Coe College band rehearsal
  1. Coe
  2. Academics
  3. Majors & Areas of Study
  4. Music
  5. Successful Alumni & Careers

Successful Alumni & Careers

Combining the flexibility of a liberal arts degree with the strength of the Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Arts in Music Program, our graduates have left Coe to pursue diverse and exciting careers including teaching, performance, music business and music administration.

Creative Careers

  • As a composer/lyricist, Angelyn Fullarton Benson has received multiple full production performances in the Washington D.C. area of her original score of A Christmas Carol. She has conducted and played shows in several east coast venues including New York City, as well as for the National Tour of Barry Manilow's Copacabana and the Hawaiian Tour of A Chorus Line. Angie has also served as a voice coach and musical director/pianist on the faculty of Karen Prunzik's Broadway Dance Studio in Pittsburgh.

  • Phil Haynes graduated from Coe College in 1983, and quickly established himself as a top drummer in New York. A 30-year veteran, Phil Haynes is featured on more than 65 LP, DVD and CD releases by numerous American and European record labels. His recording credentials include many of the seminal musicians of this generation: saxophonists Anthony Braxton, Ellery Eskelin and David Liebman; trumpeters Dave Douglas, Herb Robertson and Paul Smoker; bassists Mark Dresser, Ken Filiano and Drew Gress; keyboard artists David Kikoski, Denman Maroney and Michelle Rosewoman; vocalists Theo Bleckman, Nicholas Horner and Hank Roberts; violinist Mark Feldman, and the composers collective Joint Venture. Current Haynes touring ensembles include his romantic ‘jazz-grass’ string band, Free Country, featuring vocalist/cellist Hank Roberts; definitive saxophone trio, No Fast Food, with NEA jazz master David Liebman; bluesy ‘power organ unit,’ The Hammond Brothers, featuring young B-3 master Paul Bratcher, as well as the classic piano trio, Day Dream, a cooperative with Yamaha artist Steve Rudolph. His teaching credits include Bucknell University, Susquehanna University and Nazareth

shayla-james

Shayla James graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Music in piano performance and Bachelor of Arts in political science. She is from Kansas City, but now resides in San Diego, where she attends UC-San Diego as a graduate student pursuing a master's degree in music. She is in the integrative studies program which promotes engagement with contemporary music activity and integrates multiple methodologies, experiences and resources. Her research interests are in critical studies and ethnomusicology. She is also a teaching assistant for world music and popular music undergraduate courses.

"The encouragement, support and knowledge I received at Coe from teachers, staff and peers aided me in becoming a highly motivated and conscientious student. Through teaching and tutoring opportunities at Coe, I gained the experience and confidence to be a successful teaching assistant in my first year of graduate school. Furthermore, I credit Coe's curriculum for giving me the ability to work independently, write papers and discuss concepts with other peers, as these are assets in graduate study."

Producing/Directing Careers

  • Ramona Pansegrau is the Music Director and Principal Conductor for the Kansas City Ballet. Each summer she serves as Music director for the Ballet School at Jacob's Pillow, and every four years she is the Music Director for the International Ballet Competitions held in Jackson, Mississippi. In 2008 she conducted at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and performed in Ascoli, Italy.
  • Aaron Parry currently serves as President at SDFX Studios. Aaron oversees the creative vision of the company, as well as worldwide production and technology development. While at SDFX Studios Parry and his team have created the 3D industry’s most advanced 3D pipeline, resulting in an unmatched combination of speed and quality in delivery. Learn more about Aaron at www.aaronparry.com.

Performing Careers

  • US Navy Musician First Class Jennifer Oracki Lange is a member of the Navy Band of the Great Lakes based in Chicago, Illinois.
  • Katheryne High Levin isings with the professional recording and performance group String of Pearls.
  • Brooke Lyons Metrinko is finishing a twenty-year career as a member of the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps of the United States Army, based in Ft. Meyer, Virginia.
  • Lisa Moore Marner Wissenberg is a member of Orchestra Iowa and the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band and performs throughout eastern Iowa a a clarinetist and bass clarinetist.

Teaching Careers

  • Krista Anderson Abbott maintains a private voice studio and is the full time conductor of the Voices of Liberty at Epcot Theme Park near Orlando, Florida. In addition she does commercial voice over work.
  • Matthew Adamson is the Head Band Director and Fine Arts Department Chair at Mead Middle School in Aldine ISD located in Houston, Texas. Prior to opening Mead in 2018, Matthew was band director at Eisenhower 9th Grade School and associate director at Eisenhower Senior High School, also in Aldine ISD, for 18 years.
  • Andrew Drinkall is Director of Choral Activities at Troy Buchanan High School in Troy, Missouri.
  • Jackie Edwards is a music therapist at Bridge View School in St. Paul, Minnesota.

renee_gapinski

Renee Gapinski Schultz graduated Coe in 2010 with a Bachelor of Music degree in music education. She is currently the band director at Instrumental Music Teacher at Lena-Winslow CUSD #202 in Lena, Ill., where she teaches 6th grade through 12th grade band. During the summer of 2010, Renee traveled to Europe as adviser for the Iowa Ambassadors of Music. She  completed a Master of Music degree at the University of Northern Iowa. Renee is a member of a community band and also teaches piano lessons.

