Faculty
Dr. Melissa Baughman
Associate Professor of Music Education
(Vocal)
Email: baughman@ou.edu
Dr. Melissa Baughman is Associate Professor of Choral Music Education at the University of Oklahoma where she supervises student teachers and instructs undergraduate and graduate courses such as choral methods, conducting, and vocal pedagogy. Dr. Baughman is actively engaged in service at OU and beyond. Most notably, she founded a student wellness initiative for the School of Music called Breathe OUt. Through this program, students are provided with mental health resources and opportunities to engage in activities that enrich their physical, mental, and social well-being. Taking her wellness expertise to the National level, she served as co-facilitator for the Music Teacher Health and Wellness action research group within the Society for Music Teacher Education.
As a researcher and advocate for wellness and equity in music, Melissa has presented at state, national, and international conferences. Her research has been published frequently in the Journal of Music Teacher Education, International Journal of Music Education, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Journal of Singing, Choral Journal, and Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education. She has co-authored a chapter titled, “Experiences Navigating Motherhood within Dual-Career Academic Families” in Motherhood and the Academy published by Oxford University Press. Her essay, “Nevertheless, She Sings: Empowering Women in Choral Music” was published in the book, Relevance in the Choral Art, edited by Tim Sharp. She has also served on the Editorial Board for Update: Applications of Research in Music Education.
As a choral conductor, Dr. Baughman maintains a robust schedule as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States. In Oklahoma, she has conducted the Women’s Choral Leadership Workshop at OU, conducts honor choirs as part of Circle the State with Song and the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association, and frequently serves as a clinician for school choirs throughout the state.
Praised as an “illustrious soprano,” Melissa’s performance highlights include singing the soprano solos for Schubert’s Mass in G, Haydn’s Kleine Orgelmesse, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. She currently performs with the American chamber choir, Vox Nova, who received The American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music–Community Ensemble Division in 2018. As a graduate student, she received first place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and Missouri Music Teachers Association (MMTA) voice competitions and was named an Emerging Artist at MU.
Dr. Baughman earned a PhD in music education with an emphasis on vocal pedagogy and choral conducting and a MM in vocal performance from the University of Missouri. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in music education (magna cum laude) and a master’s degree in education from Bowling Green State University.
Dr. Christopher Baumgartner
Associate Professor of Music Education (Instrumental)
Associate Director
Coordinator of Graduate Studies
Email: cbaumgartner@ou.edu
Christopher M. Baumgartner is Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Oklahoma where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education, supervises music student teachers and graduate music education research, and directs the OU New Horizons Band. Dr. Baumgartner also serves as Associate Director and Graduate Coordinator for the School of Music.
Prior to his appointment at OU, Dr. Baumgartner taught music education and bands at Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Missouri. An advocate for new music, he made routine guest conducting appearances with the Mizzou New Music Ensemble at Missouri, collaborating with the late Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky and Grammy-nominated composer Anna Clyne. Dr. Baumgartner taught instrumental music in the Kenton (Ohio) Public Schools for four years, directing the high school, middle school, and beginning band programs. He continues to serve as a clinician and adjudicator for school bands of all levels in Oklahoma and beyond.
Keeping an active agenda in music education research, Dr. Baumgartner routinely presents at state, national, and international conferences. His research interests include music student teaching, instrumental music methods and rehearsal techniques, community music, and music teacher mentoring. Dr. Baumgartner is published in Journal of Research in Music Education, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, International Journal of Music Education, Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education, Visions of Research in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, and various state music journals. His book chapter on music student teaching appears in the Oxford Handbook of Preservice Music Teacher Education in the United States (Oxford University Press, 2020). His solo text Bridging the Gap: Stories for Music Student Teaching Seminar (2023) is published by Conway Publications.
Dr. Baumgartner is a member of the Journal of Music Teacher Education Editorial Review Committee. Recently appointed to the Society for Music Teacher Education Executive Board, he serves as ASPA (Area of Strategic Planning and Action) Coordinator, overseeing the 12 workgroups charged with developing and implementing action plans related to current critical issues in music teacher education. In Oklahoma, he founded the OkMEA Mentorship program, where he designed and initiated a statewide music mentoring program and Beginning Teacher Workshop. Dr. Baumgartner currently serves as President-Elect for the Southwest Division of the National Association for Music Education. He also is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Tau Beta Sigma, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
- PhD (Music Education) - University of Missouri (2012)
- MME (Music Education) - Bowling Green State University (2009)
- BME (Music Education) - Bowling Green State University (2003)
Dr. Charlene Dell
Associate Professor of Music Education
(Strings)
Email: cdell@ou.edu
Dr. Charlene Dell teaches undergraduate courses in string methods and pedagogy and the Introduction to Teaching Techniques courses. She also teaches the Current Trends and Curriculum and Philosophical Foundations classes at the graduate level. Dr. Dell brings sixteen years of teaching experience in the public schools of upstate New York and South Carolina to her teaching. She also serves as the conductor for the Oklahoma Youth Philharmonic, part of the Oklahoma Youth Orchestras organization. She has presented clinics at the Music Educators National Conference, the American String Teachers Association National Conference, and the state conferences of Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, and New York. She has been published in the Teaching Music through Orchestra book series, the Music Educators Journal, and the American String Teachers Journal, where she served as editor. She has also published in both national and international research journals. Dr. Dell also does guest conducting and adjudication. Her research areas are string intonation, arts integration and whole school reform, music learning theory, and orchestral recruitment and retention.
