Clinicians

Carrie Campbell is a seasoned K-5 General Music Teacher with 17 years of experience in the East Penn School District. With a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Millersville University and a Master's degree from Wilkes University, Carrie has dedicated her career to fostering a love of music in young students. Her innovative approach integrates modern band techniques into both general and choral music settings, creating dynamic and engaging learning experiences. In addition to her professional achievements, Carrie is a proud mom of four boys, balancing her passion for music education with the joys of busy family life. Carrie’s commitment to contemporary methods in music education reflects her passion for adapting and evolving teaching practices to meet the needs of today’s students.

Dr. Joe Cernuto is Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music at Millersville University, where he directs the Marching Marauders, conducts the Wind Ensemble and Concert Band, and teaches courses in music and music education. He previously taught in the public schools of Oklahoma and North Carolina, and was director of bands at Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma. He holds degrees from the University of Iowa (Doctor of Musical Arts, Wind Conducting) and from the University of Florida (Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music in Music Education). His major teachers include Mark Heidel, Kevin Kastens, David Waybright, Joyce Davis, Russell Robinson, and Tim Brophy. His professional affiliations include the College Band Director’s National Association, the National Band Association, and the National Association for Music Education. Dr. Cernuto is an in-demand clinician, adjudicator, arranger, and conductor in concert and marching venues.

David Doke has been a music educator in the Cobb County School District (GA) for over 30 years and holds the distinction of being the founding orchestra director for two Cobb County orchestra programs. He began teaching in 1994 as the first director of the North Cobb High School Orchestra. In 2006 he left North Cobb to open Hillgrove High School where he served as Director of Orchestras, Advanced Placement Music Theory Teacher and Fine Arts Department Chair before retiring in 2024.

Throughout his career Dr. Doke helped his students establish and maintain a tradition of excellence, earning recognition at the state, national and international level. He was honored to conduct at the Georgia Music Educators State Conference with the North Cobb Symphony (2001), and the Hillgrove Symphony (2010 & 2015). He led his students in performances at prestigious concert venues such as Symphony Hall in Boston (2006), the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC (2012), Orchestra Hall in Chicago (2013), and Carnegie Hall in New York (2011, 2014, 2017 and 2022). Internationally, he and his students performed in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, China (2016), at the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in Sainte Mere-Eglise and Paris, France (2019), and at Harpa Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland (2024). Dr. Doke has been guest conductor for honor orchestras in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington State, and has regularly served as orchestra director at the University of Georgia Summer Music Institute.

Dr. Doke is a national clinician for Alfred Music. His research in student collaboration and alternative styles has led him to present workshops and clinics for fellow music educators and high school student groups around the country. In 2002 he was interviewed live on CNN Headline News, where he discussed alternative string styles and the use of technology in the orchestra classroom. He received the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Honor Teacher Award in 2003 and was named STAR Teacher for Hillgrove High School in 2012 and 2024.

Prior to his career in music education Dr. Doke played violin professionally in several orchestras around the world, including the Chicago Chamber Orchestra (1991-93), The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria (1988), and La Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico in Toluca, Mexico (1987-88). In 2007, he was featured mandolin soloist with the Georgia Symphony Orchestra where he performed the Vivaldi Concerto for Mandolin, and in 2011 and 2013 he was violin soloist for performances at the Georgia Music Educators Association State Conference. He remains active as a freelance violinist in the Atlanta area and enjoys performing with his friends and colleagues in the Arche String Quartet.

Dr. Doke and his wife Allison have been married since 1989 and have two children. His interests outside of music include cooking, wilderness backpacking, playing golf and most of all…traveling with his family.

Erin Dry is a passionate K-5 Music teacher at the East Penn School District, where she is in her 21st year of teaching. A proud Penn State University alumna with a Master's degree from West Chester University, Erin brings a wealth of experiences to her classroom. Erin lives in Pennsburg with her husband, two children and her goldendoodle Parker. She wants to see a picture of your dog.

Dr. Adam J. Gumble is the Director of Athletic Bands and Assistant Professor of Music Education at West Chester University’s Wells School of Music. Dr. Gumble’s primary responsibilities include directing the 330-member “INCOMPARABLE” Golden Rams Marching Band and teaching undergraduate courses in music education and instrumental conducting. In recent years, the “RamBand” has performed in featured exhibitions at the Bands of America Grand National Championships, USBands National Championships, and NFL halftime shows. In 2019, the INCOMPARABLE Golden Rams Marching Band was named the recipient of the prestigious Sudler Trophy (the “Heisman Trophy” for collegiate marching bands). Most recently, the RamBand was honored to perform in the 2024 Rose Parade® in Pasadena, California.

