Faculty Spotlight
Joining the composition faculty at SSU is Marcia Bauman who brings a diverse range of talents to the program. Marcia teaches studio composition and helps with the weekly composer’s forum, led by Will Johnson. Check out her music!
Compositionally fluent in both acoustic and electronic media, she created the International Digital ElectroAcoustic Music Archive (IDEAMA) at Stanford to collect, preserve and disseminate historically significant computer and electronic musical works.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in psychology, Marcia studied music, attaining master’s degrees in theory and composition from SFSU and the PhD in composition from the Eastman School of Music.
In addition to composing, Marcia’s private studio includes piano, music theory and songwriting. She is a facilitator for the Helen Bonny method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) – a music-assisted therapy used to explore and work on significant life issues.
Dan Levitan, Studio Harp Instructor
Levitan is the principal harpist with the Marin Symphony (since 1984), Santa Rosa Symphony, Symphony Silicon Valley and San Jose Ballet orchestra. In addition to having performed with San Jose Symphony as principal harpist from 1978 until its closure in 2002, Dan has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Opera, and Ballet orchestras, and is sought after as a soloist with orchestras, choirs, and other ensembles throughout Northern California.
Born and educated in Philadelphia, Mr. Levitan received bachelor degrees in Music Performance and in Music Education from Temple University, both magna cum laude, and was named "Most Promising Musician" on graduation. He has studied with Margarita Montanaro, Co-Principal Harpist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, internationally acclaimed harpists Susann McDonald and Susanna Mildonian, and well-known San Francisco Bay Area harpists Anne Adams, Marcella DeCray, and the late Phyllis Schlomovitz.
Laxmi G. Tewari, Presenter at ICTM
Pandit Laxmi Ganesh Tewari presented his field research of Trinidad at the 2nd Symposium of the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM), Study Group for Multipart Music, held April 22-29, 2012 in Tiranë and Vlorë, Albania.
Tewari presented a video and songs on the theme of Biraha/Loneliness. Biraha is an Indian folk genre present in Trinidad and Tobago that dates back to British colonial rule when poor Indian farmers were transported to British colonies in the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations.
The conference was cosponsored by the Ulysses Foundation of Albania and the Institute for Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.
The ICTM was founded in London in 1947 as the International Folk Music Council. Tewari has been on the faculty of Sonoma State University since 1974. Today he is one of the leading ethnomusicologists with an exemplary body of work on Indian, Buddhist, Arabian and Gamelan music.
Brian Wilson, ELIXIR Case Study
Brian Wilson, Professor of Music, is featured in a case study, Universal Design for Learning in Music Theory, on Merlot Elixir. The multimedia case study includes video of Brian using UDL principles in the classroom, experiences in a Faculty Learning Community, and interviews with his students.
Andy Collinsworth, Educator Award
Andy Collinsworth, Professor of Music, has received the 2011 Byron Hoyt/Don Schmeer Band Educator Award honoring excellence in instrumental instruction and performance. California Association for Music Education (CMEA) President Norm Dea says that Collinsworth was nominated by his peers in music education and selected by the CMEA state board. "It's clear he is a musician and teacher of the highest caliber," Dea said.
Director of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and head of music education at SSU since 2008, Collinsworth is active as a guest conductor, clinician and festival adjudicator throughout California and the Western states. Next year, he will guest conduct the high school honor bands from Contra Costa and Solano counties and the California All-State Junior High Concert Band in Fresno.
Collinsworth says his goal is to make SSU a leading center for music education in Northern California.