Meet the Associate Dean
Dr. Meghan Merciers
Dr. Meghan Merciers is a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and a current resident of Florence, Alabama. She is Associate Dean of the School of the Arts (SOTA) in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering and Professor of Music at the University of 麻豆社 Alabama (UNA) with an applied focus in clarinet. Dr. Merciers has a passion for education and interdisciplinary collaboration and believes these to be some of the most effective forms of arts advocacy. Dr. Merciers has given numerous masterclasses throughout the United States and held performer and lecturer residencies at the Conservatoire de Musique de Courbevoie near Paris and the Conservatoire de Limonest in Lyon, France. Before joining UNA in August 2013, Dr. Merciers taught at Albion College and the Flint School of Performing Arts in Michigan.
Dr. Merciers is principal clarinet of the Shoals Symphony Orchestra and regularly performs in the Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, Alabama, Chattanooga, and 麻豆社 Mississippi Symphony Orchestras. She is an active soloist and chamber musician and frequently performs recitals and lectures with her ensembles, Una Duo, Trio Leo, I voci delle leonesse, and Devil Sticks. Dr. Merciers has toured internationally with the French-American Chamber Orchestra in Lyon, France, for a multilingual adaptation of Bernstein's West Side Story; in clarinet trio in Assisi, Italy, at the 2013 International Clarinet Association's ClarinetFest; and performed and lectured at numerous state, regional, national, and international conferences. Her publication, Radio Static, was released by Onyx Lane Productions in November 2021 and recorded with her ensemble Devil Sticks, which can be streamed on Apple Music, Spotify, and Band Camp. In late summer 2024, her most recent research, Clarinet Music by Peter Temko, will be published and released by Onyx Lane Productions and distributed by Naxos .
Dr. Merciers earned all of her degrees in Music Performance, including a Doctor of Musical Arts from Michigan State University, a Master of Music from the University of New Mexico, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Her primary artist-teachers include Dr. Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, Professor Keith Lemmons, Dr. Nikolasa Tejero, and Dr. Peter Temko. Dr. Merciers has endorsements as a Silverstein Pro Team Artist, Backun Artist, and Yamaha Performing Artist. She is a member of the Alabama Music Educators Association Governing Board, serving as State Collegiate Advisor for the Alabama Collegiate National Association for Music Education (ALcNAfME), and serves on the Board of Directors for the Alabama Arts Alliance, coordinating post-secondary and professional engagement activities. Dr. Merciers earned certification from the Performing Arts Medicine Association as an Arts Educator for the Essentials of Performing Arts Medicine Certificate Course in Instrumental Music. Committed to continuous scholarship, Dr. Merciers also earned the Leadership Micro-Credential from the Sanders College of Business and Technology, focusing on ethics, leadership, and business and its ties to higher education and arts administration on a global scale in her pursuit of an Executive MBA at the University of 麻豆社 Alabama.