Faculty & Staff

Dr. C. Kevin Bowen, Director of Bands, earned a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Tennessee Technological University, the Master of Music degree in trumpet performance from the University of Louisville, and the Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education from the Florida State University.

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Dr. Tim Heath is currently the Director of Athletic Bands and Assistant Teaching Professor of Music at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. At Wake Forest, he oversees all aspects of the athletic band program and serves as a member of the conducting faculty assisting the concert bands.

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A conductor praised for his “precision and clarity,” and performances hailed as “enlightened,” Christopher Gilliam is the Director of Choral Activities at Wake Forest University, the artistic director for the pro chorus Vox Humana, director of the Winston-Salem Symphony Chorus, and Director of Music at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlotte.

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James “Aaron” Hardwick has established a reputation as an outstanding conductor, educator, and music advocate—setting himself apart with his engaging, charismatic and musically precise approach on and off the podium. Highly versatile and musically insightful, his artistic collaborations span multiple genres including standard classical repertoire, musical theater, opera, video game music, popular music, and new works.

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Elizabeth Clendinning is an Associate Professor of Music specializing in ethnomusicology and director of Wake Forest University’s Gamelan Giri Murti Balinese gamelan ensemble. Her research concerns concepts of space, time, cultural representation, and pedagogy within international Asian performance communities and in film and television music. At Wake Forest, she teaches courses in world, popular, and Asian musics, and is the director of the WFU performing arts study abroad program in Bali.

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Dr. Chen received her Ph.D. in Translation Studies from the State University of New York, Binghamton, and her master’s degree in Translation and Interpreting from Beijing Foreign Studies University. She graduated from Nanjing University with a BA in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, where she learnt Guqin from the inheritor of the Jinling School. Dr. Chen has also been an Erhu player since 1997. At Wake, she teaches translation and interpreting at the Graduate School.

BS Ed (Ohio State), MME (Florida State). Studied oboe with William Poland, Marc Lifschey, Laila Storch, Rhadames Angelucci; English horn with Thomas Stacy; clarinet with Frank Lucas; bassoon with Harold Andrews, baroque oboe at B.P.I., Oberlin. Former member of Camerata Academica, Oklahoma City, Dallas, St. Paul Opera, Savannah, and Tucson Symphonies. Performed with Mozarteum, Bombay Chamber and Apollo’s Fire orchestras. St. Paul Chamber, Minnesota, Piedmont Chamber, North Carolina Symphony and Bombay Chamber orchestras. English horn in Salisbury, NC Symphony. Taught in Euclid, OH schools, Salem College,  Kala Academy, Goa, India and Catawba College. Director of Bands, Wake Forest (1985-87). Directed pep band for women’s basketball. (1985-2005). Assistant Director of the Athletic Bands.(1957-2005).

Admired by Opera News as “a superb singing actor with a clear, ringing instrument and peerless diction,” tenor Bryon Grohman has received international recognition for his performances of opera, oratorio, and ensemble repertoire, most notably with Seraphic Fire, one of America’s leading professional vocal ensembles.

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Lyric soprano Elizabeth Pacheco Rose possesses an alluring stage presence with dramatic flexibility; whether singing Mimí, Pamina or Mélisande, she captures the essence of each role. She excels on the operatic stage, as well as in concert, recital and musical theatre. Her repertoire encompasses a wide range of works from baroque to contemporary music.

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Born in Los Angeles, Peter Kairoff received Master’s and Doctoral degrees in music performance from the University of Southern California and studied in Italy for two years as a Fulbright Scholar and Rotary International Fellow. He joined the faculty of Wake Forest University in 1988 and is currently Professor and Chair.

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Winner of the 2019 NYCA Worldwide Debut Audition and a laureate of the 2016 Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition, Larry Weng has been described in The New York Times as playing with “steely power and incisive rhythm.” Of his 2014 New York debut at Weill Hall, the New York Concert Review described him as “an extremely sensitive musician and mature interpreter,” and “mature beyond his years.”

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Associate Teaching Professor of Piano, Joanne Inkman, received her early music training in piano, viola and theory in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

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Dr. Yong Im Lee Federle has performed numerous solo and chamber recitals throughout South America and the United States. She is a recipient of the Steinway & Sons Top Teacher Award for three consecutive years (2016, 2017, 2018) and is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music.

