Joel Ahn – Composer/Arranger

Joel Ahn was born in 1957 in a remote mountain village in Korea, as a son of Baptist minister. Decades ago, Korea was one of the most underdeveloped and poor countries in the world in the aftermath of war. So, he spent his childhood and adolescence in a primitive environment. He began studying music late at the age of 15, and he was self-educated until he went to college in Seoul.

Dankuk University; Seoul, Korea (B.A.)

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Louisville, KY (Master of Church Music)

University of North Texas; Denton, TX (DMA in Piano Performance)

Musikhochschule; Vienna, Austria (Diploma in composition).

During his college years, he composed in avant-garde style for some years – not because he was attracted to it but because that was the prevalent mode of composition(as it is nowadays). But while studying in Vienna in his early 30’s, he seriously questioned the essence and value of modern music. Thus, he denounced progressive modernism and has since become an ardent devotée of the traditional style of music from the 18^th and 19^th century. As to such reversal of compositional mode, he was crucially influenced by Kurt Schwertzik, his major professor in Hochschule. So, his music strives for absolute beauty incarnated in Bach, Haydn and Mozart.

So far, he wrote over 700 works – mostly sacred.

He was awarded with the first prize at the first YourLDS composition competition with a choralwork <Psalm 23rd> in Oct. 2013.

Ann Kapp Andersen – Composer/Arranger

ANN KAPP ANDERSEN (1945-    ) was born in Ogden, Utah and grew up in the farming community of Vale, Oregon.  The Kapp family was always very involved in music in the LDS Church, as well as in the community, schools and popular dance music.

Ann began piano lessons with her mother, Ruth Kapp, at the age of five.  Her childhood was filled with performances on recitals, community meetings, school festivals, weddings, etc., along with church music and sports teams. She studied piano and music theory with Marilee Scheer in Vale for all four years of high school and continued study as a piano major with Merrill Bradshaw at BYU for two years, during which she played trombone in the Concert Band (Ralph Laycock, conductor) and sang with A Cappella Choir under Kurt Weinzinger (acting as its “pitchpipe”, since she has perfect pitch).  Ann continued to participate in musical activities after she married Thayne I. Andersen in 1966 but didn’t return to college until 1985, after her family had moved to Alaska.

She enrolled at University of Alaska Fairbanks as a piano major, studying with Dr. James F. Johnson, and in 1989 received a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance.  After laying out of college for a few years to raise a son and daughter and many Alaska Native foster children, Ann returned to her music studies at UAF and in 1997 earned a Master of Arts degree in Conducting with show music emphasis.  Her current favorite musical things to do are conducting, writing arrangements of music, and teaching piano.  Between 2008 and 2114, Ann recorded “Soft Sounds for a Soothing Sunday”, a twelve-CD set of the music of her sister, Janice Kapp Perry, arranged for piano solo. She and Janice have recently embarked on another collaborative project of Ann writing choral arrangements of Janice’s hymns. These appear on HolySheetMusic’s website.

Ulf Anneken – Composer/Arranger

Mr. Anneken is a native of Germany and has written music for film, television, theater and concert stage.  He completed his B.M. in Contemporary Writing and Production at the Berklee College of Music in 2006 and he is the recipient of the Henry Mancini Scholarship by ASCAP (American Society of Composer, Authors and Publishers) and the Contemporary Writing and Production Award of Berklee College of Music.  He currently lives in Los Angeles and is a sought after composer and accompanist.

Jay Brian Ballard – Composer/Arranger

Brian Ballard was born in Oakland California 1957 to musical parents. He lived in the bay area for 18 years. He started the piano at age 5. He began dabbling in songwriting when he was in Jr. High School. By the time he was a senior, he had about 50 songs to his credit. After graduation, he served a mission in Seoul, Korea. Upon returning, he met Kathryn Buhler in college and they married in 1979. Brian received a Bachelor of Music Composition and Theory degree from the University of Utah in 1989. Brian then entered piano technology courses and became self-employed as a piano technician in 1994. 20 years later, he tunes for the 4 major school districts in the Salt Lake Valley and has thousands of private customers. On the side, Brian continues to compose. He and friends have been at Pitchfork Studios recently, owned by Clive Romney, recording 2 soon-to-be cd and sheet music releases, “THE COMING OF OUR LORD” cantata (lyricist: Dr. Victor W. Harris) and ‘NEPHI, AND HIS UNSINKABLE DREAMBOAT” (lyrics and music by Ballard) Kathy and Brian have 6 children and 6 grand-children and reside in West Valley City, Utah.

David Batchelor – Composer/Arranger

David William Batchelor is set to graduate from the University of South Carolina in May 2015 with a DMA in music composition and a minor in music theory. He holds previous degrees in music composition from Brigham Young University (MM 2010) and the University of Houston (BM 2006). His principle teachers have been John Fitz Rogers (USC), Neil Thornock (BYU), and Robert Nelson (UH).

While much of his professional effort aims toward a contemporary classical audience, David’s greatest pleasure as a composer comes from his efforts toward his brothers and sisters in Christ. In 2014, he began concerts called Schubertiads, named after the gatherings for the music of 19th-century composer Franz Schubert, that bring live classical music into the homes of his friends. Most of all, the concerts aim to educate the youth of his community in the beauty of live classical music. Children are especially welcome to attend.

David and his family currently reside in Columbia, South Carolina.

Kurt Bestor is an Emmy-award-winning and Grammy-nominated composer who, for over 30 years, has composed and arranged music in a myriad of styles and genres. From over 30 feature-length films, 18 popular albums, numerous national television themes , and a mix of live shows and commissioned works for choirs and orchestras. As a gifted performer Bestor has performed his popular Christmas shows for over 26 years to sold-out audiences throughout the western United States. People from Seattle to Dallas have enjoyed his easy-going manner and rapport with the audience as well as his distinctive arrangements of Yuletide favorites. Bestor has also performed internationally, conducting and performing with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, the Estonian National Orchestra, among others. His most recent commissioned work is a 5-movement work for choir, brass, woodwinds, percussion, and 2 pianos. Titled “John F. Kennedy: Rise, Fall, and Immortality” and was premiered at the ACDA Convention in Dallas to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination.

Ross Boothe – Composer/Arranger/Songwriter

R. Ross Boothe has been active in the music industry as a composer, arranger, producer, music director, and manager for more than a decade.  His works have been heard on every continent, translated into 23 languages, and performed by world-renowned artists including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  His writing and production credits include work for corporate entities like doTerra and Coldwell Banker International as well as recording artists including Jarrett Burns from Fox’s The X Factor, JAYMZ Tuaileva from Fox’s “So You Think you can Dance,” and John Preator from Fox’s “American Idol.” Ross lives in South Jordan, UT with his wife (and writing partner) Michelle, and their three children.

Garrett Breeze is media composer, arranger, trombonist, and recent graduate of Brigham Young University’s Commercial Music program.

 He is extremely active in the competitive show choir scene, working full-time as an arranger and clinician for high school and collegiate show choirs in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, and Utah.  Choirs singing his music have appeared on radio and television, toured internationally, and won numerous awards at regional, state, and national competitions, including victories in the Indiana State Show Choir Championships (2010, 2012, 2014) and FAME LA (2014).

During his time at BYU he arranged and recorded music for international tours to more than 15 states and 10 countries, including two albums for the Young Ambassadors.  In 2012 his music was featured in BYU’s main stage production of “Love’s Labor’s Lost” and his music for Homecoming Spectacular (with Tony-award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell) was broadcast to an international audience on BYUtv.  During the summer of 2011 he was an intern for the Sundance Film Composer Labs, brushing shoulders with Hollywood greats including Alan Silvestri, Harry Gregson-Williams and Christopher Young.  For his senior capstone he scored the introductory film for the BYU Museum of Art’s exhibit “Sacred Gifts” which is expected to draw more than 300,000 visitors.  He continues to teach on campus as director of the Scandinavian Choir.

Residing in Provo, UT with his wife Heather, Garrett maintains a busy schedule as a freelance/studio trombonist and music copyist, performing throughout the Utah Valley/Salt Lake area.  He is a member of the Orchestra at Temple Square (which accompanies the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) and principal trombonist for the newly-formed Salt Lake Pops Orchestra, which boasts more than 4 million views on YouTube.

