Cellist Claire Bryant enjoys an active and diverse career as a performer of chamber music, contemporary music, and the solo cello repertoire. She is equally passionate and committed to her work as an educator and advocate for the inclusion of the arts in society. A founding member Decoda, Affiliate Ensemble of Carnegie Hall, Claire has collaborated with world-class artists including Daniel Hope, Anthony Marwood, Emanuel Ax, Sir Simon Rattle, Dawn Upshaw, the Weilerstein Trio, the Danish String Quartet and members of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, among others. She regularly performs with acclaimed ensembles in NYC such as Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Novus NY, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s.  Read more

Emma Brown is currently a viola and violin teacher at the Suzuki Academy of Columbia and frequently performs as a freelance musician throughout the Southeast. She started her musical training at the age of seven on the violin and later discovered her love for the viola. Emma received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY and her Master of Music degree in Violin and Viola Pedagogy from the University of South Carolina, serving as the Assistant Director of the University of South Carolina String Project under the direction of Dr. Gail V. Barnes. While at UofSC she studied viola and violin pedagogy with Dr. Daniel Sweaney, Dr. Ari Streisfeld, and Dr. Samara Humbert-Hughes.

Prior to moving to South Carolina in 2018 she served as the Assistant Director and master teacher for the SOAR (Strings Off and Running) program at St. Mary’s School in Cortland, NY in addition to teaching private violin and viola lessons and performing with the Catskill Symphony and Clinton Symphony Orchestras. Emma has also completed Suzuki teacher training with Carrie Reuning-Hummel (Every Child Can) and Amanda Schubert (Violin Unit 1).

Joseph Eller is associate professor of clarinet at USC. He has performed solo and chamber music recitals throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. He was appointed principal clarinetist of the South Carolina Philharmonic in 2012 and has played extra with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Opera Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra and numerous other orchestras throughout the southeastern U.S. Read More

Clifford Leaman is associate dean and professor of saxophone at USC. He is in great demand as a soloist and clinician and has performed and taught throughout the U.S., Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Slovenia, Sweden, Thailand and in China where he has been a featured guest artist eight times since 2004. Read More

Dr. Emily Creedle is committed to making her community a better place as an artist citizen by sharing her joy and passion for the flute and music making as a performer and teacher. She is Adjunct Professor of Flute at the University of South Carolina Aiken and the Director of the KinderFlute Columbia program through the Carolina Music Studios at USC Columbia. Some of her middle and high school students currently play with the SC Philharmonic Repertory and Youth Orchestra, have made All-State band, and have won competitions at the South Carolina Flute Society Festival and the New Jersey Flute Festival.

Michael Wilkinson is a versatile music educator and musician who doubles on tenor and bass trombone (as well as alto, contrabass and euphonium) and taught middle school band in Arizona in his “past life.” Equally at home in varied musical styles, he has played with the South Carolina Philharmonic and the Brass Band of Central Florida, as well as being a member of the newly-formed South Carolina Jazz Masterworks Ensemble. Michael released his first solo CD, “Wait for Me!” on Random Act Records in 2017, and is an S.E. Shires Trombone Artist.  Read More

 Hunter Poe is a doctoral student at the University of South Carolina, where he is a teaching assistant to JD Shaw and the horn studio. As an active musician and teacher, Hunter maintains an active horn studio and regularly freelances with orchestra in and around South Carolina. Hunter holds a Master of Music degree from Oklahoma State University and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baylor University. His former teachers include Lanette Compton, Jeffrey Powers and Dr. Kim Haglestein. 

Justin Robinson is Principal Trumpet of the Florence Symphony, an Adjunct Instructor of Brass at Benedict College, and Director of the Brass Ensemble at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC.  He completed his Doctorate in Trumpet Performance at the University of South Carolina, where he served as a Graduate Assistant for Music Theory and played principal trumpet in the USC Symphony Orchestra.  In addition to a DMA in trumpet performance, Dr. Robinson also holds a doctoral minor in music theory, a master's in music performance, and a bachelor's in music education.