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Susan Bates has served as Organist and Music Associate at Centenary United Methodist Church since March 2011, with previous appointments at West Market St. United Methodist Church in Greensboro and at Home Moravian Church. She serves on the music faculties of Wake Forest University, Greensboro College, and High Point University.

Ryan McCollum is a jazz pianist and the instructional technologist for the Music, Theatre and Dance, and Art departments at Wake Forest University. Ryan graduated from Wake Forest with a BA in Piano Performance in 2009 and went on to get his MM in Jazz Performance from North Carolina Central University in 2012.

Anthony M. Tang is a 2011 graduate of Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. During his four years at Wake Forest, Anthony served as Percussion Section Leader in 2008 and as Drum Major in 2009 and 2010 for the Spirit of the Old Gold and Black, and he has played the WFU carillon since his sophomore year.

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Violinist Jacqui Carrasco has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico and Russia, and in styles as diverse as Argentine tango, jazz, and avant-garde new music.

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Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Marco Sartor is a top prize winner in numerous international competitions, and has performed solo and chamber music recitals in three continents to critical and public acclaim. He has appeared with orchestras such as the Allentown Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Ann Arbor Symphony, and SODRE in Uruguay.

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Fabrice Bouquery Dharamraj is currently the Adjunct Professor of Violin
and Viola at Wake Forest University. He is also the Orchestra Director at both
Meadowlark and Lewisville Middle Schools in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. Mr. Dharamraj holds a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, (UNCSA) where he studied with Elaine Richey.

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Evan Richey has used his well trained ear to make recordings for over 30 years. His interest in recording started while at The Juilliard School in New York City where he studied with Lynn Harrell, one of the world’s foremost cellists.

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Double/Electric bassist Court Wynter received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in classical double bass performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He has enjoyed a musical career which has taken him all over the eastern portion of the United States and covers a multitude of genres ranging from bluegrass to jazz.

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Helen Rifas began playing the harp at age 12, with the encouragement of her school orchestra director. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Reed College and a master’s degree in harp from the University of Oregon School of Music, where she was a recipient of the Ruth Lorraine Close Musical Fellowship.

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Kathryn Levy serves as Professor of the Practice in Flute at WFU. In addition to her studio teaching, she has developed flute choir and wind chamber music programs.

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Dr. C. Kevin Bowen, Director of Bands, earned a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Tennessee Technological University, the Master of Music degree in trumpet performance from the University of Louisville, and the Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education from the Florida State University.

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Dr. Anna Lampidis is principal oboe of the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle and Salisbury Symphony Orchestra and also holds positions of oboe and English horn with the Greensboro Symphony. Her playing has been described as “impeccable”, “lovely” and “outstanding” in concert reviews by Classical Voice North Carolina.

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Oskar Espina-Ruiz has performed at major concert halls and festivals to high critical acclaim, including concerto performances at the Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia, and recitals in New York City, Washington DC, Moscow, Madrid, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. His chamber music collaborations include the American, Argus, Ariel, Cassatt, Daedalus, Escher, Shanghai and Verona quartets.

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Robert Campbell is the principal horn for the Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra and the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. He has been a member of the Charlotte Symphony and NCSA’s International Music Program Orchestra. He was soloist and Principal Horn player of the IMP orchestra for their 1985 European tour which took him to Italy and Germany.

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Brian French is the principal trombonist of the Winston-Salem Symphony and has performed as soloist numerous times. He is also the principal trombonist of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and previously held principal positions in the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago—the training program of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Brian has performed regionally with many orchestras, including those of Asheville, Charlotte, and Roanoke, the North Carolina Symphony, and the North Carolina Opera as guest trombonist, tenor tubist, and bass trumpeter.

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Raised in Apple Valley, Minnesota, Dr. Brent Harvey serves as Assistant Professor of Low Brass at Winston-Salem State University in addition to his teaching at Wake Forest. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Minnesota, and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

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John R. Beck, Professor of Percussion at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, also teaches at Wake Forest University. He is the principal percussionist of the Winston-Salem Symphony and is a member of the Greensboro Symphony, Brass Band of Battle Creek, and the Philidor Percussion Group.

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Dr. Tim Heath is currently the Director of Athletic Bands and Assistant Teaching Professor of Music at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. At Wake Forest, he oversees all aspects of the athletic band program and serves as a member of the conducting faculty assisting the concert bands.

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