Faculty Brothers

Mr. Kenneth Andrews (Flute)
Dr. Andrews is the former Associate Principal Flute with the Montreal Symphony and has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. At Crane, Professor Andrews performs with the Potsdam Woodwind Quintet. Professor Andrews received his B.M., M.M. and Performer's Certificate from Indiana University where he studied with flutist James Pellerite and has done further studies in conducting with Dr. Karl Ahrendt. A former faculty member at Indiana University, Ohio University among others. Mr. Andrews is currently Music Director/Conductor for The Orchestra of Northern New York and the Syracuse Symphony Youth Orchestra and is a frequent guest conductor throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Dr. Christopher Creviston
(Saxophone)		 Dr. Creviston has played Prince’s birthday party at Paisley Park, appeared live on B.E.T., and presented his Carnegie debut in 2007.

After 13 years freelancing in NYC, he is now professor at Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam). He previously held positions at Greenwich House of Music, University of Windsor, and University of Michigan. Creviston's teachers include Don Sinta, James Forger, Trent Kynaston and Rhonda Buckley.

Creviston has won numerous competitive accolades and has been featured at many conventions, most recently the 2007 NASA Region VIII Conference.  He appears nationwide as soloist and clinician and contributes to projects with some of the industry’s most respected names.  He performs regularly with the Capitol Saxophone Quartet, pianist Jun Okada, harpist Fran Duffy, guitarist Oren Fader, the Glass Farm Ensemble, and his jazz trio.  In the words of "Slava" Rostropovich, "Bravo!.. Bravo! Bravo!!..."
Dr. Brian K. Doyle
(Director of Bands)		 Dr. Doyle conducts the Crane Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, and also teaches courses in conducting.  A Michigan native, he received all of his degrees in his home state.  At Michigan State University, he received a BME and two MM (saxophone and wind conducting) degrees.  His principal teachers included John Whitwell, Joseph Lulloff and James Forger.  At the University of Michigan, he received the AMusD in Wind Conducting under the mentorship of Michael Haithcock.  Dr. Doyle’s former teaching posts include faculty positions at Indiana University, The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Duke University, and as a public school music educator in Imlay City, MI.  While in North Carolina, Dr. Doyle served as the resident conductor of the Triangle British Brass Band from 1999 until 2002. Dr. Doyle has also served on the summer conducting faculty of the renowned Interlochen Arts Camp.  During his ten-year residence he conducted the Intermediate Band, Festival Band, Festival Chamber Players, and the High School Concert Band.  He also coached woodwind chamber ensembles and taught conducting.

Dr. John Ellis (Trumpet)
Dr. Ellis is a native of Chicago Illinois and has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. He holds the degree of Doctor of Music from Arizona State University. Dr. Ellis has appeared with a variety of musical organizations and artists including the Canadian Brass, the US Army Brass Band, Calgary Philharmonic, the Moody Blues, as well as Grammy Award winners Diana Krall, Tony Bennett and Anne Murray. He has been heard internationally on CBC-Radio Canada, and has presented clinics and recitals at prestigious institutions and festivals throughout the world, including The Juilliard School, Cincinnati Conservatory, Summit Brass, the Banff Festival, and the Raphael Mendez Brass Festival. He is currently Principal Trumpet of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of Northern New York.

Mr. Glen Grigel
(Crane School of Music Instrument Technician)

