Current Students at Austin Peay State University
L to R: Joy Kane, Austin Wells, Tyler Whitehead, Cheyanne Parkans, Amy Gillick, Allison Brinker, Jacob Williams (not pictured)
Joy Kane
Joy is from North Carolina, but lives in Nashville. She went to high school at Greenbrier High School. Music is her life. She plays piano, guitar, and percussion in addition to the oboe. She chose Austin Peay because Austin Wells showed her how APSU is based on a good community and amazing faculty, where everyone really wants to help and be one big family.
Cheyanne Parkans
Cheyanne went to Waverly Central High School and grew up in Waverly. She is majoring in Music Composition. She decided to come to Austin Peay because she thought the people and environment are great here. Her sister also came to Austin Peay and majored in Art. She mainly plays oboe, but also can be found playing flute, guitar, and electric bass. Something interesting about her is that she loves heights and climbing! Whenever she sees someplace that is rocky, she can't resist climbing on it, and climbs anything she can!
Austin Wells
Austin Wells is a native of Springfield, Tennessee and an alumni of Christian County High School in Hopkinsville, KY. Before taking up oboe, Austin studied clarinet with Matt Davich, and made the All-State Band on bass clarinet in 2014. Austin plays in Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Double Reed Ensemble, and is in the process of forming a professional Woodwind Quintet. In addition, he has played in the university Jazz Band and Symphonic Band.
Austin takes great pride in playing English horn in the ensembles at APSU. Off campus, Austin enjoys spending time with his friends and roommates, cooking and baking, babysitting animals, loving every cat and dog in immediate proximity, sending memes to Allison, tie-dying, and road tripping. His guilty pleasures are essential oils and aromatherapy. His favorite reed thread colors are lavender and seafoam green.
Tyler Whitehead
Tyler Whitehead is from Greenbrier, TN and has played the bassoon for eight years. He loves playing computer games (in particular, Smite). Tyler is passionate about Chinese food, with a special affinity for fried rice. Tyler is joining APSU's studio officially as a music education major in Fall 2018. Tyler can be seen playing about five other instruments, even
the baritone horn in GOMB (Governor's own marching band).
Alumni and Past Students
(please contact me if you don't see your name here!)
Allison Brinker (graduated 2018)
Allison Brinker is from Lexington, KY. She moved to Clarksville in 2013 and majors in Liberal Studies, with a minor in Arts Entrepreneurship. She LOVES a good cup of coffee and is passionate about people. She hopes to study Alexander Technique post-graduation. In addition, Allison LOVES animals! Seeing a puppy anywhere literally makes her lose her mind. She is also passionate about volunteering in the community, especially among refugees.
Jacob Williams (graduated 2018)
Jacob Williams is a native of Dover, TN. He attended Stewart County High School and graduated in the top ten percent of the 2013 class. He began playing alto saxophone in 6th grade and switched to tenor saxophone his 8th grade year, making mid-state on tenor saxophone that year. He switched to bassoon his sophomore year of high school based on the recommendation of his band director. Jacob currently plays in the Austin Peay wind ensemble. He is a double major in chemistry and music composition. Outside of the area of music, Jacob is involved in research on electronic cigarettes and enjoys outdoor activities like gardening and hunting, and he is learning to sail. After leaving Austin Peay, Jacob plans on attending pharmacy school in the hopes of becoming a pharmacist. (picture coming soon).
Amy Mitchum
Amy MItchum is from Erin, TN. After receiving her bachelor's at Austin Peay, she went on to study at the Hartt School of Music. With equally an strong passion for the sciences, she is currently pursuing a master's degree at Tennessee Tech in Chemistry. Amy continues to play oboe and is a member of the Gateway Chamber Orchestra.
