Search

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..

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.