Lauren Casey-Clyde
MM, Trombone Performance
Lauren Casey-Clyde is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Trombone Performance under Dr. Nathaniel Brickens at the University of Texas at Austin, where she serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant to the Longhorn Band and the Longhorn Pep Band. She is a member of the University of Texas Wind Ensemble under the direction of Jerry Junkin, and a member of the critically acclaimed University of Texas Trombone Choir. Lauren previously earned her BM degree in Music Education and Performance at Boston University, studying Euphonium under the tutelage of BSO Principal Tubist Mike Roylance.
She maintains an active performance career on trombone and euphonium, that has brought her across the globe and has given her the opportunity to perform with ensembles such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Brookline Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco Wind Symphony. Most recently, she placed Third in the Susan Slaughter Solo Competition at the 2019 International Women’s Brass Conference in Arizona.
Alongside her performing career, Lauren is passionate about dedicating her time to teaching. She is a low brass specialist in the Austin and San Francisco Bay Area, where she maintains a studio of over twenty middle school through college aged students. Her students have consistently won positions in the CBDA All-State Ensembles, Santa Clara County Honor Band, and summer festivals such as the BU Tanglewood Institute. During the summer, she works with the seven-time World Champion Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps, also serves as a marching instructor to the 2019 BOA Grand National Champion Vandegrift Viper Marching Band.
Drew Dickey
DMA, Wind Conducting
Christopher Drew Dickey currently serves as Graduate Teaching Assistant at The University of Texas at Austin, where he is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Wind Conducting. At UT, he assists with all facets of the university band program, including athletic bands, concert ensembles, and undergraduate teaching. In addition to this appointment, Mr. Dickey serves as the Brass Caption Coordinator with The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps from Rosemont, Illinois.
Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Dickey held positions at The South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University, the Anderson School District 5 District Office, and Southwood Academy of the Arts. He also served as a Graduate Conducting Associate with the Louisiana State University Department of Bands and has spent many years as an educator and administrator in the South Carolina public schools.
Mr. Dickey holds the degrees of Master of Music in Music Education from the Ithaca College School of Music, Master of Music in Wind Conducting from Louisiana State University, and Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of South Carolina. He is also a Google for Education Certified Educator and Trainer and is certified as an Apple Teacher.
His professional affiliations include the College Band Directors National Association, the National Association for Music Education, the International Tuba Euphonium Association, Kappa Kappa Psi, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Francis Favis
DMA, Percussion Performance
An emerging voice in the realm of contemporary-classical music, percussionist Francis Favis is drawn to unique and unconventional sound worlds. With an affinity for new music, he has premiered both solo and chamber works, taking him across the United States and Canada. These engagements have occurred at venues and festivals such as the College Music Society International Conference in Vancouver, B.C, Red Note New Music Festival, Nief-Norf Summer Festival, So Percussion Summer Institute, the Canadian Music Centre, and the Toronto Creative Music Lab. He has had the opportunity to perform for and learn from artists such as Hypercube, So Percussion, Jumblies Theatre, and The Percussion Collective.
Equally at home with a large ensemble, Francis has performed with groups like the Heartland Festival Orchestra, University of Texas Wind Ensemble, the American Festival Pops Orchestra and the Honor Band of America. He has also been featured on percussion concerti by John Mackey and Michael Daugherty. Francis can be heard on Naxos Records with the Illinois State University Wind Symphony.
An active educator, Francis has taught both privately and at multiple schools, all who have won awards under his instruction. Presently, he is the Drumline Instructor for the iconic Longhorn Band of the University of Texas at Austin.
Francis earned his BM in Music Performance from Illinois State University, and his MM in Music Performance from George Mason University. He is currently pursuing a DMA in Percussion at the University of Texas at Austin. His primary teachers include David Collier, John Kilkenny, John Spirtas, and Thomas Burritt.
Trey Lockett
MM, Music and Human Learning
Trey Lockett is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in Music and Human Learning at the University of Texas at Austin, under the tutelage of Dr. Bob Duke, and serves as a graduate teaching assistant for the band program. As a graduate teaching assistant, Mr. Lockett works with the Longhorn Band, Longhorn Pep Band, Longhorn Concert Bands, and manages the Texas Bands social media channels. He also serves on the instructional staff of the James Bowie and LBJ high school marching bands and teaches private lessons at Cedar Valley Middle School.
Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Lockett received a Bachelor of Arts in Music at Clemson University in South Carolina. During his time at Clemson, he was a member of the Symphonic Band and the Tiger Band for five years. As a member of Tiger Band, he served as a drum major for three seasons and was the 2018 Tiger Band Commander (president). For his capstone project, Mr. Lockett completed a wind ensemble transcription of Ola Gjeilo’s The Lake Isle, and conducted the premiere with the Symphonic Band in April of 2019. He sang in multiple choirs and served as music director of Clemson’s all-male a cappella group, TIGEROAR, for two years. Mr. Lockett also received the honor of membership in the Blue Key Honor Society, Clemson’s oldest and most respected honor fraternity.
Mr. Lockett’s professional affiliations include the Texas Bandmasters Association, the Texas Music Educators Association, and the College Band Directors National Association. He is an active member of Hill Country Bible Church in Austin, where he serves on the worship team.
