Harry Chalmiers took office as President of McNally Smith College of Music in August 2007. He is the first person to be selected as President of the St. Paul, Minnesota college other than the school’s co-founders. Mr. Chalmiers, a Louisiana native, brings a wealth of experience as a music educator and administrator to his role as President. Mr. Chalmiers is also an accomplished guitarist and music composer who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Composition from Berklee College of Music and a Master’s Degree in Music Composition from the New England Conservatory of Music.
As a flutist, Janis is particularly devoted to working with living composers and new music. She has premiered over 100 new works and been part of over 30 commissions. A founding member and co-artistic director of the Sylmar Chamber Ensemble, Janis has also performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble, Minnesota Composers Forum, and many other ensembles. She freelances in the Twin Cities area. Janis serves as The Chair of Liberal Arts Division at McNally Smith.
Jerry Kosak is the Head of the Guitar Department at McNally Smith. Jerry has performed on shows with Don Ross, Tommy Emmanuel, Bob Brozman, and Andy McKee. He has been a featured performer at major festivals including the Walnut Valley Festival, Canadian Guitar Festival, and National Resophonic Festival. In addition to McNally Smith, Jerry has been a member of the faculty at Northern Arizona University and MacPhail Center for Music. He was the winner of the Zietgiest Eric Stokes Song Contest in 2000 and 2001. Jerry was the recipient of a Jerome Foundation Grant and has received Artist Endorsements from National Resophonic Guitars and Petros Guitars. He is a member of ASCAP, the Minnesota Guitar Society and the American Composers Forum. Jerry has recorded two CDs of original music for solo guitar, Many Dances and Sounds Like This, and received awards for his compositions “Matágalpa” and “Many Dances.” His compositions range in style from classical to blues to modern progressive acoustic.
Joe Mabbott is Audio Engineer and Instructor at McNally Smith College of Music. Joe was raised in a musical family, and began his own life in music as a drummer at the age of 2. He grew up as a performer, and after high school he felt it was time to turn his passion into a career. After graduating from The Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Phoenix, he relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota in February 1995, and accepted an assistant engineer position at Trail Mix Studios. At the time, Trail Mix was a studio primarily known for its work in post production for the television and film industry. After four years at Trail Mix working on a vast array of commercials and short films, as well as numerous album projects (in all facets- engineering, mixing, editing, sound design, and playing drums and percussion) Joe then started freelance engineering around Minneapolis at several post and music studios.
