variety of artists, is a voting member of the GRAMMYs (Recording Academy), has authored a number of published works, including 'The Rudimental Percussionist' and the book, 'I.A.R.P. Rudimental Solos,' as well as his own instructional DVD, 'The Art of Ancient Rudimental Drumming,' which has been endorsed by members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony.
As a drum & percussion instructor with over 30 years experience, Mark has taught award-winning high school bands and drum corps, including the Independence Fife & Drum Corps, Valley Forge Military Academy Field Music and the Washington Memorial Pipe Band (of which he is the current Drum Sgt) and has conducted a number of Drumming & Percussion clinics and seminars with the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA).
He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, The Company of Fifers & Drummers and is the President of The National Association of Rudimental Drummers (NARD) - originally founded in 1933 and sponsored by the Ludwig Drum Company.
Mark Beecher is an endorser for Ludwig Drums, Evans Drumheads & Vic Firth Drumsticks
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Ross Browne Gospel Choir Director
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Wanda Canfield Adjunct Instructor: Piano
215.895.2451
wlc22@drexel.edu
Biography
Wanda Canfield is a graduate of Temple University with a Master of Music in Composition and a Bachelor of Music in Composition and Piano. She is a performer, songwriter and arranger. She is also a church pianist, and accompanies vocalists, instrumentalists, and choirs.
Wanda Canfield is founder and director of the Drexel University Keyboard Ensemble, and she teaches class piano, private lessons, and piano improvisation. She has taught at Drexel since 1995 and is also piano faculty at Cabrini College.
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Chennie Chen Adjunct Instructor: Cello
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Brian Dilts Adjunct Instructor: Piano
215-895-2451
bmd35@drexel.edu
Biography
Brian Dilts is an instructor of piano and music theory, and chief accompanist for the Vocal Department at Drexel University. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from West Chester University, and a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy from Temple University.
He has taught throughout the region, including at Settlement Music School and Haddonfield School Of Music. He has taught at Drexel University since 2006.
His performance career includes recitals as a soloist and vocal accompanist, in Philadelphia and the surrounding area, as well as appearances in New York and Oxford, England.
Mr. Dilts is also an active singer/songwriter. He has performed in that capacity all over the region, including Drexel's Mandell Theatre, Milkboy Coffee, and Steel City Coffeehouse. He has produced two albums of his own material, the latest an EP called 'After The Dawn'
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Rosalind Erwin Director; Symphony Orchestra
215.895.2451
rme49@drexel.edu
Biography
A flexible, creative and highly accomplished conductor, Rosalind Erwin is welcome on podiums both in the USA and abroad. Her credentials include performances with the Sofia Philharmonoc in Bulgaria; in concert under the auspices of NATO in Zagreb, Croatia; performances in Western Europe; and at home where, in six years, she built a fledgling regional orchestra in the suburbs of Philadelphia to one attarcting international attention, record executives and European solo artists.
Rosalind Erwin received her Bachelor's Degree in Clarinet Performance from the New School of Music in Philadelphia where she received an NEA Fellowship, and her Masters in Performance from Esther Boyer College of Music at Temple University where she studied with Anthony Gigliotti, Principal Clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra and was appointed Resident Conductor of the Composition Department. Rosalind Erwin is an accomplished instrumental performer, having appeared as clarinet soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony and having performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has studied with and been mentored by some of the great names in the conducting world, including Loren Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Leonard Slatkin and David Zinman. She has been honored by the Leopold Stokowsky Memorial Conducting Competition sponsored by the Rittenhouse Square Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Rosalind Erwin was the founder and creative force behind Musica 2000 – The Symphony Orchestra (2000 - 2005). Erwin commissioned works by emerging American composers, presenting world premieres both in the USA and abroad. Unique to Musica 2000, Erwin developed effective educational outreach programs, introducing not only instruments and music styles, but also involving students in the art of composition .
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Rosalind Erwin has been highly acclaimed as a conductor and educator by the legendary composer and author Samuel Adler of the Eastman School of Music. Erwin has been invited by Pennsylvania and New Jersey Music Educator Associations to guest conduct All-State, Regional and District Festival Orchestras to great acclaim. Erwin is the former Music Director and Conductor of the Delaware County Youth Orchestra, Luzerne Music Center Orchestras and Settlement Music School Advanced Studies Chamber Orchestra and Ensemble, with which she performed at The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and Independent Study Proffesor of Conducting at The College of New Jersey. Erwin has served as guest lecturer for Arcadia University's Community Scholars program, and Guest Lecturer and Celebrity Guest for the Philadelphia Orchestra Lecture/Luncheon Series.