 Bio coming soon...
Picture
Coming soon
Mr. Edward Komara (Crane Librarian)
Mr. Komara is the Crane Librarian at the Julia E. Crane Music Library, at the State University of New York at Potsdam. From 1993 to 2001 he was Music Librarian and Director of the Blues Archive at the University of Mississippi, Oxford. He received his degrees at the State University of New York at Buffalo (M.A. in music history, 1992; M.L.S. in library science, 1991) and St. John's College, Annapolis (B.A. in liberal arts, 1988). He is the editor of The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Blues (Routledge Press, 2006), the author of The Dial Recordings of Charlie Parker (Greenwood Press, 1998), the editor of Chasin'; That Devil Music, an anthology of blues writings by Gayle Dean Wardlow (Miller Freeman Books, 1998), and a contributor of an essay and discography to the 7-CD set Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton (Revenant Records, 2001). His articles have been published in Guitar One, Black Music Research Journal, and Living Blues, and his book and CD reviews have appeared in Notes: The Journal of the Music Library Association and in the ARSC (Association of Recorded Sound Collections) Journal.
Mr. Scott Lavine
(Music Technology)		 Mr. Lavine also teaches courses in music technology and theory. In addition, he serves as Co-director of Music Technology, President of the Crane Faculty Association, and oversees the Crane web pages. Professor LaVine previously was director of bands and music department chair in the Norwood-Norfolk School District and conducted bands at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. He has played a vital role in the Crane Youth Music Summer Program as a conductor of bands and served as CYM Director from 1998-2003. He was recently honored for his years of service to CYM. Mr. LaVine is a past-president of the New York State Band Directors Association and recipient of the NYSBDA Distinguished Service Award. In 1995, he was nominated to the SUNY Confederation Honor Roll and was presented with the SUNY Potsdam Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 1999. Mr. LaVine serves as a member of the New York State School Music Association's Technology Steering Committee and is a founder and co-conductor of the Northern Symphonic Winds.
Dr. John Lindsey
(Violin)		 Dr. Lindsey has been a faculty member at Crane since 1981 and holds degrees in violin performance from the University of Illinois. An active performer, he is Concertmaster of the Orchestra of Northern New York and the Hanover (NH) Chamber Orchestra as well as first violinist with the Ruggieri Chamber Soloists, the Potsdam Piano Quartet and the Aurora Quintet. Professor Lindsey has performed violin recitals at the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, the Bruno Walter Auditorium in New Yorkís Lincoln Center as well as solo performances in Boston, Chicago and Montreal. In 1989, he was awarded the City of Dayton Allegro Residency from a field of over 200 applicants. Mr. Lindsey was the 1993 recipient of the Potsdam College President's Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in May of 2003, he received the prestigious SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Dr. James Madeja (Trumpet, Instrumental Music Education) Dr. Madeja teaches studio trumpet and conducts the Crane Brass Ensemble in addition to teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in research methods, curriculum development and instrumental music education. A member of the faculty of the Crane School of Music since 1985, he received his B.S., M.S. and EdD. Degrees in Music Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He currently serves as conductor of Skyline Brass and performs with the Orchestra of Northern New York and the Potsdam Brass Quintet. Dr. Madeja is also Associate Editor of The Journal of the International Trumpet Guild.
Dr. Peter McCoy
(Co-Chair in Music Education, Music Technology)		 Dr. McCoy teaches courses in instrumental and general music methods and technology. He has taught in public and private schools, performed, conducted, and adjudicated nationally since 1985. Dr. McCoy received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Iowa State University and the Master of Music and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University. He is a regular presenter and clinician at national and regional conferences on the topics of technology in music education, classroom-based composing, and portfolio development. Dr. McCoy holds membership in the International Trombone Association, Music Educators National Conference, International Society for Music Education, Center for Black Music Research, College Music Society, and Technology Institute for Music Educators. He serves as a member of the Editorial Review Board in Music of Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT). Dr. McCoy is immediate past-President of the Crane Faculty Association and currently serves as Program Administration Chairperson of the Department of Music Education as well as Coordinator of Crane Technology.
Mr. James Peterczak
(Percussion)		 Mr. Peterczak is head of the percussion area at the Crane School where he teaches applied percussion and directs the award winning Crane Percussion Ensemble. His students hold professional positions in colleges, public schools , and in leading orchestras and ensembles throughout the world. Jim is in demand as a performer, conductor, clinician, consultant, as well as, a music industry personality and visionary. He is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, University Scholar, and a UUP "SUNY Best" award winner.
Mr. David Pittman-Jennings
(Baritone)		 Born in Oklahoma, David Pittman-Jennings studied oboe and voice at the University of Oklahoma and voice with Elisabeth Parham at California State University in Northridge, California, before moving to Europe where he began his thirty-year-long singing career. At ease in French, German, Italian, and contemporary repertoires, he has sung Agamemnon (IPHIGENIE EN TAURIDE) in the Teatro alla Scala, Milan; Mandryka (ARABELLA) in the Vienna State Opera, the Dresden State Opera, and in Santa Fe; Moses (MOSES UND ARON) in Amsterdam, at the Salzburg Festival, and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Wozzeck in Buenos Aires, Parma, Spoletto USA, Berlin, Santiago de Chile and Strasbourg; the title role in Dallapiccola's Il PRIGIONIERO in Paris, at Camegie Hall with the Montreal Symphony, in Tokyo with the NHK Orchestra; Scarpia (TOSCA) in Buenos Aires, the Arena of Verona, the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, and Bordeaux.

