Camp Director

Award-winning conductor and music educator, Dr. Kira Omelchenko serves as the Director of Orchestras and Associate Professor of Music at James Madison University (JMU). In this role, she provides artistic and administrative leadership for the university’s orchestra program, conducts the Symphony Orchestra, oversees the Chamber Orchestra and Opera Orchestra and mentors their conductors. Dr. Omelchenko also leads the graduate orchestral conducting curriculum where she teaches a studio of graduate conducting students. In addition, she serves as the Artistic Director of the annual JMU Summer String Camp.

Prior to joining JMU, Dr. Omelchenko served as Associate Dean of Performance and Recruitment, Associate Professor of Music, and the Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra at Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of Music (Ontario, Canada). From 2014-2019 Dr. Omelchenko was the Director of the Orchestra and String Studies at Florida Southern College and served as the Director of Orchestra and Strings at The University of Tampa from 2012-2024. A passionate educator, Dr. Omelchenko was nominated for a Grammy Music Educator Award, the Laurier Innovation in Teaching Award, and was the recipient of the prestigious 2018 FSC Miller Distinguished Professor Award.

Dr. Omelchenko received a prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award in 2023-24 where she lived in New Zealand for five months conducting, teaching, and mentoring students, collaborated with local composers, and conducted research in the National Library of New Zealand. During her Fulbright, she was also a visiting scholar and artist-in-residence at The New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī, at Victoria University, in Wellington, New Zealand. 

Most recently Dr. Omelchenko was a guest conductor and teacher at the 2026 and 2025 Sofia Arts and New Music Festival (Bulgaria) with the Sofia Philharmonic and has been invited to permanently join its conducting staff. Recent engagements include concerts with National Symphony Orchestra (Peru) at the Musicantes Festival, guest conducting the 2026 American Viola Society National Festival, and conducting numerous All County Festivals and Honor Orchestras in Virginia, Maryland, and New York. Her previous conducting engagements also include Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Opera Academy, Oregon and Florida All-State Orchestras, Orlando All-County Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Waterloo Chamber Players, Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra, leading the 2025 ASTA National Conference Director’s Orchestra, and conducting residencies in Thailand, South Korea, China, Australia, and New Zealand. Upcoming invitations include conducting the 2026-27 All-State Orchestras in Texas, California, and Kansas. 

Winner of the International Conductors Workshop and Competition, Dr. Omelchenko is currently a finalists for the 2026 National American Prize in Music, for the Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming, which recognizes and rewards the best achievement in the unique field of orchestral programming, where the selection of repertoire by knowledgeable, creative and courageous music directors builds orchestras and audiences, educates young people and adults, and enriches the community.  She was also the 2022 recipient of the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music, a finalist in the 2022 Virtual concert production category, and is a past prize winner in Opera Conducting category.  

As the 2017 winner of the International Institute for Conductors in Bulgaria, Dr. Omelchenko conducted the Vidin State Philharmonic Orchestra in a Concerto Festival and was invited back to guest conduct in their following season. In the summers of 2019 and 2018, Dr. Omelchenko served as artist in residence and guest conductor at the University of Aveiro (Portugal) where she mentored graduate conducting students and conducted the University Orchestra. During her residency in Portugal, she was also invited as a guest lecturer and conducting mentor at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla y León in Salamanca, Spain. In addition, she served as the string director at the International Opera Performing Experience Festival in Mercatello sul Metauro (Italy) in July 2019.

Additional guest conducting appearances include conducting the 2021 Florida All-State Honors Orchestra, the Gwinnett Symphony Chamber Symphony (Georgia), the Imperial Symphony Orchestra (Florida), the Seasons Music Festival Orchestra in Yakima, Washington, and the Bulgarian State Opera in Burgas. In 2015 Dr. Omelchenko was selected to participate in a conducting festival in St. Petersburg, Russia where she conducted the orchestra in the historic Mariinsky Theatre. She has held international conducting fellowships and has studied in Vienna, Rotterdam and Amsterdam conservatories in the Netherlands and Bulgaria. She has also participated in conducting workshops with Gustav Meier, Ulrich Nicolai, Toby Purser, Alessandro Pagliazzi, and Harold Farberman.

