Faculty

Chris Cunningham
Chris.Cunningham@mcnallysmith.edu
Department Head, Music Composition
Faculty Member Since: 2002
Primary Department: Composition
Formal Education:BA- Film Production/Electronic Music Composition -NYU 

Professional Experience:

Chris’ lead guitar gig with James Chance (James White) and The Contortions (Blacks) began a twenty-five year period of musical global wandering, involving a multitude of subsequent groupings, pairings, and breakups. He has collaborated on stages and in studios with the likes of Marianne Faithfull, The Lounge Lizards, Gavin Friday, Boukman Eksperyans, Omar Farouk Tekbilek, Katell Keineg, The Golden Paliminos, Marshall Crenshaw, Richie Havens, and The Saqqara Dogs. In the early 1990’s, he began a continuing collaboration with cellist/composer Michelle Kinney, which has produced CD’s, concerts, and tours.

Relocating to the Twin Cities in 2002, he has continued to branch out further into composing for film and dance, producing, mixing and re-mixing albums, and creating sound design for film, video, and multimedia. His 1998 solo CD -- "Stories to Play" -- earned much international critical praise, as did his 2007 release "Neverwas."

His current ensemble, Mississippi Peace, is currently hard at work on his next album, with an early 2010 target release date.

Additional Experience:

J. Anthony Allen
J.Allen@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2009
Primary Department: Composition
Formal Education:MM in composition, MM in computer music, Peabody Conservatory of Music; BA in Music, Grand Valley State University
 

Professional Experience: J. Anthony Allen is a prolific composer of both acoustic and electronic music. He has worked with many forms of interactive media including audio, video, installation, and dance.  Mr. Allen’s works have been called "a study in ominous sound and motion" (Baltimore Sun), “An aural hallucinogen” (Minnesota Public Radio), and "A well-executed, beautiful and engaging use of technology" (Cogapp: The Art and Science Blog).

Allen's artistic interests lie not only in exploring new sounds and methods of music, but the sociological aspects of performance art as well. This philosophy is evident in his works with fire dancers, turntablists, outdoor performances, homemade and non-traditional instruments, and collaborations with everyone from bio-medical engineers to skateboarders.

Allen’s work has been performed by the Peabody and Aspen orchestras, and in 2006 by the Minnesota Orchestra as part of their acclaimed Composer Institute program.  Additionally, Allen's work has been presented at International Computer Music Conferences, Society of Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) national conferences, Society of Composers (SCI) national student conference, Electronic Music Midwest festivals, Spark Festivals of Electronic Music and Art (Minneapolis), Music at the Anthology (MATA) festival (New York City), June in Buffalo Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival, for which he received the Susan and Ford Schumann Award in 2004 and 2005.

Allen is a recipient of the Prix D'Ete award (first prize, Peabody Conservatory), Macht Orchestral Prize and P. Bruce Blair Award (Peabody Conservatory).  He was a regional winner of the SCI/ASCAP Student Commission Prize, recipient of two Peabody Institute Career Development Grants, an Arts Quarter Collective Grant (University of Minnesota), Meet the Composer Creative Connections grant, many ASCAP Standard Awards, and several grants from the American Composers Forum.

Recent paper publications have appeared in Organized Sound (Cambridge University Press), The Living Music Journal, Proceedings of the Third Annual Spark Festival, and ComposersOnline.Org.  Allen has studied with prominent teachers in the United States while at the Peabody Conservatory and University of Minnesota.  Additionally, Allen has studied electro-acoustic music at the Centre de Création of Music Iannis Xenakis (CCMIX) in Paris, France.  In 2008 he was awarded the first ever Distinguished Young Alumni award from his alma mater, Grand Valley State University.

Allen performs extensively both as a guitarist and on wearable sensor controllers built and designed by himself.  He has performed at the Guitar Foundation of America National Conference, given numerous solo concerts and recitals, as well as professional studio work.  He has performed on electronic devices on several occasions including performances with members of the Zeitgeist Contemporary Music Ensemble, in New York City at the MATA festival, Miami, FL., Minneapolis, MN., and recurring performances with the improvisation group Ballet Méchanique.  His music has been performed throughout the United States and Europe, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Hungary, the Czech Republic, France, and Italy.

