Sigma Alpha Iota

P A N P I P E S Summer 2021 25 25 DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS member at Luther College, as well as Lutheran Summer Music and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Dr. Smith has been the official pianist for the D'Angelo Competition in Strings at Mercyhurst College. He has recorded a CD, Collage, with trombonist Will Kimball on the Tantara label, as well as the Suzuki cello repertoire with renowned cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. In 2011 he was awarded Arkansas Tech's Faculty Award of Excellence for Scholarship/Creative Activity as well as the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association's (ASMTA) Teacher of the Year Award. Within the state of Arkansas, he is active in ASMTA and the Russellville Music Club. He frequently lectures and performs for these organizations, and he is in demand as an adjudicator throughout the region. Smith's interests also extend into the theatre where he has had leading roles in both amateur and professional venues. In 2010, he collaborated with a fellow ATU faculty member on an original musical, A Taste of Buffalo. Dr. Bridget Sweet Dr. Bridget Sweet was initiated as a Friend of the Arts by the Sigma Delta Chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in April. Dr. Sweet is Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Illinois in Urbana- Champaign. Aer completing her Bachelors Degree in Music Education at Western Michigan University, Dr. Sweet enjoyed a successful tenure as a middle school choir teacher for nearly ten years. Her interests in adolescent music education intensified during her Masters and Doctoral programs in Music Education at Michigan State University, which contributed to her research focused on characteristics of effective and exemplary middle-level music teachers. Prior to her work at the University of Illinois, Dr. Sweet was Assistant Professor of Music Education at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. At the University of Illinois, Dr. Sweet teaches music education pedagogy, middle-level general music methods, graduate courses in music education, as well as a course focused on the development of healthy practices for all musicians. Dr. Sweet works extensively with adolescent singers as a teacher, clinician, and conductor through All-State Choirs and Honors Choirs in many states. She wrote the books Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond and inking Outside the Voice Box: Adolescent Voice Change in Music Education. Her research interests include middle-level choral music education, adolescent voice change, empowering music educators, wellness, and intersections of diversity and the music classroom. Her research has appeared in numerous publications. Dr. Casey Thomas Dr. Casey omas was initiated as a Friend of the Arts by the eta Beta Chapter at Jacksonville State University in April. Dr. omas is the Assistant Professor of Trombone at Jacksonville State University. He completed both his Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in trombone performance and pedagogy from e University of Iowa in Iowa City and his Bachelors degree in music education from Jacksonville State University. Dr. omas is a member of Resonant Projection, a professional trombone quartet dedicated to promoting new and undiscovered works, the Rome (GA) Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with various ensembles throughout the South and Midwest. He owns five music publishing companies, Just for Brass, Just for Woodwinds, and Potenza Music just to name a few. Previous academic appointments were at Berry College, Georgia Highlands College, Georgia Northwestern Technical College, Ouachita Baptist University, Cornell College, and Saint Ambrose University. He is a brother of Phi Mu Alpha. Michael Wiseman Michael Wiseman was initiated as a Friend of the Arts by the Lambda Phi Chapter at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst in April. Mr. Wiseman recently retired from his position as the Associate Director of Student Engagement and Leadership at the University of Massachusetts/ Amherst; he previously served as Director of the Office of Fraternities and Sororities. He received an M.S. degree in College Student Personnel Services from Miami University and a B.A in English, with minors in music and Latin, from Indiana State University. Mr. Wiseman has been the Lambda Phi Chapter's Social and Program Advisor for two years. He is hoping to become more involved in Sigma Alpha Iota and revisit his trombone, now that he is retired. Mr. Wiseman also sings in the Springfield Symphony Chorus and the First Church of Longmeadow Choir. He is a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, the Association of Fraternity and Sorority Advisors, and NASPA. Dr. Christopher Withrow Dr. Christopher Withrow was initiated as a Friend of the Arts by the Epsilon Chi Chapter at Mississippi State University (MSU) in April. Dr. Withrow currently teaches at Mississippi State University as an instructor of voice. He also assists the music department as a guest lecturer and in digital media production. He has been an active performer with Townsend Opera Players, Northstar Opera Company, Modesto Symphony Orchestra, Shasta College, Simpson University, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Opera eater and other ensembles in the southwestern region. A native of Redding, California, Dr. Withrow has been seen in the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Papageno in e Magic Flute, and Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. He has performed with Townsend Opera as Doctor Grenville in La Traviata, Le Dancaïre in Carmen, and Prince Yamadori in Madama Butterfly. While teaching at MSU, he performed in the world premiere opera of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Dr. Withrow has also continued to help work with e University of Alabama Opera Guild Gala and performed Mass in G, D. 167 by Franz Schubert. He also has affiliations with the College Music Society, Pan American Vocology Association, National Association of Teachers of Singing, and the National Opera Association. Dr. Withrow began his studies at Shasta College and holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from California State University, Stanislaus, and a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Smith Smith Sweet Sweet Thomas Thomas Wiseman Wiseman Withrow Withrow

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