Meet Our Faculty
Director - Composer’s Sandbox Associate Professor of Music
Hobart and William Smith Music Department
Mark Olivieri (b. 1972) is a composer whose music is performed throughout the United States and abroad in such venues as The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, The Sibelius Academy, The Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, Glinka Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia and Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Olivieri's experience as an improvisatory musician and jazz arranger informs his work, and his compositions are inspired as much by Black Sabbath and Thelonius Monk as they are by traditional concert music. Critically acclaimed by the New York Times, Olivieri’s music has been described as “Glittering!” and “Pop-infused.”
Associate Professor
Lehman College
Jennifer Jolley (b. 1981) is a composer, conductor, and professor whose work explores the intersection of music and provocative subjects like climate change, #MeToo, feminist history, and political abuses. She believes in the power of music to both entertain and engage, creating works that are meaningful and enjoyable. Her compositions have been commissioned and performed by ensembles such as the Dallas Winds, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and others, with performances at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall and Žofín Palace.
Jennifer holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Lehman College in the Bronx, and was a Fulbright Scholar to Egypt in 2023. She has been on the composition faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp since 2015, with a future commission by the US Navy Band set to premiere at the WASBE Conference in South Korea.
Associate Professor
University of Illinois
School of Theater and Music
Composer Marc Mellits is one of the leading American composers of his generation, enjoying hundreds of performances throughout the world every year, making him one of the most performed living composers in the United States. From Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, to prestigious music festivals in Europe and the US, Mellits’ music is a constant mainstay on programs throughout the world. His unique musical style is an eclectic combination of driving rhythms, soaring lyricism, and colorful orchestrations that all combine to communicate directly with the listener. Mellits' music is often described as being visceral, making a deep connection with the audience. “This was music as sensual as it was intelligent; I saw audience members swaying, nodding, making little motions with their hands” (New York Press). He started composing very early, and was writing piano music long before he started formal piano lessons at age 6. He went on to study at the Eastman School of Music, Yale School of Music, Cornell University, and Tanglewood. Mellits often is a miniaturist, composing works that are comprised of short, contrasting movements or sections. His music is eclectic, all-encompassing, colorful, and always has a sense of forward motion.
Assistant Professor
Berklee College of Music
Drawing from inspirations as diverse as Medieval chant to contemporary pop, the music of composer and conductor Evan Williams (b. 1988) explores the thin lines between beauty and disquieting, joy and sorrow, and simple and complex, while often tackling important social and political issues. Williams’ catalogue contains a broad range of work, from vocal and operatic offerings to instrumental works, along with electronic music.
He has been commissioned by notable performers and ensembles including the Cincinnati and Toledo Symphony Orchestras, Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra, Quince Ensemble, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and more, with further performances by members of the Detroit, Seattle, and National Symphonies, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the American Brass Quintet, The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” New Music Detroit, Fifth House Ensemble, Splinter Reeds, the Verb Ballets, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. His work has also been featured at festivals such as MATA, RED NOTE, Strange Beautiful Music, SEAMUS, the New Music Gathering, the Electroacoustic Barn Dance, the New York City Electronic Music Festival, and the New Music Festival at Bowling Green State University.