Jacob Broussard – Composer/Arranger

Jacob Broussard is a 18-year-old classical composer from Southern California. His first choral work is called Spirit Come, written when he was 16, and has been performed by the University of Southern California (USC) Chamber Singers;  a beautiful and slightly haunting piece.  Here’s a link to:  Spirit Come

He has always loved large chords and melodies that pull the emotion out of people.

His earliest memory was watching his older sister play the piano when he was 3-years-old.

Jacob writes: “Like most kids, I wanted to be just like my older sibling so I asked her to teach me. Not much of the patient one, she skipped the introductory stuff and went straight to “Ode to Joy”. I loved it and from that day on I never wanted to leave the piano bench. I also remember playing all three movements of Für Elise for my 3rd grade talent show, receiving my very first standing ovation!  I love everything about playing, it’s my outlet, my escape, and my constant. I know no matter what that my piano will always be there at the end of the day and I can let out everything on it.”

Though the piano’s his number one love, he dabbles with other instruments too: organ, vibraphone, marimba, guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, contrabass, cello, viola, violin, trumpet, trombone, and sax.

Classical music has always been Jacob’s true passion.he was classically trained his whole life in piano and he could never get enough of listening to classical piano, orchestra, or choir.   Jacob states: “Naturally, when I began composing, my emotions and the story I try to tell just come out in a classical form.  I’ve always messed around with little melodies since I was little. It wasn’t until about two years ago that I started compiling those melodies and writing them down, eventually composing my first choral piece.”

Jacob is working on several other works for various ensembles as well as music for solo piano.

Anthony Buck – Composer/Arranger/Singer-Performer

Anthony Buck is a singer, voice teacher, choral conductor, actor, stage director, composer and arranger.  He spent 4 seasons with Ohio Light Opera, one as an apprentice with Tri-Cities Opera and as a soloist for Salt Lake Choral Artists, Utah Lyric Opera, and the Paradigm Chamber Orchestra.  Operatic roles include Ferrando, Nemorino, Tamino, Il Duca, Faust, Kaspar, and Ottavio.  Directing credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Forever Plaid, Into the Woods, The Magic Flute, A Christmas Carol, Orpheus Lex, Father of the Bride, The Mikado, and Dido and AEneas.  Anthony composed original scores for The Three Musketeers, and Robin Hood: Legend of the Sherwood Bandit.  He sits on the board of Next Stage Productions where he has been a contributing writer for Epic: an Audience Participation Adventure and 1001 Arabian Nights.  He teaches voice and choir at the Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts, holds a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Utah.  He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and two adorable children.

Wayne Burton – Singer/Songwriter

Wayne Burton – Singer/Songwriter/Composer

Born and raised in Alberta, Canada, Wayne began pursuing his musical interests early in life. His mother recalls that he was playing some songs on the piano by ear at the age of three. With a musical family and a mother who was a piano teacher, Wayne went through training mainly on the piano in his younger years.

Daniel Carter was born in the sage brush of Idaho and learned to love the unlikely combination of country western music and Caruso’s opera recordings at an early age. At the age of 5, an accident cut a third of his right index finger off. Undeterred, he happily composed his own melodies on any keyboard he came across, since his family didn’t own a piano until he was about 10 years old. His teen years were filled with whatever was playing on the radio and a few false starts at piano lessons. By the time he was a junior in high school, he composed pieces in the style of major composers and decided it was time to get serious about learning piano skills and reading music. It was a struggle to catch up to university level piano performance and technique, but because of his composition skills, he found favor with a few key faculty members who mentored and advocated his abilities.

Through the years, Daniel has composed and published approximately 500+ compositions, with a few titles selling several million copies throughout the world. A few of his pieces have been performed by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir on their weekly broadcasts of Music and the Spoken Word. In 2012 “Come unto Him” was recorded by The Choir on “This Is the Christ” CD which went to #1 status the first week of its release in June of that year.

Daniel lives and works in Salt Lake City, Utah. He encourages his two musically accomplished adult children in their many pursuits, and believes in mentoring and paying it forward. “Believe in your dreams, do your best, do what you say you’re going to do, and never give up!” says Daniel. “Success comes from the daily practice of all of these things, no matter how mundane or difficult.”

Tyler Castleton – Songwriter/Composer/Arranger/Producer

Growing up in a family of seven boys in the small town of Preston, ID, Tyler began his musical training at the age of 7. After graduating from Preston High School in 1988, Tyler served an LDS mission in St. Louis, Missouri. A product of Brigham Young University’s Music Media program, Tyler studied songwriting, film scoring and music business, and was named the Outstanding Media Music student in 1994. Tyler spent most of his college years working as the Production & Stage Manager for BYU’s world renowned Young Ambassadors. His numerous international tours with the group took him to Russia and the Baltic States, Finland, Eastern Europe, Spain, North Africa including Morocco and Tunisia, China, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia.

As a music producer, and arranger, Tyler Castleton’s credits include award-winning albums for LDS artists Michael McLean, Jericho Road, Hilary Weeks, Kenneth Cope, Jenny Phillips, Cherie Call, Jenny Oaks Baker, Providence, and George Dyer, as well as many of the recent “Especially for Youth” music albums for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the best-selling women’s albums, “Women of Destiny.”  Tyler is also the co-creator and producer of the Nashville-based boy band, Beyond 5.  Tyler’s songs can be heard on over a hundred LDS and Christian recordings by artists including Grammy Award-winner Gladys Knight, Marie Osmond, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Julie de Azevedo, Eclipse, The Jets, and country music superstar Martina McBride.

Dr. Reed Criddle is Director of Choral Activities at Utah Valley University, where he coordinates a choral program of six choirs and conducts the Chamber Choir, Men’s Choir, and community-based Wasatch Chorale and Ars Nova.  Recipient of the 2013 UVU School of the Arts Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence Award, Dr. Criddle also teaches advanced choral conducting, lyric diction, private voice, and private conducting.  UVU choirs under his direction have performed at the National Conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization and at the Western Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association. 

Dr. Criddle is President-Elect of the American Choral Directors Association-Utah and Utah board member for the National Collegiate Choral Organization. His compositions and arrangements are available through Earthsongs and Santa Barbara Music Publishing, and his pioneering 2006 translation of the third-century Chinese musical treatise by philosopher Ruan Ji is published by Asian Music (University of Texas Press)

Recent invitations include professor-in-residence/guest conductor at Fudan University (summers 2015, 2014), guest conductor of the Utah Junior High Honors Choral Festival (2014), keynote speaker for the Shanghai Music Conductors Association Conference (2014, 2013), professor-in-residence/guest conductor at Beijing Chemical Technology University (summer 2013), guest conductor of Utah Lyric Opera (2012), and conductor-in-residence of Sine Nomine (summer 2012), Cuba’s professional, male ensemble. In 2015, Dr. Criddle will conduct the Weber District Junior High Festival Choir in Utah and the Cypress Creek Foundation for the Arts Invitational High School Choral Festival Choir near Houston, Texas

He completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting at the University of Michigan and his Masters of Music in Choral Conducting at the Eastman School of Music. At Stanford University, he received his Masters of Arts in East Asian Studies and Bachelors of Arts in Vocal Performance and Chinese.  Previous teaching posts include the University of Michigan, Eastman Community Music School, and the Young Musicians Program at the University of California, Berkeley.

Charis Bean Duke – Composer/Arranger

Charis Bean Duke

Charis is a composer, pianist, and oboist, holding degrees in composition from Brigham Young University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She enjoys all types of music, particularly anything avant garde. Her muses include Shostakovich, George Crumb, Vaughan Williams, and Bach.

Each Christmas Charis and her husband David compose a new carol together for their family Christmas card. They have writtentwenty-one, four of which have received First Place in the International Christmas Carol and Chanukah Song Writing Competition sponsored by the Amadeus Choir of Toronto.

When not busy with new music, Charis can be found experimenting wildly in the kitchen (with varying degrees of success) for her husband and three children, trying in vain to grown tomatoes organically, and playing in the pits for various Philadelphia area theaters.

Beth Emmers – Composer/Arranger

Beth grew up in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada with her 4 brothers and 1 sister. She has been playing the piano since she could reach the keys. She wrote her first song at the age of 6 and hasn’t looked back since then.

