Dr. Shandra Helman
Chair of the Music Department | Professor of Music | Clarinet & Saxophone | Woodwind Area Coordinator
Office: FA 209
- B.Mus. 2000, Lawrence University
- M.A. 2004, University of Iowa
- D.M.A. 2008, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Joined ISU Faculty in 2008
Dr. Shandra Helman is Chair of the Music Department, Professor of Clarinet & Saxophone, and Woodwind Area Coordinator at Idaho State University. She is also tenured as the 3rd/Bass Clarinet of the Boise Philharmonic and the Principal Clarinet of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, and was selected as a finalist in the 2012 Orchestral Audition Competition for the International Clarinet Association Conference. Her extensive orchestral experience includes performances on clarinet and bass clarinet with the Utah Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Opera and Ballet companies, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra, and the American Wind Symphony Orchestra. Shandra broadcast her first virtual duo performance at ClarinetFest® 2021 and was also invited to participate as a feature recital artist at ClarinetFest® 2013 in Assisi, Italy.
Shandra has taught applied clarinet and saxophone and served as the Woodwind Area Coordinator at ISU since August 2008. She is a founding member of the ISU faculty woodwind quintet, City Creek Winds (established August 2010), and metaFOUR (established August 2013), a saxophone quartet featuring university and community professionals. Both ensembles enjoy a great amount of outreach and recital performance opportunities throughout the Mountain West region. Additionally, Shandra is a founding member of the Faculty Chamber Music Recital Series at ISU, which began in January 2015.
Shandra's academic course rotation at ISU includes core surveys of music history; woodwind methods; instrumental pedagogy; clarinet/saxophone pedagogy and literature; and advanced music history seminars. Her ongoing research and performance endeavors include a bass clarinet specialty; analysis of the ever-expanding amount of published bass clarinet repertoire; saxophone chamber music; and saxophone pedagogical methods.
Her primary instructors include Linda Bartley (DMA, University of Wisconsin-Madison), Maurita Murphy Mead (MA, University of Iowa), Fan Lei (BM, Lawrence University), and Melvin Warner (private study, Northern Illinois University). Shandra has also participated in additional studies with Kalmen Opperman and Kenneth Grant, and master classes with Steve Hanusofski, Lee Livengood, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, Richard Stoltzman, and Patrick O'Keefe.
Shandra is a D'Addario Performing Artist. She currently resides in Pocatello with her sons, Alec and Ian.
Dr. Diana Livingston Friedley
Associate Chair of Music | Professor of Music | Voice
Office: FA 314
- B.Mus. 1987, Westminster Choir College
- M.Mus. 1991, Indiana University
- D.M.A. 2002, Rutgers University
Joined ISU Faculty in 2002
Dr. Diana Livingston Friedley has appeared as a guest soloist with numerous organizations including: Idaho State Civic Symphony, Idaho Falls Symphony, and Boise Baroque Orchestra, Id; The Fresno Philharmonic, CA; The Nebraska Choral Arts Society, Omaha; St. Cecilia Chorus and Chamber Orchestra of New York; The Central Jersey Symphony Orchestra and Master Chorale; Bremen Camerata Instrumentale in Bremen, Germany; Princeton University's Concert Jazz Ensemble; and The Hunterdon
Choral Union and Symphony of New Jersey. As a guest artist she has performed in Merkin Hall's Composers' Series, N. Y.; Michigan State University’s Fifth Contemporary Clarinet Festival in Lansing, MI.; the Orpheus Concert Series in Fresno, CA; a five-city concert tour of Taiwan in 2001; and The Taiwanese American 9/11 Benefit Concert held at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago. Diana has also performed for the McCall Concert Series in McCall, ID; the Inaugural Concert for the Joseph C. and Cheryl H. Jensen Grand Concert Hall in Pocatello, ID, and numerous recitals throughout Idaho.
Livingston Friedley has also performed many operatic roles including: Lucy in Menotti's The Telephone, at The Old Town Actors Studio (OTAS), Pocatello; Woman in Poulenc's La voix humane also at OTAS and ISU and The College of Southern Idaho as part of Women's History Month; Mrs. Webb in Ned Rorem’s Our Town, with Opera Idaho, Boise; Ichi Ban, in Napa De Monk, Queen of the Lost Waters of Mars, Bloomington Playwright’s Project, Bloomington, Indiana; Peggy Shippen in A Twist of Treason at the John Waldron Arts Center in Bloomington, Indiana; and Mimi Manini with the Zwei-Groschen-Oper's production of 1001 Nights in Venice at the Theaterhof in Humbach, Germany. Diana has also performed with ISU's Theatre/Dance department as Fraülein Kost in the musical Cabaret. Other operatic roles include: Fiorilla in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and Musetta in a critically acclaimed production of La Bohéme, which received the 1995 National Opera Association's "Best Production" Award. Diana has also worked with numerous opera companies in New York including: Opera Orchestra of New York, The Bronx Opera Company, The American Chamber Opera Company, and The Liederkranz Foundation.
Directorial projects for The College of Arts and Letters Summer Musicals since 2014 include: The King and I; Anything Goes; Oliver!; Fiddler on the Roof; Hello, Dolly! and Bye, Bye Birdie. Diana continues to
musically direct the Farm Bureau/ISU summer musicals and has worked on the following productions: Urine Town, High School Musical, The Wizard of Oz and School of Rock.
Her recording credits include: "The Songs of Howard Boatwright" and “The Vocal-chamber Music of Howard Boatwright” both released on Centaur Record label.
Livingston Friedley is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician in the Northwest. Her students have placed in district, regional and national NATS competitions. She is currently President of the Southeast Idaho Chapter of NATS.
Diana Livingston Friedley completed a Doctor of Musical Arts at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts under Judith Nicosia, a Master of Music at Indiana University and Bachelor of Music at Westminster Choir College. Dr. Livingston Friedley is Associate Chair and Professor of Music in The School of Performing Arts at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho.
