FAME Board of Directors 2025

The FAME Board of Directors meet monthly with the exception of December, and serve annually from July to June. Each year, Membership elects board members for two-year volunteer positions; in even years, a Vice-President, Secretary, and one Member-at-Large are elected. In odd years, a President-Elect, Treasurer, and one Member-at-Large are elected. The President-Elect becomes President in odd years, two years after their election as President-Elect. Voting runs from May 1st to June 1st with newly installed directors beginning service at the summer annual meeting held in July. All terms begin and end at the Annual Meeting each year.

Christopher Tranberg, President

Christopher Tranberg, PhD, is currently the superintendent of Branford Public Schools in Branford, Connecticut. Prior to his current position, Dr. Tranberg served as an assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, high school principal, high school assistant principal, director of performing arts, and elementary school teacher. Dr. Tranberg has enjoyed an exciting career in education and is most proud of leading work focused on removing barriers to student learning.

Dr. Tranberg earned a doctorate in educational policy, research, and administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a research interest in principal leadership. He earned a master’s of music education from The Hartt School at the University of Hartford and a bachelor’s of music education from Baldwin Wallace University.

Lillie Feierabend, Vice President

Lillie is known for her work with young children and instilling a love of music within them. She has been an early childhood and general music educator for over thirty years and was a conductor for the Connecticut Children’s Chorus for seventeen. She has twice been honored with her respective district’s Teacher of the Year Award for her inclusive and innovative music programs, and in 2008 also received the Outstanding Elementary Music Educator Award from the Connecticut Music Educators Association.

She is a frequent clinician at local, state, national and international conferences, and has presented over three hundred lively and thought-provoking sessions on music and movement development. She conducts regional honors choirs, teaches weeklong workshops around the country, and is adjunct faculty at The Hartt School at the University of Hartford. Over the course of her career, Lillie has mentored twenty-three student teachers and will forever be grateful for the opportunity.

Lillie is a founding and lifetime member of FAME, becoming an endorsed Teacher Trainer in both curriculums in 2012. She is a member of NAfME, OAKE, CMEA, AOSA, and ACDA. She is also a member and past president of KESNE (Kodaly Educators of Southern New England) and past president of Mu Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international organization which supports excellence in education and promotes the professional and personal growth of women educators.

Stephanie Schall-Brazee, President-Elect (2023)

Stephanie Schall-Brazee is an elementary general music teacher for the Traverse City Area Public Schools where she also directs the select Women’s Choir, Bella Voce. As a choral director, Stephanie’s choirs have consistently earned first degree ratings at festivals, and have been invited to sing at the Michigan Music Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2022 and 2023, Bella Voce was selected as one of 10 small ensembles to perform in the MSVMA All-State concert on the campus of Michigan State University. In addition to her public school teaching, Stephanie is the Artistic Director of the Northwest Michigan College Childrens’ Choir Program where she also directs the Intermezzo Choir.

Stephanie’s training includes a Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Central Michigan University, and a Master of Music Education from The Hartt School, where she was a graduate assistant to Dr. John Feierabend.

As an endorsed Teacher Trainer for First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege, Stephanie has presented courses and sessions on “Singing Development in Young Children”, “First Steps in Music”, “Music and Movement in Preschool” and “Conversational Solfege”. In 2018, Stephanie co-authored a chapter in the book, Feierabend Fundamentals.

In 2018, Stephanie was selected as an Outstanding Educator by the Traverse City Area ISD. She has served two terms on the board for the Feierabend Association for Music Education (FAME) and is still actively involved in this important association serving as President-Elect.

Enjoying her work teaching children, adolescents and adults, Stephanie is also on the summer faculties of Lakeland University and the Hartt School Kodaly Certification programs.

Andrew Himelick, President-Elect (2025)

I am honored to be a FAME Endorsed Teacher Trainer in both First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege. I share these approaches whenever possible—within my district, at state and national workshops, and at conventions. I also mentor student teachers, giving them hands-on experience with these materials. It is incredibly fulfilling to know that these future music educators will continue to shape the musical lives of their students, creating communities that are tuneful, beatful, and artful.

Holly Hinchley, Secretary

Emily Woock, Treasurer

The Feierabend philosophy permeates every aspect of my teaching. The learner-centered approach helps me meet the individual needs of every student who enters my classroom, regardless of their age or musical background. I was introduced to Dr. Feierabend’s 30-year plan as an undergraduate, and it completely changed the way I think about music education because it freed me to think more broadly about objectives and goals. Whether I am teaching infants and their caregivers or music education majors, the Feierabend approach allows me to provide rich and engaging musical experiences for my students.

I currently serve as an early childhood advisor for a small organization that supports congregations that operate local conservatories. My role is to advise and consult with parishes who are interested in including some element of early childhood education as part of their larger conservatory offerings. I always use this as an opportunity to introduce these music teachers to FSM and encourage their teachers to pursue FSM certification and consider FSM curriculum for their early childhood music education needs.

Jessica Nohner, Member-at-Large

The Feierabend approach and philosophy are the cornerstone of my teaching, providing the framework and purpose for my classroom. They define the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of my practice, creating an environment filled with inspiration, purpose, and joy. This approach is not only effective but also engaging, allowing my students to develop essential musical skills while fostering a love for music.

David Rankine, Member-at-Large

David Rankine has been teaching music in schools, community organizations, and historic sites for more than 20 years. A certified Teacher Trainer in First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege with the Feierabend Association for Music Education, David completed his Honours Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University where he was an apprentice conductor with Dr. Mark Sirett, and his Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University where he received the L.W. Copp Teaching Award. He has presented throughout Canada and the United States including at the Ontario Music Educators Association Conferences, Music Conference Alberta, the Royal Conservatory of Music, Music-Ed Amplified Podcast, and the 2022 National Association for Music Education National Conference.

David is the former Artistic Director of the Gananoque Choral Society and was the Drum Major and Company Captain of the Fort Henry Guard where he received the Colonel Truman Crawford Cup, USMC, for Excellence in Music. A recipient of several scholarships from the Royal Canadian College of Organists, David has both Piano and Organ certifications from the Royal Conservatory of Music, is a Church Organist and Music Director, as well as the former Organist for the Kingston Frontenacs OHL Hockey Franchise.

In addition to his classroom work, he has received numerous grants and donations under the umbrella of ‘Building Community Through Music.’ Surmounting his belief that to build community one must go into the community, these proceeds have enabled more than 800 K-6 students to annually take part in and host Folk Festivals, May Day Festivals, and Family Folk Dances. During the COVID Epidemic, GIA Music published 8 Episodes of ‘Mr. Rankine’s Music Cabin,’ all based on the First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege curricula to help create a more Tuneful, Beatful, and Artful society. David lives in a forest just north of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, with his wife and two children, Eva and George.

Board History

President: Christopher Tranberg (2023 – 2025)
Vice President: Lillie Feierabend (2022 – 2025)
President-Elect: Stephanie Schall-Brazee (2023 – 2025)
Secretary: Holly Hinchley (2022 – 2026)
Treasurer: Emily Woock (2023 – 2027)
Member-at-Large: Jess Nohner (2021 – 2027)
Member-at-Large: David Rankine (2023 – 2025)