Dr. Gumble is an in-demand guest conductor, rehearsal clinician, recording producer, ensemble adjudicator, and conference presenter. He serves on the Advisory Board for the National Association for Music Education’s Teaching Music Magazine and serves as the Director of Educational Programming for Vivace Productions, Incorporated. Prior to his appointment at West Chester University in 2018, Dr. Gumble taught for 13 years in Pennsylvania public schools.

Elizabeth Lavender graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Music degree from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and has done graduate work in music education and cello performance at Hartt School of Music. Beth performs with and serves on the board of the Allegro Orchestra Lancaster and is a former member of the Huntington (WV) Chamber Orchestra and the Lancaster (PA) Symphony Orchestra. In addition to performing with Allegro, she is an active free-lance cellist in the Central PA area. In 2016, Beth retired after a 35-year career as a public-school string teacher and orchestra director, primarily in the Hempfield School District, where she worked with string students at all levels, grades 4-12. She has served as guest conductor for the Central Dauphin Honors Orchestra, the Dauphin County Elementary Orchestra, and the LLMEA Middle School County Orchestra, and was instrumental in developing a vision for Allegro’s Nextgen youth orchestra program, serving as the first conductor of both the Prelude and Intermezzo string orchestras. She is the author of A Better Beginning: A Pre-Method for Starting Young String Students and has presented workshops on incorporating the Paul Rolland approach in school settings at the local, state, and eastern US level (District 7,10,11,12 Professional Development days, PMEA State Conference, NAfME Eastern Division Conference). In 2019, she was the recipient of the Pennsylvania-Delaware String Teachers Association's Outstanding String Teacher Award, for "outstanding achievement as a string teacher and contributions to the string profession."

Allison Lewis graduated from Susquehanna University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education (vocal concentration). She went on to earn a Master's degree in Kodály Music Education from the American Kodály Institute at Loyola University in Baltimore, and is the past-president of the Kodály Educators of Eastern Pennsylvania. She also recently earned National Board Certification.

She holds Level 1 certification in Music Learning Theory from Temple University, and is a contributing author for the practical resource guide to "Teaching Music to Students with Special Needs: A Label-Free Approach." She has also served on the faculty of the Kodály Teacher Institute at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Julia Malafarina is in her 17th year teaching general music and currently teaches Pre-K 3 through 4th grade students at Key School in Annapolis, Maryland. She is level III certified in Orff-Schulwerk through the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), certified in Conversational Solfege and First Steps in Music, and has completed the post-graduate course “Advanced Studies in Music and Dance Education” at the Orff Institute in Salzburg, Austria. She has presented both locally and internationally. Julia is President of the Greater Baltimore Chapter of AOSA.

As Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at The College of New Jersey, Nick McBride teaches various undergraduate courses in Music Education, supervises senior-level student teachers and coordinates the Music Education degree program. In addition, he has advised master’s and doctoral theses and taught graduate education courses at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey; University of Delaware, Newark; Rutgers University, New Jersey; Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey; University of the Arts; and Boston University.

McBride’s research interests include LGBTQIA+ and gender issues in music education, queer pedagogies and curricula, music teacher education, teacher evaluation, and empathic learning processes in music education. He is founder and principal conductor of the This is Me National Choral Festival for LGBTQIA+ youth and allies at Lincoln Center (2023 & 2025) and a Human Rights Campaign Welcoming Schools National facilitator.

McBride’s research appears in The Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, The Journal of Music Teacher Education, Music Education Research, Visions of Research in Music Education and the Music Educators Journal. He has also authored chapters and contributed to Narratives and Reflections in Music Education: Listening to Voices Seldom Heard, Music Education on the Verge: Stories of Pandemic Teaching and Transformative Change, Planning Instruction in the Music and Teaching Music Through Performance in Middle School Choir and is co-editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Queer & Gender Research in Music Education. In addition, McBride serves as the NAfME (National Association for Music Education) Gender & Sexuality SRIG (Special Research Interest Group) Chair, and serves on the editorial boards of the The Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, the Journal of General Music Education and Visions of Research in Music Education.

