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applied music associates/instructors
Michael Albert attended the University of Southern Maine as a
Double Performance Major in oboe
and voice. He also studied at the Interlochen and Longy Schools of Music.
As an oboe soloist, Michael has performed with the Maine Music Society, the Portland and Bangor Symphony Orchestras,
the Harvard and Brown University Baroque Orchestras, and the North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra in Massachusetts.
Michael has also performed chamber works at various colleges around New England including Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Bates,
Colby and Dartmouth. Michael has also performed as an oboist in various Bach cantatas, John Rutter's Requiem, and Menotti's
Amahl and the Night Visitors. As an oboe soloist, Michael has performed Vivaldi's Concerto in D minor, Bach's Concerto in
C minor for oboe and violin, and the Strauss concerto for oboe. As a countertenor, he has performed throughout New England
as a soloist in Handel's Judas Maccabeus and Messiah, Bach's Mass in B minor, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, Carissimi's
Jephthe and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater. His oboe awards include the Emily K. Rand and Kotzschmar scholarships,
the Maine Governor's Award, and the Maine Bay Chamber Concerts' Harvey Picker prize. His vocal awards include
the Lillian Nordica Award, 1st place at Maine NATS, and the Bay Chamber Concerts' Louise Meyers Vocal Award.
As a composer, Michael co-composed film scores for the PBS documentaries Sweet Ambition and The Polygamist's Daughter.
Both were pre-nominated for a Grammy Award. He currently performs with Initial Ascent (an original composition improve trio),
Port City Winds Woodwind Quartet, the Rogues of Arcadia early music ensemble, Portland Pro Musica, the Southern Maine String Quartet,
and performs chant and chant-based polyphony with the Schola Cantorum of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, ME.
Graybert Beacham (violin and viola), holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music from the
Cleveland Institute of Music and is currently pursuing a D.M.A. at Boston University School of Music.
He has been active as a violinist, violist, conductor, and teacher at a number of universities and schools
of music in the United States. As a violinist and violist, he has performed as concertmaster, soloist, and
in principal positions with orchestras and festivals throughout the United States and Mexico. He is a
founding member of the Nordica Trio. Mr. Beacham is also concertmaster of the Colby Symphony Orchestra.
Jordan Messan Benissan (african drumming), a native of Togo,
West Africa, received a B.A. from the Institut des Sciences Commerciales
in Lome, Togo. A member of the Ewe people, he was introduced to music
and dance at an early age through ceremonies and rituals. He received
his traditional music training from several West African master drummers.
He has taught and performed for all levels, from elementary school
through college level. His first CD, Drumming Through the Spirit of
my Ancestors, has been widely distributed and was adopted by the Hennepin
County Library (Minneapolis) as a teaching resource. Some of his performances
include an opening show for the West African Drummer Babatunde
Olatunji, a performance for the national NAACP Conference and performances
for Mayo Clinic's Multicultural Program.
 Rick Bishop (bass) is a composer-bassist
with the Rick
Bishop Quartet, which is currently playing in the New England area
in preparation for recording what will be Bishop's third album of original
jazz music. His first two (Mister Hide and Intuition) were both released
on the PEP Record label. He has shared the stage with Stevie Ray Vaughn,
David Bromberg and Eddie Kirkland, to name a few, and has taught bass
and guitar at Al Corey's Music Center in downtown Waterville for twelve
years. He has also written a book for bass entitled Applied Diatonics
for the Electric Bass. Rick joined the staff at Colby as
bass instructor in the fall of 1993.
Angela Capps (bassoon) received her Bachelor of Music
degree at The University of Massachusetts at Lowell and Masters at
the University of Maine. She has played bassoon with the Colby Symphony
Orchestra since 1991, as well as in performances with The Mid-Coast
Chamber Orchestra, and as a member of The Karuna Trio. Prior to joining
the Colby Symphony, Angela was a member of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra
and Northshore Philharmonic. Her teachers included Donald Bravo, Matthew
Ruggiero and John Steinmetz.
Carl Dimow
(guitar) is an eclectic musician whose performances
range from blues and jazz to classical and world music. Also an
accomplished flustist, he has appeared in concerts and festivals in the US,
Europe and Central America. Carl performs with the Casco Bay Tummlers
klezmer band who have toured in Germany and Lithuania and have released two
CD’s. Carl composed the music for “She-Who-Loves,” a new work by the
award winning Figures of Speech Theater. He has performed in productions
of that show in Maine, New York City and Boston. Carl graduated summa
cum laude from the University of Southern Maine. He has also studied
privately and in masterclasses with many well-known guitarists and flutists.
He is a Maine Touring Artist and also teaches at the Waynflete School in
Portland.
Annabeth French (voice and organ) received a Bachelor
of Music degree from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey
after majoring in organ with George Markey, Director of the Guilmant
School in New York City, and minoring in voice. She has held church
organist positions and sung with the community choral societies as
a member and as soloist in the New York City and Chicago areas, including
the New York Choral Society under Robert DeCormier. She does extensive
accompanying work for the Colby College Music Department, community
theatre, summer camps, etc. and is currently organist and choir director at First Congregational Church UCC, in Waterville, and Chapel Organist at Colby.
Dennis Harrington (trumpet) earned a Bachelor of Music
degree from the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, New York, and a
Master of Music degree from Ithaca College. He is a member of the Colby
Symphony Orchestra and the Mayflower Hill Brass Quintet. Other performing
experience includes the Lincoln Center Arts Festival Pops Orchestra,
the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, music theater orchestras, various other
orchestras, and as a soloist.