Scott Herring directs the percussion area at USC. He frequently appears as a guest artist with university percussion ensembles across the U.S. and has presented concerts and clinics at PASIC 1996, 2002, 2006 and 2011. Read More

Lauren Meccia is director of jazz bands at the University of South Carolina and USC Aiken and instructor of saxophone at USC Aiken. She is the founder and director of the CSRA (Central Savannah River Area) New Horizons Band for senior adults in Aiken, SC and assistant director of the Congaree New Horizons Band in Columbia, SC. 

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Craig Butterfield is professor of double bass and jazz studies at the University of South Carolina where he directs one of the largest double bass programs in the Southeast. American Record Guide has said “Craig Butterfield is nothing short of magnificent. I haven’t heard such expressive playing and virtuosic command since Gary Karr. His tone is gorgeous, his intonation rock-solid, and his phrasing expressive and flexible.” Soundboard magazine stated, “Butterfield can make his instrument dance and sing with an effortless which is hard to credit. (He must have a bionic left forearm). Not only can he inhabit the range of a cello, but he can make it light and lyrical when needed.” Read More

Drummer, composer, educator and bandleader, Dr. Colleen Clark is the first drummer and woman to earn a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Jazz Performance at the world-renowned University of North Texas, the oldest jazz institution in America. 

As a player, Clark has been described as "someone to watch" and "someone who will be turning heads in jazz for years to come." Clark was invited by the ASCAP Foundation to lead her band, the Colleen Clark Collective, at the Kennedy Center. Dr. Clark has performed in prominent NYC venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland and the 55 Bar. Her debut album, consisting entirely of her original music, Introducing Colleen Clark, was produced by Gordon Stout and engineered by ten-time Grammy Award nominee/winner, Brian Dozoretz. Clark proudly joined the Sisters in Jazz Collegiate Combo on their premiere performance at the Jazz Education Network in 2019.

Trumpeter, composer, educator and technologist Dr. Matthew White is a curious musician, often blurring the lines between musical styles and conventions. Before entering academia, he was a freelance and session musician in Nashville and Miami. He holds degrees from the University of North Florida and The University of Miami and has appeared on numerous albums, radio broadcasts, and television shows, performing and composing music for artists as varied as: Rihanna, Becca Stevens, The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, Oscar DeLeon, Duranice Pace, Charlie Peacock, the Czech Republic Arts Ministry, and Jeff Coffin, in addition to various other artists, ensembles, symphonies, and big bands. Read More

Michael Wilkinson joined the faculty at University of South Carolina in August 2017 as Assistant Professor of Trombone and has since thoroughly enjoyed immersed himself in the local scene, performing with the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Soda City Brass Band, various jazz ensembles at Pearlz Upstairs, teaching/performing at the USC ColaJazz Camp, and performing with the newly-formed South Carolina Jazz Masterworks Ensemble. Prior to USC, he was Assistant Professor of Trombone and Jazz Studies at the University of Central Florida (UCF), performing extensively with the Brass Band of Central Florida all over the Central Florida area, as well as brass band competitions in the US and England.

Retired professor Bert Ligon is the former director of jazz studies at the University of South Carolina. He received his Bachelor of Music and his Master of Music in jazz piano performance and arranging from the University of North Texas. Ligon has published four books: Jazz Theory Resources Vol. 1 & 2, Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony, and Comprehensive Technique for the Jazz Musician. Ligon has published several original compositions and arrangements for big band, jazz orchestra, and steel drum ensembles. He composed extensively in the Radio/TV/film industry receiving many awards including national PBS awards and an EMMY nomination. He composed the SCBDA All-State Jazz Band Audition music. Ligon has been president of the South Carolina IAJE and chair of the jazz committee of the South Carolina Band Directors Association. Ligon was commissioned to compose music by the Midwest Clinic in celebration of the 2018 Conference. Read More

Dr. Omar Roy currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy in the School of Music at the University of South Carolina.