Reviews:
"In each work, Livingston Friedley created a different vocal character…she sang with a lovely florid tone that blended excellently with the strings…" George Warren for The Fresno Be
"...Soprano Diana Livingston as Fiorilla turned in a marvelous performance, both vocally and dramatically. Ms. Livingston is a gifted actress with an extremely flexible voice. The soprano has clarity,
brilliance of tone and a seamless compass throughout her registers." Sonia Lewis for CLASSICNJ@AOL.COM
"...An extraordinarily beautiful personality, in the middle voice secure, and the high with an unchanging clarity, a loaded lyrical voice has Diana Livingston, whom the audience took as their own." Ernst
Naredi-Rainer for Kleine Zeitung-Graz, Austria
"...the evening's star proved not to be one of the aristocratic primaries but the slightly secondary role of the chamber maid Adele, exquisitely portrayed by Diana Livingston. When this kind of acting was
matched with her kind of voice, Adele easily became the most memorable part of the show...Adele was silly and as opportunity-seeking as the others but Livingston balances the stock negative stereotype with humanizing comic touches and vulnerability that made her like any of us." Robert W. Butts for CLASSICNJ@AOL.COM
"...Most effective was Diana Livingston as Zerlina. Livingston has the kind of charismatic stage presence one loves to see. Graceful as a ballerina, she smiles, cavorts and sings with beauty of tone...Her work
in the famous duet, "La ci darem la mano" is a delight." Albert H. Cohen for The Home News & Tribune
Joe Babcock
Director of Civic Concert Band
B.M. 1979, Southern Methodist University;
Texas High School Band and Orchestra Director (Retired)
Dr. Nell Flanders
Director of Orchestral Activities | Assistant Professor of Music
Office: FA 311
- B.Mus. Oberlin Conservatory of Music 1994, Violin Performance Major, Piano Minor
- M.M. University of Akron 1996, Violin Performance
- M.M. Mannes College- The New School 2015, Orchestral Conducting
- D.M.A. Peabody Conservatory-Johns Hopkins University 2020, Orchestral Conducting
Joined ISU Faculty in 2022.
Nell Flanders is Director of Orchestral Activities/Assistant Professor at ISU, where she leads the Idaho State-Civic Symphony (ISCS) and the ISU Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Flanders has spearheaded innovative projects at ISU, including the 2024 release of the ISCS’s debut album Strata, which featured the Grammy Award winning Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet, and the creation of a national consortium of orchestras to co-commission Up North, a piano concerto by Eastman composer Daniel Pesca, which the ISCS premiered in 2025. Current commissioning projects include a concerto for Native Flute and orchestra by Hovia Edwards and Justin Ralls and participating in a consortium led by the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble for a chamber orchestra work by Daniel Pesca.
Dr. Flanders travels frequently to Panama to work with both professional and student ensembles, including the National Symphony Orchestra of Panama in 2024 and 2025. From 2018-2021 she held the position of Georg and Joyce Albers-Schonberg Assistant Conductor with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, conducting the PSO in ballet, popular classics, and holiday concerts and creating highly successful online educational programs. Her passion for the music of our time has led to many premiere performances and the promotion of contemporary composers’ works. Dr. Flanders’ opera credits include the premiere of a set of one-act operas by composer Daniel Felsenfeld with The Secret Opera company and Kamala Sankaram’s The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace with New Camerata Opera. She served as Assistant Conductor with Peabody Opera Theater for the 2014-2015 season. As a staff conductor with The Chelsea Symphony in New York City from 2018-2023, Dr. Flanders conducted performances at Merkin Concert Hall and the DiMenna Center, among others.
A passionate educator, Dr. Flanders has led Honors orchestras in Idaho and Montana and taught conducting workshops in both the US and Panama. Each summer she directs the senior orchestra at the ISU Summer Institute for Piano and Strings (SIPS) and teaches chamber music and large ensemble skills to local musicians at the ISCS Summer String Intensive (SSI). From 2014-2021 she was the conductor of the Symphony and Repertory Orchestras at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division. Previous academic positions include the University of Maryland- Baltimore County, the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College- City University of New York, the University of Chicago, and Utah State University.
In addition to her activities as a conductor, Dr. Flanders enjoys performing on the violin and viola, bringing her dynamic musicality to performances in a wide variety of genres, from orchestral classics to contemporary music, tango, blues, and period instrument baroque. Off stage and out of the classroom, she enjoys dancing Argentine Tango, rock climbing, and spoiling her big orange cat, Simba.
Dr. Jeffrey Francom
Director of Choral Activities | Assistant Professor of Music
Office: FA 315
- B.M. 2002, Utah State University
- M.M. 2004, University of Florida
- D.M.A. 2009, Stony Brook University
Joined ISU Faculty in 2024
Dr. Jeffrey Francom is Director of Choral Activities at Idaho State
University, where he conducts the ISU Chamber Singers and Concert Choir,
teaches courses in choral music education and conducting, and serves as
artistic director of Pocatello's Camerata Singers and the Idaho
International Choral Festival. From 2009 to 2024, Dr. Francom served as
Associate Professor and Choral Area Coordinator at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane
School of Music, and as faculty for Crane Youth Music. Prior to 2009,
Dr. Francom taught at Suffolk County Community College and Stony Brook
University on Long Island, and for Duval Public Schools in Jacksonville,
Florida.
Highlights of Dr. Francom's career include performances and
presentations at state and regional ACDA/NAfME conferences; commissions
and premieres for chorus and orchestra by Rollo Dilworth, Gary Fry,
William Averitt, Shavon Lloyd, Gregory Wanamaker, Michael Sitton, and
others; chorus master for Helmuth Rilling, JoAnn Falletta, Joseph
Flummerfelt, Larry Rachleff, Ann Howard Jones, Duain Wolfe, Kent Tritle,
Antony Walker, and others, for performances at Carnegie Hall, the
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and elsewhere; international
guest residencies and student tours in Costa Rica, Argentina, Spain,
Germany, France, Peru, and Czechia; and piano concerto performances with
orchestras in California and Utah. He serves as a Repertory and Resource
Coordinator for Idaho ACDA, and as advisor for ISU's student chapters of
ACDA and NAfME.
Dr. Francom was recipient of the Stony Brook University Ackerman Prize,
and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Research Fellowship sponsored by the
Carthusian Trust. Dr. Francom holds degrees in conducting from Stony
Brook University (DMA) and the University of Florida (MM), in
educational leadership from St. Lawrence University (MA), and in piano
performance from Utah State University (BM).
Dr. Luke Strother
Director of Concert and Athletic Bands | Visiting Assistant Professor | Trombone
Office: FA 211
- D.M.A., Rutgers University (2012)
- M.Mus., Rutgers University (2009)
- B.Mus., Boise State University (2004)
Luke Strother is the Director of Bands at Idaho State University and oversees the Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Marching Band, and Pep Bands as well as teaches the trombone studio. A trombonist for Opera Idaho and former principal trombonist of the Brass Band of the Treasure Valley, Strother has performed across the country and is looking forward to performance opportunities in the Pocatello area. Prior to his appointment at ISU in 2025, Strother served as Director of Bands at the College of Idaho. Strother earned his DMA in trombone performance from Rutgers University where he studied with Michael Powell and John Rojak, both of the American Brass Quintet.
