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School of Music welcomes new faculty

From woodwinds to music therapy, new faces abound at the West Virginia University School of Music. 

“The excitement in the air in the School of Music is almost tangible this week -- not only welcoming our incoming freshmen class and new graduate students, but also our new faculty members,” said School of Music Director Michael Ibrahim. “Our five new full-time faculty members are really hitting the ground running, connecting with people across the college and beyond. Keep an eye – and an ear – open to the important and exciting things these folks will be bringing to WVU!"

Hakeem Bilal

Hakeem Bilal

Joining as Assistant Professor of Trombone, Hakeem Bilal is a regular extra with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony. He has recently performed with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and West Virginia Symphony. He also serves as the Bass Trombonist of C Street Brass, a member of River City Brass, and the MC of Beauty Slap. His main teachers include Randall Campora of the Baltimore Symphony, Dr. Denson Paul Pollard of the Metropolitan Opera, Dr. David Begnoche of Texas Christian University, and Murray Crewe of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Prior to his appointment, Bilal was on faculty at Youngstown State University in Ohio. He holds degrees from The Peabody Conservatory and Carnegie Mellon University.

Ryan Carroll

Ryan Carroll

Ryan Carroll will serve as visiting assistant professor and director of music therapy. Before teaching, Carroll’s clinical work focused on the insight-oriented treatment of adult mental health consumers, both forensically and civilly committed, and substance-abuse specific music therapy care. He has served as a staff trainer for the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health and has guest lectured at universities across the country and presents at regional and national conferences over multiple disciplines on training and supervision, the benefits of music therapy in psychiatric services, and its impacts in culturally diverse settings. Carroll graduated with a Master of Science in Music Therapy from Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis and received a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy from Seton Hill University, where he co-founded the Seton Art Service Corp, an organization designed to bring the arts to underserved youth in the Greater Pittsburgh Area.

Teresita Lozano

Teresita Lozano

Teresita Lozano is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Ethnomusicology at West Virginia University. A native of the El Paso, Texas – Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua borderland and daughter of Mexican immigrants, Lozano engages in music research that explores the relationship between music, Diaspora and inherited memory in the construction of transnational identities. She has a strong interest in applied ethnomusicology, including civic engagement and outreach. In 2013, Teresita was awarded a graduate fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where she worked in residence as a Latino Museums Studies fellow. Lozano is an advocate for musical activism in the community and utilizes her academic and performance background for public education and human rights movements.  Lozano is a doctoral candidate in Musicology/Ethnomusicology at the University of Colorado Boulder where she will defend her dissertation this Fall. She graduated summa cum laude from Baylor University where she studied flute with Helen Ann Shanley and was awarded the Presser Foundation Award in performance and academia. In 2018, Lozano was awarded the prestigious Charlotte Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship for academic work in religion and ethics. 

Jeffrey Siegfried

Jeffrey Siegfried

Assistant Professor of Saxophone Jerry Siegfried holds master’s degrees in saxophone and musicology from Northwestern University and a doctorate in saxophone with certificates in musicology and performance studies from the University of Michigan. His principal teachers are Timothy McAllister and Andrew Bishop.  He has received first prize at the Luminarts Fellowship Competition and the Frances Walton Competition and was runner up in the Carmel Music Society Competition, the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition, and the Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition. He is the recipient of the 2016 Hans Schaeuble Award.  Siegfried has appeared as a featured soloist with the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” the University of Portland Wind Ensemble, the Oregon State University Wind Ensemble, and the Northwestern University Contemporary Music Ensemble. He has also appeared as an orchestral saxophonist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and Spoleto Festival, USA. His recording credits appear on Parma, Mark Records, and Parlour Tapes. Siegfried is also an active scholar in the field of musicology. His scholarly interests included 20th century Jewish art music, Yiddishkayt, music and politics, performance studies, and the critical organology of the saxophone. 

Joshua Swiger

Joshua Swiger

Joshua Swiger is a producer, engineer, performer and music industry professional from Morgantown. He will serve as visiting teaching assistant professor of music industry. A two-time WVU alumnus, he holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and master’s degree in music industry. Swiger has been active in the national and regional music industry for more than 25  years. His emphasis has been in record label management, recording engineering and live event production and management. Swiger has owned and operated Blues Alley Studios & Records since 1993. His studio work as an engineer and producer has allowed him to collaborate with The Walt Disney Company, The New Relics, The Argument, The Joseph Sisters, WVU, Huey Mac and other regional and national artists. As an Executive Producer with RMA Presents, Swiger has produced shows for fair and festival events across West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia with nationally and internationally touring artists including Marty Stuart, Sawyer Brown, Restless Heart, Whiskey Myers, Tyler Farr, Lindsay Ell, Trace Adkins, Jason Michael Carrol, Bobby Nicholas and The Gin Blossoms, among others. As a bassist, he has performed with regionally touring Americana band The New Relics since 2001. Swiger is an active voting member of the Country Music Association.