"The professors in the Music Department at Coe became my second family.  I was challenged and supported every time I walked inside Marquis Hall.  I had so many opportunities to grow, both in music and outside of music, that I wouldn't have gotten if I had gone to a bigger school.  I left Coe feeling prepared and excited to start my career."

Music-Related Careers

  • Dr. Holly Hart is a public radio classical music broadcaster at University of Iowa Broadcasting. She maintains her keyboard skills by accompanying opera workshops and musical theater productions.
  • John Mills currently works as a host and producer at Cleveland’s Classical Music station, WCLV, Ideastream Public Media.  He graduated from Coe in 2011 with a degree in Vocal Performance and got into broadcasting after graduate school. He sings professionally with several ensembles in the Cleveland area.

nathan_barford

Nathan Barford graduated Coe College in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in music (violin performance). He went on to Bowling Green State University, Ohio, where he earned a master's in instrumental performance in 2010. Nathan completed his Doctor of Osteopathy degree, and is now serving as Division Chief, Interventional Musculoskeletal/Arthritis at the University of Rochester (New York) Medical Center. Even with his busy medical career, Nathan still has a piano studio!

“In four years at Coe, I completed my B. A. in music, gave three violin recitals, earned all the prerequisites for medical school, worked at the Writing Center, and studied abroad in London for a semester.  Coe’s liberal arts approach to learning has prepared me both for my musical studies and for medical school.”

Learn more about our alumni!

