enhancing individuals, families
& communities through the arts
& communities through the arts
Meet the Clinicians
Our 2024 Clinicians
Click & Hover over the images for more details on each clinician.
Dr. Greg Wheeler
Dr. Wheeler is from Logan, Utah and upon receiving his teaching credentials taught in Rexburg, Idaho at Madison High School in his first teaching position. Thereafter, he and his family moved back to Cache Valley and has taught there for the past 30 years. He received his bachelors and masters degrees from Utah State University and completed his Ph. D. in Music Education at the University of Utah. He also studied saxophone and oboe extensively at the University of North Texas. His Ph. D. focused on conducting, oboe performance, and music education. While at the University of Utah, he conducted the Symphonic Band and taught courses in music education. His dissertation was based on a comparison study of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic teaching structures in the music classroom. These structures were also compared to the individual personalities of the teachers and students involved in the study. He has been listed in Who’s Who Among American Teachers and has been recognized as teacher of the year three times in the Cache School District and was recognized Jr. High Teacher of the Year by Utah Music Educator’s Association. He has been recognized by MENC with the status of Nationally Registered Music Educator. Dr. Wheeler performs regularly as a freelance woodwind performer on all woodwind instruments. He adjudicates and works with school clinics on a regular basis throughout Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. He has performed with the Crestmark Productions Big Band, Larry Smith Kicks Band, Kurt Bestor, Shirly Jones, Joe Diffy, Maureen McGovern, KSL Tailgate Band, Marie Osmond, Utah Festival Opera, Utah Musical Theater, Sun Valley Carolers, James Groutage, Jay Richards, Jazz Pudding, and most recently Way Way East Bay. He has served as Vice President of Jazz on the Utah Music Educator’s Association Board. He continues his research and presents regularly on teaching methods and the young student. Dr. Wheeler has a wonderful wife, Julie, and four children of whom he is extremely proud.
Cahill Smith
Pianist Cahill Smith has performed in major venues in the United States and abroad, including four programs at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Calderwood Hall in Boston, Cleveland Museum of Art, the Royal Dublin Society’s Concert Hall, Buffalo’s Kleinhan’s Music Hall, and Birmingham’s Alys Stephens Center. In Asia, Cahill has performed in eleven cities in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guanzhou, Chongqing, Zhuhai, Wuhan, Donying, Qingdao, Xiamen, Hohhot, and Lanzhou), three cities in Taiwan (Taipei, Taichung, Taitung), Kiev, Ukraine, as well as London and Dublin. He has been featured as a concerto soloist with the National Ukranian Symphony Orchestra in Kiev, the Mongolian Symphony Orchestra in Hohhot, China, the Eastman Philharmonia, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Chattanooga Symphony, the Butler Symphony Orchestra, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, and others. His live and studio recordings have been broadcast on WQXR, New York’s Classical Music Radio Station, WCRB, Classical Radio Boston, and WSMC, Chattanooga Public Radio.Cahill gave his first recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2013 with a program dedicated entirely to works of Nikolai Medtner. Cahill has given recitals and lectures on Medtner’s music at Yale University, the International Medtner Festival in London, and others. In January of 2019, his debut album “Medtner: Forgotten Melodies” was featured as Classical Radio Boston’s “CD of the Week” for its “irresistible lyricism” and “a palpable sense of love – a real affinity for the directness and honesty in Medtner’s music, which goes straight to the heart.” Cahill regularly presents public masterclasses, conference presentations, and served as an adjudicator for competitions. He serves as Director of Graduate Studies in Music at USU, Artistic Director of the Wassermann Piano Series, and Programming Chair of the Chamber Music Society of Logan. Cahill serves as faculty advisor for USU’s nationally-recognized Youth Conservatory (YC). He also serves as an advisor for the MTNA Collegiate Chapter at USU, which won the “National Collegiate Chapter of the Year” from MTNA in 2022.Cahill completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Eastman School of Music, where he served as the teaching assistant to Natalya Antonova. At Eastman, Cahill was the inaugural recipient of the Douglas Lowry award for excellence in degree recital performance, won the Eastman Concerto Competition, received honors in chamber music, and was awarded the Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Cahill completed his Master’s degree at the University of Michigan with Arthur Greene, and his Bachelor’s at the University of Alabama at Birmingham with Yakov Kasman. Cahill previously served as Keyboard Area Coordinator and Artistic Director of the International Piano Festival and Competition at Lee University. He joined the faculty of Utah State University in 2019, where he has received awards for “Teacher of the Year” (2023) “Undergraduate Mentor of the Year” (2022) and “Graduate Mentor of the Year” (2022). At USU, Cahill teaches piano performance, pedagogy, keyboard skills, and special topics. CLICK THE IMAGE TO SEE CAHILL SMITH ON YOUTUBE
Rebecca Goeckeritz
Rebecca Goeckeritz vividly remembers the magical experience of getting her first violin. Becca believes, just as Harry Potter's wand chose him, the violin chose her. Becca’s mother wanted all of her children to play a musical instrument, specifically the piano. When Becca was 15 months old she was paralyzed from the waist down due to an auto pedestrian accident. Though her wheelchair prevented her from learning to play the piano, Becca’s mother was undeterred from her desire for daughter to have an instrument she could not only play, but play well. Becca’s mother observed that violinists in symphony orchestras sit while they play and she decided to have Becca learn to play the violin. At the age of 6, Becca’s journey as a violinist began. In her early teens, Becca took advantage of opportunities to perform with chamber ensembles and youth symphony orchestras throughout the Salt Lake Valley. She loved performing and at the age of 16 knew that she wanted to be a professional musician. As Becca considered the opportunities before her, she reflected on the lasting impression her teachers had on her. Becca became excited at the idea that all that had been taught to her, she could pass on to others. Teaching became her calling. Becca graduated with her bachelors degree in Violin Performance from Weber State University. She has worked at becoming a certified and registered Suzuki Violin Teacher and has been teaching for over 25 years. She recently accepted a position as a private Suzuki Teacher at The Gifted Music School and maintains a private studio near her home as well. Becca remains active in her own study, both with her instrument and through continued teacher training. Becca’s day is made when she sees the progress her students make because of their practice and diligence. Becca is an active musician and plays with orchestras from Ogden to Salt Lake City, including Chamber Orchestra Ogden, Bountiful Philharmonia and The Orchestra at Temple Square which is the companion orchestra to the Tabernacle Choir.
Paul Searcey
Paul W. Searcey taught middle-level choir and show choir for 32 years in Casper, WY until he retired in 2012. Then he spent the next eight years as Technical Director at Highland Park Community Church in Casper where he made audio/visual equipment behave instead of teenagers. Not much difference. Now he is on his second retirement trying to make this one stick.Paul graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University with a Bachelors of Music Education. He earned a Masters in Educational Technology in 1992 from Lesley College, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Besides middle-level choir he has taught elementary general music and Sound Reinforcement and Recording Studio at Casper College.Paul is also an arranger/composer of music for middle-level voices, hand bells, and modern church choirs. He loves being an adjudicator and clinician around the state for middle-level and high school choirs. He keeps his day job flexible in order to go and do music with kids.Paul kept seeing a cute redhead at the local music store; they’ve been married since 1989 and have one son who is in his sixth year of teaching junior high choir in Gillette. Nancy (the redhead) is the office manager at Kelly Walsh High School. Baker, the beagle, keeps both of them in line.