Dean Hamill – Composer/Arranger

Dean Hamill’s formal music studies started at the age of nine with piano. Eventually, he became enamored with classical guitar resulting in his attending three years of Christopher Parkening master classes and graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance from University of Southern California (USC). Other disciplines studied there included composition and orchestration. After graduation, he continued classical guitar studies taking private lessons from Pepe Romero.

While on the faculty at USC and several community colleges in southern California, the USC Guitar Department Chair, Duke Miller, recommended that he write new course materials for the guitar classes. The result was Adult Group Guitar One and Adult Group Guitar Two. Eventually, Dean adapted these courses into one of the first and most popular video guitar instructional courses commercially available to the public. Guitar Now! with Dean Hamill volumes one and two enjoyed combined nationwide sales of over 100,000 copies.

While working toward his masters degree in music from California State University at Long Beach, Dean studied choral arranging with nationally renowned Professor Frank Pooler. This experience brought to him a whole new excitement and he started devoting more energy to composition and arranging. During this period he composed, arranged music and directed the nationally recognized Grand Land Singers.

He has served in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in many callings including Stake high councilor, Stake music chairman and choir director, Stake mission president, ward choir director and among others. While residing in the Cypress California Stake, Dean was called upon to both write and direct musical programs for youth and adult conferences. Dean’s cantata, What Think Ye of Christ, has been performed in stakes in both Southern California and Oregon as well as a featured work at the Los Angeles Temple Visitors Center during two Christmas seasons. One of his most memorable occasions was when he was called upon to direct a 300 plus voice choir for a regional conference in Anaheim, California.

Dean loves setting scripture based texts to music that might help lift and encourage people to grow in faith and testimony of our Savior.

Bradley Hampton – Composer/Arranger

Bradley loves vocal harmony. Most of his teenage years were spent transcribing the music of The Beach Boys, The Hi-Lo’s, and Take 6. He would use his younger siblings as his experimental guinea pigs, teaching them those transcribed parts as well as practicing on them his own new creations.

Bradley has shared the stage with great vocal groups such as: Rockapella, The Nylons, The House Jacks, The Blenders, The Drifters, The Bobs, The Knudsen Bros., The Manhattan Transfer, and Jon Secada. Bradley is the music director, a singer, and arranger for the internationally award-winning a cappella group SoundStage. Award-winning credits include having won the L.A. Harmony Sweeps twice! SoundStage was recently featured on Emerald City Productions album Sing Me a Song: A cappella from around the World for Kids.

Bradley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education with an emphasis in Composition from California State University, San Bernardino.  He now teaches classes in songwriting and arranging within the commercial music program at CSUSB. He is also the director of Vocal Jazz. In 2012 his vocal jazz group has opened for The Manhattan Transfer and in February 2014 they opened the show for The Real Group.

His arrangements are sung by numerous vocal groups including Voicemale on “Hims II”, and West Side 5 on their self-titled album (as well as Voices Only Forte II). He arranged the theme song for the award-winning web series “Dead Grandma” hosted by Jon Header. You can hear his jingles played on The Tim Conway Jr. Show as well as his arrangements sung as promo for the hit a cappella movie “Pitch Perfect”

He has won several awards for his original compositions including 3^rd place in the choral category for the Your LDS Music Store 2013 music contest  and honorable mentions for original song in the 1997 New Era music contest.

Bradley has been a judge for the regional Harmony Sweepstakes and ICCA’s.

When not composing or arranging, he plays piano accompanying for various vocalists, school and church choirs, and musical theater productions.

Kathleen,  award-winning composer/arranger, organist and pianist, resides in Arizona with her husband, Garth W. Holyoak.  They have 4 daughters and 12 grandchildren.

Kathleen is known for her keyboard style, piano techniques, and beautiful original melodies.  She has written hundreds of vocal, choral, and instrumental arrangements as well as music for children.  Her current publications include her most popular CDs, “Angels on Tiptoe”, and two for children: “Kitchen Parade” and “World on a String” where ordinary kitchen utensils are incorporated into her music.  Her songbooks, “Songs for Every Season,” Books 1 & 2, and “Piano Solos for Every Season” include solos for every occasion. “The Big, Little Christmas Book,” was a collaborated effort with Daniel Carter.  Her hobby is photography and she is author of “Flowers in Heaven”, a book for children, and has published more than a dozen autobiographies for relatives and ancestors.

Kathleen’s music has been performed around the globe and notably for President Bush and his staff at the White House and for Vice-President Cheney at his private residence for Christmas gatherings.  She wrote orchestrations for LDS Temple dedications in Preston, England, and  Kiev, Ukraine and traveled to Kiev, Ukraine, to play the bandura (Ukraine national instrument) in the orchestra.

Kathleen has traveled abroad to perform, give firesides, teacher-training workshops, and also participated in numerous humanitarian service projects to Ukraine, Guatemala, Kenya, and to Uganda in 2014.

Nathan Howe – Composer/Arranger

Nathan Howe (b. 1982) is a Colorado composer, educator, and performer.  He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership from Western Governors University.    He has been commissioned to compose and arrange for community and church choirs, university ensembles, short films, and live stage shows.  His music has also received awards of distinction and merit in the annual music submissions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Nathan served in the Australia Sydney South Mission from 2001-2003.  He began publishing music in 2006.  Nathan currently lives in Fort Morgan, Colorado, where he directs choir and orchestra in the local schools.  He and his wife Allison have three children.

Dr. Michael Huff was born in Paris, France to an American military family in 1962.  His family moved about every two years from then on, spending time near West Point, NY; in El Paso, TX; in New Jersey, Utah, and Frankfurt, Germany.  They settled in Bountiful, Utah when his parents divorced in 1977.  He attended Woods Cross High School, graduating in 1980.

Dr. Huff served as a missionary in London, England.  Taking a break from college, he toured the Far East and Indian Ocean with the USO, performing with a country band for US military troops in Japan, Korea, the Phillipines, Okinawa, and with the Indian Ocean Fleet of the US Navy.

Dr. Huff has music degrees from the University of Utah and Arizona State University.  He has been on the music faculties at Westminster College, Weber State University, The University of Utah, and most recently Utah State University.  He currently helps to run a non-profit organization that serves Music Education in Utah – the Legacy Music Alliance.

He has led choirs for the LDS Church General Conference on three separate occasions.  Having been born in the Church, he has served in various callings throughout his life, and held his first calling at the age of six as Primary Pianist.  He has taught Sunday School, served as a counselor in the Bishopric, and for many years as a Stake high counselor, in which position he presently serves.  He is not much of an outdoorsman, so for the safety of Boy Scouts everywhere he has never served in the Young Men’s organization.

He and his wife, Susan were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1987.  They have six children. 

Randall Kempton – Composer/Arranger/Conductor

Dr. Randall Kempton (M.M. Brigham Young University, D.M.A. Arizona State University) came to Brigham Young University-Idaho in 1999 and currently serves as Director of Choral Activities and conductor of the Collegiate Singers and Men’s Choir. He studied conducting and arranging with Mack Wilberg, Ronald Staheli, and David Stocker.  Randall is a regular guest conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and his arrangements have been featured on “Music and the Spoken Word,” General Conference sessions, and CES fireside broadcasts.

In addition to working with the BYU-Idaho choir, he teaches private voice, diction, conducting, arranging, and choral methods courses.  Prior to coming to Rexburg, he conducted ensembles at Arizona State University, BYU (Provo), Utah Valley University, and the Meridian School in Provo, Utah. His other musical experience includes work as a pianist, vocal coach, and vocalist in classical, jazz, barbershop, and musical theater settings.  Randall and his wife Jen are the happy but often frazzled parents of nine children.

John C. Leavitt – Composer/Arranger

John C. Leavitt (b. 1990, Anaheim, California), is a student at Brigham Young University finishing up a degree in Piano Performance under Dr. Jeffrey Shumway. He is studying orchestration and film score composition with Ron Saltmarsh, Sam Cardon, and Merrill Jensen. Growing up in Colorado Springs, he began learning piano at the age of 8, and violin additionally at the age of 14. As a teenager he spent many summers making short films with his siblings – all of which are wonderfully-embarrassing. His love of composition and film music has grown with him and he has been happily involved in various projects in orchestral, chamber, solo-instrumental, and Broadway-style works. John’s music has been described as “American Romanticism,” but he is known to enjoy writing in a wide range of styles. He loves all genres of music – as long as it makes him feel something, he will love it.

