Music Education

Both passionate music educators, Dr. Vasil and Dee share some insights into what their experience has been teaching music virtually this year, and reflect on some of their favorite moments together as teacher-student. 

“Nearly as soon as the outbreak began to have its effects here in the United States, Caitlin reached out to me and asked if I would be willing to help her put together a virtual choir,” said Vanover, who is currently Director of Choirs at Lexington Catholic High School.  “I am very proud of Caitlin, who is a former choir student of mine at Lexington Catholic.”

Dr. Justin Vickers received his Master's of Music in vocal performance from UK in 2000. After leaving the University of Kentucky, Dr. Vickers, now Associate Professor of Voice at Illinois State University, earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance and Literature, while completing the coursework for the Ph.D. in historical musicology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING SINCE GRADUATING FROM UK in 2015?

Currently residing in Austin, Texas, Ryan is an active arranger and composer. His work, ranging from music for the concert stage to music for marching ensembles, is performed regularly throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. While at UK, Ryan was involved in the Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra as well as the Wildcat Marching Band.

The benefits of our current offerings are significant. These programs offer a unique opportunity for CFA to give back to the Commonwealth community, whether it is from expanding knowledge to current teachers, providing arts-based learning for middle and high school students, or providing hands on work experience for our currently enrolled CFA students. There is an enrichment program for everyone who has a love of the arts.

School of Music Professors Release a New Album

CFA School of Music Director of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Professor of trombone, Bradley Kerns, along with piano professor Dr. Jacob Coleman recently released an album of Brazilian music. Splotch Ecology, a collection of original compositions and arrangements from Brazilian composers for trombone and piano is available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, or you can download it from Dr. Kerns' CD Baby Profile.

Our faculty, staff, and students do remarkable things every day. How do we share the breadth of research and creative activity across the College of Fine Arts? There's UKNow, a wealth of news and information. There's our social media channels where we can engage with our friends.

For the past few years we've been collecting and curating these stories on a blog dedicated to CFA creative activity and research.