Faculty by Area

Office: Music Building, Room.25
Phone: 509-313-4308
Email: stohlmann@gonzaga.edu

Dr. Meg Stohlmann is the director of choral and vocal studies at Gonzaga University where she conducts the Glee Club, Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. In addition, Meg also serves as the director of the Spokane Symphony Chorale. Most recently, she served as assistant professor of choral music education in the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. There she conducted the Appalachian Glee Club, Appalachian Chorale, Appalachian Youth Chorale, and mentored many pre-service music educators. Dr. Stohlmann is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association and serves on the Northwest region’s board. She was also selected as one of six conductors to participate in the ACDA International Conductor’s Exchange program. She will host a conductor from Germany and travel to Germany in the summer of 2023 to represent the United States. Originally from Santa Rosa, California, Meg taught choir and guitar at the middle and high school level in Lexington, KY for six years and conducted the Danville Children's Choir. Her children's choir and high school advanced women's choirs performed at the Kentucky Music Educators State Conference in 2014 and 2015, respectively. She earned her Doctoral of Musical Arts Degree at the University of Washington and Masters degree in Voice Performance and Choral Conducting from the University of Kentucky. A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Meg also served on active duty in the Air Force for 5 years in Arizona, Korea and Germany. She separated from the military in 2004 to pursue a second bachelor's degree in Music Education at Sonoma State University. Meg's lifelong love of choral music began as a charter member of the Santa Rosa Children's Chorus where she sang for over 10 years and credits with her decision to make music education her career.

Office: St. Gregory Choral Hall, Rm. 103
Phone: 313-6889
Email: prestond@gonzaga.edu

Darnelle Scarbrough Preston graduated from San Francisco State University, Magna Cum Laude, with her B.M. in Music Education, and received her M.M. in Vocal Performance from Boston University. Ms. Preston has appeared with the Utah, Carmel, Washington D.C. Masterworks, Handel & Haydn Society, Muncie, Nashville, and Billings symphonies. Her solo appearances throughout the Northeast have included performances of Bach’s “b minor Mass” and “St. John Passion”, Handel’s “Messiah”, Haydn’s “Creation” and Poulenc’s “Gloria”. In opera, her performances have included the Countess in “Le Nozze di Figaro”, the Cake Box Lady in Argento’s “Postcard from Morocco”, Mimi in “La Boheme”, and Lady Billows in Britten’s “Albert Herring”. Her musical theatre roles have included Madame Thenardier (Les Miserable), Ruth (Pirates of Penzance), Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd), Jack’s Mother (Into the Woods), Mrs. Sowerberry (Oliver), and Mrs. Fairfax (Jane Eyre). She has performed throughout southern France and recorded with the Robert Shaw Choeur d’Atlanta. Locally, Ms. Preston has performed with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra, Allegro: Baroque and Beyond, Zephyr, Spokane Opera, Connoisseur Concert’s Northwest Bach Festival and Mozart in Manito, Spokane Choral Artists, Coeur d’Alene Summer Theater, and Spokane Valley Summer Theatre. She is currently a member of the Vocal Faculty at Gonzaga University, and teaches Applied Voice, Lyric Diction, and Class Voice.

Office: Music Building, Room 26
Phone: (509) 313-6792
Email: hamlin@gonzaga.edu
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Dr. Peter J. Hamlin is Associate Professor of Music at Gonzaga University, Chair of the Music Department, Director of Bands, and oversees the Music Education degree program. At Gonzaga, Dr. Hamlin directs the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds as well as teaches coursework in music education and ethnomusicology. He is also the faculty advisor to the Gonzaga University Collegiate Chapter of the National Association for Music Education.

Dr. Hamlin is in frequent demand as a conductor, lecturer, and music performance adjudicator. He has given presentations at conferences both nationally and internationally and is published in numerous journals. His research areas explore the constructs of deliberate practice and the development of expertise in addition to music assessment, psychometrics, and quantitative research methodology.

Dr. Hamlin taught high school band in the state of Florida for nine years where he led a very successful program that included multiple concert bands, marching band, jazz ensemble, indoor color guard and percussion, and multiple chamber ensembles.  Dr. Hamlin received his Ph.D. and Bachelors degrees in Music Education from the University of Miami in Florida and was awarded a Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Connecticut.  While there he was the Graduate Assistant Director of the marching band, women’s varsity basketball pep band, and the concert band. 

