Eight School of Music faculty searches completed this spring, summer

The UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music filled eight faculty positions over the spring and summer semesters of 2016, with all eight educators set to begin teaching this fall.

Including new and familiar faces across numerous disciplines, the group brings a wealth of experience to the School.

“The new faculty members joining us this year are particularly outstanding,” said Dale Monson, director of the School of Music. “The Hugh Hodgson School of Music continues to strengthen its ability to provide world-class music training for the next generation of creative artists, educators, scholars, and therapists.  We are building on the foundation of excellence long established at UGA.”

The educators and their positions are: Rebecca Atkins, assistant professor of music education (choral), tenure-track; Daniel Bolshoy, lecturer of guitar; Dave D'Angelo, lecturer of jazz; Alison Farley, assistant professor of music education, limited-term; Naomi Graber, assistant professor of musicology, tenure-track; Paul Griffith, academic professional (recording); Elizabeth Johnson Knight, lecturer of voice; and Adam Roberts, assistant professor of composition and theory, limited-term

Rebecca L. Atkins was most recently an assistant professor of music education (choral) at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Music Department, there since fall 2013. She completed her Ph.D. in Music and Human Learning at The University of Texas at Austin. She earned her M.M. in Choral Conducting at Missouri State University, and a B.M. in Music Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. 

Daniel Bolshoy, who has performed solo and with ensembles around the world and released seven commercial CD recordings, was head of the guitar division at the University of British Columbia School of Music and head of the guitar department at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music.

David D'Angelo is a jazz performer, music educator, woodwind doubler, Broadway musician, movie soundtrack musician, film actor, orchestral clarinetist, and published author. He holds a bachelor's degree in Music Education (clarinet) and a Master's degree in woodwinds from Youngstown State University, where he studied with Joe Edwards.

Alison Farley was previously a lecturer of music education and conducting at the University of Washington, where she received a Ph.D. in Music Education. She has also served as adjunct faculty at Boston University and Kent University. Farley received her Master of Music from University of Louisville and her Bachelor of Music Education from University of Kansas.

Naomi Graber joined the faculty of UGA in 2013. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that same year. She is the recipient of the Rhonda A. and Robert Hillel Silver Award from the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, the Glen Haydon Award for an Outstanding Dissertation in Musicology and fellowships to study at the Library of Congress and the Arnold Schönberg-Centre in Vienna.

Paul Griffith, formerly the Director of Recording Services for the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, is an academic professional specializing in sound recording and music technology. Griffith has held numerous audio engineering positions and done freelance work throughout the US and Europe. He holds a B.M. from the University of Miami in Music Engineering Technology.

Elizabeth Johnson Knight has taught voice for over a decade, and held teaching positions at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, the University of Louisiana, Monroe, Murray State University, the University of North Texas and Richland College. In addition to private voice, she has taught English, Italian, French and German Diction, Vocal Pedagogy and Opera Workshop.

Adam Roberts is a decorated composer, with numerous composition awards to his name and a myriad of ensembles and performers having played his works, who most recently taught at Harvard University and Istanbul Technical University’s Center for Advanced Studies in Music. Roberts obtained a Bachelor’s degree in composition from the Eastman School of Music in 2003 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2010.

The UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music is a rising national leader in musical education and performance. With over 300 undergraduate and 200 graduate students, the School of Music trains the music performers, educators, scholars, composers and therapists of tomorrow with world-class facilities, unparalleled instruction and hundreds of performance opportunities each year.

Photo (L to R), top: Rebecca Atkins, Daniel Bolshoy, David D'Angelo, Alison Farley; bottom: Naomi Graber, Paul Griffith, Elizabeth Knight, Adam Roberts