Rosalind Erwin was hired by the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra organization in 2014 as Director and Conductor and Artistic Staff for the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra, feeder orchestra to the renowned Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, now under the administrative umbrella of the PYO Music Institute. Erwin currently teaches conducting at the Bryn Mawr Conservatory and was hired as adjunct professor of Advanced Conducting at Temple University Boyer College of Music and Dance in 2019.
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Chris Farrell Adjunct Faculty - Dance & Music; Director, Experimental Music Ensemble, Rhythmic Study for Dance, Private Lesson Instructor: Guitar
215.895.2451
cbf27@drexel.edu
Biography
Christopher B Farrell is an award-winning composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and founder of the critically acclaimed instrumental ensemble, the Rit Mo Collective. Christopher has scored music for over 100 multi-media productions including film, television, dance, and spoken word poetry. He averages over 150 live performances a year and has performed on five continents during his 30-year career as a musician.
Samples of his work can be found at the following sites –
Mud: Bodies of History, Red Earth Calling, Sound Cloud and Trombo.
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Dennis Fortune Adjunct Instructor; Piano
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Dr. Eve Friedman Director; Chamber Brass & Winds Ensemble
215.895.2451
eaf79@drexel.edu
Biography
Eve Friedman is a modern and historical flutist. She has recently performed with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Philly Pops, the Delaware Symphony, Opera Philadelphia, American Bach Soloists, and Tafelmusik. She is the flutist and president of The Halcyon Consort, Inc., a mixed chamber ensemble based in Philadelphia. She can be heard on recordings with Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra Tempesta di Mare and the world music ensemble EZUZ. Her performances have been broadcast on NPR and the CBC.
Her solo playing has been called “particularly fine” by the Washington Post. About her book, Tone Development on the Baroque Flute, the journal Early Music America wrote, “This carefully researched, imaginative book should be on every baroque flutist’s bookshelf.”
Dr. Friedman served for many years on the National Flute Association's Historical Flutes Committee, and has also been a judge/guest artist for the American Musicological Society, San Francisco Conservatory, and the Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia.
She received her Master of Music from Boston University (as a student of Boston Symphony Orchestra principal flutist Doriot Anthony Dwyer) and holds a Doctor of Music from Indiana University. Her current faculty appointments include Rowan, Drexel, and Temple Universities.
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Bruce Kaminsky Director; Mediterranean Ensemble
215.895.2451
bk46@drexel.edu
BiographyBruce attended West Chester College for Music Education and Gratz College for Jewish Liturgical Music, earned both an M.M. and B.M. degrees from Combs College of Music, Philadelphia. He studied double bass with Dr. Irving Cohen, Mr. Albert Stauffer and Mr. Eligio Rossi.
Since 1990, Bruce, has been on the music faculty of Drexel University, where he teaches Music History and Bass Studies along with directing the Drexel Mediterranean Ensemble performing music from the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans. He is also on the faculty of Montgomery County Community College, teaching Music History.
Bruce Kaminsky is the designer and president of the KYDD Products, Inc., manufacturer of KYDD Basses sold internationally and used by the bassists with John Legend, Lou Reed, Katy Perry and the Emmy Awards. He is also the designer of the KYDD Bass Lab made in conjunction with the Roland Corporation. He is a member of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) and holds two U.S. patents.
Bruce Kaminsky has been a bassist on more than fifty recordings. He has performed at the United Nations for the signing of the Israeli/Jordanian Peace Accord, the Jewish Music Festival - Berlin, Germany, Faro Chamber Ensemble Festival-Faro Portugal and the World Café in Philadelphia. Bruce has performed with international artists, including Simon Shaheen (Palestinian), Samuel Heifetz (Latvian), Edmond Joseph (Iranian), Geoffrey Williams (British), Boaz ben Moshe (Israeli), Hamit Golbasi (Turkish), Henrik Goldschmidt (Danish) and Adib Rafela (Egyptian). Maurice Chedid (Lebanese). Bruce Kaminsky has also performed with The Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra. In the jazz world, he has performed with Tal Farlow, Jimmy Knepper, Larry Coryell, Eddie Daniels, and Jimmy Bruno. As a production member of the International Association of Jazz Education (IAJE), Bruce worked directly with Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea and Dave Holland.