Dr. Hamlin holds memberships in the College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Education, International Society for Music Education, Washington Music Educators Association, College Music Society, Society for Ethnomusicology, Society for Music Perception and Cognition, and the International Clarinet Association.

Office: Music Hall, Room 105
Phone: (509) 313-6733
Email: brummett@gonzaga.edu

 

Jennifer Brummett received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Juilliard School and a Master of Music degree at Southern Methodist University. She has been Principal Horn of the Spokane Symphony from 2002-14 and a member of the Solstice Quintet 2004-2009. Prior to joining the Spokane Symphony, Jennifer played Assistant Horn in the Fort Worth Symphony 1996-2002 and subbed in the Dallas Symphony, including recordings of Prokofiev's Scythian Suite, Shostakovich's 7th Symphony and Mahler Symphonies 2, 3, and 6.

Jennifer has performed at the Tanglewood Institute, the Chautauqua Festival, the Waterloo Festival, the Spoleto USA Festival, the Music in the Mountains Festival (Durango,CO), and as Principal Horn of the Utah Festival Opera. She performed with the Solstice Quintet at the Orcas Center in June of 2007. Jennifer is on faculty at Gonzaga University and Whitworth University. As a soloist, she has performed the Schumann Konzertstück with the Florida West Coast Symphony, the Mozart Concerto No. 2 with the Spokane Symphony, the Saint-Saens Morceau de Concert with the Spokane Falls Concert Band, the Britten Serenade with the Texas Chamber Orchestra, and many others. Ms. Brummett also played Principal Horn on Frank Sinatra’s Diamond Jubilee International Tour.

Office: Music Hall
Phone: (509) 313-6733
Email: churchj@gonzaga.edu
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John, a native of the northwest, began his trombone and musical career in the sixth grade, then a year later began taking private lessons with Michael Oft.  Once in high school, John joined the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and subsequently joined the Portland Youth Philharmonic.  After graduating high school in 2011, he began his undergraduate studies at the University of Oregon, studying with Henry Henniger, where he graduated in 2015.  John would then start his professional work as an orchestral trombonist, subbing with multiple orchestras in Oregon, including: Oregon Symphony, Eugene Symphony, Portland Opera, Astoria Music Festival, Newport Symphony, Mozart Players, and Salem Chamber Orchestra.

After his time as an undergraduate, John decided to further his studies as a Master’s student at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, studying with Allen Barnhill. Within his first year, he performed with the Shepherd Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and won his first professional job with the Portland Opera as their principal trombonist. In his second year, John went on to win the Shepherd School of Music concerto competition in the winds/brass/percussion/harp division with the Nino Rota trombone concerto. He will perform the Rota sometime during the 2018-2019 school year.

At the end of Portland Opera’s 2018 season John won the Spokane Symphony one year principal trombone audition. He will start with the symphony in September 2018 and will begin teaching low brass at Gonzaga University.  

Office: Music Hall, Room 108
Phone: (509) 313-6733
Email: cookc@gonzaga.edu

Chris Cook received his Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music and is a longtime member of the Spokane Symphony. Additionally, he is the trumpet soloist at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes.  Chris is also Spokane's former poet laureate and has authored two poetry collections.  He regularly hosts live spoken-word events.

Office: Music Annex, Room 106
Phone: (509) 313-6733
Email: McElroy@gonzaga.edu

Colleen McElroy is the Piccolo and Second Flute with the Spokane Symphony and Second Flute for the Boise Philharmonic in Idaho. She is also a member of Emissary Quartet, an ensemble of four flutes that performs and teaches across the US. She has been teaching flute privately to students of all ages for over ten years. Colleen holds a Master of Music in Flute Performance from Boston University and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Washington. Her primary teachers are Linda Toote, Donna Shin, Iris Ingram, and Zart Eby. For the past several years, Colleen has specialized in piccolo performance and orchestral playing. She also enjoys playing chamber music and contemporary flute repertoire whenever the opportunity arises. Outside of her career as a flutist, Colleen is an avid runner, backpacker, and skier. She loves to cook and bake for friends and family and enjoys knitting. 

