Institute Team • Advisory Councils

Executive Advisory Council

Our Executive Advisory Council comprises composers, conductors, performers, scholars, educators, journalists, librarians, and administrators from across the country. The role of the Executive Advisory Council is to collaborate with the administrative team in an advisory capacity by providing feedback and ideas on our many initiatives and resources.

Katie O’Connor
Composer, Conductor, Music Editor

Marcos Balter
Composer, Montclair State University

Carolyn Bennett
Educator, Wheeler MS/HS, North Stonington, CT

Abbie Betinis
Composer & Executive Director, Justice Choir

Penny Brandt
Managing Director, Golden Hornet

Courtney Bryan
Composer & Pianist

Catharine Bushman
Wind Ensemble Conductor & Assistant Professor of Music Education, St. Cloud State University

Mason Bynes
Composer & Vocalist

Fred Child
Host, “Performance Today” (American Public Media)

Cecilia Clark
Director of Bands, Altoona High School, Atlanta, GA

Laura Colgate
Violinist, Co-Founder of Boulanger Initiative

Logan Contreras
Founder, Kassia Database & Artist-in-Residence, Colorado State University, Pueblo

Lisa Crawford
Geffen Academy, UCLA

Christine D’Alexander
Assistant Professor of Music Education, Northern Illinois University

Chelsea Marcelle Daniel
Pianist & co-founder of Exposure TV

Brent Michael Davids
Composer, citizen of the Mohican Nation

Sheena Dhamsania
Educator, Teton County School District, Jackson, WY

Shane Dittmar
Legally-blind composer, Advocate for disabled composers

Mary Lynn Doherty
Associate Professor of Music Education, Northern Illinois University

Brian Doyle
Director of Bands, Crane School of Music

Corey Dundee
Composer & Saxophonist

Jaman E. Dunn
Assistant Conductor/Community Engagement, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

Julie Duty
Founder & Executive Director, United Sound,Inc.

Afa Sadykhly Dworkin
President & Artistic Director, Sphinx Foundation

Philip Ewell
Theorist/Cellist, Hunter College

Micah Ewing
Supervisor of Music, Sycamore School District, Sycamore, OH

Nadège Foofat
Orchestra Conductor

Robin Giebelhausen
Associate Professor of Music Education, U. of New Mexico

Lina Gonzalez-Granados
Artistic Director, Unitas Ensemble

Scott Harrison
Interim Executive Director, Louisiana Philharmonic

Lee Hartman
Artistic Director, Mid-America Freedom Band

Jennifer Higdon
Pulitzer Prize-winning Composer, Curtis Institute

Brandon Houghtalen
Associate Director of Bands, The University of Texas at El Paso

Eric Hung
Executive Director of Music, Asian American Research Center

Jennifer Jolley
Composer, Lehman College

Laura Karpman
Composer, Alliance for Women Film Composers, AMPAS

Chris Kim
Orchestral Conductor, Occidental College & Cornell College

Tremon Kizer
Director of Athletic Bands, University of Central Florida

William L. Lake, Jr.
Associate Director of Bands, Crane School of Music

Alexis Lamb
Composer, Percussion, & Educator

Brian Lauritzen
Host, Classical KUSC-FM

Alecia Lawyer
Artistic Director, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra

John Lynch
Director of Bands, Sydney Conservatorium of Music

Sarah McKoin
Director of Bands, Texas Tech University

Garrett McQueen
Host, “Music Through the Night” (Minnesota Public Radio) & “Trilloquy” podcast

Brett Mitchell
Music Director, Sunriver Music Festival

Martha Mooke
Composer & Violist

Tito Muñoz
Music Director, Phoenix Symphony

Niloufar Nourbakhsh
Iranian Female Composers Association

Katia Osorio
Pianist & co-founder of Exposure TV

Lori Schwartz Reichl
Educator, Journalist, & Speaker

Amy Rever
Educator, Hart Middle School, Rochester, MI

Denise Rivera
Puerto Rican Voice and Piano Instructor, La Crosse, WI

Daniel Roumain
Composer & Violinist, Arizona State University

Kamala Sankaram
Composer, SUNY Purchase

Alex Shapiro
Composer, Member of the ASCAP Board of Directors

Jon Silpayamanant
Founder and Cellist, Suhl Ensemble

Jordan Randall Smith
Orchestra Conductor, Susquehanna University & Symphony Number One

Ingrid Stölzel
Composer, University of Kansas, International Alliance for Women in Music

Joel Thompson
Composer & Conductor

Emily Threinen
Director of Bands, University of Minnesota

Cynthia Johnson Turner
Dean, Faculty of Music, Wilfrid Laurier University

Lynn Tuttle
Director of Public Policy, Research, and Professional Development at National Association for Music Education

Matthew Vest
Music Librarian, UCLA

Helena von Rueden
Director of Choral Activities, Hampden-Sydney College, Director, The Piedmont Singers of Central VA

Jacob Wallace
Director of Bands, South Dakota State University

Kensho Watanabe
Orchestra Conductor

Alfred Watkins
President, Minority Band Directors National Association

Melissa Wertheimer
Music Reference Specialist, Library of Congress

Evan Williams
Composer & Conductor, Rhodes College

Peter Witte
Dean, Conservatory at University of the Pacific

Seth Parker Woods
Cellist, University of Chicago

Ed Yim
Chief Content Officer, WQXR-FM