2013 Confirmed Clinicians
Tim was born and brought up in St. Albans, England. He attended St. Albans School and studied the organ at St. Albans Cathedral. In 1981 he was elected as Organ Scholar at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he completed his degree in music and studied organ with Nicholas Kynaston.
In 1986, Tim became Assistant Master of the Music at Chelmsford Cathedral in Essex. In 1991, Tim was appointed Organist and Master of Choristers at St. Columb's Cathedral in Derry, Northern Ireland. He revived the men and boys choir and co-founded the Two Cathedrals Festival, a major cross-community event that became the Province's most significant music festival. He was also City Organist, President of the Ulster Society of Organists and Choirmasters and prominent in the arts scene for Northern Ireland.
In 2001, Tim took up residence in St. Louis. It was there that he met and fell in love with a young soprano, Christine Westhoff, and they were married in 2004. Tim and Christine moved to Little Rock in 2006, where their daughter, Cecilia, was born in 2009. Christine is enjoying a burgeoning career as a concert soprano and maintains a busy schedule.
David Angerman has been Director of Music and organist at Bethany Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas, since 1980. He is also choral director of the Schools of Logic and Rhetoric at Regents School of Austin, a classical Christian school. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education Degree and Master of Church Music Degree from Baylor University and a Master of Music Degree in Organ Performance from the University of Texas in Austin.
As a composer he has to his credit more than 100 published works including choral and handbell music as well as organ and piano solos. He has also written the music for several youth and children's musicals, and co-authored, along with Joseph Martin and Mark Hayes, KEYS FOR THE KINGDOM, a piano method for the Christian student, published by Shawnee Press. Many of his published works have been awarded Editor's Choice designations.
GRAMMY' Award winning conductor Jerry Blackstone is Director of Choirs and Chair of the Conducting Department at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance where he conducts the Chamber Choir, teaches conducting at the graduate level, and administers a choral program of eleven choirs. In February 2006, he received two GRAMMY' Awards ("Best Choral Performance" and "Best Classical Album") as chorusmaster for the critically acclaimed Naxos recording of William Bolcom's monumental Songs of Innocence and of Experience. In 2006, the Chamber Choir performed by special invitation at the inaugural convention of the National Collegiate Choral Organization in San Antonio, and in 2003, the Chamber Choir presented three enthusiastically received performances in New York City at the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). In addition to Professor Blackstone's choral conducting work at the University, he has led operatic productions with the University of Michigan Opera Theatre, including productions of Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen and Strauss's Die Fledermaus. For significant contributions to choral music in Michigan, he received the 2006 Maynard Klein Lifetime Achievement Award from the ACDA-Michigan chapter.
Professor Blackstone is considered one of the country's leading conducting teachers, and his students have received first place awards and been finalists in both the graduate and undergraduate divisions of the American Choral Directors Association biennial National Choral Conducting Awards competition.
He has appeared as festival guest conductor and workshop presenter in thirty states as well as New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Guest appearances for 2011-12 include festivals and conference presentations Wisconsin, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Florida, Washington (DC), New Jersey, California, Iowa, and Michigan. In 2004, Dr. Blackstone was named Conductor and Music Director of the University Musical Society Choral Union, a large community/university chorus that frequently appears with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and presents yearly performances of Handel's Messiah and other major works for chorus and orchestra. In March 2008, he conducted the UMS Choral Union and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a special performance of the Bach, St. Matthew Passion. Choirs prepared by Dr. Blackstone have appeared under the batons of Valery Gergiev, Neeme Järvi, Leonard Slatkin, John Adams, Helmuth Rilling, James Conlon, Nicholas McGegan, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Peter Oundjian, and Yitzak Perlman.
As conductor of the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club from 1988-2002, Professor Blackstone led the ensemble in performances at ACDA national and division conventions and on extensive concert tours throughout Australia, Eastern and Central Europe, Asia, South America, and the United States. The recently released UM Men's Glee Club CD, I have had singing, is a retrospective of his tenure as conductor of the ensemble.
Santa Barbara Music Publishing distributes Dr. Blackstone's acclaimed educational video, Working with Male Voices and publishes the Jerry Blackstone Choral Series, a set of choral publications that presents works by several composers in a variety of musical styles.
Prior to coming to the University of Michigan in 1988, Professor Blackstone served on the music faculties of Phillips University in Oklahoma, Westmont College in California, and Huntington College in Indiana. He holds degrees from the University of Southern California, Indiana University, and Wheaton College.
