Heather Arnold, MM
Adjunct Instructor of Bassoon
B.S., B.M., University of Maryland at College Park; M.M., Peabody Conservatory
Bio:
Heather Arnold is a native of Maryland, but has been teaching and playing bassoon in Fayetteville, NC. for the past eight years. She is currently the adjunct professor of bassoon at Methodist University and the University of NC. at Pembroke. She also teaches private bassoon lessons at Snyder Music Academy and at several middle and high schools throughout the area. For the past three years, she has been a double-reed adjudicator for All-District Band auditions. Heather also plays in the Snyder Church Orchestra, is a member of the FayAllegro wind quintet, and is a free-lance performer in Fayetteville, Southern Pines, and Wilmington.
Before moving to Fayetteville, Heather earned both her Masters degree and Graduate Performance Diploma in bassoon performance from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Md. She studied with Linda Harwell (National Symphony). Heather also earned her Bachelor of Music degree and Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Maryland at College Park. Throughout her studies, she played second bassoon in the National Philharmonic and Gettysburg Symphony Orchestra, and was an active free-lance performer in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia.
Since 2000, Heather has been making Baroque and Contra bassoon reeds for James Kopp Reeds in Oregon. She has also given master classes in reed-making for music education students at UMCP, and enjoys teaching the art of reed-making to her current students.
Associate Professor of Theatre
B.A., Ashland University; M.A., Kent State University; M.F.A., University of Virginia; Ph.D., Ohio State University
Dissertation:
Thomas King at Sadler’s Wells and Drury Lane: Proprietorship and Management in Late Eighteenth-Century English Theatre, 1771-1788
Teaching:
Theatre Survey, Acting, Directing, Dramatic Literature, Theatre History
Playwriting:
High Strung Quartet for Unstrung Voices (John Glines, NYC; West Coast Ensemble, LA; Neptune Productions, San Francisco; Reality Theatre, Columbus, OH), Taking Leave (Humbolt State University), Miller’s Point (Ohio State University), Friendship Calls (Washington & Lee University), Gravel Pudding (University of Virginia), Broken Cadences (University of Virginia), Last Lunch (Ashland University), Bull Black (Kent State University).
Acting:
Mister in Sunday in the Park With George, Marley’s Ghost in A Christmas Carol, J.P. Morgan in Ragtime, Moonface Mullins in Anything Goes, Hysterium in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Nicely-Nicely in Guys and Dolls, Charlie in Tintypes, Flint in Something’s Afoot, Judge Thatcher and Counsetor Robinson in Big River, Oolie in The Salvation of Sunshine Billy (premiere), Owen Musser in The Foreigner, Chrysale in Learned Ladies, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing.
Directing:
Tar Heel Tales, Little Shop of Horrors, Red and Blue, The Spitfire Grill, Little Red Riding Hood: The Opera, Godspell, A Christmas Carol, Woyzeck, Man of La Mancha, Hook, Line and Sinker (premiere), Anything Goes, The Duck Variations, Our Town, Story Theatre, The Taming of the Shrew.
Carlos Castilla, DM
Adjunct Instructor of Classical Guitar
B.M., Los Andes University at Bogotá-Colombia; M.M., D.M., University of Southern Mississippi
Bio:
Carlos Castilla, has been featured as a soloist with orchestras and chamber ensembles, as well as in solo recitals in different cities of Latin-America and the United States. Carlos is the co-founder of Duo Guitiano, along with Cuban-American pianist Amanda Virelles. Duo Guitiano specializes in the repertoire originally written for the guitar-piano duo setting, from 19th century to the present day. In their path, they have rescued forgotten scores from the golden age of the guitar/piano duo, bringing back to life the tradition of this peculiar ensemble.
Dr. Castilla holds a Bachelor of Music from Los Andes University at Bogotá-Colombia where he studied with Maestro Jaime Arias Obregón, and also holds a Master degree and a Doctorate in Guitar performance and pedagogy from the University of Southern Mississippi, studying with Dr. Nicholas Ciraldo.
Before coming to the United States, Carlos worked as a guitar professor at Universidad del Atlántico in his native Barranquilla, Colombia, where he also founded and directed the Philharmonic Society of Barranquilla (SOFIBA), institution that organized and promoted a vast array of cultural events in the community.
