State Festival East Site

Felicia Barber

Dr. Felicia Barber served for the past nine years as Director of Choral Activities at Westfield State University, in Westfield, Mass., where she led the Chamber Chorale, Gospel Choir, and University Chorus and taught classes in conducting, choral music education, and pedagogy.  Barber, whose research interests include effective teaching strategies, fostering classroom diversity and incorporating equity and justice initiatives in choral curricula, and the linguistic performance practice of African American spirituals, has contributed to such periodicals as the American Choral Directors Association’s Choral Journal and is the author of A New Perspective for the Use of Dialect in African American Spirituals: History, Context, and Linguistics (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021). She has given clinics and presentations on topics related to diversity in choral music and implicit bias in classical music, among other areas, at institutions across the United States, and in 2021 delivered a lecture at Yale titled “Performance Practice: A linguistic Approach to Dialect Found in Spirituals.”

At the Yale School of Music and Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Barber serves as Associate Professor, Adjunct, of Choral Conducting and conducts the Yale Camerata. In addition to teaching graduate-level choral conductors and aspiring undergraduate conductors, Barber is developing a new initiative designed to prepare Yale students to work with young musicians on choral music in school and church settings.  

An active member of American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Barber has presented her research at state, divisional, and national conferences. She also has served on the organization’s National Diversity Committee and Eastern Division 2020 Conference Committee and is the current President of the Massachusetts ACDA board. In addition, she is regularly engaged as a guest conductor for youth and community festivals around the country, including several All State ensembles in Vermont, Oklahoma, and California, as well as upcoming festivals in Louisiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island.

Barber earned a bachelor-of-music degree in vocal performance from Oral Roberts University, in Tulsa, Okla., where she studied conducting with Dr. Edward Pierce, a master-of-music degree in choral music education from Mansfield University, in Mansfield, Penn., where she studied with Dr. Peggy Dettwiler, and a Ph.D. in music education and choral conducting from Florida State University, where she studied with Dr. André Thomas and completed a dissertation titled Phonological Features Employed in the Text Set by Arrangers of African American Spirituals and an IPA Guide to Proper Pronunciation of Dialect.

Megan Boyd

Dr. Megan Boyd has experience teaching choral music at all levels, elementary through university and in the community sector. She is an active adjudicator and clinician having conducted at Carnegie Hall, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and La Madeleine in Paris, France. She has led performances at state and divisional American Choral Directors Association conferences and been published in the Choral Journal.

Dr. Boyd previously held appointments at Concordia University Ann Arbor, Young Professionals Choral Collective of Cincinnati, and Xavier University where she conducted the 2019 world premiere of Josh Nelson’s Over Millenia. Dr. Boyd holds a B.M. in music education and voice performance from Boston University and an M.M. and D.M.A. in choral conducting from Michigan State University. 

Dr. Boyd currently resides in Raleigh, NC with her husband and two children.

Nicolás Alberto Dosman

Dr. Nicolás Alberto Dosman is Director of Choirs and assistant professor at the University of California Davis (UC-Davis). He is also the author of Growing Your Choral Program: A Practical Guide for New Directors, published by Rowman and Littlefield. Under his direction the combined UC Davis Choirs in partnership with the Community Chorus at South Berwick toured Austria and made the Austrian debut of the Andre Thomas Mass. One of the many performance highlights was a concert at the iconic Stephansdom Cathedral in Vienna. Prior to his appointment at UC-Davis, he was associate professor of music-choral conducting and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Southern Maine, Osher School of Music. He was also the Chorus Master for Opera Maine and the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s “Magic of Christmas Chorus”. Under his leadership, the USM Chamber Singers performed at the 2022 American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA) Eastern Region Conference. The USM Chamber Singers also performed at the 2019 Vietnam International Choir Competition where they received a Gold Diploma and an invitation to perform at the Grand Prize Finale. In 2017 the Chamber Singers also performed at the National Association for Music Educations (NAfME) Eastern Division Conference. Prior to his arrival at USM, he was the Director of Choral Activities at Colby College and an Applied Music Associate (voice) where he conducted the Colby Chorale, Chamber Choir, and Colby-Kennebec Choral Society. Under his direction, the USM Chamber Singers tied for 3rd place with Georgia State University for the American Prize in Choral Performance. The USM Chamber Singers ranked #13 nationally as one of the most impressive college choirs under Dosman’s leadership.