- PhD - University of South Carolina
- MSE - Western Connecticut State University
- BM - Crane School of Music, State University College of New York at Potsdam
Dr. Lonnie Easter II
Lecturer of Music
(Music Education and Jazz Studies)
Office: Catlett Music Center 228
Dr. Lonnie Easter II, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, earned his PhD in Music Education from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of Central Oklahoma, and a Bachelor of Arts Education with a concentration in Music Education from Langston University.
Dr. Easter began teaching at the University of Oklahoma in Fall 2020. He previously served as Director of Bands/Instructor of Music Education at Langston University (OK). Additionally, he served as a public school band director in the Omaha (N.E.) and Oklahoma City (OK) school districts. As a public-school music educator, he had the privilege of providing a quality music education to students in multiple low socio-economic status music programs. He earned a reputation for effective teaching and leadership as his programs, both traditional and jazz, flourished. He remains a frequent director and clinician and is particularly interested in the cross-pollination of research and practice in instrumental music education.
Dr. Easter's primary research interest is developing methodologies and pedagogy to significantly raise students' ability, self-efficacy, and practice room efficiency in jazz improvisation, primarily at the beginner level. His research demonstrates the critical need to improve how music education teacher preparation programs teach jazz pedagogy to undergraduate music education students. Dr. Easter's research also extends beyond traditional pedagogy to the innovative use of Virtual Reality (V.R.), Augmented Reality (A.R.), and Extended Reality (X.R.) in music education. He is focused on identifying, developing, and investigating the most effective design elements of these technologies to reduce the behavioral and cognitive symptoms associated with music performance anxiety in jazz performers. His work involves creating simulations of live performance, rehearsal, and practice room situations, which serve as a comprehensive and realistic testing ground for the effectiveness of VR/AR/XR interventions.
Dr. Easter's work has been published in various publications, including Teaching Instrumental Music: Contemporary Perspectives and Pedagogies (Oxford UP) and Jazz Education in Research and Practice. He has presented at numerous research and professional development conferences across the United States and is establishing himself as an influential figure in jazz education and VR/AR/XR music research.
- PhD Music Education - University of Oklahoma
- MM Jazz Studies - University of Central Oklahoma
- BA Education (Music Education) - Langston University
Dr. Casey Gerber
Associate Professor of Music Education
(General)
Email: casey.gerber@ou.edu
Dr. Casey Gerber is Associate Professor and Chair of Music Education at The University of Oklahoma. Dr. Gerber previously taught at Oklahoma Baptist University, The University of Mississippi and taught elementary and general music in the Oklahoma public schools. He received his Kodály certification from OU and has training in Orff‐Schulwerk. Dr. Gerber has published articles on the history of music education and is a choral clinician around the region. He received the 2011 Alexander Ringer Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research from the Organization of American Kodály Educators and was honored by the Oklahoma Music Educators Association (OkMEA) with the Exemplary Teacher: Higher Education Honor Award in 2020. He currently serves as the coordinator of the University of Oklahoma Kodály Institute. He is also the Chair of the NAfME History SRIG (Special Research Interest Group), and previously served OkMEA as Higher Education Vice-President and COkMEA Advisor. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Gerber retains a full schedule as a professional bass player for national artists across several genres.
- PhD (Music Education) - University of Mississippi
- MM (Music Education) - Southwestern Oklahoma State University
- BME (Music Education) - Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Eric M. Pennello is Lecturer of Music Education at the University of Oklahoma, where he teaches undergraduate courses in introduction to music education, instrumental methods, woodwind techniques as well as graduate courses in measurement and evaluation and sociological foundations in music education, and quantitative research in music. Previously, Dr. Pennello served as an interim instructor of music education and graduate teaching assistant at OU where he taught undergraduate courses in instrumental music education, music courses for non-majors, and was the Assistant Director of the OU New Horizons Band. He taught in public schools in Oklahoma for nine years and remains an active clinician and adjudicator around the nation.
As a researcher in music education, Dr. Pennello’s interests have centered on music teacher preparation, music teacher identity, instrumental methods and rehearsal techniques, and community music. He has presented research findings at national conferences of organizations such as the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Society for Music Teacher Education (SMTE), and Instrumental Music Teacher Educators (IMTE) and recently the 11th Annual International Research in Music Education Conference (RiME) in Bath, UK. He holds professional memberships in the National Association for Music Education, Oklahoma Music Educators Association, Society for Music Teacher Education, International Society for Music Education, North American Saxophone Alliance, College Music Society, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
- PhD (Music Education - Instrumental Conducting) - University of Oklahoma
- MME (Music Education - Instrumental Conducting) - University of Oklahoma
- BME (Music Education) - Southwestern Oklahoma State University
- BM (Saxophone Performance) - Southwestern Oklahoma State University
