JI HYUN KIM – VIOLIN FACULTY

The Korean-Australian violinist Dr. Ji Hyun Kim is an Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola and Director of String Orchestra at Spring Arbor University. She is also the founder and Artistic Director of ConTempus Initiative, a collective contemporary music ensemble committed to presenting creative and collaborative performances for all ages.

She has made numerous media appearances worldwide and performed in major cities of South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, Luxembourg, Austria, and the United States. In Michigan, Kim has appeared as soloist for the Livingston Symphony and Jackson Symphony Orchestras. Kim’s outstanding musicality has been recognized through her success in both national and international competitions hosted by the Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Foundation, Yamaha Music Society, Chamber Music New Zealand, International Grieg Society, and International Golden Classical Music Awards.

Kim holds decades of experience serving as concertmaster and principal violinist of various ensembles and orchestras including the Sydney Sinfonia, Ad Libitum, Musique 21, Vianden Summer Music Festival orchestra, Society of International Music Artist Orchestra, and the Lansing Symphony and Jackson Symphony Orchestras. As a dedicated educator, she regularly presents instrumental demonstrations, clinics, guest lectures, and master classes to various audiences ranging from pre-school children to college-level students and adults.

Kim received a Bachelor of Music Performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Australia, and completed her Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at Michigan State University.

AMANDA SMITH – VIOLA FACULTY

Violist, Dr. Amanda Smith is an active orchestral and chamber musician in the West Michigan area having performed with the Traverse, Battle Creek, West Michigan, and Jackson Symphonies. While pursuing her Artist Diploma and serving as graduate assistant at Ball State University, she performed with the Muncie and Anderson Symphonies, and served as principal violist for the East Central Indiana Chamber Orchestra.

As an advocate for new music, Dr. Smith is a member of the West Michigan New Music Collective, which seeks to make classical music accessible to people from all backgrounds. Dr. Smith has premiered works by Adam Kennaugh, Mary Jane Halco, Nate Bliton, and Laura Roth. Dr. Smith is also a dedicated teacher maintaining a studio at Ada Conservatory of Music, and is on faculty for Poppen programs in Muskegon.

She has spent summers teaching at various camps including the MASTA camp, and is on faculty at the Music for the Sake of Music summer festival in Green Bay Wisconsin. Dr. Smith earned her Master’s degree from Western Michigan University and Doctor of Musical Arts from Michigan State University.

SUSAN CLARK – CELLO FACULTY

Susan Clark Joul has varied interests and opportunities as a musician. She is the principal cellist and personnel manager for the Rochester Symphony Orchestra. This leads to many performance opportunities including recitals and community events that she contracts through her own business, Ivybrooke Strings. She also works independently as a cellist and frequently performs for churches, choirs, and with chamber and symphony orchestras.

Ms. Joul is also the pianist for The Ivybrooke Duo. With violinist Zeljko Milicevic, they often perform in recitals, churches, and community outreach events. Their recent performances include two classical recitals featuring the music of Schubert, Mozart, and Handel and Smetana. Another very important part of her piano work is accompanying the talented students of the Oakland Youth Orchestras for their outreach concerts.

As a soprano, Ms. Joul is a soloist at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church of Rochester. She has performed solos with several orchestras including the Rochester, Midland, and Lake St. Clair Symphonies . Most recently, she sang a commissioned piece written by Michigan composer, Catherine McMichael, for the American Guild of Organists National Conference at Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor.

Since 1999, Ms. Joul has taught cello, piano, and voice to many students in her private studio. She focuses mainly on cello and piano now and has many dedicated middle and high school cello students, all of whom perform in the Oakland Youth Orchestras program. Ms. Joul is an adjunct faculty member of IvyTech College in Indiana where she teaches virtual classes in music-related subjects as well as presents virtual recitals.

RICK DAPPRICH – BASS FACULTY

Double Bassist Rick Dapprich has performed in Europe, Asia, and Australia, He is a frequent performer with the Ann Arbor, Flint, and Saginaw Bay Symphonies, and was formerly Principal bassist with the Oakland Symphony.

As an educator, he has 35 years of studio teaching experience, including at EMU, Concordia University, and in Beijing, China. In addition to studio teaching, Rick is active as a clinician and sectional coach in the Detroit area. He is an advocate of George Vance’s Progressive Method for the Double Bass for beginning and intermediate students, and develops individual programs of study for advanced players. Many of his students have been accepted to study Bass at the collegiate level.

Rick holds degrees in Music Performance from the University of Michigan, Florida State University, and Eastern Michigan University.

