ATLANTA—The Office of the Provost announced the 2024 Georgia State University Faculty Awards, which recognizes faculty achievement and excellence from across the university. Among this year’s cohort of esteemed faculty include two School of Music awardees, Al Thrash, professor of practice for an Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award in the non-tenure track category, and Dr. Lara Dahl, principal lecturer of oboe for an Exceptional Service Award.
College of the Arts Interim Dean and School of Music Director Chester B. Phillips expressed, “We are extremely proud of the great work of all our faculty in the College of the Arts and are especially thrilled to see Professor Al Thrash and Dr. Lara Dahl recognized among the outstanding faculty from across the university. Congratulations to them both!”
Winners will be honored during the 2024 Celebrating Faculty Excellence event in September. For more information about the GSU Faculty Awards and the entire list of faculty recipients, please click here.
Professor Al Thrash
Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award
Non-Tenure Track
In 2018, Professor Thrash joined the faculty of the School of Music at Georgia State University as a Program Coordinator and Professor of Practice in Music Management. In the fall of 2022, Professor Thrash received a grant through GSU’s Project RISE (Research Innovation and Scholarly Excellence) Challenge that funded the launch of MTM Standard, GSU’s first-ever student-led record label and sync licensing company.
“I am truly honored to receive the 2024 Faculty Award at GSU! Working at a university with such exemplary leadership that recognizes and supports the dedication of its faculty and staff is a privilege beyond measure,” said Thrash. “My heartfelt gratitude goes out to my esteemed colleagues in the music industry area and the School of Music. And, above all, I am deeply thankful to our incredible students, whose growth and success inspire us every day.”
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Professor Thrash has over twenty-five years of experience working in the music and entertainment business. He started his career as a college marketing representative with BMG Distribution. Upon graduating, Professor Thrash landed a full-time position in Atlanta, and later Nashville, TN, handling sales and marketing duties for some of BMG’s biggest artists, including Outkast, Whitney Houston, Wu-Tang Clan, Dave Matthews Band and Usher. After working over seven years with the company, he left to pursue his dreams of entrepreneurship and partnered with a college friend to launch a music consulting company, Own Music LLC. They successfully curated events and secured endorsements for music artists with brands such as Coca-Cola, Adidas, T Mobile, Essence Music Festival and Miller Coors.
Dr. Lara Dahl
Exceptional Service Award
In addition to her role as principal lecturer of oboe, Dr. Dahl serves as the School of Music’s graduate director and woodwind coordinator. In 2022, Dr. Dahl was appointed as the first College of the Arts Non-Tenure Track Faculty Advocate. She is passionate about advocating for non-tenure track faculty and has worked on several GSU university committees to update best practices for the university and college NTT promotion manuals. She served as Vice-President of the GSU NTT Affinity group from 2023-2024 and will be the President for the 2024-2025 academic year.
“I am thrilled and honored to receive this award. Since becoming graduate director in 2020 and the COTA NTT Faculty Advocate in 2022, I have discovered a love for service,” said Dr. Dahl. “I look forward to continuing to serve the students, staff and faculty in the university community.”
Professionally, Dr. Dahl has performed oboe with the Atlanta, Utah and Phoenix Symphony Orchestras, the Arizona Opera Company and the Sunflower Music Festival Chamber Orchestra. As a member of Atlanta Chamber Winds, she can be heard on two albums: Music from Paris and Wind Music on the Albany label. Dr. Dahl currently performs with Ensemble ATL and substitutes with the Atlanta Opera Orchestra, Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and Columbus Symphony. She performs frequently with Chamber Music Atlanta, is an active freelance musician throughout Atlanta, and is also in demand in the metro Atlanta area as an adjudicator, master-class clinician and sectional coach.