In October of 2018, Dosman was a headliner at the Encuentro Latinoamericano de Música Coral in the Republic of Panama and served as a clinician for their virtual sessions in 2020 and 2021. In 2018, Dosman conducted the New England and (full) US premiere of Stephen Edwards’ Requiem for My Mother in Merrill Auditorium. In addition to conducting All-State and regional choruses, Dosman has conducted international choral festivals. In 2017 he was the headliner for the Canta Cantemus Festival Chorus in Cuernavaca, Mexico as part of the ACDA International Conductors Exchange Program: ICEP of the Americas. Dosman frequently presents workshops at regional and national ACDA and NAfME conferences. Dosman currently has guest conducting engagements and workshops scheduled through 2023. In 2017 he made his conducting debut with the PSO and Magic of Christmas Chorus and conducted portions of the concert and will continue to serve as chorus master for this season. In 2021 he was appointed Chorus Master for Opera Maine production of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore and will serve as Chorus Master for Opera Maine’s production of Wagner’s Flying Dutchman. On June 20, 2026 Dosman and the UC Davis choruses will perform Rosephanye Powell’s The Cry Of Jeremiah, in Carnegie Hall will serve as narrator for this performance.

In addition to his academic and artistic responsibilities, Dr. Dosman is the Maine ACDA past-president and had served on the national board of the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) as Maine’s representative. Prior to his arrival to the state of Maine, he was a conducting fellow with the Continuo Arts Foundation (Westfield, NJ) and was also the director of Casita Sings Children’s Chorus (Bronx, NY). He founded the Miami Choral Festival in 2008 and was also the chairman of the Miami-Dade/Monroe County region of the Florida Vocal Association while serving as a public-school teacher. He studied choral conducting with Dr. Dino Anagnost at Columbia University and Drs. André Thomas and Kevin Fenton at Florida State University (FSU). Prior to his graduate studies at FSU, he attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. In addition to his formal education, he had the opportunity to attend an intensive choral conducting workshop with Grammy award winning conductor

Charles Bruffy.

Frank Eychaner

Dr. Frank Eychaner is an internationally celebrated conductor, teacher and communicator. He is recognized for his enthusiastic and engaging teaching style, artistic ensemble leadership and his depth and breadth of content knowledge. He believes in a collaborative process that provides authentic learning situations through engaging the whole person while celebrating different perspectives and facilitating individual growth toward achieving personal and professional goals. 

Eychaner is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Central Arkansas where he conducts the Concert Choir and award-winning Chamber Singers. The UCA choirs frequently concertize, collaborate and tour. He says, ‘my favorite part of my job is working with the UCA choirs, especially when I’m collaborating with student conductors building their skill and artistry.’ Dr. Eychaner directs the MA in Choral Conducting degree at UCA and he is actively seeking highly qualified candidates to join the program.

He is frequently engaged as a guest conductor leading professional, educational and honor ensembles. He will conduct a world premiere performance of the Xantoló Requiem by Mexican composer Julio Morales in Carnegie Hall in May, and he will spend 10 days as guest artist and conductor with Promotora de las Belles Artes, an organization that serves young women at risk of falling prey to sex trafficking by providing safety and training in musicianship and choral performance in Tijuana, MX in October.

Eychaner is frequently engaged as a clinician and presenter. He has presented more than 150 interest sessions on dozens of topics across the US, in Mexico, Cuba and Korea. He is the author of ‘Foundations of Conducting Technique’ with GIA Publications.

Joe Lerangis

Joe Lerangis has appeared as a conductor and tenor both internationally and across the United States. Currently the

Priscilla E. Browning Director of Choral Music at Cornell University, they tour internationally and domestically with Cornell's two historic choirs, the Cornell University Chorus and Cornell University Glee Club.

Active as a clinician, Joe regularly gives workshops at secondary and post-secondary schools across the globe. and Previously, Joe worked as Director of Choral Activities at Colgate University, Director of Music at Spiritus Christi church in Rochester, NY, and Assistant Conductor of both the Yale Glee Club and the Yale Camerata.

Joe spent several years in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where they completed a Fulbright fellowship and founded and developed the first music department in a general education secondary school in Mongolia to offer youth choir, orchestra, and band programs. In 2017, they reached the final round of Mongolia’s nationally televised pop idol competition, winning the Judge’s Choice Award and an award from the Mongolian Ministry of Culture. Joe travels to Mongolia regularly for research and archival work, and has presented their research at the American Center for Mongolian Studies and the Society for Mongolian Studies.

While at Yale, Joe received both the Robert Shaw Prize in Conducting and the Friedmann Thesis Prize for outstanding work for their doctoral dissertation, “Hybridized Urtyn Duu and the Making of a Mongolian Choral Idiom in the Works of Byambasurengiin Sharav.” They hold degrees from Yale School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies, Nanjing University, and Kenyon College.