Dr. Eddie Ludema
Associate Professor of Music | Trumpet | Music Theory | Brass Area Coordinator
Office: FA 318
- B.Mus. University of Utah
- K.A. Freiburg Hochschule für Musik
- M.M. Indiana University
- D.M. Indiana University
Joined ISU Faculty in 2019
Eddie Ludema is a trumpet player, composer, livecoder, and lifelong audio tinkerer who serves as professor of trumpet, theory, and tech at Idaho State University. Equally at home with Bach, bebop, and bitcrushers, he collaborates with colleagues and students on everything from traditional brass rep to fully immersive audiovisual chaos. Alongside ISU's Jon Armstrong, he co-founded ISU’s Video Game Music and Audio-Visual Electronic Ensemble, a playground for sonic-altering creativity.
Eddie has performed at festivals like Electronic Music Midwest (EMM), NYCEMF, SEAMUS, MOXsonic, TURN UP for Equality, and the International Trumpet Guild. He performs regularly with the Idaho State-Civic and Idaho Falls Symphonies and has played with ensembles ranging from the Utah Symphony to ORSO Rock Orchestra (Germany) and the IU New Music Ensemble. Before joining ISU in 2019, he taught and played in Indiana, serving as trumpet instructor and jazz director at Indiana State University, and principal trumpet with the Columbus Philharmonic and Terre Haute Symphony. He was a founding member of the Mirari Brass Quintet, toured internationally with the ISU Ambassador Brass, and currently produces Anthony Plog on Music, a podcast featuring wide-ranging conversations with top-tier artists.
Eddie holds degrees from Indiana University (MM and DM with John Rommel), the Freiburg Hochschule für Musik (KA with Anthony Plog), and the University of Utah (BM with Nick Norton), and has also studied with Joey Tartell and other remarkable mentors throughout the U.S. and Europe. At heart, he’s always been drawn to the beauty of creativity—whether harmonic, theoretical, or digital. That curiosity led him to coding back in his 8-bit Atari days and eventually to a career in a previous life as a software developer—meaning he’s now fluent in both Lua and lip slurs. With his coding chops, he co-created Dr. Drone (with Jason Sulliman), a popular practice tool, and the Set Class Calculator, built for theory heads and sonic explorers alike.
Teaching and learning are Eddie’s true passions—especially learning from the wonderful people he’s met around the world, many of whom he cherishes as lifelong friends. A proud son of a Groninger, he’s lived in the Yucatán and Freiburg, which means he’s on a lifelong quest for the perfect kroket, the boldest chorizo, and the cheesiest Käsespätzle. He shares life with his extraordinary wife, Beth (a vocalist, oboist, and music educator), and their sweet, silly miracle kids: Hendrik (the first to pocket $10 for beating his dad at Mario Kart) and Mira (whose first Christmas book was Quantum Physics for Babies—and who seems intent on defying the subject matter).
Bill Smith
Instructor of Music | Euphonium & Tuba
Office: FA 213
Jonathan Armstrong
Professor of Music | Commercial Music Area Coordinator | Commercial Music Big Band
Office: FA 208
- B.A. 2006, University of Washington
- B.Mus. 2006, University of Washington
- M.F.A. 2008, California Institute of the Arts
Joined ISU Faculty in 2015
Jonathan Armstrong is a fiercely creative musician, composer, and educator living in Pocatello, ID where he serves as the Director of Jazz Studies at Idaho State University. His background is a mix of intensive academic training and extensive professional experiences on saxophones, bass, and electronic sampler. While living in Los Angeles, Jonathan maintained a busy performance schedule as a highly sought after musician. Along with frequent gigs and recording sessions, he played regularly with bands led by Bennie Maupin, Mike Barone, Vincent Gallo, Vinny Golia, and Dan Rosenboom. Jonathan also co-founded the critically acclaimed modern jazz quartet Slumgum and the cutting edge electronic psychedelic group Pitch Like Masses and has toured throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan.
As a composer, Jonathan has written music for dance, theater, film, television, and podcasts. In 2013, he formed the Jon Armstrong Jazz Orchestra, a 22 piece modern big band that is dedicated to realizing his daring long form compositions. These compositions are the culmination of his career incorporating sophisticated structures of modern classical music, complex rhythms and forms of world music, and expressive jazz solos.
Jonathan has been experimenting recently with compositions that combine improvisation with just intonation resonance and trance rhythms. Since moving to Idaho, he spends a lot of his time hanging with his wife and taking in the awesome and dynamic natural beauty.
Dr. Jenna McLean
Assistant Professor of Music | Voice | Voice Area Coordinator | Commercial Music Big Band
Office: FA 313
- B.M. in Vocal Performance - University of Wyoming
- M.M in Jazz Studies - University of Northern Colorado
- DMA in Jazz Studies - University of Northern Colorado
Joined ISU Faculty in 2023
Jenna McLean is an accomplished contemporary vocalist and educator specializing in helping singers in the commercial music realm develop a solid technical foundation upon which they can rely for a long and varied career. She has a Doctor of Arts degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado where she completed a dissertation entitled "A Study in Effective Teaching Methods in Jazz Voice Technique in Higher Education". She also completed a secondary emphasis in vocal pedagogy studying under Dr. Melissa Malde. She completed her Master of Music Degree in Jazz Studies at UNC and has a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Wyoming. Jenna is a member of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) and JEN (Jazz Education Network) and is certified in Level I of Somatic Voicework™ with Jeanie LoVetri.
As a performing artist, Jenna has a penchant for celebrating timeless standards with improvisational prowess, swing and simplicity that feels familiar yet contemporary. Her diversity of skill in many genres contributes to her songwriting style and inspires her to continue investigating ways to honor the jazz tradition and still push forward in time.
Jenna was a semi-finalist in the 2023 American Traditions Vocal Competition, the 2019 winner of the Downbeat Student Music Awards Graduate Vocal Soloist Category, and a recent recipient of the Pathways to Jazz Grant through which she recorded her album Brighter Day. She has performed at renowned venues nationwide including Dazzle Denver, Nocturne Denver, Black Cat, The 1905, Rudy's Jazz Room, The Jazz Station, and has performed and presented multiple times at the Jazz Education Network conference and the Five Points Jazz Festival in Denver. She has had the pleasure of performing alongside renowned musicians such as Joel Frahm, Pat Coil, Bobby McFerrin, Aubrey Logan and the New York Voices, and also performs regularly with incredible Denver-based jazz musicians such as Annie Booth, Ben Markley, Eric Gunnison, Tom Amend, Dawn Clement, and others. Her music can be found at http://www.jennamcleanmusic.
