JMM Student teachers & Assistants!
Alex Cope
Alex Cope is entering his fourth year studying music education at UW - Madison. He has studied and taught percussion for several years, and has learned from the likes of Dr. Matthew Endres, Devin Drobka, and Brian Ford. Throughout his time in college, he has ingrained himself in the local Madison music scene, performing consistently with local groups Cause and Control, ddddangit, and Varsity Mac. At UW - Madison, Alex has also spent time with the UW Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Composers Group, and the UW Bridge Ensemble. In 2024, Alex received the jazz area’s Full Compass Award, as well as the music education area’s Joanne Brown Krause Award. While his primary focus is jazz drum set, Alex also actively performs in Madison on bass.
Anthony Kading
Anthony Kading is a Music Educator from Oregon, Wisconsin. Beginning his career in Music Education in 2004 after studying Tuba, Composition, and Arts Management at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, Tony actively composed and presented clinics and workshops on his music and composing with student ensembles for High School and Middle School Concert Ensembles, as well as Marching and Jazz Ensembles. This passion for how students are shaped by music and the compositional process led the way for Mr. Kading to pursue a formal career in Music Education in 2007. He has since taught a variety of Beginning Bands, Middle School Bands, and High School Bands in Sun Prairie, Fort Atkinson, Oregon, and Trempealeau, Wisconsin; been an Artistic Director for the Longmont Youth Symphony and Longmont Youth Wind Ensemble in Longmont, Colorado. While teaching, Mr. Kading has also been an active performer and has performed with ensembles with a wide variety of genres including, New Orleans Tradition Jazz, New Orleans Funk, Funk, Brazilian Bateria, West African High Life, Balkan Dance, Big Band Jazz, and Symphony Orchestras. Tony earned his Master's Degree in Music Education with cognates in Jazz Studies, Literature, and Conducting, as well as Music Education Research. His research focused on creating conducive environments that foster curiosity and creativity. Tony currently resides in Oregon Wisconsin with his daughter Eleanor, son Leo, and wife Abigail Kading, who is an amazing music educator in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
Arun Marion
Mr. Marion is currently a senior pursuing a degree in Instrumental Music Education from UW-Madison. He has been playing the oboe since fifth grade, and currently studies under Dr. Lindsay Flowers as part of the Mead-Witter School of Music oboe studio. The oboe is his primary instrument, but he is also an accomplished pianist. As a high-schooler, Mr. Marion was an oboist with The Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Youth Symphony of DuPage. He was also a member of his high school Wind Ensemble, and played in the drumline in his high school marching band. In the drumline, he played the Glockenspiel, bass drum, and quad tenors. As a college student, Mr. Marion has played oboe as a member of the UW Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as part of a number of small instrumental ensembles in various musical genres as well.