He earned Doctoral and Master’s degrees in Music Education from Teachers College-Columbia University, New York; his dual Masters degrees with honors in Choral Conducting and Music Education from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; and his Bachelor of Music Education from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey.

Colin McGrory is the band director at Lebanon High School, and is a graduate of Susquehanna University and Rutgers University.

Paul Murr joined the Menchey Music School Service Team in 2023 after spending over twenty years teaching music in the Lancaster Catholic School system. He is currently Professor of Percussion at The Tell School of Music at Millersville University. Paul is also an active freelance percussionist. He has a diverse performing and recording career. He is a percussionist with the Allegro Orchestra in Lancaster, PA and as a drum set artist he has worked with Jeffrey Gaines, Jackie Evancho, Fauna Flora, Imitation #9, Benny Turner and numerous singer songwriters from the Mid Atlantic region. A proponent of New Music, Paul held the percussion duties with the award winning NakedEye Ensemble through 2017.

Paige Seaton is a seasoned music educator with twenty-one years of experience in the Great Valley School District. She currently serves as the Elementary General Music teacher at Charlestown and Kathryn D. Markley Elementary Schools, where she teaches General Music (K-4) and AS/MDS Adapted Music. Previously, Paige taught elementary choir, elementary instrumental music, middle school general music, instrumental music and served as the Choral Director at Great Valley Middle School.

Paige has also directed The Chorus for the West Chester Children’s Chorus (formerly the Kennett Symphony Children’s Choir) and is currently the President of the Philadelphia Area Orff-Schulwerk Association (PAOSA). She has presented at various conferences throughout Pennsylvania, including PAOSA, the Pennsylvania Middle Level Educators (PAMLE) Conference, the PMEA District 12 Fall In-Service, and EdVenture for the Great Valley School District. She is an active member of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), the Philadelphia Area Orff-Schulwerk Association (PAOSA), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA).

Paige holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education (Flute Concentration) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Robert E. Cook Honors College. She also earned a Master of Music Education degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, with Level 3 Orff-Schulwerk Certification. Additionally, Paige has completed postgraduate work at West Chester University, the University of the Arts, and La Verne University in Education, Music Education, and Music Technology.

Kristin Showalter teaches early childhood and elementary general music in Howard County, Maryland. A native of Pennsylvania, she holds BS and BA degrees in music education and flute performance from Lebanon Valley College. As an Orff Schulwerk educator, Kristin completed her levels training and certification through the University of the Arts (Villanova University) and the Master Class in Orff Schulwerk through George Mason University. She serves as a recorder pedagogy instructor for AOSA approved levels courses and is a past president of the Middle Atlantic Chapter of AOSA. Kristin’s experience includes teaching general as well as choral and instrumental music, focusing primarily on early childhood and elementary music instruction. She finds inspiration in helping to foster individual creativity and collaborative artistic experiences in all learners, and values the opportunity to help nurture this approach to musicianship, exploring ways it can positively impact our world.

Maria Vanesa Utz, a clinical psychologist and music educator from Paraguay, South America, has dedicated over 22 years to nurturing children's development through early music education and choral conducting. With a master’s degree in university didactics and educational sciences, she founded several choral groups and led community and cultural projects in collaboration with UNESCO, UNICEF, Government of Itapúa, Municipality of Encarnación and National University of Itapúa. As a president of the Ibero-American Association of Education, Arts, and Culture (AICAE), Vanesa supports educators and artists across the Americas and Europe. She also established the EducArtenAccion Center, an intercultural hub providing music, movement, and visual arts learning for children from eighteen months to twelve years old. Her work includes specialized classes for families with neurological and developmental differences, teacher training and University professor in psychology, research and music areas. Passionate about different cultures of the world, and committed to different learning and psychological approaches, Vanesa excels in creating bilingual music programs, fostering early music stimulation, and designing professional development initiatives to enhance social-emotional learning and community engagement through the arts.

Janie Vance is an active educator, clinician, and researcher in the field of music education. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from James Madison University, a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Miami (FL) and a Master and Doctor of Education in Music Education and Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her certification and Masters certificate in Orff Schulwerk from George Mason University. Janie has taught movement for the Orff Schulwerk certification courses at University of the Arts, Villanova University, Peabody Conservatory, and George Mason University. She is an active presenter in Orff Chapter Workshops and National Conferences. Janie has taught general/vocal/instrumental music Pre-K through 12th grade for 29 years and is currently the Academic Dean, and a Music Teacher at The Town School in New York City.