Mary Ellen Loose – Arranger/Pianist

A Composer, Arranger and Collaborative Pianist, Mary Ellen Loose has been on the music faculty at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Chandler, Arizona for twelve years.  As a student at Brigham Younger University, she was a Piano Performance major. She has written and arranged music for the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant and the Nauvoo Pageant.  As a collaborative pianist, she travels throughout the western United States playing for church programs, state and regional choral festivals and musical theatre productions.  Along-time member of ASCAP, she has published numerous choral and piano works with Santa Barbara Music Publishing,  Jackman Music and, most recently, with Colla Voce in the Z. Randall Stroope Choral Series.  Several of her choral works, co-written with Dr. J. Edmund Hughes, are performed often by high schools across the  United States.  She is listed in “Who’s Who Among American Women”.  Mary Ellen enjoys running, weightlifting and working with young people.  Her greatest accomplishments are her four children and four grandchildren, whom she adores!

Michael Merrill – Composer/Arranger

Michael Merrill was born into a military family in 1988 in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan, and claims Albany, Oregon, USA as his home. He began taking piano lessons like a good little boy as a child, but quickly grew bored of it and quit like a normal little boy. He began playing the saxophone in 5th grade and singing in choir during high school, getting involved in theater and stage musicals along the way. He started “composing” at around twelve when he would fiddle around at the piano, trying to play various tunes by ear and experiment with different patterns. He changed his mind from wanting to be a history teacher to a professional musician after playing in band under the direction of Stuart Welsh at West Albany High School, Oregon, who premiered his first orchestration for band in Spring of 2006.

Beginning later that year, he attended Brigham Young University-Idaho where he studied music education for the first few years. After some changes in mind and heart, he ultimately decided to change from music education and saxophone performance, under the tutelage of Dr. Mark Watkins, to composition. He was accepted into the then-budding composition program in 2012 and began his studies under Dr. Daniel Kerr, and later with Darrell Brown. While at BYU-Idaho, Michael received commissions from various students for their senior recitals, including one from a particularly lovely lady who would later become his wife. He received many awards and recognitions for his music, including two 2nd prizes (Glory to God in the Highest, Winter 2012, and Anthem for Doomed Youth, Fall, 2012) and one 1st place in the school’s Research and Creative Works Conference (Mass for the Last Days, Winter 2014). Anthem for Doomed Youth was also the winner of the school’s first art song competition in June of 2012, where Michael also won the “Audience Favorite” award with Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too (text by Shel Silverstein). In the fall of 2013, Michael’s operetta Perfection of the Life (libretto by Ray Alston) was selected for performance by the school’s opera scenes program, and was well received by the audience on its premiere in December of that year. He graduated with a B.M.S. in Composition and Saxophone Performance in April of 2014.

Michael Merrill

Michael currently lives in Rigby, Idaho, and will be moving to the United Kingdom later this year where he will study under Royal Composer Paul Mealor FRSA. Michael and his wife, Helen, enjoy Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and going on walks together. Helen is also the 2nd Oboist in the Idaho Falls Symphony.

Arthur J. Michaels – Composer

Arthur J. Michaels earned a bachelor of music degree in music education from the Eastman School of Music and a master of arts degree in teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. He has taught instrumental music in grades 4 through 12 in New York and in New Jersey. His published works include music for concert band, string orchestra, instrumental ensembles, and choruses. He is a member of the National Association for Music Education, the Florida Music Educators Association, and ASCAP.

Dan Montez – Composer/Arranger/Performer

Dan Montez, General Director of Taconic Opera, has been an opera singer, stage director, and composer for over thirty years. He has performed principal tenor roles in or directed more than one hundred productions and has appeared in numerous houses, including San Francisco Opera, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. He has also performed and conducted oratorios and recitals throughout the United States. Montez received a BMu from Brigham Young University in Vocal Pedagogy and his M.A. in Vocal Performance from San Jose State University. While in college he simultaneously held scholarships in piano and voice. Apart from singing, he made a debut as a concert pianist, performing Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto in San Jose, California. After completion of his degrees, he assisted in teaching and directing the Opera workshop program at San Jose State University for four years under the direction of Irene Dalis.

Dan Montez

J. Chris Moore – Composer/Performer/Educator

J. Chris Moore, a 1971 graduate of CCM with a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance and choral education, taught public school music for two years before being named the Executive Director of the Springfield Arts Council, a position from which he will retire this coming August after 39 years of dedicated service.  His High Street United Methodist Chancel Choir has toured Germany and currently sponsors a monthly Sanctuary Series of visiting artists.  Chris has performed as soloist with the Springfield Symphony and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestras, has performed and served as assistant music conductor of the Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown, Kentucky, and has years of experience both accompanying, directing and conducting music theater productions throughout the Miami Valley.  He is currently directing and choreographing Kenton Ridge High Schools production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”   Chris regularly consults with not for profit arts organizations in the areas of board and program development, and fundraising, and has 20 pieces of choral music published by Lorenz Publishing and Beckenhorst Press.

Sue Neimoyer – Composer/Arranger/Musicologist

Sue Neimoyer – Biography

Sue Neimoyer’s compositions reflect her very diverse musical background and professional experience.  She hails from Yreka, California, where she began studying piano at age 5.  Her first compositions, written at age 10 for her neighborhood’s garage rock band, were songs in the style of the Beatles and other pop groups of the 1960s.  At age 13, she performed her first solo classical piano recital as well as a piano concerto with her school orchestra.  Her first compositional work to receive acknowledgment was an arrangement written for her high school’s jazz ensemble, which was awarded a “superior” rating at the Reno Jazz Festival.

Dr. Neimoyer earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in composition and theory from Brigham Young University and the University of Utah.  She holds a Ph.D. in music history, with an emphasis in American music, from the University of Washington in Seattle.  She served an LDS mission in the California Arcadia Mission. While in Seattle, she was the music director and organist at Trinity United Methodist Church, where she arranged music for and conducted the church’s chancel choir and played bass guitar its contemporary Christian music ensemble.  Her compositions and arrangements have been widely performed in the United States, as well as in Europe and China.  Her “Mountain Anthem,” sung by the International Children’s Choir of Salt Lake with a Utah-based “honor orchestra,” was featured in PBS’s broadcast of the 2002 World’s Largest Concert, representing and celebrating the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

As a performer, Dr. Neimoyer has played solo jazz piano bar engagements, has been a keyboardist and singer in both rock bands and in small jazz groups.  She also sang dramatic soprano roles with the Seattle Experimental Opera in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

She is currently on the faculty at the University of Utah School of Music, where she teaches courses in 20^th-century music, American music, jazz history, and opera literature.  Her articles on Joni Mitchell’s avant-garde jazz music and George Gershwin’s early music and career appear in noted scholarly journals.

Niki was born into a family of musicians where she spent her youth helping dad grade theory papers, notating songs from the radio into a cappella arrangements (for fun!), performing in community theater, and touring the country with her father choir, The Metropolitan Detroit Youth Chorus.

Niki holds a Bachelors of Science in Music Education from Rochester College in Rochester, MI.  Niki is a first soprano having participated in the Rochester College A Cappella Chorus, the college’s a cappella vocal band “Spectrum”, and several musicals and operas.  She is an a cappella enthusiast due largely to the fact that she grew up in the a cappella tradition, did not learned to play the piano until college, and has always written music without one!

Niki and her husband Matt have 4 children.  They have dedicated their lives to going where God calls them and joining in with whatever God is doing there.  They have recently moved their family to Pontiac, MI, where they work closely with the homeless community.  Niki is a licensed Minister of Music currently serving at the Shephard’s Fold Community Church along side her husband who is the Associate Pastor. The church meets in the basement of a homeless shelter.  They are currently working to raise funds for creative housing solutions and case management for the homeless of Pontiac.

