Gabrielle Forshee is entering her sixth year of teaching elementary music. She spent five years teaching Pre-School through 8th grade music at Saint Mary Academy in Louisville. During her time at SMA, she established a band program for middle school students, doubled the size of the choir program, and created an annual Night of the Arts program showcasing the talents of all students. Mrs. Forshee is beginning her first year teaching Kindergarten through 5th grade music at Buckner Elementary School in Oldham county. 

In addition to teaching, Mrs. Forshee also performs with the Indiana University Southeast band playing tuba, and occasionally visits her alma mater to perform with the Morehead State University Tuba and Euphonium ensemble. 

Mrs. Forshee completed both her Bachelors and Masters degree in music education at Morehead State University. In June 2024, she completed her final Kodály level and plans to intern and become an instructor with the Kodály Institute of Kentucky.

Nick Brewer teaches band and choir at Bath County High School. He has previously taught at Roberstson County Schools. Nick has earned his level II certification from the Kodály Institute of Kentucky. 

Dr. Michele Paynter Paise is the Music Education Coordinator, an Associate Professor of Music, and the Director of the Kodály Institute of Kentucky at Morehead State University. Prior to arriving in Morehead, Dr. Paise was a faculty member at Cumberland University, Middle Tennessee State University, and the University of Idaho. She also taught courses at Arizona State University and was a K-12 music teacher in Maryland, Tennessee, and Arizona.

Dr. Paise is a member of several professional music organizations, including the National Association for Music Education, the Organization of American Kodály Educators, The International Kodály Society, The Kentucky Association of Kodály Educators, The Kentucky Music Educators Association, the Kentucky Association of Gifted Education, Kappa Delta Pi, Sigma Alpha Iota, and The Mayday Group. Within these organizations, she has held local, state, and national offices.

In demand as a clinician, Paise has presented workshops throughout the United States focused on elementary and vocal music education. She has served as an instructor for summer certification programs at the Kodály Institute of Kentucky, the Kodály Institute at Arizona State University, and the University of Montevallo Kodály Institute. Her areas of specialization within the Kodály approach include solfa/musicianship, choir/conducting, and special topics.

Active in all aspects of music education, Dr. Paise has served on the editorial boards of Music Educators Journal and General Music Today. She presents her research at local, state, national, and international conferences and has served as a National General Music Mentor for beginning music teachers. She regularly advises undergraduate and graduate students in their own research projects. Many of her students have won awards and have been asked to present their research at events outside of the university. This led Dr. Paise to establish the MSU Music Research Symposium, an event aimed at highlighting the research of music students at Morehead State.

Paise is a three-time nominee for the Grammy Music Educator Award, and in 2019 and 2021, she was named District 8's University Teacher of the Year by the Kentucky Music Educators Association. Passionate about service learning and working with community partners, she has been nominated for the MSU Distinguished Service Award three times. In 2023-2024, Paise was nominated for the MSU Distinguished Teacher Award and was presented with the Morehead State University Community and Civic Engagement Award.

Dr. Paise holds undergraduate degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Shepherd University, a Master of Music degree from The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Arizona State University. She is certified in both the Orff-Schulwerk and Kodály approaches to music education and has completed Level I of World Music Drumming.

Paise currently serves as Choir Director and regularly chants Vespers, Matins, and other services at Holy Spirit Orthodox Church in Huntington, WV. She plays clarinet in the MSU Clarinet Ensemble, the Madison Community Band, the Bluegrass Winds Ensemble, the Sacred Winds Ensemble, and the KYVA Summer Winds Ensemble. She resides in Lakeview Heights, Kentucky, with her husband, John and their dog Georgina. When not teaching or making music, she can be found serving the community by leading annual blanket drives for shelter animals in Kentucky or organizing outreach projects as a parish representative for International Orthodox Christian Charities, a humanitarian agency that serves people in need around the world.

Bradley is a native to eastern Kentucky and is currently studying Music Education at Morehead State University. Bradley aspires to be a high school band director after graduation. In addition to KAKE Secretary, Bradley is the President of the Morehead State University Clarinet Club, and is the clarinet section leader of the MSU concert band. 

Miranda Johnson is in her sixth year of teaching music. She spent her first three years teaching middle school band, choir, and general music at Martin County Middle School and has spent the most recent years teaching Kindergarten through fifth grade music at Camargo Elementary School. 

Miranda received her Bachelors in Music Education from Morehead State University in 2019, followed by receiving her Master of Arts in the Psychology of Music from The University of Sheffield in 2020 (conferred in 2021). Miranda is a certified Orff-Schulwerk educator as of 2023 and has two levels of Kodály training as of 2025. 

In addition to being the editor of KAKE, Miranda is also the Treasurer for the Morehead Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota. In her free time, Miranda likes to bake bread, play board games, and read. 

Dr. Michael Alsop is an Assistant Professor of Music Education and Music Education Coordinator at the University of Louisville. He teaches student teaching seminars and graduate courses in research methods and learning theories. In this position he coordinates underclassmen practicum experiences, places and supervises student teachers in both the BME and MAT programs, and helps advise the UofL Collegiate NAfME chapter. Dr. Alsop was previously Lecturer of Music Education and Athletic Bands at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He completed his PhD in Music Education at the University of Georgia, where he received the Director’s Excellence Award from the school of music and the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the university. Dr. Alsop earned prior degrees in music education from the University of Louisville (M.M.E.) and DePauw University (B.M.E.).

Joan Eckroth Riley is the Associate Professor of Music Education and Program Coordinator at Murray State University in Kentucky. She teaches recorder and movement for Orff Levels 1-3 in ND, NC and Maine and received her MA from the University of St Thomas with an emphasis in Orff Schulwerk. She is the author of “EveryDay Improvisation” and “EveryDay Composition” published by Alfred.

Catherine Wilson is an associate professor of Music Education and Coordinator of Graduate Studies in Music at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. Formerly, she was the Coordinator for Music Education at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, a high-school vocal music director, elementary music specialist, musical theatre director, organist, and pastoral musician. She received a sisterhood grant in 2023 to teach immigrant students and a grant in 2019 to research students and performance anxiety. In 2013, she won a fellowship for her research on incarcerated men expressing emotion through songwriting, and in 2011, she was recognized for exceptional research in music education. She was nominated for Hastings Public Schools Teacher of the Year in 2009 and received a Nebraska Elementary Principal’s Award of Excellence in 2006. She has written choral music for Augsburg Fortress and co-authored “Singin,’ Sweatin’ and Storytime,” which is published through MENC and Rowman & Littlefield. In addition, Catherine has been an international, national, and regional presenter. She holds a bachelor's degree in music education from the University of Louisville, an equivalency degree in music therapy from Saint Mary of the Woods College, a master's degree in music from Colorado State University, and a Ph.D. in Music from the University of Iowa. Catherine enjoys distance running, writing, and composing.

Martina Vasil, PhD, is an associate professor of music education and director of graduate studies at the University of Kentucky (UK) School of Music. She also directs summer music education programming at UK in Orff, Dalcroze, and Modern Band. She is a certified Orff teacher and has completed training in Dalcroze, World Music Drumming, and Modern Band. A member of the Active Alliance for Music Making (AAMM), she believes in supporting active music making approaches in teaching and learning. She is happy to support KAKE in any way she can. Check out AAMM here: https://www.allianceamm.org/ Follow her in Instagram @musicwithdrv