Bruce has authored articles including, “Converting Rock Musicians to Play Jazz,” Downbeat Magazine November 1982 and “Tips From the City Of Brotherly Bass,” Bass Player Magazine June 2004.
Radio and television appearances include: WHYY: “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” WRTI: “Crossroads with Jill Pasternak and Jack Berkel,” ABC: “Good Morning Philadelphia,” NBC: “AM Philadelphia,” and NJN: “New Jersey Live with Mary Cumming.”
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James McKinney Assistant Professor, Music and Music Industry
jcm472@drexel.edu
Biography
James McKinney is an experienced creative professional having spent nearly 20 years as an executive manager with various media and music companies. He is also an accomplished engineer, producer, songwriter, arranger, film-scorer, keyboardist, vocalist, musical director, educator and philanthropist. In James’ experience as producer and music director he has worked with Doug E. Fresh, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, , Faith Evans, Chuck Brown, Wale, Rachell Ferrell, Kenny Lattimore, Raheem Devaughn, Bankie Banx, Kenny Burrell, James Moody, and more. His performance, co-writing and co-production also contributed to two Grammy Nominated Performances in the Urban Alternative category.
In addition to these accomplishments, James has scored for film, television and web and most recently contributed to the score and sound-track for the award winning films “My Last Day Without You” and “S.O.U.L Of A Black Woman.” His scoring credits also include commercial scores for Discovery Channel and Johnson & Johnson to name a few.
McKinney currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Eusonia Records, and also owns and operates Infinite Icon Enterprises, LLC, his production company. James also uses his skills to enhance the human condition through philanthropy and education globally. In fact within the last few years, James has performed concerts, educational workshops in music and music business in 7 countries including China, Taiwan, England, Papua New Guinea, Anguilla and Haiti. His work in Anguilla also garnered a 2021 Tec Award Nomination for Studio Design for AMA Recording, the studio he co-designed and built in The AMA Center, a caribean hub for technology and innovation which he also happens to co-manage. He recently completed several terms as a National Co-Chair of the Producers and Engineers Wing of the Grammys; and as a Trustee of the Board of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, (also know as The Grammy Association).
James counts his musical talents, business savvy and experience as a blessing and looks forward to continuing to use these gifts for the betterment and empowerment of people needing and seeking positive inspiration around the world, as he continues to share his and other’s music globally through live performance and recorded music.
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Melissa Menago Adjunct Instructor: Songwriting, Voice
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Roberto Pace Adjunct Instructor: Music Theory
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Dr. Domenic Pisano Director; Concert Band & Pep Band
215.895.2451
djp368@drexel.edu
BiographyDr. Pisano has been a music educator for over 25 years, starting his career right here in Philadelphia as an orchestral teacher at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. He spent five years as a 4-12 instrumental teacher at the Upper Perkiomen School District, before becoming the Music Department Chair and instrumental music teacher at Concord High School in Wilmington, Delaware, where he taught Wind Ensemble, Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Music Theory, Jazz, and Music & Film Production. He has also Directed ten honor bands through Europe with American Music Abroad.
Dr. Pisano is currently the Coordinator of Visual and Performing Arts for the Brandywine School District, serving over 60 teachers in 16 schools with over 8,000 Visual and Performing Arts students.
Dr. Pisano has written extensively about music education including, “Music Educators: Investigating the Relationship Between Undergraduate Music Education, State Certification, and Professional Responsibilities”, and he was a contributing author for a chapter in the book “Creative Music Making at Your Fingertips: A Mobile Technology Guide for Music Educators”. He has also edited several pieces of band literature with his mentor, Dr. Jack Stamp. Dr. Pisano has also served as a clinician, guest speaker, adjudicator, guest conductor, and lecturer for Universities, DMEA & PMEA and worked on educational policy with various state agencies.
A longtime member and teacher of Bands,
Dr. Pisano is excited for this opportunity to create music with the talented students of Drexel University. Go Dragons!
