The Study of Music at Centre

Applied Music Adjunct Faculty

JERRY SCOTT grew up in Pulaski County the son of a farmer. He graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a B.S. and an M.S. degree in Industrial Education. After graduation he taught in the Fayette County School System.

In 1973, Scott and his wife moved to Danville to begin a business venture and retired after 31 years of business in 2006. He has always enjoyed listening and playing music on various musical instruments. During early childhood days it was not uncommon for family get-togethers to include music. Family members would gather and play fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, and harmonica until late in the night.

Scott played folk music with groups on campus while in college and in later years he performed with bluegrass bands and string bands around Kentucky. Lack of money to buy a new banjo while in college encouraged him to make one. Over the past 30 years he has built several guitars, mandolins, fiddles, dulcimers, and banjos. Since retirement, Scott teaches at his home and at Centre College.

DAVID BRYANT has served on the faculties of Centre College, Eastern Kentucky University, Wake Forest University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He currently holds the position of Principal Bassoon of the Huntington Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the Greensboro Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Kentucky Opera, Lexington Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, Carolina Ballet, and the Opera Company of North Carolina.

Bryant's primary bassoon teachers were Michael Burns, Benjamin Coelho, and Christopher Weait. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The Ohio State University, a Master of Arts degree from from University of Iowa, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He also has Master of Library Science degree from the University of Kentucky and is currently a librarian at the Louisville Free Public Library.

A Kentucky native, DANIEL WORLEY has a D.M.A. and M.M. in Music Composition from the University of Michigan and a B.M. in Theory/Composition (guitar emphasis) from the University of Louisville. He’s received commissions from the Albany Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, and SEAMUS/ASCAP among others. His dissertation was the first concept album ever accepted as a dissertation by a major composition program.

In the last 10 or so years Worley has: built and run two recording studios; produced, recorded and/or mastered more CDs than he can remember, including two with his former band CityGoat; and has taught composition and electronic music at U of M. He currently teaches orchestration and composition at University of Louisville as well as guitar, digital music, and composition at Centre College. Worley can often be seen playing dobro with the Kentucky Music Ensemble.

BOB BRYANT

JOHN HARROD has documented, recorded, and performed traditional music for more than 40 years. Born and raised in Shelby County, Kentucky, he has a B.A. from Centre College (1967) and an M.A. from Oxford University (1969) which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. Recently retired, he taught history and English at Owen County High School (16 years) and Frankfort High (8 years).

In the 1970s and ’80s, Harrod played with a number of bands including the Progress Red Hot String Band, the Bill Livers String Ensemble, and the Gray Eagle Band that re-introduced traditional musicians such as Bill Livers and Lily May Ledford to Kentucky audiences. During this time he also worked for three years as a Kentucky Arts Council folk artist-in-residence in Wolfe, Estill, and Trimble Counties.

Along with Mark Wilson and Guthrie Meade, Harrod has produced a series of field recordings of Kentucky fiddle and banjo players that is available on Rounder Records. His extensive field recordings are housed at both the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead and Berea College. He has taught fiddle and conducted workshops at the Augusta Heritage Center, the American Festival of Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington, the Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music, and the Cowan Creek Mountain Music School. He continues to perform with Kentucky Wild Horse, a band that highlights the connections between traditional music and bluegrass. In 2004, Harrod received the Folk Heritage Award of the Governor’s Awards in the Arts for his work in traditional music.

Originally from Ceará-Brazil, DENIS SANTOS has always been involved in teaching and performing. While in Brazil, he taught music theory and flute at the Baptist Seminary of Ceará, Federal Technological Center, Ceará State University (outreach program); besides coordinating one of the largest after school music programs in the state with over 400 students learning voice, woodwind, strings, and brass at the Tapera das Artes Institute.

Santos came to the United States in 2005 to pursue a master degree at Campbellsville University in Kentucky which he completed in May 2008. In 2010, he won the first prize in the college division of the McCauley Chamber Music Competition with his Quarteto Gracioso flute quartet from Campbellsville University.

In 2011, Santos formed the Almeida Duo with Saulo DeAlmeida (cello & bass). The duo married their classical music background with their love for jazz, Brazilian, and gospel music. The result is a versatile and unique ensemble. In 2012, they took their Almeida Duo in concert to South Korea, Japan, and Brazil where they performed at several venues. Their first CD, Amazing Grace, is due to be released in the summer of 2013.