Phone: (509) 313-6733
Email: repsold@gonzaga.edu

Andrew Repsold earned a Bachelor of Arts from Whitworth University in 2013 and a Masters in Music from Eastern Washington University in 2016. His awards include Spokane’s Scholar of Fine Arts (2009), Whitworth’s Presser Scholar (2013), Elmhurst Jazz Festival “Outstanding Soloist” (2013) and two-time concerto co-winner (Whitworth, 2013. EWU, 2016). In addition to teaching at Gonzaga, he performs locally in musicals, is a substitute with the Spokane Symphony, teaches a private studio of over twenty students, and is a percussion clinician for local high schools.  

Office: Music Building, Room 21
Phone: 509-313-6734
Email: hekmatpanah@gonzaga.edu
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A native of Chicago, cellist Kevin Hekmatpanah has presented hundreds of solo and chamber performances throughout the country. He has made over one hundred and twenty solo concerto appearances with various ensembles. Mr. Hekmatpanah has released a compact disc recording containing cello sonatas by Franck, Debussy, and Chopin. Deeply committed to teaching, Mr. Hekmatpanah is a Professor of Music at Gonzaga University, where he has taught since 1994. He recently received an Exemplary Faculty Award for his Academic Citizenship. He is currently a member of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. He has previously served on the faculty of Middle Tennessee State University and has taught cello at the Governor’s School for the Arts. He has served on competition juries, and he has presented master classes and clinics throughout the country. In addition to being the first cellist to earn a DMA from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, he also holds a MM from Indiana University and a BM from the University of Southern California. His teachers have included such nationally renowned pedagogues as Stephen Kates, Fritz Magg, and Gabor Rejto, and he has received coaching from such internationally celebrated artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, and Janos Starker.

As a conductor Kevin Hekmatpanah begins his twenty-fourth year as Music Director of the Gonzaga Symphony Orchestra. In this capacity he has performed a large portion of the standard repertoire for orchestra, as well as premieres of new music. He has also organized and presided over the Young Artists’ Concerto/Aria Competition, which gives the opportunity for young musicians to present a concerto with the ensemble.

Phone: (509) 313-5911
Email: carper@gonzaga.edu

Nick Carper graduated from Columbus State and Butler Universities. Nick has performed throughout the U.S. in various capacities, as principal, chamber musician, and soloist. He is currently an instructor at Gonzaga University.

Office: Music Mansion
Phone: (509) 313-6733
Email: moodyj@gonzaga.edu

Jason Moody is an active violinist, conductor, and teacher based in the Pacific Northwest. He is currently Associate Concertmaster of the Spokane Symphony and has performed regularly as a substitute with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Houston Symphony. He is the Director of Orchestra at Spokane Falls Community College, teaches violin and String Techniques at Gonzaga University, and serves as an orchestra clinician at schools and festivals around the region. He has appeared as concerto soloist with the Spokane Symphony, Thalia Symphony, Coeur d'Alene Symphony, Idaho State Symphony, Helena Symphony, Port Angeles Symphony, the Seattle Chamber Orchestra, and was featured as soloist at the Northwest Bach Festival, the Festival at Sandpoint, and Sacred Sounds at McCaw Hall. As a chamber musician he performs with the Selway Trio, the Cascade Duo with his wife, harpist Earecka Tregenza, and has performed with Chamber Music San Juans, Inverted Space Modern Ensemble in Seattle, the Spokane String Quartet, Musiqa New Music Ensemble in Houston, and faculty ensembles at Gonzaga, Whitworth, and University of Idaho. 

Phone: (509) 313-6733
Email: plewniak@gonzaga.edu

Kim Plewniak holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music. Kim instructs at Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, and Whitman College and maintains a private studio.

Office: Music Mansion, Room 25
Phone: (509) 313-6733
Email: moody@gonzaga.edu
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Earecka Tregenza earned a Master of Music from Rice University, Shepherd School of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She attended the Royal Conservatory of Music, Glenn Gould School. Earecka is an instructor at Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University and Whitworth University.

Office: Music Annex, Room 006A
Phone: (509) 313-4339
Email: hunterc@gonzaga.edu

Colleen Hunter, DMA, NCTM, teaches applied and class piano at Gonzaga University, Spokane. She maintains a private piano studio in her home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, teaching a wide range of ages and levels from children to adults.

