DUQUESNE SOUNDWALK TEAM
Music and Soundscape, Advanced Musicianship Topics Course, Mary Pappert School of Music
DR. NICOLE VILKNER
Dr. Nicole Vilkner is an Assistant Professor in the Mary Pappert School of Music where she teaches courses in music history and leads the advanced topics course Music and Soundscape. Her research focuses on the ways that geography and the built environment have affected music reception and practice, particularly in 19th-century Paris and London. In a recent study, she has shown how residential architecture had a direct impact on the development of the operatic subgenre, opéra de salon. Other projects include the study of coach horn signals, musically-themed omnibuses, and street scenes in opera. Her work has been published recently in the Cambridge Opera Journal, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, and Nineteenth-Century Music Review.
NOAH AL- SHEMMARI
Noah Al- Shemmari is in his last semester studying Music Performance and Mathematics at Duquesne University, and his primary instrument is the cello. He has also been a member of the Duquesne Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, Red Masquers, Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity, and the Association for Computing Machinery. After graduation, he hopes to perform in more professional orchestras and pursue music education and conducting in graduate studies.
NINA DAY
Nina Day is a senior music education major with a concentration in clarinet. She has been part of the following organizations while a student at Duquesne: National Association for Music Education (served as vice president), National Band Association (served as president), Mu Phi Epsilon, and 2 years as team leader for Freshmen Orientation. She has been involved in teaching in the community at the St. Benedict the Moor School in the Hill District for 2 years. She has also have been involved with the Undergraduate Research Symposium doing extensive research in English Language Learners in the Music Classroom. Nina is currently finishing off her last semester here at Duquesne and is currently looking for a music teaching job!
ALLEN FRY
Originally from San Diego, California, Allen Fry moved to Pennsylvania when he was in elementary school and would eventually attend Duquesne University for his collegiate studies. Allen Fry is an undergraduate at Duquesne University working towards a Degree in Music Performance and a Certificate in Business. Allen plays an instrument with a unique name, the Euphonium. Allen has been in many leadership roles as a student in his time at Duquesne. Allen will once again be attending Duquesne University working towards his Masters Degree in Music Performance. Outside of his musical life, Allen loves to be involved with his community and enjoys participating in outdoor activities such as hiking and fishing. Allen decided to become a Real Estate Agent with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services in 2020 and is working hard to become a better and more experienced agent every day of his real estate career.
YANCHI CHEN
Yanchi Chen began her musical studies on the violin at the age of four in the studio of Derong Wang in Shengyang Conservatory School of Music, one of the top music conservatories in China. As a child, she won many awards and competitions. Later at Shenyang Conservatory of Music, she studied with professor Xiaoyu Li, once learned with Viennese world-class violinist Roswitha Randacher. She won school scholarships three years in a row and received her Bachelor's Degree in violin performance in 2003. After graduating, she worked as a violinist in Beijing. A Classical Fashion Septette member, she represented the Chinese Ministry of Culture, performing in the Netherlands for the Crown Prince and at Liechtenstein, Belgium, and some of the major cities in Switzerland. She earned the Artist Diploma in Violin Performance at Duquesne University in 2019, studying with Rachel Stegeman and Charles Stegeman. She also attended the Hartford Suzuki Institute summer teaching training program in Connecticut. Currently, she is doing a master's degree in violin performance and playing with many local orchestras, and teaching with love in the heart.
RAFAEL GARGATE
Rafael Gargate SantamarÃa (Perú), began in music from a very young age playing percussion and guitar instruments in the Jesús Nazareno Orchestra and Choir. Later he began his violin studies with maestro Edgar Gargate Ostos, and at the age of 13 he chose the viola as his main instrument; At 16 he entered the National Conservatory of Music as a student of Roberto Gonzales. In 2012 he won the contest for soloists of the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru. In 2016 he was invited as a soloist to the opening concert of the Arequipa Symphony Orchestra. He has taken classes with professors Stefan Fehland, member of the German Vogler Quartet, Roland Glassl, Mandelring Quartet, Lawrence Dutton, Emerson Quartet, Roberto DÃaz among others. He participated in music festivals in Brazil and the United States. He is currently doing a master's degree with Professor Marylene Gingras-Roy at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, United States.
SARAH GUDBAUR
Sarah Gudbaur, violinist, is a native of Milwaukee, WI. In 2015, she moved to Pittsburgh to begin a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance at Duquesne University and is now continuing her studies, completing the final year of her Master’s degree in Violin Performance under the instruction of Charles Stegeman. Since beginning her education at Duquesne, Sarah has become an active performer in the Pittsburgh appearing with Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Chatham Baroque, Butler Symphony Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, and Johnstown Symphony Orchestra. She has also studied orchestral, chamber, and solo performance at several summer festivals including Brevard Music Center and Domaine Forget (Quebec). In 2019, Sarah was chosen to receive a fellowship at the National Orchestral Institute Festival at the University of Maryland where she performed and recorded with NAXOS. When Sarah is not performing and studying, she teaches violin and viola lessons.