Richard Schnipke

Dr. Richard Schnipke serves as Associate Professor of Music Performance and Director of Choral Activities at Bowling Green State University. His duties at BGSU include conducting the Collegiate Chorale and Men’s Chorus, as well as teaching graduate courses in choral repertoire and graduate and undergraduate conducting. Previously, Dr. Schnipke held faculty positions at Xavier University and The Ohio State University and spent 15 years as a public-school choral director. He holds degrees from Bowling Green State University and The Ohio State University and has done additional graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Choirs under Schnipke’s direction have performed at national and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and have made numerous appearances at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference and the Ohio Choral Directors Association Summer Conference. Schnipke’s choirs have also sung for the American Musicological Society and for several national seminars of the IMC: The Tenor-Bass Choral Consortium. Dr. Schnipke also regularly prepares professional choruses for the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and frequently presents at state, regional, and national conferences on the incorporation of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the choral rehearsal.

Schnipke performs regularly as a professional chorister and has served as tenor section leader for Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble (Grammy Award winner, Craig Hella Johnson, music director). He is a Past-President of the Ohio Choral Directors Association, has served on the National Board of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, and is currently on the board of IMC: The Tenor-Bass Choral Consortium. 

State Festival South Site

Reed Criddle

Dr. Reed Criddle is a Visiting Professor and Interim Associate Director of Choral Activities at the University of Michigan. In this role, he conducts the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club (UMMGC), University Choir, and Michigan Youth Chamber Singers, in addition to teaching graduate conducting. Dr. Criddle completed a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting at the University of Michigan and Masters of Music in Choral Conducting at the Eastman School of Music. At Stanford University, he received a Masters of Arts in East Asian Studies and Bachelors of Arts in Vocal Performance and Chinese.

Dr. Criddle is additionally Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Utah Valley University, where he conducts the Chamber Choir and Deep Green (tenor-bass choir) and teaches conducting, lyric diction, and voice. He is twice recipient of the UVU Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence Award (2013, 2020) and winner of the 2021 School of the Arts Dean’s Award for exemplary faculty scholarly and creative work.

Named a U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar to Taiwan in 2018, Dr. Criddle has directed ensembles, conducted research, and led workshops throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, Cuba, and the United States. He has guest-lectured/conducted at 43 universities globally. He has also conducted the acclaimed UVU Chamber Choir at national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (2023) and the National Collegiate Choral Organization (2013, 2017), as well as over a dozen divisional and state conferences of ACDA and the National Association for Music Education. In addition to his ongoing service as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for school and community ensembles, Dr. Criddle has served as president of the Utah chapter of ACDA.

Dr. Criddle is an ardent advocate for multiculturalism and a foremost ethnomusicologist of Chinese Buddhist chant. His compositions and arrangements span a wide range of sacred and secular topics, including Buddhism and Chinese folksongs, are available through Earthsongs, Hal Leonard, NorthStar Music, and Santa Barbara Music Publishing.

Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Dr. Criddle is editor of "Chanting the Medicine Buddha Sutra: A Musical Transcription and English Translation of the Liberation Rite of Water and Land at Fo Guang Shan Monastery" (AR Editions: Middleton, Wisconsin). This unprecedented ethnography and translation of Chinese Buddhist liturgy was named a finalist for the American Musicological Society’s 2021 Claude V. Palisca Award.

He has recently guest-lectured at University of California Berkeley, Oxford University (UK), Hochschüle für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar (Germany), Westminster Choir College (New Jersey), California State University (Los Angeles), Louisiana State University, Eastern Arizona College, Arizona State University, Taipei University of the Arts (Taiwan), Foguangshan Buddhist College (Taiwan), Fudan University (Shanghai, China), Beijing Chemical Techology University (China), and the Technical University of Kenya.

Kaitlin DeSpain

Dr. Kaitlin DeSpain enjoys a varied career as an educator, conductor, performer, and clinician. She earned her Bachelor of Music Education from Marshall University, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Kentucky, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Houston.

Before her appointment at the University of Houston, Dr. DeSpain taught grades 6-12, serving as choral director at school in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Texas, and teaching courses in music history, theory, and piano. She has also worked extensively with collegiate, community, and professional ensembles, including the Houston Symphony Chorus, the Symphony of Southeast Texas Chorus, and the Houston Chamber Choir.

An active clinician and adjudicator, Dr. DeSpain frequently leads workshops and masterclasses for choral educators. She is passionate about fostering meaningful musical experiences, emphasizing expressive artistry and strong technical foundations in choral performance.

Clinton Ferrie

Clinton (Hardy) Ferrie is in his sixteenth year of directing choral music, and is the head choir director at Trinity Springs Middle School in Keller ISD. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Texas Christian University and earned his Masters degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas.

At Trinity Springs, Mr. Ferrie directs eight choirs and serves as the head of the fine arts department. His choirs have consistently earned Sweepstakes awards for superior ratings at the year University Interscholastic League Concert and Sight-Reading Evaluation. Mr. Ferrie’s Varsity Treble Choir has been invited to perform at this year’s 2025 National American Choral Directors Association Convention. Previous to this, his Varsity Treble Choir performed at the 2023 Texas Music Educators Association Convention, the 2022 Southwestern American Choral Directors Association Convention, the 2019 Texas Music Educators Association Convention and the 2018 MS/JH National Cambiata Institute Conference. In addition to this, his Varsity Tenor-Bass Choir performed at the 2021 National American Choral Directors Association Convention and the 2014 MS/JH National Cambiata Institute Conference. The district-wide Keller Honor Choir, under the co-direction of Clinton Ferrie, performed in the elementary division for the 2017 Texas Music Educators Association Convention. 

