Dr. Brian Cardany is the Director of Bands at the University of Rhode Island, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and Concert Band, directs the athletic bands, and teaches instrumental conducting. He also serves as coordinator for both the Southern New England Honor Band and URI Commencement music activities, and is the conductor for the URI Alumni Wind Ensemble.

His efforts to promote new music and works of artistic merit has included a presentation at the Midwest Clinic, several contributions to the Teaching Music Through Performance series (GIA Publications) and regular involvement with commissions and the recording of new works.

As an avid supporter of life-long music making, Dr. Cardany also serves as conductor for four Rhode Island community ensembles, including The American Band, the Ocean State Pops Orchestra, the South County Chamber Orchestra, and the South Kingstown Community String Orchestra.

Education

D.M.A. in music education, Arizona State University, 2006

M.M. in music education, Arizona State University, 2000

B.M. in music education, James Madison University, 1992

Latin Grammy-nominated and American Prize-winning conductor Dr. Luis Víquez is celebrated as one of the most dynamic and versatile musical voices of his generation. With a charismatic presence on the podium, Dr. Víquez’s passionate leadership and energetic musicianship have earned him recognition as one of Central America’s most influential artists. He is equally comfortable with orchestral, wind band, and operatic repertoire in both professional and educational settings. Dr. Víquez currently serves as the newly appointed Music Director of the Chamber Orchestra of Barrington at St. John’s (RI) and as the Director of Orchestral Studies and Assistant Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the University of Rhode Island. His leadership is built on years of artistic excellence, including a distinguished seven-year tenure as Music Director of the University of South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Opera (2016–2023). A sought-after guest conductor, he has appeared with ensembles across the United States, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and England. Notable collaborations include performances with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, the Narragansett Bay Symphony, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Heredia, the National Wind Orchestra of Guatemala, the Cherokee Symphony (IA), and the Emporia Symphony Orchestra (KS), among many others. His engagements also include prestigious conducting fellowships with the Allentown Symphony (PA), the Saratoga Orchestra (WA), and the Chamber Orchestra of New York. Recently, Dr. Víquez was named a Music Director finalist for both the Hastings Symphony Orchestra (NE) and the Southeastern Philharmonic (MA). An avid champion of music education and the development of young musicians, he has led the South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska All-State orchestras and is in high demand nationwide as an adjudicator and clinician. His discography includes the albums Costa Rica desde Afuera (recorded with the Heredia Symphony Orchestra), Observations On… (recorded with the University of South Dakota Symphony Orchestra), and El Ruido del Agua – Music by Eddie Mora, which was nominated for the 23rd Latin Grammy Awards in the category of Best Classical Music Album. In addition to his conducting activities, Dr. Víquez is also an accomplished clarinetist. He is a clarinet artist for Royal Global Clarinets and D’Addario Woodwinds. For more information, visit www.luisviquezmusic.com.

"I am so thrilled to be joining the URI Summer Music Academy this year! I look forward to collaborating with the outstanding and very talented students who join us to be part of one of the most nurturing music camps in New England. I’m beyond excited to share the stage with them, my faculty colleagues, and the audiences who will be attending our concerts. See you this summer at our beautiful URI campus in Kingston!"

Megan Koch is a cellist who has been residing in Rhode Island since 2011.  She returned in 2022 after a two-year stint in California.  She has been a permanent member of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra since 2024.  Previously she held positions with Cape Symphony, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, and Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.  As an avid chamber musician, Megan has performed chamber music throughout the New England area with the Meeting House Chamber Music Festival, Music on the Hill, and Musica Dolce.  She frequently collaborates with pianist Andrew Welch, in a mix of duo and chamber ensembles.

Megan also enjoys a global reach through music, teaching with Musicians for the World.  In 2024, she traveled to Iquitos, Peru and led a cello workshop through an initiative with Musicians for the World and EcoAcordes.  Closer to home, Megan maintains a private cello studio and is the lead educator of Kingston Chamber Music Festival’s String Advancement Program.  In the summers, she teaches at URI Summer Music Academy.

"I am excited to meet this year’s string students and welcome back returning students.  We are going to have fun exploring string music and techniques, and you will have a blast attending the KCMF concerts."

Megan also will be coaching cello and bass students at URI SMA.

