Thomas Carsecka

Thomas Carsecka serves as Assistant Dean of Music Admissions and Community Programs. An alumnus of the very music school he now represents, Dr. Carsecka brings a unique dual perspective as a musician and administrator, blending a strong foundation in the arts with strategic leadership in higher education. As Assistant Dean, he has revitalized and modernized the audition and recruitment process, guiding the Mary Pappert School of Music into a new era of accessibility and innovation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he spearheaded the design and implementation of a virtual audition model that not only preserved the integrity of the evaluation process but also enhanced trust and relationship-building with applicants and families across the country. In addition to Carsecka’s admissions role, he also serves as Executive Director of City Music Center, the School of Music’s extension division dedicated to serving K–12 students as well as adult learners. A hallmark initiative within this work is Full Spectrum, an event series founded by Dr. Carsecka that celebrates and explores the role of music in the autism community. Inspired in part by his experience as a parent of an autistic child, the program features music-making activities and collaborative workshops led by university music students, faculty, and community partners.

A versatile musician, Carsecka identifies foremost as a vocalist, composer, and performer, with additional expertise as a recording engineer and producer. His early training included studying opera with Mija Novich and Guenko Guechev and performing throughout North America and Europe as a member of the Duquesne University Chamber Singers under the direction of Dr. Brady Allred. His composition studies with David Stock and Lynn Emberg Purse influenced works that combine musical elements of orchestral and choral ensembles with modern electronics, sequencers and virtual instruments. As a professional performer, he has appeared in diverse settings—from playing didgeridoo, mandolin, and bodhrán in an Irish band, to being a guest vocalist at Mr. Smalls Theatre alongside Liz Berlin of Rusted Root.

With more than two decades of professional recording and live engineering experience, Carsecka has developed an extensive portfolio in the Pittsburgh music community and beyond. At the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, he worked as front-of-house engineer and recording assistant for acclaimed jazz artists such as Tito Puente, Paquito D’Rivera, David Sanborn, Jon Faddis, Nancy Wilson, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, and the New York Voices. He has also engineered at Audible Images, a recording studio led by Grammy Award–winning engineer Jay Dudt, where his work has spanned projects with both emerging regional talent and major artists including Dave Matthews. Most recently, Dr. Carsecka has combined his musical expertise with scientific exploration in the field of cymatics, studying how musical frequencies generate geometric patterns when channeled through various media such as water and powders. His ongoing work seeks to merge these visually stunning patterns with composition and live performance, creating immersive experiences at the intersection of music, science, and art.

• Ed.D., Duquesne University
• M.M., Duquesne University
• B.M., Duquesne University