APSU Department of Music

This weekend the students of the @apsu.opera and @apsu_symphony teamed up for a wonderful performance of The Medium by Giancarlo Menotti, directed by @sopraelee !!! It is always a joy to return the opera pit, but this run was an extra special experience to share conducting duties with conducting graduate student @ale_23drums who assisted the production and handled his responsibilities with poise. Bravi tutti to our voice area which is truly thriving @operajeff @ctminsang !

Did you miss the opera tonight? “There, there! Don’t cry!” 🥺 You have only ONE MORE chance to catch The Medium live at Austin Peay in Mabry Concert Hall — Saturday 4/25 at 7:30pm. We can’t wait to see you there! (I also hear there might be a black swan giveaway for a lucky audience member or two!) 🦢🤩 #blackswan #austinpeay #opera #clarksvilletn #localmusic

The curtain is rising! 🌟 “It’s time to begin!” Catch our opera at Mabry Concert Hall this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM. See you there! 🎵🤩🔮 #apsu #opera #clarksville #clarksvilletnlocal #localmusic

APSU Trumpet Day 2026 was another huge success. We hosted 55 trumpet players from Middle Tennessee. The event would not be possible without support from @ceca_apsu and the talents of our guest artists @maxignastrumpet and @dr.spears_trumpet_band . We will be back next year!! Until then, 🔥🎺⬆️!!

Please join us for a evening of choir featuring the APSU Choirs and the University Heights Academny Choir!!! See you at 5:30 p.m. on April 29 in Mabry Concert Hall

We are excited to see you all today in our new location! The Morgan University Center rooms 303/305. There will still be room for all the dancing and sensory needs!

🎓🎶 We were proud to highlight Matthew’s academic work at the TMEA Conference this year! His poster, “The Application of Music to Interdisciplinary Educational Practices,” was developed as part of the graduate course MUS 5050: Contemporary Issues in Music Education. In this literature review, Matthew explores both the benefits and challenges of integrating music with other subject areas, emphasizing how an interdisciplinary approach can create a more holistic and meaningful learning experience for students. Great work representing the future of music education! 👏 #MusicEducation #InterdisciplinaryLearning #GraduateResearch #APSUMusic

Please welcome Carissa Scroggins to our faculty! Carissa Scroggins has her Doctor of Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of Northern Colorado with a secondary emphasis in musicology (2021). Dr. Scroggins participated in the prestigious NATS Intern Program in 2024. She is an active member of several music organizations, including National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), National Opera Association, Opera America, College Music Society, and Music Teachers National Association. Carissa Scroggins has a diverse performance resume, having been invited to perform in operas, oratorios, and concerts across the country. Her most performances have been as Mother Abbess, The Sound of Music [2025] and Mother, Amahl and the Night Visitors [2024]. Moving forward, Dr. Scroggins is building a reputation as a Nordic languages art song interpreter, as well as a specialist in new music. Her current research is focused on lullabies as an art song repertoire choice and teaching community classes in how to sing to babies. She has presented her research at the international level (Voice Study Centre UK, 2024). Her article “Lullabies in the Western European Classical Art Song Canon,” was published in the journal Akshar Wangmay (2024). Dr. Scroggins has a recording titled Beautiful Dreamer: a collection of classical lullabies She is also writing an opera for undergraduate voices with young audiences in mind that she hopes to use at APSU in the near future.

The countdown is on! ⏳ We’re just a couple of weeks away from opening night of The Medium. Step back in time with us to post-WWII Italy, as we share our thrilling production that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Join us 4/24 and 4/25 at 7:30 PM in Mabry Concert Hall. 🎟️ Admission is completely free!! 🤩 Check the link in our bio for ticket and streaming details!🔗 The “séance” awaits!🔮

Dear Austin Peay community, It is with great sadness that we share the news that Professor Emeritus Dr. Solie Fott passed away Monday evening at his home in Clarksville. He was a member of our faculty for more than 40 years — a musician, mentor, institution-builder, and a friend to generations of Govs. Dr. Fott joined the Austin Peay music faculty in 1958 for what he often joked was supposed to be a one-year appointment. He served as chair of the Department of Music for 20 of those years, was the founding president of our Faculty Senate, and was the first chairperson of University Assembly. His hand was in the establishment of the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts in 1985, and his influence on this university endures. Beyond Austin Peay, Dr. Fott had a remarkable second life in Nashville's studios, participating in more than 2,000 recording sessions between 1960 and 1980 alongside artists including Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. He was, as Dean Buzz Hoon has said, not the kind of man who led with that. He was simply Solie — generous, funny, and genuinely curious about the people around him. In a 2024 podcast interview, Dr. Fott was asked what had kept him so connected to the arts and to this community long into retirement. He answered with a poem by Rabindranath Tagore that he recited from memory: "I slept and dreamt that life is Joy / I acted and saw that life is Duty / and beheld that duty is Joy." "When a person's duties coincide with his or her interests," he said, "that is a good life. And I consider myself fortunate along those lines." Dr. Fott's impact on students, faculty, and staff will continue to live on. In 2007, Dr. Fott's family established the Solie Fott Music Scholarship. In 2025, Michael S. Humnicky established the Dr. Solie Fott Strings Scholarship Endowment to benefit APSU music students whose primary instrument is the violin, honoring a longtime friend whose life in music was shaped by Dr. Fott's mentorship.

Big dreams deserve a little extra support ✨ CECA’s Transformative Student Experience Grants are officially OPEN—but only until April 11! Whether you're planning something bold, creative, or completely outside the box, this is your chance to make it happen. Apply now—link in bio!

🎶 Big congratulations to Jed Edmondson on being named a recipient of The Presser Foundation’s Undergraduate Scholar Award! This prestigious honor recognizes outstanding musical achievement, academic excellence, and dedication to the art of music. We are incredibly proud! 👏✨ @thepresserfdn #ThePresserFoundation #UndergraduateScholarAward #PresserScholar