Bass-Baritone Devon Russo performs frequently as a soloist and ensemble member in Opera, Contemporary Music, and Early Music throughout the United States and abroad. He has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, The Handel & Haydn Society, the Boston Lyric Opera, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Seraphic Fire, Boston Baroque, Trinity Repertory Company, the Chorus of Westerly, and the Rhode Island Civic Chorale. He is also a current choral fellow at Marsh Chapel and is the 2023 winner of the American Prize in Voice (Friedrich & Virginia Schorr Memorial Award Men’s Divison). He has participated in the Internationalen Sommerakademie am Mozarteum Salzburg, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, Source Song Festival, Orford Musique, Voces8 Scholars Programme, Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Boston Early Music Festival Young Artist Program. Devon earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts from Boston University, his Master’s in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music and Bachelors in Vocal Performance and Education from the University of Rhode Island. Devon currently is an Artist-Teacher in Classical Voice and directs the Opera Theatre at the University of Rhode Island and is the Director of Choral Activities at Bryant University.

www.devonrusso.com

Jonathon Kenney graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Rhode Island in 2026, with concentrations in voice and piano. He is a certified Pre-K–12 music educator in Rhode Island.

Jonathon currently serves as the Choir Teacher at Broad Rock Middle School in South Kingstown and maintains a private teaching studio, where he offers instruction in piano, voice, ukulele, guitar, and drums.

He is also a founder of The Phoenix Collective, a community performing arts organization based in central Rhode Island. Through the organization, Jonathon music directs full-length productions, directs community choirs, and creates performance and educational opportunities for musicians and performers of all ages.

In addition to his teaching, Jonathon serves as Assistant Music Director at St. Francis de Sales in North Kingstown and Christ the King in West Warwick.

As a performer, Jonathon has appeared in a variety of community and collegiate musical theatre productions and has performed with the University of Rhode Island Concert Choir, Jazz Choir, and in two full-length operas during his undergraduate career, most recently Scenes from Faust by Robert Schumann.

As both an educator and performer, Jonathon values the connection between artistry and teaching, bringing real-world performance experience into every rehearsal, lesson, and performance opportunity.

Pamela Harley

Jane Murray holds the solo English horn chair with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, a position she has held since 1978.  Her many solos have been hailed in the press  as "elegant", "haunting", "wistful", "beguiling", "spellbinding" and "scrumptious"!  

Long a champion of oboe d'amore and English horn, she has premiered several new works  and was recipient in 2012 of a RI State Council  for the Arts Grant for a series of concerts of music  for English horn and organ performed in several of the area’s magnificent churches.
 

 She also is an accomplished oboist, and performs regularly with several New England  area orchestras and choruses, in  the pit for Broadway shows,  with the Hilltop Trio, and with the  wind quintet Northeast Chamber Ensemble, who were the recipients of a Continental Harmony Grant from the NEA, resulting in a series of concerts in  collaboration with Gospel choirs  on both coasts.
 

She is a devoted pedagogue, training oboists of all ages, and is on the faculty of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School and the University of Rhode Island, where she  teaches Oboe and Somatics: Movement Training  for Musicians.  She has  served on the faculty of the Vermont Youth Orchestras Summer program, and was the artistic director of  the Northeast Quintet Camp.
 

She has  performed as soloist with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Ocean State Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Barrington, Fall River Symphony and “Concerts on the Island" Chamber Orchestras, and  has been  featured oboist at the Music on The Hill Series in 2021, the Newport Music Festival from 1993-2003, the Kingston Chamber Music Festival in 1995, 2008, and 2018, and at Vermont's Reveille Festival  from 2011-2014.

She has performed much of  the solo repertoire for English horn and orchestra  including  Jennifer Higdon's Soliloquy, Gordon Jacob's  Rhapsody, Copland's Quiet City with trumpet virtuosos Rolf Smedvig and Joseph Damien Foley, Sibelius' Swan of Tuonela, Reicha's Recitative and Rondo,  Vaughn Williams' Folksong Variations and Donizetti's Concertino, as well as  Bach's Concerto for Oboe D'amore and Orchestra. 

Since 2004, she has been a licensed Body Mapping Educator, teaching Body Mapping for musicians: a somatic awareness curriculum which can help musicians of all ages retrain their movement to allow them to play without pain and avoid injury.   In addition to giving individual sessions in her home studio, she is in demand as a clinician and has presented classes and  workshops at UMass Amherst, SUNY Purchase, Providence College, Boston Woodwind Society, and for the International Double Reed Society 2016 Conference in Columbus, GA. She teaches  the  course for music majors at Rhode Island College  and URI.

