Axe ’Em, Jacks!
Dr. Tamey Anglley
Dr. Tamey Anglley is director of bands at SFA. She also conducts the Wind Ensemble, oversees the instrumental conducting graduate program and teaches music education courses. Her previous experience at SFA also includes associate director of bands, director of the Lumberjack Marching Band, conductor of the Wind Symphony, assistant director of bands, associate director of the Lumberjack Marching Band, conductor of the Symphonic Band and director of the basketball band.
Prior to joining SFA's School of Music faculty, Anglley was director of bands at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where she oversaw the winds/brass/percussion department, including concert, athletic and jazz bands and all instrumental music education courses.
Anglley was a doctoral conducting teaching assistant at Texas Tech University from 2006-09, where she studied with Dr. Sarah McKoin. While at Texas Tech, Anglley worked with the four university bands, the Goin' Band from Raiderland and the basketball pep bands. She was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant award for the School of Music in 2009.
She was associate director of bands at Cooper High School in Abilene from 2003-06, where she conducted the second and fourth bands and taught at the two feeder middle schools.
Anglley is an active clinician and teacher, conducting honor bands and clinicing band programs in Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. Her professional associations include:
- Texas Music Educators Association
- College Band Directors National Association
- College Music Society
- Sigma Alpha Iota
- Kappa Kappa Psi
- and Tau Beta Sigma.
Anglley resides in Nacogdoches with her husband, Jeff, and their son, Harry.
Dr. Tod Fish
Dr. Tod Fish received his bachelor's and master's degrees in music from SFA. He studied conducting with Dr. Terry Eder and Dr. Tim King while studying voice with Dr. David Jones. In 2009, Dr. Fish completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the University of Kansas under the tutelage of Dr. Paul Tucker and Dr. John Paul Johnson. Under the direction of Fish, the University of Kansas Men's Glee Club was the only collegiate choir selected for the 2008 Kansas Music Educators Association conference.
Prior to joining SFA's School of Music faculty, he enjoyed a successful 13-year career as a high school and middle school choral director. While teaching in Seguin, Round Rock and Lubbock, his choirs earned numerous sweepstakes awards, significantly increased enrollment and saw several former students pursue careers in the music field.
Fish has conducted several Texas Music Educators Association All-Region Choirs and guest conducted in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio. He served as a Texas All-State Mixed Choir section leader in 2005 and 2012. Fish made his international clinician debut through a series of lectures at the VocalTerra International Choral Festival in 2020. This festival served choral directors from upwards of twenty nations on four different continents.
Fish leads the Kantorei (treble choir) and the Singin' Axes (tenor-bass choir) at SFA. In 2020, Kantorei was the only collegiate treble choir to sing at the Southwestern American Choral Directors Association conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was the first time for a non-auditioned choir from SFA to perform at a peer-reviewed conference.
Fish is the founder of the Stone Fort Chorale, a community chorus for the greater East Texas area.
Dr. Gregory Grabowski
Dr. Gregory Grabowski earned his bachelor's degree in music education from the University of North Texas, his Master of Music from Southern Methodist University and his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas, under primary conducting teachers David Itkin and Paul Phillips.
Grabowski grew up in Edison, New Jersey, where he began his musical studies as a jazz saxophone player and woodwind specialist.
Prior to joining SFA's School of Music faculty, Grabowski served as orchestra director at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. Under his leadership, the Susquehanna University Orchestra increased in size and prestige and was featured in two nationally broadcast public television performances aired in 2017.
He has led several orchestras, including the:
- Longview Symphony Orchestra
- Bakersfield Symphony
- Baltimore Chamber Orchestra
- Richardson Symphony
- Flower Mound Symphony
- Lewisville Lake Symphony
- and Fairbanks Festival Orchestra.
He also has studied conducting under Don Schleicher, Nicolás Pasquet, Markand Thakar, Robert Franz, Paul Vermell, Samuel Jones, Harold Farberman and Leon Botstein.
Upon moving to Texas, Grabowski served as interim director of the Flower Mound Symphony Orchestra. He also was the assistant conductor for the Lewisville Lake Symphony, guest conductor with the Richardson Symphony and the Dallas Asian-American Youth Orchestra, and served as graduate assistant conductor at both the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University.
Other performance highlights include a benefit performance of the Mozart Requiem, a performance of Shostakovich’s rarely-heard chamber opera, Anti-Formalist Rayok and a gala concert in the newly opened Winspear Opera House in Dallas with the Meadows Symphony Orchestra.
Grabowski has taught and advocated for music education at every level from elementary school to professional. He began his career in the public schools of Frisco, where he was the associate director of winds and percussion at Roach Middle School for three years.
Since beginning his orchestral career, he has conducted youth orchestras, regional honor orchestras and has been a guest clinician at numerous high schools. He also has been an adjudicator for orchestra and band competitions as well as student solo competitions.
Showcased works
Chris Kaatz
Chris Kaatz earned his bachelor's degree in music education from Michigan State University and his Master of Music with a concentration in conducting from University of Missouri-Kansas City, studying with Steven D. Davis. He also has completed a coursework residency towards a doctoral degree at Northwestern University where he studied with Dr. Mallory Thompson.
Prior to joining SFA's School of Music faculty, Kaatz served three years as the director of bands at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Breese, Illinois. During his tenure at Mater Dei, he was the sole administrator of the music program, conducted the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Marching Knights, basketball pep band, Jazz Combo and Noon Chorus. He also taught courses in both beginning chorus and music appreciation.