A strong supporter of independent music teachers, Roy is in demand as a clinician. He frequently presents workshops and guest lectures to music teacher organizations and universities, and is a regular adjudicator for festivals and competitions. His involvement with music teachers organizations has led to leadership positions and presentations at the state and national level, including the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. Roy is also part of the administrative team for The Art of Piano Pedagogy – a growing Facebook group that acts as a resource and forum of discussion that reaches nearly 23,000 teachers located throughout the world – and its companion site, Sustain.  Read More

Serena Hill-LaRoche, DMA, is an active concert artist having recently been featured in works such as Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Herbert Howells’ Hymnus Paradisi, Poulenc’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation and Seasons, Brahm’s Requiem, Charpentier’s Te Deum, Vaughan William’s Dona Nobis Pacem and Handel’s Samson. Hill-LaRoche’s recent locations for performance and/or master class engagements include East Tennessee State University, Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, Greenville Light Opera Works, East Carolina University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, South Carolina Philharmonic, Coker College, Bechtler Museaum of Art, Virginia Commonwealth University, Palmetto Opera, University of Maryland, Central Florida Lyric Opera, Firenze Lirico, Columbia Museum of Art, and Abadía Benedictina de la Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos as well as other performances in both Spain and Italy. Her opera credits include Micaela (Carmen), Lady with the Cake Box (Postcard from Morocco), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and the title role in Dominick Argento’s Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night.  Read More

Janet Hopkins joined the University of South Carolina School of Music in the fall 2008 semester, as Associate Professor of Voice, mezzo-soprano. Ms. Hopkins holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education, cum laude, and a Masters Degree in Vocal Performance, cum laude, from the State University of New York, Potsdam, NY. In addition to touring extensively with The Met, Ms. Hopkins has performed in Japan and throughout Europe, as well as all over the United States. She has appeared at Carnegie Hall and at the opening ceremonies of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY.  Read More

Having recently been appointed Assistant Professor of Voice at The University of South Carolina, tenor Dominic Armstrong has been celebrated for his musicality, characterization, and beauty of tone on stages both nationally and internationally.  In the 2019-20 season, Mr. Armstrong was hailed by Opera News for ‘truly a classic, memorable performance on all levels’ of Janacek’s The Diary of One Who Vanished for the Brooklyn Art Song Society, and by Parterre Box for being ‘an absolute star...able to pull from a wide expressive palette in his utterly unflappable, fluid tenor...’ in his performance as Prologue/Peter Quint in OnSite Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s Turn of the Screw.  He was also seen as Don José in Kentucky Opera’s production of Carmen, and debuted the role of John and understudied the role of Mr. Marks in Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage’s new work Intimate Apparel with Lincoln Center Theatre, under the direction of Bartlett Sher. Read More

Since her appointment in 2004, Ellen Douglas Schlaefer has staged over 50 productions for Opera at USC and established the Carolina Opera Experience, a summer day camp for children. She received her BA from Davidson College and MFA (stage directing) from The Catholic University of America.

Early in her career, Schlaefer assisted directors Francesca Zambello, Gian Carlo Menotti, Julius Rudel, Sonja Frissell, Ann-Margret Pettersson, Ted Pappas, Michael Ehrman, Baayork Lee and Roman Terleckyj on productions with The Washington Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Colorado, Central City Opera, Charleston Symphony, The Israel Festival (Jerusalem, Israel), Teatro Comunale di Modena (Italy), Spoleto Festival (Melbourne, Australia) and New York Harlem Productions (Munich, Germany).

Schlaefer is the Founder and General Director of FBN Productions, Inc., Opera for Kids, a professional touring company established in 1994 performing operas in schools, libraries and other venues throughout the Southeast. Read More