Craig Green
Instructor of Music | Guitar | Civic Jazz Band
Office: FA 222
Craig Green is an accomplished guitarist and composer with over 25 years of experience creating a diverse array of artistic and academic works. A native of New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, Craig has released over 15 solo albums, including his critically acclaimed "Love Notes in Binary Code" on the UK Discus label, which features collaborations with English drummer Clive Deamer of Portishead and Radiohead. His work as a session guitarist and arranger has been celebrated globally, earning accolades such as "The son of Bill Frisell and grandson of Derek Bailey" by All About Jazz and comparisons to "Thelonious Monk set ablaze!" by Downbeat Magazine.
As a composer, Craig has made significant contributions to film, theater, dance, and contemporary music ensembles. His recent work, the score for the PBS documentary "On Grizzly Ground," garnered him an Emmy Award in 2024. Other notable compositions include "EX VOTO," a string quartet piece commissioned by the Idaho School of Ballet.
Craig’s academic journey is marked by studies with some of the world's most renowned jazz and world music artists, including guitarist Pat Martino, French guitarist Pierre Bensusan, and Spanish composer Rafael Rena. He attended the Conservatory von Amsterdam, where he specialized in the Contemporary Music Through Non-Western Techniques program, applying global music techniques, primarily from India, to both classical and jazz compositions.
With over two decades of teaching experience, Craig has conducted workshops and lectures on various topics, including guitar fundamentals, improvisation, and the integration of world music techniques into Western music. His TED talk on the art of active listening for non-musicians has further solidified his reputation as a thought leader in the field.
Craig’s research endeavors include a Rotary Fellowship that took him to India to study and collaborate with East Indian musicians and educators, a residency in Berlin to explore extended techniques and tuning systems for the guitar, and travels to Spain and North Africa to immerse himself in gypsy, flamenco, and Arabic musical tradi;ons.
Craig Green continues to inspire and educate through his multifaceted career as a musician, composer, and educator, contributing to the evolution of contemporary music and its intersection with global traditions.
Dr. Kori Bond
Professor of Music | Piano Area Coordinator
Office: FA 214
- B.A. & B.S. 1992, Walla Walla College
- M.M. 1994, Northern Illinois University
- D.M. 1999, Indiana University
Joined ISU Faculty in 1999
Dr. Kori Bond is Professor of Piano at Idaho State University, where she coordinates the piano program, teaches piano and related courses, and directs the Preparatory Piano Program. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Indiana University in Piano Performance, a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Northern Illinois University, and Bachelors degrees in Music, Biology, and Religion from Walla Walla University. She began her piano studies at age 6 with Florence Brinton in Salt Lake City and her other primary piano teachers were Edward Auer, Donald Walker, and Leonard Richter. She also studied chamber music extensively with Gyorgy Sebok, Leonard Hokanson, members of the Vermeer Quartet, and faculty at the Sarasota Music Festival, where she studied for two summers.
Bond has performed in numerous states as a solo and collaborative artist and as a soloist with orchestra. She frequently appears in concert with pianist Karlyn Bond and with the Monarch Trio. She has also performed with numerous internationally esteemed artists such as sopranos Caroline
Worra and Diane Ragains, violinist Corey Cerovsek, flutist Christina Jennings, and violist Roland Glassl, along with many others. Recent performances include recitals at the Summer Festival at Indiana University, the University of Montana, Boise State University, Westminster College of Salt Lake City, the College of Idaho, Brigham Young University, Walla Walla University, Brigham Young University-Idaho, and recitals on the Temple Square Concert Series in Salt Lake City. Recent concerto performances include Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 3 and Nights in the Garden of Spain, by Manuel de Falla with the Idaho State Civic Symphony, and Mozart’s Concerto No. 27 with the Idaho Falls Symphony Orchestra. Every summer, she directs the ISU Summer Piano Institute, and has also been a guest artist at the Sierra Music Festival in Mammoth Lakes, California, and a guest faculty member at the Edward Auer Piano Festival at Indiana University. This school year she will be featured performing solo recitals in several venues, including the “Stars of Steinway Series” in Boise, and the University of Wyoming. She joined the inaugural faculty at the Teton Chamber Music Festival in 2023.
In 2007, Bond released her first CD of the Complete 24 Preludes and Fugues of Dmitri Shostakovich, published by Centaur Records. Her playing on this recording has been acclaimed as featuring the “technique to play Shostakovich’s sometimes knotty piano writing without dropping a note, but she also plays with immense musicality” (Allmusic). Her second CD, featuring songs by Howard Boatwright performed with soprano Diana Livingston Friedley, has just been released, also by Centaur Records.
While a student, Kori Bond was a prizewinner in numerous regional and national competitions. She is now a frequent adjudicator and clinician throughout the West. Her students have been prizewinners at the state and division levels of the MTNA competition and winners of numerous other local and state competitions, including the Federation of Music Clubs Collegiate Competition and the Musicians West competition.
Michelle Adams
Instructor of Music | Class Piano | Voice
Office: FA 308
- B.Mus. 2001, Idaho State University
- M.Mus. 2003, Northern Illinois University
Joined ISU Faculty in 2005.
Michelle Adams teaches courses in piano and music theory and also serves as an instructor of voice. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Ms. Adams is the accompanist for the ISU Women’s Choir and collaborates regularly as an accompanist for vocal classes, lessons, and university productions. A dedicated educator and collaborative artist, Ms. Adams also serves as a clinician for the Idaho State University Choral Invitational Masterclass, supporting the musical development of high school students across the region.
Ms. Adams earned her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Northern Illinois University, where she studied under soprano Diane Ragains. During her time at NIU, she was a Teaching Assistant in Music Theory and taught piano and voice in the Community School of the Arts. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Idaho State University with dual emphasis in Piano and Vocal Performance, having studied with Dr. Clive Swansbourne, Dr. Kori Bond and Dr. Scott Anderson.
Beyond her work at ISU, Ms. Adams is an active adjudicator for regional voice and piano competitions. She performs with the Camerata Singers in Pocatello and is a member of the ISU Alumni Chamber Choir. A passionate advocate for music education, she is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and maintains a private studio in voice and piano, mentoring students of all ages.
In her free time, Ms. Adams enjoys spending time with her husband and four sons—most often cheering them on at baseball games.