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Mr. Ferrie currently serves as the National ACDA JH/MS R&R Chair. Mr. Ferrie is frequently requested to be a clinican/conductor for All-City, All-Region and All-State Choirs. He is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Choral Directors Association, the American Choral Directors Association, and the Texas Music Adjudicators Association. 

He is proud to have had 149 students selected for the TCDA All-State Choir and 855 middle school All-Region Choir members selected during his sixteen years of teaching. Mr. Ferrie has been named Teacher of the Year three times in his teaching career. The first happened in 2014 for Linda Jobe Middle School in Mansfield ISD, and the second and third were at Trinity Springs Middle School in 2017 and 2021. In 2014 he was awarded the TCDA Young Director of Distinction Award. He strives to first teach his students how to be the best humans possible and then to be excellent musicians. 

In his free time, Mr. Ferrie enjoys spending time with his amazing husband, George and their two puppies Prue and Phoebe.

C. Paul Heins

C. Paul Heins is the Associate Copnductor of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC. Since joining the GMCW artistic team in the 2014–2015 season, Dr. Heins’s principal role has been the direction of the GenOUT Youth Chorus, an outreach ensemble for LGBTQ+ and allied youth (one of only six in the nation). Since its first rehearsal in January 2015, GenOUT has welcomed more than 150 students from over 80 schools into its program, and notable performance venues have included the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, the Washington National Cathedral, and the White House for President Obama. In addition to its regular performances with GMCW, GenOUT presents an annual Youth Invasion show plus around 20 outreach events around the DMV area. GenOUT participated in the 2016 and 2024 GALA Choruses Festivals and was featured as an Insight Choir at the 2023 national conference of the American Choral Directors Association.

Dr. Heins’s previous appointments include Georgetown University (Concert Choir director) and the Lesbian & Gay Chorus of Washington (director). He is a frequent guest pianist, flutist, and conductor in the DC area. He was trained in piano and flute at Bowling Green State University (B.Mus.), flute at the University of Maryland (M.Mus.), and choral conducting at the University of Maryland (D.M.A.). His doctoral work centered around Lukas Foss’s cantata, The Prairie. Dr. Heins has presented at conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, and GALA Choruses, and has served as guest clinician for numerous music festivals and teacher workshops.

Gabriela Hristova

Dr. Gabriela Hristova is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Michigan-Flint Department of Music. She conducts the University Chorale and Chamber Singers, and teaches courses in choral and instrumental conducting, choral literature, and music performance. Dr. Hristova is the Director and conducting faculty of the Department of Music Summer Vocal Academy, a vibrant program for middle and high school students recognized for its high level of instruction in vocal music and performance. Prior to her appointment with the University of Michigan-Flint, Dr. Hristova taught at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio as a visiting professor of Conducting and Director of Choirs. She was the conductor of the University of Michigan Women’s Glee Club for two years while completing her doctoral studies at University of Michigan. 

Since her arrival in the United State in 2002, Dr. Hristova has emerged as a passionate performer, educator, and promoter of choral music who has conducted choirs of all ages, both professional and amateur. She has been active as a choral clinician, adjudicator, presenter, and guest conductor for honor choirs throughout the Midwest. She has appeared at the Michigan state ACDA conferences with the University of Michigan-Flint Chamber Singers on several occasions, as well as the conductor of the Michigan’s First Community Colleges Honor Choir. Under her direction the University of Michigan-Flint Chamber Singers were the special guests in a performance honoring Black History Month at the Pentagon, Washington, in 2010. At the University of Michigan-Flint she has been recognized for her outstanding faculty performance with the Distinguished Service Award, and for her scholarly and creative work with the Lucinda Stone Junior Faculty Award.

Dr. Hristova has appeared as a soloists and collaborative pianist in recitals and concerts with instrumental and vocal soloists. She has performed with the University of Michigan-Flint Wind Symphony and has given collaborative recitals at the University of Michigan-Flint, Michigan State University, at the Brown Bag Concert Series at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Flint, and with the Genesee Wind Symphony. 

Dr. Hristova holds Master of Music in Conducting and Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting degrees from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and Choral Conducting from the State Academy of Music in her native country of Bulgaria. 

Andrew Last

Dr. Andrew Last is the Weston Noble Endowed Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Luther College in Decorah, IA where he conducts the Nordic Choir, teaches conducting, and serves as the Artistic Director for Christmas at Luther. Last is part of an exciting choral program at Luther College that includes three choral faculty, nearly 400 singers, five choral ensembles, numerous regional and national ACDA convention performances, and regularly presents choral/orchestra works.

