Students
Brett Bailey
Brett completed his WCU degree as a piano major in Music Composition. He continued on to his master’s degree in film scoring at USC.
Ian Sadock
Ian Sadock graduated from WCU with a double major in Jazz Piano Performance and Pre-Med. He continued on to complete his M.M. at University of the Arts, and is currently teaching and performing in the Philadelphia area.
Monica Frank
Monica began her studies at WCU in Music Education, but soon realized her true calling and changed her major to Performance. She has participated in masterclasses with such artists as Brian Ganz, Ann Schein and Walter Hautzig. She graduated in 2014, and went on to complete her M.M. in Piano Performance at Manhattan School of Music, and now lives in London. Below are links to video excerpts from her senior recital.
Julie Hall
Julie graduated from WCU with a B.M. in Jazz Performance. She has performed with WCU’s Latin Jazz Ensemble and the Criterions, and was featured at Hershey Park as part of their summer entertainment series. While at WCU she also participated in masterclasses with guest artists such as Kim Nazarian (New York Voices), Fred Hersch and others.
Alex Marthaler
Alex was a piano major in WCU’s Music Composition program, where he performed in numerous solo recitals of his own compositions as well as standard repertoire. He served as pianist for WCU’s award-winning Wind Ensemble. He recently completed his M.M. in Music Composition at Carnegie Mellon, and is currently teaching and performing in Pittsburgh. Click below to listen to “Filaments” from Imprints and Abstractions. This piece won First Prize in the Keystone Composition Competition, Artist Division.
Matthew Harris
A 2008 graduate of WCU, Matthew performed in masterclass for Nelita True and Jack Winerock. He is a past winner of the WCU Sophomore Scholarship, awarded to an outstanding pianist in the music education curriculum.
Danielle Molan
Danielle graduated in 2008 B.M. in Music Education, and is currently an educator and choral conductor. While at WCU, she won many scholarships, including Jacob’s Music Steinway Award. She was also soloist with the WCU Symphony Orchestra, performing the first movement of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto #3.
“Looking back at myself 4½ years ago, I never would have dreamed of being half the pianist I am today. You have pushed me to reach my fullest potential. Thank you so much for all of your support, guidance, knowledge, understanding and inspiration. I lucked out big time by getting you as a teacher at WCU! I will definitely take with me everything you have taught me thus far, and I look forward to sharing that knowledge with future students of my own.”
Jason Matthews
Jason studied with me throughout his high school years at Unionville, winning the piano chair for the PMEA All-State Jazz Choir. He went on to complete a B.M. in Jazz Piano Performance at University of Miami, and remains in the Miami area where he is in great demand as a keyboardist. Check out this video of “Black and Blue”, by Jason’s former band The Politix: