William Pelto Appointed Associate Dean

William Pelto, a member of the Ithaca College music faculty since 1991, has been named the School of Music’s associate dean. He will be responsible for the administration of curriculum development and overseeing student academic affairs, which includes advising, orientation, registration, course scheduling, and catalog revision. He will also supervise professional staff in charge of concert hall scheduling, building maintenance, instrument and equipment purchases and maintenance, the music library, the work-study program, and special events.

Pelto will assume his new duties on June 1. He has been serving as interim associate dean since his predecessor, Jamal Rossi, left to become the dean of the music school at the University of South Carolina.

"When I took the interim position, I fully expected it to be a temporary assignment," Pelto says. "But the more I got into the job, the more I realized how much I liked it, and I decided to put in my application. I’m very happy the School of Music has given me this opportunity."

"Bill has many strengths and has done a superb job serving as the interim associate dean this year," says Arthur Ostrander, dean of the School of Music. "His experience as a teacher and administrator, as well as a scholar and performer, demonstrates a versatility that will serve the College and the School of Music very well."

Pelto came to Ithaca College in 1991 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor of music theory in 1998. He coordinated undergraduate advising for the music school from 1997 to 1999. In addition to academic and administrative duties, Pelto has served on the All-College Committee on Academic Advising and was the School of Music’s representative on the Middle States Accreditation Steering Committee. He currently chairs the Counseling Center Advisory Committee.

A regular presenter at regional and national meetings of the College Music Society and the Society for Music Theory, he has published in the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy. He is presently working on a textbook, Tonal Theory for Singers (and Other Musicians).

As a pianist and conductor, Pelto has performed locally with CRS Barn Studio, the Firehouse Dance Company, and the Troika Association. He served 12 summers as music theater conductor for the University of Alaska Fine Arts Camp in Fairbanks. He was also the vocal coach for the Hangar Theatre’s production of Schoolhouse Rock Live and served as the music director and conductor for several productions of Cornell University’s Center for Theatre Arts, including Working, Strider, and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

A Seattle native, Pelto graduated cum laude from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He earned a master’s degree in music theory from San Francisco State University and a doctorate in music theory from the University of Texas at Austin. As a research analyst in the Alaska governor’s office, he authored The Alaska Budget in Brief, a summary of that state’s budget process.

He is married to Linda Larson, a professional performer of opera, oratorio, and new music.