Jason Vodicka is known for his innovative work in the field of choral music pedagogy. He currently serves as Associate Dean in the Rider University College of Arts and Sciences where he works with academic programs in the School of Communication, Media, and Performing Arts and Westminster Choir College. He also supervises the college’s offices of Performance Management and Production Management which are responsible for more than 125 student and faculty performances annually.

Dr. Vodicka has presented at state, regional, and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and the National Association for Music Education. He has also presented at the Cultural Diversity in Music Education International Conference, the International Conference on Music Learning Theory, the International Conference on the Concepts and Practices of Choral Singing, and the International Society for Music Education World Conference.

Dr. Vodicka’s writing can be found in publications such as Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, The Oxford Handbook of Choral Pedagogy, Visions of Research in Music Education, and the Inside the Choral Rehearsal series. His work with the Palmer Research Group led to the creation of a research-grounded Framework for Culturally Relevant and Responsive Music Teaching that was the basis for a research grant from the National Association for Music Education.

In addition to his work at Rider, Dr. Vodicka is artistic director of the New Jersey MasterChorale, a community ensemble based in Haddonfield, NJ. He is in frequent demand as a clinician and guest conductor and has conducted festival choirs in Connecticut, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Dr. Vodicka’s teaching career includes nine years in PreK-12 public schools and more than a decade in higher education. He holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in music education from Westminster Choir College and a doctorate in conducting from the University of Georgia. In 2017, he was inducted into the Westminster Choir College Music Education Hall of Fame for his support of the college and his contributions to the field of music education.

Dr. Kyle J. Weary is Coordinator of Music Education and visiting Assistant Professor of Music Education at Gettysburg College and Artistic Director of the Gettysburg Children’s Choir. A PhD graduate of Auburn University in vocal music education where his research focused on music literacy skills in secondary choral classrooms, Kyle is recognized as a leader in teaching music literacy and contemporary commercial music. Kyle has been invited to present educational sessions at the State, Regional, and National levels. Kyle’s articles on teaching music literacy and vocal pedagogy in the choral rehearsal have appeared in Choral Director Magazine, Maryland Music Educators Journal, and Teaching Music Magazine. He graduated with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, VA, where he was awarded the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award for Young Career Achievement. Kyle has twice earned nominations for the GRAMMY music educator award, where he advanced as a quarterfinalist both times. In 2015, Kyle was nominated for Washington County’s Teacher of the Year. Kyle was the founder of the Vocal Music program at the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts in Hagerstown, MD. Vocal majors were selected as members for Maryland All State Junior and Senior choirs, All Eastern Choirs, and All National Choral ensembles. While at Barbara Ingram he was the music director for the all school musicals with annual attendance of over 4,000 patrons for the yearly event. The Barbara Ingram Choral ensembles performed at multiple regional and state conferences, and had their first Carnegie Hall appearance singing under the direction of Eric Whitacre in the premiere of his new opera: “Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings” in 2010. As guest conductor, Kyle has conducted The Maryland Symphony Orchestra, as well as honor choirs in District XVI All District Middle School Choir (VA), Cumberland County (PA), Prince George’s County (MD), Allegany County (MD) Washington County (MD), Vermont (VT-ACDA). Kyle previously served as the Artistic Director of the Harrisburg Gay Men’s Chorus. Prior to coming to Gettysburg College, Kyle most recently was the Director of Choirs and Theatre at Boiling Springs High School and Yellow Breeches Middle School. In addition to his work at Gettysburg College, Kyle is the Director of Music at Silver Spring Presbyterian Church in Mechanicsburg, PA, and is the Artistic Director of the Central PA Womyn’s Choir. He has served on the graduate faculty at Towson University as an adjunct since 2021.

Julia Wetherhold is an accomplished music educator passionate about modern band pedagogy. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Lebanon Valley College and a Master’s in Elementary Education from Cedar Crest College. Currently, Julia is furthering her expertise by pursuing advanced studies at Liberty University.

With a vocal major and extensive experience in diverse educational settings, Julia fosters innovative and engaging music programs. She currently works with the East Penn School District, applying her knowledge to inspire and educate the next generation of musicians.

In addition to her professional pursuits, Julia is a wife and proud mother of three, balancing her career with a vibrant family life. Her commitment to her students and family exemplifies her dedication to nurturing growth and creativity in all areas of her life.