Prior to his appointment, Last served on the voice faculty of Concordia University (NE). Last holds a DMA in choral conducting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he was named a Hixon-Lied Fellow. He received his Master of Music from Northern Arizona University and his Bachelor of Arts in music education and voice from Luther College. Ensembles under Last’s direction have been featured at the 2016 and 2022 regional and 2017 and 2025 national ACDA conventions. Last made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut in 2019. A frequent clinician and guest conductor around the United States and abroad, Last has conducted All-State ensembles in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, and South Dakota.

State Festival West Site

Elizabeth Hogan

Dr. Elizabeth Hogan knows no greater joy than helping her students reach their fullest potential as humans and as musicians.  She's done so in a variety of settings within education and non-profit sectors with students from age 5 to 85. 

Elizabeth is a community builder by nature; her 8-year-old self kept lists of her friends and found joy in making connections well before social media!  Now, she puts those natural interest to use in creating spaces for folks to meet, share ideas and refine their craft, whether in the music studio, in sacred spaces or in the classroom. In 2021, Elizabeth founded Elevated Harmonics Studio, a space where she offers music lessons, professional development, and educator coaching, and explores the nexus of her passion for living well, making music and supporting educators. She is the Artistic Director of Bel Canto Women’s Chorus in St. Louis, MO, and sings in mirabai, a professional women’s ensemble. Elizabeth serves as the Director of Gathering Kids at the Gathering United Methodist Church, a multi-site congregation in St. Louis.

Dr. Hogan previously served as Assistant Professor of Music Education at Southeast Missouri State University, guiding people through the process of learning to be music educators whose teaching was rooted in philosophy and sparked by creativity. She has led various choral ensembles at Washington University in St. Louis, Webster University and the University of Missouri. Her work in the non-profit sphere, as the former Executive Director of the St. Louis Christmas Carols Association and Deputy Director of the St. Louis Children’s Choirs, honed her skill in partnership, community development and grants management.

Dr. Hogan holds a Ph.D. in Learning, Teaching and Curriculum from the University of Missouri and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University. She completed her 200hr CYT Yoga Teacher Training through Yoga Pipeline and Empowered Spaces in early 2022. The only job Elizabeth loves more than teaching and making music is being mom to Ellie and Ava (two little firecrackers who keep life interesting, purposeful and joy-filled).

Chris Ludwa

As Director of College Singers, Lux Esto Chamber Choir, and Kalamazoo Bach Festival, Dr. Chris Ludwa is an advocate for all types of singing, be it contemporary a cappella, musical theatre, opera, oratorio, or pop music. Named Artistic Director of Bay View Music Festival in 2007, Ludwa leads a 100-voice festival choir, 16-voice collegiate chamber choir, orchestra, and musical theatre productions that include such epic works as West Side Story, Ragtime, Titanic, and Les Miserables. In addition, he oversees over 30 faculty artists, 150 college musicians, 10 theatre technicians, and over 100 volunteers as the festival produces nearly 50 performances over two months each summer. He also directs Kaleidosong, a professional vocal ensemble he founded in 2014, which specializes in a huge range of styles such as Palestrina, R&B, jazz, American songbook, and spirituals.

Before moving to Kalamazoo, Ludwa served as the Director of Music at The Federated Church Cleveland, where he led 4 ensembles and presented an annual concert series, and maintained a voice studio for exceptional singers enrolled in the prestigious performing arts academies and high schools. At Indiana University, Ludwa conducted ensembles that ranged from the prestigious University Singers to the Grammy-nominated Singing Hoosiers, each to great acclaim. While pursuing his doctorate in Conducting, he guest conducted for both Butler University and Webster University.

In 2012, Ludwa was hired as the Director of Performing Arts and Vocal Jazz Director for Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, OH, where he was responsible for programming a subscription series of award-winning artists such as Diana Krall, Bobby McFerrin, Harry Connick, and the New York Voices. Utilizing the world-class recording studios in the Tommy LiPuma Center for the Arts, his ensembles not only performed but recorded, giving students a unique experience working in the recording industry alongside engineers, professors, and music industry pillars. He also developed a series of interdisciplinary experiences that included dance, music, and drama, including a program called Mix, Blackbox Club, and several others. An advocate for youth involvement in music, he has hosted OMEA Solo and Ensemble competition, produced workshops for local high schools, been featured as a guest clinician, prepared choirs for contest, and judged numerous high school choral competitions from concert to show choir. He remains actively engaged in numerous service organizations such as ACDA, OMEA, Americans for the Arts, and the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, where he finishing his tenure as a leadership fellow and on the committee to plan the international conference held in NYC each January. He served as Repertoire and Standards chair for Indiana chapter of ACDA while working at Meridian Street United Methodist Church as their Director of Music.

