Natalie L. Haslam College of Music

Andrea Markowitz Gantte

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Phone
865-974-7547

Andrea Markowitz Gantte

Lecturer of Music, Co-director of UT Singers

Professor Andrea Markowitz Gantte co-directs the UT Singers vocal ensemble and recently served as interim director of the UT Concert Choir. She is a founding member and co-director of Summit Choral Collective, a nonprofit community choral organization based in Knoxville, Tennessee. In addition to teaching, she arranges music for contemporary choral ensembles and performs as a collaborative pianist for the Natalie L. Haslam College of Music at the University of Tennessee, St. Mark United Methodist Church, Tennessee Valley Players, and many schools and organizations across the East Tennessee region.
Gantte previously served as Professor of Music at Walters State Community College, Director of Choral Activities at Seymour High School, and Director of Music and Worship at St. Mark United Methodist Church. She has also performed as a vocal soloist and ensemble member in Knoxville and Chattanooga-based choral ensembles.
As a Knoxville native, Gantte dreamed of attending the University of Tennessee and is a proud alumna of the UT College of Music. She holds the Master of Music degree in music education, where she was a graduate teaching assistant and taught functional piano for music education majors, and a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance, where she received the prestigious Grace Moore vocal scholarship and was offered the National Piano scholarship. Gantte graduated magna cum laude and was awarded the College of Music’s Outstanding Graduate Senior in Vocal Performance. She is a member of NAfME and ACDA.

Education

MM, Music Education, University of Tennessee (2019)
BM, Vocal Performance, University of Tennessee (2015)

Shawn Turner

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Shawn Turner

Director of Gospel Choir

Shawn Turner is an alumnus of the UT College of Music, having completed a degree in Studio Music and Jazz.  He has experience teaching in middle and high school levels and is the lead male vocalist in Pinky Ring and Aftah Party, local professional entertainment bands performing classic and modern R&B, Funk and Soul musics.  He is also Artist in Residence at the Old City Performing Arts Center. Professor Turner has over twenty years of experience in church music ministry and currently serves as the Choir Director at Sevier Heights Baptist Church. He is excited to be joining the Choral Area of the College of Music in Fall 2023 as Director of Gospel Choir.

Education

BM, Studio Music & Jazz (Piano Concentration) – University of Tennessee (2011)

Laura Leigh Spillane

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ADDRESS
University of Tennessee College of Music 214 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center Knoxville, TN 37996-4040
Website
https://music.utk.edu/ensembles/choral/

Laura Leigh Spillane

Interim Associate Director of Choral Activities, Lecturer of Music Education

Laura Leigh Spillane is the Interim Associate Director of Choral Activities and Lecturer of Music Education at the UT College of Music, where she teaches courses in music education, graduate choral literature, and choral conducting, and conducts the Concert Choir. Prior to joining the faculty at Tennessee, she taught courses and led ensembles at Saddleback College and the Claremont Colleges in Southern California. As Senior Teaching Assistant for the USC Thornton School of Music, she served as Associate Conductor of USC’s premier choral ensemble, the Chamber Singers, and as Lead Conductor of the University Chorus.A conductor, music educator, and soprano from the southeastern United States, Spillane previously served as a choral director at both the middle and high school levels in the Fulton County and Gwinnett County School Districts in Georgia and holds over a decade of professional church music service. She was honored as the inaugural recipient of the GA American Choral Directors Association Young Director Award in 2019.Spillane holds the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music from the University of Southern California, where her fields of study were Musicology, Vocology, and Instrumental Conducting. Her dissertation research examined how trends in written range and tessitura impact vocal stamina in mixed-voice choral ensembles. She also holds the Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of Georgia, where she was a Carl Hoveland Fellow and graduate assistant, and the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Reinhardt University, where she was a summa cum laude graduate. Her conducting teachers include Cristian Grases, Tram Sparks, Larry Livingston, Jo-Michael Scheibe, Daniel Bara, J.D. Burnett, and Martha Shaw. She is an active member of ACDA, NAfME, and NCCO..

Education

DMA Choral Conducting – University of Southern California (2023)
MM Choral Conducting – University of Georgia (2015)
BME Choral Music Education – Reinhardt University (2013)

John Zastoupil

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ADDRESS

University of Tennessee
227 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
1741 Volunteer Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37996-2600

Website
https://www.utbands.com/
Phone
865-974-7520

John Zastoupil

Director of Bands, Associate Professor of Music

Dr. Zastoupil assumed the role of Director of Bands and tenured Associate Professor of Music at the University of Tennessee in the fall of 2022. His primary responsibilities at UT include conducting the critically acclaimed University of Tennessee Wind Ensemble, teaching graduate courses in wind studies, guiding the wind conducting program, and providing the administrative leadership for all aspects of the University of Tennessee’s diverse and historic band program.

