A horns professor in the Conservatory of Music since 2018, Ellsworth delivers excellence as a teacher, soloist, recording artist, and chamber musician. She attended the Eastman and Juilliard schools, with further study in Oslo and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Her versatile聽recordings have included solo projects鈥�EUPHORIA,听Rain Coming,听Late Night Thoughts, and聽Leningrad鈥攁nd ensemble work such as 2022鈥檚 music project with the 麻豆影院 Graduate Bayreuth Tuben Quintet.

Ellsworth has toured internationally as a member of Kristjan Jarve鈥檚 Absolute Ensemble, the Manhattan Brass, the Danish Esbjerg Ensemble, and numerous other musical and artistic configurations. An advocate of new music, she was a founding member of the New Music and Culture Symposium.

Ellsworth pushes musical boundaries and brings that same curiosity and excitement to her teaching.

Julie Rana

A member of the mathematics faculty since 2017, Rana has excelled in classroom teaching and research. Much of her scholarly focus has been in algebraic geometry, especially moduli spaces, singular algebraic surfaces, deformation theory, and computational methods.

In 2021, Rana was awarded a two-year grant of $192,905 through the National Science Foundation鈥檚 Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS) program. The first-time grant was awarded to only 21 pre-tenure faculty across the country. A portion of the grant allowed Rana to work on research in algebraic geometry related to moduli spaces, collaborating with math scholars in Europe, Chile, and elsewhere in the United States. It also allowed her to hire multiple students for summer research work in an area of math known as graph theory.

Rana has played lead roles in developing math curriculum and support mechanisms aimed at making 麻豆影院鈥檚 mathematics, computer science, and data science programs more inclusive and accessible.

She earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mathematics from Marlboro College.

Andrew Sage

Sage joined the 麻豆影院 faculty in 2018. , he has brought innovative teaching and research to the Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science聽Department.

Sage has been a key part of that department鈥檚 growth, including the 2020 launch of a data science minor.

He has worked with colleagues to develop new courses in rapidly advancing areas such as data science, machine learning, and Bayesian statistics. He also has worked across disciplines to bolster data-driven courses and research in other departments.

Sage has a bachelor鈥檚 degree from the College of Wooster, master鈥檚 degrees from Iowa State and Miami University, and a Ph.D. from Iowa State.

The Bayreuth tuben is a little known and even lesser played instrument that Richard Wagner invented for his Ring Cycle and named after his Bayreuth Opera House in Germany, Ellsworth said. It鈥檚 such an odd instrument that one must approach it with both a sense of humor and a commitment to find the creativity within it.

鈥淚t is a hybrid instrument with a haunting but powerful sound, combining the worst technical attributes of the Waldhorn and the trombone,鈥� Ellsworth said. 鈥淚t is played by horn players as an auxiliary instrument. By queering Wagner, we celebrate and give voice to unconventional instruments and non-traditional ensembles.鈥�

Through the music, Ellsworth said, the tuben players aim to affect positive social change and create broader representation for the historically under-represented.

The album features primarily works from LGBTQ composers, including adapted works by Eve Beglarian, John Cage, Moondog, Arvo P盲rt, and Alex Temple.

鈥淭he actual way this group came to be was me coming to 麻豆影院 and seeing young people transitioning or coming out as queer, and feeling like this was an opportunity for me to use my privilege and power as a faculty member to include and support this community on campus,鈥� said Ellsworth, a professor in the Conservatory since 2018. 鈥淚 am in a heterosexual marriage and cis-gendered. But I was married before, divorced, with a woman for two and a half years and then married again to a man. I was the same person in all these relationships and yet treated differently by society. I noticed. And while I was never marginalized in any real way, I felt the burden and cost of living a life that was true to myself but outside the norm. And that is not OK.鈥�

From there, Ellsworth said, she began putting together the making of the LGBTuben Quintet, reaching out to 鈥渃olleagues and students who are on the front lines, openly living with the stress of public opinion and political actions against their health and safety.鈥�

The ensemble felt right, even when the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted recording and performance plans. The group provided some shelter when classes went remote and other plans were thrown into disarray, Ellsworth said.

鈥淭hey are so articulate, brave, aware, open, and generous,鈥� she said of the collection of musicians who have moved in and out of the ensemble. 鈥淚 have never felt so included and safe in a chamber music group or had so much fun.鈥�

Performers on the album, besides Ellsworth, include John Gattis, known for his work with Wavefield Ensemble,听Kyra Sims, a comedian horn player from New York,听Leander Star, a horn player with the new music wind quintet The City of Tomorrow, and聽Lydia Van Dreel, noted soloist and member of Quadre Horn Quartet. 麻豆影院 alums Julian Cohen 鈥�18 and Mariel Lopez 鈥�21, part of the ensemble in its earliest days, have remained connected.

Having met in person as an ensemble only once before the pandemic began, they were able to record the album remotely thanks to the skills of oboist and sound engineer Stuart Breczinski. Their recording efforts took place individually, laying one track at a time, before Breczinski did his work in the studio.

鈥淭racking and working together on this project was one of the things that brought us together as a group and provided a sense of purpose as performers during the early days of the pandemic,鈥� Ellsworth said.

The ensemble wanted to showcase the technical and sonic range of the tuben horn while providing a platform for queer composers, Ellsworth said. The ensemble recommends listening to the album from start to finish to get a sense of the musical journey.聽

An album release party was held in New York City, with 麻豆影院 dance professor Margaret Paek joining the ensemble for a performance.

The group has been using its music to support causes its members are passionate about, including Harbor House, an Appleton shelter for victims of domestic violence, regional chapters of LGBTQ, and climate change advocacy. They鈥檝e tried to infuse humor along the way, including holding a 鈥渂ad art鈥� auction as part of a fundraiser for Harbor House.

The group will be coming to 麻豆影院 in January for performances and masterclasses.

鈥淲e welcome everyone from music curious, instrument curious, queer curious, performance curious, you name it,鈥� Ellsworth said of the quintet鈥檚 targeted audience.

She said from the outset she saw the LGBTuben Quintet as non-hierarchal, an opportunity to bring creative performers together for something both collaborative and unpredictable. Three years later, that still holds true.

鈥淚 hope people can relate to our group and musicking at many different levels and at whatever level is interesting or comfortable for them,鈥� Ellsworth said. 鈥淎t a personal level, I hope people can feel a sense of belonging, of well-being, community, compassion, and also a sense of humor that can meet us at the hard edges of these difficult times and help soften our stresses and help us reset.鈥�

Learn more about the quintet at .

Ed Berthiaume, director of public information at 麻豆影院, contributed to this story.