The following list provides information on the post-graduation career paths of many of our students.
If you are an alum and would like to update your information, please email the Department of Music Publicist, Dyllan Ladd at dyllan.ladd@duke.edu.
| Ph.D. | Name | Location | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Cody Black | Duke University | Instructor, Department of Music |
| 2023 | James Chu | Composer | |
| 2023 | Stephen Downing | Composer | |
| 2023 | Nicholas Smolenski | Bowdoin International Music Festival | Development Manager |
| 2022 | James Budinich | Binghamton University (SUNY) | Composer, Lecturer of Composition and Music Creation Technologies |
| 2022 | Joanna Chang | College of New Jersey | Visiting Professor |
| 2022 | Ka Man Misty Choi | Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts | Senior Project Manager, Centre for Education and Research |
| 2022 | Jon Churchill | ||
| 2021 | Maximiliano Amici | Duke Kunshan University | Composer, Assistant Professor of Composition and Music Theory |
| 2021 | Meredith Graham | National Humanities Center | Digital Projects Coordinator |
| 2021 | Jonathan Henderson | College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME | Music Faculty |
| 2021 | Dayton Kinney | Texas Woman’s University | Composer and Adjunct Instructor of Music |
| 2021 | Maxwell Ramage | ||
| 2021 | Harrison Russin | St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Yonkers, NY | Assistant Professor of Liturgical Music |
| 2020 | Elizabeth Crisenbery | Chapel Hill, NC | Bandwidth, Inc. |
| 2020 | Sarah Curzi | Independent composer, business owner at cafephd.com | |
| 2020 | Benjamin Daniels | Exton, PA | Senior Software Engineer, Edge Case Research; Composer and Percussionist |
| 2020 | Eren Gümrükçüoğlu | Florida State University | Assistant Professor of Composition |
| 2020 | Karen Messina | University of North Carolina, Greensboro | Lecturer in Music Theory |
| 2020 | Yuxin Ouyang | Boise State University, Idaho | Composer and Adjunct Professor |
| 2020 | Matthew Zeller | Phoenix, AZ | Curator for Europe, Musical Instrument Museum |
| 2019 | Yahn Wagner Ferreira de Mello Pinto | Escola de Música da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro | Professor of Composition |
| 2019 | Imani Mosley | University of Florida School of Music | Assistant Professor of Music (Musicology) |
| 2018 | Samantha Arten | St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO | Faculty affiliate/freelance editor & teacher, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies |
| 2018 | Scott Lee | University of Florida School of Music | Assistant Professor of Composition |
| 2018 | Sid Richardson | Tufts University, Boston, MA | Lecturer in Music |
| 2018 | Kirsten Santos Rutschman | Webster University, St. Louis, MO | Adjunct Instructor of Music |
| 2017 | Andrew Pester | Charlotte, NC | Associate Director of Music, Providence United Methodist Church |
| 2017 | Sarah Bereza | Webster Groves, MO | Minister of Music and producer of the podcast "Music and the Church," First Congregational Church of St. Louis |
| 2017 | Jung-Min Lee | Durham, NC | Instructor, Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, Duke University |
| 2017 | Paul Sommerfeld | Washington, DC | Librarian and Reference Specialist, Music Division, Library of Congress |
| 2017 | Justin Tierney | Wake Forest, NC | Composer, time-lapse filmmaker and aerial photographer. Research Analyst at TruStory. |
| 2016 | D. Edward Davis | University of New Haven, New Haven, CT | Senior Lecturer |
| 2016 | Jamie Keesecker | Durham, NC | Students and Stacks Manager, Music Library, Duke University, Independent Composer |
| 2016 | Vladimir Smirnov | Independent composer | |
| 2016 | Kenneth David Stewart | Durham, NC | Instructor of Cello, Guitar, Ukulele, and Composition at High Strung Violins & Guitars |
| 2015 | Amy Scurria | Durham, NC | Independent opera composer |
| 2015 | Bryan Christian | Vienna, VA | Predictive Modeler, Navy Federal Credit Union, and Independent Composer/Scholar |
| 2015 | Darren Mueller | Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester | Assistant Professor of Musicology (tenure-track) |
| 2015 | Rebecca Geoffroy-Schwinden | University of North Texas | Assistant Professor of Music (tenure-track) |