Dr. Zastoupil previously served as Director of Concert Bands and tenured associate professor of music at Missouri State University where he guided all aspects of a comprehensive concert band program of five concert ensembles – over 400 students. He conducted the Missouri State Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Springfield Youth Wind Ensemble, Community Band, and taught the graduate wind conducting studio. While at MSU, he founded three nationally recognized events: the MSU Conducting Workshop, the Springfield Youth Wind Ensemble, and the Palen Concert Clinic for concert bands. The MSU Wind Ensemble received national attention with invited performances at the 2018 and 2022 CBDNA Southwestern Regional Conventions, the 2018 MMEA Conference, as well as performances at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, MO and the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, TX. The University Wind Symphony was selected and performed for the 2020 MMEA Conference and the Community Band was selected and performed at the MBA Summer Convention in 2021.

An advocate of music education and advancing the wind repertoire, Dr. Zastoupil has collaborated with composers such as James Stephenson, Kevin Day, Michael Daugherty, William Bolcolm, Augusta Read-Thomas, Stephen Gryc, Gunther Schuller, Scott McAllister, Paul Dooley, Scott Boerma and others. Since 2013, his online conducting course through Conn Selmer’s MusicProfessor platform has received worldwide recognition as a valuable resource for online conducting pedagogy. Since 2021, he works extensively with the Yamaha Corporation of America to assist in the education and outreach of the Harmony Director 300, helping band directors all over the globe incorporate this technology into their classrooms. Zastoupil regularly guest conducts professional and student honor ensembles throughout the United States and has conducted abroad in Europe and Asia.

Dr. Zastoupil’s professional experience includes having served as the Associate Director of Bands/Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Texas – Arlington and Eastern Michigan University, as well as brass staff faculty for the Santa Clara Vanguard DCI corps. Originally from Texas, Dr. Zastoupil holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Northwestern University where he was the L.K. Skornia endowed fellowship winner and was an adjunct instructor in the Bienen School of Music. He received his Master of Music degree in wind conducting from the University of Michigan, his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baylor University, and is a former student of the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Education

DMA, Wind Conducting – Northwestern University (2012)
MM, Wind Conducting – University of Michigan (2007)
BME, Music Education – Baylor University (2005)

Michael Stewart

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ADDRESS

University of Tennessee
227 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
1741 Volunteer Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37996-2600

Website
https://www.utbands.com/
Phone
865-974-7523

Michael Stewart

Associate Director of Bands, Director of the Pride of the Southland Marching and Athletic Bands, WJ Julian Professor of Bands

Professor Michael Stewart is an Associate Professor of Music and serves as the Associate Director of Wind Studies and Director of the “Pride of the Southland” Marching Band at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Beyond directing the marching band, Professor Stewart conducts the UT Symphonic Band, Basketball Pep Bands, as well as teaching undergraduate courses in Music Education.

Professor Stewart received his Bachelor of Music Education from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. His teaching career began within in the Delaware City School district (Delaware, Ohio) teaching music education to students from grades 5 through 12. Professor Stewart received his masters and doctorate degrees from The Ohio State University where he served as the Graduate Assistant Director with the Marching Band and Teaching Assistant within the College of Music.

Professor Stewart continues to actively serve as a clinician, adjudicator, drill writer, and guest conductor throughout the nation. Professor Stewart is a member professional organizations such as the College Band Directors Association, National Band Association, East Tennessee School Band & Orchestra Association, National Association for Music Education, Kappa Kappa Psi, Tau Beta Sigma (honorary), and Phi Mu Alpha (honorary).

Education

PhD, Music Education – The Ohio State University (2007)
MA, Music Education – The Ohio State University (2004)
BM, Music Education – The Ohio State University (1999)

K-12 Teaching Experience

1998-2002 – Band Director, Delaware City Schools (grades 5-12), Delaware, Ohio

Fuller Lyon

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ADDRESS
University of Tennessee
College of Music
227B Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
Knoxville, TN 37996-4040
Phone
865-974-2094

Fuller Lyon

Senior Lecturer, Assistant Director of Bands, Associate Director of Marching and Athletic Bands

Fuller Lyon serves as the Assistant Director of Bands and Associate Director of Marching and Athletic Bands at his alma mater, the University of Tennessee. His duties include working with the Pride of the Southland Marching Band, the Basketball Pep Band, conducting the UT Concert Band, and teaching courses in the Music Education area.

