The composition faculty at the Frost School of Music are accompanied by decades of teaching experience and a wide breadth of creative works.
Charles Norman Mason, Professor
Charles Norman Mason is professor of composition and chair of the Department of Theory and Composition at the Frost School of Music. Widely hailed for his imaginative and creative compositions, Mason has won respect the world over, garnering prizes and recognition from numerous international competitions.
Professor Mason brings with him a body of work that has received consistent acclaim from some of the nation’s most respected music publications. Critics have praised him for his originality, color and creativity. His music has been repeatedly recognized for its originality and intrigue. Writing in New York’s Upstate Music” magazine, Katherine Porlington stated, “Mason's ‘Senderos Que se Bifurcan’ is, without doubt, one of the finest new clarinet chamber works of the past twenty years.” The Birmingham News’ Nancy Raabe noted that, “Mason's brilliant From Shook Foil occupies a class of its own...it is charged with creativity.”
For more about Professor Mason, visit his website at www.charlesnormanmason.com
Dr. Juan Chattah, Associate Professor
As Associate Professor of Music Theory and Director of the Experiential Music Curriculum at the Frost School of Music, Juan Chattah, Ph.D. focuses his efforts on two different areas of research—one, the application of models drawn from cognitive psychology, linguistics, and critical theory to the analysis of film music; and two, the exploration of innovative pedagogical paradigms informed by methodological advances in non-music related disciplines.
A prolific composer, Dr. Chattah’s undertakings range from tangos performed regularly by the Emory Tango Ensemble to interactive electroacoustic music incorporated by several dance companies, original underscoring for independent films, and children songs written for the program Stories in the Air, an original innovative series broadcast worldwide through Public Radio International. He is also active as a solo and chamber pianist; he studied under respected master musicians Elisabeth Westercamp in Argentina and Herman Uhlhorn and David Kuyken in the Netherlands, and participated in master classes with Michel Beroff, Ivan Moravec, and Paul Badura-Skoda. To learn more about Dr.Chattah, visit his website: www.juanchattah.com.
Shawn Crouch, Assistant Professor
Shawn Crouch is Assistant Professor of Practice, Music Theory and Composition as well as the artistic director of the Ibis New Music Ensemble. He has received wide praise including “Music of gnarly energy” from The New York Times and “A highly respected composer and conductor, he brings many years of experience and accomplishment to the classroom. A Gifted Composer” from Gramophone Magazine. Professor Crouch’s “Visions and Ecstasies, A Mass: was chosen as “Best New Work” of 2016 by the South Florida Classical Review.
In recognition of his efforts, Professor Crouch Shawn has received honors and awards from such prestigious institutions as the American Academy of Arts and Letters, The American Prize, ASCAP, BMI, Yale University, the Society of Composers Inc., Meet the Composer, and the Percussive Arts Society. In addition, he was the inaugural recipient of the Dale Warland Singers Commissioning Award given by Chorus America and the American Composers Forum.
Professor Crouch received his B.Mus. from the New England Conservatory, his M.Mus. from the Yale School of Music,and his D.M.A. from the University of Miami Frost School of Music. Shawn Crouch serves on the board of Chorus America.
Dr. Dorothy Hindman, Associate Professor
Dr. Dorothy Hindman is a native of Miami and Associate Professor of Composition. Dr. Hindman’s music boasts a blend of punk/grunge with a spectralist sensibility. It has been described as “bright with energy and a lilting lyricism” (New York Classical Review), “dramatic, highly strung” (Fanfare), “varied, utterly rich and sung with purpose and heart” (Huffington Post), “powerful and skillfully conceived” (The Miami Herald), and “music of terrific romantic gesture” (The Buffalo News).
Dr. Hindman’s music has received over 350 performances to date, spanning 30 states and 16 countries. Dr. Hindman has worked with and composed for the world’s preeminent new music performers, among them, Bent Frequency (Atlanta), PULSE (Miami), Empire City Men’s Chorus (NYC), dal niente (Chicago), the Caraval String Quartet (NYC), the Corona Guitar Kvartet (Denmark), Bang-on-a-Can bassist Robert Black, cellist Craig Hultgren, percussionist Stuart Gerber, and orchestras including the Women’s Philharmonic Orchestra (reading session), the Alabama Symphony, the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, and the North Florida Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Hindman’s solo CD Tapping the Furnace received much critical acclaim. Her work is the title track on Corona Guitar Kvartet’s Taut (2015) on Albany. Her double CD Tightly Wound: Music for Strings was released on innova in January 2017. Hindman’s nine other CDs are on Albany, Capstone and Living Artists. Her scores are published by Subito, NoteNova, and dorn/Needham.
dorothyhindman.org
Dr. Juraj Kojs, Assistant Professor
Juraj Kojs is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice. He is also a renowned composer, sound and multimedia artist, performer, producer, researcher and educator. His compositions have received recognition on multiple occasions, including honors received from “Europe—A Sound Panorama,” The Miami New Times’ “Best Of”, Eastman Electroacoustic Composition and Performance Competition, and the Digital Art Award. The Miami New Times went on to describe his muscle-powered multimedia performance of Neraissance as "striking and unforgettable.”