Matthew B. Nielsen Composer/Arranger

Biography

Matthew B. Nielsen has arranged for choir, concert band, marching band and orchestra.  His arrangements have been performed by collegiate choirs and show choirs across the country, as well as at internationally through youth festivals and training broadcasts. Matthew is also an avid performer, playing percussion and singing for church and theatrical productions in the United States, China, Australia, and the Caribbean.

Matthew is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s degree in Media Music.  A native Californian, Matthew now resides in Minnesota with his wife and four children.

Matthew D. Nielsen – Composer/Arranger

Matthew D. Nielsen (b. 1984) is an active conductor, freelance-composer, baritone, producer, and sound engineer. He has conducted performances in venues such as Norwich Cathedral, St. Giles-in-the-Fields, and St. John’s Smith Square. Matthew has also received numerous requests to appear as a guest conductor. As a composer, he has received commissions from the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, The Combined Choirs and Philharmonic Orchestra at Brigham Young University, Cantorum Chamber Choir, and St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas. Matthew’s music has been published with Walton Music, Santa Barbara Music Press and featured internationally on BYU Radio and American Public Media’s Performance Today with Fred Child. As a soloist, he has studied with Karen Anderson & Jennifer Welch-Babidge and performed in Ireland, England, Germany, Ukraine & the United States.

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, he received vocal and instrumental training in both jazz and classical styles. After spending two years living abroad in Ireland, he earned a Bachelor of Music in Sound Recording Technology from Brigham Young University in 2010, and a Masters in Music in Choral Conducting in 2012. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Music with an emphasis in choral music from the University of Southern California.

During his studies he has performed with the USC Chamber Singers, BYU Concert Choir and BYU Singers, serving as an assistant conductor of the latter for three years. In addition, he has served as assistant conductor to the BYU Women’s Chorus, BYU Men’s Chorus and served as music director of the BYU Chorale and USC Apollo Men’s Chorus.

Rock Oakeson – Composer/Arranger

Rock Oakeson is a pianist, composer, piano teacher, woodwind player, college music professor and school administrator with 43 years of teaching experience.  He has appeared on nationwide PBS-TV as piano soloist with the Mormon Youth Symphony and Chorus, has performed as soloist and ensemble pianist and woodwind player with the BYU Philharmonic, the BYU Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and the North Texas Philharmonic.  He received his Bachelor of Music degree in composition from Brigham Young University in 1978, and his Master of Music degree in composition from the University of North Texas in 1983.  Besides composing much music for different vocal and instrumental ensembles, Rock has also written music for ballet and dancers, for television and radio, and has scored music for film and video.  After seeing a need for good educators, he elected to make a life-long career as a devoted teacher and administrator at several colleges and universities in California and Utah.  Besides music and humanities, he also taught classes in business, finance and general education.  Currently Rock teaches piano, composition and theory at his private home studio in Eugene, Oregon, where he is enjoying his retirement.  Rock also continues his life-long mentoring relationship with his past college students who continue to learn and to be inspired by his knowledge, wisdom and life experiences.

Brandon Oberhamer – Composer/Arranger/Performer

Growing up in a musical family and with a father who was a band teacher, Brandon began playing saxophone at the age of eight and within months was playing in his dad’s senior concert band. Saxophone soon became a major part of who he is. By grade five he started playing clarinet as well and continued his musical development becoming a soloist in many concerts. By grade nine he began learning flute adding to his doubling ability. While in high school Brandon performed at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Alberta Summer Games and was selected to play with the Alberta Honor Band at the Alberta Band Association Convention.

Following high school graduation, Brandon attended the University of Calgary to study saxophone with Dr. Jeremy Brown. While attending he performed in the University Wind Ensemble, Red Band Jazz Band and the “Super Sax” Group “Saxophonee”.

Brandon also became involved with the Calgary music scene performing with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Wednesday Night Big Band and the Prime Time Big Bands. During these years he began doing numerous saxophone, flute and clarinet clinics for junior and senior high schools, and taught private lessons at the Bearspaw School of Fine Arts and in his own studio.

After receiving his Bachelor of Music degree, Brandon became a sought after private teacher, clinician, and performer in Southern Alberta. During the 1990’s Brandon did several contracts with Royal Caribbean Cruise lines and Norwegian Cruise lines performing with their show bands and jazz combos. Over the past 25 years, he has also performed with several Local Bands including “The Wednesday Night Big Band”, The Prime Time Big Band”,“Hot Cargo”, “20/20”, “Tequila Rain”, “TR3”, “The Calgary Jazz Orchestra”, and “Urban Divide”. Brandon is also currently the Musical Director of the Fox Big Band.

Brandon – saxophonist/performer

From 2001-2004 Brandon was the saxophone instructor at Red Deer College as well as Red Deer’s “Adventures in Music Summer Camp. Brandon also taught saxophone at Mount Royal University’s Summer Saxophone Camp and the Head Start Summer Band Camp.

For the past seven years Brandon has been the Jazz Director at St. Francis High School, and for the past two years at Notre Dame High School, in Calgary Alberta. He also has been the Director of the Calgary Summer Jazz Camp for the past five years.

Brandon Oberhamer has performed in virtually every type of setting and has now released his second album entitled “Christmas Peace” with Pianist Marvin Goldstein.

David Owens – Composer/Arranger

David began piano study after moving with his family to Salt Lake from southwestern New Mexico.  He earned a degree from the University of Utah in piano performance.  Mr. Owens serves as Director of Music at the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City, Utah conducting the choirs and musical programs.  David also maintains a full teaching roster.

Kelly Clark Parkinson – Internationally known Violinist and Arranger

Kelly Clark Parkinson began playing violin at seven years old with her first public performance at the age of eight. She attended the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta, Canada, every summer until she graduated from high school to attend Brigham Young University, where she received her bachelor of fine arts in 1980. She and her husband then moved to New Orleans where she worked as a freelancer and a member of the New Orleans Philharmonic Symphony. Kelly also studied at the Peabody Conservatory of Music under Daniel Heifetz.

After moving to Los Angeles, Kelly received her master’s degree in violin performance at UCLA and spent many years as a session player in the L.A. and Hollywood studios. She eventually moved to Salt Lake City with her growing family in 1992 and has performed in countless recording sessions, groups, and solo performances with Ballet West and The Madeleine Cathedral Concert Series, and in recitals at Libby Gardner Hall and The Assembly Hall at Temple Square. Kelly has also performed internationally with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the Edinburgh Festival and for Palestinian and Israeli dignitaries at the BYU Jerusalem Center.

A note from the artist:

“In the four decades that I’ve been a violinist, I have played in many traditional venues and some surprising ones: the ancient ruins of an old Roman amphitheater, a hayfield in Central Utah, a grove of trees in western Canada. I arranged ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘Abide With Me’ for solo violin because I wanted to be able to play for people in any situation without needing accompaniment. I’ve known for some time that people have a strong emotional attachment to hymns—it is the music they grew up with and associate with spiritual experiences. I received so much positive feedback to these arrangements that I considered writing more, and Kelly Richardson—a local composer and lover of the arts—convinced me to arrange a collection of hymns and make them available to other violinists. I realized he was right. I had used my two humble arrangements so extensively that I wrote nine more. I hope other violinists find them just as useful and inspiring as I have.”

Janice Kapp Perry – Composer/Arranger

Janice Kapp Perry was born in Ogden, Utah, and currently lives in Provo, Utah. She is married to Douglas Perry and they have 5 children and 13 grandchildren. They have also had numerous foster children in their home through the years.

Douglas Pew – Composer/Arranger

American composer Douglas Pew (b. 1980) is noted for his ability to strike at the root of the emotional world through his music “with a showman’s touch and a poet’s soul” (Jake Heggie). His music has been heralded as “stunning…magical” (Washington Times) and “sensual, other-worldly, expressive and showcasing a rich harmonic pallet, sure to connect with audiences, while saying something fresh, profound and meaningful” (Scott Holden, pianist).

Douglas and librettist Dara Weiberg will have their newly commissioned one-act opera, “Penny”, premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The work was commissioned by Washington National Opera and will be performed by the WNO’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists as a part of the American Opera Initiative. Joining the production team is Manitoba Chamber Orchestra Music Director, Anne Manson, and Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington D.C. Associate Director, Alan Paul. In preparation for the premiere, “Penny” will be workshopped in the summer of 2014 at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival. 