Mark Neiwirth
Instructor of Music | Piano
Office: FA 317
Joined ISU Faculty in 2005
Pianist Mark Neiwirth is a Steinway Artist and the recipient of the 2018 Idaho Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. He has built an international reputation as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher,
adjudicator, composer, and arranger, performing across Europe, South Africa, India, and dozens of venues throughout the United States. His artistry combines technical mastery with dramatic sensitivity, earning him acclaim from critics and colleagues alike. Over his career, he has performed more than thirty concerti with orchestras across the country and spent sixteen seasons as the featured soloist of the Sun Valley Symphony.
For seven years he chaired the Piano Department at the Sun Valley School of Music and since 2005 has been an Adjunct Professor of Piano at Idaho State University. In 1998 he founded Musicians West, Inc., a nonprofit that sponsors concerts, scholarships, and composer commissions across Idaho. Under his leadership, Musicians West presents an annual Piano Festival & Competition and administers the statewide Certificate of Achievement exam, supporting emerging pianists at every level.
As a passionate chamber musician, Neiwirth was a founding member of New York’s Davidsbund, the California Trio in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City’s Vista Trio, the Edgar M. Bronfman Chamber Series in Sun Valley, and Idaho’s Amadeus Trio. In 1997 the Salt Lake Tribune honored him as “Best Collaborative Pianist of the Year,” recognizing his exceptional musical partnership and interpretive insight. Committed to new music, he has premiered more than twenty-five works written especially for him by composers including Thom Ritter George, Lukas Foss, Yehudi Wyner, Carl Byron, Kevin Olson, Timothy Brown, and William Montgomery. His premieres encompass solos, chamber music, concerti, and two-piano works,
reflecting his dedication to expanding the modern piano repertoire and fostering creative collaboration.
As an adjudicator and clinician, Neiwirth has judged competitions for MTNA in Washington, Montana, and the Pacific Northwest, and served as guest clinician for the Steinway Society Awards Festivals. In was guest adjudicator and presenter at MusiQuest in Pune, India, and in 2013 he toured South Africa as a cultural envoy of the U.S. Embassy, performing in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria.
He grew up in Idaho and studied with Fawn King, Olive Boren Stirland, and Teala Bellini before pursuing advanced training at The Hartt School with Raymond Hanson and at the Manhattan School of Music with Constance Keene and Dora Zaslavsky, where he served as her teaching assistant.
Neiwirth’s 2023 recording “Counting Rests” won two Silver Medals in the Global Music Awards for performance and programming. He remains deeply engaged in community leadership, serving on boards and committees of the Pocatello Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Pocatello Arts Council,
Idaho State-Civic Symphony, Idaho Music Teachers Association, Toastmasters International, and ISU’s Fulbright Advisory Committee.
Dr. Thom Hasenpflug
Professor of Music | Percussion | Composition
Office: FA 108
- B.A; B.A. 1989, Ithaca College
- M.M. 1993, Ithaca College
- D.M.A. 1996, University of Colorado
Joined ISU Faculty in 2003
Dr. Thom Hasenpflug is nationally recognized as a unique performer and educational voice, while his compositions for percussion receive international recognition and are played all over the world.
He has presented performances, clinics, residencies, and master classes at many universities, high schools, festivals, and Percussive Arts Society conventions and chapter days. A prize-winning composer, he has been commissioned by some of the field’s leading percussionists. His percussion quartet, Bicksa, remains one of the most widely-programmed collegiate percussion works of the past 30 years. International performances of his works have occurred in Vienna, London, Barcelona, Moscow, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Dublin, Brazil, Venezuela, Sweden, and other locales by various percussionists of note. Perhaps of equal importance, he has embraced working with music programs in the local high schools of Idaho, from Idaho Falls to Boise. He is a member of the College of Arts and Letters Liberal Arts High team, and serves as a regional clinician to public schools on demand.
Currently a Professor of Music at Idaho State University, Dr. Hasenpflug has been the recipient of ISU faculty recognition awards for both Outstanding Researcher (2013, 2017) and Outstanding Service (2010), and most recently received the award for Distinguished Researcher (2022). As a resident of Pocatello, Idaho, he serves as Principal Timpanist of the Idaho State Civic Symphony. He has furthermore performed as a member of numerous symphonic organizations, including as principal in the South Dakota Symphony, as a sub in Boise Philharmonic, and in symphonic and freelance capacities with artists as diverse as Bela Fleck, Peter Cetera, the Moody Blues, Blood Sweat and Tears, and many others.
He received his degrees in percussion and composition from Ithaca College and the University of Colorado. He has held prior teaching posts at Drake University, the University of South Dakota, Emporia State University, and the summer Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts. His principal teachers have included Gordon Stout and Doug Walter for percussion, and Greg Woodward, Dana Wilson, and Joe Lukasik for composition.
Thom Hasenpflug has percussion works published through K.P.P. (a division of Malletech – MPI), Alfred Music, Bachovich Music, Tapspace, and C. Alan Publications, former publishers Go Fish Music and Penn Oak Press, as well as his own label, “Hasenworks.” He is a proud product endorser of Salyers Percussion (sticks and mallets), Remo Drumheads, Sabian Cymbals and as a performing artist for the Yamaha Corporation of America.
He has a wife and as of this writing four bunny rabbits; Originally from New York, he has lived in Pocatello, Idaho, since 2003. He enjoys cooking, skiing, poker, craft breweries, Mexico, and fantasy sports.
Dr. Hyeri Choi
Associate Professor of Music | Violin & Viola | String Area Coordinator
Office: FA 309E
- B.M. 2006, Ewha Womans University (Korea)
- Certificate, 2007, Toho Gakuen School of Music Orchestra Academy (Japan)
- M.M. 2009, Eastman School of Music
- D.M.A. 2014, Eastman School of Music
Dr. Choi joined ISU Faculty in 2016.
Dr. Hyeri Choi is Associate Professor of Violin at Idaho State University where she coordinates the string program, teaches violin, viola, and related academic courses, and directs the string division of the ISU Summer Institute for Piano and Strings. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in Violin Performance from the Eastman School of Music.
Dr. Choi is a passionate orchestra, solo, and chamber musician. As an orchestral musician, she currently serves as the concertmaster of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony since 2016, as an associate concertmaster/principal second violin of the Helena Symphony in Montana, and as a substitute violinist for the Utah Symphony and the Boise Philharmonic. She was a guest concertmaster of the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra in 2016, an assistant concertmaster of the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes from 2012-16, and a principal second violin of the Seoul Metropolitan Youth Orchestra in Korea.