| 2014 | David Kirkland Garner | School of Music, University of South Carolina | Assistant Professor of Composition (tenure-track) |
| 2014 | Gavin Lee | Soochow University School of Music, China | Assistant Professor of Music (tenure-track) |
| 2014 | Sarah Elaine Neill | ||
| 2014 | Katharina Uhde | Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN | Associate Professor for Violin and Musicology |
| 2014 | Matthew Somoroff | Durham, NC | Freelance Editor |
| 2014 | Stephen Pysnik | Durham, NC | Development Associate, KidzNotes |
| 2014 | Yana Lowry | Durham, NC | Assistant Director, Duke University FOCUS Program |
| 2013 | Alex Kotch | Durham, NC | Research Associate, Institute for Southern Studies |
| 2013 | Angela Mace | Shenandoah Conservatory | Adjunct Assistant Professor |
| 2013 | Dan Ruccia | Duke University Press | Advertising, Design, and Production Coordinator, Journals Marketing |
| 2013 | Elizabeth Joyner | Chapel Hill, NC | Audience Development for Carolina Performing Arts |
| 2013 | Kelley Tatro | University of Chicago, Chicago, IL | Development Writer, Alumni Relations and Development; Independent Academic & Nonfiction Writer and Editor |
| 2013 | Paul Swartzel | Asheville, NC | Teacher, Asheville Music School |
| 2013 | Timothy Hambourger | Durham, NC | |
| 2012 | Janet Jieru Chen | Taipei, Taiwan | Co-Director, Asian Young Musicians Collective |
| 2012 | Karen Cook | University of Hartford, CT | Associate Professor of Music History, The Hartt School |
| 2011 | Ben Crawford | Durham, NC | |
| 2011 | George Lam | Hong Kong Baptist University | Associate Professor of Music |
| 2011 | Michael Trinastic | Russell Lacy Music, Durham, NC | Piano, Music Theory, and Composition Teacher Visiting Professor in Music Theory (UNC-Chapel Hill, 2012) |
| 2011 | Paul Leary | SUNY-Oswego | Associate Professor of Music |
| 2011 | Tania Gutnik | Chapel Hill, NC | |
| 2011 | Youngmi Cho | Seoul, Korea | Music Lecturer |
| 2010 | Kathleen Bader | Tucson, AZ | Development and Design Coordinator at Archaeology Southwest |
| 2010 | Michael Kennedy | Los Angeles, CA | Freelance Composer |
| 2010 | Thom Limbert | Sonoma State University | Associate Professor of Music; Director, Walford Studio/Composition |
| 2010 | Jessica Wood | New York Public Library | Assistant Curator, Music Division / Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound |
| 2009 | Chia-yu Hsu | Univ. of Wisconsin- Eau Claire | Assistant Professor of Music Composition |
| 2009 | Jason S. Heilman | Tulsa, OK | Public Radio Tulsa - host and producer |
| 2009 | Jennifer Woodruff | Savannah Music Festival | Education Director |
| 2009 | Joyce Kurpiers | Durham, NC | Market Research Consultant |
| 2008 | Carl Schimmel | Illinois State University | Associate Professor of Theory and Composition |
| 2008 | Jeffrey Palenik | WI | Independent scholar |
| 2008 | Jeremy Smith | East Tennessee State University | Director, Archives of Appalachia, Sherrod Library |
| 2008 | Quyen Tran | WI | changed profession |
| 2008 | Todd Herschberger | Durham, NC | Freelance composer/performer |
| 2007 | John E. Bower | Ohio State University | Instructor of Music Theory |
| 2007 | Kasey Mattia | Adult School of Montclair, NJ | Instructor |
| 2007 | Samuel Breene | Rhode Island College | Associate Professor |
| 2006 | Aristides Llaneza Sandoval | Chapel Hill, NC | Freelance composer and artistic advisor |
| 2006 | Caroline Mallonée | Buffalo, NY | Freelance Composer and Director, The Walden School Creative Musicians Retreat (Dublin, New Hampshire) |
| 2006 | John Mayrose | University of Wisconsin Oshkosh | Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory |
| 2006 | Lily Hirsch | Cleveland State University | Assistant Professor |
| 2006 | Ryan Malone | Bucknell University | Assistant Professor of Music |
| 2005 | Jennifer Fitzgerald | Lawrence University (deceased 2007) | Instructor |
| 2005 | Marcel Pusey | ||
| 2005 | Mikhail Krishtal | Zenph Studios | Director of Music Research and Production |
| 2004 | Christina Gier | University of Alberta | Assistant Professor |
| 2004 | Craig DeAlmeida | Lincoln Financial Group | Actuary |
| 2004 | Jonathan Gibson | James Madison University | Associate Professor |
| 2003 | marc faris | eCornell | Instructional designer for custom programs; independent composer |
