Music

Alexander Chadsey

Adjunct Professor

Alex Chadsey started piano lessons at age 7 and continued formal music training through college, receiving a B.F.A. in Jazz Studies with High Honors from the University of Michigan in 2003. He relocated to Seattle in 2005 and began working with some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest Latin and jazz artists. Chadsey was featured twice at Meany Hall as part of the University of Washington Visiting Artists in Ethnomusicology Concert Series — in 2007 with Joe Santiago and in 2010 with Laura Rebolloso. In 2009 Chadsey was featured on the independently-released recording Brazilian Songbird by Seattle-based jazz ensemble Sambatuque. Later that year he performed at El Teatro del Estado in Xalapa, Mexico, with the Panamerican Big Band, directed by Rufus Reid. In 2010 Chadsey performed, recorded, and arranged music for the East L.A.-based Chicano rock group, Quetzal. He played the Fender Rhodes piano on two tracks for Quetzal’s 2011 release Imaginaries, which won the 2013 Grammy Award for “Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album.”

Chadsey is a two-time recipient of the City Artist Grant from the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in 2011 and 2013 respectively. The most recent grant supported a project called “Sounds Beyond Barriers,” which featured collaboration between students from the Seattle World School and a diverse team of artists, community activists, and educators from Los Angeles, Mexico, and Seattle.

Greg Dixon, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor (Music and Sound Design)

Greg Dixon teaches courses in Advanced Composition and Sound Design at DigiPen. He holds a Ph.D. in music composition with a specialization in computer music from the University of North Texas, where he worked as a composition teaching fellow, recording engineer, and technical assistant for The Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia (CEMI). Dixon received his M.M. in Music Composition and B.M. in Music Engineering Technology from Ball State University.

His compositional research focuses on electronic music and interactive music systems for games, acoustic instruments, sensor technologies, and human interface devices.

Dixon has worked for more than fifteen years as a professional sound engineer, which has greatly influenced his strategies for designing sounds in the studio. In addition, he has served as a producer, recording engineer, arranger, performer, mixer, and mastering engineer on dozens of commercially available recordings in a wide variety of genres.

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John Kim

Adjunct Lecturer

John Kim, a native of Tacoma, Washington, received a full scholarship to attend the pre-college division at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree. He earned a Master of Music at the Manhattan School of Music studying with New York Philharmonic Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow. Upon Kim’s graduation, the college’s dean invited Kim to be guest soloist under legendary maestro Sixten Ehrling with the Manhattan Symphony. Kim was a New York String Orchestra Seminar participant under Alexander Schneider and Jaime Laredo with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He led the Jupiter Symphony of New York as Concertmaster and other ensembles at Merkin Hall, New York Town Hall, and Riverside Church NYC. He also served as Assistant Concertmaster of the Sarasota Opera in Florida, attended the Tanglewood and Spoleto festivals, and performed with jazz saxophonist David Sanborn at the White House for President Bill Clinton. He has toured cities in Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, and Italy with the North Carolina School of the Arts International Music Program and also performed in the Seoul Festival Orchestra under Myung-Whun Chung at the Seoul Performing Arts Center in South Korea.

In the Puget Sound area, Kim is the former Concertmaster of the Bellevue Philharmonic and Northwest Sinfonietta, Associate Concertmaster of the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Principal 2nd Violin of the Tacoma Symphony, and a member of the Seattle Symphony during their inaugural season at Benaroya Hall. He was the top prize winner of the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Competition, featured artist on KING FM “Live by George,” and appeared as a guest soloist with numerous regional orchestras. In chamber music, he has collaborated with international artists Richard Stolzman, Elina Vähälä, Ralf Gothóni, Joseph Silverstein, and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra for Ensemble M and performed on the UW World Series at Meany Hall and Second City Strings Chamber Music Series. Currently, Kim plays frequently in the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra and Seattle recording studios for motion pictures, Xbox, and Playstation games. He is on the coaching faculty of the Seattle Conservatory of Music and the Seattle Youth Symphony and maintains a private teaching studio in Bellevue, Washington.

Matt Wexler

Adjunct Professor

Matt Wexler began his musical studies on alto saxophone, but his interest in deeper sounds led him to migrate to baritone sax, then to bass clarinet before he finally settled on electric bass guitar and double bass. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree with honors from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he participated in the UMass Amhert Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, multiple jazz ensembles, the Mt. Holyoke Euridice Ensemble, and Jeffrey Holmes’ DownBeat-Magazine-award-winning Studio Orchestra.

Since relocating to the Pacific Northwest, Wexler has maintained a bustling performance schedule. In addition to being first-call bassist for over a dozen performing jazz, folk, pop, and rock artists in the Seattle area, Wexler has served as the principal bassist for the Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Festival Orchestra, performed with Philharmonica Northwest and the Federal Way Symphony, and worked with several teaching orchestras. Wexler has also toured and performed at major festivals alongside artists in the US, Canada, and Japan.