Allen has been the lead Producer for the international Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Arts since 2003.  In 2004 Allen co-founded the “Salon3136” Concert Series which hosts concerts and other events with the intention of dismantling the exclusivity of concert music.

Recent teaching appointments include: The Universiteit van Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Teaching Associate for the Computer Music Department of the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), Instructor positions at the University of Minnesota (Teaching Advanced Notation and Introduction to Music Software and MIDI), as well as various Teaching Assistantships at Peabody and elsewhere. Additionally, he has taught classical, jazz, folk, and rock guitar at academies and institutions throughout the Midwest.

Allen’s music is recorded on the Innova, SEAMUS, and Panacea3 labels.  More information can be found on janthonyallen.com.

Mary Ellen Childs
MaryEllen.Childs@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2010
Primary Department: Composition
Formal Education:M.M., University of Illinois, B.A. Music, University of Minnesota

Professional Experience: MARY ELLEN CHILDS has been acclaimed for creating both rhythmic, exuberant instrumental works and bold, kinetic compositions that integrate music, dance and theater in fresh and unexpected ways.  She has created numerous "visual percussion" pieces that embody the concept of music in motion, for her ensemble CRASH.  Her repertoire includes Click, a fast-paced, game-like work for three stick-wielding performers which The Village Voice deemed “a newly born classic, like Steve Reich’s Clapping Music, only a thousand times more virtuosic.”

Childs also composes “purely musical” concert works and has received commissions from the Kronos Quartet, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Dale Warland Singers, The Kitchen, the Walker Art Center, and grants from Lila Wallace/Meet the Composer, and the MAP Fund. She has composed two works for concert band, Zephyrus and Green Light.

Her recent full-length works include Dream House for string quartet (written for ETHEL) and multi-image video, based on images of destruction and construction, cycles of time, and rhythms of construction work; and Wreck, created for the Black Label Movement Company, for which she won a 2008 Sage Award.  Her current projects include a new opera Propeller commissioned by Nautilus Music Theater with funds from MAP and Opera America.

She has received performances at the Bang On A Can Festival, Lincoln Center, New Music America - Miami; The Other Minds Festival (San Francisco), and elsewhere around the U.S.  Her music has been performed in Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, and Australia, and three times her group CRASH traveled to Russia, presenting full evenings of her percussion compositions. She also has received artists fellowships from the McKnight Foundation, Bush Foundation and Minnesota State Arts Board.



 

Dessa Darling
Dessa.Darling@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2008
Primary Department: Composition
Secondary Department: Hip Hop

Professional Experience: Dessa is a published writer, an award-winning musician, a vibrant teacher, and a proud member of the Doomtree crew. As a rapper, she’s had the opportunity to share stages with KRS One, the Wu-Tang Clan, Wyclef Jean, and Craig Finn of the Hold Steady.  As a writer and spoken word poet, she is the recipient of the Jerome/SASE grant and a regular contributor to Spin Magazine’s online book forum. As a businesswoman, Dessa has helped to position Doomtree as one of the most exciting and ascendant crews in underground hip hop. She tours nationally, performing her work at schools, clubs, concert halls, and on street corners around the country. As a teacher, Dessa is eager and honored to share what she has learned from her career in independent music—to foster the skills and the ethos that will help emerging talent find success.
 

Additional Experience:

Peter Johnson
Peter.Johnson@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2007
Primary Department: Composition

Professional Experience: Peter has spent his entire career as a full time professional drummer/musician/songwriter. In the mid 70’s, he was a drummer and toured the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand for three years with Manhattan Transfer. He played on "Manhattan Transfer Live", an album recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. He also played on the "Pastiche" Manhattan Transfer studio album.

He has written hundreds of jingles, songs and underscores for commercials, including composing and producing all the music for two "Sesame Street Live" shows, which toured the world.

Peter was the house band drummer for two American Public Radio weekly shows that were heard nationally: "Good Evening" and "First House on the Right," where played with Shawn Colvin, Lyle Lovett, and Harry Connick Jr., among many others.

Peter still exhibits his drumming versatility; in appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra, he’s played Klezmer music with Doc Severinson, and jazz with Dave Brubeck. He plays often with "Synergy," one of the elite variety bands in the Twin Cities. He is the principal percussionist with the Minnesota Sinfonia, a 26-piece chamber orchestra. He makes frequent appearances on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion." Peter has played with Michael Bolton, Sister Sledge, Freda Payne, Trisha Yearwood, Chuck Berry, David Gaines, and Donny Osmond, among many others. He also does recording sessions with local artists.