A passionate global educator, Dr. Omelchenko has led students in a variety of study and performance abroad opportunities, including travels to Italy, Russia, Bulgaria, and Portugal. She has worked with middle school and high school students in Summer Orchestra Music Camps at the University of Iowa, The University of Tampa, and Florida Southern College where she served as the director from 2014-2019. As a highly sought-after clinician she has adjudicated for Florida Orchestra Association, Music USA Festival at Universal Studios in Orlando, Brightparks Travel Festivals, and OrlandoFest, and has conducted various All-County Orchestra Festivals.

As a collaborative leader in community engagement, she has served on Faculty Senate and the Board of Directors for the Imperial Symphony Orchestra and the St. Augustine Youth Orchestra. As an advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, Dr. Omelchenko serves on the orchestra panel for And We Were Heard (AWWH), an organization that brings quality recordings of works by underrepresented composers, and is a mentor for Girls Who Conduct, a program that encourages the upcoming generation of women, women-identifying, and non-binary conductors.

Recognized for her research and contribution to her field, Dr. Omelchenko has been awarded numerous research grants including the JMU CVPA College of Visual and Performing Arts Cultural Connection Grant, JMU CVPA Faculty Professional Development Grant, Laurier Student Life Levy, Laurier Research Grant, Ontario Arts Grants, American String Teachers Association Grants, Sigma Alpha Iota Professional Development Grants, FSC Faculty Summer Stipend and Professional Grants, FSC Faculty and Student Collaboration Grant, as well as the University of Tampa Alumni, Dana, and the David Delo Research Professor Grants.

As a recipient of the Sigma Alpha Iota Conducting Scholarship, Dr. Omelchenko has presented research at international, national, and state conferences including the International Conference on Arts & Humanities (IAFOR), The National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), American String Teachers Association (ASTA), College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA), Florida Music Education Association (FMEA), Virginia Music Education Association (VMEA), and the Viriginia American String Teachers Association (VASTA).

Dr. Omelchenko’s research on health and music has been published in Health Education Journal (SAGE publications, UK) and her research on New Zealand symphonic composers have been published in the International Conductors Guild Journal and the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) Journal.  Her development and innovation of ensemble curriculum have been published in College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) Journal, Music Educators Journal (MEJ), Advances in Online Education Journal (AOE), and The International Academic Forum (IAFOR International Arts & Humanities, 2022). She has been a contributing author for Wenger Music Corporation and Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI) Panpipes magazine. 

A native of Kansas, Dr. Omelchenko holds a bachelor’s degree in degree in music and theatre with a dance concentration from Knox College, a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the University of New Mexico, and a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Iowa, where she studied with William LaRue Jones.

Dr. Christopher M. Cicconi is Director of Bands and Professor of Wind Conducting at James Madison University. Conductor of James Madison University School of Music’s premiere concert band, the Wind Symphony, he also teaches courses in undergraduate as well as graduate conducting, wind ensemble literature, advises Masters and Doctoral Conducting students, and provides visionary leadership for as well as oversees the School of Music’s comprehensive band program. Coupled with his duties at James Madison, Dr. Cicconi serves as the Principal Conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Music Director of the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra, and a Conductor of the New England Music Camp Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Band.

As a strong advocate for music education and community outreach, Dr. Cicconi is in demand throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and is a sought-after guest conductor, clinician, and professional developer. He has appeared as a band and orchestra clinician in well over 200 public and private institutions and has been awarded, by the Maryland Music Educators Association, both the Outstanding Music Educator and the Corwin Taylor Music Education Leadership Awards and is a past president of the Maryland Band Directors Association. As a guest conductor, Cicconi has appeared with All-State, All-Region, and All-County Bands and Orchestras in numerous states around the country including California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wyoming, as well as the countries of Argentina and China. Finally, Dr. Cicconi frequently serves as a guest conductor for the internationally acclaimed Sewanee Music Festival as well as the United States Naval Academy and has presented clinic sessions at the field’s most prestigious conferences, including the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic and the National Association for Music Education Conference.