Prior to his return to Knoxville, Dr. Lyon served as the Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Missouri, assisting with Marching Mizzou, Mini Mizzou, conducting the Symphonic Band and University Band, teaching undergraduate conducting and marching band techniques, and coordinating all special events hosted by the MU Band program, including Band Day, Champion of Champions marching festival, and the Homecoming Parade competition. He also served as the tubist in the Mizzou Faculty Brass Quintet.

Dr. Lyon graduated with his DMA and Master’s degrees in Wind Conducting from LSU and his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Tennessee. As a Graduate Assistant at LSU, he conducted all three concert ensembles, the Bengal Brass Pep Band, assisted with the “Golden Band from Tigerland,” and served as a tubist in both the LSU Wind Ensemble and Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble. In addition to his Graduate Assistant duties, he served as the Assistant Conductor of the LSU Performing Arts Academy Youth Wind Ensemble for two years. Dr. Lyon has studied conducting with Donald McKinney, Carlos Riazuelo, Gary Sousa, and Don Ryder, and tuba with Joe Skillen, Robert Nunez, Joe Hebert, Sande MacMorran, and the late Neil Tidwell.

During his previous tenure at UT, he served as Drum Major of the “Pride of the Southland” Marching Band for two years (1998 and 1999) and earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Sport Management. After completing his Master’s degree in 2001, he spent the next seven years on staff with the UT Band program, and performing in both the Old City Brass Quintet and Southern Stars Symphonic Brass Band.

Dr. Lyon has been a drill designer for such groups as the LSU “Golden Band from Tigerland”, the Marching Mizzou, the University of Kentucky Wildcat Marching Band, Grand Valley State University, and the Tennessee “Pride of the Southland” Marching Band. The Madison Scout alumnus has been on the brass staffs of both the Cavaliers and the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps.

Dr. Lyon is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, the National Band Association, the National Association for Music Education, the Tennessee Music Education Association, and is an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma.

Education

DMA, Conducting – Louisiana State University (2014)
MM, Conducting – Louisiana State University (2012)
BM, Music Education – University of Tennessee (2010)
MS, Sport Management – University of Tennessee (2001)
BS, Sport Management – University of Tennessee (2000)

James Fellenbaum

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ADDRESS
University of Tennessee
College of Music
212 Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
Knoxville, TN 37996-4040
Phone
865-974-0316

James Fellenbaum

Associate Professor of Conducting, Director of Orchestras, Area Coordinator of Conducting

James Fellenbaum enjoys an extraordinarily diverse career as a conductor, equally at home with Symphonic music, Chamber Orchestra repertoire, Pops, Ballet, Opera, Choral-Orchestral, and Film with Live Orchestra.

James is the Director of Orchestras at the University of Tennessee, a position he has held since 2003. He oversees and conducts the Orchestra Program, which includes the Symphony Orchestra – the most prominent collegiate ensemble in the state – the Chamber Orchestra, founded in 2004, the Contemporary Music Ensemble, founded in 2006 and dedicated to music written since 1950, and UT Opera Theater, where he oversees orchestral administration, and has conducted past productions such as Don Giovanni, La Traviata, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, The Turn of the Screw, Sweeney Todd, Susannah, Cosi fan tutte, Little Women, and more. Orchestral performances at UT have grown in size of ensemble, depth of repertoire, and quality of performances, resulting in invitations to perform in state-wide and regional concerts, receiving critical acclaim such as “…the UT Symphony has developed, at an amazing pace, into an ensemble that rivals the professional orchestras in many communities.” Additionally, the Orchestra Program been chosen for two different PBS recording projects, performing as the classical soundtrack for Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People, narrated by Sissy Spacek, and part I of The Truth about Trees.

James is the Resident Conductor of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, having completed his 13th season with the organization. He conducts a variety of concerts with the KSO, and has lead the orchestra in a wide array of repertoire, ranging from the complete Brandenburg Concerti to orchestral music from Wagner’s The Ring Cycle. His performances on the Masterworks and Chamber Classics series have garnered such praise as “…a remarkable performance, one that was clean, focused, and razor-sharp in its control, yet passionate and warm in its display.” and “one of the most compelling performances of a Beethoven symphony I have yet heard in Knoxville.” As a frequent conductor on the Knoxville News-Sentinel Pops series, he has collaborated with such renown artists as Kenny G, Chris Botti, The Texas Tenors, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Jim Witter, Ann Hampton Calloway, The Indigo Girls, and The Midtown Men, along with tributes to Bob Denver, The Beatles, Elvis, as well as the popular Cirque de la Symphonie. He also excels in Film with Live Orchestra concerts, including recent presentations of The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Mary Poppins. As part of the KSO’s Education and Community Partnership Program, he conducts performances throughout the city of Knoxville, as well as regional communities in east Tennessee and southwest Virginia. He also conducts the educational programs, including Side-by-Side concerts with local high school orchestra programs, as well the KSO’s annual Young People’s Concerts, which are seen by 10,000 elementary students each year.