Sean McMahon
Sean.McMahon@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2009
Primary Department: Composition
Formal Education:B.M. Berklee College of Music;  Advanced Certificate in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television, University of Southern California – Los Angeles

Professional Experience: Sean McMahon has worked in various roles on film scores for major motion pictures including Spider-Man 3 and Dreamgirls, and most recently composed the score for The Grudge 3.  Originally from Toronto, Sean lived and worked in Los Angeles for six years prior to joining the McNally Smith faculty. While in Los Angeles, much of his work on film scores was under the direction of prominent Hollywood composer Christopher Young, whom McMahon first met while completing post-graduate work in Film Music at the University of Southern California.  

In addition to Spider-Man 3, McMahon’s work for Christopher Young included orchestrations for the film Ghost Rider (on which he can also be heard playing guitar) and the DreamWorks picture The Uninvited, score coordination for Beauty Shop, and much more. He also worked with successful film composer John Ottman, orchestrating films including Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and The Invasion.
 

Sean McPherson
Sean.McPherson@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2009
Primary Department: Hip Hop
Secondary Department: Composition
Formal Education:B.I.S. Music, African-American Studies, Cultural Studies University of Minnesota

Professional Experience:

Sean McPherson is the co-founder and bassist of the Twin Cities hip-hop group Heiruspecs. In addition to numerous national headlining tours, Heiruspecs has opened for Cake, Ja Rule, Lyrics Born, The White Stripes and many others. Heiruspecs’ music has been featured on Diddy’s Making His Band and VH1’s Behind the Music.

Sean McPherson is also a sought-after studio bassist in the Twin Cities and his work can be heard on Brother Ali’s Us and The Undisputed Truth, Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater 3, P.O.S.’s Ipecac Neat and Eyedea and Abilities’s E&A. Sean held a workshop for the College Board’s New York City Public School students regarding hip-hop as a professional and academic path in 2007.

Sean graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007 with an Individualized Degree in Music, African-American Studies and Cultural Studies.
 

Jeremy Messersmith
jeremy.messersmith@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2009
Primary Department: Composition
Formal Education:B.S. in Music from North Central University; A.S. in Computer Science from Colombia Basin College

Professional Experience: Jeremy Messersmith is a songwriter based out of Minneapolis, MN. His first record, The Alcatraz Kid garnered local radio play and the attention of Minneapolis stalwart and Grammy Winner Dan Wilson (member of Semisonic, Trip Shakespeare) who offered to produce Jeremy's next disc.?The collaboration resulted in The Silver City, which quickly became a critical success ranking #2 in the Star Tribune's year end critics choice poll. It received national exposure on outlets such as World Cafe, NPR's All Songs Considered and MTV.

Additional Experience:

Ron Peluso
Ron.Peluso@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2009
Primary Department: Composition
Formal Education:MFA in Directing from the University of Minnesota

Professional Experience:

Now in his 15th season at the Artistic Director at the History Theater in St. Paul Minnesota, Ron has commissioned over 60 playwrights and composers and has produced more than 50 original works – including the popular BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY,  Sisters of Swing & Beyond the Rainbow, which have played in over 30 regional theaters.

He has also commissioned and directed Jeff Hatcher’s critically acclaimed "A Piece of the Rope" and "All the Way with LBJ," Craig Wright’s adaptation of "Main Street," "Watermelon Hill" and "Orphan Train," as well serving as the director for Frank McCourt’s  "A Couple of Blaguards," "Mesabi Red" and Melanie Marnich’s "These Shining Lives." He has directed over 150 professional productions with such companies such as Florida Stage, Riverside Theatre, Pennsylvania Opera Theater, Mixed Blood Theatre, Old Creamery Theatre and Minnesota Opera.

Ron is married to actor Sue Scott, who is heard weekly on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion.

Gary Rue
Gary.Rue@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2007
Primary Department: Composition
Secondary Department: Music Business

Professional Experience: Gary has been writing music for a wide variety of applications since his early teens.  Recording credits include LOST IN THE SHUFFLE performed by Helen Reddy on the European release of her greatest hits compilation, and EVERYONE, recorded by Nick Lowe on his Columbia Records release THE ROSE OF ENGLAND (the song found its way to Nick via pop idol Elvis Costello, a fan of Rue's band, RUE NOUVEAU).