Pew and Weinberg’s first opera, “A Game of Hearts” was similarly commissioned by Washington National Opera. After it’s premiere at the Kennedy Center in 2012 and subsequent performance by the NANOWorks Opera Company in Cincinnati, OH, it was selected for performance at the 2014 Opera America New Works Forum in New York City.

Additionally, Douglas has received commissions and performances from ensembles such as the Cincinnati Bach Ensemble, Polish Chamber Choir, Atlanta Opera, Miami University Men’s Glee Club, and the Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has received multiple awards including a Barlow Endowment commission, 1st prize in the 2009 SCI/ASCAP Student Composers Commission Competition, Musica Sacra International Choral Composition Competition in Poland, ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Award, Susan and For Schumann Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival, and the Tangeman Sacred Music Center.

Douglas holds Masters and Doctoral degrees from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of music as well as a post-graduate certificate from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland where he studied with internationally acclaimed composer Paweł Łukaszewski under the auspices of a Fulbright Grant. Douglas currently lives in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area where he teaches at Northern Kentucky University, is composer-in-residence at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, and is active as a local conductor and vocalist. His music is published by Boosey & Hawkes, Jackman Music Corporation, Blue Shore Music and HolySheetMusic.com

Aaron Pike – Composer/Arranger

Composer Aaron Pike was raised in Caldwell, Idaho where he pursued music at a young age. His first major work, “Omaha Beach” was premiered when he was 17. Since then he has had works performed at Rice University, The Brevard Music Center, San Francisco Conservatory and Brigham Young University- Idaho. He was a featured composer at the 2008 New Music Festival at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, the winner of the 2009 Marion Richter American Music Composition Award through the National Federation of Music clubs, Finalist for the 2010 ASCAP Morton Gould Awards and winner of the 2010 Biannual Choral Competition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Mary Lou Prince – Composer/Arranger

Mary Lou Prince was born and raised in Los Angeles California.  During her early years she took every opportunity to attend concerts ranging from classical to rock, jazz and folk.  She earned a Master’s Degree in composition from Brigham Young University and then studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris for a year.

In 1983 she went to Japan and stayed there for 24 years, working extensively with Japanese musicians and writing music for the koto (Japanese harp) and shakuhachi (bamboo flute). She worked in collaboration with playwright and lyricist Patty Willis and wrote music for award winning theater pieces that were performed in Edinburgh, Scotland, New York, Los Angeles and all over Japan, and a film called Feast of Light.  She received national awards for her compositions for traditional Japanese instruments, commissions from the city of Kanazawa to compose music for the stage and to work with Geisha musicians, and composed music for TV Documentaries. Her music has been broadcast on the BBC in Britain, NHK in Japan, and NPR in the United States.  Her works include three symphonies, choral works, a woodwind quintet, string quartets, songs for solo voice and piano, music for koto and shakuhachi, and solo piano works. Some of her strongest artistic influences are from long term travels to the holy places of the world: visiting a synagogue in India, mosques in Damascus and China, Buddhist temples in Nepal and Korea, Coptic Christian churches in Egypt, and also from fourteen years of listening to choruses of frogs and cicadas from the front porch of an old farmhouse in the mountains of western Japan.

Christopher Quinn – Conductor/Composer/Arranger

Dr. Christopher Quinn (Director of Music, Professor) came to Westminster College in 1994 after completing a DMA in piano performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder where he received two awards in teaching. Within the first year at Westminster, Dr. Quinn created several performing ensembles and new music classes. Student interest grew rapidly and a new music minor degree program was created that included private lessons, performing ensembles, and academic music courses.

Under his leadership, the music faculty grew to over twenty-five adjuncts and two full-time music faculty members. Dr. Quinn formed the highly acclaimed Westminster Chamber Singers in 1996. The choir began touring nationally and internationally in 2000 and has a huge following wherever they perform. Most recently, the choir received a one-half million dollar gift to under-right all future tours; they celebrated in 2014 with a hugely successful tour of the United Kingdom.

With the recent construction of The Emma Eccles Jones Conservatory for Music, the music program launched a new Bachelor of Arts degree in music. The program is thriving in its fourth year with the addition of two new full-time faculty members, a staff accompanist, and a technical director.

In 2003, Dr. Quinn was awarded the distinguished Gore Excellence in Teaching Award; an honor bestowed on one faculty member each year. He also received the distinguished Naomi Weyher Renewal Leave which provided an opportunity to pursue post-doctorate work in conducting and a solo piano recording, A Tribute: The Piano Stylings of Ken Manzer. In 2014, Dr. Quinn was awarded a sabbatical leave to study composition with David Zabriskie and Steven Roens. His setting of The Lord’s Prayer has been rearranged with new harmonies and is set to be published in 2015 with several other choral works.

With the growth of the music program came many gifts to the music program. Dr. Quinn has actively participated in bringing over 8 million dollars in gifts to Westminster College. Last year, for his many years of service and excellence, Dr. Quinn was honored to be named the Florence J. Gillmor Professor of Music.

Tammy Simister Robinson Composer/Arranger/Vocal Artist

TAMMY SIMISTER ROBINSON won her first talent contest at the age of two and a half years. As a teen, her exercises in arranging music developed into a gift for writing her own songs. She graduated from Weber State University with a degree in Music Education and with a few years of teaching in the public schools behind her, Tammy branched out on her own to become a private voice teacher. For over twenty five years she has enjoyed teaching hundreds of talented singers. In 2012, she joined the Adjunct Voice Faculty at Snow College in Ephraim, UT.

Jason Robison – Composer/Arranger/Conductor

When Jason was in junior high, he signed up for a choir class and was instantly addicted to choral music.  He began arranging hymns and writing songs soon afterwards.  He was especially good at frustrating his piano teachers because he would play what he heard rather than what was written.  His teachers – probably out of desperation more than anything – focused lessons on music theory rather than performance.  This proved invaluable to his muse.

Music has always been a spiritual experience for Jason, whether in the form of a gorgeous hymn arrangement, a simple melody or a shout of joyful noise.  He got his first taste of conducting when he was a young teenager and it has been his number one avocation ever since – although fly-fishing is a very close second.  Recent arrangements have won the Award of Distinction and Special Recognition awards at the LDS Church Music Festival.

Jason’s current musical endeavor is with Witness Music.  Witness Music is a non-denominational group that combines a 120 voice choir with a full orchestra in pursuit of touching hearts and changing lives in bringing souls to Christ through sacred music and works.  He serves as the Utah Chapter President, Creative Director, and on the national board of directors.  Jason has served on the Herriman Arts Council, as director of the Herriman Community Choir, and as a local Boy Scout leader.  When not writing music or wading in a local stream, he can be found on the floor with his four kids or on a date with his beautiful wife.

David Ross – Composer/Arranger/Pianist

David Ross is a pianist, singer, and composer with roots in Spokane, Washington. Previously a member of BYU Men’s Chorus, he now sings with BYU Vocal Point. David seeks to create introspective, enlightening compositions that minister relief to the soul. The baptism of a close friend sparked the arrangement of “Baptism Hymn”, his first choral work featured on HolySheetMusic.

Dr. David H. Sargent, composer, earned his Bachelor’s and Master of Arts degrees in Music Theory and Composition at Brigham Young University.  Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Music Composition were from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

He taught at the Eastman School of Music, Ohio University, and 32 years at Brigham Young University.  He held the Harold R. Laycock University Professorship for Music Composition for ten years before retiring in 2008. He has written music for many combinations of instruments: solo, choral, full orchestra and wind ensemble.  His works have been performed nationally and internationally—throughout theUnited States and in Germany, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Wales, England, Netherlands, Bolivia and Canada.

Joseph Sowa – Composer/Arranger

Joseph Sowa (b. 1984) is a composer of orchestral, chamber, choral, and vocal music. His arrangement of “For the Beauty of the Earth” was recorded by soprano Charity Tillemann-Dick on her album American Grace, which debuted no. 1 on the Billboard® “Traditional Classical” chart. His works have been performed by the BYU Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras, the Lydian String Quartet, the Quartetto Indaco, the Awea Duo, the Tower Duo, Douglas Bush, Daniel Stepner, and numerous LDS choirs, among others. He has been commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, the Laycock Endowment for Creative Collaboration in the Arts, Douglas Bush, Neil Thornock, and Arianna Tieghi. Learn more at josephsowa.com.