As a soloist, Hyeri made her New York debut at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, as the First Prize Winner of 2014 American Protégé International Strings and Piano Competition. During her Eastman years, she gave a solo recital in the Musicales Concert Series at George Eastman House in 2012. As a chamber player, Dr. Choi is a violinist in the Monarch Piano Trio at ISU, a member of Duo “Raon,” and a member of the Piano Trio “Dante Deo” which was created by Eastman alumni. She was invited to perform at the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF) Summer Season Preview Concert and was invited as a full scholarship fellow of the New Mexico Chamber Music Festival in Albuquerque. Hyeri has participated internationally with renowned artists in various summer festivals with full scholarships, including the Kirishima International Music Festival (Japan), the Music Alp Festival (France), and the Music Academy of the West (USA).
Dr. Choi was on the faculty of Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, and Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts Extension Division in New Jersey. During the summer, she serves as an assistant concertmaster at the MostArts Festival in Alfred, NY, and she is on the faculty at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy, and the Euro Music Festival & Academy in Szczecin, Poland.
Dr. Eleanor Christman
Assistant Professor of Music | Cello
Office: FA 309F
- B.Mus. 2001, Indiana University
- M.Mus. 2003, University of Wisconsin
- D.M.A. 2009, University of Wisconsin
Joined ISU Faculty in 2014
Dr. Eleanor Christman is the Assistant Professor of Cello and Director of the Preparatory String Program in the School of Performing Arts at Idaho State University, where she teaches applied cello and various music courses. She is also the principal cellist in the Idaho State Civic Symphony.
Known for her rich, sensitive melodic lines, Ms. Christman has appeared in recital as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, both on faculty recitals and as a guest artist. She has held faculty positions at Ripon College, Utah Valley University, the University of Utah Preparatory Division, and Salt Lake Community College. As an orchestral musician she has performed with the Green Bay Symphony, Madison Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, Choral Arts Philadelphia, and Ballet West.
On baroque cello Ms. Christman has performed nationally and internationally with such groups as the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, Madison Bach Musicians, Utopia Early Music, Jeune Orchestre Atlantique, American Baroque Orchestra, and Great Basin Baroque. A proponent of new music, she has worked with composers John Harbison, David Ludwig, and Stephen Dembski, whose Suite for Solo Cello she premiered.
As a Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst, Ms. Christman is pursuing research on the relationships of function and expression and exertion and recovery in musicians. Her research was presented at the Laban 2018 International Conference and published in Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis: Contemporary Applications, by Colleen Wahl.
Ms. Christman's primary teachers include Irene Sharp, Helga Winold, Emilio Colón, and Uri Vardi. She has also received instruction from Jaap ter Linden, Richard Aaron, Tanya Carey, members of the Audubon, Emerson, and Borodin Quartets, Bonnie Hampton, and Laurence Lesser.
Dr. Geoffrey Friedley
Instructor of Music | Voice | Music History
Office: FA 317
- B.A. 1987, Lawrence University (English)
- B.Mus. 1987, Lawrence University (Trombone)
- M.A. 1991, Eastman School of Music (Musicology)
- M.Mus. 1997, Rutgers University (Voice)
- D.M.A. 2014, University of Utah (Vocal Performance)
Dr. Friedley joined the ISU Faculty in 2003.
Dr. Geoffrey Friedley has taught and directed a variety of courses and ensembles including voice, class voice, treble choir, chamber orchestra, music history, music appreciation, voice pedagogy, and First Roar for first-year students. Previously he held faculty positions at California State University, Fresno, and Drew University. He also served as Director of the Rutgers Community Music Program, where he managed a faculty of 45 and a student body of 450. His versatility is demonstrated by his education. He holds bachelor's degrees in both English and trombone performance, master's degrees in both musicology and vocal performance, and a doctorate in vocal performance with a secondary emphasis in music history.
His research interests include music of the early Baroque period, especially the music of Giulio Caccini, Claudio Monteverdi, and Heinrich Schütz, as well as the music of Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms, Fauré, Wolf, Ravel, Poulenc, Britten, and American composer Stephen Paulus.
Dr. Friedley has considerable experience as a tenor soloist. He has sung the tenor solo parts for oratorio performances in New Jersey, California and Idaho, and given numerous solo recitals. His operatic credits include roles in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Puccini's La Bohéme, Johann Strauss Jr.'s Die Fledermaus, and Cavalli's L'Egisto. He served as Music Director for the ISU production of Man of La Mancha for the grand opening of the L.E. & Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center in 2004. He has since directed music and conducted for numerous productions in ISU Theatre-Dance as well for ISU summer musicals since 2014.
Selected Performances:
- Franz Schubert, Winterreise, March 2018, with pianist Dr. Kori Bond
- Hugo Wolf, Spanisches Liederbuch, March 2019, with soprano Diana Livingston Friedley and pianist Mark Neiwirth
- G. F. Handel, Messiah, December 2021, Idaho State Civic Symphony, Dr. Scott Anderson, guest conductor
Susan Hughes
Instructor of Music | Oboe
Office: FA 204A
- B.M.E. 1985, Idaho State University
Joined ISU Faculty in 2001.
Oboist Susan Hughes has held the principal oboe chair in the Idaho State Civic Symphony since 1990 and is the applied Instructor of Oboe at Idaho State University. Susan has performed with several faculty chamber ensembles as a music department member. She has been a featured soloist with the Idaho State Civic Symphony, the Idaho State University Wind Ensemble, and the Idaho State Civic Symphony Youth Orchestra. As an orchestral musician, Susan has performed on oboe and English horn with the Idaho Falls Symphony Orchestra, the Sun Valley Symphony, the Teton Chamber Orchestra and the Snake River Chamber Orchestra as well as a collaborative performer in the Idaho State University Baroque Festival and with the Idaho State University Chamber Choir. As a commercial artist, she has performed with musical ensembles supporting artists such as Chris Botti and Kurt Bestor.
Susan has participated in master classes and workshops taught by oboist Stephenson, Martin Schuring and John Mack as well as an English Horn workshop by Carolyn Hove.
As part of her continued professional development, Susan has studied Body Mapping with Barbara Conable and oboist Dr. Stephen Caplan and has been a participant in an Alexander Technique workshop with oboist Dr. Laura Medisky.