Mr. Rue has over 70 theater musicals to his credit, among these, PAINTING IT RED by Steven Dietz (author of the Pulitzer Prize nominee LAST OF THE BOYS), which enjoyed wide exposure nationally, including a very successful 6 week run at BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATER’s Second Stage in Berkeley, California.  Gary is also composer-in-residence at SteppingStone Theatre of St Paul. One of these commission, THE STINKY CHEESE MAN recently completed a national tour (including a series of performances in Shanghai, China) with the Dallas Children’s Theatre.

Gary had also served since 1986 as conductor and arranger in North America for ‘60’s pop star Gene Pitney (“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, “Town Without Pity”) and his 15 piece orchestra until Mr. Pitney’s death in 2006.

Watch Gary talk about songwriting.

David Singley
David.Singley@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2007
Primary Department: Composition
Formal Education:B.M. in Jazz Composition, M.M. in Jazz Studies

Professional Experience: David Singley is a professional guitarist who has shared the stage with such jazz luminaries as Bob Brookmeyer, George Shearing, James Moody, Bob Mintzer, Phil Woods, Ernestine Anderson, Paquito d'Rivera, Bob Florence, Tal Farlow, and Buddy DeFranco.  His work as a professional guitarist has also taken him across North America appearing with Perry Como, Debbie Gibson, Gene Pitney, Mary Wells, Debbie Reynolds, Shari Lewis & Lambchop, and many others.  He has worked in the orchestra pit of many a touring Broadway musical including, most notably, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring Donny Osmond, The Lion King, Chicago, and Sweet Charity.  He has also performed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera, and has appeared on National Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion.  His playing has graced countless commercial jingles, and he has appeared on over a dozen jazz recordings produced in the Twin Cities, including his debut recording as a leader, How My Heart Sings.  David is also a published composer and arranger with pieces for Jazz Ensemble available in the catalogs of the Neil A. Kjos Music Co., Increase Music, and reallygoodmusic.com.

David Singley also holds the position of Lecturer of Music at Carelton College in Northfield, MN where he teaches Jazz Guitar and Jazz Improvisation and also directs the Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combos. When he’s not making music, David is also an avid long-distance runner.

Andy Thompson
andy.thompson@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2009
Primary Department: Composition
Formal Education:B.M. in composition from University of Michigan School of Music

Professional Experience:

As a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, producer and engineer, Andy Thompson has been making music professionally since 2001. After studying composition, percussion and jazz at the University of Michigan School of Music, Andy moved to Minneapolis and began regularly gigging on guitar, keyboards and drums. He has performed with Dan Wilson, Semisonic, Mike Doughty, Robert Skoro, Jeremy Messersmith, Heiruspecs, Atmosphere, Chris Beaty, Daniel Johnston, Sean and Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), Steve Rush, Clearly and The Mainstream, blues guitarist Laith Al-Saadi, and jazz saxophonist Dave Luther.

As a composer, Andy has received commissions from GTCYS and the FAIR School, and has recently been a composer-in-residence at Sorin Sirkus in Tampere, Finland. He is also an active composer for TV and advertising, having worked on shows for The Cartoon Network, Disney, and NBC, as well as writing music for Target, Best Buy and Garmin's AICP-nominated 2008 Super Bowl spot. As a songwriter, he has co- written with Dan Wilson, Andy Sturmer (Jellyfish), and Willie Wisely, and has also amassed a large personal catalog of songs, selections from which he is currently recording for his first release.

Brian Tighe
Brian.Tighe@mcnallysmith.edu
Faculty Member Since: 2010
Primary Department: Composition
Formal Education:B.F.A., MCAD (Minneapolis College of Art and Design)

Professional Experience: Brian has 20 years of experience writing, recording and performing songs with critically acclaimed bands The Hang Ups, The Owls and The Starfolk. His songs have appeared in the movies “Chasing Amy,” “Mozart and the Whale” and the television show “Dawson’s Creek.”

Brian has worked with legendary producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon (R.E.M, The Smithereens) and has released eight CDs. He has done extensive national touring, and has created soundtracks for short films and commercials.

Brian is passionate about the creative process and his goals as a teacher include keeping students inspired and helping them find their own unique and personal style of songwriting.