Ronald J. Staheli Conductor/Arranger

Dr. Ronald Staheli has traveled widely as a lecturer, clinician, and guest conductor, and has become known for what a colleague calls “a profound sense of phrasing and articulation, which informs all his work.” He is Director of Choral Activities at Brigham Young University, where he conducts the Brigham Young University Singers.  This choir has performed throughout the United States and in many countries abroad, including England, Russia, Israel, Australia, New Zealand,  and most of the countries of Europe and Africa. A recent reviewof a BYU Singers performance described the choir as “stunning in the accuracy of its intonation, its enormous dynamic flexibility, and its beautiful phrasing.” On a concert tour to Israel with

BYU Singers, a critic for Ha’aretz wrote about Dr. Staheli’s work with the choir: “This is a disciplined choir that is precise, clean, and cohesive, but never mechanical; and the spiritual elements are an integral part of each piece the choir sings.  The performance was polished, with clear pronunciation and rich, dynamic, colorful sounds and nuances.”

Dr. Staheli was a guest lecturer at the International Choral Symposium in Sydney, Australia, where the BYU Singers, representing the United States, sang two concerts in the Sydney Opera House and Town Hall.  Dr. Staheli has been guest lecturer and conductor with the choirs and orchestra of the Zimriya International Festival in Jerusalem.  In the summer of 2013 Dr. Staheli spent a month lecturing and working with choirs and choir conductors in seven different cities in China.  He readily admits that one of life’s greatest joys for him is  rehearsing with a choir that loves to sing and make beautiful music together.  Dr. Staheli has composed/arranged many pieces performed by the BYU Singers and the combined choirs at BYU.

Robert Strobel – Composer/Arranger

Robert Strobel is a composer of a variety of mediums, including chamber works, art songs, choral works, and three pieces for orchestra. He currently is a doctoral composition student at Florida State University. He pursued a Master of Music in Composition at the University of Missouri until 2014. Before that, he received his Bachelor’s degree in Composition and Oboe Performance, Summa Cum Laude, and a Master of Music in Performance at the University of Northern Colorado. Commissions include arranging a fight song for Columbia College, a work for David Halen and string members of the St. Louis Symphony, performed at the Sheldon, a Sinquefield Scholarship Commission for String Quartet, and a Sinquefield commission for oboist Dan Willett, which was performed with the Esterhazy string quartet. He was also asked to write a work based on Bill Smith’s artwork “Graphyne,” performed at the World Chess Hall of Fame, which was made into a DVD.  Some other honors include winning first prize in the FSU Force Majeure Woodwind Quintet Competition, and a winner in the 2014 Missouri Orchestra Composer’s Project. Often, he has found fulfillment writing music about his faith.

Patrick Tatman – Composer/Arranger/Conductor

Patrick Tatman is a conductor and choral music educator who lives and works in the Salt Lake City area. He holds a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Brigham Young University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Penn State University. He has taught high school choral music in Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Utah, and he has served as conductor of the BYU University Chorale, Mapleton Chorale, and Cantorum Chamber Choir. Patrick specializes in writing high quality, accessible music that can be performed expressively by choirs of all sizes and abilities.

Ryan Tilby is an in-demand multi-instrumentalist and audio engineer with experience recording (and being recorded) in every major studio in Utah.  With years under his belt as a professional touring musician signed to Capitol Records, Ryan has played venues around the world and recorded on hundreds of projects.  He studied jazz guitar at Utah State University and has two solo albums distributed through Stone Angel Music.

Ryan Tilby Guitarist/Composer/Arranger

Ryan’s simple arrangements of these hymns capture the innocence of life. His acoustic guitar performance creates an atmosphere of prayer, meditation, and soul searching amidst the adversity of mortal live. They stimulate righteous desires in the soul.

“In these hymns I hope you find the message their writers meant to convey. It’s a great responsibility to play sacred music. I’m not much of a singer, and my guitar has always been the voice I use to praise God. The reverent arrangement and solo guitar approach is deliberate; I’d like the listener to sense the emotion of the piece, not the extravagant complexities and multiple passes of guitar. I love my Savior and His kindness to me. To Him and all those He has put into my life, I give thanks.” -Ryan Tilby

“SACRED GUITAR” REVIEWS:

Jason Tonioli (pronounced: toe-knee-oh-lee) was raised in Soda Springs, Idaho and Roy, Utah. He started piano lessons when he was in Kindergarten and enjoyed practicing for the first year. Throughout his school years he disliked practicing (however, he did enjoy the fact that girls like a guy who can play piano). His piano skills are a product of excellent teachers and a mother who wouldn’t let him quit. If it weren’t for a mother who won the “piano war” with her son, this book would never have been written.

Jason always enjoyed playing piano as long as he could play what he wanted, the way he wanted. When practicing, he would often play part of what Mozart, Beethoven or Rachmaninoff had written and part what he made up while playing. His mother and teacher often looked down upon changing what was written and always told him that when he started writing his own music, he could write and play the way “he thought” it should be done.

Partly to prove to his mom and teachers that he could write music and play it the way he wanted, and partly because he enjoyed playing, he did start writing music and has grown to love piano. He is very grateful to a mother who wouldn’t let him give up piano lessons. or He is very grateful to his mother for not letting him give up. If she hadn’t won the “piano war,” none of this music would have been written.

Kay Hicks Ward – Composer/Arranger

In 1955, and 1956, 16 year-old Kay won first prize in the Utah State Fair piano competition. Maurice Abravanel, conductor of the Utah Symphony, invited her to perform as piano soloist with the orchestra. That performance began the tradition of Utah Symphony’s annual “Salute To Youth” concert.

Throughout her high school years, Kay taught as many as 35 private piano students each week.  She received a music scholarship and graduated from the University of Utah in 1960 with a BS degree in Music Education.

In 1962, she and her husband, Melvin, and their two daughters moved to Texas where he trained as an Air Force pilot.  During much of this time Kay served as a member of the piano teaching staff at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Kay and Melvin Ward

Kay has composed more than 300 piano, instrumental, orchestral, chamber and vocal works.  She has performed and lectured throughout the United States, published three piano solo books, ten compact discs and won numerous honors and competitions.  Her compositions have been performed at the University of Utah, Westminster College, the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle and the Marriott Center at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.  Much of her music is in the broadcast rotation on radio station KBYU-FM in Provo, Utah.

After Melvin’s retirement from United Airlines, this busy mother of 11 children served five missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with her husband.  In 2003, they spent a year in China teaching English at Shandong Normal University in Jinan, People’s Republic of China.  Kay utilized her musical skills effectively to guide her students through the challenges of learning to speak (and sing in) English.

Her latest concert of her own compositions was held in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah in February of 2012.  Her last choir album, “A Song…Is a Prayer” featuring the Salt Lake Vocal Artists was released in 2013.

Skyler Wixom – Lyricist

Skyler Wixom was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho to Bret and Terri Wixom. Throughout his High School career, he developed a love for the choral arts and discovered a fascination for texts that were selected and put to music. He started writing poetry himself for the purpose of someday having his works composed into beautiful choral arrangements. After High School, Skyler served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Minnesota, where he developed a love for studying, serving, and teaching others. Currently, Skyler is working on his English Education Undergraduate Degree at Brigham-Young University-Idaho, where he continues to write poetry and enhance his ability to communicate through words and text to a large variety of different audiences.

Alexander and Aubrey Woods – Violinists

Alexander and Aubrey Woods were married in March of 2011. They have enjoyed playing music together ever since. Though neither of them imagined marrying another violinist, they were drawn to each others personalities and have always had a strong mutual respect for each others musicianship.

ALEXANDER WOODS is a dynamic performer who fully embraces and promotes the panoramic history and literature of the violin. He recently released his debut CD “Corelli’s Influence: virtuoso works for baroque violin” on the Acis record label. Fanfare magazine praised his “Great flair” and his “elegant phrasing and subtle variations in dynamics”. Fanfare concluded that this was “a fine debut recording for Alexander Woods…an artist who will hopefully be heard featured on numerous albums in the future.”