Lee Humphreys, an international performing artist, holds degrees in flute from the Manhattan School of
Music and the University of Michigan. She has served as the principal flute with the Hong Kong Philharmonic
and the Orquesta Filarmonica de Caracas. She has studied with such teachers
as Harold Bennett, Hendrik deVries, Nelson Hauenstein, and Jean Pierre Rampal. She is currently the applied
music teacher in flute at Colby, principal flute in the Colby Symphony Orchestra, and director of the flute choir.
Sebastian Jerosch has been on
the faculty of Colby College since
2000. As a freelancer, he keeps an active performing schedule including commitments
with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, Bangor Symphony, Maine Music Society,
the Maine State Music Theatre and various other groups. Sebastian
also runs a large private low brass studio and he teaches at the University
of Maine at Augusta and Bates College. He received his Bachelor's
Degree in Trombone Performance from Mannes College of Music in 1997 and
is working on his Masters. Amoung his teachers were David Taylor,
freelance recording artist in NYC, Per Brevig, principal trombone,
Metropolitan Opera, and Hal Janks, bass trombone, Metropolitan Opera.
As a native of former East Germany, he received his earliest musical
education at the Musikschule Berlin, first on piano and then trombone where
he also studied with Jürgen Heinel, principal trombone, Deutsche Staatsoper
Berlin. He currently resides with his wife and son in Bowdoinham, Maine.
 Margery Landis
(horn) earned a Master of Music degree in performance from the University of Idaho, a Bachelor of Arts
degree in music history from the University of New Hampshire and studied at Skidmore College.
Her teachers have included Verne Windham (Spokane), Michael Hatfield (Aspen), and Jean Rife (Boston).
Margery is the band director at Mt. Ararat Middle School, plays principal horn with the Colby Symphony Orchestra
and the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Utah Symphony, Washington-Idaho Symphony, Spokane
Symphony, Northwest Wind Quintet, Maine Chamber Ensemble and others. She is active as a horn teacher in the midcoast
area and serves on the applied music faculty at Bates College.
 Mark Leighton (classical guitar) graduated from the New
England Conservatory in Boston, and has been on the Applied Music
Faculty at Colby since 1981. His teachers include David Leisner and
Sharon Isbin. He also teaches at Eastern Nazarene
College in Quincy, MA, and is an active member of the Copley Chamber
Players. Mark has performed throughout New England, including performances at
the Museum of Fine Arts, the Gardner Museum, and Kings Chapel, Boston.
He is also the Artistic Director of First Night Quincy, and the wine
writer for the New Bedford Standard Times.
Gayle Maroon (piano) joined the Applied Music faculty
in the fall of 1995 as a piano instructor. She received her
Bachelor of Music degree from Syracuse University where she was an
honor graduate of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. In addition
to teaching piano at Colby, she has a private studio, adjudicates numerous piano
festivals, and serves as organist at the China Baptist Church.
She is active in the Maine Music Educators Association and the Maine
Music Teachers Association.
Elizabeth Patches (voice) earned her music degrees from
the University of Michigan with majors in applied voice and opera.
She has worked with musicians and composers such as Alvin Brehm,
Gil Kalish, Sam Baron and Martin Canin. Her teachers have included
Pierre Bernac, Ralph Herbert and Josef Blatt. Elizabeth has has made
solo appearances with symphony orchestras, oratorio societies and chamber
music groups in 49 states, Canada, and Europe. She has given recitals
in Alice Tully Hall, Town Hall, and 92nd St. "Y" in New York, and was
an "approved artist" for the U. S. Department of State, singing in
concerts in Europe under their auspices. Elizabeth joined the applied
music faculty at Colby in the fall of 1992.
 Paul Ross (cello) studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music and went on to
receive a Performance Degree in Cello with a sub-major in Conducting from the Juilliard School.
He has been awarded and Honorary Doctorate in Music from Colby College.
His principal teachers have been Leonard Rose and members of the Juilliard
and Paganini String Quartets. Mr. Ross has been principal cellist with the Robert Shaw Chorale,
Quebec Symphony, Florida Symphony, Boston Opera, and Boston Ballet.
He has also performed with the Boston Symphony, the CBC Radio Orchestra, and the Boston Pops.
His awards include the Gold Medal at the Canadian National Exhibition.
 Eric Thomas
(clarinet and saxophone) is also the Director of Jazz and Wind Ensembles.
Mr. Thomas received his Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory
of Music, and has previously conducted the Phillips Academy Andover Jazz
Band, the Phillips Academy Andover Concert Band, and was an assistant to
Sarah Caldwell at the Opera Compnay of Boston. Eric has been a guest artist
at the Bravo! Colorado festival and played clarinet in small chamber ensembles
with Eugenia Zukerman and Yolanda Kondanassis. He is currently composer-in-residence
of the Moab Music Festival (Utah).
 Cheryl Tschanz (piano) received
her undergraduate and master's degrees in piano from Indiana University
and holds a doctorate from the State University of New York at Stony
Brook. She was a recipient of the prestigious Thayer Fellowship for
the Arts for 1986-87, and has similarly been honored as a Fellow of
the Tanglewood Summer Festival. She has appeared as guest soloist with
the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra and in recital at Carnegie Recital
Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the Tanglewood Festival. International
engagements have taken her to Canada, Finland, and Italy. She currently
balances a busy performance schedule with her teaching duties at Colby.
 Joann Westin (piano) received her music training at the
University of Maine at Orono and she has a degree in professional
studies from Thomas College. Joann was an accompanist for community
summer theater for several years. She has maintained a private piano
studio in her home for over 25 years, with an emphasis on intermediate
and advanced students.
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