David Bolin, Electronic Design Editor of the Celebrating Grace Hymnal, has for the past fourteen years been the music minister at First Baptist Waco. A graduate of Baylor University, David received his Master of Church Music from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has served churches in both Hawaii and Texas. He has visited countries around the world as both a performer and educator.
Abingdon, Word, Lifeway, and Beckenhorst Press have published David's music, and he has also written numerous articles for church music journals and other publications. He co-authored with Terry York The Voice of Our Congregation (Abingdon Press, 2005) and The Worship Matrix (Celebrating Grace, 2010). Hymns by Bolin and York often appear in Christian Reflection, the journal of Baylor University's Center for Christian Ethics, and sixteen of their hymns are published in the collection God in Time( Abingdon Press, 2005). David is the developer of the Worship Matrix, the online service planning counterpart to the Celebrating Grace Hymnal.
Having served as a minister of music since 1978 and teacher of church musicians since 1989, Randall Bradley is deeply committed to music ministry. He is the Ben H. Williams Professor of Church Music and Director of the Church Music Program and the Center for Christian Music Studies at Baylor University where he is a member of the undergraduate and graduate faculties and directs the Baylor University Men's Choir. With a passion for building bridges between Christian musicians, he continually looks for ways to create meaningful dialogue among all who are committed to serving the church through music. His books Christian Worship: Its Theology and Practice (co-authored with Franklin Segler) and From Postlude to Prelude: Music Ministry's Other Six Days, are widely used as texts in classes in colleges and seminaries. His newest book, From Memory to Imagination: Reforming the Church's Music, was published by Eerdmans in September, 2012. Randall is married to Brenda who teaches English at McLennan Community College, and they are parents to teenagers, Hannah and Isaac.
Keith Christopher is actively involved in music as a composer, arranger, orchestrator and producer. His musical roots go back to Wylie, Texas, where he grew up playing trumpet in band and singing in his church youth choir. After high school, he studied theory and composition and conducting in college and continued to be involved in church music. He holds a Master of Music in Composition from Southern Methodist University where he studied with Simon Sargon and was a Graduate Assistant in the theory and choral music departments.
Mr. Christopher has received a yearly award for his publications from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers since 1992. In 1999 he received the famed "Gold Record Award" for A Merry Christmas with Brass, which features The Dallas Brass. In 2003 he received a Dove Award for the choral collection, More Songs for Praise and Worship.
Mr. Christopher is Director of Church Choral Publications for Hal Leonard Corporation.
Josh Cogan is the Worship & Youth Leader at First Baptist Church of Ferris, TX, where he has developed a system to train and expand musical resources in his church. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Worship Leadership at Dallas Baptist University. He holds a BM in Music Composition from Gardner-Webb University, where as a student, he established, managed and operated their recording studio. Cogan is an accomplished musician playing cello, guitar, percussion, drums and keyboard. He is also a songwriter/arranger affiliated with ASCAP. Several of his songs are played in multiple churches across the nation and He is currently working on a new Praise & Worship album
Rollo Dilworth is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities and Music Education at the North Park University School of Music in Chicago, Illinois. He recently completed requirements for the Doctor of Music degree in Conducting Performance at Northwestern University and he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Missouri St. Louis respectively.
An award-winning composer and active conductor, educator and clinician, Dilworth has taught choral music at the elementary, secondary and university levels. His performing endeavors have taken him to the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. In addition to composing music in the choral genre, Dilworth's research interests are in the areas of African-American music and music education curriculum and instruction. He serves as Minister of Music at Martin Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Chicago, Illinois. Dilworth was born in 1970 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Randy Edwards is Founder & Director of Programs for YouthCUE, a multidenominational ministry network which currently includes over six hundred youth choirs in thirty‐four states. Randy has conducted over eighty major YouthCUE festivals accompanied by professional orchestras across the U.S, Canada, and Korea. Prior to devoting his fulltime efforts to YouthCUE beginning in 2005, Mr. Edwards served for more than thirty years as minister of music at First Baptist Church San Antonio, First Baptist Church Shreveport, Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio and now at Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio. He served as Chorusmaster of the Shreveport Opera Company from 1991‐1999.
