OUR TEAM
Graduate and Undergraduate Students from
Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University
In Partnership with
the Historic Hill institute
Community Partners
Dr. Kimberly Ellis
Kimberly C. Ellis, Ph.D. is a Scholar of American and Africana Studies, an artist, activist and entrepreneur, as well as a playwright, world traveler and international thought leader on culture, gender and social technology. She is an expert on playwright August Wilson’s works, as well as his maternal niece. Dr. Ellis taught the first seminar courses on his works at the University of Pittsburgh as well as at Carnegie Mellon University. She also has expertise on the community known as “Black Twitter.” Dr. Ellis is the Founding Executive Director of the Historic Hill Institute, the historic preservation organization of the neighborhood. She served on the committee that designed Frankie Mae Pace Park, named after late community activist, and authored the permanent exhibit in the park. Dr. Ellis' work also includes serving on the committee that edited and created the historic landmark for the August Wilson House, leading historical tours, and co-creating the Greater Hill District Master Plan. She is presently working on the Charles and Frankie Pace Oral History Project and the Freedom House Citywide Celebration.
Terri Baltimore
Terri Baltimore is currently the Activities Coordinator at Macedonia FACE Active for Life Center in the Hill District where she coordinates events, speakers and trips for the center. Prior to that, she served as the Director of Community Engagement for the Hill House Association, working with the agency for over 20 years. She was responsible for environmental programs, volunteer activities and strategic partnerships. At Hill House, Ms. Baltimore developed the Hill District Community Collaborative which brought together 35 neighborhood organizations and community institutions to plan, coordinate and provide services for women and children. Along with four community partners, she co-founded the “Dot Talley Center,” which provided supportive housing in the Hill District for women and children. She also co-founded “Find The Rivers,” an organization that promoted the neighborhood’s greenspaces as an opportunity to build the local economy, to take advantage of the community’s proximity to the three rivers and to encourage health and wellness. She was part of a team that created “ The Greenprint,” the green plan for the Hill District neighborhood. Ms. Baltimore earned a BA in Journalism from Duquesne University and was a member of the Leadership Pittsburgh Class XXII.
Exhibit Design and Management
Dr. Nicole Vilkner
Director of Exhibit Design And management
Dr. Nicole Vilkner is an Assistant Professor of Music at Duquesne University who studies the ways that architecture and the built environment affect music-making. Her recent and forthcoming research is published in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, Journal of Musicology, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, and Cambridge Opera Journal. Her research has received awards and funding from the American Musicological Society and the Society for American Music. In 2023, Nicole led a group of students to create the award-winning Soundwalk at the Frick, comprising 17 exhibits installed at the Frick Pittsburgh. The Soundwalk Projects she designed were awarded the Creative Teaching Prize and the John G. Rangos Prize from Duquesne University.
Lizzie Averell
Assistant Design and technical Mangement
Lizzie is a senior majoring in music technology with a focus on sound recording and a performance concentration on classical guitar. She began playing guitar at a young age, eventually joining the North Hills Guitar Ensemble in high school. She graduated from Community College of Allegheny County in 2021, earning her associate degree in music technology, and was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. She is currently a member of the Duquesne Classical Guitar Ensemble and The National Society of Leadership and Success. Lizzie served as the teaching assistant for the 2024 Hill Soundwalk, helping with website design and exhibit planning.
Exhibit Design Team
Jarret Allen
Born and raised near Providence, Rhode Island, Jarret is a composer, producer, and writer, known by the alias spellcasting, who is majoring in music composition. He creates music utilizing contemporary techniques in sequencing and technology. Jarret has released numerous projects that blend the nostalgic sounds of retro video games with modern music production. These projects have been successful on social media and streaming platforms, clocking nearly 10 million streams across all services and drawing hundreds of thousands of unique listeners. In tandem with this, Jarret works as a script and scenario writer for videogames. When not composing or writing, you can find Jarret fishing for striped bass in the Narragansett Bay or playing reading fantasy novels. His ultimate passion is to tell stories through his music and the games he writes.
