Sandra Yang, PhD Professor of Music History Susan Troth, MM Associate Professor of Worship Beth Cram Porter, MA Professor of Vocal Music; Chair – Music and Worship Roger O’Neel, PhD Professor of Worship; Assistant Chair; Director – Worship Program JOHN MORTENSEN — THE PIANO MAN John Mortensen, Professor of Music, is a leader in the international revival of historic improvisation. Appearing frequently as a concert artist and masterclass teacher at colleges and universities in America and Europe, he is noted for his ability to improvise entire concerts in historic styles, including complex compositions such as Baroque fugues. Mortensen is a Steinway Artist and an Ohio Artist on Tour. In 2019, the U.S. State Department named him a Fulbright Global Scholar in Historic Improvisation to serve as an international artistic ambassador on behalf of the American people. His recent research into historic improvisation has resulted in two books published by Oxford University Press: The Pianist’s Guide to Historic Improvisation (2020) — the world’s best-selling book in the field of historic keyboard improvisation, now in use as a course text at many leading conservatories — and Improvising Fugue: A Method for Keyboard Artists (2023). He is the creator of Improv Planet, an online school of historic improvisation, where his students include concert artists and conservatory faculty from across the world. In March 2024, Mortensen began teaching as a guest professor at The Juilliard School. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance and literature from the University of Maryland. SANDRA YANG — THE MUSIC HISTORIAN Sandra Yang, Professor of Music History, has made significant contributions to the Department of Music and Worship and to the University as a whole. She served as Chair for two Higher Learning Commission self-studies, helping Cedarville earn reaccreditation twice. She taught in the Departments of Music and History at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, California, before coming to Cedarville in 2009. She is actively involved in the College Music Society and the American Musicological Society, regularly presenting current research. She serves on the Pedagogy Study Group of the American Musicological Society and has been actively promoting music history pedagogy through National Music History Day and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Musical Offerings and frequently serves as a peer reviewer for journals in her field. Yang earned her PhD in musicology from UCLA. She is a creative and passionate professor and has led a Bible study for students for years. She specializes in pedagogy, online learning, and 20th century French music history. ADJUNCT FACULTY The department's full-time faculty is supplemented by 15 outstanding adjunct instructors who provide private lessons for each music major's primary instrument. 11
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