Mr. Edwards has composed twenty‐one published choral anthems and has authored the most comprehensive textbook to date on youth choir ministry, entitled, Revealing Riches and Building Lives: Youth Choir Ministry in the New Millennium. With more than five hundred articles published in over thirty publications, Randy Edwards is one of the premiere specialists in youth choir ministry today. He is sought widely as a conductor, clinician, consultant, and teacher. MorningStar Music has recently released Mr. Edwards' latest book, entitled, Lessons Learned: Practical Insights into Developing an Effective Adult or Student Choir Ministry. Randy is the father of three grown children: Preston, Ashley, and Kathryn. They currently share joint custody of their family yellow lab, Wilson.
Nan Grantham holds a Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degree from Mississippi College, Clinton MS, where she was honored as recipient of the Order of the Golden Arrow award in 1993 and Distinguished Music Alumna in 2001.She has taught public school music, private and group piano, and implemented a home school music program in her community. She is a frequent adjudicator for the National Guild of Piano Teachers. She served as Music Associate for the Mississippi Baptist Convention and on church music staffs in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, retiring from the music staff of Second Baptist Church in Houston.
In addition to the Language of Music series and numerous articles for Choristers' Guild, Mrs. Grantham is the author of Developing Tone-Matching and Singing Skills and Leading and Accompanying Children's Singing. She has written curriculum for LifeWay's Children's Music Series for over three decades and is on the inaugural writing team for Growing in Grace, of Celebrating Grace. She is a frequent clinician and conference leader for both educational and denominational events across the country. She and her late husband are the parents of a son and daughter and 7 wonderful grandchildren-all of whom have a great love for music.
Ben Johansen just completed his Ph.D. in Music with an emphasis in Composition, a specialization in Computer Music Media and a minor in Installation Art at University of North Texas. He has worked as an adjunct professor at Baylor University team-teaching a church music course and teaching composition and music education courses. Johansen explores new mediums, dismantles and constructs interesting mechanisms, and creates atmospheres that foster improvisation and indeterminacy because he sees worth in the journey it requires. Interactive electronic music and music for acoustic instruments are of equal curiosity to Johansen, and visual aesthetics are always an important component. Johansen has recently begun in-depth research into art and Christianity.
Combining her passion for technology with her love for teaching and performing, Rebecca Lowrey provides technology training at national music educator conferences, school district staff development sessions and one-on-one instruction for Romeo Music. Romeo Music is a unique resource for music educator, church musician and music maker. They specialize in music technology including music software, recording equipment and sound systems. Rebecca has functioned as musical director for many shows in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex including Into the Woods, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. In addition to numerous productions as accompanist and pianist, she has also served as pianist for First Baptist Church of Dallas Chapel and Sanctuary Orchestras, Oates Drive Baptist Church in Mesquite, North Park Baptist Church in Abilene, North West Baptist Church in Lake Worth and currently Lakeshore Drive Baptist Church in Hudson Oaks. She also accompanies for UIL Solo Competitions in the DFW Metroplex. Rebecca earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in music (with a minor in Business Administration) from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. While attending HSU, she accompanied the Concert Choir under the expert direction of Dr. Loyd Hawthorne, the Collegiate Opera Program, as well as countless vocal and instrumental students for degree recitals, competitions and performances.
Joseph Martin, a native of North Carolina, earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Subsequently he earned a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Texas, Austin. Joseph taught for five years in the Piano Pedagogy Department of the University of Texas. His piano teachers include Jimmy Woodle, David Gibson, Amanda Vick Lethco, Martha Hilley and Danielle Martin. While at Furman University, he was accompanist for choral director and composer Milburn Price and, inspired by his teaching, Martin began to compose. He is a member of the staff of Shawnee Press, Inc. as Director of Sacred Publications, with responsibilities for overseeing the editorial and creative direction of the company and also coordinating the recording and production aspects of future sacred publishing efforts. Joseph Martin's website can be found at www.martin88.com.
William H. Mathis is Minister of Music and Fine Arts at the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis. In addition to his work at church, Bill is an active clinician in both the choral and handbell fields, giving special emphasis to teaching rehearsal technique and musicianship. He has been the conductor of AGEHR's National Festivals and Directors' Seminar, as well as many events at the local and regional levels. Bill is the founding music director of Bells of the Lakes. His compositions are found in the catalogs of thirteen publishers, and his 3-volume series of books on the creative use of handbells in worship (After the Prelude) is published by Choristers Guild.