Nationally and state certified with MTNA, Dr. Hunter is an active member of the Spokane Chapter and the North Idaho Chapter and their respective state associations. She is president of SMTA, District VII Vice-President for WSMTA and Immediate Past President of the North Idaho Music Teachers. She has served as chair of the College Faculty Forum and as Adjudicator Chair while on the WSMTA Board of Education. She has served as chair of the Independent Music Teachers Forum (IMTF), and as chair of Adjudications and Musicianship Exams at the local level and assisted in developing the annual Musicianship and Performance Festivals of the NIMTA chapter. Active as an adjudicator, Dr. Hunter also shares her passion for music as a workshop clinician, performer, collaborative artist, church musician, and choir director.

Her interest in providing arts to the community led Dr. Hunter to co-chair the entertainment committee the past several years for Art on the Green, an annual summer arts festival put on by Citizen’s Council for the Arts in Coeur d’Alene where more than thirty groups are scheduled over three days in August. She has co-hosted a winter Music Lecture Series supported by the CCA organization and coordinates home concerts in the Coeur d’Alene area. Additionally, encouraging younger artists by collaborating with them at solo and ensemble and other school events has become a rewarding endeavor. Her own students have been successful in many areas, including honors in the Carol Klotz Composition Competition, WSMTA's Young Composer Project, the Coeur d'Alene Symphony's melody contest, the Royal Conservatory of Music Certificate Program, the Spokane Piano Competition, and MusicFest Northwest.

Dr. Hunter holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and a Master of Music in piano performance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City where she studied with Richard Cass. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Seattle Pacific University where she studied with Marcile Mack. She studied with Margaret Saunders Ott, Spokane, for several years and worked with Dr. Bela Nagy of Boston University while in Sion, Switzerland.

Dr. Colleen Hunter and her husband, Sam Hunter, Ph.D., have two children, Scott, a college graduate, and Abby, a college student. Their home is filled with much music, conversation, laughter, and creative activity.

Office: Music Hall, Room 108
Phone: (509) 313-5910
Email: presley@gonzaga.edu

Mr. Presley was a winner of the William Petschek scholarship as well as the competitive piano minor teaching fellowship at Juilliard. He has appeared as soloist with the Spokane Symphony, the Washington-Idaho Symphony, and the Yale Symphony and has performed many concertos with the Spokane Opera Orchestra.

He made a career of working with modern dancers after graduation, first with the Martha Graham Company in New York, and then on the dance faculty of Florida State University. He has premiered a number of composers’ works written especially for dance, revived a great deal of 20th century music used for modern dance and was invited to showcase the piano works of Robert Muczynski at the Music Teacher National Convention in Miami in 1990.

As a composer himself, he has written many works for dance and solo piano. Since his return to Spokane, he has been active as a soloist and accompanist including work for several productions of the Spokane Opera and as part of a duo-piano team with Kendall Feeney.

He served as a member of the piano faculty in the Music department of Eastern Washington University in the spring of 2001 and has been a member of the piano faculty at Gonzaga University since the Fall of 2001. Some of his students have been prize winners in state and local competitions and a number have gone on to have careers in music.

He performs regularly as the principal keyboard player for the Spokane Symphony, as  a chamber musician and as part of two-piano duos. He was selected by Gunther Schuller to play Beethoven's own arrangement of the Grosse Fuga for 4 hands with Christopher O'Reilly in 2010, and recently accompanied Thomas Hampson for the 10^th Anniversary Gala of the Fox Theater in Spokane. He accompanied Zuill Bailey in Michael Daugherty's Grammy Award winning new piece, Tales of Hemingway, in December, 2017 and also in the two Haydn cello concertos in the Spokane Bach Festival March 2018.

He has presented many workshops and sessions for WSMTA at state conferences and districts conferences and is a frequent adjudicator and competition judge in Washington, Idaho and Montana.

Office: Music Building, Room 22
Phone: (509) 313-6735
Email: fague@gonzaga.edu
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David Fague is an enthusiastic teacher in his academic courses, ensemble courses, and as director of the Bulldog Band. He is an active performer in several professional music groups in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area including The Spokane Jazz Orchestra (Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Acoustic Bass), The Justin James Band (Tenor Saxophone, Electric Bass, Vocals), Funky Uncle (Electric Bass), as well as various smaller jazz ensembles that play around the area. David is a devoted husband and father of three children. When not in a classroom, in a rehearsal hall, on a stage, or in The Kennel, you will find him with his family on a ski hill, in a lake, on a hike, on a beach, in the ocean, on a baseball field, in church, or in the back yard barbecuing a pork shoulder or brisket.

