MMED Faculty

Sandra Doneski
Graduate Music Program Director; Dean of Faculty

Sandra has been a teacher of music to students in Kindergarten through graduate school. She is the Dean of Faculty, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Graduate and Undergraduate Music Education at Gordon College. She teaches courses in music education methods, learning theory, assessment, curriculum development; supervises student teachers; and conducts the Gordon College Children’s Choir. She founded the Children’s Choir in 2000 to give children in the community an opportunity to grow as musicians, and music education majors an opportunity to develop as teachers and conductors. Sandra has also served on the faculty of the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, where she was Associate Conductor of the Children’s Choir Program. Under her guidance, NEC implemented choral programs for early elementary and middle school students that focused on vocal pedagogy and building musicianship. She has served as a conductor for MENC (NAfME) and ACDA sponsored events throughout the Northeast, and is co-founder of Embracing the New Music Educator – a mentoring program for new music educators in Massachusetts. She currently serves as co-chair of the Massachusetts Common Music Initiative Project.

In 2009, Dr. Doneski was the recipient of the Massachusetts Music Educators Association Lowell Mason Award and the Society for General Music in Massachusetts Excellence in General Music Award. In 2012, she was awarded the Massachusetts Music Educators Association Distinguished Service Award and in 2013 she received the Administrators in Music Education Visionary Leadership Award.

Dr. Doneski has published articles and conducted workshops on choral literature and techniques, curriculum development, assessment and mentoring. She recently co-authored a chapter in the MENC Handbook: Research on Teaching and Learning in Music Education titled Research on Elementary and Secondary School Singing.

She is a graduate of Gordon College and received her Master’s and Ph.D. in Music Education from The Hartt School, University of Hartford.

Gerald J. Dolan, Jr. is the recently retired Director of Fine Arts for the Ipswich Public Schools. He was Director of Bands conducting the high school Concert Band, Pep Band, and Jazz Ensemble and the sixth-grade band for 30 years. He has taught high school courses in Jazz Improvisation, Computer Music Composition, and Music Theory.

Mr. Dolan has studied conducting with Malcolm Rowell and Frank Battisti. He holds degrees from St. Michael’s College and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Currently the Music Director of the Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras (NMYO), Gerry is Conductor of the NMYO Intermezzo Orchestra. He teaches Instrumental Conducting at Gordon College in the Graduate Summer Degree Program. Mr. Dolan served as a conductor of the United States Youth Wind Ensemble during its 2001 summer tour. He has also served as Assistant Conductor of the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell Youth Wind Ensemble, and Music Director of the Ipswich Community Band and Jazz Ensemble.

Mr. Dolan received the 2003 Olmstead Award for excellence in secondary school teaching from Williams College and was honored by the Massachusetts Music Educators' Association (MMEA) with the 2002 Lowell Mason Award.

As a 1993 Fulbright Scholarship recipient, he served as Head of Music at the Speedwell School, in Bristol, England.

A member of the American Symphony Orchestra League, Fulbright Association, International Association of Jazz Educators, and Massachusetts Music Educators’ Association, he is active as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout New England and the United Kingdom. Mr. Dolan lives in Ipswich with his wife, Susan, and their two children.

Kirsten Helgeland holds degrees in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music and the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati. She also holds a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Helgeland has served as a member of the Gordon College Department of Music faculty, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in music history and theory, teaching piano, coaching instrumentalists and vocalists, and serving as accompanist for the Gordon College Children's Choir.

Since 2005, Dr. Helgeland has served as accompanist for the Newburyport Choral Society, and also as Music Director and Organist at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, in Beverly, MA. Dr. Helgeland has performed nationally in recitals in Ohio, Vermont, Massachusetts and Illinois and has appeared as a guest artist on WGBH Radio's Chamberworks. She has been invited to present for the American Musicological Society, the College Music Society, and the Society for American Music. Dr. Helgeland currently runs Studio K in Beverly MA, a music studio providing a range of services in music education, training, coaching and performance preparation.

Catherine Iatesta
Adjunct Professor

Katie Iatesta is a band director for grades 4–6 in the Needham Public Schools. She has worked with students in grades 4–12, teaching concert band, beginning band, marching band/pepband, cahorus, general music and private brass instruction. This school year, she will be focused on band for grade 4–6. Katie has a passion for helping new musicians begin their musical journey and developing new curricula to help engage students in the post-covid band room. Outside of school, she has had the opportunity to conduct some great ensembles and perform around the Boston area. Katie completed her undergraduate and master's degrees in music education at Gordon College and is currently working on a CAGs in Education Leadership at Fitchburg State University.