Since 2010, James Fellenbaum is also the Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra Association. The KSYOA consists of 6 orchestras, lead by the Youth Orchestra, which he conducts. In March of 2018, the Youth Orchestra was selected to compete in the National Orchestra Festival in Atlanta, sponsored by the American String Teachers Association, where they won 1st Prize in the Youth Orchestra Division. The Youth Orchestra was also awarded 3rd Prize in The American Prize competition–Youth Orchestra division, for their 2017-2018 season. In June 2020, the Youth Orchestra will take their first-ever tour to Europe, and will perform in Prague and Vienna. He has been a guest Music Director of the Symphony of the Mountains Youth Orchestra (TN), and was previously the Music Director of the Suburban Youth Symphony in Illinois. He has conducted the American Youth Philharmonic, Texas Honors Orchestra, and has led many regional and all-state orchestras, as well as hundreds of workshops and clinics.

The 2020-2021 season marks James Fellenbaum’s the third year as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Brevard Philharmonic, NC. Concerts include Classical, Holiday, Pops, and Music in the Schools programs, and have been met with critical and popular acclaim. He has conducted orchestras nationally and internationally, including recent guest conducting engagements with the Amarillo Symphony (TX), Brevard Philharmonic (NC), Erie Philharmonic (PA), Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MA), Asheville Symphony Orchestra (NC), the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra (OR), Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Orange County Symphony (CA), and several others. He was invited to the 2006 First International Gennady Rozhdestvensky Conductors Competition, where he was one of 20 conductors chosen to compete out of 112 applicants from 26 countries around the world, and finished as a Finalist – the only American to reach that round.

James Fellenbaum holds a Bachelor of Music degree in violoncello performance from James Madison University, and holds a double Masters degree in violoncello performance and orchestral conducting from Northwestern University. His primary conducting teachers were Victor Yampolsky and Cliff Colnot in Chicago, David Zinman and Murry Sidlin at the Aspen Summer Music Festival, and Pinchas Zukerman and Jorma Panula as part of the Conductors Programme with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada.

Education

MM, Orchestral Conducting and Violoncello Performance – Northwestern University (1994)
BM, Violoncello Performance – James Madison University (1991)

Angela Batey

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ADDRESS

University of Tennessee
College of Music
213 & 117C Natalie L. Haslam Music Center
Knoxville, TN 37996-4040

Website
https://music.utk.edu/choral/index.php
Phone
865-974-6649

Angela Batey

Interim Associate Dean for Access and Engagement; Interim Director of Graduate Studies; Director of Choral Activities

Angela Batey is recognized as a prominent conductor, clinician, adjudicator and teacher whose wide variety of experience encompasses professional, university, high school, community and church choruses. Having recently served as Interim Director of the School of Music, Batey is currently Associate Director of the College of Music for Graduate Studies, Director of Choral Activities and James Cox Professor of Music. She conducts the Chamber Singers and teaches conducting courses at the graduate levels. Batey is also Director of Music at Farragut Presbyterian Church.

She is a Past-President of the Tennessee American Choral Directors Association and is currently serving on the Executive Board of Southern Division ACDA.  Batey has been Associate Conductor of Schola Cantorum of Florida, a professional chorus and Associate Music Director of the Florida Ambassadors of Music, and Festival Director of the International Cathedral Music Festival.

Batey has appeared as a clinician for the American Choral Directors Association, South Carolina Music Educators Association, Florida Vocal Association, East Tennessee Vocal Association, West Virginia Vocal Association, Georgia Vocal Association, and is a frequent adjudicator, clinician and guest conductor of choral festivals, honors choirs and educational workshops. Her concern for excellence in education is the focal point of her teaching career.

Batey holds two degrees from Birmingham-Southern College in Music Education and Musical Theatre, a master’s degree from The Florida State University in Music Education and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of South Carolina. In addition, she has studied Conducting with Hugh Thomas, Joseph Flummerfelt, Robert Shaw, Colleen Kirk, Clayton Krehbiel, Andre Thomas, Don V Moses and Larry Wyatt.

Education

DMA, Choral Conducting – University of South Carolina (1995)
MME, Music Education – The Florida State University (1986)
BA, Musical Theatre – Birmingham-Southern College (1984)
BME, Music Education – Birmingham-Southern College (1983)