Faculty

(Please click on the About tab for more information on our board of directors and administrative staff.)

 Caroline Nordlund, Director and COO

 Caroline Nordlund earned a Master of Music in violin performance and pedagogy from Northwestern University as a student of Gerardo Ribeiro.  At Northwestern, she was awarded the Richard and Helen Thomas Fellowship while a graduate assistant to Stacia Spencer and Dr. James Kjelland.  Caroline is a former faculty member of the Northwestern University Music Academy where she taught violin and Kindermusik.  As the Assistant Group Director of Northwestern Strings, Caroline led her students on a tour of Italy as a part of the American Celebration of Music.  Caroline has attended the Meadowmount School of Music, Aspen Music Festival and School, Spoleto U.S.A. and Sewanee Summer Music Festivals.  She has participated in masterclasses and additional studies with Mimi Zweig, Vadim Gluzman, Benny Kim, Chee-Yun, Herbert Greenberg, Ian Swensen, Axel Strauss and Thomas Moore.  Caroline plays in the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra and teaches at the Community Music School of the University of Alabama.  At Scrollworks, she teaches violin, viola and recorder.  Originally from South Carolina, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Music in violin performance.  Caroline and husband Samuel Nordlund have a baby girl, Annelise.

Samuel Nordlund, Music Director

In August of 2011, Samuel Nordlund was appointed Music Director of Scrollworks, an “El Sistema” inspired program serving Birmingham, Alabama.  At Scrollworks, Samuel teaches cello, trumpet and chamber music, and conducts the Metropolitan Youth Orchestras of Central Alabama.

After earning his Bachelor of Music Degree in cello performance magna cum laude from the University of Alabama, Samuel moved to Chicago to pursue his Master of Music degree at Northwestern University.  He is now pursing the Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Alabama, with an emphasis in orchestral conducting.  At UA, Samuel is a Graduate Teaching Assistant, a member of the Capstone String Quartet, and co-Principal cellist of the Huxford Symphony Orchestra.  His primary instructors have been Carlton McCreery and Hans Jensen.  In addition, Samuel has studied cello with Richard Aaron, Stephen Geber, Alan Stepansky, Jonathan Pegis, Richard Hirschl, Brian Dumm, and Patricia Pilon, and conducting with James Setapen.  He has studied at summer festivals including Music Academy of the West, the Meadowmount School of Music, the Kent/Blossom Festival, Encore School for Strings, Brevard Music Center, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

During his time in Chicago, Samuel began building an active performing and teaching career.  He has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, along with the Illinois Philharmonic, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra.  In addition, he has performed with the symphony orchestras of Fort Wayne (IN), Elmhurst (IL), Tupelo (MS), Tuscaloosa and Huntsville.  He has also been a substitute player with the Chicago, Milwaukee, and Alabama symphony orchestras.  As a soloist, Samuel has performed with the Huntsville Symphony, and he will perform with the University of Alabama’s Huxford Symphony Orchestra for the second time in February 2012, as winner of the University’s 2011-12 Concerto/Aria competition.

Samuel has also been an active chamber and recital musician.  He has given performances at Luther College, Gustavus Adolphus College, The Music Institute of Chicago, Sherwood Music Conservatory (Chicago), and the Chicago Cultural Center.  In addition, he has collaborated with ensembles such as Bach Week, the Chinese Fine Arts Society of Chicago, and the North Shore Chamber Arts Ensemble.

As a teacher, Samuel is a member of the Artist Faculty at Lutheran Summer Music Festival.  At LSM, he teaches cello, coaches orchestra and chamber music, and performs as a member of the faculty Omega String Quartet.  While in Chicago, Samuel taught cello and chamber music at the Music Institute of Chicago, where he was also the Assistant Director of Performance Activities. 

Dominic Aliffi, Brass

Originally from Newnan, Georgia, Dominic Aliffi his in his junior year as an Instrumental Music Education major at Samford University.  Equally at ease on guitar and trumpet, Dominic plays trumpet with Samford’s jazz band, wind ensemble and as a soloist in the marching band.  He is also a frequent guest musician in churches throughout the Birmingham area.  Dominic has played with the professional jazz band Superjazz, and he is a member of Kappa Delta Pi and Phi Mu Alpha at Samford University .  Dominic enjoys teaching and hopes to share his passion for music with others.