Office: Music Hall, Room 103
Phone: 509-313-5943
Email: abeid@gonzaga.edu

Mellad graduated from Gonzaga University with a BA in Music Composition in 2002. Since then, he has worked as an adjunct guitar instructor at Gonzaga University and private guitar instructor at St. George's School and Colville High School. Mellad is a patient, yet highly skilled, instructor who is well versed in a variety of musical genres, including Classical, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Commercial, Country, Celtic and Broadway. As an international guitar performer, songwriter and record producer, Mellad is a dynamic instructor who brings a wealth of real-world expertise to the classroom.

For the past several years, Mellad has been fortunate to write and arrange songs for several independent vocal artists. Most recently, Mellad has been writing and performing with Country artist Nicole Lewis and is currently working on her upcoming Nashville-based full-length album. When not on tour or teaching, Mellad enjoys playing guitar for local Jazz ensembles and the live theatre circuit. Mellad has worked as a guitarist at Spokane Civic Theatre for the past 4 seasons and Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre for the past 5 seasons.

Office: Music Annex, Room 107
Phone: 509-313-6733
Email: petersonc4@gonzaga.edu

Cole Peterson teaches jazz and electric bass at Gonzaga. A graduate of Whitworth University ('15), Cole has a broad scope of musical experiences and interests. He studied jazz bass and voice while at Whitworth; and got his degree in music composition. He plays with numerous bands in the Spokane area, including national act The Justin James Band (bass, keyboards, guitar), Funky Unkle (keyboards), Kaitlyn Wiens (bass, keyboards, occasional guitar), and Brook Gannon Trio+/Sugar Bear (keyboards). In addition, he also records and releases his own music in his free time.  He is also an in-demand session musician for various artists around the country. Cole currently teaches choir and guitar at Gonzaga Preparatory School and is also the Director of Worship at Audubon Park United Methodist Church in Spokane.

Office: Music Mansion
Phone: (509) 313-6733
Email: sagerk@gonzaga.edu

An active member of Spokane’s music scene, Kenny Sager performs all over the area.  He has a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from Eastern Washington University and did 1 year at University of Montana as a graduate assistant teaching drum set and jazz ensembles.  Kenny also teaches at EWU and Mead High School coaching their drum line in the fall as well as teaching at Music Plus year round.

Office: Music Hall, Room 103
Phone: 509-313-5943
Email: abeid@gonzaga.edu

Mellad graduated from Gonzaga University with a BA in Music Composition in 2002. Since then, he has worked as an adjunct guitar instructor at Gonzaga University and private guitar instructor at St. George's School and Colville High School. Mellad is a patient, yet highly skilled, instructor who is well versed in a variety of musical genres, including Classical, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Commercial, Country, Celtic and Broadway. As an international guitar performer, songwriter and record producer, Mellad is a dynamic instructor who brings a wealth of real-world expertise to the classroom.

For the past several years, Mellad has been fortunate to write and arrange songs for several independent vocal artists. Most recently, Mellad has been writing and performing with Country artist Nicole Lewis and is currently working on her upcoming Nashville-based full-length album. When not on tour or teaching, Mellad enjoys playing guitar for local Jazz ensembles and the live theatre circuit. Mellad has worked as a guitarist at Spokane Civic Theatre for the past 4 seasons and Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre for the past 5 seasons.

Office: Music Hall, Room 104
Phone: (509) 313-5919
Email: grove@gonzaga.edu

Dr. Paul Grove joined the inland northwest music community in 1995 while completing a doctorate degree in Russian music theory and guitar performance at the University of Arizona.  He was invited by his colleague Leon Atkinson to live and work in Spokane, the place where Paul’s teacher Aaron Shearer began his career.  Though he was only going to stay for one year, he has remained and has contributed in the following ways:

He completed a Ph.D. dissertation on the contrapuntal theories of Sergei Ivanovich Taneev while receiving a Jacob Javits research grant.  In addition, he received awards and distinctions in several national and international guitar competitions including the Guitar Foundation of America Competition, the Stotsenberg International Competition, The Great Lakes Guitar Competition, and the Norman Sholin Memorial Competition. 

As a teacher he has mentored students who have received distinctions in several competitions including Guitar Northwest, the Wolff and Shaeffer Competitions at the University of Arizona, and Musicfest Northwest.  Most recently, he was invited to teach 18^th-century counterpoint at Gonzaga University, and he teaches at Whitworth University.