Professor Kojs has also created commissioned works for The Quiet Music Ensemble, Miami Light Project, Deering Estate Chamber Ensemble, Meet the Composer, Harvestworks, Miami Theater Center, Deering Estate and Vizcaya Museum & Gardens. Those who have performed his music include Tomoko Mukaiyama, Blair McMillen, Margaret Lancaster, Madeleine Shapiro, Jennifer Beattie and Adam Marks, Glass Farm Ensemble, Michael Straus, Susan Fancher, Eugen Prochac, Canticum Ostrava, Atticus Brass Quintet, IKTUS Percussion Quartet, The Quiet Music Ensemble, Ensemble s21, Talujon Percussion, Cassatt String Quartet, Ensemble Pamplemousse, the Now Ensemble, Yale Gamelan Suprabanggo, The Living Earth Show and the Deering Estate Chamber Ensemble.
Professor Kojs is the director of the Miami-based Foundation for Emerging Technologies and Arts (FETA). He holds a Ph.D. in Composition and Computer Technologies from University of Virginia. He also taught at Medialogy Department Aalborg University (Copenhagen, Denmark), Yale University, Stanford University, University of Virginia and Miami International University of Art and Design. Further information can be found at www.kojs.net
Lansing McLoskey, Professor
Lansing McLoskey is Professor of Music Composition. An internationally acclaimed composer, he approached his work early on in a somewhat unorthodox way, opting to follow his own version of “The Three B’s.” While the classical world would dictate Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms, Professor McLoskey set his sights on the Beatles, Bauhaus, and Black Flag. He started his career as a punk rock provocateur, writing songs and playing guitar for various insurgent outfits in San Francisco during the early ‘80s. Ironically, it was that visceral sound, with its edge and exuberance, that led to his love of classical music.
Professor McLoskey has composed original pieces for numerous prestigious organizations and institutions, among them the Barlow Endowment, the Fromm Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Pew Charitable Trusts, the Anne Stookey Fund, Meet The Composer, Ensemble Berlin PianoPercussion, ensemberlino vocale, Passepartout Duo, the New Spectrum Foundation, a concert-length oratorio for The Crossing Choir, and a full-length opera for Guerilla Opera (Boston).
Professor McLoskey has lectured and given Masterclasses at over 30 schools and festivals, and two dozen universities across the United States. He’s also served as Composer-in-Residence at half-a-dozen music festivals. As a recording artist, his work is available worldwide on fifteen releases on Albany Records, Innova, Wergo Schallplatten, Capstone, Tantara, and Beauport Classics, and published by Theodore Presser Company, American Composers’ Press, Mostly Marimba, Subito Music, and Odhecaton Z Music. For more information: http://www.lansingmcloskey.com
Raul Murciano, Professor
Raul Murciano is Associate Dean of Administration and a Full Professor of Practice in the Theory/Composition Department. He is a highly respected performer and composer whose credits encompass more than 40 years of national and international accomplishment in the fields of popular music, film, advertising and multi-media endeavors. He served as director of the school’s Media Writing and Production program from 1994 through 2011, until he was chosen to serve as Associate Dean of Administration. During his tenure, he has developed the school’s first undergraduate curriculum in Commercial Music Composition and taught courses in musicology, including Introduction to Cuban Music and an overview on the music of Latin America.
Professor Murciano is considered an expert in the field of Cuban music and has been interviewed on the subject by numerous local and national news networks including CNN. He has also served as consultant and/or commentator for several Latin music videos. He has lectured on the subject of contemporary Cuban art music at the Instituto San Carlos in Key West, Florida, conducted master classes on improvisation and compositional aesthetics at the Liceu Conservatorio in Barcelona, Spain, and headlined a speaking engagement at the Law Firm of Carlton Fields during the National Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. He has also worked with the Grammy-nominated timba group Tiempo Libre, creating orchestral arrangements that have been performed by major orchestras throughout the world.
Associate Dean Murciano has composed and recorded literally hundreds of “behind-the-scenes” musical productions for radio and television. With a client list that includes well over separate 100 accounts, he is recognized both nationally and internationally for his work in the field of advertising and has been cited numerous times for his creativity and imagination, receiving several prestigious bronze, silver, and gold Addy awards. He has taught workshops and given lectures on the subject of commercial music production, and was cited in Michael Zager’s industry textbook, Writing Music for Television and Radio Commercials. He has also served as adjudicator and panelist on talent shows and roundtable discussions.
Dr. David Pegel, Lecturer
Dr. David Pegel received his BM and MM in theory and composition from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and his DMA in composition from the University of Miami in 2014. An ASCAP Henry Mancini Fellowship recipient, David’s choral and chamber works have been performed throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Croatia, involving many notable church venues including Canterbury Cathedral, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey.
David serves as the organist and music director for St. Bede Episcopal Chapel. A multi-instrumentalist, he has played professionally as a pianist, trombonist, euphonist, and Baroque recorder specialist. David also performs as a vocalist with many choral organizations throughout southern Florida, singing baritone and the occasional countertenor.
Scott Stinson, Lecturer
An innovative musician and composer, Scott Stinson recently staged the large ensemble premiere of Agopolis Metropolis, part of a special consortium of works for wind ensemble and chorus by four composers, including Orlando Garcia, Sydney Guillaume and Steve Danyew that was organized by conductor Brenton Alston at Florida International University in October 2016. His two previous works for winds, Cog (2011) and Rage Against the Machine (2014), were both premiered by the Frost Wind Ensemble under conductors Thomas Sleeper and Gary Green.
Iksander, a composition for multi-percussion, was premiered in May 2017 at McGill University by percussionist Peter White. Other current compositional projects include a concerto for piano and orchestra, as well as an operatic work based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
A graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Professor Stinson studied composition with microtonalist opera composer and electronic music pioneer John Eaton. His other influences include such notable contemporary composers as Thomas Ades, Mathias Pintscher, Sofia Gubaidulina and Kaija Saariaho.