Kristi Ballif
Instructor of Music | Flute
Office: FA 213
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B.M. 2000, Brigham Young University
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M.M. 2002, Arizona State University
Joined ISU Faculty in 2021
Kristi Ballif teaches the flute studio at Idaho State University and performs as Principal Flute with the Idaho State Civic Symphony. She also teaches Flute Ensemble, Elementary Music Methods, and Music and the Humanities at Brigham Young University-Idaho. Prior to moving to Idaho, Kristi taught the flute studio at Colorado Mesa University and played with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra and the Western Colorado Flute Choir. As a performer, Kristi won the National Flute Association Convention Performer's Competition in 2012 and 2019 and has been a guest for the Music at Temple Square Concert Series and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She and her clarinetist husband have also performed together at the National Flute Association Convention, as well as the International Clarinet Association Clarinetfest. As a clinician, she has presented for the National Flute Association Convention, the Colorado Flute Association, the Colorado Music Educator’s Association Convention, and the Gateway Canyons Lecture Series. In addition to her classical flute studies, Kristi enjoys playing the Irish flute and Highland Bagpipes.
Kristi earned a Bachelor of Music degree in flute performance from Brigham Young University in Provo, where she studied with Elizabeth Weissman. She then earned her Master of Music degree in flute performance from Arizona State University, studying with Trygve Peterson and Liz Buck. She is also certificated in the Kodály Method of teaching from the Organization of American Kodály Educators.
In her spare time, Kristi enjoys spending time in various art mediums, but especially in photography. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in photography from Brigham Young University-Idaho.
Dillin Diggie
Instructor of Music | Bassoon
Office: FA 204A
Dillin Diggie is currently instructor of bassoon at Idaho State University and performs as principal bassoon in the Idaho State Civic Symphony. He has also performed in various ensembles within the Southeastern Idaho area, including the Idaho Falls Symphony.
He studied at Idaho State with Dr. George Adams and prior studying privately with Jan Eddington. He has also participated in masterclasses with John Clouser and Amy Pollard.
In addition to this, Dillin works in language revitalization for the Shoshone-Bannock tribes with a focus on the Bannock language.
Robert Wilson
Instructor of Music
Office: FA 316
- B.M., Idaho State University
- M.Mus., Indiana University
Joined ISU Faculty in 2024
Robert Wilson is a performer, composer, and educator. He holds a bachelor's degree in violin performance from Idaho State University and a master's degree in violin performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where he is now completing his doctoral degree in music education.
At Indiana University, Robert studied with leading figures in string pedagogy, including Mimi Zweig, founder of the IU String Academy, and his mentor Brenda Brenner, conductor of the IU String Virtuosi Youth Orchestra. He also studied composition with Stephanie Ann Boyd, composer-in-residence with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and faculty at the Iceberg Institute in Vienna.
Drawing on his years of compositional study, Robert brings both a creative and analytical perspective to teaching music theory. He encourages students to connect musical construction with the aural experience of sound, showing how theoretical insight can enrich performance, listening, and teaching.
He currently teaches music theory at Idaho State University, conducts the Youth Chamber Orchestra, maintains a violin and viola studio, and is at work completing his doctoral dissertation.
Dr. Scott Anderson
Professor Emeritus | Director of Choral Activities | Professor of Voice
- B.A. 1982, Whitworth College
- M.Mus. 1984, Westminster Choir College
- D.M.A. 1993, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Joined ISU Faculty in 1992 (1992-2003; returned in 2005)
Dr. Scott Eric Anderson conducts the ISU Chamber & Concert Choirs, the Camerata Singers, and teaches Choral Conducting, Choral Methods, and voice. Dr. Anderson has received Idaho State University's "Master Teacher" and "Outstanding Public Service" awards on three occasions. He has studied conducting with such eminent teachers as Eph Ehly, Joseph Flummerfelt, Allen Crowell, Frauke Hassemann, Wilhelm Ehmann, Robert Shaw, and many others.
Choirs under Dr. Anderson¹s direction have traveled throughout the United State, Europe, and South America. As Director of Choral Activities at Idaho State University, Anderson has led the Idaho State University Chamber Choir or Camerata Singers on performance tours of Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Brazil, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Italy, Greece, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Peru, France, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Idaho State University choral ensembles have performed under Anderson's direction at state, regional and divisional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and the Music Educators National Conference.
Dr. Anderson serves as the Artistic Director of the Idaho International Choral Festival where choral groups from around the world join together in Pocatello, Idaho for a week of choral performances, conducting master classes and artistic and cultural exchange. He has served the American Choral Directors Association in state, divisional, and national offices, and has been featured as guest conductor, lecturer and teacher throughout the United States and abroad.
Kathleen Lane
Professor Emeritus | Professor of Voice
- B.M.E. 1978, University of Montana
- M.Mus. 1988, Yale School of Music
Joined ISU Faculty in 1993
Professor Kathleen Lane joined the Idaho State University voice faculty in 1993, after teaching singing for five years at the Yale University School of Drama, where her studio included award-winning actors Paul Giamatti and Liev Schreiber. She currently serves in the Department of Music as Vocal Coordinator and head of Opera ISU, while appearing as a singer and actress throughout the region and maintaining a busy and successful vocal studio. Last January, she was featured in the title role of Gian-Carlo Menotti’s opera The Medium at Old Town Actors Studio here in Pocatello. Also well known as a choral conductor, Prof. Lane founded the ISU Women’s Choir and directed it over two decades. This fall, she served as the guest clinician and conductor for the annual District VI Choral Festival in Ashton.
As general director of Opera ISU since 1996, Prof. Lane has mounted major productions ranging from Johann Strauss and Franz Lehar to Mozart and Puccini. She collaborated with Theatre ISU in 2016 as music director for Frank Loesser’s popular musical Guys and Dolls.
Foremost a dedicated teacher, she offers clinics and master classes throughout the Northwest, presenting in 2015 and 2017 at the biennial conference of the National Association for Music Educators, Northwest Region. Since 2015, she has appeared as a lecturer at the summer Utah Festival Opera Music Theater in Logan.
Throughout Prof. Lane’s entire university career, she has maintained a commitment to youth outreach. Even while teaching graduate students at Yale, she spent summers as the music teacher and assistant director of a large Connecticut day camp with students aged 6-15. During her tenure in Idaho, she has taught voice and opera workshop to middle- and high-school students at the Sun Valley Summer Symphony Youth Program; in 2013, she founded the youth opera workshop at the annual Star Valley Junior Music Festival outside Jackson, Wyoming. For the past two decades, her Opera ISU Outreach Program has brought thousands of Idaho students to her productions at ISU, and has exported ISU Opera Workshop on tour to area schools.
Professor Lane earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree at the University of Montana, followed by post-graduate studies in choral conducting at Portland State University. After winning the 1986 district Metropolitan Opera Auditions, the mezzo-soprano was recruited into the Yale University Opera Program, where she earned her Master of Music degree in 1988, along with the Yale School of Music Alumni Prize.
