Clinician Detail

The 12-Month Musician Versus the 9-Month Musician: Strategies for Fostering Musical Growth Over the Summer Months

Clinic Synopsis:

Although traditional instruction takes place during the school year, one critical facet of successful music instruction involves encouraging students to take ownership of their musical studies outside of the classroom. Our students’ musical progress occurs to a large extent outside of the direct presence of their teacher. This clinic outlines strategies for creating self-reliant learners who are poised to make musical progress outside of the classroom, particularly during the summer months.

Geoffrey Deibel - Biographical Information

A Washington, D.C. native, Geoffrey Deibel enjoys a multi-faceted career as performer, teacher, and researcher, offering an insightful voice for the saxophone and contemporary music. Recent highlights include performances and teaching at the Singapore Saxophone Summit and Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy in Bangkok, and performances with the Athens Saxophone Quartet (Cyprus), and International Contemporary Ensemble at the Park Avenue Armory (NYC). Geoff has been an invited guest lecturer at Universities in the US and Europe. He has appeared at the Darmstadt and Xenakis Festivals, and World Saxophone Congresses in the UK, Europe, and Asia. Geoff is a member of the critically acclaimed h2 quartet, first prize winners at the Fischoff Competition, finalists at the Concert Artists Guild Competition, and recipients of multiple Aaron Copland Fund Grants. Geoff holds degrees in history and music from Northwestern University, and a doctoral degree from Michigan State University. His principal teachers have included Joseph Lulloff, Frederick Hemke, Leo Saguiguit, and Reginald Jackson. Geoff currently serves as Assistant Professor of Saxophone at Florida State University, and previously taught at Wichita State University, where he received several university awards for creative and scholarly activity. He also serves on the faculty of the Cortona Sessions for New Music, and the Great Plains Saxophone Workshop. Geoff is a Yamaha and Vandoren performing artist, and performs on Yamaha saxophones, and Vandoren reeds, ligatures, and mouthpieces exclusively.

Kimberly Goddard Loeffert - Biographical Information

Kimberly Goddard Loeffert is the baritone saxophonist for the h2 quartet with whom she has won numerous chamber music prizes, including First Place Gold Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and First Place at the inaugural North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition. She can be heard with h2 on seven critically acclaimed discs: Infinity Mirror (2020), Soul Searching (2019), Enrapture (2017), Hard Line (2015), Groove Machine (2012), Times & Spaces (2010), and Generations (2008). Loeffert has performed at prestigious venues around the world, including Merkin Hall (New York City) and the National Concert Hall (Dublin, Ireland), as well as university recital halls across the country. She appears in a nationally syndicated PBS television episode of Backstage Pass, and she is a Vandoren and Yamaha Performing Artist. Loeffert is a music theorist and equity advocate who serves as Assistant Professor at the Oklahoma State University Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music, and Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the College of Arts and Sciences. Loeffert is President-Elect of the North American Saxophone Alliance, a founding member of the NASA Committee on the Status of Women, and Immediate Past Chair of the OSU Women’s Faculty Council. Loeffert earned a Ph.D. in Music Theory from Florida State University, and she holds a D.M.A. and M.M. in Saxophone Performance, as well as an M.M. in Music Theory Pedagogy from Michigan State University. She completed a B.M. in Saxophone Performance and Jazz Studies at Northwestern University.

Joseph Lulloff - Biographical Information

Yamaha and Vandoren Performing Artist, Joseph Lulloff maintains a prolific performance career as a soloist, chamber musician and member of the acclaimed Capitol Quartet. Internationally renowned, Mr. Lulloff’s artistry is characterized by high energy, musical intensity, and effortless virtuosity in both classical and jazz idioms. A recipient of the Concert Artists Guild Award and the Pro Musicis International Soloist Award, Mr. Lulloff has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Disney Hall, the Cortona Sessions, the Smithsonian Institute, and the Ojai, Lucerne, Mid Europe and Ravinia Festivals. He has been featured as guest soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, United States Air Force Band, United States Navy Band, Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the Dallas Winds. Mr. Lulloff holds numerous world premieres and commissions to his credit, including collaborations with Steven Bryant, David Biedenbender, Zack Browning, Dorothy Chang, Stacy Garrop, John Harbison, John Anthony Lennon, David Maslanka, Carter Pann, and Charles Ruggiero. Alumni of his saxophone studio have found success in a variety of performance and pedagogical fields. Mr. Lulloff is Professor of Saxophone at Michigan State University, where he is the recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Award as well as the Withrow Award for Excellence in Teaching. Mr. Lulloff serves on the faculty of the Brevard Music Center Summer Music Institute in North Carolina and the Great Plains Saxophone Workshop in Oklahoma.

John Nichol - Biographical Information

John Nichol is Professor of Saxophone at Central Michigan University and has performed at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Montreaux, Switzerland (1997), the North Sea Jazz Festival (1997) and the Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival (2000, 2001, 2002). Professor Nichol has also performed by invitation at eight World Saxophone Congresses: Chicago, Illinois (1979), Nuremberg, Germany (1982), Kawasaki, Japan (1988), Valencia, Spain (1997) and Montreal, Canada (2000), Minneapolis, Minnesota (2003), St. Andrews, Scotland (2012), Strasbourg, France (2015), and Zagreb, Croatia (2018). Professor Nichol has performed with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the Harry James Orchestra, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. Nichol can be heard on Flights of Fancy (Centaur Recording, 2003), Caught in the Act (White Pine Music, 2007), Woodwind Echoes (White Pine Recording, 2008), and Conspiracy Theory (White Pine Music, 2010). Professor Nichol is a Yamaha Performing Artist, a Vandoren Artist, and is a Past President of the North American Saxophone Alliance.

Jonathan Nichol - Biographical Information

JONATHAN NICHOL is an active performing saxophonist who champions new music and has presented concerts throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. As a founding member of the acclaimed h2 quartet, he has won numerous chamber music competitions including the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Jonathan is also a dynamic recording artist and has released ten critically acclaimed albums on the Blue Griffin Recordings Label. His music is distributed internationally and can be found on all streaming platforms. Jonathan Nichol is Associate Professor of Saxophone at the University of Oklahoma. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree (2010) and a Master of Music degree (2007) from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Music Education degree (2005) from Central Michigan University. Jonathan’s primary teachers include John Nichol, Joseph Lulloff, Robbie Smith, Diego Rivera, and Rodney Whitaker. He is proud to be a Yamaha Performing Artist and a Vandoren Performing Artist.