Music at ASC

ASC Music Faculty

Dr. Tracey Laird, Associate Professor of Music/Chair

Dr. Laird earned her Ph.D. in Musicology/Ethnomusicology from the University of Michigan. Her first book, Louisiana Hayride: Radio and Roots Music along the Red River (Oxford UP), centers around the influential radio barn dance broadcast from Shreveport, LA, during the post-WW II era. In her teaching and research, she examines the relationships between music, media, geography, and race relations in the southern U.S., as well as broader topics in American popular and concert music, ethnomusicology,world music, and Western music history.

Dr. Calvert Johnson, Charles A. Dana Professor of Music

Dr. Johnson earned his doctoral degree in organ at Northwestern University. His special areas of research and performance are early keyboard music and underrepresented groups (women, blacks, Asians, and Hispanics). Dr. Johnson has released six CD recordings in addition to numerous articles, scholarly editions of music by women composers, and books on performance practices. Recent performances include the American Guild of Organists, College Music Society, Piccolo Spoleto, Southeastern Historical Keyboard Society, and the Cultural Olympics.

Dr. Juan Chattah, Assistant Professor of Music

Dr. Chattah has a degree in piano performance and pedagogy from the Utrecht Conservatorium in The Netherlands and earned his Ph.D. in Music Theory and Composition from Florida State University. His research interests include the application of linguistic and critical theories to the analysis of twentieth-century music, with particular emphasis on film music. In addition to his music-theoretical endeavors, he is an active performer and composer. As a composer, he is featured in the nationally syndicated radio program "Stories in the Air", broadcast through Public Radio International.

Dr. Qiao Chen Solomon, Visiting Professor of Music

Qiao Chen Solomon performs as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra player throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States. She has won numerous competitions, including the 5^thLiaoning Violin Competition (China), the West Waterford Music and Drama Festival (Ireland), and the MTNA competition (U.S.). Dr. Solomon received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Violin Performance with a Minor in Viola from the University of Georgia. She also holds a M.A. in Violin Performance from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick (Ireland) and a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from the Conservatory of Capital Normal University in Beijing (China). Dr. Solomon joined the Agnes Scott College music faculty in 2006. She teaches applied violin and viola lessons, coaches the string chamber ensemble, and conducts the ASC Community Orchestra.

In addition to these full-time professors, Agnes Scott employs several part-time instructors to teach private and group lessons and assist in leading ensembles.

Brass: Amy King Black (French horn), Susie Scarr (trombone, tuba), Rick Denton (jazz trumpet), Colin Jones (trumpet)

Keyboard: Woo-young Choi (piano, accompanist), David D’Ambrosio (piano, accompanist), Rick Denton (jazz improvisation), Calvert Johnson (harpsichord, organ, piano)

Percussion: Emrah Kotan

Strings: Roy Harran (cello), Qiao Chen Solomon (violin, viola), Rick Denton (electric bass), Robert Goin (bass), Brian Luckett (guitar, lute), Monica Hargrave (harp)

Voice: Dawn-Marie James, Meredith Zara

Music History & World Music: Calvert Johnson, Tracey Laird, Stephen Morris

Music Theory: Calvert Johnson, Juan Chattah

Woodwinds: Karl Bevins (clarinet, saxophone), Jody Miller (recorder), Lisa Prodan (oboe, English horn), Shelley Unger (bassoon), Kelly Via (flute, piccolo), Mandy Wickham (oboe, English horn)

Composition: Jorge Alvarez

Ensembles: Nathan Grigsby (Joyful Noise), Emrah Kotan (Jazz Ensemble & World Drumming Ensemble), Lisa Prodan (Woodwind Quintet) Qiao Chen Solomon (Orchestra & String Chamber Ensemble), Elise Eskew Sparks (Collegiate Chorale & Sotto Voce), Kelly Via (Flute Choir)