In Indianapolis, he served for 10 years as Artistic Director of Encore Vocal Arts, a 36-member, professional caliber vocal ensemble. While there, the group made three recordings and completed ten seasons of innovative concert programming, establishing itself with a unique voice in innovative, multi-disciplinary presentations. Ludwa commissioned new orchestrations of numerous works, hoping this would open access to this literature beyond a performance with piano alone. Major projects of the ensemble included several tours; a new setting of Haydn’s Creation in Spanish as part of a Latino-Hispanic initiative; a seven-school collaborative performance of Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem in German; a tribute to Fred Waring as the father of popular choral music and the predecessor of the show choir movement; and Cole Porter Radio Hour, a biographical revue that received rave reviews and over 7 performances to date. An avid fan of increasing the accessibility of choral music, he has conducted Carmina Burana three times, once with aerial dance and another using fire to enhance the elemental connections in the piece. Ludwa has also dedicated much time to producing music by Indiana composer Malcolm Dalglish, whose Appalachian-based choral music features unique interpretive and stylistic techniques.

In addition to spending much of his time with choral ensembles, Chris is a seasoned orchestral conductor, having held positions with Bloomington Pops Orchestra, Bloomington Symphony, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra. As a devotee of the musical theatre, he has worked for Indianapolis Opera as Apprentice Conductor/Outreach Administrator and guest conducted for numerous organizations including Butler University Lyric Theatre, Webster University Opera Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Edyvean Repertory Theatre, Indianapolis Civic Theatre, College Light Opera Company. Having developed a fondness for old theatres, he was instrumental in the renovation of historic John M. Hall Auditorium in Petoskey, Michigan and spearheaded a massive initiative in Indianapolis to re-open a 700-seat auditorium after having been dormant for 40 years. The hall is in use today by several Indianapolis arts organizations and continues to work toward a full renovation.

After witnessing the power of the arts to motivate and create community, Ludwa is convinced that the wave of the future is to integrate aesthetic process into education, business, government, and daily life. In this role, he has worked for Cuyahoga Community College, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Leonard Bernstein-inspired Artful Learning School Reform Model at the GRAMMY Foundation, and International School of Indiana. Ludwa has also participated in the Thought Leader Forum at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, a leading institution in the application of aesthetic process in leadership and editing his book on that topic. He has taught arts integration courses, workshops, and lectures at the Bay View Association, Butler University, and Indiana University and is a recipient of the Lilly Endowment-funded Creative Renewal Fellowship Grant, which he used to explore drumming, communication, and values in Ghana, West Africa.

He is married to Melissa, who is a constant source of inspiration, fun, and intellectual conversation. She is a Music Together(R) teacher and enjoys connecting the dots between her counseling background and musical interests. They are parents of two boys, Alexandre and Elliott.

Nicole Mattfeld

Dr. Nicole Mattfeld is Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at Alma College, where she conducts Alma Choir, College Chorale, and Alma Acapella. She also teaches courses in conducting and music education. With a passion for creating lifelong singers and expressing the human condition through singing, Nicole’s varied conducting experiences have included working with university, secondary, community youth, and church ensembles. Prior to Alma College, she served as Assistant Professor of Music at Bethel University, Director of Youth Choirs for Minnesota Chorale, Artistic Director & Conductor of Minnesota Center Chorale, Chorus Director for Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra, and Director of Bella Fiore with Sing Out Loud. Before this, she taught secondary choir and worked as a hospice therapeutic musician.

Dr. Mattfeld is active across the United States as a guest conductor and adjudicator at music festivals and conferences. She has presented choirs at festivals and conferences throughout the United States and her choirs have performed nationally and internationally. She will make her conducting debut at Carnegie Hall with MidAmerica Productions in Spring 2027. Her voice students have been awarded state and regional awards and have pursued careers as professional musicians and music educators. As a trained coloratura soprano, Nicole has performed with Opera Fort Collins, Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, Kantorei, Fargo-Moorhead Choral Artists, Minnesota Renaissance Choir, BEYOND Choir, and Chant Claire.

Dr. Mattfeld currently serves on the board of American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) of Michigan. She has previously held positions on the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA) and ACDA-MN boards. Nicole is a proud member of the American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, the National Association for Music Education, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Her research is focused on the scientific benefits of music, specifically utilizing HeartMath techniques to enhance heart coherence and physiological entrainment in the choral ensemble. She has studied under the mentorship of Maestro Wes Kenney, Dr. Rebecca Phillips, Dr. James Kim, Dr. Sharon Hansen, and Dr. Valerie Errante.

Stuart Chapman Hill

Dr. Stuart Chapman Hill is a conductor, composer, teacher, and scholar who serves as Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at Michigan State University. At MSU, he teaches courses in music education foundations, choral methods, and music education philosophy, and conducts the Campus Choir. 

