Board of Directors
Steve Holley – President
Steve Holley is a music educator, bassist, and arranger living in Denver, CO. Steve holds a Ph.D. in Music Learning and Teaching from Arizona State University as well as a B.M. and an M.M. in Jazz/Classical Bass Performance from the University of Memphis. As a teacher, Steve previously served as the Producer for the Commercial Music Program at the Kent Denver School outside Denver, CO, for nineteen years. During his tenure, the R&B, soul, salsa, and jazz bands of the CMP were recognized by DownBeat magazine’s Student Music Awards fifteen times. The bands performed hundreds of gigs in the U.S. and abroad, held standing gigs at local clubs, performed on dozens of radio and television broadcasts, recorded at some of the most hallowed studios in the country, and performed with dozens of Grammy-caliber artists. As a bassist, Steve has recorded on over 100 studio projects and has played over 10,000 gigs across the world in every style of music imaginable. As a writer, Steve authored the book Coaching a Popular Music Ensemble: Blending formal, non-formal, and informal approaches in the rehearsal and co-edited Action-based Approaches in Popular Music Education—a text featuring chapters from 26 experienced popular music educators discussing their teaching approaches to the popular music learning space.
Raina Murnak – Vice President
Dr. Raina Murnak is an Associate Professor and the Head of Contemporary Voice and Performance Artistry for Frost School of Music at the University of Miami where she has been innovating in higher education for the past 20 years. She is a co-founder of the renowned Frost Method of Experiential Musicianship, the founder and Director of Frost Summer Institute of Contemporary Songwriting. She is a multi-talented performer, vocalist, songwriter, producer, coach and choreographer for stage, television and in the studio. Additionally, she is Program Director of the Master of Arts in Popular Music Pedagogy for Frost Online and serves as the music curriculum designer for Pharell Williams’ school YELLOWHAB. Dr. Murnak holds both a BM and MA degree in Vocal Performance and Composition from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a DMA in Music Theory and Composition and Vocal Pedagogy from the University of Miami.
Sandra Sanchez Adorno
Dr. Sandra Sanchez Adorno is an assistant professor of music education at Florida International University, where she teaches courses in elementary general music, assessment, psychology, and modern band. Dr. Adorno serves on the executive board of the Florida Music Education Association and as president of the Florida College Music Educators Association. Sandra also serves on editorial boards for The Orff Echo and Research Perspectives in Music Education. Dr. Adorno is trained in Orff Schulwerk, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and World Music Pedagogy, has worked as a general music teacher for public schools and outreach programs around the state, and continues to serve as a clinician and mentor for music educators nationwide. Most recently, Sandra secured a grant to fund Sing, Write, Play! an elementary outreach program geared toward songwriting that provided free instruments and instruction.
Chris Burns
Dr. Christopher Burns, with a deep commitment to music education, has a diverse academic and professional journey. Holding a PhD in Music Education from the University of South Florida, he emphasizes Learner-Centered Education, Popular Music, and Technology Integration. His work includes various teaching roles, from elementary to university levels, and a notable position as the District Fine and Performing Arts Resource Specialist in Osceola County since 2019. Dr. Burns actively contributes to the music education community, sharing insights on innovative teaching and music administration, while remaining engaged in continuous learning and development in his field.
Shane Colquhoun
Shane Colquhoun, Ph.D., is a Grammy-nominated music educator with a diverse musical background in both music education and music production. Shane currently serves as the band director at Loachapoka High School where he teaches band and general music. He has published in General Music Today, the Media Journal in Music Education, and has co-authored a book chapter, “Creativity and Non-Traditional Approaches for Middle-Level Music Education”, in the International Handbook of Middle-Level Education, Theory, Research, and Policy.