GREG CUNNINGHAM – PHILHARMONIA AND SYMPHONY WIND ENSEMBLES CONDUCTOR

Gregory Cunningham is Director of Bands, Professor of Music, and Instrumental Music Program Coordinator at Oakland University, where he conducts the Oakland University Wind Symphony, teaches undergraduate and graduate coursework in instrumental conducting, and serves as Music Director of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, a regional orchestra in residence at OU. In his 23rd year at OU, the range of performance activities of the Oakland University Wind Symphony, the university’s premiere auditioned wind band has significantly diversified in terms of regional scope and comprehensiveness of repertoire. Within the last decade, the OU Wind Symphony has toured throughout the state of Michigan, performed twice at the Michigan Music Conference, and was one of eight collegiate bands, invited through blind peer review, to perform at last year’s 2018 College Band Directors National Association North Central Conference.

Prior to his appointment at OU in 1997, Gregory was the Doctoral Conducting Intern at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (1994-1997). During his residency, Cunningham taught courses in conducting, served as a staff conductor within the University of Illinois Band Department, was an Editorial Assistant for the Journal of the Council of Research in Music Education, made appearances as guest conductor with the Champaign-Urbana and Illini Symphony orchestras, and performed as the Principal Conductor of the Springfield-based (IL) Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony and Sangamon Valley Youth Chamber Orchestra.

From 2010 – 2015, Dr. Cunningham served as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Warren Symphony Orchestra, a regional professional orchestra located in Southeastern Michigan.

Dr. Cunningham remains very active as a clinician and adjudicator of high school and middle school orchestras/bands and has served as guest conductor for various district and state level honors ensembles throughout the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast. He has presented/co-presented workshops for instrumental music teachers at the Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin Music Educators conferences, has co-presented at the MENC National Conference, and the Symposium on Music Teacher Education. He has made guest appearances as an Artist in Residence at the University of Illinois–Urbana Champaign, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, the University of North Carolina – Wilmington, and has also served on the summer faculties of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Illinois Summer Youth Music, University of Iowa Summer Music Camp, and Shell Lake Music Camp.

PAMELA KLENA – OYO PHILHARMONIA & SYMPHONY WIND ENSEMBLES CONDUCTOR

Dr. Pamela L. Klena serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Oakland University where she conducts the Oakland University Symphonic Band, teaches elementary and secondary instrumental music education methods courses, and supervises student teachers.

Dr. Klena earned a BME from Lee University, a MM in Wind Conducting from Central Michigan University, and a DMA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Prior to her graduate studies, Dr. Klena was the Director of Bands at Trinity Christian School in GA where she taught beginning, middle, and high school band, general music courses, and conducted school musicals.

She has traveled extensively, promoting music education and leading masterclasses in countries such as Jordan, Brazil, and Kenya. Dr. Klena’s primary research interest is gender diversity among wind band conductors and is committed to furthering inclusivity in the field. Other research interests include audience engagement and recruitment in the 21^st century. She believes this continuing research will enhance the field of music and conducting while the existence of wind band music in the academic environment continues to evolve.

KENNETH KROSCHE – OYO BRASS ENSEMBLE CONDUCTOR

Kenneth Kroesche is the Professor of Trombone, Euphonium and Tuba at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. He holds a master’s and doctorate of musical arts degree in performance from the University of Michigan, in addition to a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Texas State University.

He has appeared as a euphonium soloist with a number of notable ensembles, ranging from the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the U.S. Army Band at the West Point Military Academy. The Washington Post described him as “an expert on the instrument.”

As an orchestral musician, he is the principal trombonist of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra and the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. He is a frequent guest musician with the area’s leading ensembles which include the Detroit Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Flint Symphony, Toledo Symphony and Detroit Chamber Winds. In addition, each summer he performs as euphoniumist with the Toledo Symphony Concert Band.

SAMANTHA HICKEY – SECTIONAL COACH

Ms. Hickey is excited to re-join the OYO community through their virtual program as a sectional instructor. A previous student in the OYO program, Ms. Hickey came back as a chamber group and sectional instructor. She is a cellist, private cello instructor, and orchestra director. She has studied cello with Wendy Stuart as a younger student and Bruce Uchimura when she attended Western Michigan University where she also studied Music Education. Samantha is entering her fifth year as Orchestra Director at Novi Middle School where she conducts 5 groups of 7th and 8th grade students.

NYSSA RABINOWITZ – SECTIONAL & CHAMBER ENSEMBLES COACH

Nyssa Rabinowitz has been teaching violin for over 10 years to students of all ages and skill levels. She currently teaches at the Rochester Conservatory of Music in downtown Rochester. Mrs. Rabinowitz is an active freelance performer throughout Oakland County and regularly serves as a sectional coach in multiple Oakland County school districts at the middle school and high school levels. She also works at the Detroit Country Day Lower School where she teaches K-2 violin. This is Mrs. Rabinowitz’s 6th year working with OYO as a chamber music coach and sectional coach.