Nayoung Ham

Adjunct Lecturer, Flute Instructor

Nayoung Ham, a native of Korea, is an accomplished flutist in the Seattle area. She has established herself as a versatile musician: a soloist, an orchestral player, a chamber musician, and a Baroque flutist.

Ms. Ham has performed with various orchestras, including the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Wind Symphony, and the Flutes-en-Bois, a baroque flute ensemble directed by Janet See. She was recently a finalist in the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra auditions. While studying in Boston, she frequently performed as a chamber musician with her Debussy Trio (flute, viola and harp) and was awarded top prizes. Performances include the Boston Harp Festival, the Worcester Chamber Music Society Summer Festival, and the Alexander and Buono Flute Competition in New York. Also an active contemporary musician, Ms. Ham has performed in recitals and festivals including the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival, and was a member of the Arizona Contemporary Music Ensemble.

Ms. Ham is currently Adjunct Lecturer at the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, WA and flute instructor at the Chopin Academy of Music in Issaquah. She serves as event coordinator of the Seattle Flute Society, and also served on the board of the Arizona Flute Society from 2013-2016.

Ms. Ham is a DMA Candidate in Flute Performance at Arizona State University under the guidance of Dr. Elizabeth Buck. She holds a MM and GPD from The Boston Conservatory.

Peter Caruso

Adjunct Lecturer

Peter Caruso has been a well-known guitarist and educator in the Seattle area for many years. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Arizona State University in 1985 and has also studied at the University of New Mexico and at Eastman School of Music.

In addition to running his own teaching studio, Caruso Guitar Studio, Caruso has been an adjunct professor with both Bellevue College and North Seattle College. He is an active member of the Musicians’ Association of Seattle, founding member of the Seattle Jazz Guitar Society, and is active in both the Seattle Classic Guitar Society and the Jazz Educators Network (formerly International Association of Jazz Educators).

Known for his ability to swiftly adapt to different genres, Caruso has been featured on various projects, alternately playing classical, jazz, and Latin American music. Currently, his performance calendar consists mainly of solo classical guitar for private events and concerts, but he still plays jazz on occasional club dates. His teachers have included Frank Koonce, Hector Garcia, David Russell, Joe Pass, and Gene Bertoncini, and he has shared the stage with many well-known artists, including Bill Dobbins, Rodger Williams, Natalie Cole, Rufus Reed, Frank Lacy, and members of the Seattle Symphony.

Caruso’s approach to teaching is to focus on the student as an individual and to, as quickly as possible, find the most effective way to present material and achieve the best results.

Sara Figueroa

Adjunct Lecturer

Originally from Austin, Texas, Sara Figueroa earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Vocal Performance from Rice University, followed by a Master of Music in Classical Vocal Performance from the University of Houston.

As a performer, Figueroa has combined her exceptional vocal technique and engaging stage presence to delight audiences in such roles as Fiorilla (Il turco in Italia), Jouvenot (Adriana Lecouvreur), and Despina (Così fan tutte).

A gifted instructor, Figueroa opened her own voice studio in 2004. She continued private voice instruction upon moving to the Seattle area, where she has been an influential member of the music education community since 2007. Figueroa has collaborated many times with the award-winning Lake Washington High School choir department, including as musical director for several of the school’s productions, such as The Music Man, Grease, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She has also served as an officer and board member of the Puget Sound regional chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

In 2016, she joined DigiPen’s Department of Music as an adjunct faculty member. In her spare time, Figueroa enjoys traveling with her husband and is active in the Junior League of Seattle.

Steven Saulls

Senior Lecturer, Music

Steven Saulls earned a Master of Music degree from the University of Arizona in 1982 and taught music theory and musicianship at Central Arizona College and Pima Community College for nearly a decade. He is an alumnus of Boston’s Berklee College of Music and of the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Washington University. From 1990 to 2000 he was a touring artist and artist in education for the Arizona Commission on the Arts’ Artist in Residence program.

Saulls has performed hundreds of classical guitar concerts throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico and South America. His debut recording, Steven Saulls Plays Works by Ponce, Torroba & Bach, received international acclaim. In addition to solo concerts, he has performed over 200 chamber works, including works for guitar and orchestra by Vivaldi, Ponce, and Rodrigo.

Saulls currently teaches music theory, musicianship, and fundamentals of music and sound design at DigiPen. He also designed and teaches a ProjectFUN summer workshop, Sound Design for Games and Animation, and has been a freelance music engraver for the Hal Leonard Music Publishing Company since 2009.