He is the assistant director of bands at SFA, serving as the associate director of the Lumberjack Marching Band and director of the Roarin' Buzzsaws Pep Band. He also conducts the Symphonic Band, teaches courses in undergraduate conducting, mentors music education majors as a student teaching supervisor and teaches at the SFA band camps.
Kaatz has been an instructor at Smith Walbridge: Music for All Summer Symposium and the Drum Major Clinic. Outside of his professional ventures, he enjoys a wonderful community of friends in Nacogdoches and treasures his regular travels to visit family in Michigan.
Dr. Claire Murphy
Dr. Claire Murphy earned a bachelor's degree in vocal performance and a Master of Music Education at East Carolina University. She also earned an all-level teaching certification in North Carolina and Texas, and her EdD at SFA.
In addition to teaching, Murphy is the coordinator of SFA's music education program. In her roles, she teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level music education courses.
Before joining SFA's School of Music faculty, Murphy was the chair of the music education program at the University of Idaho, where she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in music education, coordinated and supervised the student teacher program and conducted the Women's Chorus. While at the University of Idaho, she was named Professor of the Year. Prior to moving to Idaho, Murphy served as adjunct faculty at Barton College and East Carolina University.
Murphy, originally certified in North Carolina to teach kindergarten through grade 12 music and later receiving her early childhood through grade 12 teaching certification in music, has taught all levels since 1997 in North Carolina, Florida and Texas, both in public and college preparatory schools. She served as conductor for the Greenville Choral Society Children's Chorus in North Carolina and was the founding conductor of the Palouse Choral Society Children's Choir in Idaho. Murphy was dedicated to creating and developing children's choirs for every public and private school in which she's been employed as a means to connect students through quality choral programs that focus on developing the adolescent voice.
Additional areas of research interest include teacher preparation, differentiation in instruction, the musical development of children and leadership in music.
Murphy has been actively involved in the National Association for Music Education, North Carolina Music Educators Association, Florida Music Eduction Association, Idaho Music Educators Association, Texas Choral Directors Association, Texas Music Educators Association and Educational Law Association. She's an active adjudicator and clinician in Texas and has presented at conferences at local, state, national and international levels.
Dr. Michael Murphy
Dr. Michael Murphy is the director of choral activities and a professor in SFA's School of Music where he teaches choral conducting, ensembles, repertoire and methods courses, and oversees the graduate conducting program.
Before joining the School of Music faculty in 2017, Murphy was the director of choral activities and associate professor at the University of Idaho for nine years. During this time, he was founder and artistic director of the Idaho Bach Festival and was recognized with the UI Faculty Award for outstanding scholarship, teaching and engagement.
He is an active clinician, adjudicator and author, and research interests include training and developing the holistic conductor, rehearsal techniques, new choral compositions and investing and creating impactful connections in our global community through music.
Murphy's international conducting and teaching experiences include Austria, China, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, Germany, Norway, Panama and Sweden. The Confucius Institute awarded Murphy with the "Understanding China Fellowship" and asked him to serve as visiting scholar at Sun Yat-sen University, South China University of Technology and Guangzhou University of Foreign Studies.
Murphy is the coauthor and editor of "Conducting Primer in Practice,"" has been published several times in "Choral Journal" and contributed to volume four of "Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir."
As a passionate champion of music for all, Murphy has experience teaching all ages and levels and several auditioned and nonauditioned collegiate, community, school and church choirs. His choirs have been invited to perform for several state and regional American Choral Directors Association and The National Association for Music Education conferences. He also has held several international, national and state leadership positions in International Choral Conductors Federation, ACDA, NAfME, and National Collegiate Choral Organization.
Murphy received his degrees in conducting and choral music education from Florida State University and East Carolina University.
Melissa Nabb
A native of Urbana, Illinois, Melissa Nabb earned a bachelor's degree in viola performance, cum laude, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studying with Rudolf Haken, and a master's degree in viola performance at Northwestern University, studying with renowned pedagogue Roland Vamos.
Nabb is an active performer, playing on both violin and viola in ensembles in East Texas and surrounding areas, including the Shreveport Symphony and Longview Symphony. Prior to moving to Nacogdoches, Nabb performed with ensembles including the International Contemporary Ensemble, Lexington Philharmonic, Sinfonia Da Camera and Evansville Symphony.
She is a certified Suzuki Method instructor and maintains an active teaching career. She has enjoyed large studios in Naperville, Illinois, and Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, and now teaches violin and viola in her home in Nacogdoches.
Dr. Frances Fonza Smith
Dr. Frances Fonza Smith earned a bachelor's degree in music education at the University of Missouri-Columbia, a master's degree in music education and her PhD in music education/choral conducting at Florida State University.
Smith taught choral music at the middle school and high school levels in Kentucky for several years. Additionally, she served as assistant professor of music education and director of choral activities at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Her responsibilities included teaching music education courses, aural skills, choral conducting, supervising music education interns and directing the Wittenberg choirs.
Choirs under her direction have participated in state, regional and national music festivals. Smith is an active singer, clinician and adjudicator. A frequent guest conductor, she has conducted several honor, public school and church choirs. Her research interests are community partnerships, healthy singing in Gospel music and tone building strategies used in the choral classroom.
Smith holds professional membership in the National Association for Music Educators and the American Choral Directors Association.
Contact
School of Music
936.468.4602
schoolofmusic@sfasu.edu
Faculty directory
Physical Address:
Wright Music Building
Room 150
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 13043, SFA Station
Nacogdoches, Texas 75962