Featured Faculty
Cherise Leiter
Director of Composition & Music Theory
Born in Florida, Cherise Leiter received a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory and a Master of Music in Composition from the University of Florida where she studied with Dr. Budd Udell. An active composer whose output includes works for choir, piano, voice, carillon, orchestra and assorted chamber ensembles, her compositions have been performed throughout the United States, France, Scotland, and Japan. She was a finalist in the 1997 Young American Choral Composers Competition sponsored by G. Schirmer, in the Ithaca College 25th annual Choral Composition Competition, and in the ‘Outside the Bach’s’ Choral Composition Competition.
Ron Miles
Musician-in-Residence
Ron Miles has established himself as one of today’s most prominent jazz musicians. He has released numerous records as a leader on the Capri, Gramavision, and Prolific labels, and is a longtime collaborator with jazz luminaries Bill Frisell and Brian Blade. His release, I Am a Man, featuring Jason Moran, Bill Frisell, Thomas Morgan, and Brian Blade, was named one of the Best Albums of 2017 by the New York Times and NPR. He was elected into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2017. In 2018, Miles shared a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Still Dreaming with saxophonist Joshua Redman, drummer Brian Blade and bassist Scott Colley.
Elizabeth Macy
Assistant Professor of Musicology
Elizabeth Macy coordinates the various world music ensembles at MSU Denver, including the gamelan orchestra Manik Kusuma, the African Drum & Dance Ensemble, and holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology from UCLA, an MA in Ethnomusicology from UC Riverside, and a BA in Music from Colorado College. Her dissertation research addressed the function of music tourism in post-disaster economies; in particular, it focused on the function of music tourism in the recovery and rebuilding of post-Katrina New Orleans and in Bali, Indonesia after the 2002 and 2005 terrorist bombings. Dr. Macy’s current and ongoing research focuses on Balinese master musician I Made Lasmawan and his wife Ni Ketut Marni and the music and dance traditions of the village of Bangah di Baturiti in Bali. Currently a performing member of Denver’s Gamelan Tunas Mekar, she began studying the music of Indonesia with Lasmawan in 1996. She is a founding member of Sanggar Manik Galih, a transnational music and dance studio based in Bali and Colorado, and teaches study abroad courses in Bali on Balinese music, arts, and culture.
Mark Harris
Associate Professor of Saxophone
Mark Harris is a dedicated and exploratory educator and performer. He has played in bands backing artists Billy Eckstein, Joe Williams, Cab Calloway, Bob Hope, Natalie Cole, the Temptations and has performed with Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd), and Fred Frith. He performs original music with Hamster Theatre, Thinking Plague, Random Axe, and performs in classical chamber ensembles Metro Wind Consort and the Lamont Sax Quartet. Mark is certified in Soundpainting, an improvisational language for musicians of all styles and skill levels. As a teacher, Mark emphasizes strong technical skills, aesthetic exploration, and student-directed learning concepts that nourish creativity and set students up for success in any musical arena. His most prominent former student is the widely-acclaimed alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa.