His repertoire also includes Jochana'an (SALOME), Oreste (ELEKTRA), Dutchman (FLIEGENDER HOLLANDER), Amfortas and Klingsor (PARSIFAL), Kurwenal (TRISTAN UND ISOLDE), Germont (LA TRAVIATA), Rigoletto, Amonasro (AIDA), Renato (BALL0 IN MASCHERA), Nabucco, Dr. Schoen (LULU), and Balstrode (PETER GRIMES).

His concert repertoire includes the REQUIEMS of Verdi, Brahms, Fauré, and B.A.Zimmermann, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Mahler's Eighth Symphony, Shostakovich's Thirteenth Symphony.

His recordings include MOSES UND ARON (Deutsche Gramaphone with Pierre Boulez), LA FIAMMA (Respighi), Verdi REQUIEM, Beethoven Ninth Symphony, Krenek's KARL V, and von Reznicek's RITTER BLAUBART. He has taught voice privately in Paris since 1996 and joined the faculty of the Crane School of Music in September 2007.
Dr. Raphael Sanders
(Clarinet)		 Currently Professor of Clarinet at the Crane School of Music, Dr. Raphael P. Sanders, Jr. holds degrees from the University of Hawaii, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of North Texas. Raphael's clarinet mentors include Robert Marcellus, David Breeden, Henry Miyamura, and James Gillespie. Originally from Hawaii, Raphael has performed with orchestras in San Francisco, Houston and New York and has taught at the college level in Texas and Nevada. Raphael performs regularly throughout the United States and abroad; having recently returned from a 9-day residency in Canton (Guangzhou), China. He is a member of the acclaimed group Texas Clarinet Consort, which has performed in Sweden, Belgium, France, England, and Mexico. Raphael performed his New York City debut recital in June 2005, and is scheduled for New York City solo performances in Flushing, Douglaston, and Manhattan in 2006. Raphael is a performing artist with Buffet Crampon and conducts clinics and masterclasses throughout America: most recently in a tour of Colorado. In 1997 Raphael established the I.C.A. Orchestral Audition Competition.
Dr. Paul Siskind
(Music Theory, Composition)		 Dr. Siskind has had music commissioned and performed across the U.S. and abroad by ensembles and performers such as the Minnesota Orchestra, the Arditti String Quartet, the Dale Warland Singers, Continuum, and Stephanie Blythe. His music is published by G. Schirmer, Cantando, and Sweet Child Music, and has been recorded on the Innova, ERM, and New Ariel labels. He has worked as a composer-in-residence for the education department of Minnesota Opera, and as an auditor for the New York State Council on the Arts. He is also active as an adjudicator and presenter for the College Music Society, the Society of Composers Inc., the New York State School Music Association, and the Music Educators National Conference. Dr. Siskind joined the Crane faculty in 1998, and holds degrees in composition and theory from the University of Minnesota (Ph.D.), Queens College (M.A.) and the Crane School of Music (B.M.), as well as a B.S. in biology (Phi Beta Kappa) from Tufts Univeristy. 
Dr. David Smith
(Psychology)		 Bio Coming Soon...
Dr. Alan Solomon
(Dean of the Crane School of Music)		 Bio Coming Soon...
Dr. Paul Steinberg
(Music Theory, Composition)		 Dr. Steinberg is the Director of the Center for New Music Resources at Crane. He holds degrees from New Mexico State University , Southern Methodist University, and the University of Oklahoma . His teachers include: Warner Hutchison, Alvin Epstein, Thom Mason and Michael Hennagin.