Katie has recently taken the reins of Embracing the New Music Educator, a mentor program for MA music teachers. The goal is to provide PD and mentorship to new (or new the area) teachers. 

Mary Ellen Junda
Adjunct Professor, Choral Lab Ensemble and Choral Condusting Instructor

Mary Ellen Junda, Professor of Music at the University of Connecticut, is a nationally recognized conductor, educator, scholar and recording artist. She is the recipient of a number of grants for her research with Dr. Robert Stephens on the music and culture of the Gullah people of the Sea Islands and is the co-director with Dr. Stephens for their Landmark Grant in History and Culture,Gullah Voices:  Traditions and Transformations, awarded $180,000 by the National Endowment for the Humanities. NEH also provided supplemental funding to document the proceedings from Gullah Voices to share with a global audience. In 2011, Dr. Junda was selected as a Summer Scholar for the National Endowment for the Humanities Institute on Global Music and Culture.

Dr. Junda is known for her exemplary work as a choral conductor. She was awarded a 2002 Howard Foundation Fellowship in Music Performance from Brown University, has conducted numerous festival choruses including the 2001 Organization of American Kodály Educators National Treble Choir and presented sessions throughout the country on American folk music, rehearsal techniques, musical literacy and creativity. Her Singing with Treblemakersrecordings have earned four Parents’ Choice Awards, including a coveted 2008 Parents’ Choice Classic Award, and are used throughout the country as a model of the artistry of childrens’ singing voices.  She authored the K-6 Vocal Development Sequence for the Silver Burdett Ginn ©2002 Making Music and recorded numerous songs for the series as conductor of Treblemakers. From 2004-2011, Dr. Junda was founding artistic director of The Main Street Singers, a community children’s choir in New Britain, Connecticut that performed at civic events and conferences throughout the state.

At the University of Connecticut, Dr. Junda is known for her innovative concerts as director of the UConn Women’s Choir.  She is the recipient of two Provost Grants to develop Earthtones, the new world music vocal ensemblethat performs the music of culturally diverse groups and Sing and Shout!  a unique general education course that integrates history with communal singing and song-writing. Teaching these courses reaffirms her belief in the power of singing to create community and as means to develop a deeper understanding of and appreciation for cultural diversity. In 2012 she was selected as a Service Learning Fellow, and will add service learning to her courses in the coming years. She has shared her innovative pedagogy at the College Music Society National Conference, National Association for Music Education Conference, International Cultural Diversity in Music Education Conference, the International Phenomenon of Singing Symposium and International Arts and Humanities Conference.

Dr. Junda earned a B.M. from The Hartt School, University of Hartford, M.M.Ed. from Holy Names University and an Ed.M. and Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Michael LaCava
Adjunct Professor

Michael LaCava has been an educator and administrator in Massachusetts since 1992. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Master of Education in Leadership & management from Fitchburg State University. He started his professional career in Gardner, MA where he served as the Director of Music and High School/Middle School Band Director. His Marching Band, Concert Band and Jazz Bands, consistently achieved Superior Ratings at State Festivals such as MICCA and MAJE. In 2005, Mr. LaCava moved to the Chelmsford public schools where he became the Fine and Performing Arts Coordinator overseeing all Art and Music Programs and faculty throughout the district.  After several years as coordinator in the district, Mr. LaCava moved into building administration and held the position of Principal of the Harrington Elementary School (Grades K - 4) in Chelmsford until 2017.

In addition to working in administration for several years, he continued to be active in the music field. His involvement as a member of MMEA (Massachusetts Music Educators Association) over the years has included being Central District Chairperson, Band Manager, All-State Concert Chairperson and he served as MMEA President from 2007-2009. Currently he is the Executive Director for MMEA, a position he has held for 5 years. in addition to MMEA, Mr. LaCava has been anactive member of the MICCA Executive Board, ARts/Learning as well as an active member of MAJE.

Currently Mr. LaCava is the K - 12 Director of Performing Arts in the Wellesley MA Public Schools. During the 2020-2021 School Year in Wellesley, Mr. LaCava held the position of Principal of the Remote Learning School and then served as the Interim Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning. He returned full time to the Performing Arts in 2021. In his role as Director of Performing Arts, he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the K - 12 Music, Drama and Dance programs including curriculum, evaluation and development.