As an active scholar, Cicconi’s agenda includes wind and orchestral repertoire and other current music education topics such as score study, conducting, and arranging. His most recent publications, ‘The Band Music Handbook, A Catalog of Emerging Band Repertoire,’ and contributions to “Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra” have proved to be valuable resources for instrumental ensemble directors worldwide. As an arranger, Cicconi premiered his transcriptions of Jonathan Leshnoff’s ‘Rush’ and David Maslanka’s ‘Symphony No. 8’ with the Towson University Symphonic Band and Symphony Orchestra respectively, which have been subsequently published by Theodore Presser and Carl Fischer. Since then, they have both received numerous performances nationwide in university and conference settings, including a performance at the college Band Directors National Association Southwest Regional Conference.

Before arriving at James Madison University, Dr. Cicconi served as Director of Bands and Orchestras and Associate Professor of Music Education at Towson University (2015 - 2024). Previous appointments also include Young Victorian Theatre Company (Music Director, 2016 - 2020), Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra (Music Director, 2016 - 2023), Pine Crest School (High School Band Director, 2012 - 2015), Broward Symphony Orchestra (Associate Conductor, 2009 - 2015), Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra (2009 - 20015), Walenstein Youth Symphony (Music Director, 2009 - 2012), and Power Ranch Elementary and Middle School (Middle School Band Director, 2002 - 2009). 

Prior to his arrival in Maryland, Dr. Cicconi earned a Doctoral of Musical Arts Degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Miami, where he was awarded a Henry Mancini Fellowship and was a student of Mr. Gary D. Green. He completed a Master of Music Education Degree, with an emphasis in Instrumental Conducting from Arizona State University and earned a Bachelor of Music Education Degree (summa cum laude) from Youngstown State University. He is a member of College Band Directors National Association, Florida Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, Pi Kappa Lambda, and an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Beta Mu, Phi Mu Alpha, Tau Beta Sigma.

Winner of the 2019 International Conductors Workshop & Competition, Dr. David Tedford currently holds the position of Conductor of the Bloomsburg University Community Orchestra. In addition, he is an Assistant Professor of Music at Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.

As conductor of the Bloomsburg University Community Orchestra, Tedford directs the orchestra in their four-concert season, which includes a Young Person's Concert. The Young Person's Concerts reach around 1,200 students annually and have focused on educating young students on specific elements of music using a variety of styles including classical music, pop music, and movie music, as well as deepening their understanding for the orchestral art form.

He enjoys exploring the newest trends in music, believing that the key to future generations of concert-goers is to perform music of contemporary society. His research interests include programming of contemporary music in the collegiate setting and is a proponent of promoting compositions by living composers. Dedicated to serving arts communities beyond the podium, Tedford is co-founder and contributor to The Adore Project, which is a resource for promoting composers of underrepresented demographics. He is also involved with the Orchestra division of And We Were Heard, another organization helping to promote orchestra music written by underrepresented demographics. Additionally, Tedford serves on the board of directors of the Harmony Arts Foundation in Bloomsburg, PA, a non-profit organization that is oriented towards the advancement of music education through lessons for all ages.

An avid educator, he has been a guest conductor for numerous high school orchestra festivals and workshops throughout the east coast and Midwest. He has also initiated multiple performing outlets for students at Bloomsburg University, including a Concerto Competition and a chamber music course. He also coordinates multiple educational outreach initiatives, such as Stringposium, an educational outreach for area string players, and multiple pre-audition workshops for local high school musicians.

Tedford holds degrees from Grove City College, Ohio Universty, and the University of Iowa. He has worked with conductors such as Steven Huang, William LaRue Jones, Kenneth Kiesler, Stuart Malina, Dwight Oltman, Robert Page, and Markand Thakar.

Katie O'Hara LaBrie (b. 1982) is a conductor, composer, cellist, and clinician from Northern Virginia. As educator at heart, Mrs. LaBrie spent the first 15 years of her career teaching orchestra in Fairfax County, Virginia. In her capacity as orchestra director, she enjoyed creating a variety of fulfilling experiences for her students, from Fiddle Days to Rock Shows, Summer Camps to Trips around the East Coast, performances at the Virginia Music Educators Conference and a collaboration with the Detmold Jugendorchester of Detmold, Germany. In 2022, she was honored as one of Yamaha's "40 Under 40," for her action, courage, creatity, and commitment to growth in the music education field.

