Faculty, Staff, and Production

Dr. Lisa Brooks is currently the Dean of the Jordan College of the Arts at Butler, in addition to Professor of Violin. She held previous faculty appointments at Baylor University, the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, Messiah College, and Dickinson College.

Dr. Brooks received both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in violin performance in four years from West Virginia University, where she was a student of Donald Portnoy. While completing her doctorate in violin performance from the State University of NewYork at Stony Brook, she studied with Joyce Robbins, and as a member of the Stony Brook graduate piano trio, coached extensively with Julius Levine and Gilbert Kalish. Other important teachers have included Rafael Bronstein, Ariana Bronne, Stanley Ritchie, William DePasquale, and Carol Taleff.

As an orchestral musician, Dr. Brooks is currently principal second violinist of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and a frequent substitute musician with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra on both violin and viola. She was associate concertmaster of the Waco Symphony and performed with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Opera Company of Philadelphia, and Harrisburg and Reading Symphony Orchestras; she also has toured nationally with the Pennsylvania Ballet Company. She was an artist-fellow at the 1984 and1985 Bach Aria Festivals, and was a finalist in the 1981 A.S.T.A. National Solo Competition. Dr. Brooks was a founding member of the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, a period-instrument ensemble.

Influenced by workshops and training sessions she has participated in at the Lincoln Center Institute for Aesthetic Education in New York City, Dr. Brooks has developed and taught a variety of academic courses at Butler. These include a non-traditional, listening-based approach to music appreciation for non-music majors, as well as a two-semester First Year Seminar sequence based on Classical Music and Society, which incorporates critical thinking, reading, writing, and speaking. In demand as a clinician for student musicians and teaching colleagues alike, her recent lectures and recitals have included presentations for the IMEA convention, the College Music Society’s Institute for Gender and Music, and a lecture-recital at a conference celebrating women in music held at Ohio University. In addition, Dr. Brooks presents the pre-concert lectures for the Ensemble Music Society.

In 2013, Dr. Brooks received the inaugural Faculty Award for Distinguished Service and Leadership from Butler University, and in 2001, she received a Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis.

Dr. Penny Dimmick, Professor of Music and Coordinator of the Music Education Program joined the faculty at Butler University in 1991. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in music education and also serves as the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Music. Prior to her appointment at Butler she taught public school general music and percussion in Indiana and was an adjunct faculty member in music education and percussion at Taylor University, Ball State University, and Marian University.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Taylor University, and a Master of Music and Doctor ofArts degrees in Music Education and Percussion Performance from Ball State University.  She is certified in Orff, Kodaly, First Steps in Music, Conversational Solfege (F.A.M.E.) and the Teaching Guitar Workshops sponsored by GAMA and NAfME.

Dr. Dimmick’s research interests include teacher preparation, curriculum design, arts integration, and the neuroscience of music. She is a recipient of several teaching awards at Butler University and received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the School of Music at Ball State University. She is a frequent clinician at state, national, and international music conferences and has recently served as conductor for the Nebraska All-State Honor Children’s Choir and the Indiana All-State Honor Children’s Choir.  She has served on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Music Education Association (IMEA), as Collegiate Chair of the North Central Division and on the National Collegiate Advisory Board of NAfME, the National Association for Music Education. She is also an evaluator and team chair of accreditation visits for the National Association of Schools of Music.

Dr. Dimmick is an Associate Director with the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, where she directs Levels I and II of the Preparatory Choirs, a part of the Early Childhood Division of ICC.  When she is not teaching, she enjoys traveling, hiking, time at the beach, and attending professional baseball games with her husband John, and her two grown sons John and Joshua.

Described as having a “deliciously smooth sound” (The News-Gazette), Jonathan Dufresne has been invited to perform internationally in Spain, Austria, Netherlands, Canada, and several venues across the United States, including Carnegie Hall. He also performed as a soloist with the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Wind Symphony, Hindsley Symphonic Band, St. James Episcopal Choir, and the LSU Jazz Ensemble to name a few.

Recent accomplishments include first prize in the 2024 Krannert Debut Artist Competition, second prize in the 2023 MTNA Chamber Music Competition, first prize in the 2022 UISO Concerto Competition, first prize in the 21st Century Talents International Solo Competition, finalist in the 2021 Coltman Chamber Music Competition, and semi-finalist in the 2021 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.

Strongly valuing versatility, Jonathan is regularly hired to perform alongside cover bands and occasional celebrities, such as Ginuwine, for corporate events, festivals, and sporting events, including the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana.

As an educator, he has held several teaching positions as saxophone instructor across Indiana, Illinois, and Louisiana. He has maintained a private studio, in which many of his students have participated in All-State ensembles, and currently serves as Instructor of Saxophone at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Louisiana State University, a Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree, also from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jonathan’s former teachers include Debra Richtmeyer, Griffin Campbell, Chip McNeill, Ron Bridgewater, Doug Stone, and Jennifer C. Foret, with additional study under renowned composer/arranger and jazz bassist, Bill Grimes. 

 DEBORAH JO KNOPICK-BARRETT  

JCA Production/Stage Manager 

Deborah Jo is a professional Production Stage Manager and Production Manager and currently teaches Stage Management for the Butler Theatre Department and frequently stage manages productions for Theatre, Opera and Ballet within JCA.  

Originally from Cleveland, Deborah Jo received her BFA in Theatre & MFA in Theatre with focus in Directing, Theatre Management & Theatre History from Ohio University and joined the staff of Butler University in the Fall of 2019. Locally, she worked for Indianapolis Opera until 2014, first as an Assistant Stage Manager, then Production Stage Manager, and finally as Director of Production, and previously stage managed several Butler University Opera Workshop productions.  

Deborah Jo has enjoyed a vibrant freelance career with extensive experience in Production and Stage Management in both Theatre and Opera and continues to freelance as a Production Stage Manager and Production Manager. Most recently, she was the Director of Production for Charlottesville Opera and the Production Manager and Production Stage Manager for Opera in Williamsburg. Previously, she has worked as Director of Production and Production Stage Manager for Hawaii Performing Arts Festival and Amarillo Opera, and as Production Manager for New Orleans Opera Association and Opera Saratoga. Over the course of her freelance career, which has spanned over 30 years, she has worked across the country with a variety of companies including Dayton Opera, Nashville Opera, Savannah Music and Voice Festivals, Imperial Symphony Orchestra, Little Theatre on the Square, PCPA Theatrefest and Great Lakes Theatre Festival.  

Cathy Sipe attended University of Akron, where she began touring as an electrician with Ohio Ballet.  She spent several years alternating ballet tours with local freelancing, most notably with Great Lakes Theatre Festival and Vincent Lighting. In search of stability, she became the main stage light board operator at PlayersTheatre Columbus, OH, with summers spent as Master Electrician at American Dance Festival in Durham, NC. Encouraged by life in the South, she moved to Atlanta, GA to freelance in all areas of live performance, including conventions, concerts, theatre, dance, and a ridiculous number of corporate parties.  After moving back north for family reasons, Cathy took an administrative staff position at IATSE Local 30.  Cathy joined the Butler community as Master Electrician for the Jordan College of the Arts in 2008, working on theatre, dance, and opera productions.  Because of the wide variety of skills Cathy brings to the table, including lighting design, stage management, production management, and carpentry, a new position was created and in 2018 Cathy became Technical Director for JCA. 

Cathy works with several other companies around town, including Dance Kaleidoscope, Indianapolis Opera, and Indianapolis Ballet.