Virginia Davis
Dr. Virginia Wayman Davis is Professor of Music Education at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where she teaches courses in music education and research for undergraduate and graduate students. She is on the editorial board of The Journal of Popular Music Education and the advisory board of the Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Education. Dr. Davis is published in the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, General Music Today/Journal of General Music Education, The Journal of Popular Music Education, The Journal of Music Teacher Education, and several others, in addition to several upcoming authored and edited books and book chapters. Her research interests include meaningful music education practices, secondary general music, drumming and percussion, and popular music education. Dr. Davis currently plays percussion with the Valley Symphony Orchestra (TX) and her faculty pop/rock band, The Minör Revisiöns.
Ruth Debrot
Ruth Debrot has spent her career demonstrating a joyful approach to music-making and teaching. She received her DMA from and is currently a faculty member at Boston University. Her publications include Frontiers in Psychology, The Journal of Popular Music Education, The Arkansas Segue, The Orff Echo, MENC’s Spotlight on General Music, and the Massachusetts Music Educators Journal. She authored chapters in Living Song: Singing, Spirituality, and Wellbeing, and Points of Disruption in the Music Curriculum, Vol. 2. Academic and teaching honors include Pi Kappa Lambda, the Lowell Mason Award, the SGMM Award for Excellence in General Music and Distinguished Service Award. When not teaching, Debrot sings and plays keys and guitar with her band Notorious Jones in and around the Boston area. Regardless of context, Ruth espouses an active, human-centered approach in which all people are encouraged to be thoughtful, original, and creative-minded musicians.
Heather Fortune
Educator and Flutist Heather Fortune leads Middle and High School instrumental ensembles at Friends Select, a Quaker school in Center City, Philadelphia. Her inclusive approach centers student voice and choice, utilizes good music technology to empower learners, and builds responsive classroom spaces. Heather coaches rock bands and is a prolific arranger of symphonies, pop classics, Latin grooves, jazz standards, and modern mind-benders. Her publications include Breaking Band – Legacy Ensembles Transformed, available at FFlat Books. In addition to conducting and coaching ensembles, Heather provides instructional coaching and program support to schools and music education non-profits. She serves on the Board of Trustees for Rock To The Future, which supports positive youth development and economic empowerment through free, student-driven music programs for Philadelphia youth. Heather received her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music in Flute Performance from Boston University and maintains an active freelance career music.
Nate Holder
Nathan Holder is an award-winning author, international speaker, musician and education consultant. With over a decade of experience, Nate has been advocating for inclusive and diverse music education globally through speaking engagements, writing, and consultancy. As an experienced public speaker, Nate has led numerous CPD training, workshops and lectures for schools, universities, and hubs to tackle issues including pedagogy and critical perspectives in music classrooms, departments, and boards. His collaborations include working with top artists such as Ghetts, KOKOROKO, Emeli Sandé and Arkells, as well as with leading companies and organizations like BBC, Hal Leonard Europe, Oxford University Press and Harper Collins. Nate’s contributions extend beyond his consulting work. He serves on the board for F-flat books, Music Teacher Magazine, and is a member of the Advisory Group to the Africa APPG’s Inquiry into Africa in the UK Curricula. Currently, he holds the position of Professor and International Chair of Music Education at the Royal Northern College of Music. His work aims to inspire and empower learners and educators to embrace inclusive and diverse music education.
Kristina Kelman
Dr. Kristina Kelman is an academic, teacher, community music facilitator and jazz musician. Her research interests include the education of the aspiring musician. Kristina’s work also takes place in community music settings, most recently she collaborated with Australian ARIA award winner, David Bridie and First Languages Australia on a language project through original song. Since 2015, Kristina has coordinated an intensive recording program and music education project in Chennai, India, which produces an album of original music by emerging independent artists each year, distributed and promoted internationally. Kristina is a Brisbane based musician, who has had a successful 20-year career performing and recording as a jazz singer, and working as both a music director and conductor for various Australian projects.