Scott Bartlett is Principal Bassoonist of the Roanoke Symphony and an active performer/collaborator based in Rhode Island frequently performing with orchestras all along the east coast including, Rhode Island Philharmonic, West Virginia Symphony, and Wheeling Symphony. Prior to moving to Providence, he worked as the Instructor of Bassoon at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. While working as a freelancer in Michigan, he was a former founding member of the new music group the Khemia Ensemble and a passionate advocate of new music. He continues to enthusiastically promote the composition of new works for the bassoon as a chamber instrument, frequently premiering works on a national and international stage.  He has worked with such award-winning composers as Roger Zare, Jeremy Crosmer, Bret Bohman, Carolina Heredia, and has premiered and recorded William Horne's Sonata for bassoon and piano. He has performed at various festivals such as the New York City Electronic Acoustic Music Festival at the Abrons Playhouse, NACUSA National Conference, the Biennial New Music Festival at the National University of Cordoba, and the International Double Reed Society Conference. His primary teachers include Lynn Hileman, Jeffrey Lyman, and Peter Kolkay.

Dr. Vince Dominguez is an award-winning clarinetist, educator, and administrator based in Providence, RI. Known for his dynamic artistry, virtuosity, and commitment to equity in the arts, Vince maintains a national presence as both a performer and music educator. He currently serves as the Rhode Island State Chair for the International Clarinet Association (ICA), woodwind faculty at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School and appears regularly as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer across New England. Most recently, he performed as principal clarinet with the International Pride Orchestra’s 2nd annual concert festival in New York City. 

Since 2009, Vince has presented and performed at leading conferences hosted by the International Clarinet Association, Arizona Music Educators Association, College Music Society, North American Saxophone Alliance and the SPHINX Organization. A career highlight came in August 2024, when he was featured as a Headlining Artist at the ICA’s ClarinetFest in Dublin, Ireland, performing as his internationally acclaimed drag persona, Claire Annette. Most recently, Vince presented his lecture “Imposter Syndrome Is Such A Drag!” at the ICA’s ClarinetFest 2025 in Fort Worth, TX, detailing the intersections between classical and drag performance practices.

Alongside his performance and teaching work, Vince brings over a decade of experience in arts administration, with leadership roles at the  Merit School of Music, Ravinia Festival, Lexington Philharmonic,  Quinteto Latino, and the Boulanger Initiative—a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting women and gender-marginalized composers in classical music.

Vince earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Arizona State University in April 2020, where he held one of two prestigious graduate teaching assistantships. His doctoral project included a performance guide and three commissioned works for clarinet by renowned Mexican composers  Victor Ibarra, Hilda Paredes, and Juan Trigos, each exploring sociopolitical issues affecting the U.S. and Latin America.

Endorsed by Henri SELMER Paris clarinets & Légère Reeds, he is passionate about championing new music and advocating for equity & inclusion throughout the classical music world.

Education

D.M.A. in Performance & Pedagogy, Arizona State University, 2020

M.M. in Performance, University of Kentucky, 2014

B.M. in Performance, Minor in Business, Arizona State University, 2012

Saxophonist Jonathan Amon serves on the faculties of the University of Rhode Island and Bridgewater State University, where his combined responsibilities include teaching applied saxophone, chamber music, and various courses in music history and theory. Additionally, he teaches saxophone at The Fenn School and the Instrumental Music School of Carlisle and Concord (IMSCC), both located in Concord, MA. An avid soloist, he is especially interested in contemporary music and works that blend practices from the spheres of classical, popular, and traditional music, and he is a member of the Boston-based Pharos Saxophone Quartet. He has performed at various events of the North American Saxophone Alliance, World Saxophone Congress, and United States Navy Band Symposium and has premiered works by several composers including Joan Tower, Francine Trester, and Claudio Gabriele. He has been an adjudicator for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association and Rhode Island Music Educators Association.

Education: DMA, Boston University; MM, New England Conservatory; BM, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

"I'm excited about SMA because it's a great community.  The way students collaborate and support each other is so positive and helps them to make great musical progress in only a week."

We are working on filling this role for 2027!

Nicholas Schleyer is the Band Director at Westerly Middle School in Westerly, Rhode Island, where he directs the concert bands, jazz band, and percussion ensemble. He also serves as an assistant with the Westerly High School Marching Band and has extensive experience teaching and designing instruction for concert, jazz, percussion, and marching ensembles.