As a performer, he has been a featured soloist with the Spokane Symphony, the Couer d’Alene Symphony, the Gonzaga Symphony, the Northwest Bach Festival, the Northwest Sacred Music Chorale, and other regional ensembles.  He has toured throughout the United States, and has performed internationally in Russia, Brazil, India, and Canada.

Paul’s primary guitar instructor was Aaron Shearer; and he studied composition with Jean Eichelberger-Ivey at the Peabody Conservatory where he joined Manuel Barueco as one of the first two guitarists to win the Peabody Conservatory Competition.

His current interest is to promote a dialogue that questions concepts pertaining to the nature, and societal role of Western “classical music.” 

Office: Music Hall, Room 104
Phone: (509) 313-5919
Email: millham@gonzaga.edu

A veteran multi-genre performer, and an in-demand teacher and clinician, Michael maintains studios at Gonzaga and Eastern Washington Universities, as well as nurturing a private studio. He is a regular host/director of the Northwest Guitar Festival, and has been a featured performer for numerous regional festivals including the Northwest Guitar Festival, the Northwest Bach Festival, the Festival at Sandpoint (in concerto work with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra), and Northwest Folklife's guitar showcase in McCaw hall, among others.

Michael has been profiled in the magazine Acoustic Guitar and is a past regular contributor to the same. He has also written for Guitar Teacher and Play Guitar! magazines. Michael has worked as either an alpha/beta testing endorser or performing artist for Elixir strings, Lowden Guitars, Schoenberg Guitars, Hill Guitars, L.R. Baggs electronics and AER amps among other companies. His duo (with his wife, vocalist Keleren Millham) regularly performs at venues ranging from wine bars and house concerts to radio shows, theaters, universities and festivals: over 2,000 performances to date. They have released 3 CDs featuring their own compositions, completed a documentary film soundtrack, and scored the promotional reel soundtrack for author (and GU professor) Shann Ray's American Copper (2016 recording). Michael was recently featured in performance and on record with the Montana choir Dolce Canto (2011 recording) and with Spokane Symphony Cello and Bassoon 1st chairs John and Lynn Marshall (2015 recording). He is a graduate of the Lionel Hampton School of Music-University of Idaho.

Michael's students have won numerous gold and silver medals at Musicfest Northwest, including multiple winners in the young artist concerto division. His students have gone on assistantship to top schools for bachelors and masters degrees, and his former students have themselves been hired to teach at the college level, including Gonzaga and SFCC.

Both an acoustic guitar amplifier (L.R. Baggs A-Ref) and an acoustic guitar pickup (L.R. Baggs M1) designed with/around Michael's input have won MIPA awards (Musikmesse International Press Award; the "Grammy" of the Musical Instrument/ProAudio industry). The M1 pickup, in particular, has been adopted by many players at the pinnacle of the pop/acoustic music industry, including Tom Petty, David Gilmore (Pink Floyd) Cold Play, Jakob Dylan, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Oasis, among others.

In 1999, Michael was one of eight recipients selected nationally for Jim Beam Brand Worldwide's Benefiting Emerging Artists in Music grant.

Office: Music Building, Room 26
Phone: (509) 313-6792
Email: hamlin@gonzaga.edu
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Dr. Peter J. Hamlin is Associate Professor of Music at Gonzaga University, Chair of the Music Department, Director of Bands, and oversees the Music Education degree program. At Gonzaga, Dr. Hamlin directs the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds as well as teaches coursework in music education and ethnomusicology. He is also the faculty advisor to the Gonzaga University Collegiate Chapter of the National Association for Music Education.

Dr. Hamlin is in frequent demand as a conductor, lecturer, and music performance adjudicator. He has given presentations at conferences both nationally and internationally and is published in numerous journals. His research areas explore the constructs of deliberate practice and the development of expertise in addition to music assessment, psychometrics, and quantitative research methodology.

Dr. Hamlin taught high school band in the state of Florida for nine years where he led a very successful program that included multiple concert bands, marching band, jazz ensemble, indoor color guard and percussion, and multiple chamber ensembles.  Dr. Hamlin received his Ph.D. and Bachelors degrees in Music Education from the University of Miami in Florida and was awarded a Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Connecticut.  While there he was the Graduate Assistant Director of the marching band, women’s varsity basketball pep band, and the concert band. 