Eric Mathis believes corporate worship is the most important activity in the Christian church, and he is deeply committed to assisting leaders and congregations exercise wisdom, discernment, and responsibility in their local context. Eric teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music and worship at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Before moving to Alabama, he taught at Azusa Pacific University and Baylor University. He has maintained an active role in various music ministries, serving congregations in Missouri, Illinois, Texas, California, and now at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church in Birmingham.
An ordained minister, Eric holds a Bachelor of Music from Wheaton College (IL), a Master of Music in Church Music from Baylor University, and a Master of Divinity from George W. Truett Theological Seminary. He will receive a Ph.D. in Theology (Christian Worship, Preaching) from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2012, where he has also served as an adjunct faculty member in Worship, Theology, and the Arts.
Eric maintains memberships in the American Choral Directors Association, the Academy of Homiletics, the North American Academy of Liturgy, and The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada where he serves on the editorial board. Active as a speaker, worship leader, and worship consultant, he has recently worked with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Worship Leader Magazine, PASSPORT Camps, WorkingPreacher.org, and various congregations in the southeast. More importantly, Eric is a worshiper himself. To that end, he hopes to help other worshipers deeply experience the privilege it is to offer worship to God in Christ through the Spirit so the Kingdom of God may flourish in the world.
Dr. David Music is Professor of Church Music and Graduate Program Director in the School of Music at Baylor University, where he has taught since 2002. In addition to his teaching and administrative responsibilities, he serves as director of the annual Baylor Sacred Harp sing. Prior to coming to Baylor, Music taught on the faculty of the School of Church Music at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas (1990-2002), where he also served as Associate Dean of the Performance Division (1992-96), Acting Associate Dean of the Academic Division (1991-92, 1998-99), and was named to the Thad Roberts Chair of Church Music Ministry (2001-02). His activities at Southwestern included directing the Collegium Musicum, the annual Sacred Harp and chapel carol and hymn sings, and the annual Compline service.
From 1980 to 1990, he was a member of the music faculty at California Baptist College, Riverside, California, the last five years as Chair of the Fine Arts Division and Music Department. He directed the Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, and College Singers, and served as adjudicator at numerous adult, youth, and children's choir festivals. He also served as full-time Minister of Music at Highland Heights Baptist Church, Memphis, Tennessee (1977-80), as well as in various part-time church positions. He is a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Seminary (M.C.M. 1973; D.M.A. 1977) and California Baptist College (B.A. 1970).
Music is the author of Christian Hymnody in Twentieth-Century Britain and America: An Annotated Bibliography (2001), Instruments in Church: A Collection of Source Documents (1998), and Hymnology: A Collection of Source Readings (1996). He has co-authored or edited three other books, as well as publishing editions of A Selection of Shape-Note Folk Hymns for A-R Editions' Recent Researches in American Music series (2005), John Weldon's opera The Judgment of Paris for the Recent Researches in the Music of the Baroque Era series (1999), and Oliver Holden (1765-1844): Selected Works in the Music of the New American Nation series (Garland, 1998). Music is the author of over 200 articles and reviews in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed., 2001), Worship Music: A Concise Dictionary (2000), Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (2nd ed., 1997), The New Grove Dictionary of American Music (1986), Current Musicology, American Music, The Hymn, The American Organist, Choral Journal, and other books and periodicals. His published compositions and arrangements include Christmas Sinfonias: Classic Duets for Organ and Piano (2002) and All Creatures of Our God and King: Hymn Enhancements for Organ and Piano (2000), as well as anthems, service music, hymn texts and tunes, music for recorders, and music for handbells.
He served as Editor of The Hymn (the journal of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, 1990-96) and as Chair of the New Materials Subcommittee for The Baptist Hymnal (1991). He is a member of the Society for American Music; the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada; the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers; the Baptist History and Heritage Society, and the Baptist Church Music Conference, which he served as President (2001-02) and Educational Division Vice-President (1992-1994).
Dora Ann Purdy brings more than 20 years experience in preschool and children's music to her position as music editor for Growing in Grace. Dora Ann received her undergraduate degree in Music Education from Ouachita Baptist University (AR) and a Master's degree in Music Education from North Texas State University. Prior to coming to Growing in Grace, she was the Music Director at St. Paul Christian Academy in Nashville, TN where she taught upper school music and directed 2 auditioned choirs. She currently directs a children's choir at Forest Hills Baptist Church in Nashville, where she also serves as church pianist. In addition to her expertise in children's music editing and recording, Dora Ann has led children's choir conferences and directed state children's choir festivals and camps.
