Perfectly suited to Experience One, the fine arts department's courses allow students the time needed to fully focus on the creative process from conception to production and critique.

Judy Ulrich, Ph.D.

Judy Ulrich was appointed by Gov. Brian Schweitzer to the Montana Arts Council. This agency of state government, similar to those in 49 other states and the National Endowment for the Arts, was established in 1967 “to develop the creative potential of all Montanans, advance education, spur economic vibrancy and revitalize communities through involvement in the arts.” Ulrich is also the faculty advisor for the Polynesian Culture Club and is active in its development.

Nolan Salix

Nolan Salix is a painter and printmaker holding an MFA from Montana State University and a BFA from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich. His contemporary industrial landscapes are created through the use of materials from site such as metals, patinas, tar, and motor oil. His works have been shown across Montana as well as in Park City, Utah; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Hill City, S.D; and Skagway, Alaska. Salix’s work was featured in the Wim Wender’s film “Don’t Come Knocking” and is part of the Holter Museum’s and Skagway Museum’s permanent collections. Salix has been represented in several local magazines and newspapers, including the Big Sky Journal.

David Regan, M.F.A.

Before coming to Montana Western, Regan was a Missoula artist and adjunct faculty member at the University of Montana-Missoula. While known mainly for his ceramic tile art, his carved porcelain vessels are collected nationally and exhibited in New York and Los Angeles.

Regan received a Montana Arts Council Fellowship in 1992 and a Western States Arts Federation fellowship in 1993. More recently, his work was included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Clay Into Art" exhibition. At Montana Western, Regan teaches ceramics, sculpture and glass.

Brent Poe McCabe, D.M.A.

A versatile music educator, Brent Poe McCabe, D.M.A., has taught in a variety of educational venues, from K-12 and community college to University instruction. Throughout his academic journey, McCabe has served as choir and band director, supervised student teachers and has taught most courses within a collegiate music education program. He has also served as presenter and clinician at state and regional NAfME conferences and has authored "A Performer’s Guide and New Critical Edition of Frank Martin’s Quatre Pièces Brèves (Lambert)." Brent holds degrees from The Juilliard School (MM) and the University of Arizona (DMA).

As a critically acclaimed classical guitarist, McCabe has performed throughout the United States and abroad and has been a prizewinner in numerous national and international music competitions. He has also recorded three guitar albums. The latest, entitled "Evocación" (2012), features popular music from South America, Cuba and Spain.

Eva Mastandrea, M.F.A.

Eva Mastandrea is the chair of the fine arts department. She has taken her love of creating and teaching art around the world twice during two Semesters at Sea in 2000 and 2006. She previously developed her expertise on Asian art through her Fulbright fellowship in China and Japan. Experience One scheduling has helped her students understand and explore the creative process that is essential for artistic expression. Mastandrea has exhibited her own art in non-profit venues throughout the state of Montana.

Martha Hong

Martha Hong is a coloratura soprano with an extensive teaching and directing background. Hong received a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Drake University and a Master of Music in Opera Theatre from University of South Carolina. With over 15 years of voice teaching, six years of directing and many award winning students, Hong provides a vibrant and varied background spanning classical vocal technique to contemporary techniques. Hong is also the recipient of the National Youth Theatre Award for Best Director for her production of “Les Miserables Student Edition” with the Modern Opera Theatre Company Educational Outreach.

Gay Garard-Brewer, D.M.A.

Garard-Brewer’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Music in Piano performance and a Master of Arts in Music History and Literature from the University of Montana. Her DMA in is piano pedagogy is from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Brewer, in collaboration with TimeWarp Technology and Yamaha Corporation, is at the forefront of the new InternetMidi remote piano teaching. Brewer brings over 40 years of private studio and performing arts academy teaching expertise to Montana Western, where she is the staff pianist and teaches piano and music education classes.

Bert Brewer, D.M.A.

Albert Brewer’s training includes a D.M.A. in vocal performance from Catholic University in Washington D.C. and a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music education from the University of Montana. His teaching experience includes 25 years teaching general music, band and choir to grades one through 12 in Montana public schools. Brewer has sung professionally with the Opera Society of Washington D.C, the New York City Opera and the Paul Hill Chorale at both the Kennedy Center and Wolf Trap Farm Park. He currently directs the noontime Concert Choir and the Cantabileers at Montana Western.

Glenn Bodish

Glenn Bodish holds an MFA in painting from the University of Montana, a BFA from Southern Oregon University and an Associate's in Commercial Art from Luzerne County Coullege in Pennsylvania. In the past 30 years Bodish has worked in the art field as a photojournalist, graphic and interior designer, community arts organizer, commercial illustrator and photographer, and as a performance and fine artist. Bodish has also worked in art museums since 1992 and is currently the executive director for the Butte Silver Bow Arts Foundation. He has been teaching art for community arts programs, schools and universities since 1985. Stories about his work have been widely published in the New York and Los Angeles Times, the International Herald Tribune and Via Magazine. His work has also been published in several magazines, books and on a variety of commercial products. Bodish is represented by the Creighton Block Gallery located in Virginia City, Mont. and exhibits his work around the country.

Larry Brazill, M.Ed.

Larry Brazill teaches drama at Montana Western and is actively involved in the arts both on campus and in the community. He directed "It's a Wonderful Life" in the fall of 2008 and "Little Shop of Horrors" in the fall of 2009. Brazill was named the Montana Theater Educator of the year for the 2002-2003 academic year; the Myrna Loye Center’s Arts Educator of the Year in 1997; and received an honorable mention for Teen Ink Magazine’s Educator of the Year in 2001-2002. Currently, he is working on a dissertation study regarding the creative process of playwrights.