Voice & Choir Faculty

 

Daniel Ihasz - Voice, baritone (YAS)

Lyric Baritone Daniel Ihasz earned a Master of Music degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, along with the prestigious Performer's Certificate. Since 1992, he has been a member of the voice faculty at the State University of New York at Fredonia where he is currently an Associate Professor and Co-Chair of the Voice Area.

He has served as recitalist and clinician in Colorado, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico as well as Artist in Residence for the 2002 Canitcum Novum Festival in Caracas, Venezuela. Other engagements include appearances with Dave Brubeck, Glimmerglass Opera (including the world premiere Central Park taped for PBS - Great Performances and broadcast in January 2000), Carolina Chamber Chorale (Piccolo Spoleto Festival), Central City Opera, Opera Sacra, New York State Baroque, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Rochester Chamber Orchestra, Rochester Oratorio Society, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony, Milwaukee Opera and the Fredonia Chamber Players. Recording labels include Centaur, Albany and Naxos.

Daniel Ihasz currently serves as the NATS Vice President and Auditions Coordinator for the local chapter and recently as Coordinator for the 2003 NATS Summer Intern Program.

Helen Ihasz - Voice & Choir (JSS2)

Helen Ihasz, a Wisconsin native, received her Bachelors Degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin - Madison with a double major in instrumental and choral music. While completing her Masters Degree in Music Education, also at Madison, Mrs. Ihasz was awarded a teaching assistanceship which involved supervising practica and observing student teachers. Mrs. Ihasz has 25 years of teaching experience at a wide variety of levels in general, choral, and instrumental music in the public schools. Mrs. Ihasz studied flute with Mr. Robert Cole (formerly of the Philadelphia Orchestra), and she has studied conducting with James Smith, Steve Peterson, John Paynter, Mallory Thompson, and Paula Holcomb. In 1993, she was the recipient of a Summer Fellowship at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, one of ten teachers from around the country chosen for this program. Mrs. Ihasz has also taught beginning conducting at SUNY Fredonia for the past 5 years.

Sue Williamson - Voice & Choir (JSS1)

Dr. Susan Williamson is an assistant professor of choral music education. She received her Bachelor of Music Education from Ball State University, her Master of Music Education from the University of Colorado, and her Ph.D. in music education at the University of Washington.

Dr. Williamson taught choral music in elementary, middle and high schools in Indiana, Ohio, Colorado and Washington. In addition, she conducted "Vivace" of the Northwest Girlchoir, an eighty-two voice auditioned choir in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Williamson has presented choral clinics at MENC Conferences and the regional conference of the American Choral Directors Association.

Dr. Williamson has presented choral clinics at MENC Conferences and the regional conference of the American Choral Directors Association. She is a frequent choral adjudicator and has been the featured honor choir conductor in festivals in Washington, Oregon, and British Colombia, Canada. She also has interests in the choral music of South Africa, where she conducted fieldwork in the summer of 1996.

Dr. Williamson's research interests include informal learning in adolescence, teacher development and renewal She has presented her research at conferences of the American Educational Research Association, the Society of Ethnomusicology, the International Society for Music Education and the Conference of Qualitative Research at the University of Illinois.