Alexander Woods – Violinist/Arranger

Alexander’s commitment to a broad spectrum of repertoire is manifest in his work with an array of ensembles, including the Sebastians, New York Baroque Incorporated (NYBI), TENET, the Talea Ensemble, and Trinity Wall Street, and performances at top festivals and concert series in New York City and abroad: the Mostly Mozart Festival, Festival Pablo Casals, the Helicon Symposium, the Lincoln Center Festival, Festival Wien Modern, the Darmstadt Institute, the Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Concert Series, the 4×4 festival, and the Bang-On-A-Can Marathon Concert. He may also be heard on the Tzadik and Bridge record labels.

Alexander is a full-time member of the faculty at the Brigham Young University School of Music where he teaches violin, chamber music, and violin pedagogy. He is the founder and director of the BYU Baroque Ensemble, an early music chamber orchestra performing on original instruments created by the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City. He studied at Yale University, the Manhattan School of Music, and the University of Arizona. Alexander is originally from Tucson, AZ.

Aubrey Woods – Violinist/Arranger

Aubrey Woods, violin, is the concertmaster of the Ballet West Orchestra in Salt Lake City, and a frequent substitute with the Utah Symphony. Her playing has been described as possessing “feeling…expressiveness, and shimmering beauty.” (reichelreccomends.com) She is a sought after soloist and ensemble player locally and nationally. Also an avid baroque violinist, Aubrey has performed with several internationally-recognized ensembles including New York Baroque Incorporated (NYBI), The Sebastians, Yale Schola Cantorum, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, as well as locally with Woodsmusick and Utopia Early Music. As a teenager Aubrey was a member of the Orchestra at Temple Square (Salt Lake City, UT), performing worldwide broadcasts with the Mormon Tabernacle choir, and soloists such as Bryn Terfel and Renee Fleming.  She has also recorded as a studio musician in Utah for numerous films and television programs. Her first full-length commercial recording, all is well, a duo CD of sacred music for two violins with her husband violinist Alexander Woods, is currently available. Aubrey is from Provo, UT and a graduate of Brigham Young University.

Carrie Maxwell Wrigley – Composer/Songwriter/Counselor

Carrie Maxwell Wrigley is a singer/songwriter, counselor, and mother of five.  She is also a popular teacher and speaker, who uses music to illustrate principles and inspire hope.   She has taught and performed at BYU Education Week for the past 15 years; has written and directed many original programs for school, church, and community events; and is passionate about using the power of the arts and the media to spread good in the world.

Carrie started playing the piano, singing, and composing even before she started kindergarten.  As a young child, she enjoyed lining up all her dolls and stuffed animals, “teaching” and singing to them.   Over the years, Carrie has written hundreds of songs, dozens of programs, and several musical theatre productions. She especially loves mentoring young artists as they learn to share their talent and their vision with others.

Carrie was originally trained as an actress and singer, in the Theatre program of the University of Utah, completing both the Musical Theatre and Acting Emphasis programs there to earn her BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts.)  She then served a mission for the LDS Church in Argentina, where she began writing songs – first in Spanish (where everything rhymes!) then in English, her native language.

When she returned home to the U.S., Carrie resumed her university education, studying to be a counselor.  She received her MSW (Master of Social Work) degree, and became credentialed as an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), providing therapy for over 25 years to individuals, couples, and families.   Her composition work deepened and expanded, as her counseling exposed her to the challenges and triumphs of many. Her music reflects this blend of artistic vision, spirituality, and emotional awareness.

Carrie is the mother of five talented children, and has been active in the arts programs of their schools throughout their lives.   She has directed a school choir for many years, and wrote many songs for that choir, to help teach Character Education values through music.  She has also written and directed many church and community theatre groups over the years.  For more of her work, visit impactmusic4kids.org (children’s music)  and morninglightmusic.org (inspirational music.)

Carrie is delighted to join the amazing cadre of musicians and composers at Holy Sheet Music.  She believes that one individual can help change the world – but many, working together, can make an even bigger difference, and do even more good.

David A. Zabriskie – Composer/Arranger/Orchestrator

David A. Zabriskie began composing at the age of 12.  He received his batchelor of music in composition from Brigham Young University.  He studied composing with David H. Sargent, Merrill Bradshaw and Robert P. Manookin.   His graduate studies took him to Northwestern University where he received his masters and doctorate in Music Composition studying composition with Alan Stout and William Karlins.

Brett Zumsteg – Organist/Composer (1953-2014)

BIO:

Brett Zumsteg began his music studies on the piano in the San Francisco Bay Area. During high school he moved with his family to Long Beach, California and started to study the organ. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California and his Master’s and Doctor’s degrees in Organ Performance at Northwestern University. He also studied harpsichord and composition. In 1986, Dr. Zumsteg became a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists.

Dr. Zumsteg worked at Boy’s Town in Omaha, Nebraska, where he taught piano and accompanied the Boy’s Town choir. As a member of the music faculty at BrighamYoung University, he taught Organ, Harpsichord, Music Theory, and Keyboard Harmony. Following a year at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan, Dr. Zumsteg returned to the Chicago area.  He was the organist and choir director at First United Methodist Church for over 10 years and was the choral accompanist for Lake Forest College from 2008 to 2014, where he also taught organ, accompanied vocal students and conducted the Lake Forest College and Community Chorus.

Dr. Zumsteg has performed in the Mormon Tabernacle, the Assembly Hall on Temple Square, and on the Conference Center organ.  Although a skilled performer, Dr. Zumsteg enjoyed improvising and composing as well.

HolySheetMusic is honored to have two beautiful pieces composed by Brett: “Around the Throne of God a Band” and “Oh, How Joyfully.”   We are continuing to work with his wonderful wife, Debbie, to publish his Choral and Organ works.

Brett Allan Zumsteg, passed away on April 14, 2014.

The youngest of four sons, Brett was born on December 23, 1953, to Howard and Doris Zumsteg in Burlingame, California.

He developed a love of music and the organ at age eight. He followed his passion to receive multiple degrees in organ performance: a Bachelor’s from the University of Southern California, and a Master’s and Doctorate from Northwestern University. He held teaching positions at Boy’s Town in Omaha, Nebraska; Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah; and Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. He became a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists in 1986.

Brett touched many people through his musical talents, devoting his time to teaching, performing, conducting, and accompanying. For many years, he was an organist and choir director for First United Methodist Church in Park Ridge, Illinois, where he was the driving force behind the design and installation of its organ in 1996. More recently, Brett accompanied the Lake Forest College Concert Choir and directed its College and Community Chorus. Both were roles he served in with great joy and pride. His incredible talent added life and spirit to any piece of music he touched. He was particularly gifted at improvisation, with an uncanny ability to develop melodies and variations on the spot, even while carrying on a conversation with someone.

Brett worked as a senior client services analyst for the Business Information Services division of Smiths Group and John Crane, Inc. Over his 15 years there, he delighted his colleagues with his corny jokes and became a respected and loved member of the company.

Brett joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1975 and in 1976 married his former wife Julie Bevan, with whom he had two children, Emily and Benjamin. He remained a devout member of the Church for the rest of his life. It was the center of his life and he lived its teachings every day by serving others in any way he could. He served in many leadership capacities in his local congregations and recently to members of the Church stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Base. He donated his musical talents to the Church often, performing the organ not only in his congregations but most notably in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Mormon Tabernacle, Assembly Hall, and Conference Center.

Brett and Debbie Zumsteg

Brett and his wife Debbie have been joyfully married since October 26, 1997. They were two peas in a pod, a true team; they loved being together and sharing their home and life with others. Together, Brett and Debbie hosted holiday lunches and dinners, themed parties, and many other gatherings where they could show their love for others through their cooking and hospitality. They loved improving and decorating their home, gardening, and creating stained glass art and other decorative crafts. They also loved being in nature, particularly taking walks in nearby Independence Grove.

Brett’s numerous contributions to others are all the more appreciated due to his warm, humble, generous spirit and his wonderful sense of humor. In all walks of life, Brett was ready with a joke or pun at a moment’s notice, never hesitating to bring moments of levity to any situation, and had an infectious smile and laugh.

Brett will be dearly missed by his children, Emily (James) and Benjamin (Michael), his two granddaughters, Zoe and Eva, and innumerable family and friends.