Carlos is a devoted teacher and performer and is constantly engaged in recitals, chamber music collaborations, recording sessions and musical theater shows. After living in Nashville, TN for four years, where he taught at Middle Tennessee State University and Tennessee State University, he currently resides in Fayetteville, NC and teaches at Methodist University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina State University, Coastal Carolina Community College, and is the owner and founder of Fayetteville School of Music, LLC.
Carlos’ recordings of solo and duo repertoire are available on iTunes, Amazon and Cdbaby.
Professor of Music
B.A., Azusa Pacific University; M.A., California State University at Los Angeles; D.M.A., Ohio State University
Bio:
Dr. Keith Dippre is currently a Professor of Music at Methodist University, teaching such courses as music theory, aural skills, and composition. Dr. Dippre also received a Regional Artist Project Grant from the Arts Council of Fayetteville and Cumberland County and was an artist-in-residence at the Artist’s Enclave at I-Park (East Haddam, Conn.). In October of 2003, his piece “Pilgrim’s Blues” (for piano, violin, and cowbell) premiered in Northampton, Mass. commemorating the tercentenary celebration of Jonathan Edwards. He has had commissions and performances with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, and his current publishers are Imagine Music (Medina, N.Y.) and Ars Nova Music (Seattle, Wash.), and Renforth Music (New Brunswick, Canada).
On his Fall 2009 sabbatical, he took part in the Fresno New Music Festival and was a guest lecturer at Azusa Pacific University. He was also the recent recipient of ASCAPLUS awards for 2010, 2013, and the 2012 Henry Grady Miller Cup award for his choral work “Daughters of Song.” In 2014, he accepted the Faculty Research and Creative Expression award at Methodist University. In 2016, he performed his piece “Lengua No Más” at the College Music Society National Conference in Santa Fe, N.M. He continues to co-direct the Cape Fear New Music Festival every spring at Methodist University. His most recent publishing is “Ruins of the Pueblo” with Ars Nova Press.
He currently has three publishers: Imagine Music Publishers, Ars Nova Press, and Renforth Music Publications. He recently received a grant from the Arts Council of Cumberland County that funded his recording project for his pieces “California Low Brow” and “Ruins of the Pueblo.” California Low Brow was recently released on Spotify as well as several other digital platforms. Ruins
Susan Durham-Lozaw, DMA
Chair, Performing Arts; Professor of Music; Coordinator, Voice
B.M., East Carolina University; M.M., Meredith College; D.M.A., Boston University
Bio:
Dr. Susan Durham-Lozaw, Professor of Music, joined the Monarchs in 2015 as Coordinator of the Voice Program. She also serves as Chair in the Department of Performing Arts. She holds a B.M. in Vocal Pedagogy from East Carolina University, an M.M. in Vocal Pedagogy and Voice Performance from Meredith College, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education from Boston University. Additionally, Susan has earned certifications in all three levels of Somatic Voiceworks™-The LoVetri Method at the Contemporary Commercial Vocal Pedagogy Institute at Shenandoah University. She completed post-graduate training in the Evaluation and Treatment of the Injured Voice with renowned Singing Voice Specialist and Voice Pathologist, Dr. Wendy LeBorgne at the Institute as well. Susan has served as a performing participant at the Richard Miller Institute of Vocal Pedagogy at Belmont University, Joan Melton’s One Voice course in New York City, the Professional Vocal Pedagogy Workshop at the Boston Conservatory/Berklee College of Music, and in countless masterclasses throughout her career.
As a singer with both national and international performances to her credit, Susan specializes in music theater, but sings opera, oratorio, and concert literature with equal ease. She studies with Jeannette LoVetri and Liz Caplan, both of New York, N.Y. Among her many accolades, Susan is especially honored to have received the title of Best Female Vocalist in the category of music theater from Talent America in New York City and a Cantey V. Sutton Performing Arts Award for her performance in H.M.S. Pinafore in Raleigh, N.C. Locally, Susan has performed with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, the Fayetteville Symphonic Band, and the Cumberland Oratorio Singers.
Susan is a member of NATS, NAfME, The College Music Society, and The Voice Foundation.
