ABOUT THE ARTIST
Moria Tunison is the Scheduling Specialist at the Jacobs School of Music. Her former faculty positions include Affiliate Instructor of Clarinet and Woodwind Methods at Bradley University, Adjunct Instructor of Clarinet at Illinois Wesleyan University, and Adjunct Professor of Clarinet at the University of Illinois at Springfield. In addition to teaching at the collegiate level, Moriahas experience teaching clarinet to pre-university students at the Woodwind Preparatory Program at Illinois Wesleyan University, the University of Illinois at Springfield Community Music School, the Klepak Scholars Program at Bloomington Junior High, the Music Shoppe Lesson Studios in Champaign, Illinois, and as a Clarinet and Woodwind Auxiliary Instructor at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.
An active performer, Moria has performed with the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, the Heartland Festival Orchestra, the Franco-American Vocal Academy Opera Chamber Orchestra in France, the Urbana Pops Orchestra, the 2017 National Intercollegiate Band, and with the Eastern Symphony Orchestra as the 2010 Concerto Competition Winner. She has also participated in various chamber ensembles including woodwind quintets, clarinet choirs, the MIL Clarinet and Percussion Duo, and the Illinois Modern Ensemble.
In addition to teaching and performing, Moria frequently publishes and presents on topics related to the clarinet. She recently presented “Creating a Meaningful Studio Class for a Small Studio” at the 2021 NACWPI conference. Her publications in various academic journals include her article, Lefèvre’s Third Concerto Viewed Through the Lens of His Méthode de Clarinette: An Argument for Historical and Pedagogical Performance Practice (published in the March 2021 edition of The Clarinet journal), her editorial Creating a Meaningful Studio Class for a Small Studio (published in the Spring 2021 edition of the NACWPI journal), and her article Teaching Younger Students During Covid (featured as part of the “Clarinet in the Time of Covid Series” on The Clarinet [Online]). Moria was also chosen as a Finalist in the 2020 International Clarinet Association Research Competition for her research on Jean Xavier Lefèvre and his Third Concerto.
Studying with J. David Harris, Moria received her Doctorate in Musical Arts in Clarinet Performance and Literature, with a cognate in Musicology, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She earned her Master’s in Clarinet Performance from Michigan State University, where she studied with Dr. Guy Yehuda, and her Bachelor’s in Clarinet Performance and her Bachelor’s in Instrumental Music Education from Eastern Illinois University, where she studied with Dr. Magie Smith. Moria also studied clarinet with Harvey Hermann, piano with Dr. Susan Teicher, and oboe with Blaine Edlefsen.
Moria currently serves on the International Clarinet Association College and Pre-Professional Engagement Committee. She is a member of the International Clarinet Association, the College Music Society, the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, and Kappa Kappa Psi.
Outside of music, Moria loves running, gardening, traveling and visiting bakeries to find the perfect macarons outside of France.