Music

Lawrence Schwedler

Program Director (BA in Music and Sound Design)
Program Director (BS in Computer Science and Digital Audio), Associate Professor

Lawrence Schwedler earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in classical guitar performance with a specialization in electronic music from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1993. He was a founding member of the Modern Arts Guitar Quartet, a chamber ensemble specializing in 20th century music, performing concerts in Europe, Mexico, Canada and the U.S. Since then he has worked as a composer, sound designer, and audio director in the video game industry for developers such as The Dreamers Guild, JVC Digital Arts Studio, and Nintendo Software Technology. Together with Claude Comair, Rory Johnston and James Phillipsen he was awarded two U.S. patents for Nintendo, one for an interactive music engine and another for a real-time wave table sound generator.

In the spring of 2011, he began working with DigiPen’s Dr. Matt Klassen to develop curricula for two new degree programs in music and sound design, at the request of DigiPen’s president, Claude Comair. In the summer of 2012, he left Nintendo to launch and direct the new programs. Schwedler says he feels lucky to be able to share the unique perspective he gained from more than a decade of making music and sound for Nintendo products with the students at DigiPen.

Selected Game Credits

• Rhythm Heaven Fever (Nintendo Wii 2012)
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! (Nintendo DS 2010)
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong: March of the Minis (Nintendo DSi 2009)
• Nintendo CrossworDS (Nintendo DS 2008)
• Metroid Prime: Hunters (Nintendo DS 2006)
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong (Nintendo GameBoy Advance 2004)
• Ridge Racer DS (Nintendo DS 2004)
• 1080°: Avalanche (Nintendo GameCube 2003)
• Wave Race: Blue Storm (Nintendo GameCube launch title 2001)
• Pokémon Puzzle League (Nintendo 64 2000)

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Brian Schmidt

Senior Lecturer

Brian Schmidt has been creating music, sound, and audio technology for games since 1987. As the 2008 recipient of the Game Audio Network Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Schmidt has a credits list of over 130 games for companies such as Sony, Electronic Arts, Capcom, Sega, Microsoft, Zynga, Namco, and many others. Apart from his work as one of the industry’s first freelance game composers, Schmidt spent 10 years at Microsoft as the primary audio architect for the Xbox team, where he was responsible for technologies such as XMA and XACT. He also created the boot sound for the original Xbox. Schmidt’s work has been featured in the “Legends of Game Music” CD set and received Sega’s “Best Sound” award. His theme from the 1988 video game NARC was covered and recorded by The Pixies.

In 1985, Schmidt received undergraduate degrees in music and computer science from Northwestern University, where he created the dual degree program between the School of Music and the Technological Institute. He went on to complete his master’s degree in computer applications in music in 1987, and portions of his thesis work appeared in Computer Music Journal. Schmidt also presented his thesis work, by invitation, to the Audio Engineering Society (AES) special conference on audio technology. Schmidt is a frequent and in-demand speaker, as well as the founder and executive director of GameSoundCon, the largest professional conference on game music and sound design.

Schmidt sits on the advisory board of the Game Developer Conference and is a founding board member of the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.). He is also a former steering committee member of the Interactive Audio Special Interest Group (ia-sig) of the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) and has presented as a keynote speaker at The Game Developers Conference and Project BBQ. Schmidt also belonged to a select group of 10 game audio professionals who successfully lobbied the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) into making video game soundtracks eligible for the Grammy Award in 1999.

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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.

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.

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 is also a voice instructor for Bellevue College and 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, Figueroa joined DigiPen’s Department of Music as an adjunct faculty member. She provides private instruction in applied voice to all students in the program who have chosen vocal performance as their primary instrument. Figueroa greatly appreciates the diversity of DigiPen’s student body and its supportive environment.