Adjunct Instructor of Violin
B.M., Susquehanna University; M.M., East Carolina University
Bio:
Laura Eis earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Susquehanna University in 2001. She received a Master of Music degree in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy and a Certificate of Advanced Performance Studies in viola from East Carolina University in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Currently Ms. Eis is a member of the Fayetteville Symphony, the Wilson Symphony, and concertmaster of the Pitt Community College Orchestra. She has been the assistant director for the North Carolina Suzuki Institute since 2007 and is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and treasurer of the North Carolina and Eastern North Carolina Suzuki Associations. Ms. Eis maintains a private violin and viola studio in Greenville, NC, and is an adjunct faculty member at Fayetteville State University, Methodist University, and Pitt Community College.
Winifred Garrett, MM
Adjunct Instructor of Harp
B.M., University of the North Carolina School of the Arts; M.M., Manhattan School of Music
Bio:
Principal harpist for the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Winifred Garrett is Adjunct Harp Instructor at Methodist University, NC State University, Bennett College, and Guilford College. Harpist in Residence at the Hayti Heritage Center in Durham, N.C., Ms. Garrett teaches adult harp students through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Duke. Harp instructor for Grammy Award winner Justin Robinson of the NC Chocolate Drops, Ms. Garret has coached four students to first prize/first chair wins in local and regional competitions and auditions. As Founder/Artistic Director/Harp Instructor of “The Harp Studio,” she has worked to bring the harp to the children and greater community of the Triangle via private harp lessons, harp ensembles, summer harp camps, and concerts.
Performing her solo debut with the Winston-Symphony Piedmont Triad Symphony in 1994, Ms. Garrett has been a freelance orchestral musician with the North Carolina Symphony, Western Piedmont Orchestra, Long Bay Philharmonic, South Carolina Philharmonic, Greensboro Symphony, and Wilmington Symphony. Her choral credits include performances with the Boys Choir of Harlem, the Girls Choir of Harlem, the Hickory Choral Society, Bel Canto, and the Concert Singers of Cary. Highlights from her performances in New York include performances with Stevie Wonder at the Metropolitan Opera House, Marvin Gaye at Radio City Music Hall, and playing the Off Broadway and Japan tour of The Fantasticks. Her film credits include the Spike Lee directed films Mo Better Blues and School Daze. Principal harpist for the Longleaf Opera, Ms. Garrett has also performed for the North Carolina Theater, Broadway South, Carolina Ballet, and the Dance Theater of Harlem.
Personal Interests:
I love interior design, Greek cuisine, the study of the universe, and spending time in museums with my family…and of course…ice cream.
Scott Marosek, DMA
Professor of Music
B.M., M.M., University of Missouri at Kansas City; D.M.A., University of North Texas
Bio:
Pianist Scott Marosek has shared his music with audiences in China, Israel, and throughout the United States, appearing at such venues as Xinghai Hall, the Jerusalem Music Centre, and the Wilson Center (Wilmington, NC). Recent concerto performances include Mozart’s Concerto no. 9, Liszt’s Totentanz, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Mozart’s Double Concerto, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Scott has performed at conferences presented by the College Music Society, the Society of Composers, Inc., the North American Saxophone Alliance, the North Carolina Music Teachers Association, and the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology. He has also performed several solo recitals sponsored by the Van Cliburn Foundation. Scott holds an endowed chair position in the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. As a result of his interest in new music, he has given premieres of several new works and is co-director of the Cape Fear New Music Festival.
As a Professor of Music at Methodist University, Dr. Marosek teaches piano and music history. He spends his summers teaching young pianists at the Methodist University Summer Jam, where he also works as assistant director. He has also taught piano at Southwestern Adventist University and keyboard classes at the University of North Texas. Scott lives in Wade, N.C. with his wife Stephanie and daughter Laurel. His other interests include guitar, jazz piano, reading, and walking his dog Beatrix. Please visit www.scottmarosek.com for news about Scott’s upcoming performances and to listen to recordings.
Announcing the release of “California Low Brow”, composed by Keith Dippre and performed by Scott Marosek. The work was recorded in May 2021 in the Matthews Ministry Center and is available on Spotify and several other platforms.
Michael Martin, PhD
Union-Zukowski Professor of the Arts; Professor of Music; Director, Choral Activities and Music Education
B.M.Ed., M.M., University of Maine; Ph.D., Kent State University
Professional Teaching Certificate:
- NC Standard Profession I License – Code 84 – 00800 – Music Grades K-12
Bio:
Dr. Martin hails from New England where he taught in grades 4-12, in the capacity of choral, instrumental, and orchestral education positions throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. He has received recognition as a teacher and conductor, having been the recipient of several teaching awards, been a guest conductor, vocal clinician, and as a judge for New England, Midwestern, and East Coast festivals.
