By TENA L. COOK, CSC MARKETING COORDINATOR
CHADRON – Chadron State College’s Music Department will welcome two new faculty members at a campus and community meet-and-greet Monday from 4-6 p.m. at Memorial Hall.
Dr. Eric Brewer, director of bands, and Dr. Craig Peaslee, who will teach in the music industry program, will be available to meet students, faculty, staff and community members.
Dr. Jim Margetts, dean of Liberal Arts, said his hope for the meet and greet is to promote wider campus and community participation in the CSC Community Band, Community Chorus, and Community Jazz Band.
“Dr. Joel Schreuder and Dr. Michael Stephens, the respective directors of those groups, will be there to provide information. I also hope the event will help raise awareness of our music industry major,” Margetts said.
Brewer said he is excited to teach at Chadron State.
“The opportunity to work with bands and brass students together is appealing to me. I also enjoy working in small, tight-knit communities where I can really learn about the students and the surrounding area,” Brewer said.
From 2022 until recently, he was an instructor at Waynesburg University in Pennsylvania. He was the Fine Arts department chair, Music program director, symphonic band director, pep band director, and music director for four musical theatre productions.
He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting this year from West Virginia University and a Master of Music from Yale University in 1999.
Peaslee most recently served as a lecturer at the University of Miami where he taught composition, aural skills, and analytical techniques. He earned a doctorate in musical arts composition in 2025 from the University of Miami.
He said when he visited Chadron for his interview, he enjoyed the people, community, and scenery having grown up in a small town. He prefers a rural setting to that of a bustling metropolis.