Mrs. LaBrie holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from St. Olaf College and a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from George Mason University. Her primary conducting teachers include Anthony Maiello, Steven Amundson & Timothy Mahr, as well as David Carter on cello.

In addition to her love of teaching, Mrs. LaBrie is a published composer and arranger, and is the Orchestra Division Editor for Randall Standridge Music Publications. As a composer, Mrs. LaBrie enjoys creating new music with the goal of being educationally sound, pleasing to audiences, and above all, fun for the players. She finds inspiration from many sources, including family and nature, but primarily draws from her students and her own experiences as a music educator. Her compositions for strings orchestra and concert band have received many accolades, including frequent selection as J.W. Pepper Editor's Choice, as well as performances at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Directors Clinic and at American String Teachers Association National Conferences.

Mrs. LaBrie is a member of NAfME, ASTA, and ASCAP. She is an active guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician. She has presented clinics on, "Practicing with Purpose," "How to Win Rehearsals and Influence Students," "Intonation: Life Beyond D Major," and many new music reading sessions at national and state conferences.

Mrs. LaBrie is the co-author of "Getting in Gear: Fundamental Warm-ups for String Orchestra" (along with Anne Marie Patterson & Deborah Baker Monday) and a co-creator of "the Big IDEA" practice method. She lives in Fairfax, VA, with her husband Joe, who is a middle school band director, and their budding musician, Liam. For more information, visit www.katieoharalabrie.com, www.getting-in-gear.com, and www.randallstandridge.com.

Taiwanese conductor and educator Dr. Chun-Ming Chen joined the University of South Dakota Music Department faculty as Director of Orchestral Activities in Fall 2024. Chen's conducting experience spans the professional and academic worlds. Outside the University, Dr. Chen has served as cover conductor of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra since Spring 2025. Over his career, he has worked with ensembles ranging from high school and college ensembles to youth and professional orchestras. He has performed with musicians such as the Grammy-winning vocal ensemble New York Voices, pianists André Watts and Ching-Yun Hu, and violinist Rachel Barton Pine. Musicians have credited Chen's rehearsals as highly efficient, and audiences have described his performances as extremely passionate.

Previously, Dr. Chen served as Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Evansville Music Conservatory, Conductor of the Evansville Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Music Director of the Heartland Symphony Orchestra in Little Falls, MN, and Interim Conductor of the Grinnell College Symphony Orchestra in Grinnell, IA, and the Coe College Symphony Orchestra in Cedar Rapids, IA. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the Hsinchu Philharmonic Orchestra, Miaoli Wind Ensemble in Taiwan, Indiana ASTA All-Region Honor Orchestra, Northwest Iowa Honor Orchestra, and the South Dakota J. Laiten Weed Honors Orchestra.

Dr. Chen received his bachelor's degree in saxophone performance from Tunghai University, master's degrees in orchestral conducting from Boston Conservatory and Ithaca College, and a doctorate in orchestral conducting from the University of Iowa. His primary teachers include Dr. Annie Chung, Bruce Hangen, Dr. Jeffery Meyer, and Dr. William LaRue Jones.

Dr. Christopher H. Fashun is a versatile conductor, performer, and music educator. Known for his ability to conduct and perform across classical, popular, and folkloric styles, he has worked with Andrea Bocelli, Pia Toscano, Trisha Yearwood, CeCe Winans, Michael W. Smith, Broadway star Doug LaBrecque, beatboxing saxophonist Derek Brown, tap dancer Heather Cornell, Brazilian group Choro das 3, and recorded with jazz artists Jordan VanHemert, Rodney Whitaker, and Lisa Sung on Navona Records. A champion of new music, Dr. Fashun has commissioned works from composers Texu Kim, Evan Williams, Andrew Maxfield, Choro das 3, Micheal Udow, Egemen Kesikli, and Christopher Theofanidis. Other notable conducting engagements include the Holland Symphony Orchestra, the Elkhart Symphony Orchestra, the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Ambrose University Community Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Fashun has conducted the Oregon and Iowa All-State Orchestras, Midwest Mennonite Festival Orchestra and Concert Band, and several All-County Orchestras. He has also served as the Music Director/Conductor for the Elkhart Youth Honors Orchestra and the Holland Area Youth Orchestra.

