Alain Barker: Initiative Director
Office: (812) 856-5719
Email: abarker@indiana.edu
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alainbarker
Alain Barker, Senior Lecturer, has an entrepreneurial career that includes arts organization development, arts policy research, communications and marketing, teaching and performance and joined the Office of Entrepreneurship and Career Development as its founding director in July, 2014.
Brian McDonie: Lead Manager
Email: bmcdonie@iu.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-mcdonie
Brian McDonie is an active trombonist, educator, and entrepreneur in the arts. From 2016 to 2020, Brian served as a U.S. Marine Musician in Okinawa, Japan and Havelock, North Carolina. While in the Marine Corps, Brian was a trombone section leader, fire-team leader, squad leader, music library non-commissioned officer in charge, staff music arranger, platoon guide, and brass quintet unit leader. He has performed in mainland Japan, Okinawa, Malaysia, Thailand, Guam, and the eastern United States.
Currently Brian is pursuing a doctorate of music in music literature and performance at Indiana University with minors in music history and jazz. Outside of IU, he is a member of the Air National Guard Band of the Midwest performing in concerts, parades, ceremonies, and educational outreach programs across the midwest.
Brian earned his Bachelors of Music in music education from West Chester University in 2014 and his Master of Music degree from Indiana University in 2016. Brian is happily married to his wife Sarah, a fellow lover of breakfast foods and outdoor adventures. They live with their Sheltie, Manford, in Bloomington, Indiana
Alex Tedrow: Community Engagement Specialist
Email: tedrowa@iu.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-tedrowmusic/
Alex Tedrow is an Indiana-based composer, musician, and educator who strives to inspire and connect performers and listeners of all ages to fresh, fun, and innovative music and technology. Offering a “vivacious and colorful” musical voice described as a “topography of beautifully integrated and deliberate sounds” (Eric Smedley), his original works are performed internationally by musicians and ensembles in both professional and educational settings.
In 2019, Alex studied at the IRCAM in Paris during ManiFeste where he premiered Planet Playground – an interactive, data-driven sound installation project incorporating crowd participation via mobile devices. In 2021, he was hired to score The Addict’s Wake, a documentary featured at the Heartland Film Festival covering the effects of opioid addiction in the rural Midwest. He is a recipient of the SEAMUS Allen Strange Award, “Emerging Artist” in the Tribeca New Music Competition, the Georgina Joshi NME Commission Award, the Morris and Sheila Hass Award in Computer Music, and the Austin B. Caswell Musicology Award.
Alex is currently pursuing dual M.M./M.S. degrees in composition and music education at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he works as an Associate Instructor and Coordinator of the Composition Department. He is an avid rural arts enthusiast, lover of animals, and amateur spelunker – all themes that often inspire his work.
Rachel Fisher: Community Engagement Specialist
Email: fishrach@iu.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-fisher-bba434231
Rachel Fisher is a current sophomore at Indiana University pursuing a BA in Speech and Hearing Sciences with a minor in Music Studies. Rachel has been a member of the Marching Hundred for two years, playing piccolo. Rachel serves on the executive board of Kappa Kappa Psi, a co-educational honorary band fraternity, where she oversees the jurisdiction and archives of the Indiana University chapter. She also serves as the Relations Director for the Marching Hundred Student Organization, where she connects current members and alumni to coordinate and promote band-related events. Rachel will begin a position as Undergraduate Staff for the Marching Hundred this fall.
Rachel is from Salem, IN, a community our initiative directly collaborates with. An alumnus of Salem High School, she has worked closely with the fine arts department– specifically, band and choir. As a result, she is knowledgeable about what rural areas may need to nurture and develop their fine arts communities.
Laurel Gagnon: Marketing, Publicity, and Website Design
Email: lagagno@iu.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurelgagnon
Laurel Gagnon is a violinist and chamber musician, presenting a fresh, authentic voice. Her interpretations “sing with a naturalness that [is] both disarming and distinctive” (The Straits Times). Ms. Gagnon was awarded fourth prize at the 2018 Singapore International Violin Competition, and in 2019, was invited to perform in the live rounds of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Gagnon has performed several times on Kansas Public Radio, been featured on Kansas Community Radio, and appeared in performance on KSHB TV’s “KC Live” show and Fox4.
In 2021 she began studies for an Artist Diploma with Mauricio Fuks at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Ms. Gagnon earned her Masters of Music and Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance at Park University International Center for Music, studying with Ben Sayevich.
Currently a Rising Star artist with VP Agency International, Ms. Gagnon picked up the violin at the age of three and spent many hours practicing and arguing with her brothers in the family string quartet. When not drinking coffee, she can be found exploring the nearest forest trail.