Our Team

As a music educator, Joe Covill was constantly searching for quality materials to use in his 6-12th grade band classes.  Joe decided to take matters into his own hands and began to develop and write his own materials. He recognized a need within the music educator community and decided to create a music publishing company, Audible Intelligence Music, that allowed other musicians to share their work while being compensated fairly.  Joe invited composers to join in his vision and has welcomed numerous talented composers into the AIM community.

The AIM team recognizes that time spent in classroom preparation and lesson planning is often daunting.  AIM’s materials are designed to help alleviate the prep time, allowing music educators to take their program to the next level.

Joseph Covill (composer)

Joseph Covill is currently the Director of Bands for Lincoln Middle School in Pullman, Washington where he is an accomplished composer and arranger for both middle school and high school band, specializing in music for younger Jazz ensembles. Covill was named Distinguished Teacher of the Year for Pullman School District in 2014 and received the Southeast Washington Music Education Association Outstanding Music Educator Award for 2018.

Nikki Crathorne (composer)

Nikki Crathorne is currently the director music at St. Mary’s Elementary School in Moscow, Idaho. She heads the Moscow All-City Elementary band program as well. Nikki has a great talent writing for elementary aged students as well as college marching bands!

Brad Ard (composer)

Brad has worked as a guitarist and educator in the major markets of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston and Miami. Along the way he was fortunate to work with an innumerable number of incredible musicians. He has also engraved thousands of charts and transcriptions for clients from around the globe including music publishers, recording artists, band leaders and individuals. Along with performing on a variety of CDs for other artists he has two self-produced CDs of original music.

Gabrielle Baffoni (composer)

Gabrielle Baffoni is Assistant Professor of clarinet and saxophone at Southeast Missouri State University where she has been on faculty since her appointment in 2012. She previously held teaching positions at Tabor College, the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Conservatory of Music and Dance, and the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. Dr. Baffoni earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Clarinet Performance from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance where her final doctoral project was a culmination of works for clarinet and percussion duo. With a passion for chamber music, Dr. Baffoni has performed with several chamber ensembles over the last fifteen years, including the Liberace Winds Graduate Fellowship Wind Quintet at UMKC. As a clarinetist, Dr. Baffoni has performed with various ensembles throughout the United States and has appeared as a soloist with ensembles at the University of New Hampshire, UMKC, Bethel College, and Southeast Missouri State University.  She held the position of second clarinetist with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra from 2008-2011, and performed regularly with the Miami City Ballet, Hollywood (FL) Philharmonic Orchestra, Boca Raton Philharmonic Symphonia, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, and Civic Opera Theatre of Kansas City.  She currently performs frequently with the Paducah Symphony Orchestra in Kentucky.

Ben Blessing (composer)

Ben Blessing, (1984) hails from Nampa, ID.  A former Marine and current member of the 25th Army Band in Boise ID, he is a long-serving member of the Idaho Army National Guard. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Composition from Northwest Nazarene University and a Master’s in Music Education from the American Band College. In demand as a composer and conductor, his works have been received with enthusiasm from many audiences. A number of his works have been recognized by the American Band College on their Top 100 List, and his original work “Standhope Peak” was the winner of the 2022 NFMC Armed Forces Composition Competition. Mr. Blessing enjoys writing music for concert band, orchestra, and electronic avenues as well. In his off time, he enjoys writing music, running way too far for his own good, and spending quality time with his wife, three children, and two dogs. He is the Race Director for the Standhope Ultra Challenge and the Music Teacher at Compass Public Charter School.

Delbert Bump (composer)

Delbert Bump, composer/arranger, pianist, organist, and band leader has spent over forty years as a Jazz educator and performing artist. With over a dozen recordings to his credit he has led many ensembles under his own name and directed countless concerts and events while holding the position of director of Jazz studies at Solano Community College as well as UC Davis. His compositional skills include music for television, radio, educational materials, Jazz organ recordings, Piano trio recordings, and a very impressive list of various ensembles always exploring the creative process with Jazz as the main focus. Bump has also written for orchestral groups, choir music, sacred and secular, concert band, jazz ensemble, and combo charts. He has performed with countless musicians including, John Handy, Joe Morrello, Eddie Henderson, Mike Clark, Babatunde Lea, Rosemary Clooney, Donald Harrison, Carletos Medrano and many other bay area musicians. His recording career includes work with Mike Clark, on “Carnival of Soul,” and as a leader on many other dates. He recently released a recording of Jazz organ hard bop and funk called “Round the Korner” by the Delbert Bump-Greg Yasinitsky Quintet featuring the likes of Doug Morton, Greg Yasinitsky, Steve Homan, Lorca Hart, and Nioshi Jackson. Bump has also arranged for a number of Bay Area artists as well. As a performing composer he leads his new Latin Jazz group performing in many Bay Area venues and at various Jazz Festivals. His compositions include a variety of styles, and needless to say Delbert is a very prolific musician. A variety of commissions and opportunities for performing, teaching, recording, and arranging are in the sights of this gifted writer, instructor and performer.

