A member of Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in Watertown, SD, Arlene has directed the choir there for 22 years. The church is blessed with talented singers and accompanists. Arlene enjoys selecting choral anthems that help interpret the Bible readings or theme for the day, reflect God’s amazing love and inclusive grace, and remind us to care for our neighbors. Several pieces in the choir’s inventory are composed or arranged by Mark Hayes. Arlene is also co-director of a 60-voice ecumenical Christmas community choir whose members are from 10+ churches in the Watertown area.

The Praise & Rejoice Choir is composed of about 25 singers and talented accompanist Mary Wika. They sing meaningful anthems and help lead worship at two Sunday services, about twice a month, from September through May. The choir’s repertoire ranges from tender a cappella pieces to rousing spirituals. Anthems are occasionally accompanied by flute, brass, violin, cello, or percussion. Some anthems are joined by children’s voices, representing three generations.

Joni Bedard has been the Director of Music Ministries at First United Methodist Church of Marble Falls for 20 years. She directs Children, Youth and Adult Choirs as well as Handbell choirs and small ensembles. Joni Studied voice and piano at The University of Nebraska and completed her Music Ministry Certification for the United Methodist Church at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, TX.

The 40 voice Chancel Choir of First United Methodist Church leads traditional worship each Sunday and presents two or three Musical Cantatas to the community each year. They enjoy a diverse selection of anthems and love to bring in composers as Joseph Martin, Bruce Greer, Joel Raney and more, for special weekend retreats.

Cody Johnson has been Director of Worship Arts at Gulf Shores UMC for 8 years. He holds music degrees from the University of Mobile and Samford University. Along with talented organist, Jackie Dahlman, he leads the chancel choir, as well as many other musical groups within the worship arts ministry. Originally from St. Stephens, Alabama, he gained his love of music and teaching from his dad, brothers, and mother, Colette. He and his wife, Michelle, enjoy spending free time walking their 3 dogs!

The Gulf Shores UMC Chancel Choir in Gulf Shores, Alabama, is very active in both worship and concert throughout the year. Besides leading both 8:30 and 11:00 traditional worship services each Sunday morning, they perform a minimum of 4 concerts every year, in addition to Good Friday, Easter and Christmas. They strive to perform at least one masterwork annually, and were excited to welcome Mark Hayes last year to conduct their Christmas concert, including portions of his International Carol Suites. They are thrilled to have the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall for the first time!

Dr. Imgyu Kang joined Oral Roberts University in 2017 as the Director of Choral Activities where he directs several choirs and teaches Choral Conducting, Applied Voice, coordination of choral activities and events, and serves as an advisor to choral and conducting students. He was the assistant conductor of the University of Alabama and Georgia State University Singers. His teachings draw from a wide-ranging repertoire, covering all periodic styles and genres, while incorporating many performance techniques and practices for vocal students as well as aspiring conductors, especially in facilitating the discovery of expression and spirituality in musical performance.

ORU Chamber Singers: A highly selective vocal performance ensemble, which performs both a cappella and accompanied music in a variety of styles selected from the Renaissance period through the 21st century. ORU Chamber Singers performs at local events, on tours, and performs regularly throughout the community and region.

Melia Williams has been in the Northwest for the past six years as director for choirs and hand bells at Auburn Adventist Academy. Ms. Williams came to Auburn after spending the majority of her career in the Midwest at boarding academies in Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska and North Dakota. She feels fortunate to have had the privilege of working with high school students throughout her teaching life. Other activities in the vocal program each year include producing a Broadway musical, coordinating a music festival for Western Washington Adventist Schools, as well as being the clinician for the festival choir. Ms. Williams groups also perform for churches, schools and other special events in the community. Each spring, Sylvan Chorale spends a week touring and performing all over the United States. Mrs. Williams celebrated a milestone of touring in all 50 states last spring by taking her choir to Hawaii.

SYLVAN CHORALE is the elite travelling choral group from Auburn Adventist Academy. The Seventh-day Adventist Christian high school was established in 1919 and is located in Auburn, Washington. AAA is surrounded by wooded land with a spectacular view of Mt. Rainier from the front campus. The chorale has been in existence for approximately 80 years and has a rich tradition of sacred and secular repertoire. Sylvan means “living in or abounding in woods and trees.” The group performs for churches, schools and local community events in western Washington throughout the school year. Each April, Sylvan travels for a week performing for churches and schools. Some of the past trips have included Southern and Northern California, Colorado, Washington, D.C., Alaska, and Hawaii. The group ranges in size from 18 to 28 members and includes students in grades 9 – 12.

Paul Robinson is Director of Worship Arts and Organist at First Presbyterian Church in Rapid City, South Dakota. A vocal performance graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Robinson spent a number of years managing health clubs in Southern California prior to his work in music ministry. An advocate for congregational song, Robinson utilizes traditional hymnody, jazz, world music, and his own compositions to enrich the song of the people. Active in the local arts community, Paul has performed as a soloist or directed performances with the Dakota Choral Union, Black Hills Community Theatre, and the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra.