Previously, Hill served for eight years as Director of Music Education and Associate Professor of Music at Webster University in St. Louis, MO, where he taught courses in music education and songwriting and conducted the treble-voice choir Aurelia. In 2022, he won Webster’s William T. Kemper Award for Excellence in Teaching. He also served for seven years as Artistic Director of CHARIS, the St. Louis Women’s Chorus, an ensemble devoted to celebrating and encouraging women and the LGBTQIA+ community. His previous teaching experience includes working with high school singers at the prestigious Governor’s School of North Carolina and teaching middle school chorus in Greensboro, NC.

As a scholar, Hill studies and writes about musicianship and creativity. Recent projects focus on the musicianship and learning practices of professional songwriters in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a co-author, along with Dr. Jill Reese and Dr. Krystal McCoy, of Q&A for MLT: Choral Music Perspectives on Music Learning Theory, which was released in 2023 by GIA. His peer-reviewed articles appear in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Research Studies in Music Education, the Journal of Music, Technology, & Education, the Philosophy of Music Education Review, Choral Journal, and the Journal of Music Teacher Education. 

Hill is a choral composer and arranger whose works are published with Hinshaw, G. Schirmer, Galaxy Music, and Gentry Publications. He has been commissioned by school and church choral groups around the United States and is especially passionate about creating high-quality choral works for performance by middle school ensembles. 

Hill earned his Ph.D. at Michigan State University, where he studied music education and choral conducting. His undergraduate and master’s degrees are from

Vanderbilt University. 

Amanda Quist

Dr. Amanda Quist is the Director of Choral Activities (DCA) for Western Michigan University, and was previously DCA for the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. Quist has prepared choirs for the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Spoleto Festival, and recently served as guest conductor for Grammy-nominated professional choir Seraphic Fire. The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and New York Classical Review have described Quist’s work as “transformative, beautifully prepared, gripping,” and “leaving the audience breathless.” Her ensemble, Westminster Kantorei, won the American Prize for Choral Performance in 2019, and received invitations to perform for the American Choral Directors Association Conferences, Boston Early Music Festival, Interkultur, and her recording, Lumina, is distributed by Naxos.

Quist was previously Chair of Conducting at Westminster Choir College (WCC). She is the recipient of WCC’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Mazzotti Award for Women’s Leadership. Quist was Director of the Westminster Vocal Institute, and DCA at San José State University. She frequently serves as a guest conductor, and is invited to headline conferences and serve as a lecturer across the United States and abroad. 

Her research and choral compositions have been published by the Choral Journal, Lexington Books, Hal Leonard, Walton, and GIA, and the Amanda Quist Choral Series are published by Walton Music and Gentry Publications. Dr. Quist earned degrees in Music Education and Choral Conducting from Western Michigan University, and her Doctorate in Choral Conducting (with Voice Science and Pedagogy Cognate) from the University of North Texas. Quist serves as Conductor of the Adult Choir Camp and Choral Conducting Institute for the Interlochen Center for the Arts. 

Jeremy C. Tucker

Jeremy Tucker is the Artistic Director for the Raleigh Youth Choir and the Director of Arts Education for Wake County Public Schools. He holds both a BM and MM in Music from UNC-Greensboro.  An Arts Advocate, Educator, Collaborator, Leader, and Innovator, Jeremy has been recognized as “a leading NC choral conductor” by the Classical Voice Network of NC. His passion is ignited by ensuring all youth have access to excellent arts education programs and experiences.

As an Arts Advocate, Jeremy has served as the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Music and Theatre Arts Education Consultant and as the Director of Arts Education for Durham Public Schools. He currently serves as Advocacy Co-Chair for the NC Music Educators Association.  

As an Educator, he taught elementary and high school choral music for 14 years and was a National Board Certified Teacher for over a decade. He is a past recipient of the NC Symphony’s Maxine Swalin Award for Outstanding Music Education, the Raleigh Medal of Arts, and was named North Central NC Public Schools Regional Teacher of the Year.  

As a Conductor, Jeremy was the Assistant Music Director for the National Broadway Tour of Oliver! The Musical. His youth choirs, including the Raleigh Youth Choir, have performed across the U.S. at renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, as well as internationally in Italy, Ireland, Germany, Prague, and England. He is a past President of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.

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Bryon Black II

Dr. Bryon K. Black II is an active choral conductor and composer. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor and Director of Choirs at the DePauw University Institute of Music. He received his DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of South Carolina, and his MM in Choral Conducting from Kent State University. Dr. Black formerly served on the KSU School of Music faculty, and also has extensive work in church music.

