New Faculty Joins Department of Music

Photos Submitted

New faculty in the Department of Music include, top from left: Amy Cooper and Marshall Jones; and below: Erik Lawrence and Jeff Summers.

The Department of Music is excited to welcome the newest members of their faculty to the U of A.

Rachel Frederiksen is the teaching assistant professor of bassoon. She comes from the University of Alabama, where she had been the instructor for bassoon, bassoon reed-making, music management and introduction to music appreciation. Frederiksen received her D.M.A. from Michigan State University and has been teaching since 2020. She has taught performance classes for bassoon at Baylor University, the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Memphis, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Oklahoma State University. Frederiksen is a member of the International Double Reed Society, Pi Kappa Lambda and the National Association for Music Education.

Xiting Yang is the teaching assistant professor of piano and is from Yunnan, China. She got her D.M.A. from the University of Michigan and has taught at State University of New York, Fredonia, Loyola University and the University of Michigan. In 2020, she won the American Protégé International Competition in New York City in the College Students and Professional Musicians Category. Yang has also been a finalist or placed in piano competitions throughout the United States, Singapore and China. She is a frequent guest at performances and recitals and has started an online interview series called "Backstage: The Life Behind the Music" that can be seen on YouTube at @xitingyang3790.

Amy Cooper is an instructor of musicology and received her Ph.D. and master's degrees at the University of North Texas. She was a faculty member at Collin College in McKinney, Texas, and has also taught at the University of North Texas. Cooper has presented musicology scholarly works at the North American British Music Studies Association Conference, the Southwest Chapter of the American Musicological Society and the Graduate Association of Musicologists and Theorists.

Marshall Jones is an instructor of music theory and comes from Kalispell, Montana. He got his D.M. in music theory and composition at Florida State University. A composer and performer, Jones has been invited to festivals and concerts across the country to perform his works. He is a member of the Society of Composers, Handbell Musicians of America, American Guild of Organists, Golden Key and Pi Kappa Lambda.

Erik Lawrence is an instructor of piano. He completed his doctoral studies in collaborative piano at UC Santa Barbara with Robert Koenig, where he also played for private voice lessons with Isabel Bayrakdarian and Marilyn Horne. He was keyboardist for the Santa Barbara Master Chorale and an adjunct faculty member at Westmont College. Lawrence has given performances at the Canadian Opera Company's Virtuoso Pianist Afternoon Concert Series; at the International Holland Music Sessions in Bergen, Netherlands; and performed Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto with the Lake Charles Symphony.

Sarah Hetrick is an assistant professor of saxophone and previously taught at Texas A&M International University.  

Jeff Summers was named the associate director of bands and director of the Razorback Marching Band in July 2023.  

Chase Jones is the assistant director of bands and assistant athletic band director.