Joel Raney started playing the piano sometime between learning to walk and learning to read. His taste for gospel music began in a rural Baptist church in Alabama, an influence that shows strongly in his work to this day. After completing his degree in choral conducting at the University of North Alabama, he went on to sharpen his keyboard skills, earning a masters degree in piano performance at The Juilliard School.
Since 1999 he has taken the church music scene by storm, with over 400 titles in print, primarily with Hope Publishing where he serves as Editor. His innovative style and inspired arranger's instincts put his numerous choral anthems, musicals and cantatas, handbell compositions, piano solos, and instrumental works at the top of sales charts year after year. In addition to publishing with Hope, Joel's work can be found in the catalogs of Heritage Press, Shawnee, Hal Leonard, Alfred, Fred Bock Music, Jubilate, Beckenhorst, and AGEHR.
Joel's interest in music of all kinds has led to employment opportunities in everything from classical and jazz performance to pop vocal arranging. He has conducted national tours of Broadway productions, and has been honored for outstanding musical direction of theater in both Chicago and Los Angeles. Since 1988 he has worked as a composer and producer of commercial music in Chicago and has written soundtracks for more than 2000 television and radio commercials, plus numerous scores for short films.
Joel is a sought-after choral and keyboard clinician, and stays busy performing throughout North America as a piano soloist and in duo-concert with organist and fellow Hope Editor, Jane Holstein. They have released a CD recording of organ-piano duets; Kum Ba Yah, and Joel has four solo piano CD's to his credit; An Instrument of Your Peace; This Is My Story, This Is My Song; Overtures of Praise; and Images of Christmas. For more than a decade, Joel was Artist-in-Residence at the First Presbyterian Church of River Forest, Il, and currently serves as Minister of Music at the First Baptist Church of Oak Park, Il. He makes his home in River Forest with wife Susie and their three sons, Charlie, Sawyer and Jesse.
WIFF RUDD joined the faculty of Baylor University's School of Music in 2002 as Professor of Trumpet and Brass Division Coordinator. Prior to that, from 1998 through May of 2002, he was Associate Professor of Music at the University of Arkansas, principal trumpet of the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the Boston Mountain Chamber Players. A San Antonio native, Mr. Rudd received music degrees from Baylor University (BME) and the University of Northern Colorado (MM). He served as Assistant Professor of Music at Oklahoma Baptist University for seven years and performed regularly with the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Rudd toured internationally for eight years with the Dallas Brass and is a founding member (1993) of Rhythm & Brass, an international touring/recording chamber ensemble. An active soloist, he collaborates often with orchestras and bands. He performed the New York premiere of Joseph Turrin's Chronicles for Trumpet and Wind Symphony in Carnegie Hall and has often been a featured soloist at the annual Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. He performed in 2005 at the International Trumpet Guild Convention in Bangkok, Thailand, the Great American Brass Band Festival, and at the Interlochen Arts Camp.
Rhythm & Brass, founded in 1993, serves as a primary performance outlet for Mr. Rudd. His R&B experiences include extensive domestic tours and several trips to Japan, the Middle East, Canada, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The group has also performed as guest soloists with numerous symphony orchestras, including Rochester, Grand Rapids, Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Oregon, Tucson, and the United States Air Force Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Described by Entertainment Weekly as "...deliciously off-centered" and by the American Record Guide as "...nothing short of stunning," Rhythm & Brass has produced five recordings, representing a wide variety of musical styles. One release, More Money Jungle...Ellington Explorations (Koch Jazz), was named by the New York Times as "Album of the Week" in May of 1999. Their CD, Sitting in an English Garden, has Rhythm & Brass venturing into the music of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Rhythm and Brass just released a CD of original works by composers from within the group entitled Inside the Blue Suitcase (Bear Claw Records).
Mr. Rudd has performed in concert and presented clinics/master classes at more than two hundred colleges, universities, and conservatories across the country, as well as at the New York Brass Conference, the Rafael Mendez Brass Institute, Bands of America, the Brevard Music Center, the Great American Brass Band Festival, MENC national and regional conventions, and the Music Educators Associations of Georgia, Oklahoma, Montana, Minnesota, Florida, Iowa, Texas, and New York. He also co-authored a beginning chamber music method called Team Play: A Guide to Making Chamber Music Together (Universal Editions-1997) and has adjudicated for the International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition Finals, the Louisiana Trumpet Solo Competition, and the State Solo Contests of Oklahoma and Texas.