The First Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir provides musical leadership for most worship services. In addition to stylistically diverse choral anthems and the occasional hymn festival, they perform larger works during the Christmas and Easter seasons. In January they were honored to sing at the South Dakota ACDA 2018 Winter Convention and in March gave a well-received performance of Bob Chilcott’s St. John Passion for chorus and orchestra.

Marlene Stanley loved music before she was born. Her father was a choral conductor and a Juilliard graduate, and her mother was a singer with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She began studying under her father, in the Utah Symphony Choir, developing a directing style, unique to her. She began a successful community choir in Houston, TX, and is the current founder/director of two long-standing choirs in South Jordan, Utah. Her “Deci’Belles”, a 40-voice auditioned women’s choir, produces over 65 performances a year. Her “Sounds of the Season” project is a choir of 140 voices and a 31 piece orchestra. Deborah Veater has recently accepted the opportunity as Assistant Conductor for Marlene Stanley and the South Jordan Chorale. Along with that she has taken on the responsibility to musically prepare the choir for the “Music of Mark Hayes” concert. She has a BA in music from the University of Utah, serving her community as a conductor of sacred and secular choirs. She has served as a Symphony Docent for the Utah Symphony in local grade schools, and as a hired professional consultant for musical productions. She has performed in many choral organizations and has taught voice for 30 years.

SoJo Choral Arts, a non-profit, organized in 2016 to support choral education and performance in the South Jordan, Utah area, currently oversees two choral groups founded by Director, Marlene Stanley. “Sounds of the Season Chorale and Orchestra” and “Deci’Belles”, now in their 14th and 16th years, have produced hundreds of performances and workshops, building a strong local presence. “This is a powerful community of non-denominational musicians who come together to make a difference. Now with non-profit status, we are able to partner with charities, giving back in ways we have never been able to before.” –McKell Scanlan, Executive Director

Tara Beitzel is the Choir Director at Trinity Lutheran Church and teaches voice out of her home studio. An accomplished mezzo-soprano, Tara is often the alto soloist for oratorios including Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Requiem. She leads Trinity Lutheran’s 40-voice Festival Choir for annual Christmas and Easter Cantatas with full orchestra. Tara earned her bachelors degree in English with a minor in vocal performance from Gettysburg College and holds a master’s degree in education from Goucher College. She lives with her husband and son in Mount Joy.

The Trinity Lutheran Festival Choir is a 40-voice choir under the direction of Tara Beitzel. The Choir shares their vocal talents during special worship events throughout the year; primarily cantatas. These special cantatas celebrate the Easter and Christmas seasons and are led by a full orchestra. Recent cantatas include: What Sweeter Music: A Festival of Carols by Mark Hayes, Let Heaven and Nature Sing Gloria by Mark Hayes and John Parker and Behold the Lamb by Lloyd Larson. The choir has also sung for pastoral ordination and installation services.

James Steven Harter is an ordained Minister of Music in the United Methodist Church. He received a Bachelor of Music Education from McMurry University in Abilene, Texas (1978) and a Master of Church Music from Scarritt Graduate School in Nashville, Tennessee (1980). He was the Director of Music Ministries at Central United Protestant Church in Richland, Washington from 1980-1997 and has been the Minister of Music and Arts at First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado since 1997. Since 1988, his choirs have performed all over the United States and Europe, including Carnegie Hall in 1993, and also as the featured USA choir at the International Church Music Festival in Bern, Switzerland in 1999. Additionally, Rev. Harter was awarded the National Religious Week Music Alliance Award of Distinction in 2002. In recent years, his youth choir has sung in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., the Texas State Capitol Rotunda, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, NM and the Holy Cross Chapel in Sedona, AZ. His youth choir members have been selected to sing in the National Honor Youth Choir (2017) and the select CUE Choral Ambassadors concert tour of Ireland (2018).Both of these choirs are sponsored by Youth CUE.

The Youth Chorale of First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado is one of 12 performing ensembles. Members of the Chorale are selected by audition from the larger youth choir. All members of the Chorale must be in high school. In addition to singing monthly in worship at First Methodist, the Chorale sings for occasional community events. The Chorale also performs one third of every concert on the annual youth choir ten day tour. Members of the Chorale are required to continue their membership in the larger youth choir. The Chorale rehearses for 55 minutes every Sunday afternoon prior to the larger youth choir rehearsal. Members of the Chorale are held to a higher attendance expectation than the members of the larger youth choir. Many members of the Chorale are also members of the Colorado All State Choir. Four members of the Chorale were selected to be in a 24 member select chorus (selected from across the U.S.) to sing as Choral Ambassadors with YouthCUE for a 12 day concert tour of Ireland in July, 2018.