Dr. Patrick Brooks
Professor Emeritus | Director of Bands | Professor of Trombone
- B.M.E. 1980, University of Illinois
- M.Mus. 1985, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
- D.M.A. 1995, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Joined ISU Faculty in 1991
Patrick Brooks served as Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Idaho State University. In this capacity he conducted the Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band I and guided all other aspects of the ISU Band Program. Dr. Brooks also taught conducting, trombone, and coached various small ensembles. As a trombonist, for eighteen years he performed as a member of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony where he played alongside members of many of the nation’s major symphony orchestras. He has also performed with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, the Portneuf Brass, and is principal trombone in the Idaho State Civic Symphony Orchestra. Prior to coming to Idaho State he held similar positions at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, and at The Latin School of Chicago. Under Dr. Brook’s leadership, the ISU Band program has grown in size and quality, and has developed into a complete band program with a strong regional reputation.
Dr. Brooks holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Master of Music degrees in Wind Conducting and Trombone Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting from Cincinnati. He is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, the International Trombone Association, and Phi Kappa Lambda, and is past- President of the College Band Directors National Association - Northwest Division. Dr. Brooks has appeared as a clinician, guest conductor, and performer throughout the Northwest and Canada. Ensembles under his direction at Idaho State have been invited to perform at numerous state and regional conferences. The ISU Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the College Band Directors National Association Conference in 2004 and 2010, and ISU Jazz I Big Band toured Europe in 2000 and 2007. In 2012 the ISU Wind Ensemble performed at the Idaho Music Educators Association Biennial Conference in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Dr. Randy A. Earles
Professor Emeritus | Past Department Chair and Associate Dean for the College of Arts & Letters | Professor of Music
- B.Mus. 1974, University of Houston
- M.Mus. 1976, University of Houston
- D.M.A. 1991, University of Oklahoma
Joined ISU Faculty in 1991; Retired Summer of 2019
Dr. Earles has won several awards for his compositions, and many of his creative projects have been published or recorded commercially. His transcription for concert band of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite was recorded on compact disc by Frederick Fennell and the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, and published by Ludwig Music. Recently he completed commissions for the Twin Falls Municipal Band, and for the piano duo of Mark Neiwirth and Jeanne Green-Sherman. His Bluebrass Music was performed by the Portneuf Brass for the presidential investiture gala concert for ISU President Arthur Vailas, and his Oklahoma Elegy was performed by the Magic Valley Symphony. In Summer 2013 his choral composition, Sing the World Together, was used once again as the grand finale for the Idaho International Choral Festival, where it was sung jointly by nine choirs from eight countries on four continents. His band composition, Idaho Celebration, was commissioned by the State Department of Education and was performed by many Idaho high schools bands. His new composition, Five Metric Dances, was given its premiere performance in February 2013 by the ISU Wind Ensemble.
Dr. Earles has performed on trumpet with the Portneuf Brass, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Pops Orchestra, the Houston Ballet Orchestra, the Oklahoma City Community Orchestra, the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, the Idaho Falls Symphony, the Magic Valley Symphony, the Snake River Chamber Orchestra, and he has toured the USA with show bands.
Dr. Thom Ritter George
Professor Emeritus | Past Director of Idaho State-Civic Symphony | Professor of Music
- B.Mus. 1964, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
- M.Mus. 1968, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
- D.M.A. 1970, Catholic University of America
Joined ISU Faculty in 1983; Retired in 2007.
Dr. George conducted the Idaho State-Civic Symphony in more than 190 programs featuring a wide repertoire and many internationally recognized soloists. He was a frequent performer at the White House during his years as composer/arranger for the United States Navy Band in Washington, D.C. Upon completing his doctoral degree, he was appointed music director and conductor of the Quincy, Illinois, Symphony Orchestra until 1983, when he accepted the position at ISU.
Dr. George has composed more than 350 works. Many of his works are recorded and many have won prestigious awards, including the Edward B. Benjamin Prize, the Howard Hanson Award, and the Seventh Sigvald Thompson Award. He is also a recipient of annual awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) since 1965. His compositions are published by Boosey and Hawkes, Southern Music Company, and Tuba-Euphonium Press, among others.
Recently completed scores include Orpheus, a large choral-orchestral score that received its premiere in April 2005, Psalm 121 for choir, and a Trio for flute, bassoon, and piano which was featured at the 2002 International Double Reed Society's conference in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
Dr. George is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, ASCAP, National Band Assocation, American String Teachers Association, and the American Symphony Orchestra League. He is listed in many references including Who's Who in America, the World Who's Who of Musicians, and Bernard Garaude's Dictionary of Conductors. Dr. George received the Excellence in the Arts Award from Idaho Gov. Phil Batt in 1998, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Pocatello Mayor Roger Chase in 2005.
Dr. Alan E. Stanek
Professor Emeritus | Past Department Chair | Professor of Woodwinds
- B.M.E. 1961, University of Colorado
- M.Mus. 1965, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
- D.M.A. 1974, University of Michigan
Joined ISU Faculty in 1976; Retired in 2001.
In addition to his administrative duties, Dr. Stanek was responsible for teaching clarinet, clarinet performance literature, woodwind methods for music education majors, coaching chamber music ensembles, and supervising student teachers. From 1976 to 1980 he was the Conductor/Music Director of the Idaho State Civic Symphony. He served as principal clarinetist of the Idaho State Civic Symphony from 1980 until his retirement in 2001, and the Pocatello Municipal Band for thirty-six years.
Dr. Stanek is an active member of the International Clarinet Association, serving as its President from 1996 to 1998 and Historian for the association 2003 to 2016. He has performed internationally in France, Belgium and Hungary in addition to guest artist appearances at ICA ClarinetFests® held at major universities in the United States. He is the author of numerous articles about clarinet performance and literature and has published reviews of various conferences, new clarinet music and recordings in the association's quarterly journal The Clarinet. His article entitled Clarinet Solo Preparation: A Course of Study and a Review of Recommended Solo Literature is published electronically on The Online Clarinet Resource.
Dr. Stanek was honored with the Governor's Award for Support of Arts Education in October 1998, was inducted into the Idaho Music Educator's Hall of Fame in January 2006, and received the President’s Medallion Award for outstanding accomplishments, exceptional service and personal generosity which reflect the admirable principles and ideals which bring distinction to Idaho State University in 2017. More recently, the International Clarinet Association awarded Honorary Membership to Dr. Stanek for Lifetime Achievements in Performance, Teaching and Professional Service at its annual ClarinetFest in July 2019.