In addition to his public school teaching, Nicholas has taught at the Community College of Rhode Island, the URI Summer Music Academy, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School. As a performer, he has appeared with numerous ensembles throughout New England as a trumpeter and pit orchestra musician. He holds degrees in Trumpet Performance, Music Education, and Piano from the University of Rhode Island and the Longy School of Music of Bard College.

Nicholas is passionate about helping young musicians grow through engaging, inclusive, and high-quality music education, fostering both musical excellence and the life skills that come from making music together.

D.M.A. in Trombone Performance (ABR), Boston University College of Fine Arts

M.M. in Trombone Performance, Conservatorium van Amsterdam

B.M. in Trombone Performance, The University of Texas at Arlington School of Music

We are working on filling this role for 2027!

Hailed by the New Haven Independent as “mesmerizing”, Adam Crowe is the principal tubist of the U.S. Coast Guard Band and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. In his twenty-year career with the band he has toured throughout the United States, Japan, and Taiwan, and has often been a featured soloist. He has performed with B.B. King, Sara Bareilles, Maroon 5, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alessi, and Leonard Slatkin.

He recorded Jess Turner’s concerto Heavy Weather for tuba and wind ensemble in 2017. He also has been active with commissioning new music involving the tuba in solo and chamber music, premiering works by Anthony O’Toole, James Stephenson, and Lewis J. Buckley. He performs regularly with the New London Brass, the Hartford Symphony, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, and other ensembles in New England.

Adam has worked with many area schools as a clinician and is a strong advocate for music education; he has developed and presented educational outreach programs throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island. As a guest conductor he has led the Coast Guard Band in several concerts and chamber programs, and he is the former music director for the Charter Oak Brass Band, Connecticut’s premier British-style brass band.

Brazilian percussionist Piero Guimaraes is recognized for his work in orchestral and contemporary music. He has performed throughout the United States, Brazil, Austria, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands, and presented the Brazilian premieres of works by composers including Iannis Xenakis, Steve Reich, and Peter Eötvös.

Guimaraes has appeared with ensembles and festivals including the World Orchestra, the International Ensemble Modern Academy, the Pommersfelden Summer Academy, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. He has collaborated with leading composers such as John Luther Adams, Heinz Holliger, and Kaija Saariaho, and performs regularly with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Musica Viva, the United States Coast Guard Band, and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra.

A core member of the Iktus Percussion Quartet and the Providence based new music ensemble Verdant Vibes, Guimaraes has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, and Roulette, and has presented masterclasses at Oberlin Conservatory, the Eastman School of Music, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Guimaraes earned his bachelor's degree from São Paulo State University and his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Stony Brook University. He is on the faculty of Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University, and Johnson & Wales University.

"I’m thrilled to join the URI Summer Music Academy this year. I love the energy that comes from bringing students together to make music, whether through chamber music, ensembles, technique classes, or performances. I look forward to sharing my passion for percussion while encouraging students to listen deeply, collaborate openly, and enjoy the process of making music together."

Ann-Frances Rokosa is a versatile violinist active in orchestral, chamber, and solo performance. She performs regularly with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and has appeared with Symphony in C and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, as well as in chamber and outreach concerts across the Northeast.

She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Mannes School of Music and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at Rutgers University, studying with Todd Phillips of the Orion String Quartet. Her principal teachers and mentors, including Aaron Rosand, Lewis Kaplan, and Shmuel Ashkenazi, have significantly shaped her artistic voice and interpretive approach.

Beyond performing, Ann-Frances is a committed educator who teaches at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School and has taught and mentored students through Rutgers University, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s mentorship program, and various other outreach organizations. She is dedicated to increasing access to music education and fostering meaningful learning opportunities for young musicians from all backgrounds and diverse communities.

"I am thrilled to be teaching at URI Summer Music Academy for the first time this year and look forward to working with talented young musicians! One of the most rewarding aspects of teaching is helping students grow not only as performers, but also in their confidence, creativity, and love of music. I am excited to share my passion for the violin, collaborate with fellow faculty, and contribute to a positive, inspiring, and supportive musical community this summer."

