KU School of Music welcomes new faculty

The KU School of Music is pleased to announce six new faculty appointments for the 2022-2023 school year. Included in the esteemed group are Stella Markou, Emily Rossin, CharCarol Fisher, McKenna Stenson, Gulli Björnsson, and Geoffrey Landman. “We are so excited to have such large and highly qualified group of new faculty joining the School of Music this year,” says Dean Robert Walzel. “I know they will be wonderful additions to our faculty team.”

The new faculty appointments include:

Stella Markou, Associate Professor of Voice (tenure-track)

Hailed as ‘exquisite’ by Gramophone, Greek-American soprano Stella Markou has performed internationally as a soloist in oratorio, opera, and on the concert stage. She has been a featured guest artist with the Edinburgh Contemporary Musical Ensemble, The Consulate General of Greece, Union Avenue Opera, Masterworks Chorale, Nassau Music Society, Dance New Amsterdam Company, American Chamber Chorale, University of Nevada Las Vegas Concert Series, Ambassadors of Harmony, and the Nashville Ballet.

Emily Rossin, Associate Professor of the Practice (Music Education)

A proud Jayhawk, Emily Rossin received her Ph.D., Master of Music Education, and Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Kansas. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Emily was a music teacher in the Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kansas. There, she taught elementary, middle, and high school band, as well as elementary orchestra. She has taught undergraduate courses in elementary and secondary instrumental methods, conducting and rehearsal techniques, and human learning and development.  

CharCarol Fisher, Associate Professor of the Practice (Music Therapy)

CharCarol Fisher, MA, MT-BC, is a board-certified music therapist with 14 years of experience as a clinician in the Kansas City metropolitan area. CharCarol Fisher received her Master of Music Therapy from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a Bachelor of Music (saxophone performance) from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.

McKenna Stenson, Associate Professor of the Practice (Associate Director of Choral Activities)

As an innovative conductor, teacher, and vocalist, McKenna Stenson has built a career inspiring students to sing with confidence and motivating communities to create lasting change through song. Her energetic demeanor permeates positivity throughout the ensemble, creating a community of compassion, trust, and resilience.

Gulli Björnsson, Associate Professor of the Practice (Electronic Composition)

Gulli Björnsson is a guitarist, composer and programmer from Iceland whose music typically ties electronics, live instruments and visuals to experiences in nature. Gulli´s music has been described as “hypnotic” (Illinois News Gazette) “a knockout – wondrously inventive” (Soundboard Magazine) and “Virtuosic, modern, occasionally discordant, but still accessible” (Classical Guitar Magazine).

Geoffrey Landman, Associate Professor of the Practice (Saxophone)

Geoffrey Landman is a performer, teacher, and advocate of the saxophone and new music. He has performed across North America, Europe, Singapore, Thailand, and in New York City’s most well-known venues including Carnegie Hall, Miller Theatre at Columbia University, The United Nations, Trinity Wall Street, The Morgan Library, and John Zorn’s The Stone. Dr. Landman is the Associate Professor of the Practice in Saxophone at the University of Kansas, and previously served on the faculty of the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, MA.

For more information and full bios on the new faculty appointments, please visit our staff page.