Ensemble Directors

David De Lyser - University Singers, Chamber Choir, Musical Pit Orchestra

Dr. David De Lyser, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, joined the University of Portland faculty in 2010. His conducting duties at the University include the University Singers, Chamber Choir and music director/pit orchestra director for campus musical productions. He has previously conducted the UP Orchestra. He teaches composition, orchestration, music theory and musical theater courses.

Outside of the University, he is the Artistic Director/Conductor of the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland and maintains a busy schedule of guest conducting and adjudicating. He holds graduate degrees in conducting and composition from the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Portland, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Business from Minnesota State University Moorhead. Dr. De Lyser is a published author and award-winning composer whose works have been commissioned, premiered and performed by professional, collegiate, community and high school performing ensembles across the country.

Education:

Doctor of Arts, University of Northern Colorado
Master of Arts, University of Portland
Bachelor of Music, Minnesota State University Moorhead

Megan Elliott - Bel Canto

Megan Elliott is the director of Bel Canto, the University of Portland’s treble chorus. She brings 20 years of experience as a conductor, singer, and music therapist, and has a passion for creating strong choral communities that build each other up while also working hard to perform at the highest artistic level.

Megan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Vocal Performance from Corban University, a Certificate of Music Therapy from Marylhurst University, and Master of Arts in Music Education from the University of Nebraska Kearney. She has been the Assistant Artistic Director and the Assistant Conductor of the Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland for 10 years and also serves as their alto section leader. She taught at Marylhurst University for 5 years, supervising music therapy practicum students and conducting their treble choir. She is also a board-certified music therapist and has worked with children, people in memory care, adults with special needs, and directed a choir specifically for people with Parkinson’s disease.

When she is not singing or conducting, Megan loves to cook, hike, ride horses, and spend time with her family. Her dream is to go horseback riding in the Swiss Alps (while occasionally singing along the way, of course). 

Rebekah Hanson - UP Orchestra

Rebekah Hanson is an Assistant Professor of Music and Fine Arts and Director of Orchestral Studies. As a conductor, violist and musicologist, Rebekah is especially interested in compositions by female and marginalized composers and strives to bring these lesser known works to new audiences.
With a passion for teaching, Rebekah emphasizes the collaboration and community engagement that music can inspire. Her goal as a conductor, teacher, and chamber musician is to help students and audiences understand both the technical work that goes into a performance, and also the sense of awe and wonder that music brings to our lives.Rebekah is the President of the Oregon Suzuki Association and President-Elect of the Oregon String Teachers Association. She has spoken at the ASTA, SAA and NAfME Conferences, as well as serving as a guest clinician for orchestras and festivals throughout Oregon and Washington. In addition to playing music, Rebekah loves reading, board games, and hiking with her wife and dog.


Education:

Doctor of Arts, University of Oregon
Master of Music, University of Oregon
Bachelor of Arts, George Fox University

Patrick Murphy - Wind Symphony, Pep Band

Dr. Patrick Murphy is Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Portland. He has presented sessions at regional, national, and international conferences in both the United States and Europe. His primary research focuses on Soviet wind band music, about which he is consulted by conductors and researchers worldwide. He has twice traveled to Moscow to conduct research and teach conducting at the Russian Academy of Music. Recent scholarly presentations relate to music in the Japanese American incarceration camps of World War II and the practical use of Set Theory in tonal analysis.

Dr. Murphy’s degrees include a Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting from the University of Arizona, an M.A. in Music Education from the University of Minnesota, and a B.M. from Washington State University, also in Music Education. Locally, he is conductor of the Southwest Washington Wind Symphony and the Portland Community Wind Band, in addition to being an active adjudicator and clinician.

Education:

Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting, University of Arizona
Master of Arts in Music Education, University of Minnesota
Bachelor of Music in Music Education, Washington State University

Don Norton - Jazz Ensembles

Don Norton is an assistant professor of music and director of jazz studies at the University of Portland. As a saxophonist, he has performed extensively in a variety of styles that include jazz, classical, world music, and musical theatre, and he has performed throughout the United States and abroad, including a tour of Costa Rica with world music group Panoramic. His research interests include jazz history and pedagogical methods for jazz and saxophone performance, and he has presented research at conferences of the Jazz Education Network and the North American Saxophone Alliance.

Don previously taught at Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota State University-Mankato, Spoon River College, and Laramie County Community College, and he served as a graduate assistant in the Jazz Studies Department at the University of Northern Colorado. Additionally, he has taught at the Northern Illinois University Community School of the Arts, as well as the summer jazz camps of Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, and the Birch Creek Music Performance Center. He is also a clinician with the Vandoren Regional Artist program.  More information can be found at www.donniesax.com.

Don holds degrees from the University of Northern Colorado, the New England Conservatory of Music, and Northern Illinois University. Outside of music, his interests include running, reading, watching sports and other television shows, and hanging out with his dog, Buddy.

Education:

Doctor of Arts, University of Northern Colorado
Master of Music, New England Conservatory of Music
Bachelor of Music, Northern Illinois University

Peary Webster - Chamber Players

More information to come.