Gregory Day (composer)

Gregory Day has been a successful band director from elementary school through college since 1984. Following a tour of duty with the US Army Band, Mr. Day completed degrees in Music Education while building band programs in the Carolinas. With the opportunity to begin a new band program in 2000, Mr. Day wrote out of necessity, and the compositional results are still being enjoyed by students across the country. Presently, Mr. Day teaches at Southern Wesleyan University in Central, SC where he leads the University Wind and Jazz Ensembles and teaches freshman music courses as well as Orchestration and Arranging courses.

Wesley Day (composer)

Wesley Day of South Carolina is the band director at Scott’s Branch High/Middle School in Summerton SC. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music from Southern Wesleyan University during the undertaking of which he studied with Profs. Greg Day, Jane Dill, and Matt Anderson, and a Master’s degree in Theory and Composition from the University of South Carolina, during the undertaking of which he studied with Drs. John Fitz Rogers, Reginald Bain, and Jesse Jones. He has enjoyed performances of his work by the Southern Wesleyan University Wind Ensemble, Powdersville High School Marching Band, The Declassified quartet, the C Street Brass, the 208th Army Band, and other various groups of different shapes and sizes around South and North Carolina. Mr. Day served in the US Army Band as a trombonist/bass player for five years and works regularly with South Carolina band programs in many areas including marching band, brass consulting, composition, show design, and private instruction. Mr. Day resides in Sumter, SC, and enjoys spending time with his wife, Sarah, composing/orchestrating for school groups, marksmanship, fishing, playing on the Playstation, and building up young musicians in any way possible.

Dave Hagelganz (composer)

Dave Hagelganz has performed, recorded and toured with many top jazz artists including Mal Waldron, Claudio Roditi, Terance Blanchard, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Kenny Drew Junior, Mulgrew Miller, David Friesen, Ben Wolfe, Nancy King, Chris Botti, Diane Shur, Clark Terry, Lew Tabackin and Don Menza. As a college student, Dave was the overall winner in the jazz soloist category of the 1989 Down Beat international student music awards. Since then his music has been heard around the world and has garnered praise in top jazz publications including Downbeat, JAZZIZ, Jazz Times and Japan’s Swing Journal. Dave has taught at the University of South Florida, Whitworth College, University of Idaho and currently teaches saxophone, jazz studies and music education at Washington State University, in Pullman Washington. He is in demand throughout the country as a guest artist, clinician and adjudicator.

Derek Jacoby (composer)

Derek Jacoby has served as Instructor in Music at the Phillips Academy Andover since 2007, where he directs the Tuesday Night Band and teaches AP Music Theory, introductory music, and private composition lessons. His works have been performed across the United States, in Germany, and in China, with notable performances coming from New York New Music, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Nodus Ensemble, the Parker String Quartet, Boston Musica Viva, and Composers, Inc. He holds a Ph.d. from Brandeis University and studied composition with Lee Hyla, David Rakowski, Martin Boykan, and Jeffrey Miller.

David Jarvis (composer)

David Jarvis is a Professor of Music, Composer and the Coordinator of Percussion Studies at Washington State University and has performed internationally in both classical and jazz arenas. He is a member of Jazz Northwest, Nighthawk and Gator Tail (WSU Faculty Jazz Groups) and has traveled around the country giving workshops and clinics in both classical and jazz performance. He was principal timpanist with the Washington-Idaho Symphony for over 20 years and principal percussionist for the Oregon Coast Music Festival Orchestra for over 14 years. He is the co-founder of the popular jazz group, the Dozier-Jarvis Trio in addition to co-member of the Jarvis-Hagelganz Quartet and trumpet/percussion duo, Cameradschaft. He specializes in solo literature written for percussion and electronic sound. Prof. Jarvis is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, MENC, and an artist/clinician for the Yamaha Corporation. His compositions are published by Lauren Keiser Music Publishing (formally known as Southern Music Co.), Honeyrock Publishing Company, C. Alan Publications, Activist Music and Audible Intelligence Music.

Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn (composer)

Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, was educated on both coasts and now finds himself in the middle of the country. His music combines a frenetic rhythmic language, lean textures and lyrical sensitivity. His music has been recorded and performed throughout the U.S.,Europe, Canada, and Asia by ensembles and organizations including the Kiev Philharmonic, The Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra, Huntsville Alabama Army Band,Composers Inc, Conundrum, The Yale Brass Trio, Scott/Garrison Duo, and VoxNovus. Soloists like Richard Kriehn, Diane Maltester, Craig Hultgren, and Robert Young have also been champions of his music.

Sophia Tegart (composer)

Sophia Tegartis a Yamaha Performing Artist who has led a varied and award-winning career as a flutist, musicologist, and clinician throughout the United States and Europe. She can be seen regularly performing at the National Flute Association Conventions, College Music Society Conferences, the Florida Flute Association, the Greater Portland Flute Society events, and in guest and faculty recitals. She has been flute soloist with the Spokane Symphony, the Washington-Idaho Symphony, the Chehalem Symphony Orchestra, and piccolo soloist with the Kansas City Civic Orchestra. As an orchestral musician, Sophia has held positions in the Oregon Mozart Players, Washington-Idaho Symphony, and the Des Moines Metro Opera, and she performed regularly with the Kansas City Symphony. As flutist and co-founder of the Blue Box Ensemble and the Cherry Street Duo, Sophia is able to pursue her passion of chamber music. Currently, Sophia is principal flutist of the Portland Festival Symphony, co-principal flute of the International Festival of Conductors, Composers, and Collaborators Ensemble, and piccoloist with the Colorado Mahlerfest. Sophia teaches music history, flute ensemble, and applied flute at George Fox University and Pacific University. She has also taught at The University of Idaho, Concordia University-Portland, and the University of Missouri–Kansas City. Sophia received her Doctor of Musical Arts in Flute Performance from the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance.

David Turnbull (composer)

Dr. David Turnbull, Associate Professor of Music in the School of Music at Washington State University, performs on trumpet with numerous ensembles including the WSU Brass Quintet, Cameradschaft (a trumpet and percussion duo), En Chamade (a trumpet and organ duo), and Jazz Northwest. He also performs as a deputized cornet player with the Fountain City Brass Band (Kansas City). His performances with FCBB include appearances at the Great American Brass Band Festival (2010); a tour of Europe and competitive performances in the All England International Masters and the Euro Brass Drachten (2011); a second place finish in the North American Brass Band Championships (2012); and two first place finishes in the US Open Brass Band Championships (2012 and 2013).

Brian Ward (composer)

Brian Ward is a jazz pianist, composer and arranger from Portland Oregon. Ward has performed with the Oregon Symphony, Bobby Torres, Shirley Nanette, Curtis Salgado, Obo Addy, Thara Memory and many others. Brian appears on a variety of recordings and has had his works performed at jazz festivals and concert halls around the United States. “City of Roses,” one of the arrangements Brian helped create for Esperanza Spalding’s latest release, recently won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for Vocal Performance. Brian currently lives in Pullman Washington. He is the Coordinator of Jazz Studies and Instructor of Jazz Piano at Washington State University School of Music where he teaches Jazz piano, Jazz and Rock history, Jazz arranging, theory and ear training. In addition, Ward performs with Jazz Northwest, Crosscurrent and Nighthawk and works with student ensembles. Ward received his Bachelor of Music in 1999 and Master of Science in Teaching Music in 2001 from Portland State University. Prior to his appointment at Washington State University, Brian was the Combo Coordinator and adjunct professor of Jazz piano at PSU.

Erik Christopher Wendelken (composer)

Wendelken started studying double bass at age 12 with Linda McKnight and went on to study bass with renowned teacher Homer Mensch at Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from Montclair State University and a Master’s Degree in Education from Cambridge College. Mr. Wendelken is the Music Department Chair in the Nantucket Public School System where he has taught instrumental music for eighteen years. He has written and arranged many pieces for middle school and high school instrumental ensembles with a focus on Multi Level Arrangements.

Greg Yasinitsky (composer)

Yasinitsky has an international reputation as a composer, arranger and saxophonist. He has written music especially for Clark Terry, David Liebman and the USAF “Airmen of Note” big band. Yasinitsky’s music has been performed in over 30 countries and he has received grants, fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Commission Project of New York, Meet the Composer West, ASCAP, Artist Trust, Washington State Music Teachers Association (WSMTA) and the Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA). Over 175 compositions and arrangements have been published by Kendor Music, Warner Brothers, Hal Leonard, Advance Music (Germany), Walrus Music, University of Northern Colorado Jazz Press, Falls House Press, Dorn Music, Daniel Barry Music and Hoyt Editions. Yasinitsky has also accepted numerous commissions for jazz, orchestral pieces, solo works and chamber music.