Directors & Staff
Brad Rees, Director of Performing Arts, Director of Vocal Music, Voice Instructor
Christian Secrist, Director of Instrumental Music, Woodwinds Instructor
Greg Wilson, Director of Music Business & Technology, Percussion Instructor
Lori Scheer, Arts Recruiting Coordinator, Marching Auxilliary Instructor
Angie Sosebee, Festival Coordinator, Accompanist
Julio Appling, Bass & Guitar Instructor, Music History & Appreciation Instructor
Ali Rees, Director of AKA
Susan Marion, Piano & Voice Instructor
Lindy Charles, Voice Instructor
Brad Rees, Director of Performing Arts, directs the University Choir and the award-winning a cappella ensemble Up in the Air. He also coordinates the Ohio Jazz Summit and teaches courses in music and public relations. Brad has served on the music faculty at Bowling Green State University, as the Assistant Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Northern Colorado, and on the commercial music faculty at the School for Music Vocations at Southwestern Community College in Iowa. His choirs have appeared at the Salzburg Music Festival in Austria, at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and on tour in the Republic of China, Germany, and South Africa. His ensembles have also performed on a variety of television broadcasts, including Robert Schuller's "Hour of Power," and on an annual CBS Christmas broadcast. His own performing credits include appearances with Joe Williams, Bobby McFerrin's Voicestra, George Shearing, the New York Voices, African gospel artist Rebecca Malope, and others. He sang with the Grammy-nominated vocal jazz quintet, The Axidentals, with Phil Mattson's Voices, in residence at the Smithsonian Institution, and in several opera productions. Brad holds a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado, degrees in music and public relations from George Mason University in Virginia, and is pursuing a DMA from Boston University. He has served in leadership positions for the Ohio chapters of IAJE and ACDA, and is an active adjudicator and clinician. His compositions and arrangements are available through UNC Jazz Press. A native of Worcester, MA, Brad is an avid Red Sox fan. He lives in Tiffin with his wife, Ali, and children Noah and Brynn. Contact: 419.448.3317 or brees@tiffin.edu.
Christian Secrist serves as Director of Instrumental Music, conducting the TU Marching Band, Concert Band, and the select funk-rock touring ensemble Front Street. He also teaches saxophone, improvisation, music appreciation and music fundamentals. A Cleveland native, Christian is an active performer, writer, arranger, and teacher. For several years he maintained an active private saxophone studio in Cleveland’s western suburbs, and performed regularly with several professional bands in the area. He is a founding member of the Cleveland fusion band Parallels. Christian has studied saxophone with Howie Smith and Dan Cariotti, and conducting with Tim Destefano and Scott Dorsey. He holds a Master of Music degree in Saxophone Performance from Cleveland State University, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Mount Union College. Contact: 419.448.3439 or secristc@tiffin.edu.
Greg Wilson serves as Director of Music Business & Technology and percussion instructor. He coordinates the activities of TU student rock bands, directs the TU Percussion Ensemble, and supervises the TU recording studio and entrepreneurial music activities. His broad diversity of musical experience includes having served as drumline instructor at nine high schools around Northeast Ohio, as a member of Matrix, an independent indoor marching percussion ensemble, and as sound engineer for major bands around the region. A Perry, Ohio, native, Greg has experience in a wide variety of musical styles and instruments, including jazz, world music, four-mallet marimba, and steel drums. Greg holds a Bachelor of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance from Kent State University, and is currently an MBA candidate at Tiffin University. Contact: 419.448.3366, or wilsongd@tiffin.edu.
Lori Scheer serves as color guard instructor for The Tiffin University Marching Band, and as recruiting coordinator for the performing arts program. Lori holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Bluffton University. She has performed with numerous color guard squads throught the United States, including the Alliance of Miami. In Ohio, she has served as judge for the Allen County Fair Flag Competetion and consulted with local high schools. Contact: 419.448.3360 or scheerls@tiffin.edu.
Julio Appling teaches bass, guitar, and music history and appreciation classes. Born in Bakersfield, California, and raised in Tacoma, Washington, Julio plays double bass, bass guitar, classical guitar, trombone, and piano. He holds a bachelor's degree in music from the University of Redlands in California, and has played with the jazz fusion group Macumba Macamba, the progressive rock band Oneiria, and his jazz trio The Harlequin Jazz Quartet. Julio recently completed his Masters Degree in Musicology from Bowling Green State University. Committed to a future of sharing his passion for music with others as both an educator and a performer, Julio currently plays with the Ohio-based progressive bluegrass band The Student Loan. Contact: julio.appling@gmail.com.
Angie Sosebee serves as coordinator of the Tiffin University Jazz
and Vocal Festivals, accompanist for the University Choir, and director
of TU's newest select vocal ensemble. Angie holds a bachelor's degree in management from TU, and is currently pursuing her MBA degree. Contact: sosebeean@tiffin.edu.
Lindy Charles serves as adjunct Instructor of Voice. Lindy is a graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma State University where she received a Bachelors in Sacred Music and a Masters in Vocal Performance. Before moving to Ohio Lindy was a voice and choir instructor at Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College in Oklahoma City and at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma. She also served as the Director of Church Music at the First Presbyterian Church of Elk City, OK. Lindy has won various awards in solo competitions and was awarded the Young Singer award at the regional auditions for the Metropolitan Opera in 2003. Contact: charleslj@tiffin.edu.
Susan Marion serves as adjunct Instructor of Piano and Voice. She has been a classroom teacher and a teacher of gifted students at the elementary school level and has taught music at the elementary and high school levels. Also, she has directed college choral and instrumental groups and church choirs, led music workshops at local, state, and national conferences, and taught private piano, voice, and guitar lessons. She holds her degree in music education from Appalachian State University. Contact: marions@tiffin.edu.
sing@tiffin.edu ~ gig@tiffin.edu ~ 419.448.3366 ~ fax 419.443.5026