Dr. Black’s compositions have been performed by several collegiate, church and community ensembles. Some of these can be heard on his streaming concert albums, including In the Spirit! An Encounter with Spirituals, which features original choral arrangements of African American spirituals by himself and Durrell LeGrair. Dr. Black’s research of the intersections between gospel music and European choral traditions provides choral conductors with accessible repertoire and pedagogy for approaching gospel music. He has also served as a guest conductor and clinician for various choral festivals and other events throughout Northeast Ohio and South Carolina. Dr. Black resides in Indianapolis, IN with his wife Briannah. More of his choral work and research is available on bryonblackii.com.

Beth Holmes

Beth Holmes joined the music faculty at Millikin University in Illinois in 1991, serving in several roles over 3 decades. As a member of the Millikin choral staff she conducted the 70-voice Millikin Women with singers of every major with upper-class choral majors assisting. She led regional tours and developed an annual women’s choral festival, hosted by Millikin Women. Beth built an active voice studio during her tenure at Millikin and became the Artistic and Musical Director of the Millikin Children’s & Youth Choir Program. In this role she conducted the Concert Youth Chorale and coordinated a tiered structure of four choirs, six staff/conductors and a system of student interns from the Millikin School of Music.

Beth is an active guest conductor and adjudicator, having conducted District, All-State and ACDA Convention Honor Choirs throughout the Midwest. Recent engagements include the ACDA North Central Division Collegiate Women’s Honor Choir and All State choirs in Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma. In addition she conducted two National Festival Choirs in Carnegie Hall, New York City. 

Often invited to clinic and adjudicate in choral settings, Beth has given workshops on choral techniques and voice building at choral conventions and music conferences. Recent opportunities include a Workshop/Masterclass for Young Naperville Singers, a presentation on Women’s Choir Repertoire for the Central Division ACDA Conference and sessions on the Tennessee ACDA summer conference. Beth and her husband Brad relocated to southern Michigan in 2023, where she is busy with church and community activities and loves spending time with her 7 grandchildren.

Gregory Ristow

Gregory Ristow is associate professor of conducting and director of vocal ensembles at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and artistic director of the Cleveland Chamber Choir, Cleveland's professional choral ensemble. Prior to joining the Oberlin faculty, he served in similar roles at the DePauw University School of Music and the Rochester Institute of Technology. For sixteen years, he taught on the faculty of the Interlochen Arts Camp, where he conducted the Interlochen Singers and World Youth Honor Choir.

Ristow has sung professionally with Quire Cleveland, Cleveland Chamber Choir, Mercury Baroque and the Houston Chamber Choir and conducted professionally as artistic director of Encore Vocal Arts in Indianapolis, and as a guest conductor with the BlueWater Chamber Orchestra (Cleveland), the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Voices: A Professional Chamber Choir (Rochester, NY), Foundation for Modern Music (Houston, TX), and the Gregory Kunde Chorale (Rochester, NY). He is active internationally as a teacher of Dalcroze Eurhythmics, a method of music education that teaches music through movement. He holds degrees from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and the Eastman School of Music.

Meghan Stoll

Meghan Stoll has appeared as a conductor and mezzo-soprano both internationally and across the United States. Meghan serves as Associate Director of Choirs at Georgia State University and Senior Associate Director of the GRAMMY® Award Winning National Children’s Chorus. In the 2023-2024 season, she joined the Richmond Symphony Chorus as guest conductor and served as Director of Choral Activities at the National Cathedral School and St. Alban’s School.

Previous appointments include Director of Choral Activities at St. Catherine’s Episcopal School in Richmond, Virginia, Director of Music at the University Church at Yale, and Assistant Conductor of both the Yale Camerata and Georgia State University Singers. Meghan has studied conducting with Greg Ristow, Deanna Joseph, Marguerite Brooks, Jeffrey Douma, André J. Thomas, and Raphael Jiménez. While at Yale, Meghan received the Richard Paul Delong Prize for excellence in church music. She holds degrees from Georgia State University, Yale School of Music, and Oberlin Conservatory.

Ryan Sullivan

Dr. Ryan Sullivan is the Director of Choral Activities, and Associate Professor of Music at Arkansas State University. He conducts the flagship ensemble Concert Choir, Jonesboro Chorale, and Singing Statesmen, and teaches coursework in conducting and music education. Prior to his time at A-State, Sullivan was the Associate Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Chorus and served as the conductor of Collegium Singers and Baroque Orchestra at the University of North Texas. He has worked with choirs of all ages and backgrounds, including teaching high school singers in the Lee's Summit school district in the Kansas City metro.  

Sullivan served as President of the Southwestern Region of ACDA from 2020-2022. He has been recognized with the Prelude Award from Missouri ACDA, the Adams-Nordstrom Early Music Award fron University of North Texas, and the Professional Service Award from Arkansas State University. He is one of six American conductors to participate in the 2023 International Conducting Exchange Program with the German Choral Association. He holds a Doctor of Music Arts from the University of North Texas, a Master of Music from Texas Tech University, and undergraduate degrees in Music Education and Vocal Performance from the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory of Music.