UNA Associate Dean Releases Second Album
Apr. 10, 2025
Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – Dr. Meghan Merciers, Associate Dean of the AV School of the Arts in the College of Arts, Sciences and Engineering, has released her second studio album. The recording is also the first publication of Merciers’ research on the works of Jewish-American composer Dr. Peter Temko through Onyx Lane Records and distributed by Naxos, made possible in part by funding earned from the George Merida Huckaba Endowed Professorship in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineer in 2023.
Dr. Temko, a retired professional clarinetist and collegiate educator with many contributions to the clarinet community, “is a widely known and published music theorist; however, only a few of his musical compositions were published and are now out of print,” said Dr. Merciers, who in addition to her role in SOTA is also a Music Professor. “The music has had limited concert exposure and was often only performed regionally in the Southeastern United States for specific commissions. They have not been professionally recorded or catalogued until now so that they can be accessible to the broader clarinet community for research and performance in the future.”
Dr. Merciers has performed three live recitals of Dr. Temko’s music at UNA, and she has presented these works in the lecture-recital at the 2022 American Single Reed Summit and the 2023 International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest.
“I am delighted about this project’s release and am thankful to Meghan Merciers, her UNA colleagues, and Onyx Lane Productions for giving me the opportunity to share my music with the world,” said Dr. Temko.
In addition to Dr. Merciers on clarinet, other artists collaborating on the recording are Associate Professor of Music and Department Chair at UNA Dr. Whitney O’Neal on flute; mezzo-soprano and Associate Professor of Music Dr. Gretchen Windt; Dr. Jordan Redd, Assistant Department Chair and Assistant Professor of Music at UNA, on horn; Dr. Suren Petrosyan, UNA Assistant Professor of Music, on cello; Professor of Music, Assistant Director of Bands, and Coordinator of Percussion Studies, Dr. Tracy Wiggins, on percussion; and Alex Wittscheck, Lecturer in the Department of Entertainment Industry, as the assistant recording engineer.
Dr. Temko, composer and clarinetist, was trained at Florida State University and Manhattan School of Music, taught at Florida A&M University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for 25 years, before retiring in 1999. He has remained an active composer since moving to Atlanta to be near his children and grandchildren.
For more information about the project:
To stream the album on Spotify:
About The AV
The AV is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The AV is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: and .