Cy Miessler
DMA, Percussion Performance
Cy Miessler is a percussionist and composer currently based in Austin, Texas. He is currently working towards his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a teaching assistant for Texas Bands, writing the music for and helping instruct the drumline. He is studying with Thomas Burritt and Tony Edwards. He received his Master’s of Music from Arizona State University, where he studied with J.B. Smith and Shaun Tilburg. He has earned a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance and a Performance Diploma in Percussion from Indiana University, where he studied with Kevin Bobo, John Tafoya, Michael Spiro, and Steve Houghton. While at Indiana University, he studied composition with P.Q. Phan, Jay Hurst, and Nathan Stang.
In the summer of 2019, Cy received 2nd prize at the International Percussion Institute Marimba Competition in Aberdeen, Scotland. In 2015, Cy received 1st place at the Mid-Missouri Marimba Competition, and was a semifinalist in the Great Plains International Marimba Competition in 2014, 2015, and 2019. He also was the winner of the Indiana University Percussion Concerto Competition in 2011, in which he performed the Kraft Timpani Concerto. In the time he has spent at the University of Texas, Cy was commissioned to compose a percussion nonet for the Lassiter Percussion Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, where the performance and piece were met with high praise. While at Arizona State University, Cy was commissioned by J.B. Smith and the Arizona State Contemporary Percussion Ensemble to compose a marimba sextet for the McCormick Marimba Festival in Florida.
Along with percussion, Cy enjoys cooking, exercising, and spending time with his cat Acorn.
Matthew Sedatole
DMA, Wind Conducting
Matthew Sedatole received his undergraduate degree in Music Education from Michigan State University, where he was a member of the Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, and Spartan Marching Band. Starting in the fall of 2016 he became the Assistant Director of Bands at Mona Shores High School, where he stayed for two years until coming to the University of Texas at Austin to pursue a masters in conducting.
Mr. Sedatole has participated in several conducting symposiums across the country and has worked with renowned conductors including Jerry Junkin, Kevin Sedatole, Bob Reynolds, Richard Floyd, Steve Davis, and Kevin Noe.
Ogechi Ukazu
DMA, Wind Conducting
Ogechi Ukazu is a doctoral candidate in wind conducting, under Jerry Junkin, at the University of Texas at Austin where she also serves as a teaching assistant for the UT band program. Prior to this position, she acted as Visiting Instructor of Instrumental Music at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas. Ms. Ukazu spent 10 years as a Band Director in both middle and high schools in the Houston area. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Houston and a Master’s Degree in Conducting from Sam Houston State University. In 2011, the Claughton Middle School Symphonic Band, under the direction of Ms. Ukazu, performed at the Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic. Ms. Ukazu is an avid proponent of quality music education for all students and has presented on music education advocacy at workshops and clinics around the state of Texas.
Ms. Ukazu’s professional affiliations include College Band Directors National Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity, Tau Beta Sigma, and honorary membership in Kappa Kappa Psi.
Jonathan Villela
DMA, Wind Conducting
Jonathan M. Villela serves as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Texas at Austin where he assists with concert ensembles, undergraduate conducting instruction, graduate wind literature, and the Longhorn Marching Band. He holds a Bachelor in Music Education from the Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State University. Subsequently, Villela taught at Four Points Middle School (Leander ISD) where he conducted the group at the 69th Midwest Clinic and was a presenter in the following year. As a guest conductor of Cedar Park Winds, Villela led the ensemble’s submission to the international conference, thus yielding the group’s invitation and performance at the 71st Midwest Clinic where they premiered Donald Grantham’s Effulgent Light. Vilela served as a guest conductor for the Dallas Winds, and was featured on the ensemble’s Mozart vs. Varèse.
At the University of Texas, Villela was named recipient of the Richard E. Rainwater Grant for Innovation, recipient of the Austin Cultural Arts Initiative, and was recently awarded the Texas Music Educators Graduate Scholarship. Villela is currently pursuing graduate work in Wind Conducting through the tutelage of Professor Jerry Junkin.
Shiree Williams
DMA, Wind Conducting
Mr. Shiree Williams is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting at The University of Texas at Austin, under the tutelage of Professor Jerry Junkin. Prior to his enrollment, Mr. Williams served as Director of Bands at Faubion Middle School, and the Associate Director of Bands at McKinney High School. A native of south Georgia, Mr. Williams holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree cum laude from Valdosta State University, and a Master of Music in Conducting (Wind Emphasis) degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he was the conducting student of Dr. Glenn Price.
Regarded to be an effective educator and conductor, Mr. Williams receives opportunities to teach and conduct in many settings. He is a frequent guest clinician for concert and marching bands, and has guest conducted various middle school, high school, collegiate, and professional ensembles. Mr. Williams has also had the great fortune to work with and learn from masterful conducting teachers in H. Robert Reynolds, Craig Kirchoff, Richard Floyd, Mallory Thompson, Rodney Dorsey, Kevin Sedatole, Donald Schleicher, Mark Scatterday, Jamie Nix, and Colonel Timothy Holton.
Mr. Williams professional affiliations include Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, the National Band Association, College Band Directors National Association, World Association of Bands and Wind Ensembles, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmaster’s Association, National Association for Music Educators, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated.