Alyssa Baljunas
Alyssa’s passion for music led her to begin learning the cello in fifth grade. Eleven years later, she is about to finish her bachelor’s degree in cello performance at Duquesne University. Besides studying standard cello repertoire, Alyssa loves composing, arranging, and studying styles and techniques outside of classical traditions, such as jazz and improvisation. In addition, Alyssa is a member of the Akron Symphony and performs with other regional orchestras, such as Erie Philharmonic. Since she believes music has contributed much to her own personal development, she hopes to inspire others through her performance, composition, and teaching.
Christopher Cox
Christopher hails from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and is finishing his senior year at Duquesne University, majoring in Trumpet Performance. As a trumpet player, he has been a soloist with the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra and appeared with the Duke’s Music on baroque trumpet. Christopher is also an organist, working as an organ builder and voicer with the Luley Organ Company. In a collaboration with Dr. Paul Miller, Christopher helped to develop and research the production of a multimedia sound installation called Metanoic Echoes (April 2022) that uses biosignals from plants to affect audio samples. This project illustrated how human, destructive actions directly impact the ecobalance of the environment.
William Garcia
William is a Venezuelan-born cellist studying at Duquesne University under Adam Liu (Artist Diploma, 2023; Master of Music, 2025). William started his music career in Venezuela’s El Sistema. In 2004, he received an Outstanding Career in Music Award from the mayor of Trujillo State, Venezuela. William earned a seat in the Merida Symphony Orchestra (2007–14), and he has performed with world-renowned conductors, including Benjamin Zander, Gustavo Dudamel, Joshua Dos Santos, and Cesar Ivan Lara. He has also performed in several international festivals, collaborating with musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic and Gothenburg Symphony. William taught students in El Sistema Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, and Chile. William also earned his bachelor’s degree in medical lab science, a certificate in public health management, and a certificate in teaching from Universidad de Los Andes.
Benjamin Grossman
Benjamin Grossman is native to Pittsburgh PA, from the Squirrel Hill neighborhood . He is currently a senior at Duquesne University pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a minor in Media/Marketing. Ben is both a jazz guitarist and a rap artist, locally known as BennyG. Over the past five years, BennyG has been sharpening his craft while completing his debut album, Nostalgia. BennyG is known throughout the local hip-hop community, making headlining appearances at open-mics and playing venues such as Level-Up Studio, Three Rivers Arts Festival, and Picklesburgh. BennyG works under the mentorship of PGH recording legend DJ Soy Sos and other notable figures in the Pittsburgh rap-scene. As a proud citizen of Pittsburgh, we hope this project sheds light on the history and sonic profile of our special city.
Yechun Huang
Yechun Huang is a soprano from Quanzhou, China. She began to play the piano at the age of five and started singing classical music when she was 16. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Shenyang Conservatory of Music and is continuing her vocal studies at the Mary Pappert School of Music under Xiuru-Liu. Yechun performed the role of Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at Shenyang Conservatory of Music, and she is currently preparing to perform the role of Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi at Duquesne University. After graduating with her master's degree, Yechun plans to continue her studies in a Doctor of Musical Arts program.
Qijia Ma
Qijia is from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China. She graduated from the Tianjin Conservatory of Music with her bachelor's degree in music education. She is currently in her second year of graduate study at Duquesne University, working towards a master’s degree in piano performance under Dr. Kevin Lee Sun and Prof. Anoush Tchakarian. Qijia intends to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts after graduation. Since it is her passion to teach students about music and piano, Qijia plans to return to China to open her own music studio after completing her graduate studies in the United States.
Anne Victoria Nasevich
Anne Victoria began learning violin at the age of nine with Fritz and Leah Valenches in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She continues her studies under the tutelage of Rachel Stegeman in the undergraduate program in performance at Duquesne University. In 2023, she won a first violin position with the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra and is also a member of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she has played with the Erie Philharmonic, Westmorland Symphony Orchestra, and Butler County Symphony Orchestra. Inspired by the sounds of nature and music, this project has sparked her interest in the sounds of Pittsburgh’s Hill District.