A distinguished recipient of a 2019 Fulbright Award in the U.S. Scholar Program, Dr. Fashun lived in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil researching Afro-Brazilian music and culture. His project title, “The Dissemination of Afro-Brazilian Music in Salvador da Bahia” explored the cultural, racial, religious, and musical milieu that contribute to the shared musical identity of Afro-Brazilians and, by extension, all of Brazil. His research brings more awareness to the various ways music is taught and disseminated within Brazilian culture. As an application of this research, Dr. Fashun founded the Holland Samba School, an intergenerational community group that teaches the culture and drumming styles of Brazil.

Central to his mission as an award winning guest conductor, clinician, and performer, Dr. Fashun seeks to create community through the joy of music. Dr. Fashun has presented sessions at the national NAfME and state music education conferences throughout the Midwest, teaching K-8 music educators how to integrate Brazilian songs, rhythms, and dance into the general music classroom.

An accomplished percussionist and violist, he brings more than two decades of orchestral, chamber and world music experience and has enjoyed success in both areas as a soloist by winning three concerto competitions, one on viola and two on marimba. As a percussionist, he has toured and performed in Brazil, Thailand, Northern Ireland, Mexico, and throughout the United States.

Dr. Fashun holds a Bachelors of Music Education from Saint Olaf College, Masters of Music degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Iowa. His conducting teachers include Steven Amundson, Timothy Mahr, David E. Becker and William LaRue Jones. He has also studied viola with Andrea Een and Christine Rutledge and percussion with Anthony DiSanza.

When he’s not making music, he is either cycling, paddle boarding, and enjoying the great outdoors with his wife and daughter.

https://www.belmont.edu/profiles/christopher-fashun/

Dr. Colleen Ferguson

Associate Professor of Strings and Orchestra
Artistic Director and Conductor, Kingsville Symphony Orchestra

Dr. Colleen Ferguson is an active teacher, performer, and conductor who brings a wealth of experience to her role at Texas A&M University–Kingsville. She regularly presents educational sessions at national and international conferences and offers masterclasses and workshops at institutions across the United States.

At Texas A&M University–Kingsville, Dr. Ferguson maintains a dynamic applied studio of string students and serves as Associate Professor of Strings and Orchestra. She is also the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Kingsville Symphony Orchestra, programming six diverse concert programs each season.

As leader of the Herbert St. Trio, Dr. Ferguson has performed chamber and solo recitals at distinguished venues including St. Stephen’s Church in Dublin, Ireland (2016), Imperial College in London, England (2018), Birmingham, UK (2019), Gloucester Cathedral (2021), Durham University during the Stanford Society Annual Symposium (2022), and Salisbury Cathedral (2025).

Dr. Ferguson has been recognized internationally for her conducting, competing in the Chamber Orchestra of New York’s Respighi Prize in Orchestral Conducting (2023 and 2024). Her recent engagements include conducting Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Rossini’s Barber of Seville Overture at St. James’ Church, Piccadilly, London, and serving as Guest Clinician for the TMEA Region 12 Philharmonic Orchestra in December 2024.

Dr. Lucy Lewis enjoys an active career as an orchestral conductor and performer, soloist, chamber musician, and teaching clinician, and has appeared in these roles throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, and Africa. Just having received early tenure and promotion at California State University San Bernardino, Dr. Lewis is Professor of Orchestral Music Education, and coordinates the string area, directs the orchestral studies program, facilitates the string chamber music program, and teaches applied violin and viola, string methods, and string pedagogy, and maintains a small private studio. Previously, Dr. Lewis served as the director of the Loma Linda Academy String Program & Symphony Orchestra, and has also been on the faculties of the Preucil School of Music, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory Preparatory Department, Southwestern and Lake Michigan Colleges, the Citadel Dance & Music Center, and the Fischoff Chamber Music Association’s Mentor Program.