Chris Barbee, Theory, Advanced Choir, Voice

Chris Barbee is a Choral Music Education major at Samford University. He traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio when the University of Alabama at Birmingham Concert Choir was invited to sing at the National Collegiate Choral Organization conference.  Chris also traveled to Memphis, Tennessee when UAB’s Concert Choir was invited to sing at the South-Eastern Regional American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conference. He is president and founding member of the Samford University chapter of Student ACDA. Chris has been cast in a number of musical and operatic roles since he began singing in high school, some of which include: Herb in Stephen Schwartz's Godspell, Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, Bowen in Mike Reid's Different Fields, and this spring he will play the role of Sam in Samford Opera's production of Leonard Bernstein Trouble in Tahiti. Chris is a staff singer at Mountain Brook Baptist Church where he sings in the church choir and teaches children's music.

Kristin Boyd, Children’s Choir Director and General Music

Kristin Boyd of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a senior music education major at Samford University .  She is a voice principal in the studio of Dr. Paul A. Richardson.  Kristin is a member of the Samford Gospel Choir and University Chorale, and she has performed the Duruflé Requiem with the Samford Choirs at Carnegie Hall.  Kristin is the Scholarship Chair for the Omicron Gamma Chapter of Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity. She is also the President of the Black Student Union at Samford University and a member of the Philanthropy Awareness Council. Kristin is active in her church in such roles as choir member, praise team member, and keyboardist.

Jeffery Dingler, Guitar

Jeffery Dingler has been playing bass and electric guitar for nearly a decade. It was while he was studying at Birmingham Southern College that he took up his first classical guitar, and since then he has dedicated himself to the history and diverse repertoire of that instrument. Since 2006 Jeff has won masterclasses with such luminaries as Sergio Assad, Jason Vieaux, and the Godwin-Thompson duo. Currently in is his fourth year of teaching, Jeff teaches at Scrollworks and at the Dawson Music Academy in Homewood.

Jacquelyn Ford, Piano; Better Basics/ Scollworks/ASO Fairfield Pilot Project

Jacquelyn Ford loves sharing the marvelous gift of music and learning with her students! When she was nine years old, she and her seven year old sister pooled all of their resources together and told their parents they wanted to buy a piano. She has enjoyed a joyous journey of musical discovery ever since. Jacquelyn had the privilege of studying piano with Dr. Yakov Kasman, Artist in Residence and Piano Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham .  In the spring of 2009, she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music from UAB with departmental honors. While in the music program, she was awarded the prestigious Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Scholarship (2005-2009), the Darrel McAnnally Piano Scholarship, and the Joseph P. Volker Scholarship.  She earned the UAB Department of Music’s Outstanding Undergraduate of the Year Award (2009), achieved acceptance into UAB’s Young Performing Artist Program, and was selected as the Most Outstanding Piano and Piano Ensemble Student of the Year. After graduating with her music degree, Jacquelyn completed a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education at UAB.

Meghan Ford, Violin and Viola

Meghan Ford was born in Birmingham, AL and began playing the violin at the age of 7. She graduated from The Alabama School of Fine Arts in 2009 as a music major with a focus in violin performance. During her time in high school, Meghan gave three solo recitals and performed with the ASFA Chamber Orchestra and Choir and Alabama All-State Orchestra.

Since beginning her undergraduate studies at Birmingham-Southern College as a music composition major, Meghan has enjoyed exploring new genres while growing musically. In addition to composing, she is a member of BSC's Hilltop Singers. She also plays viola for BSC's String Ensemble and currently  co-conducts  BSC's Concert Choir through the Veil Teaching Scholars Program. She performs throughout Birmingham in classical settings as well as with local bands.

Sam Herman, Percussion

                Sam Herman began his study of music at age 8 when he started learning to play guitar.  He began his classical percussion training at age 10 when he entered the middle school band program.  Today, Sam is a senior student of Dr. Gene Fambrough at the University of Alabama at Birmingham studying music technology.  He has worked extensively with the UAB Percussion Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Steel Drum Band, Choir, Opera, Marching Band, Blazer Band and Jazz Combo.  He has also done local and regional work with internationally recognized drum circle facilitator John Scalici. 