Santos is currently pursuing a D.M.A. degree at the University of Kentucky.

French horn player MISTY TOLLE works with major arts organizations and universities around the country on 21st century musicianship and community engagement.

Tolle was most recently the Director of School and Family Programs at Carnegie Hall, overseeing programs that reach hundreds of thousands of children and families throughout the country and around the world—many of them in economically disadvantaged areas. The Daily News said of Tolle, “[Her] contagious energy and easy, sparkling laugh almost disguise her drive to use art to change lives.”

During her time at Carnegie Hall, Tolle redesigned and aligned the K-12 school programs, conceived of and implemented a Music Lab School in Harlem, launched The Achievement Program (a partnership with the Royal Conservatory of Music to establish a national music standard in the USA), and shared Carnegie Hall’s education program for orchestras with over 40 orchestras across the globe. One leading figure in our field described the young people’s concert that is the focal part of that national program for orchestras as “the single best concert for young people I have ever seen, since Leonard Bernstein.”

Prior to her work at Carnegie Hall, Tolle was the Director of Music Education at the 92nd Street Y, where she managed both the Educational Outreach Department and the School of Music.

A sought after concert designer and host, Tolle creates events for the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Charleston Symphony and many others. Her performing experience includes playing with Broadway orchestras, including Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, and Les Miserables and holding artist residencies throughout the country. She has recorded for BMI and EMI Classics.

Tolle received a B.A. and an M.A. in music from The Juilliard School, where she studied under late New York Philharmonic Associate Principal horn player Jerome Ashby.

ELAINE HUMPHREYS COOK, Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra principal harpist,has appeared as soloist with the LPO, the Louisville Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic, and with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. She has played with orchestras in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Columbus, California, and Aspen having worked with conductors including James Levine, Eugene Ormandy, Seiji Ozawa, and Gunther Schuller. As acting principal harp with the Louisville Orchestra for three years, she performed at Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center.

Cook appears on the Pro Organo label with the Christ Church Girls Choir in works by John Rutter and Benjamin Britten. Cook performed Voices of Ancient Children by George Crumb with the New York Chamber Ensemble, Jan & Francesca DeGiatani, and worked with a New Music Ensemble in San Francisco directed by Jon Adams. Cook holds a bachelor of music degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and master of music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

JEFF JONES

KIM HEERSCHE

COLIN HILL is an active performer and educator of classical percussion, jazz drumset, and world music. With an M.M. from Indiana University and a B.M. from the University of North Texas, Hill is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Kentucky. In addition to his responsibilities as the Visiting Percussion Instructor at Centre College, Hill is the Percussion Director for the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra.

As an artist in the international spotlight, he has been invited to perform showcase concerts at the Taiwanese International Band Festival, Paris Conservatory’s PerKumania Percussion Festival, Boomslang New Music Festival, Percussive Arts Society’s International Convention, Ecole Nationale de Musique in Alencon, France, Jazz Educator Network’s Annual Conference, North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference, and Internation L’Ecole Municipale de Musique in Le Mans, France.

As an educator, Hill has appeared as a guest artist and clinician at numerous high schools and universities throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. He has been a faculty member for the Music for All Summer Symposium, Central Music Academy, The University of Kentucky Drumline, and the University of North Texas Summer Drumline Camp as well as taught, adjudicated, and written music for various high schools and middle schools throughout Texas, Indiana, and Kentucky.

ELIZABETH WOLFE has been an instructor of piano at Centre College for several years. She enjoys training students of all levels, and performs frequently in concert with students and faculty. Wolfe received a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Louisville, where she studied with Lee Luvisi and Dr. David Kaisermen. Her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance was obtained at Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina where she studied piano under Mr. Henry Rauch. Organ is her secondary instrument.

Wolfe revels in helping students to grow into the artistry and expressiveness of creating music on this beautiful instrument. The depth of beauty within the literature for piano is vast and greatly varied, endless in detail, creativity, and inspiration. Developing one’s mind, ear and hands is an exciting process through which the pianist can infuse his own unique personality and musical ideas to convey sounds and moods that move the listener’s heart and mind.

Saxophonist, composer, and educator, DOUG DREWEK, has taught courses including private lessons, saxophone quartets, jazz ensembles, and jazz history at East Carolina University, Chowan Community College, and the University of Kentucky. A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, he has performed with the North Carolina Symphony, the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra and the US Air Jazz Orchestra featuring Ben E. King.

