Department of Music, Austin Peay State University

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Clarksville, TN
Department of Music, Austin Peay State University

Welcome to the APSU Department of Music page! "Like" us for updates on concerts and events.

Future Students:
https://www.apsu.edu/music/future-students/index.php

Helpful Links:
linktr.ee/apsumusic

04/18/2026

We are excited to see you all today in our new location! The Morgan University Center rooms 303/305. There will still be room for all the dancing and sensory needs!

04/14/2026

Please welcome Carissa Scroggins to our faculty!

Carissa Scroggins has her Doctor of Arts in Vocal Performance from the University of Northern Colorado with a secondary emphasis in musicology (2021). Dr.

Scroggins participated in the prestigious NATS Intern Program in 2024. She is an active member of several music organizations, including National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), National Opera Association, Opera America, College Music Society, and Music Teachers National Association. Carissa Scroggins has a diverse performance resume, having been invited to perform in operas, oratorios, and concerts across the country. Her most performances have been as Mother Abbess, The Sound of Music [2025] and Mother, Amahl and the Night Visitors [2024]. Moving forward, Dr. Scroggins is building a reputation as a Nordic languages art song interpreter, as well as a specialist in new music. Her current research is focused on lullabies as an art song repertoire choice and teaching community classes in how to sing to babies. She has presented her research at the international level (Voice Study Centre UK, 2024). Her article “Lullabies in the Western European Classical Art Song Canon,” was published in the journal Akshar Wangmay (2024). Dr. Scroggins has a recording titled Beautiful Dreamer: a collection of classical lullabies She is also writing an opera for undergraduate voices with young audiences in mind that she hopes to use at APSU in the near future.

04/08/2026

Dear Austin Peay community,

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Professor Emeritus Dr. Solie Fott passed away Monday evening at his home in Clarksville. He was a member of our faculty for more than 40 years — a musician, mentor, institution-builder, and a friend to generations of Govs.

Dr. Fott joined the Austin Peay music faculty in 1958 for what he often joked was supposed to be a one-year appointment. He served as chair of the Department of Music for 20 of those years, was the founding president of our Faculty Senate, and was the first chairperson of University Assembly. His hand was in the establishment of the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts in 1985, and his influence on this university endures.

Beyond Austin Peay, Dr. Fott had a remarkable second life in Nashville's studios, participating in more than 2,000 recording sessions between 1960 and 1980 alongside artists including Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. He was, as Dean Buzz Hoon has said, not the kind of man who led with that. He was simply Solie — generous, funny, and genuinely curious about the people around him.

In a 2024 podcast interview, Dr. Fott was asked what had kept him so connected to the arts and to this community long into retirement. He answered with a poem by Rabindranath Tagore that he recited from memory: "I slept and dreamt that life is Joy / I acted and saw that life is Duty / and beheld that duty is Joy."

"When a person's duties coincide with his or her interests," he said, "that is a good life. And I consider myself fortunate along those lines."

Dr. Fott's impact on students, faculty, and staff will continue to live on. In 2007, Dr. Fott's family established the Solie Fott Music Scholarship. In 2025, Michael S. Humnicky established the Dr. Solie Fott Strings Scholarship Endowment to benefit APSU music students whose primary instrument is the violin, honoring a longtime friend whose life in music was shaped by Dr. Fott's mentorship.

04/07/2026

APSU Trumpet Day 2026 will take place next week on Saturday, April 18. Trumpet players of all ages and abilities are welcome to attend. The all-day event will feature classes, ensemble playing and a recital performed by our guest artists and all participants. Register online by visiting https://www.apsu.edu/music/trumpet-day . The $20 fee will provide lunch and a t-shirt for all attendees.

04/01/2026

🎶 Big congratulations to Jed Edmondson on being named a recipient of The Presser Foundation’s Undergraduate Scholar Award!

This prestigious honor recognizes outstanding musical achievement, academic excellence, and dedication to the art of music. We are incredibly proud! 👏✨

03/25/2026

Tonight's concert by the APSU Piano Ensembles includes the artwork of many of these students and faculty in the lobby of the Music Mass Communication Building on the corner of 8th & Marion Streets. Tonight's concert is at 7:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Parking is always free in the lot in front of our building.

Tonight's program for the APSU Piano Fest may be view here: https://www.apsu.edu/music/events/Calendar.php

03/03/2026

Power Up: Video Games in Concert
📍 Mabry Concert Hall – Clarksville
🗓 March 8 at 4pm
🎟 Tickets: https://www.gatewaychamberorchestra.com/
This concert is FREE to APSU students with an APSU ID.
💰 Enter code "GCOkids" at checkout for 1 FREE student ticket when an Adult or Military ticket is purchased (limit 1 per order).

Power Up: Video Games in Concert is a symphonic journey from console to concert hall, created and narrated by members of the GCO! Featuring a team of elite symphony and studio musicians, the program highlights the artistry and emotional depth of video game music . Lasting 60 minutes, this family-friendly concert is created for children ages 10-18 and video gaming enthusiasts of all ages.
Gamers will love iconic scores from acclaimed titles including Star Wars Outlaws, Journey, The Baby in Yellow, Octopath Traveler 2, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Walkabout Mini Golf — performed live by orchestra.

Music lovers will enjoy works by GRAMMY-nominated and award-winning composers, thoughtfully arranged by GCO cellist Andrew Dunn and brought to life by the Gateway Chamber Orchestra.
Concert-goers of all ages will experience immersive gameplay visuals created in collaboration with composers Wilbert Roget, Virginia Leo, Chris Reyman, and gaming studios Team Terrible, Mighty Coconut, and more.
TICKETS & TRAILER >> https://www.gatewaychamberorchestra.com/

🎮 Co-created by Andrew Dunn, Jacob Aaron Schnitzer, and Diana Dunn
🎹 Music by Austin Wintory, Wilbert Roget, Composer , Virginia Leo, Eddie Marianukroh, Chris Reyman, and more

Jacob Schnitzer, DMA
Director of Orchestral Activities
Austin Peay State University
He/Him
jacobschnitzer.com

02/18/2026

Congratulations to our APSU Wind Ensemble, conducted by Prof. John Schnettler!!

01/28/2026

Due to dangerous travelling conditions in Clarksville/Montgomery County, we will be cancelling Friday night's APSU Faculty Showcase Concert in the Mabry Concert Hall.

We hope you all are safe and warm; we hope to see everyone next week!

12/15/2025

🎶 Thinking about majoring in music? Come experience what APSU has to offer!
Join us for Music Department Preview Day on Feb. 16, 2026 from 1–5:30 p.m.

✔️ Attend a degree workshop
✔️ Sit in on an ensemble rehearsal
✔️ Hear our faculty perform
✔️ Meet professors & students
✔️ Learn about scholarships and auditions

All highschoolers and their parents are welcome! Seniors are invited to audition for the program in the morning!

📍 Music/Mass Communication Building
🔗 Register today at apsu.edu/music/visit

We can’t wait to welcome you to campus!

12/05/2025

Spreading the holiday cheer! 🎄

Our Chamber Singers were honored to carol at the Legacy Society Brunch yesterday morning.

🎶

Address

798 Marion Street
Clarksville, TN
37040

Website

http://apsu.edu/music

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