Distinguished Faculty, Alumni, and Friends of Music

Nadya Dubikovsky

DISTINGUISHED Lecturer

Music Education

Nadya Dubikovsky earned her bachelor's degree from the Tchaikovsky College of Music and her advanced degree in music from the Chelyabinsk State Academy of Culture and Arts (both schools are located in Chelyabinsk, Russia). Her areas of specialty were advanced music theory and history, piano pedagogy, music education, and choral conducting.

Since 1998, Mrs. Dubikovsky is a continuing lecturer at the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art, and Performance at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. She had been serving as an adult and children's choir director at Faith Presbyterian Church in West Lafayette, Indiana from 2002 till 2016. Mrs. Dubikovsky teaches piano at her private studio in West Lafayette, Indiana. Her piano students consistently participate and win local, state, national, and international competitions, as well as performing in various prestigious venues, including the Carnegie Hall and the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, both in New York City, New York. In order to showcase the talent of young pianists locally and to serve the community, she organizes piano students’ recitals at assisted living facilities in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Nadya Dubikovsky is an active member of Music Teachers National Association and contributes to the enrichment of piano teachers by presenting workshops and master classes. Since 2002, she also serves as the conductor for biannual Monster Concert events held by Tippecanoe Music Teachers Association that bring together up to 30 piano teachers and 250 piano students.

Greg Durthaler

Distinguished Friend

Born into the music business, Greg Durthaler is a third-generation music store owner. Working alongside his father and grandfather in the family business prepared him to lead his own company one day. Today, he is co-owner of Piano Solutions, Inc., a 20-year-old business in Carmel, Indiana.

Having started playing organ and piano at a young age, Greg is an avid supporter of music education and youth programs. He serves as Executive Director of the Young Hoosier State Piano Competition. This three-month, state-wide program encourages all levels of piano performance for participants ages five to 22 and has grown steadily since its inception in 2000. Additionally, Greg launched the Piano Exhibition of the Carmel Arts Council Young Performers Showcase, which is annually hosted at Piano Solutions.

Greg welcomes opportunities to creatively support music initiatives to promote the fine arts in homes, schools and local communities. He was honored to have his company selected to conserve composer Johnny Mercer’s piano for the Great American Songbook Foundation. He is a regular contributor to the Indiana Music Educators Association, Indiana Music Teachers Association, Indiana State School Music Association, Music for All, and many Purdue University music programs and events.

Always seeking to foster music appreciation, Greg supports state-wide orchestras in Lafayette, Columbus, Anderson and Indianapolis, as well as the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and Purdue University music organizations.

Greg, his wife, Michele, and their two children reside in Fishers, Indiana.

Martha Chrisman Riley

Professor Emeritus

Music Education

Martha Chrisman Riley was Coordinator of Music Education at Purdue from 1986 until her retirement in 2015. She served as Music Division Chair from 2006 to 2011. Prior to her appointment at Purdue, she was Chair of the Music Department at Gonzaga University. Martha received her B.A. from St. Olaf College and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota. Originally from Berea, Kentucky, she grew up with a rich heritage of folk music and dance, which impacted her work. She is the author of several publications for educators, including Backwoods Heritage: Traditional Songs, Dances, Fiddle Tunes, and More, English Country Dances for Children, Singing Indiana History: A Musical Resource Guide for Teachers, and Share Indiana Music. Throughout her career, Martha presented numerous workshops and conference sessions for music educators in the United States, Canada, and Australia. In retirement, she continues to teach and call folk dances and to direct a children’s choir.

Don Seybold

Distinguished Lecturer

Jazz History

Don Seybold [2/01/40] grew up in Cleveland, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh when they were rusting. For him they were fecund spots of ethnic, linguistic, culinary, musical, and urban richness. A part-time professional musical career [57-65], helped him realize the limits of his talent and he decided to pursue degrees in English at Marietta College, then Indiana University. He came to Purdue in 1971. Music remained central to his work as a writer and teacher, running a jazz club, creating a Jazz Series [1980], cofounding the Jazz Festival [1990], hosting a jazz radio show, or performing his poetry with Danny Weiss. When teaching American literature & history, creative writing, booking/producing jazz concerts, performing or broadcasting music, jazz and teaching were at the core of every endeavor. Invited by Gary Sudano to teach Jazz History [99], the life-long improvised riffs coalesced--his passions, experiences, and education became a fully realized chart. “Jazz needs an audience, teachers need students. My students were my audience, my best performances because of them. There is no colleague, teacher or person I admired more than Gary; to be here with him is a great honor.”

Gary Sudano

Professor Emeritus

Music History

Gary Sudano was born on February 1, 1942 in Dowell, Illinois, the son of Charles and Arcel Sudano. He graduated from La Salle-Peru High School in La Salle, Illinois in 1960; then earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Illinois State University. He taught high school instrumental and vocal music in Flora, Illinois, for two years. He began his college teaching career at Illinois State University in 1970 where he also held various administrative positions in the College of Fine Arts. He earned his music doctorate in 1973 at the University of Illinois. In 1982, he became Professor of Music and Head of the Department of Creative Arts at Purdue University. During Professor Sudano’s tenure at Purdue, the Dance Division, originally attached to Physical Education, Health, and Recreation Studies, became part of the Department of Creative Arts. He changed the title of the unit to the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and restructured policies and procedures to make each of the four units - Art and Design, Theatre, Dance, and Music - more autonomous and self-sufficient, and began efforts to bring them together in a single building. Professor Sudano taught a wide range of courses that included Music Theory, Music History, Music Appreciation, and special topics courses such as Beethoven, Mozart, Bruckner, and Brahms. He was a devoted mentor to young faculty, working tirelessly to assist and guide them in their academic and creative pursuits. He was a moral and ethical human being, an exemplary and award-winning teacher, and a dynamic leader who unified, strengthened, and redefined the department in the eyes of the university.