 

Jessica Modaff
Assistant Professor of Music

Jessica Modaff, Assistant Professor of Music, is a collaborative pianist, music theorist, music director, and vocal/instrumental coach. Dr. Modaff has held professional collaborative pianist and coaching positions for numerous choirs and individual performers throughout the United States, England, France, Russia, Slovenia and Austria. She has been a collaborative pianist at contests and events for ACDA, NATS, IMEA, IHSA, MMEA and Stars at Symphony Hall, and has performed at Boston Symphony Hall, Avery Fischer Hall, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, United Nations Headquarters, and the U.S. Capitol Building. She is continually sought after for her versatility at the piano and offers this same multi-genre expertise in her coaching studio and in the classroom.

At Gordon College, Dr. Modaff has taught all levels of music theory, vocal diction, art song literature, twentieth century music history, applied piano, and chamber music. She previously served on the teaching faculties of the Children's Music Center (Jamaica Plain, MA) and the Wheaton Yamaha Music School (Wheaton, IL) where she received certification as a Yamaha Music Education instructor.

With a keen ear and extensive knowledge of music notation, Dr. Modaff also specializes in transcription and arranging. She teaches the entire undergraduate aural skills sequence at Gordon, and maintains a recreational YouTube channel where her theatre piano accompaniments are learned and performed by ear. These recordings have been used by professionals and amateurs across the globe. Jessica is an experienced and enthusiastic theatre musician. Gordon Music Director/conductor/pianist credits include: My Favorite Year, Titanic, She Loves Me, The Last Five Years, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Urinetown, and Godspell (sp ’24). Other theatre highlights: Into the Woods, West Side Story, Godspell (Warehouse Theatre Company), Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver, Hello Dolly, Scrooge, Grease, Oklahoma, Shrek, and The Addams Family. Her pianist/director experience also extends into her calling as a church musician. Prior to her current position as Director of Worship Arts at Anchor Bay Church on Boston’s north shore, she served the Highrock network of churches where she consulted as a coach, worship leader, pianist, and choral arranger.

Jessica holds both Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in collaborative piano from the Boston University College of Fine Arts, as well as a Bachelor of Music in piano performance from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music. Her primary teachers include Shiela Kibbe and Daniel Paul Horn. Dr. Modaff’s recent research has focused on the sociological contextualization of women’s issues in art song texts, as well as the impact of gender roles on 20th century American composers. As a performer, she specializes in playing duo and trio repertoire for both vocal and instrumental mediums. Dr. Modaff performs regularly in faculty recital settings at Gordon, collaborates with Theatre Arts and Chapel Office, and has acted as a music coach and pianist for hundreds of Gordon students and ensembles since joining the music faculty in 2008.

Kenneth Trapp
Adjunct Professor

Mr. Trapp teaches general music K-6 in Stratford, CT. He is also an adjunct Professor of Music Education at the Hartt School, University of Hartford, and at Gordon College in Wenham, MA. Ken has contributed chapters to two textbooks on the topic of developing aural skills;  Engaging Music Practices; A Sourcebook for Middle School General Music, The Development and Practical Application of Music Learning Theory, 2005. He is also a professional musician who performs in many ensembles both locally and nationally. Through years of study, Ken has used his knowledge of ensemble performance, harmonic awareness and improvisation to develop activities and materials for students of all ages to become successful playing the ukulele. He is committed to the challenge of bringing aural comprehension to young music learners.

Jon Welty Peachey
Dean of Academic Affairs, Professor of Sports Management & Leadership

Jon joined the Gordon administration and faculty in 2022 and serves as Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Sport Management and Leadership. He teaches courses in the sport management concentration. Before coming to Gordon, Jon was on the sport management faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign at Texas A&M University.

Jon's research examines how sport for development programs should be best designed, managed, and led to achieve positive individual- and community-based outcomes. He is a Research Fellow with the North American Society for Sport Management, serves as Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, as Associate Editor for the Journal of Sport Management, and is on the Editorial Boards of several other leading academic journals. Jon is a frequent invited keynote speaker and consultant internationally on leadership and sport for development. He has published more than 100 scholarly articles and book chapters, is the author of Managing and Leveraging Events published by Routledge, has edited a number of key handbooks, and has given over 150 presentations at academic conferences around the world. Prior to his work in academia, Jon served as a senior administrator in the international sport for development field for over a decade.