| 2003 | Nathaniel Stookey | San Francisco, CA | Freelance composer |
| 2003 | Timothy Dickey | Ohio Wesleyan University | Adjunct Professor |
| 2002 | Antony John | St. Louis, MO | Young adult author |
| 2002 | Georgiary Bledsoe | Durham, NC | Founder and Executive Director, BUMP: The Triangle |
| 2002 | Janet Pollack | Colorado State University | Assistant Professor |
| 2001 | Andrew Sauerwein | Belhaven College | Associate Professor |
| 2001 | Andrew Unsworth | Salt Lake City, UT | Tabernacle Organist, Mormon Tabernacle Choir |
| 2001 | Colleen Baade | Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska | Assistant Professor of Spanish |
| 2001 | Giuseppe Gerbino | Columbia University | Chair, Department of Music, Professor |
| 2001 | Graham Hunt | University of Texas, Arlington | Professor of Music Theory Associate Chair, Department of Music Member, Academy of Distinguished Teachers, University of Texas System |
| 2001 | James Harkins | Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou, China | Associate Professor |
| 2001 | Tushaar Power | Columbus State University | Instructor |
| 2000 | James Carlson | University of the South | Visiting Assistant Professor |
| 2000 | Richard Townley | Memphis Boys Choir | Music Director |
| 1999 | Akira Ishii | Keio University, Japan | Professor |
| 1999 | Christopher Adler | University of San Diego | Professor |
| 1999 | Christopher Anderson | Southern Methodist University | Associate Professor |
| 1999 | Joanne Metcalf | Lawrence University | Associate Professor |
| 1999 | Joy Calico | Vanderbilt University | Professor |
| 1999 | Oleg Timofeyev | University of Iowa | Visiting Assistant Professor, International Programs |
| 1999 | Sidney Boquiren | Adelphi University | Professor, Department of Music and African, Black, and Caribbean Studies Program |
| 1998 | David Lipten | Tallahassee, FL | Freelance composer and President/Consultant for GrantWorks |
| 1998 | Mary Oleskiewicz | University of Massachusetts, Boston | Associate Professor |
| 1997 | Camille Crittenden | University of California (Berkeley) | Executive Director, Human Rights Center |
| 1997 | Charlotte Leonard | Laurentian University (Ontario) | Associate Professor |
| 1997 | Kathryn Lowerre | Independent scholar | |
| 1997 | Mark Kuss | Southern Connecticut State University | Professor, Orchestra New England Composer in Residence |
| 1997 | Neil Lerner | Davidson College | Professor |
| 1997 | Penka Kouneva | Los Angeles, CA | Composer for film and video games |
| 1997 | Thomas Garcia | Miami University | Associate Professor |
| 1997 | Timothy Burris | Portland, ME | Technical Education Developer; Lute and early plucked strings Instructor, Colby College and the Portland Conservatory of Music |
| 1996 | Anna Harwell Celenza | Georgetown University | Thomas E. Caestecker Professor of Music |
| 1996 | Charles Youmans | Pennsylvania State University (University Park) | Associate Professor |
| 1996 | Stephen Zank | ||
| 1995 | Drue Fergison | Houston, MN | Translator (French to English) and Writer |
| 1995 | Gary Boye | Appalachian State University | Professor/Music Librarian |
| 1994 | Claire Fontijn | Wellesley College | Professor, Music Department Chair |
| 1994 | Jean-Paul C. Montagnier | Université de Lorraine, France | Professor |
| 1994 | John Michael Cooper | Southwestern University | Associate Professor/Margarett Root Brown Chair in Fine Arts |
| 1993 | Jane Flynn | ||
| 1993 | Janet Page | University of Memphis | Associate Professor |
| 1992 | Candace Bailey | North Carolina Central University | Professor |
| 1992 | Donna Lee | Portland, Oregon | Attorney (medical malpractice defense) |
| 1992 | Tatsuhiko Itoh | International Christian University, Tokyo | Professor, Director of Sacred Music Center |
| 1991 | Janet Pyatt | Research and family responsibilities | |
| 1990 | Kenneth Kreitner | University of Memphis | Benjamin W. Rawlins Professor / Director of Graduate Studies |
| 1989 | Daniel Katz | Germany | Adjunct faculty, Abraham Geiger College (liberal rabbinical and cantorial seminary in Berlin) and University of Potsdam |
| 1989 | Stephen Keyl | ||
| 1987 | David Gramit | University of Alberta Department of Music | Chair, Professor of Musicology |
| 1987 | Raymond Knapp | UCLA | Professor of Musicology (also Adjunct Professor -- McGill University, Montreal) |