Faculty

Associate Academy Director

Brass Faculty

Music Business 

Cody Messersmith is a dynamic music educator, performer, conductor, and disabilities advocate from the state of Pennsylvania. Messersmith is an adaptive and inclusive arts education consultant for various regional and nationally-accredited organizations. Messersmith currently serves as Director of Secondary Choirs for the Spring Grove Area School District in York, Pennsylvania. In addition to teaching music, Cody enjoys a prosperous freelance career as a first-call low brass musician and vocalist throughout the northeast. Cody’s areas of research interest include identity development, special education, and music’s impact on communicative disorders. Messersmith is currently pursuing a PhD in Music Education at Temple University. Messersmith earned a Master of Education degree from The Pennsylvania State University in curriculum and instruction, a graduate certification in educational leadership from The Pennsylvania State University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Marywood University. Cody resides in York, Pennsylvania with their partner, Carly, and three furbabies, Benji, Bernard, and Rue.

String Faculty

Emily Felker, is a music teacher in Northeast Pennsylvania. She began teaching in the Elk Lake School District (Susquehanna County, PA) in 2021 and teaches K-6 music. She has been teaching the strings portion of the Marywood Summer Music Academy since 2022. Emily earned her bachelor's in Music Education and Violin Performance at Marywood University in 2021, where she studied under Sophie Till. She is currently studying for her master's in Music Education at Kutztown University. She is an active violinist and violist in the area, frequently playing in local orchestras and chamber ensembles. Emily is an accomplished string player, who has turned her passion for music into teaching.  

Voice Faculty

Academy Choir

Justin Davis is the choral director at Wyoming Valley West High School, where he has led the Concert Choir, Treble Choir, and Tenor-Bass Choir since 2019. A dedicated music educator, he holds a degree in music education from Marywood University and has pursued additional training through Harmony University (Barbershop Harmony Society) and Estill Voice Levels 1 and 2.

Beyond the classroom, Justin is an active conductor and performer. He serves as the director of  the Wyoming Valley Barbershop Harmony Chorus and has been a guest director at the Marywood Summer Music Academy for the past 3 years. He also performs in the barbershop quartet Unaccounted Four, sharing his passion for close harmony singing.

Under his leadership, the Wyoming Valley West choirs have received prestigious invitations, including multiple performances at the Pennsylvania Capitol and a featured appearance at the America 250 PA kick-off event at the Pennsylvania’s Governor’s Mansion. He is committed to programming engaging and diverse repertoire, often celebrating the music of other languages and cultures.

Guided by the philosophy of "unity through harmony," Justin believes that music has the power to bring people together, fostering an environment where every student can thrive.

Music Theory

Woodwind Faculty

Mr. Kolojejchick has taught the concert, marching and jazz bands at Wyoming Valley West High School for the last 31 years as well as teaching Music Theory, Music History and AP Music Theory during that time.  He has taught clarinet and saxophone at Marywood for the last 11 years and now conducts the Marywood Wind Ensemble as well.  Mr. Kolojejchick has been on staff with Marywood Summer Music Academy since its inception and looks forward to seeing a great new group of students this year.

Woodwind Faculty

Jazz Improvisation

Kate Anderson, originally from Huntersville, Pennsylvania, is a versatile saxophonist who has performed throughout the United States, Latin America, and Europe. She has shared the stage with jazz legends Phil Woods, Randy Brecker, Arturo Sandoval, Slide Hampton, Joe Lovano, Marquis Hill, Delfeayo Marsalis, Bob Dorough, and Orrin Evans, as well as Motown icons The Temptations and The Four Tops. 

Venturing through musical landscapes, Kate has performed with a diverse array of acclaimed artists, including country singer-songwriter Morgan Myles, R&B and gospel vocalist Barbara Walker, 18 grammy award-winning polka king Jimmy Sturr, world-famous actress and vocalist Linda Purl, and legendary producer of The Band, John Simon.

Since 2018, Kate has been an active member of the Scranton Jazz Festival Big Band. The festival hosts an annual international jazz festival and performances of the “Swingin’ Jazz Nutcracker Suite” across Pennsylvania, garnering critical acclaim and even earning a nomination for an Emmy Award in 2022. As a recording artist, she contributed to the James Witherite Big Band on the album 17+, Rick Hirsch’s Big Ol’ Band on the album Pocono Git-Down, and with American rock band The Felice Brothers on the album, Undress, where she was featured on their title track.  

Amidst her eclectic collaborations, Kate's classical saxophone background remains a significant aspect of her musical journey. She has studied and performed with esteemed saxophonists Eugene Rousseau, David Stambler, Christopher Creviston, Frederick Hemke, and The Capitol Quartet. During her graduate studies at Northern Illinois University, Kate made history as the first saxophonist to win the Concerto Competition, delivering a performance of Ingolf Dahl’s “Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Orchestra”. More recently, Kate was honored to serve as the featured guest artist at Millersville University’s annual Single Reed Symposium, where she performed Claude T. Smith’s “Fantasia for Alto Saxophone and Band”, alongside the university's premiere wind ensemble.

​Presently, Kate is teaching applied saxophone at Mansfield University and Director of Bands at Wyoming Seminary Lower School.  She additionally offers masterclasses and workshops to aspiring musicians wherever she goes and pursues an active performance schedule throughout the NEPA region.  She earned her Bachelor of Music Performance degree at Penn State University and her Master of Music Jazz Studies degree at Northern Illinois University.

Brass Faculty

Brass Ensemble

Michael Parker is currently on the faculty at Marywood University as a lecturer in brass studies and hip hop history. Parker is in high demand as a soloist and clinician. As a soloist Parker has presented recitals and lecture recitals at several of the International Tuba and Euphonium Associations Regional Conferences and the 2017 International Women’s Brass Conference. Parker began his solo career appearing on nearly every recital series in the Baltimore/ Washington Metropolitan region including such venues as the Strathmore Mansion, the Martin Luther King Jr Public Library, and the United States Department of State. 

As a member of the Monumental Brass Quintet for over fifteen years Michael was on the artist rosters for Summit Records, Washington Performing Arts Society, Young Audiences of Virginia, Class Acts Arts, and Living Arts Pennsylvania. Michael is an advocate for new music and has commissioned, performed, and recorded several works and arrangements both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. Michael has toured the United States extensively and has performed with such groups as the Washington National Opera, Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass, Binghamton Philharmonic, Northeastern Philharmonic, Fairfax Symphony, Lyric Brass, and the Missouri Brass Consortium.  Parker has formerly taught at the University of Scranton, the University of Missouri-Columbia, Bloomsburg University, and the Peabody Preparatory division of Johns Hopkins University. 

Michael received a BMus in Tuba from Northwestern University under the tutelage of Rex Martin and pursued graduate studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia where he studied tuba with Dr. David Kutz and musicology with Dr. Michael J. Budds. Before attending college, Michael studied tuba with Cathy Cole in Washington State. Michael Parker is the founder and primary operator for Parker Mouthpieces currently producing mouthpieces for trombone, tuba, and euphonium. Michael lives in Bloomsburg with his wife Victoria, sons Christian and Benjamin. Michael enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, riding bicycles, motorcycles, and skateboards.