MUSIC FACULTY

J. Jerome Amend (Trumpet) holds degrees from Amarillo College, the University of Houston, and the University of Louisville. He has enjoyed many professional opportunities, including twenty-eight years with the Louisville Orchestra, fifteen years with IU Southeast, and eleven years as director of the Commonwealth Brass Band.

Andrea Bernson (Piano) joined the IUS faculty in 1990 and teaches private and group piano as well as music fundamentals.  She holds a Master of Music degree from the Catholic University of America and is a renowned teacher and performer.  She was recently the Executive Director of the Arts Council of Southern Indiana, and has created such programs as the Kids Culture Club, the Young Artist Piano Competition, and numerous awards and scholarships for artistic achievement.

Helen Bohannon (Violin) holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, and has performed with the Owensboro Symphony and the Southern Baptist Seminary orchestra. She currently teaches violin at IU Southeast and is concertmaster for the IU Southeast Orchestra. Ms. Bohannon is first violinist and vocalist for Classical Choice, a local trio, and serves as music director for Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana.

Christine Brown (Piano) holds Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees in Music Education from Indiana University, Bloomington. Dr. Brown has performed solo, duet, and concerto repertoire, has accompanied extensively, and appears annually in the IUS piano event, Steinways Alive. Her teaching experience includes piano and classroom instruction at all levels. She began teaching at IU Southeast in 1987, and currently teaches piano and music theory.

Meghan Casper (Viola) received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and her Master of Music degree from Northern Illinois University. Her teachers have included Richard Young (Vermeer Quartet), Atar Arad (Cleveland Quartet), and Mark Jacobs (Cleveland Orchestra), among others. She has participated in the Gros Morne Music Festival (as Artist in Residence), the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival Advanced Quartet Studies, the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, and the Spoleto Festivals in the USA and Italy. Meghan has taught at Northern Kentucky University, the Wyoming Fine Arts Academy, was a musical outreach presenter with the Chicago Public Schools, and was a Teaching Assistant to the Colorado Quartet Soundfest. Meghan is currently a member of the Louisville Orchestra.

Joy Cofield (Piano, Suzuki Piano) holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Piano from Tennessee Temple University, a Master of Music degree in Piano Pedagogy from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. Within the span of 30 years of maintaining her own private studio, Joy has taught class piano for the last 6 years in Wheaton, Illinois, taught at the Lynchburg Talent Education Suzuki School in Virginia for 3 years. Ms. Cofield has been a church musician for 25 years and involved as a theater music/orchestra director in several productions. Ms. Cofield has taught Suzuki piano for 15 years.

Melinda Cumberledge (Voice) holds a degree in Vocal Performance from University of Kentucky, and is an Adjunct Lecturer in Voice at IU Southeast. The Metropolitan Opera National Council District Winner is frequently heard in various roles in regional opera, musical theatre, and cabaret events. She was featured with the Louisville Orchestra on the Nightlites concert series, Christmas Pops, and Live from the Governor’s Mansion.

Mario DaSilva (Guitar) holds a graduate degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and a Bachelors degree from Belmont College in Nashville, Tenn. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mr. DaSilva joined the IU Southeast faculty in 1989, began teaching at Belmont University in 1995, and maintains a busy schedule performing in both areas. He can be heard nightly on the nationally syndicated FM Talk Show “Delilah after Dark.” Mario lives with his family in Nashville.

Marci Dickinson (Piano and Flute) serves as organist, handbell choir and youth choir director at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Louisville. She holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from Indiana University, Bloomington. She has also studied organ extensively with John Walker and Marilyn Keiser. She taught piano at Gavilan College for fifteen years, and was principal flutist for the South Valley Symphony in Gilroy, California. She currently teaches music fundamentals at IU Southeast.

Joshua Faith (Clarinet) holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Indiana University Southeast, where his primary instructors were Donald McMahel (conducting) and Ernie Gross (Clarinet). In addition to teaching at the Arts Institute, Joshua is a founding member of Samavayah, a group that performs kirtan music, a tradition of Hindu folk music from India.

Nicolas Fortin (Violin), born in Québec, Canada, began playing the violin at an early age. He later discovered the Baroque repertoire and the Historical Performance practice while under the great tutelage of Chantal Rémillard eventually completing his Masters in Music at McGill University. Since 2003, Nicolas has collaborated with Susie Napper, famed cellist and gambist, with the Festival Montréal Baroque, which takes place each June in Old Montreal and features the best international Early Music performers over four days. He recently moved to Louisville, and since teaches French at IU Southeast.

Lori Getty (Cello, Suzuki cello) is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and holds a Masters degree in Cello Performance. Ms. Getty is also a Kindermusik® instructor in all levels, and has had training in Suzuki violin and Suzuki cello. She has performed locally as the cellist for the Classical Choice string trio for 10 years and has many years of private teaching experience.

Janet Hamilton (Organ & Piano) teaches organ at IU Southeast. She holds Masters and Doctoral degrees in Organ Performance from Indiana University, Bloomington. She was a soloist at the 1993 national convention of the Organ Historical Society and the 1996 national Pastoral Musicians Convention. Dr. Hamilton is organist and music director at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Lanesville.