Dr.Steinberg is a composer who is the recipient of many awards for his compositions. A woodwind doubler by training, Dr. Steinberg has written extensively for instruments in various combinations in the woodwind family. His interests include the combination of acoustical and electronic media and he has written for and performed many works with the New and Unusual Music Artists, a group that he helped establish in 1982.
Dr. Tim Topolewski
(Professor Emeritus - Bands)		 Dr. Topolewski is a Professor of Music at the Crane School where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches conducting. Dr. Topolewski earned his B.M.degree at Michigan State University , his M.M. at Catholic University and his D.M.A. from the University of Illinois , Champaign-Urbana where his principal instructor and mentor was Harry Begian. He has done additional conducting study with Herbert Blomstedt, Music Director of the San Fransico Symphony. Dr. Topolewski has been a soloist, conductor and lecturer in 38 of the United States , the major cities of Mexico , Australia and Germany . He served for three years as soloist and enlisted conductor with the Army Band and Orchestra in Washington , D.C. Under his guidance the Crane Wind Ensemble has recorded 2 CDs, toured Germany and given many premiere performances.
Dr. Gregory Wanamaker
(Music Theory, Composition)		 Dr. Wanamaker is a composer whose music explores and extends unique timbral qualities of instruments and voices while maintaining lyric and dramatic characteristics commonly associated with works of earlier eras. The winner of numerous awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; National Association of Composers, USA; and Britten-on-the-Bay; Wanamaker's music has been performed throughout the United States, Canada, South America, and Europe by performers including the PRISM Saxophone Quartet, The Gregg Smith Singers, Timothy McAllister, Ensemble Radieuse, New and Unusual Music Artists, and the Society for New Music. His most recent successes include the release of Triaria on Ensemble Radieuse's premiere CD Inbox (KCM Records). The Tallahassee Democrat called his Duo Sonata for alto saxophone and clarinet "...cutting edge music..." after its choreographed performance by the Tallahassee Ballet. Wanamaker's best known work to date is his Sonata deus sax machina which, after its premiere at the 2000 World Saxophone Congress, has received frequent performances and much acclaim throughout North America and Europe . Wanamaker is currently Associate Professor of Composition and Theory at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and serves as Chair of the Crane Festival of NEWMUSIC.
Dr. Robert Washburn Dr. Washburn is Dean Emeritus and Senior Fellow in Music at the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York Potsdam. He received a B. Mus. from Potsdam and a Ph.D. degree in composition from the Eastman School of Music under a grant from the Danforth Foundation. Dr. Washburn later studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and Darius Milhaud at the Aspen Music School . He held a year-long Ford Foundation Grant in composition, a Juilliard Repertory Project commission, a Meet The Composer commission, a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He was a Fulbright Fellow in Cairo , Egypt in 1986. Washburn composed music for the opening ceremonies of the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics which was broadcast over ABC-TV. He has conducted his works with major U.S. symphonies and numerous college and high school organizations. His published compositions number over 150 and they are frequently heard throughout North America , Europe , Australia , and the Middle and Far East . They are recorded on the Toshiba-EMI, Crystal , Mark, Clavier and Golden Crest labels.
Dr. Alan Woy
(Professor Emeritus - Clarinet)		 Dr. Woy is Professor Emeritus of Music at the Crane School and has been on the faculty since 1971. Although recently retired from full-time teaching, he will continue to teach studio clarinet. Dr. Woy earned his B.M. degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and both a M.M. and D.M.A. degrees from the University of Colorado in Boulder . Dr. Woy is principal clarinet of the Orchestra of Northern New York and a charter member of NUMA (New and Unusual Music Artists), a resident faculty contemporary music ensemble.