.jpg)
Alex Ortiz
Alex is currently a master’s student at Duquesne University studying trombone performance. Previously, he received a bachelor's degree in music education at West Texas A&M. Alex is a native of Odessa, Texas, and a first-generation Mexican American. Alex has performed in orchestras, including TMEA in Texas as well as Pennsylvania’s PMEA. Alex is equally comfortable playing in jazz ensembles, such as Duquesne's Jazz Ensemble and West Texas A&M Jazz Band. In his free time, Alex enjoys hanging out with his friends and traveling national parks throughout the United States.
Crews Owen
Crews is a first-year graduate student pursuing his master’s degree in Trombone Performance at Duquesne University where he currently studies with James Nova and Sebastian Vera. Originally from Georgia, he graduated from the University of Georgia (2022) with a Bachelor’s degree in Trombone Performance studying with Dr. Joshua Bynum. Crews currently plays with the Duquesne Wind Symphony, Orchestra, Brass Choir, and Trombone Choir. His dream is to perform as a solo artist or as a member of a symphony orchestra, band, studio orchestra, pit orchestra, jazz band, or chamber ensemble - he is ready for all possibilities! As someone living with Asperger Syndrome, a mild form of Autism, he often experiences issues with communication. Through music, however, he has found a voice and a means of expression that anyone can understand.
Eric Schaefer
Originally from Pittsburgh, Eric is a senior at Duquesne University earning his Bachelor of Arts in Music and minoring in Political Science. He started playing guitar at the age of six. At Duquesne, Eric studies jazz guitar and sings with the Pappert Chorale. He spends his free time composing music, jamming with friends, and playing hockey. After graduation, Eric plans to continue his studies in law school to achieve his goal of becoming an entertainment lawyer.
Holly Smith
Holly Smith studies clarinet performance at Duquesne University with Ron Samuels of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and anticipates graduating in May 2024. Holly received their bachelor’s degree in music education in 2022. Holly plans to teach K-12 music in the greater Pittsburgh area and intends to open a clarinet studio. Holly is a Pittsburgh native who grew up in Upper St. Clair, and spent much of their younger years exploring Downtown Pittsburgh. In her free time, Holly arranges band music, bakes, and advocates for disability rights in the music industry.
Jesse Thompson
Jesse Thompson began his violin studies at the age of nine in the public school system in Williamsport, PA, later studying with Kenneth Sarch, previous concertmaster of the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra. Jesse is currently in the studio of Charles Stegeman at Duquesne University where he has earned a BM, AD and MM in violin performance. Throughout his career, Jesse has been involved in numerous festivals including New England Music Camp, Chamber Music institute of Virginia, Philadelphia International Music Festival, the Sunflower Music Festival, and the Buzzards Bay Music Fest. In addition, Jesse has played with the Wheeling Symphony, Pittsburgh Ballet orchestra, Pittsburgh Opera orchestra and Grand Rapids Symphony.
Alex Weibel
Alex Weibel is an educator, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He plays guitar, mandolin, and other fretted instruments professionally in a variety of styles including jazz, blues, pop, and theatre. Since picking up the guitar at the age of 8, Alex has studied with Ian Arthurs, Ken Karsh, Eric Susoeff, Mark Koch, Thomas Kikta, Mark Strickland, and Dan Wilson. He holds a music education degree from Duquesne University (2022), where he is currently pursuing a master’s degree in jazz performance (2024). Aside from this, Alex maintains a busy schedule in the Pittsburgh area as a session musician and freelance performer. As a young jazz musician, Alex has a special interest in learning about the deep and impactful history of music within the Hill District.
Ian Young
Ian Young is a second-year graduate student pursuing an MM in voice performance. Born in the UK, Ian grew up in Easton, MD and moved to Pittsburgh to major in voice performance at Carnegie Mellon University. Currently, Ian is the Graduate Assistant for the choral program at Duquesne, and has been a member of several professional choral ensembles including the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh and the premiere ensemble Transcendence based in Erie, PA. After graduation, Ian hopes to pursue more professional ensemble work in Pittsburgh and across the US.