Candice Mattio
Dr. Candice D. Mattio is Assistant Professor of Music Teaching & Learning at USC’s Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles. Her research focuses on creativity and representation in music technology education, and social issues in contemporary and popular music education. She is published in the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Arts Education Policy Review, Journal of Popular Music Education, and with Oxford University Press and Intellect Books. Dr. Mattio has been awarded by the Conklin Forum on Social Justice in Music Teacher Education, BCRME Outstanding Dissertation Award, 2014 NAMM and TI:ME Music Technology Leadership Academy Award, the EDUCAUSE 2012 Next Generation Learning Challenges Grant, and has collaborated with organizations such as MusicWill, YWCA, Save the Music, Guitars Over Guns, Young Musicians Unite, and others to provide equitable access to popular music education. She was formerly co-chair for the FMEA’s Contemporary Media Committee, and co-lead the FMEA All-State Popular Music Collective which was the first all-state K-12 popular music initiative in the US. Prior to USC, she was faculty at Florida International University, and previously was Chair of Fine Arts in Chicago Public Schools where she taught secondary general music, electronic music, live sound, recording and studio production, and popular music ensembles.
Zack Moir
Dr. Zack Moir is a Lecturer in Popular Music and the Director of the Applied Music Research Centre at Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland. He holds a BA in Popular Music Performance, and an MMus, PhD, Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice from the University of Edinburgh. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Zack’s research interests are in popular music in higher education, popular music composition pedagogy, music education and social justice, and the teaching and learning of improvisation. He has published on the topics of popular music pedagogy, music in higher education, popular music making and leisure, popular music songwriting/composition, and real-time interactive networked performance. Zack is also an active composer and musician performing as a soloist and in bands internationally. Recent composition works include pieces for saxophone and tape, solo cello, and a reactive generative sound art installation for the Edinburgh International Science Festival.
Brian Russell
Dr. Brian Russell is a veteran musician, devoted educator, and native South Floridian. Brian has had the pleasure of working with GRAMMY award-winning producers Chris Rodriguez (C-Rod), Juan Cristobal Losada, artists Aaron Tindall, Julio Iglesias, John Secada, Raul Midon, Rachel Bay Jones (Pippin), and musicals such as Rock of Ages, Tommy, and The Last Five Years (to name a few). Brian currently serves as the Director of Contemporary Guitar studies for the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music in Coral Gables, FL. As an educator/clinician and a GRAMMY Music Educator Award (MEA) Quarterfinalist for 2017, 2018, and 2019, Brian has delivered guitar instructional clinics in California, Florida, Colorado, Tennessee, and New York. As a music researcher, his research studies have been presented and published both nationally and internationally and he serves as an editorial board member for several music education journals.
Cassandra O’Neal
Cassandra O’Neal has seven years’ worth of stories from her time playing keyboard for legendary musician Prince. Today, as practitioner-in-residence at Columbia College Chicago, O’Neal teaches her students lessons from more than 20 years of working as a musician alongside artists like Mary J. Blige, LeAnn Rimes, Macy Gray, and, of course, Prince. In her music theory courses, O’Neal teaches her students a mix of classic and contemporary musicians like Adele, Donna Summer, and Prince. Even as she’s played alongside some of the world’s most famous musicians, O’Neal remains a student herself—including the years she spent studying alongside Prince until his 2016 death. “He was such a masterful musician, not just in skill but in concept as well. He had a little hint of dissonance that always worked,” she says. “[It was like] taking a master class, every day, for seven years.”
Bryden Stillie
Bryden Stillis is an Associate Professor in Music and Head of Learning and Teaching in the School of Creative Industries at Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland. He graduated from the prestigious BA Applied Music programme at The University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, in 1999, and has subsequently completed two PGCert qualifications in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (2008), and Blended and Online Education (2017). His teaching specialisms include performance, music technology, music education, and musicianship skills. His research fields include: developing new pedagogic approaches to teaching hybrid drum kit performance; exploring learner transitions into Higher Education; and using learning technologies to enhance the student learning experience.