Dr. Hamlin holds memberships in the College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Education, International Society for Music Education, Washington Music Educators Association, College Music Society, Society for Ethnomusicology, Society for Music Perception and Cognition, and the International Clarinet Association.

Anne Mileski is an early childhood and elementary music educator and clinician based in Eastern Washington. She is certified in Orff-Schulwerk, Kodály, Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy, Music Learning Theory Elementary General Level I, and has completed advanced coursework in Dalcroze Eurhythmics. She is a regular clinician at local workshops, state music conferences, and has presented at both the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and Organization of American Kodály Educators national conferences. She has served on faculty for Kodály teacher education programs at both the American Kodály Institute at Loyola Maryland and the Plano ISD/SMU Kodaly Certification Program in Dallas, Texas.

Anne holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from Southern Methodist University. She has performed on trumpet with prestigious groups such as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Wind Symphony.

In addition to her applied music studies, Anne holds a Master of Music in Music Education from Southern Methodist University. Prior to relocating to the pacific northwest, she completed coursework toward a doctorate in music education at Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music. While attending IU, she served as an associate instructor for the music education department, both as a supervisor for student teachers and as a teaching assistant for choral and elementary music methods courses. Also while at IU, she conducted second and third grade singers in the IU Children’s Choir.

Anne has served as a conductor for the Spokane Area Youth Choirs, where she helped to establish ABC early childhood program for young singers through SAYC. She presents regularly at local, state, and national workshops and conferences, on various topics including purposeful movement and curricular sequencing in the elementary classroom. She is the founder of Anacrusic, working with early childhood and elementary music educators to refine their practice through specialized trainings and custom curriculum.

Office: Music Building, Room 22
Phone: 509-313-3093
Email: kropf@gonzaga.edu

Michael Kropf is a composer whose music engages with evocative places, personalities, and histories. He has collaborated with Marin Alsop and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Symphony, the Apple Hill String Quartet, and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. His music has been described as "a brilliant, rapid fire stretch of perpetual motion," by the SF Chronicle's Joshua Kosman. Recent projects include Moses in Nederland, a violin concerto for Sabrina Tabby and Contemporaneous based on yiddish melodies written by his great-grandfather, Moses Schenkein. In 2022, he collaborated with librettist Patrick Smith to create an orchestrated song-cycle for soprano Erin O’Meally and The San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Current projects include a collaboration with New Music Detroit, as well as a solo violin work for The Atlanta Symphony’s Justin Bruns.

Michael is also an active music teacher, pianist, violinist, and conductor. He has taught classes at the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College. He has also served as academic dean and faculty member at the Walden School Young Musicians Young Musician's Program in New Hampshire. He is currently on faculty at Gonzaga University as Assistant Professor of Theory and Composition.

He earned his doctoral degree in composition at The University of Michigan in 2022, where he studied with Kristin Kuster and Evan Chambers. He received his Master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory in 2016, where he studied with David Conte. He has also received private study in composition from John Adams.

His work has received recognition from institutions including ASCAP, The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and The Music Teachers National Association.

Office: Music Building, Room 12
Phone: 509-313-6736
Email: spittal@gonzaga.edu

Conductor and award-winning composer Robert Spittal is the director of the Creative Music Lab Ensemble and teaches courses in conducting. Dr. Spittal was Director of Bands from 1992-2019, when he led the Gonzaga Wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds, and he directed the Jazz Ensemble from 1992-1998. He maintains an active schedule of composing commissioned works and conducting ensembles regionally and nationally.  Dr. Spittal’s compositions are performed and recorded worldwide by ensembles such as The Bay Brass, Borealis Wind Quintet, Atlanta Chamber Winds, and North Texas Wind Symphony, and they are published by Boosey & Hawkes Co., Maestro and Fox Music. See full bio at www.robertspittal.com

Dr. Spittal’s research on the wind music of Stravinsky and American Pulitzer-winner John Harbision has been published and presented at conducting symposia. Spittal and Harbison collaborated on a well-received session at the national College Band Directors Association conference at the University of Colorado in 1997. Dr. Spittal contributed several research articles for publication in the “Teaching Music Through Performance in Band” series (GIA Publishing) which has reached musicians and music educators throughout the US and Canada.

Dr. Spittal received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and has also studied at Baylor University, The Ohio State University, The University of Michigan, Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music and University of Colorado. His conducting teachers include Craig Kirchhoff, Michael Haithcock, and Eugene Corporon.