Dr. Martin has enjoyed conducting community choral groups in New Hampshire and Maine. He received national attention with his championship barbershop quartet The Management (1986-2003) by touring New England schools in support of music programs. For their work promoting youth involvement in music, the quartet shared the National Education Service Award sponsored by NAfME and the Barbershop Harmony Society. He also received distinction as the recipient of Distinguished Choral Director of the Year from the Maine Chapter of ACDA. He is the immediate past Artistic Director for the Cumberland Choral Arts and is on retainer to build festival choruses for the Fayetteville Symphony. He is currently the Director of Choral Activities, Director of Music Education and Coordinator of Arts Management at Methodist University, where he conducts the MU Chorale, Chamber Singers, “The Noblemen” (Men’s chorus) and “The Grace Notes” (women’s chorus). The MU Chorale, has toured from the Northeast to the mid-Atlantic and southeastern US. They have also toured Europe in 2015 and 2018.
To see audio, photo, and video files are available for Dr. Martin and his Methodist groups, click here. Dr. Martin lives in Fayetteville with his wife Amanda, his son David, and his daughter, Meredith.
Daniel McCloud, DA
Associate Professor of Music; Director, University Bands
B.M., Ball State University; M.M., University of Nevada at Las Vegas; D.A., Ball State University
Bio:
Originally from Gary, Indiana, Dr. Daniel McCloud earned his Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. In 2003 Dr. McCloud earned a Master of Music degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and completed a Doctor of Arts degree in Percussion Performance and Instrumental Conducting from Ball State in 2008.
In addition to university responsibilities, Dr. McCloud serves as an adjudicator, clinician and performer. He is a member of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and the Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, and frequently performs with the Cape Fear Regional Theater.
In addition to being an active performer and conductor, Dr. McCloud is an active composer and arranger. He has received commissions from the World Saxophone Congress in addition to numerous soloists, band and percussion programs. In 2000, he composed the theme music for a documentary film, “Ed Ball’s Century” for PBS affiliate, WIPB-TV at Ball State University. Dr. McCloud has more than 30 percussion compositions published by Dutch Music Partners. He is an Educational Endorser of Pro-Mark, a prominent percussion company, and is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP); Percussive Arts Society and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Currently, Dr. McCloud is the Director of University Bands at Methodist University. Outside of music, Dr. McCloud enjoys cooking, the occasional weekend warrior activity, and spending time with his wife Sandy and their three sons, Zavier, Zander, and Zane.
Adjunct Instructor of Tuba, Euphonium & Trombone
B.M., Columbus State University; M.M., University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
Bio:
Nicholas Psihountas currently serves as the Adjunct Professor of Tuba, Euphonium, and Trombone at Methodist University. Having graduated the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) in 2018 with a Professional Artist Certificate, he remains actively involved with his Alma Mater where he studies with Dr. Mark Norman and Seth Horner of the North Carolina Symphony. Before moving to North Carolina, Nicholas received his Master’s of Music at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (UWM) while studying with Matthew Gaunt. In 2015, Nicholas won UWM’s Spring Concerto Competition performing Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat major, Opus 11. During his undergraduate studies Nicholas worked with Andrew Miller of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. While attending Columbus State University also actively performed on bass trombone in Bradley Palmer’s internationally renowned CSU Trombone Choir.
Nicholas currently freelances as a teacher, musician, and audio engineer throughout the greater Triad Area in North Carolina. Since graduating in 2018, Nicholas has remained as a Co-Instructor for the Tuba & Euphonium studio where he both teaches and performs regularly alongside Dr. Mark Norman. As a musician, he has performed with a variety of ensembles including the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, Greensboro Symphony Brass Quintet, Piedmont Wind Symphony, and North Carolina Brass Band Quintet. He actively subs with the Winston-Salem Symphony Brass Quintet in their effort to spread music to public schools across North Carolina. Nicholas serves as a current member for The American Music Ensemble, a ten-piece ensemble dedicated to performing music by Great American composers of the 19th and 20th Centuries.