During her time as Music Director and Conductor of the Orchestral Studies Program at California State University, San Bernardino, the program has more than doubled in size. Dr. Lewis’s innovative season programming has featured the CSUSB Opera Theatre Program, Concert Choir & Chamber Singers, Vocal Jazz Program, and Brass Ensemble, in addition to multiple guest artists. An avid supporter of the development of young musicians, Dr. Lewis founded the CSUSB Young Artist Competition that provides finalists with the opportunity to perform as featured young artists with the orchestra. She also annually commissions new works by the faculty and students of the CSUSB Composition Program, which are performed by the orchestra every spring.

Dr. Lewis is frequently engaged as an orchestral clinician and has guest conducted orchestras in California, Michigan, Tennessee, Florida, Maine, and Colorado. On tour, she has led orchestras to perform in Hawaii and Florida, and in September of 2019, the CSUSB Orchestra traveled to South Korea upon the invitation of Dr. Se-Ung Lee, honorary chairman of the Shin-Il Cultural Foundation Board of Directors, and the administration of Seoul Cyber University, to perform in the Seoul Arts Center IBK Chamber Hall. The CSUSB Orchestra's tour to Korea was covered by the CSUSB Magazine, the CSUniverse, and the Korea Times. CSUSB also produced a documentary film, the first of it's kind for the university, covering this experience, entitled "Flight to Harmony." Dr. Lewis is the director of the CSUSB Orchestra, Piano, and Chamber Music Summer Camp, has been a guest clinician for several honor orchestras, and has served as an adjudicator for the San Bernardino County Music Educators Association, California American String Teachers Association, and Forum Music Festivals. As an orchestral violinist and violist, Dr. Lewis currently performs with the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra, Coachella Valley Symphony, Redlands Symphony Orchestra, Desert Symphony, Temecula Valley Symphony, and Sea Coast (formerly Dana Point) Symphony.

Dr. Lewis is a graduate of Andrews University where she received Bachelor of Music degrees in music education and violin performance as a student of Carla Trynchuk, in addition to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and a minor in bilingual education, magna cum laude. While at Andrews University, Dr. Lewis directed the string program at the Ruth Murdoch Elementary School and completed her student teaching under Roberta Guaspari (about whom the Grammy award winning movie “Music of the Heart” was made) at the Rivereast Elementary Public School, Central Park East I & II Public Schools, and the Opus 118 Harlem School of Music in East Harlem, New York City. Dr. Lewis also holds a Master of Music degree in violin performance, summa cum laude, from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Piotr Milewski, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in violin performance and pedagogy, summa cum laude, from the University of Iowa, where she studied with Scott Conklin, and was a recipient of the String Area Henry & Parker Pelzer Fellowship Award. At the University of Iowa, Dr. Lewis also completed a cognate area in viola performance and pedagogy with Christine Rutledge, and a cognate area in orchestral conducting with William LaRue Jones. Dr. Lewis has completed additional conducting studies with Stephen Zork, Alan Mitchell, Claudio Gonzalez, and most recently, with John Farrer and Howard Williams at the London Conducting Workshop at the Royal Academy of Music.

Dr. Lewis holds professional memberships in the National Association for Music Education (MENC), the California Music Educators Association (CMEA), the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA), the California Orchestra Directors Association (CODA), the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association (SCSBOA), the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), the California Chapter of the American String Teachers Association (CALASTA), the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA), the Suzuki Music Association of California, Los Angeles Chapter (SMAC-LA), the Chamber Music of America Association (CMA), the American Viola Society (AVS), Pi Kappa Lambda (National Music Honor Society), Sigma Alpha Iota (International Sorority for Women in Music), Pi Lambda Theta (National Education Honor Society), Alpha Mu Gamma (the International Languages Honor Society), the San Bernardino County Music Educators Association (SBCMEA), and the International Adventist Musicians Association (IAMA).