Sam has taught battery percussion for Gardendale and Locust Fork High Schools.  He has also taught drum set and orchestral percussion at the prestigious Birmingham Percussion Center and School of Music.  He began teaching at Scrollworks in 2009.

Craig Hultgren, Cello

For several decades, cellist Craig Hultgren has been a fixture on the scenes for new music, the newly creative arts, and the avant-garde. In recent years, he has performed solo concerts and chamber music in Rome, Boston, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Miami, Atlanta, Orlando, Denver, Memphis and San Antonio. A recipient of two Artist Fellowships from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, he was a member for many years of Thámyris, a contemporary chamber music ensemble based in Atlanta. A cellist in the Alabama Symphony, he also plays in Luna Nova, a new music ensemble with a large repertoire of performances available as podcast downloads on iTunes. Hultgren is featured in three solo CD recordings including The Electro-Acoustic Cello Book on Living Artist Recordings. For ten years, he produced the Hultgren Solo Cello Works Biennial, an international competition that highlighted the best new compositions for the cello. He teaches at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Alabama School of Fine Arts and Birmingham-Southern College where he directs the BSC New Music Ensemble. He is a founding member and former President of the Birmingham Art Music Alliance and is on the Board of Directors of Scrollworks.  Craig is a CAMA artist (Collaborating Artists Manifesting Adventure) with the St. Louis New Music Circle and will be presenting programs there for three seasons.

Katie Long, Winds

Katie Long is the woodwind teacher and wind ensemble director at Scrollworks. Currently a junior at the University of Montevallo, Katie is majoring in music education with an instrumental concentration. She attended Pelham High School where she participated in the marching band, the wind ensemble, and other chamber ensembles. Katie’s primary instrument is clarinet and her secondary instrument is bassoon.  In addition,  she has performed in concerts on saxophone and oboe. She has performed with the Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra, the City of Montevallo Community Band, and she currently plays bassoon in the University of Montevallo Wind Ensemble. Katie also plays in the UM Clarinet Choir and Woodwind Quintet. She has worked in several band camps for schools in the Birmingham Metro area, and has served as a clinician during the school year at Pelham High School, Homewood High School, and Thompson Middle School. Katie plans to graduate from UM in May of 2013 and get her Master's Degree in Instrumental Conducting.

Cindy Orcutt, Strings

Cindy Orcutt has been playing the violin for over 40 years and has given music lessons for over 15 years.  She grew up and studied music in the Weymouth, MA  public school system.  With her parents support, she took lessons in violin, flute and piano.  Her violin instructor Wilma Falardeau encouraged her continued participation in local community groups as well as the Greater Boston Youth Symphony.  Cindy received a BS in Business from Babson College while continuing her enjoyment of music.  Cindy and her husband, Doug, settled in Alabama in 2003 where they are now raising their three teen-aged daughters. Cindy teaches violin and viola at Scrollworks, and she teaches violin and piano lessons in her private studio.  She is also a member of the Red Mountain Chamber Orchestra.  Music has been a constant source of enjoyment– either in local community orchestras, church choirs or theater group.  Music has provided Cindy an appreciation for the basic joys of life. 

Chris Sweatt, Piano

Chris Sweatt is a senior at Birmingham-Southern College majoring in music education with an emphasis in choral music and piano. He studies piano and piano pedagogy with Professor William Devan and conducting with Dr. Lester Seigel. Additionally, he has studied voice with Dr. David Smith and organ with Dr. Jim Cook. Chris is president of the Birmingham-Southern College Concert Choir and the BSC’s chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.  He is also a member of BSC’s scholarship vocal ensemble, the Hilltop Singers. Chris is actively involved with BSC’s Opera Department and Department of Theatre and Dance and has been featured in such productions as Comedy on the Bridge, Hair, and West Side Story. In addition to his work as a piano instructor at Scrollworks, Chris is the choral librarian for the BSC Department of Music. He is also the music manager and choreographer for the Vestavia Hills High School Choral Department where he will be student teaching in the Spring 2012 Semester.  Chris is a staff singer (baritone) at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Mountain Brook where he has been a featured soloist and participated in their European tour in the summer of 2009. Chris has been playing piano since the age of 4, and he is delighted to share his love of music with the students of Scrollworks.