Vernon Sanders has been a rock musician, a college professor, an expatriate, a jazz pianist, a non-profit arts foundation administrator, an author, and a music publisher. He served for many years as Associate Professor/Director of Choral Activities at the University of Regina, Canada, and was Director of Music Ministry at Trinity Presbyterian Church in San Carlos, California, for 16 years before "retiring" to devote more time to his family and his position as publisher of Creator Magazine, a resource for church musicians and worship leaders. Creator's website serves as the focal point for the Creator Leadership Network, a virtual community of over 4000 church musicians, pastors, and worship leaders who look forward each week to helpful content in the areas of music, ministry, worship, and leadership. Dr. Sanders has been involved in Church Music and Worship Ministry in some capacity since 1957, and as a professional since 1968. His education includes a BA (Music Education) and MA (Historical Musicology) from UCLA, and a DMA (Conducting) from Stanford University, but he learned the most about what music is about and how to interpret it from John Nelson in Aspen and John Alldis in Europe. He was the founding president of the Saskatchewan Choral Federation, the founding Executive Director of the Schuyler Institute for the Arts in Worship, and the founding Charter Member of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors. Dr. Sanders served for nearly ten years as the Executive Director of the National Association of Church Musicians. He was for 20 years the managing partner of Thomas House Publications, a music publishing company which was subsequently purchased by the Fred Bock Music Company. His published choral works appear in a number of catalogs, and choirs under his direction have appeared on regional and national radio and television in the US and Canada. He is a frequent workshop leader and guest speaker throughout North America.
Ruth Elaine Schram wrote her first song at the age of twelve, and her first octavo was published twenty years later, in 1988. In 1992, she became a full-time composer and arranger and now has over 1,900 published works. Over seventeen million copies of her songs have been purchased in their various venues, and she has been a recipient of the ASCAP Special Award each year since 1990. In addition to her choral music for church and school choirs, her songs appear on thirty albums (four of which have been Dove Award Finalists) and numerous children's videos, including sixteen songs on four gold videos, and four songs on one multi-platinum video. Her songs have also appeared on such diverse television shows as "The 700 Club" and HBO's acclaimed series "The Sopranos."
Ruthie began piano and theory lessons at the age of five. She studied music at Lancaster Bible College and Millersville State College and taught Elementary Music in Pennsylvania for several years. She now lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, Scott, and they have two grown daughters, Crystie and Celsie.
Her current published works, with samples of audio excerpts and select pages of the scores, are listed on her web site: choralmusic.com .
Julie Scott is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. She earned a Ph.D. from Eastman School of Music in 2010, where she was Assistant Professor (Teaching) of Music Education for one year. Besides teaching at SMU, Dr. Scott served as director of the 100-voice Lewisville ISD 5th Grade Honor Choir for 8 years. This choir was invited to perform under her direction for the Texas Music Educators Conference in 2012 and in 2004. Prior to teaching at the college level, Dr. Scott taught elementary music in Texas schools for 17 years and served as Elementary Music Coordinator for Richardson Independent School District for two years. In addition, she is immediate past president of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association.
Dr. Scott is Director of Music Educators Workshops at SMU, and she has taught summer Orff Schulwerk courses to adults at seven universities over the past 20 years. She has presented conference sessions and workshops at national conferences, state music educators associations, school districts, and Orff chapters throughout the US. Dr. Scott has presented sessions internationally at conferences in Greece (ISME), Australia (ANCOS, IKS), China (ISME), Italy (ISME), and Thailand (CMS). Her research interests include Orff Schulwerk, music teacher self-efficacy, and children's pitch-matching ability. She has published articles in The Orff Echo, General Music Today, and Southwestern Musician.
In the fall of 1995, Robbie enrolled at Baylor University and joined his brother Chris Seay and friend David Crowder in founding University Baptist Church in Waco. For the next 3 years, Robbie led worship alongside David at UBC and began traveling as a singer songwriter.
In 1999, Robbie moved to Houston and reunited with Chris to found Ecclesia Church near downtown. He has served as the worship pastor for the last 12 years and most recently as an elder in the diverse Christian community.
Robbie is best know for his career as a songwriter, recording artist & worship leader. Founding the Robbie Seay Band in 2001, RSB has released 7 albums including the critically acclaimed 2007 EMI release "Give Yourself Away".
