Conductor, teacher and soprano Emily Frizzell, who currently serves as Visiting Assistant Professor in music education and conducts the Collegiate Choir, has been appointed Assistant Professor in music education beginning fall semester 2020.
“It is my great privilege to welcome Emily Frizzell to the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music,” said Dr. Kevin Sanders, Director of the School of Music. “She brings a wide range of experience rooted in exemplary teaching and musicianship. Emily will be an extraordinary asset on our faculty, and our students are unbelievably fortunate to benefit from her expertise and enthusiasm for music education.”
Since 2018, Frizzell has been the Visiting Assistant Professor for the School of Music. “The faculty and students have been so incredibly welcoming to me from day one, and so supportive and helpful,” Frizzell said. “It’s been a really wonderful, inclusive environment. I’m just really excited to be here permanently now.”
Prior to working for the University, Frizzell educated younger students. She was Assistant Director of Choirs at Southaven High School and Southaven Middle School and was the Director of Choirs at White Station Middle School for seven years. She currently has a successful voice studio with students of all ages.
“I always knew I wanted to be a teacher,” Frizzell said. She says she thrives seeing the progress of her students’ performances. “There are times when a musical performance… can make you feel like nothing else can,” Frizzell said. “There is an emotion that I only get when I’m sitting in the audience. I am so glad I ended up in choral music because… it’s the thing that means the most to me now.”
Frizzell is an active member of the West Tennessee Vocal Music Educators Association, the National Association for Music Education, the American Choral Directors Association, the Society for Music Teacher Education, the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the A Cappella Education Association. Additionally, she was the Co-Chair of the West Tennessee Vocal Music Educators Association’s Junior High Choral Festival from 2013-2016.
In 2013, Frizzell was named Outstanding Young Music Educator by the Tennessee Music Education Association. That same year her choir, the White Station Middle Chorale, was selected to perform at the National Association for Music Education Conference in Nashville, TN.
“We are thrilled to welcome Emily Frizzell to the music education faculty at the University of Memphis,” said Dr. Josef Hanson, search committee chairman for music education. “The committee was particularly impressed with her public-school teaching experience, skills and passion for choral music, potential for innovative research, and ability to connect with students and work collaboratively with faculty and staff colleagues.”
While she was a member of the 2012 Memphis City Schools Teacher Field Test Group and Development Team, Frizzell co-created a pilot evaluation method for Tennessee music teachers. She also worked as a peer evaluator and curriculum writer for Shelby County Schools on behalf of this new evaluation method. In 2016, she served on the Tennessee Department of Education Music Standards Writing Team.
Frizzell graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education. She is currently completing her PhD in music education at the University of Memphis.” My goal was to complete this degree in two years. Now that I have the position, I am so glad I set that goal! I truly feel I have the necessary skills, knowledge and experiences to lead my students to success. I’m thrilled to be able to continue to work with such incredible students, faculty and staff.”