JAKE LISAK
Jake Lisak is a current senior at the Mary Pappert School of Music majoring in percussion performance and will be heading off the Carnegie Mellon this upcoming fall to complete his Masters in Performance as well. Jake is an avid lover of all kind of music and his favorite artists include names such as: Sibelius, Jacob Collier, Oscar Peterson, Tool, Van Halen, and many others. Outside of music, Jake enjoys spending most of his time outdoors hiking and camping. And in the summer months, enjoys occasional skydiving and hang-gliding.
JONATHAN MENDEZ
Jonathan Mendez is a Master's of Euphonium student at the Mary Pappert School of Music. He currently participates in the school's Brass Band, Wind Symphony, Symphony Band, Orchestra, and Tuba Euphonium Ensemble. Jonathan completed his undergrad at Allegheny College where he pursued his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Music. Outside of the practice room, Jonathan spends his time coding, playing video games, and playing with his dog.
JOE PHILLIPPI
Joe Phillippi is a Junior music and digital media majoring, vocal focusing college student who enjoys doing projects such as this soundwalk. He has a YouTube channel that he has been posting to every Friday from the beginning and to the end of 2021. He also has a podcast that you can find on Spotify or YouTube titled "The Unfictional Soundscape", which is a podcast that discusses the intricacies of sound design and music inside the world of Unfiction.
MORGAN ROCKWELL
Morgan Rockwell is a senior music education major with a concentration in flute. She has been involved in many different groups in her time at Duquesne University including the National Association for Music Education chapter, the Mu Phi Epsilon chapter, the National Band Association chapter, and Encore Show Choir. She also has been greatly involved with teaching in the community, such as teaching elementary band at St. Benedict the Moor School in the Hill District. Morgan is in her final semester at Duquesne and is currently looking for music teaching jobs!
ANDREW TAYLOR
Andrew Taylor is currently in the first year of his masters degree in music performance for trombone. He is under the tutelage of the second trombonist of the Pittsburgh Symphony, Mr. James Nova. He previously graduated from the University of Georgia in spring 2020 with a bachelors degree in music performance after studying under Dr. Josh Bynum.
DOMINIC TOMASELLO
Dominic Tomasello is a junior majoring in Music Education, and his applied instrument is piano. He is in Voices of Spirit, Duquesne's touring choral ensemble. In his free time he enjoys watching TV, reading, and working on his car. He is planning to pursue a career teaching high school choir or elementary band!
KATIE TONKINSON
Katie Tonkinson is a senior music performance major at the Mary Pappert School of Music. She studies the flute with Ms. Rhian Kenny and performs with the Wind Symphony and Flute Choir. She frequently offers her musical talents as a choir member and soloist at Trinity Lutheran Church in New Holland. In addition to playing the flute, she plays the piccolo, piano, sings, and composes original music. In the fall of 2021, Katie will be continuing her education at the University of Miami School of Law, where she will be pursuing her joint J.D./L.L.M. degree in the Honors Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law program. She hopes to pursue a career in music law, connecting her musical background with her future career by representing musicians and advocating on behalf of artists’ rights.
ELISE DUDA
Elise Duda began her life in music at a young age after joining her elementary school orchestra in the fourth grade to play violin. She continued to play the violin throughout her schooling, beginning private lessons in middle school, and went on to earn her Associate of Arts in Music at Frederick Community College in Frederick, Maryland.
Elise will be earning her Bachelor of Music in Music Technology – Sound Recording from Duquesne University in May of 2021 and continuing her career as an audio engineer in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
JAVIERA PAZ PINTO NEIRA
Born in 1995 in Santiago de Chile, I started my musical studies when I was 10 years old. My first clarinet professor was my middle school music teacher, Manuel Menares, and after a few years I started to study in a conservatory with Jorge Levin, solo clarinet of the Orquesta Filarmónica del Teatro Municipal in Santiago. I got my Bachelor Degree in Music in Performance from the Escuela Moderna de Musica in 2018.
After graduation I joined the Banda Sinfonica de la PDI (Police of Investigation’s Wind Symphony) where I worked until I got accepted (during 2019) at Duquesne University to get my Master’s Degree in Music in Performance under the tutelage of Ron Samuels, second clarinet with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Right now I am about to graduate with my MM and to start the Artist Diploma program here at Duquesne next fall!
