Louisiana State University A Cappella Choir
Performing at the LMEA Conference on Thursday, November 17, 2022 at 6:00 PM, Premier II and III.
Dr. Alissa Mercurio Rowe
Associate Professor and Galante Director of Choral Studies
Louisiana State University
Alissa Mercurio Rowe, is an active choral conductor, voice teacher, and soloist. She currently serves as Associate Professor and Galante Director of Choral Studies at Louisiana State University. At LSU she conducts the renown A Cappella Choir and teaches graduate advanced conducting and choral literature courses. Dr. Rowe spent the last twenty years as Director of Choral Activities at Southeastern Louisiana University where she taught both undergraduate and graduate courses. She is active as an adjudicator, has given choral and vocal workshops in the Midwest and Southeastern states and has conducted numerous Honor Choirs. She presented research on Individual Assessment in the Choral Rehearsal at the International Conference on Arts and Humanities and at the 2019 National American Choral Directors Association Conference in Kansas City, MO.
Dr. Rowe is also an active soprano soloist. She has performed with the Tallahassee Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Baton Rouge Symphony, New Hampshire Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra (Mexico). She also performed and recorded three roles in David Schiff’s opera Gimpel the Fool, conducted by Kenneth Kiesler, with Third Angle, Portland Oregon’s renowned new music ensemble. She also performed and recorded three roles in David Schiff’s opera Gimpel the Fool, conducted by Kenneth Kiesler, with Third Angle, Portland Oregon’s renowned new music ensemble. Dr. Rowe is a versatile performer who regularly performs a wide variety of works such as the Beethoven’s Mass in C, Messiah of Handel, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Schubert’s Mass in G, as well as opera roles in La Cenerentola, The Consul, Magic Flute and La Perichole, among others. Rowe released the album “Defining French Arias of Early 19th Century New Orleans” in October 2021 on Centaur Records.
Dr. Rowe received the President’s Award from St. Tammany Parish President, Patricia C. Brister, as Musical Artist of the Year in St. Tammany Parish and was awarded the Southeastern Louisiana University’s President’s Award for Excellence in Artistic Activity in 2013.
Dr. Rowe holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Louisiana State University, a Master of Music in Conducting, a Master of Music in Vocal Performance, a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Teacher Certification K-12 from the University of Michigan.
Louisiana State University Orchestra
Performing at the LMEA Conference on Friday, November 18, 2022 at 6:00 PM, Premier II and III.
Scott Terrell
Director of Orchestral Studies
LSU School of Music
American conductor Scott Terrell has built a major conducting career through imaginative programs, an engaging presence, and a determined passion for artistic excellence and viability. An ardent champion of new music and diversity of repertoire, he was a visionary leader with a keen intellect for bringing context to the concert hall. Adept in a broad range of repertoire from masterworks of orchestral canon, new commissions, opera, and works beyond the mainstream, this American conductor can, as critics have noted, “program works that entertain and educate, innovate with new works and revitalize the old.”
In great demand as a guest conductor, Mr. Terrell has recently lead orchestras worldwide including the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Columbia, Baltimore Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá (Colombia), Fort Worth Symphony and re-engagements with Arizona Opera, and the Rochester Philharmonic. Maestro Terrell debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra in an all-Gershwin program in 2017, along with the St. Louis Symphony, Houston Symphony, Vancouver Symphony and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. He has been on the cover conductor staff of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2012, assisting Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin and regularly leading their pre-concert lectures.
Maestro Terrell has led many prestigious international organizations including Opera Colorado, Opera Hong Kong, Colorado Symphony, Arizona Opera, Hamilton Philharmonic, Minnesota Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Milwaukee Symphony, Spoleto Festival, Naples Philharmonic, Eugene Symphony, Richmond Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony, Wheeling Symphony, Amarillo Symphony, and El Paso Opera. He has been a regular guest conductor and teacher at the Aspen Music Festival since 2001, leading various concert programs as well mentoring and teaching conducting students.
Having a strong affinity for vocal and operatic repertoire, Maestro Terrell has led a wealth of projects abroad. Upcoming opera engagements include Virgil Thompson’s A Mother of Us All at the Aspen Music Festival, and Carmen at Opera Idaho in 2021. Collaborations with Kentucky Opera have included Stephen Paulus’ oratorio, To Be Certain of the Dawn, Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel and Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar. Operatic engagements have included Opera Hong Kong gala concerts of Bernstein, and Arizona Opera’s production of The Magic Flute. He conducted Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires at Fort Worth Opera, Aspen Music Festival and Arizona Opera as well as Aspen’s concert productions of Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti and Missy Mazzoli’s groundbreaking work, Proving Up.