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Lynn Riley Lecturer, Director; Fusion Band
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Rebecca Siler Private Lesson Instructor: Voice
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Dr. Daniel Spratlan Director; University Chorus and Chamber Singers
215.895.2451
dms542@drexel.edu
Biography
Dr. Daniel Spratlan is currently in his second year as director of the Drexel University Chorus and Chamber Singers. This also marks his 10th season as Director of Music at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill. Previously, he has served on the conducting faculties at Haverford College, Temple University, and Rutgers University. He earned his DMA in Choral Conducting from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, his MM in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College, and BA in Music from Earlham College.
An active professional singer, he is in his 15th season singing with the two-time Grammy Award-winning choir The Crossing with whom he has recorded two dozen albums. Many of The Crossing's 110 commissioned works focus on social, environmental, and political issues, and Dr. Spratlan hopes to share several of these works with the Drexel community. He has performed as a soloist and professional chorister with ensembles such as the New York Choral Artists, Clarion Choir, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Concert Chorale of New York, Opera Philadelphia, Piffaro, Tempesta di Mare, San Francisco Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in venues such as Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, the Kimmel Center, and Walt Disney Concert Hall.
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Dr. George Starks Professor Emeritus
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Brent White Lecturer, Director, Jazz Orchestra & Jazztet
Coordinator, Arts and Culture Hub at the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships
215-895-1732
bw352@drexel.edu
Biography
Brent White is a lifelong Philadelphian and jazz enthusiast. Mr. White understands Philadelphia’s rich cultural community; its leaders, history, musicians, connectors, and politics. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Widener University, a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of the Arts, and a certificate in non-profit management from LaSalle University. He has toured nationwide and internationally as a freelance trombonist to the world’s largest Jazz festivals, yet possesses the local field experience, and relationships with many of Philadelphia’s non-profits with a career focus that can be summarized in one word—Jazz.
Previously, Mr. White has worked as the Education Program Manager at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, designing and implementing outreach education programming for Philadelphia students. Mr. White has taught jazz in the Philadelphia Prison System, the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts, in the Camden New Jersey City School system, and as Director of Jazz Orchestra at Drexel University. Residencies included the Juilliard School of Music outreach Department (Bay Area Tour), where he provided jazz workshops in juvenile detention centers, children’s hospitals, and schools in the San Francisco Bay area.
As a trombonist, Mr. White has toured with the likes of John Legend (Indonesia), Kindred Family Soul (South Africa), and the Sun Ra Arkestra (Europe). Mr. White has been welcomed to the stage by Lady Alma, and has recorded in-studio for Patti Labelle. Mr. White is no stranger to the Philadelphia and New York jazz scenes where currently, he performs with Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band, Josh Lawrence and Color Theory, and the Fresh Cut Orchestra, among other ensembles. Most recently, Mr. White composed and recorded his album Broken Toy dedicated to children who suffer trauma caused by losing a parent to incarceration.
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Gregory Wright Director; Rock Ensemble
215.895.2451
gjw28@drexel.edu
Biography
Greg Wright is the guitar instructor at Drexel University, he also directs the Rock Ensemble, which performs at Drexel and coordinates recording with music industry classes. When he is not teaching, Greg performs on guitar, plectrum banjo, electric bass, mandolin & ukulele.
Greg’s undergraduate degree is from Combs College and he has previously taught jazz guitar at Swarthmore College & Widener University. He also coordinates all music courses at Harcum College.
Greg is the director and co-creator of Summer Music Programs, Inc., which develops skills of young musicians in professional recording, performance and rehearsal disciplines. This program received “Best of Philly” 2008 Philadelphia Magazine for best summer camp and 2007 Coolest Camps on the Main Line, Main Line Magazine.
Greg was a bandleader for SWING SHIFT, a versatile, small Big Band that performed events and concerts throughout the tri-state area from 1988 until 2008. Greg’s interest in banjo and the music of New Orleans & traditional jazz started in the 1990’s as he led the Bid Easy Dixieland Band. He also currently performs Hot Jazz with Drew Nugent & The Midnight Society and is a member of the Wild Bohemians, a thirty-year Philadelphia tradition of NOLA street music.
In addition, you will find Greg strolling vintage train excursions, singing and playing banjo in West Chester and New Hope, and performing holiday music. Vintage rock band, traditional/modern celtic music, solo acoustic guitar gigs, jazz trios are all current activities that still fill his schedule.
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