In 1996, Dr. Drewek traveled with the Leon Jordan Continentals on a weeklong tour of northern England. In 2002 he was featured with the East Carolina Jazz Ensemble at the JVC Jazz Festival and the Birdland jazz club in New York City. While in Kentucky, Drewek has played with a variety of ensembles including DiMartino-Osland Jazz Orchestra, The Kentucky Jazz Repertory Orchestra, The Lexington Philharmonic, the Temptations, and Aretha Franklin. He can be heard most recently on the Osland Saxophone Quartet’s recording, Commission Impossible, the DiMartino/Osland Jazz Orchestra’s Quotient, and the Kentucky Jazz Repertory Orchestra’s Flying Home. Other recordings include the world premier of Bob Mintzer’s Rhythm of the Americas with the Osland Saxophone Quartet and the University of Kentucky Wind Ensemble, as well as the University of Kentucky Jazz Ensemble’s Self Contained which was recommended for a Grammy nomination in 2006.

PATRICK BINFORD

DUDLEY SPOONAMORE

MEG SAUNDERS holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Virginia. She completed a Master of Music degree in Violin Performance and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching degree at Eastern Kentucky University. Saunders has been on the music faculty of Centre College since 2003, and is also currently serving on the faculty at Eastern Kentucky University as violin/viola instructor. She teaches over 70 young students with the Heritage Area String Program in Danville.

In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Saunders is a regular performer with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra. She performs regularly on solo and chamber music recitals and maintains a large studio of Central Kentucky students ages 4-18. During summers she serves on the faculty of the Stephen Foster Music Camps and performs with the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra in Virginia.

MARK KANO, tenor, has been acclaimed for his unique tone quality, sensitive musicianship, and comedic acting abilities. In 2009, he performed the leading role of Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus under the baton of Maestro Francesco Carotenuto in Rome, Italy. Kano has sung roles with Cincinnati Opera, Kentucky Opera, Nashville Opera, Lexington Singers, Middle Tennessee Choral Society, Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, and the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been a finalist in the Orpheus National Voice Competition and a two-time winner in the Mid-South Regional National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Competition. Kano was recognized as a Torch Bearer of Excellence and was twice the recipient of the Phyllis Jeness Outstanding Voice Student Award during his tenure at the University of Kentucky.

He is a dedicated voice teacher and his students have been admitted as voice majors to various colleges and universities, have been finalists in the NATS competition, and participated in summer music festivals abroad. Kano holds a B.M. in vocal performance from Middle Tennessee State University and M.M. from the University of Kentucky. He has completed all of the necessary course work towards the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance at the University of Kentucky. Kano currently serves as Coordinator for the Schmidt Youth Vocal Competition and serves on the voice faculty for the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts in addition to private voice instruction at Centre College.

CATHERINE CLARKE NARDOLILLO, soprano, lauded by the NY Times for her “exquisite” singing, is a frequent concert soloist, appearing at Carnegie Hall, and with the Toledo Symphony, Boulder Philharmonic, Evansville Philharmonic, Lexington Philharmonic, Owensboro Symphony, Orchestra Sinfonica dell’International in Rome, Natchez Festival of Music, the National Youth Choir, Nebraska Choral Works, Limestone Chorale, Huntington Choral Society in New York, and the Middletown Chorale in Connecticut. She recently sang Mahler’s Rückert Lieder with the Johnson City Symphony in Tennessee.

Nardolillo has also appeared in operas with the Aspen Opera Theater Center, the Colorado Lyric Theater, Chautauqua Music Festival, Operafestival di Roma, Dicapo Opera, the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre, and the University of Colorado Opera. Some other favorite opera roles include, Alice Ford in Falstaff, both Mimi and Musetta in La Bohème, Elizabeth in God Bless Us Everyone, Violetta in La Traviata, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, and Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte. She has been a prizewinner in the Rocky Mountain District Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions, the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition, the American Traditions Competition in Savannah, Georgia, and the Alltech Opera Scholarship Competition in Lexington, Kentucky.

Nardolillo has toured extensively, performing throughout the United States and in Europe. A native of Maysville, Kentucky, she received her B.M. at the University of Kentucky in 1996, her M.M. from the University of Colorado in 1999, and is currently a D.M.A. candidate at the University of Kentucky. Nardolillo has taught at the Downing Academy for Performing Arts, UK, and Berea College. She currently teaches voice at Centre College and maintains a private studio in Lexington, Kentucky.