  • Wes Anderson is the high school band director at Jefferson High School (Jefferson, IA).
  • Angelyn Fullarton Benson has conducted and played shows in several east coast venues including New York City, as well as for the National Tour of Barry Manilow's Copacabana and the Hawaiian Tour of A Chorus Line. As a composer/lyricist, her original score of A Christmas Carol received multiple full production performances in the Washington, D.C. area. Angie has also served as a voice coach and musical director/pianist on the faculty of Karen Prunzik's Broadway Dance Studio in Pittsburgh.
  • Bob Benson is an Assistant Director of Admissions and Director of Programs at Coe College.
  • Carter Broszeit is the technical director for the Coe College Department of Music and supervisor of Sinclair Auditorium. He also assists with the planning of Marquis Series events. He is currently pursuing a Masters of Music in Music Production from Berklee College of Music.
  • Melissa (Darnold) Rosales is the middle school choir director at Bettendorf Schools (Bettendorf, IA).
  • Beth Sheldon Davies is the band director at Regis Middle School in Cedar Rapids.
  • Twice voted best singer of the season in the Neues Rhineland critics poll, tenor Jeffrey Dowd continues his singing career in Europe.
  • Andrew Drinkall is Director of Choral Activities at Troy Buchanan High School in Troy, Missouri.
  • Chelsea Dunn is the administrative assistant for the Jazz Summit and Festival of Bands.
  • Jackie Edwards is a music therapist at Bridge View School in St. Paul, Minnesota.
  • Cindy Egger teaches guitar at Rockhurst University in Kansas City and is the music director/guitarist at St. Andrew Christian Church in Olathe, Kansas. Her CD, Finger Pickin' Good!, is available through her website www.cindyegger.com. A bit of her life is captured in Kathryn Sommer's A Power of Her Own, portraits of 60 notable women in the Kansas City area.
  • Hailey Gehrls is an elementary music teacher at Linn-Mar Community Schools (Marion, IA).
  • Dr. Holly Hart is a public radio classical music broadcaster at University of Iowa Broadcasting. She maintains her keyboard skills by accompanying opera workshops and musical theater productions.
  • Heather Knowles Korn runs a music school and teaches piano and voice in Nebraska.
  • Laura Kutscher-Dankler is the choral music editor at GIA Publications, Inc. in Chicago. She maintains an active career as a piano soloist, accompanist, and composer. Laura also conducts the choir at St. James Catholic Church in Arlington Heights.
  • Jen Oracki Lange ’00, joined the Navy Band program immediately after completing her degree in music performance at Coe College. She has served in the Navy ever since, with deployments in San Diego, Chicago, Hawaii and Italy. Lange recently completed advanced training at the Naval School of Music Advanced Musician Course.
  • Brooke Lyons Metrinko is finishing a twenty-year career as a member of the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps of the United States Army, based in Ft. Meyer, Virginia.
  • Lisa Moore Marner Wissenberg maintains a private clarinet studio, is a member of Orchestra Iowa and the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band and the orchestra director at Wilson Middle School in Cedar Rapids. She is also Coe's clarinet teacher while Dr. Carson is serving as department chair.
  • Satoshi Matsumoto is a Managing Director Quality Control Division at Pioneer Corporation in Tokyo, Japan. This division includes the Environmental Preservation Group.
  • As a student, David Meindl won Mu Phi Epsilon's International Original Composition Award for his composition, Winter. He continues to use his composer skills of creativity and analysis while running a small search engine marketing company in Barcelona, Spain. In addition to specializing in promoting websites that target multiple languages, he helps companies obtain top rankings in the search engines as well as develop their online advertising and publicity campaigns.
  • Soprano Miriam Browning-Nance is a founding partner of Project Opera of Manhattan, a program designed to give performance opportunities to all types of young artists involved in operatic production. During POM's 2006 and 2007 seasons, she performed the roles of Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, while also serving as the Managing Director of the company. You can learn more about Miriam and Project Opera of Manhattan at https://projectopera.org.
  • Ramona Pansegrau is the Music Director and Principal Conductor for the Kansas City Ballet. Each summer she serves as Music Director for the Ballet School at Jacob's Pillow, and every four years she is the Music Director for the International Ballet Competitions held in Jackson, Mississippi. In June 2008 she conducted at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; July and August she performed in Ascoli, Italy.
  • Aaron Parry currently serves as President at SDFX Studios. Aaron oversees the creative vision of the company, as well as worldwide production and technology development. While at SDFX Studios Parry and his team have created the 3D industry’s most advanced 3D pipeline, resulting in an unmatched combination of speed and quality in delivery. Learn more about Aaron at www.aaronparry.com.
  • Kristin Patch is the Artistic Coordinator for the Omaha Symphony Orchestra.
  • David Rosales is the middle school orchestra director at Pleasant Valley Junior High (Bettendorf, IA).
  • Malcolm Ruhl's music direction credits include Oklahoma! at ATC (earning him a Jeff nomination) and Woody Guthrie's American Song (a Jeff award) at Northlight Theatre. He also received Jeff nominations for Blues in the Night at Northlight and Pump Boys and Dinettes at the Forum Theatre. Malcolm appeared as Jackson in the Broadway production of Pump Boys and Dinettes and as Jackson and Musical Director for the record-breaking run at Chicago's Apollo Theatre. Composer credits include Holiday Memories at Northlight (and more than 30 subsequent productions nationwide) and Cicada Dance, for which he received Kennedy Center/ACTF awards for original play, music and lyrics. He has performed with Big Joe Turner, Harry Chapin, The Osmond Brothers, Vassar Clements, and Jason Robert Brown. Malcolm teaches voice and composition, and writes choral and band arrangements for several schools in the Chicago area.
  • Kathy Rundus, Coordinator of Vocal Studies at Fullerton College in Fullerton, California, teaches voice and conducts the Fullerton College Chamber Singers. She also maintains a voice studio at California State University, Long Beach, and is a member of the John Alexander Singers, a 24 voice professional choral ensemble. Kathy serves as an adjudicator, clinician, and workshop leader in high schools, churches, and universities. Her book Cantabile, combining voice science and pedagogy with practical applications for both individual and choral voice training, will be available from Pavane Publishing.
  • Julie Gummert Scrivener is the production editor and administrator in charge of graduate awards at Western Michigan University. She is also the music director at Gull Lake United Methodist Church where she has been on the music staff for more than 20 years.
  • Thad Sentman teaches orchestra in the Linn-Mar School District and co-teaches string techniques for the music education students at Coe College.
  • Nicolle Stern teaches orchestra in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.
  • Sara Sweeney teaches elementary music grades 1-6 at C.E. Jacobson Elementary School in Rush City, Minnesota.
  • Mark Taylor is the superintendent of schools in Centerville, IA. 
  • Jeff Weiler, curator of the organ for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, serves as consultant and project manager for numerous church, university, and symphony orchestra organ projects. He recently edited The Wurlitzer Pipe Organ: An Illustrated History, published by the American Theatre Organ Society. In addition, Jeff presents organ-related lectures; his articles have appeared in many major newspapers, and his commentaries have been broadcast on National Public Radio. As an organist, he has composed and performed more than 30 silent film scores, including performing on the Mighty Wurlitzer for the grand reopening of the Chicago Theatre. Learn more about Jeff at https://jlweiler.com/.
  • Kelly Workman is a private percussion instructor and freelance musician in the Quad Cities area of Illinois/Iowa.
  • Emily Wall is a high school choral director at Davenport Central High School, Davenport, Iowa.