Trevor Johnson (Oboe) has been Assistant Principal Oboe with the Louisville Orchestra since 1995, and is an active participant in Louisville's music scene. He also serves as Principal Oboe with the Louisville Bach Society and the Ceruti Chamber Players. Mr. Johnson has been soloist with the Emerson String Quartet, the Louisville Bach Society, the University of Louisville Wind Symphony and Orchestra, the Fort Dodge (IA) Symphony Orchestra, and was a featured guest artist at the 1997 OctOBOEfest Convention. He has performed in such varied venues as the Ohio Light Opera, the Fort Lee (NJ) Chamber Music Series, the CBDNA convention, and on stage at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. Mr. Johnson holds the Master of Music degree from the Hartt School, where he was a student of Humbert Lucarelli, and the Bachelor of Music degree with Highest Distinction from the University of Iowa, where he was a student of Mark Weiger.

Mildred Kemp (Trombone) received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the University of Louisville School of Music and was a member of the Louisville Orchestra from 1957 to 1962. Mildred left Louisville for New York City where she was a member of the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. Ms. Kemp then performed with several other orchestras and was active as a freelance musician, playing in Broadway shows and with the Goldman Band. From 1974-1996, Mildred taught at Memorial High School in West New York, NJ, where she was the choral director. Ms. Kemp returned to Louisville in 1995 and is an auxiliary trombonist for the Louisville Orchestra. She currently is a member of the Louisville Bach Society and Commonwealth Brass Band, and maintains a private teaching studio.

Carol McClure (Harp) is a virtuoso harpist and concert artist, a respected and widely published composer and arranger, as well a nationally recognized teacher. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Carol began harp study at age six, and by age eleven was a student of both Marcel Grandjany and Mildred Dilling, and a master class student of Nicanor Zabaleta. By age fourteen, she had won two major harp competitions, and began her international concert career at age sixteen, performing in Europe. Audiences delight in Carol's concerts and conferences. The virtuosity, elegance and passion of her performances and arrangements express the depth of her faith, and her commitment to Christian discipline at the harp bench. An internationally acclaimed musician, Carol's career has taken her as orchestral harpist from Glasgow, Scotland to New Orleans, Louisiana; and, she has presented solo recitals in churches and concert halls -- from England's historic Coventry Cathedral with Sir David Willcocks to Buenos Aires, Argentina -- throughout the western hemisphere. Over the past ten years, Carol's recordings have bolstered her reputation as a solo artist of distinction. Carol McClure has also emerged as a highly respected and sought-after harp pedagogue. She has held teaching positions in the United Kingdom, New Orleans, Atlanta, Winston-Salem, Memphis, Nashville, and Louisville, and presently serves as Director of Judson School of the Arts in Nashville, the Southern Harp Ensemble, and The Harp School™, which draws harp and chamber music students from ten states. She is the author of The Angel's Harp™, a curriculum for young children based on ear training, sight-singing, harmony, and ensemble peformance, and trains affiliated teachers in the method under the auspices of The Harp School™. Carol McClure is an alumna of the University of Louisville, and earned the degree Master of Church Music at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, with dual emphases in choral conducting and harp. The breadth of her conducting experience includes service as choral director at Queen's Park Baptist Church in Glasgow, Scotland, and Director of Music and Arts at North Decatur Presbyterian Church, Decatur, Georgia. In addition to her performing and recording career, Carol is an active composer. She has been awarded two separate commissions by the Bingham Foundation in Louisville for major orchestral works: Song of Kentucky, and A Kentucky Overture. She is nationally known for her compositions and arrangements for children's voices, and continues to produce a wide variety of original works in different genres.

Marilyn Mathis (Suzuki Piano) holds a Bachelors degree from Gonzaga University, and has pursued doctoral work in clinical psychology at Spalding University. She has served in numerous churches as organist and choir director, and is presently the organist at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Middletown, Kentucky. She is a member of the American College of Musicians, the American Guild of Organists, and the Suzuki Association.

John Moore (Saxophone) holds degrees from Florida State University and Campbellsville College. He teaches at IUS and has taught at State University of New York at Stony Brook, Campbellsville College, and the University of Kentucky. He serves as Director of the Cardinal Saxophone Workshop held at the University of Louisville each summer. Mr. Moore has earned performance honors abroad, and has been recorded on Ethos Recordings, Golden Crest and Dinant Records.

Karl Olsen (String Bass) joined the IU Southeast music faculty and the Arts Institute faculty in 2003. Mr. Olsen is a member of the Louisville Orchestra bass section, the Bowling Green (Ky.) String Academy and the New World Symphony Orchestra. He holds a Bachelors degree in Music Education from University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point, and a Master in Music degree from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Mark Tate (Percussion) earned a Bachelors degree in percussion from the University of Kentucky, and a Master of Music from Washington University, St. Louis. Mr. Tate has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, the Mighty Mississippi Concert Band, the Gateway Festival Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, and is currently percussionist with the Lexington Philharmonic. He teaches at IU Southeast, Bellarmine University, and Georgetown College.

Leila Trindade (Suzuki Violin) Holds a bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Ms. Trindade also holds a Masters Degree in Violin Performance from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. Ms. Trindade also teaches for the Prep Department at the University of Louisville and teaches violin for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary-Boyce college, and the Jewish Community Center in Louisville, KY.