Alexander Breault (URI '15) is a pianist, vocalist, and music educator currently moving into the Rock Band position at Waltham High School this fall. He is incredibly excited to be coming back as one of your counselors this year, and cannot wait to share in the amazing growth and experiences with you all. Make sure to come equipped with your best puns and jokes - the conductors find them electrifying! 

Catherine Rousseau is a URI SMA alumna, being a student in the camp's very first year in 2015. Catherine enjoyed the tight knit community of camp and eagerly returned to be a part of the camp's staff in 2017. 

Catherine completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Connecticut. Experienced in the K-postsecondary settings, she has been an elementary school counselor since 2022. 

Though Catherine chose to not formally study music, she wants to represent how music can stay with students throughout their adult life. Catherine was an active non-degree member of UConn's music program, holding first chair clarinet positions in the wind ensemble and orchestra after a two year hiatus from instrumental music. After another two years away from music due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she found her way into local community bands in Connecticut. Catherine enjoys learning about new instruments and has recently taken on the electric bass.

Outside of music, you can find Catherine cuddling her two cats, playing various videos games, and binge watching reality TV competition shows. 

Emily Iwuc is a RI based music educator who recently transitioned from teaching K-5 elementary school general music and beginner band to secondary education. While she will miss playing song-games, jumping around on the ground pretending to be a frog singing folk songs, and imaginative movement activities, she is excited for this transition to the 9-12 part of her K-12 certification, to be the new band director at Cumberland High School and all of the new joys and challenges that entails! Her primary instruments during her studies as a URI Music Education Major were piano and percussion, but she also has a strong inclination to brass instruments and composing. She is excited to be “promoted” to counselor this year, in her fourth year here at URI SMA, after starting as an undergraduate running workshops, primarily teaching music theory! Looking forward to SMA 2025!

Ryan Cox ‘26G is the Director of Music and a member of the mathematics faculty at The Prout School in Wakefield, RI, where he has taught since 2018. A multi-instrumentalist and self-described “musical chameleon” with experience performing, arranging, teaching, and conducting, he is routinely commended for his diverse program selections. His work in two disciplines brings a multifaceted, interdisciplinary approach to the classroom and rehearsal environment. Ryan holds an M.M. in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Rhode Island, as well as a B.A. in piano performance and mathematics from Providence College. He also completed his teaching certificate in mathematics at PC. This is Ryan’s first time working with URI SMA, and he is excited to collaborate with the students and teaching artists as the Week 1 accompanist!

Gia Antolini is an accomplished, Suzuki trained classical pianist and violinist and is a multi-faceted orchestral, solo and chamber musician. She is a Master of Music Education candidate at the University of Rhode Island, and currently serves as the Concertmaster of the Warwick Symphony Orchestra. She also conducts the South Kingstown Community Strings ensemble, she is the strings teacher at the Meadowbrook Waldorf School and is the new Arts Ensemble Director at Bishop Hendricken. Gia is excited to work with the URI Summer Music Academy this summer!

Keith A. Brown is a bassoonist, composer/arranger, conductor, and music educator from Fairfax, VA. In 2021, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. He is currently pursuing dual Master of Music degrees in Music Performance and Music Education at the University of Rhode Island. He is the principal bassoonist of the URI Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. He is also the band director at De La Salle Middle School in Providence, RI, as well as a member of the National Guard in the RI 88th Army Band.

Mary Genlot Polezonis is a music teacher and oboist and is very excited to be a part of the University of Rhode Island Summer Music Academy. Mary’s experiences with this camp include being a camper when she was a high school student, a teacher at the camp, and a former camp parent. Mary is currently a music teacher in the Newington, Connecticut, public schools where she has taught chorus, band, string orchestra, and general music at the elementary school level, general music classes at the high school level, and string orchestra classes at the middle school level. Mary has also taught band at the middle and high school levels and has conducted community bands in Connecticut.

Mary holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Oboe Performance from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of Science Degree in Remedial Reading/Remedial Language Arts from Central Connecticut University. She has also taken classes in Oboe Performance and Music Education at the Hartt School of Music as well as at Central Connecticut State University. In addition to teaching Mary currently performs as a member of WesWinds, the University of Rhode Island Alumni Wind Ensemble, the Rhode Island Recording Ensemble, and in the pit orchestras for high school musicals in Connecticut. Mary lives in Cromwell Connecticut with her husband, Dr. Stephen Polezonis, their rescue dog Maria, and their goldfish Garfield. They have two grown daughters who both attended the URI SMA when they were in high school.