Songs from these recordings have been featured in multiple tv shows and movies including American Idol, commercials & numerous shows on the ABC network. He also had a top 50 song of the decade with "Song of Hope".
With multiple songs on the CCLI charts for many years now, Robbie is the rare songwriter whose songs are both worshipful and inviting to the a broader audience. The band released their latest offering in Nov. 2011 entitled "Rich & Poor".
Matt Snowden is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Waco, TX. He came to Waco in August, 2010. Matt is passionate about church revitalization and missional renewal. He is married to Meredith and they have two children named Molly Katherine and Wes. The Snowdens enjoy sharing their lives with a bird dog named Sam and cute little mutt named Lily Belle. Before coming to Waco, Matt served churches in Mississippi. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Philosophy from William Carey University, Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Doctor of Ministry degree from George W. Truett Theological Seminary.
Dr. Tim Studstill has served churches as minister of music in both bi-vocational and full-time capacities in Alaska, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Texas since 1978. He received degrees in music education and music ministry at Oklahoma Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Studstill came to work in the Church Music Department of the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 1997 and has served as the Director of its reorganized Music and Worship Team since 2003.
He coordinates the music and worship needs and training opportunities for Texas Baptists, facilitates the ministries of the Singing Men and Women of Texas and is a friend of church musicians. He often serves churches as an interim minister of music or guest worship leader. He is a soloist, performer and choral clinician with a special interest in children and senior adult choirs. Dr. Studstill serves as the chairman of the annual "William J. Reynolds Sacred Harp Sing" on the Southwestern Baptist Seminary campus, serves on the Advisory Board for the Center for Christian Music Studies at Baylor University and on the Executive Council for the Baptist Church Music Conference as Past President.
Tim and his wife, Dena, have two children and are members at Fielder Road Baptist Church near their home in Arlington, Texas. In his free time he enjoys "dirt therapy" and watching roses, ferns and flowers grow from the thistles and thorns!
DEBORAH WILLIAMSON, soprano, holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice with a related field in Vocal Pedagogy from the University of North Texas, the Artist Diploma in Opera and the Master of Music degree in Voice from the University of Cincinnati, College/Conservatory of Music and the Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Baylor University. Dr. Williamson is a tenured Associate Professor of Voice at Baylor University, has served as a member of the Voice faculty at The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria during the summer months, and holds the office of Governor of the Texoma Region of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She is frequently sought after as an adjudicator and master class clinician at the state and regional levels and has recently given master classes at the Ghent Conservatory of Music in Belgium and at the Texas Music Teachers Association convention in Houston, Texas.
A sensitive and expressive recitalist, Deborah Williamson is a noted interpreter of the works of French and American composers, in particular, and has recently appeared in solo recital in California, Indiana, Tennessee, Iowa, Idaho, Michigan, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and her native Texas. She has also recently appeared in recital at the Texoma Regional National Association of Teachers of Singing conference, the Hawaii International Conference for the Arts and Humanities, and the College Music Society Fiftieth National Conference in Salt Lake City presenting a program featuring the works of women composers.
Dr. Terry W. York is Professor of Christian Ministry and Church Music at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. He joined the faculty in 1998 after serving three years as the Associate Pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, TX. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree from California Baptist University and his Master of Church Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
He has been Minister of Music in churches in California and Arizona. From 1984-1995 he served at the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) in Nashville, TN. His duties there included being the Project Coordinator for The Baptist Hymnal, 1991. In all, Dr. York has published more than 40 hymns including the well-known Worthy of Worship. His hymn Give Us Courage was commissioned by the Truett Seminary administration and approved by the Truett Seminary faculty as the official Seminary Hymn in 2006. In addition to his hymns, Dr. York has published more than 60 choral anthem texts set by composers such as Bob Burroughs, David Danner, Tom Fettke, Benjamin Harlan, Mary McDonald, Earlene Rentz, David Schwoebel, Joseph Martin, and Vicki Hancock Wright.
The Worship Matrix, co-authored with David Bolin (Celebrating Grace, Inc., 2010), is the fourth of Dr. York's books to have been translated into Chinese. In June 2008 it was his privilege to be one of two featured plenary speakers at The World Association of Chinese Church Musicians' biannual conference which met in Kuching, Malaysia. In June 2009, the Baptist Church Music Conference, meeting in Nashville, TN, gave Dr. York the W. Hines Sims Award, its most prestigious recognition.