Adjunct Instructor of Clarinet
B.A., Pai-Chai University; M.M., East Carolina University
Bio:
Mr. Sejung Ra is a native of South Korea, versatile and critically acclaimed artist and educator who has performed around the world. He wears many hats as a professional clarinetist, conductor, and educator. He is a adjunct professor at Methodist University, is the artistic director and conductor of the Fayetteville Chamber Orchestra, a director of bands and string orchestra at Berean Baptist Academy. Mr. Ra also has a full private teaching studio, his student's names are listed in the national winners of the Music Teachers National Association, Association of Christian schools international, and concerto competitions in the orchestras in the state. Critics have praised clarinetist Sejung Ra his chamber appearances, describing him as “ full of shaping his phrases beautifully with a rich, expressive tome” (The West Deutherzeitung, The Rheinischer Post). He has received much recognition on his keen sensibility in music based on performances in Germany, Italy, Thailand, South Korea, and the U.S. He was a recipient of an award from South Korea’s Dae-Jun Culture and Art Foundation.
He earned a master’s degree of Music in Instrumental Conducting from East Carolina University, received the highest honors from Koln Musikhochschule Standort in Wuppertal, Germany, where he earned his master’s degree in professional performance, and graduated from Pai-Chai University with a Bachelor of Arts in music. He completed a conductor’s summer academy at Accademia San Felice in Italy, as well as the Conductor Institute of South Carolina.
Monica Sparzak, DMA
Adjunct Instructor of Organ
B.M., Salem College; M.S.M, Emory University; D.M.A., University of Michigan
Bio:
Dr. Monica Sparzak is an organist and native of North Carolina. She is a graduate of The University of Michigan with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance: Liturgical, Church, and Synagogue Music. In addition, she holds a Master of Sacred Music from Emory University and Bachelor of Music from Salem College.
Dr. Sparzak is an adjunct faculty member in the music department and university organist. She has given organ recitals throughout the United States, specializing in accompanying major works. She has served as Director of Music/Organist at churches in the Midwest and Southeast. In addition to her role at the university, she maintains an organ studio in the Fayetteville area. Currently, her interest includes the role of music and music education with special needs children; specifically, how neuroplasticity in children with brain injury can affect a student’s perception of music. In addition to her love of organ, she enjoys ringing handbells. She was a bass and battery ringer with the Detroit Handbell Ensemble in Detroit, Michigan.
Dr. Sparzak is an active member of the Fayetteville-Sandhills chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association (CHASA). Outside of music, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family. Dr. Sparzak resides in Eastover, N.C. with her husband and two children.
Linda Volman Lane, MM
Fine Arts Coordinator; Adjunct Instructor of Flute
B.M.A., University of South Carolina; M.M., Louisiana State University
Bio:
Linda Volman Lane is a flutist and piccoloist in the Fayetteville, NC area. In the fall semester of 2008, she began her study as a Doctoral Candidate at Louisiana State University and was the Substitute Flute Professor for the semester. She is currently the Adjunct Flute Professor at Methodist University, flutist with the Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, substitutes in area orchestras, and she also has a thriving flute studio. Most recently, Mrs. Lane performed in the pit orchestra for Theatre Raleigh’s production of The Secret Garden and Cape Fear Regional Theatre’s production of The Little Mermaid.
While in Atlanta from May 2010 to May 2011, Mrs. Lane was the Piccoloist for the Tara Winds Concert Band and soloed with them at University of Southern Mississippi. While in Louisiana she was the 3rd Flute/Piccolo for the Baton Rouge Symphony and was the Principal Flutist with the Louisiana Sinfonietta. She was Principal of the LSU Wind Ensemble during the two years of coursework for the DMA as well as the two years of her Master’s Degree. She also played with the LSU Symphony Orchestra for two years while getting her Master’s Degree.
Before attending Louisiana State University, Mrs. Lane received her Bachelor’s Degree in Flute Performance from The University of South Carolina. There she was Principal Flutist for both the Symphony Orchestra and the Symphonic Band. She was a substitute for the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra as well as the Augusta Symphony Orchestra. She was the state winner for the South Carolina MTNA solo competition and received second place at the regional level.
Outside of music, Mrs. Lane enjoys cooking, movies, and spending time with her husband John, his children Alexis and Kylie, and their pets.