Mr. Terrell was Music Director of the Lexington Philharmonic for a transformative decade (2009-2019) in the organization’s history. He re-invigorated and raised the artistic level of the ensemble, diversified programming, expanded collaborations, and increased community support. He created and endowed both a Composer-in-Residence and an Artist-in-Residence chair. Composers commissioned have included Daniel Thomas-Davis, Daniel Kellogg, Adam Schoenberg, Avner Dorman, and Chris Brubeck. The orchestra was awarded numerous Copland Awards, highlighting his ongoing commitment to contemporary American composers such as Missy Mazzoli, Jennifer Higdon, Gabriela Franck, Joan Tower, Christopher Rouse, John Adams, Michael Gandolfi, Philip Glass, Mason Bates, Roberto Sierra, Christopher Theofanidis, Osvaldo Golijov, and Chris Brubeck. The orchestra was also broadcast on NPR’s Performance Today for the first time in its history during his tenure.
Previously, Maestro Terrell served as Resident Conductor and Director of Education for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and prior to that was Assistant Conductor of Minnesota Orchestra. A native of Michigan, Maestro Terrell is a graduate of Western Michigan University, and the University of Minnesota in orchestral conducting. In 2000, Terrell was chosen as a fellowship conductor for the inaugural season of the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival under Music Director, David Zinman. He has participated in master classes with such distinguished conductors as Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano, Jorma Panula, and David Robertson. At Aspen, he was awarded the prestigious Conducting Prize from David Zinman, an award recognizing exemplary musicianship and promise.
Loyola University Jazz Ensemble
Performing at the LMEA Conference on Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 6:00 PM, Cypress I and II.
Gordon Towell DME
Coordinator of Jazz Studies
Loyola University New Orleans
Gordon Towell is the coordinator of jazz studies at Loyola University New Orleans. In this capacity he directs the award winning jazz ensemble, teaches improvisation, arranging, composition, jazz combos and jazz history. Before this position Gordon was the director of jazz studies at Morehead State University. Gordon, originally grew up in Calgary, Alberta Canada and holds a BEd in music education from the University of Alberta, an MM in jazz studies from Indiana University and a DME with a cognate in jazz studies from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He has shared his expertise with students at the Morehead State University, University of Cincinnati, Indiana University, Keyano College, Grant MacEwan College, and numerous public schools.
He also finds time to adjudicate, guest solo and perform with national and international artists, and conduct throughout Canada and the U.S. His saxophone performance can be heard on Outlier, Sketch Pad, Ask Me Now, Blue Duck Suit, and Still Friends, which are all available through cdbaby.com. He is also featured on many other recordings with the DOJO Jazz Orchestra, Wycliffe Gordon and the John Mahoney Big Band. These CDs have been featured on NPR, CBC, and CKUA radio stations.
Gordon is a recipient of the 2001 Morehead State University’s Distinguished Creative Productions Award. He is a Conn Selmer clinician and plays Selmer saxophones and clarinets.
Loyola University Wind Ensemble
Performing at the LMEA Conference on Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 7:00 PM, Premier II and III.
Dr. Serena Weren
Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music
Loyola University New Orleans
Dr. Serena Weren is the Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at Loyola University New Orleans where she directs two bands and teaches classes in music education, musician health & wellness, and conducting. She earned her DMA in wind band conducting from Arizona State University under the direction of Gary W. Hill and Wayne Bailey. She also holds a BA in music and geology from Franklin & Marshall College, a BM in music education from Temple University, and a MM in instrumental conducting and a MMEd both from Arkansas State University. Previously, she was the Director of Bands at Middletown High School South and River Plaza Elementary School in New Jersey. Dr. Weren is an active guest conductor and clinician for concert and marching bands across North America and has worked with music festivals in Austria and Guatemala. Her current research interests include investigating our social and physiological relationship to music making and improving health and wellness knowledge through her work with the Athletes and the Arts. She has presented at Midwest, PAMA, CBDNA and CMS conferences and is an active member of CBDNA, NBA, NAfME, PAMA, CMS, and WASBE.