Alumni Notes
Caroline Steiger (BM ’10, DMA ’16, horn) was recently appointed associate professor and director of brass at the George Mason University Riva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music after teaching at Texas State University for eight years. She is excited to join several SMTD alumni on faculty. (1/2025)
Deanna Sirkot (BM ’13, clarinet) joins the seven-time national-prize-winning Akropolis Reed Quintet as operations and development manager, marking the ensemble’s first administrative position. With a wealth of past experience at the Arts Collab and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Sirkot has spearheaded initiatives that increased arts education opportunities and reached thousands of young artists each year. (1/2025)
Dan Piccolo (BM ’01, percussion; MM ’06, improvisation; DMA ’15, percussion); fellow alumni Anthony DiSanza (MM ’92, DMA ’03, percussion), Neeraj Mehta (MM ’07, DMA ’12, percussion), and Jonathan Ovalle (BM ’98, MM ’00, percussion); and Canadian percussionist Shawn Mativetsky perform together as Ensemble Duniya. Their debut album, Time’s Arc, was released in March 2024.
Nermis Mieses (MM ’09, DMA ’13, oboe) released her solo debut album Oboe in Hues: Through the Virtuoso Landscapes of Gilles Silvestrini on Navona Records, which stated: “Accomplished oboe virtuoso Nermis Mieses champions rarely heard compositions for solo oboe… with astounding empathy and bravado… An intriguing exploration of the oboe and all that it is capable of.” (1/2025)
In April 2024, Melissa Mashner (MM ’17, flute) performed the Michigan Consortium premiere of Alan Theisen’s Concerto for Flute and Wind Ensemble, L’histoire de la Nouvelle-Orléans (2023) at Hill Auditorium with the Concordia University Wind Ensemble. Mashner is president of the Southeast Michigan Flute Association and teaches at Concordia University Ann Arbor and Adrian College.
Eliza Kinney (BM ’11, percussion) was recently appointed principal timpanist of the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra in Bakersfield, California.
Corynn Nordstrom (BM ’03, clarinet, music education; MM ’08, music education) was the 2024 recipient of the Civic Music MKE (Civic Music Association of Milwaukee) Certificate of Excellence for general music instruction. Nordstrom currently teaches early elementary general music in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and is a passionate advocate of public music education for all students.
Kellie McInchak (BM ’02, music education) is in her 23rd year of teaching middle school band. She is currently a band director for Tecumseh Public Schools in Tecumseh, Michigan, where she works alongside her husband, Joe McInchak (BM ’02 trombone). Additionally, she serves as an adjunct professor at Adrian College, where she teaches woodwind methods. (1/2025)
Kent Eshelman (BM ’02, tuba; BFA ’02, jazz studies) released an album, Firm Foundation (Summit Records), with the ensemble QuinTuba – the first venture of this five-tuba ensemble. Eshelman is professor of music at Baylor University. (1/2025)
Jeremy Van Hoy (BM ’93, euphonium) is celebrating 30 years since his appointment as bass trombonist with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. (1/2025)
Jamal Duncan (BM ’98, clarinet) is associate director of bands at Arizona State University. In 2024, he and his ASU Wind Symphony gave a featured performance at the College Band Directors National Association Western/Northwestern Divisional Conference. Duncan also presented at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) Conference in Gwanju, South Korea.
In 2024, Deborah Rebeck Ash (MM ’77, DMA ’99, flute) performed her own compositions at the Florida Flute Association Convention and the National Flute Association Convention, and lectured at the International Low Flute Festival. She also conducted the Southeast Michigan Flute Association Flute Choir’s world premiere of the Nina Shekhar (BM ’18, composition, flute) composition Cloudburst.