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Ohio Northern University Music Continuing to Advocate for Music in OMEA District 3
Ohio Northern University Music Continuing to Advocate for Music in OMEA District 3
Rebecca Casey
This past fall semester, Dr. Rebecca Casey, Associate Prof. of Music and Head of Keyboard Studies, presented her research “Concert Pianist in a Nazi Ghetto: The Story of Professor Bernard Kaff” at the Ohio Music Teachers Association State Convention on September 25.
The department also hosted Guest Artist Tom Roberts on October 7, who gave a recital and master class featuring his musical score to the silent film, “Nosferatu.” ONU Music also featured guest artists Lillian Scheirich, violin, and Mary Siciliano, pianist from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a recital titled “French Connections at the Turn of the 20th Century.”
The ONU Marching Band, “The Star of Northwest Ohio,” under the direction of Dr. Charles Bates, traveled to New York City during Indigenous Peoples’ Day/Columbus Day weekend on October 10-13, performing several times for urban audiences at the Statue of Liberty and other prominent venues.
The Ohio Music Teachers Association (OMTA) Middle West District Annual Piano Duettists’ Competition was held once again at Ohio Northern University on Saturday, October 25, with 18 piano duet teams competing in three categories: elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Duettists performed a “traditional” duet for the first half of the day, and a “creative” duet for the second half. Since this event is always held around Halloween, the second duet involved costumes, skits, and other unique ways of communicating the spirit of the compositions to the audience; students were judged on musicality, accuracy, creativity, and interpretation and the students and the audience had a fun, positive experience with their music-making!
The ONU University Singers and Chamber Singers also performed to the delight of a full house for their annual ONU Homecoming Concert in Presser Hall, Snyder Recital Hall.
The ONU Jazz Ensemble recently performed at Sylvania Northview, and their Director, Dr. David Kosmyna, will be the new Director for the newly-formed Toledo Jazz Youth Orchestra starting in January, 2026.
ONU Music also hosted its first-ever Middle West District OMTA Ribbon Festival in Piano, Strings, and Voice, involving 7 adjudicators, 5 music major assistants, 10 hour-long recitals running concurrently in two rooms in Presser Hall from 9-3, and 146 students ages 4-18 from 20 area private lessons instructors. The event was a big success, and students received a certificate, ribbon, constructive comments and suggestions for improvement. The highlight of the day was a performance of Chopin’s Ballade no. 3 for piano by a high school sophomore.
The department also presented ONU Chamber Orchestra concerts, The Annual Band-O-Rama, the Percussion Ensemble and Steel Drum Band Concert, five Senior Recitals, a Jazz Ensemble concert, and vocal and instrumental music areas combined will present our annual Orchestra and Choral Holiday Concert on Thursday Dec. 11, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in The Freed Center for the Performing Arts.
ONU Music also participates in the Holiday Spectacular, presented at both ONU and at the Lima, OH Civic and Convention Center.
Finally, ONU Music hosted 19 high school juniors and seniors for our Second Annual “Spend-A-Day with ONU Music” event on Friday, December 5. Students toured campus, attended classes, rehearsals, and lessons, ate lunch with music majors, attended a “How to Prepare for a College Audition” seminar, and watched a student/faculty 3:00 Recital with Dr. Rebecca Casey, Dr. David Clark, a student jazz combo and a student saxophone ensemble . Several attendees received free tickets for the Holiday Spectacular on Friday night in Lima.
Spring Semester at ONU will feature The Old Crown Brass Band, The Endimion Ensemble, a Palm Sunday Choral Concert, the Annual ONU Spring Band Festival, and a plethora of other ensemble and solo performances. All performances in Presser Hall, Snyder Recital Hall, are free and open to the public.
Dr. Rebecca Casey, Nationally Certified Teacher of Music, Associate Professor of Music, teaches at Ohio Northern University in Ada, OH, where she has instructed students in Piano Classes, Piano Individual, Piano Literature, Piano Pedagogy, Music Theory III-IV, and Aural Skills I-IV for 31 years. She served as Chair of the Music Department from 2014-2019 and as Assistant Chair from 2008-2014.
Prior to her appointment at ONU, Dr. Casey taught full time Elementary Music in grades K-6 from 1988-1992 in three Findlay City Schools, where she received the Educator of the Month Award for excellence in teaching, as well as an Award of Distinction from the Findlay Area Jaycees for her outstanding work with young people.