Kristian Wahlström
Kristian Wahlström, PhD, is an established guitarist and has played professionally for over 20 years in the Finnish music scene. As a freelancer, he has performed live with, e.g., Michael Monroe (Hanoi Rocks) and Perttu Kivilaakso (Apocalyptica) as well as recorded with Darude among others. He has taught guitar and bands now for over 20 years at the Pop & Jazz Conservatory in Helsinki, the first institution for popular music in Scandinavia. He also teaches guitar pedagogy. He holds a PhD in musicology, awarded by the University of Helsinki. His research interests include student-centered pedagogy, groove, and psychodynamic music research.
Brian Wilkins
Brian Wilkins is a manager, educator, technologist, and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience. Brian has held executive positions at major record labels (Sony/BMG/Universal), entertainment companies (Clear Channel/SFX), educational institutions (UM Frost School of Music) and technology companies (NUSIC/Lark42). His management roster has included Rihanna, Alex da Kid, and Sean “The Pen” Garrett. Collectively Brian’s clients have over 40 Grammy nominations, 8 billion streams, and 500 million in sales including writing/producing credits for superstars Jay-Z, Madonna, Eminem, Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Imagine Dragons, Shawn Mendes, Selena Gomez, SZA, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Camila Cabello, Travis Scott, and others.
APME Staff
Stacey Swanson – Director of Operations
Stacey is a Ph.D. student in Music Education at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL. She received her BMus in Music Education and Music Performance in Bassoon from The University of Georgia and her MM in Music Education from the University of Miami. Her career spans nearly 20 years in the classroom, private studio, and the music products industry. Recent roles include editor-in-chief for In Tune Partners, Chief Operating Officer for Practicing Musician, and National Lesson Manager for Music & Arts. She also serves as Board of Directors Treasurer for Give a Note Foundation.
Irwin Kornfeld – Treasurer
Irwin Kornfeld began his career in media at Dow Jones and Company and rose to become manager of the New York office. He then joined McGraw-Hill’s Business Week magazine and within three years was named Vice President of Sales for the Eastern Region. In 1990, he was named Director of Advertising Programs for Forbes Magazine. In 1996 he was named Associate Publisher of Billboard magazine and Vice President of the Billboard Music Group. Mr. Kornfeld founded In Tune Partners in 2003 and currently serves as its CEO. The company publishes music education magazines In Tune Monthly, Music Alive! and their websites. In Tune and Music Alive! reach 280,000 music students in grades 4-college and 44,000 music educators who teach more than 8 million music students in all 50 U.S. states.
Rhian Bristol – APME Intern
Southern California born and raised, Rhian Bristol sings, writes music, plays piano, ukulele, bass, and guitar, and is open to learning any instrument you put in her hands; however, by far, her favorite thing to do is perform because it gives her the opportunity to share her experiences and move people. A consummate performer at a young age, Rhian has a stunning ability to channel her feelings, joys and challenges into her music. Rhian earned her BFA in Music, Voice Arts Performance with a minor in Music Theory at California Institute of the Arts and is pursuing her Master’s Degree in Popular Music Teaching and Learning at USC Thornton School of Music.
Aidan Harvey – APME Intern
Aidan Harvey is a Ph.D. student at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland.
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President’s Advisory Council
Chris Sampson
Gareth Dylan Smith
Kat Reinhert
John Kratus
Past Leadership
Odie Blackmon (Board member)
David Fish (Board member, Past President)
Darla Hanley (Board member, President 2015–2015)
Mia Ibrahim (Board member)
Jamie Knight (Board member)
Andy Krikun (Board member)
Warren Petit (Board member)
Joe Pignato (Board member)
Bryan Powell (Executive Director, 2014–2023)
Kat Reinhert (Board member, President 2019-2021)
Carlos Rafael Rivera (Board member)
Rey Sanchez (Board member)
Chris Sampson (Board member, Past President)
Cheryl Slay-Carr (Board member)
Andy Stott (Board member)
Gareth Dylan Smith (Board member, President 2017–2019)
Alice Tsui (Board member)
Martina Vasil (Board member, President 2021–2023)
Donna Weston (Board member)
Cliff Wittstruck (Board member, Past President)
Past Interns
Corin Anderson
David Dockan