AUGSBURG FORTRESS WINTER 2010 MUSIC CLINICS

Augsburg Fortress offers biannual Music Clinics for continuing education of church musicians and enrichment of music in worship. Held in a variety of locations, each clinic features a variety of reading sessions including choral, and piano/organ. Our well-known clinicians offer their own character and wisdom during the presentation of music from a variety of publishers. These clinics are always free of charge, with choral packets available for only $1 per packet that include copies of music for attendees to keep..

Please join us - you are sure to find something of interest.

Plan Your Music for the Church Year

FREE EVENTS!

Register On-Line and avoid the line on the day of the Event.

* Music packets for these sessions cost $1 each and include complete copies of all the music for you to keep - a great deal!

** Session Descriptions

Columbus, OH
Let everyone sing - Better
Norma Aamodt-Nelson will show that what you do at the keyboard can greatly help or hinder your congregation's singing efforts. Then Zebulon Highben will demonstrate how choir warm-ups can greatly affect the success of your rehearsal, plus tips on how best to use your choir to lead the assembly's song.

Pasadena, CA
Seasonings: How to Energize Congregational Singing
Using the hymnal, a variety of practical treatments will be used to illustrate how resources at hand can be used to enhance texts and styles of congregational song.

Lynnwood, WA
In Celebration of Youth: Inspiring, Equipping, Utilizing Young Musicians
Kris Mason discusses the role of youth in music, worship and the church as well as the powerful ministry of music in the lives of children. This session will also provide some hands-on ideas for training young musicians (vocally-chorally-instrumentally) and some thoughts about incorporating youth into the music/worship setting.

Columbia SC
Choral Conducting for the Church Musician: Most church musicians do not stand in front of a choir on a Sunday to Sunday basis, but need to be prepared for those occasions when we do. Paul Weber will share a variety of conducting techniques in this helpful and interactive session.

St. Paul, MN & Wauwatosa, WI
Children as Leaders in Worship: Michael D. Costello talks about when/how/where it is appropriate to involve children in leadership roles in the service.

Center Square, PA
Conducting Volunteer Choirs: Using choral pieces from the repertoire packets David Schelat will share with us conducting tips for working with volunteer choirs. There will be opportunities for participation from attendees in this lively and interactive session.

Dates and Locations

• January 9, Philadelphia, Pa

  St. John Lutheran Church 1802 Skippack Pike; Center Square, PA 19422

  Clinicians David Schelat, Choral Dennis Elwell, Organ

  
  

  Click for directions

  From Philadelphia: I-76 West toward King of Prussia to I-476 (Blue Route) North. Take exit #20 (Germantown Pike West). Merge onto W. Germantown Pike, right turn (North) onto US-202 (DeKalb Pike) left turn onto Skippack Pike (PA-73). 7/10 of a mile – St John’s is on left.
  From Reading and points West: Us 422 East, exit at Egypt Rd/ W. Main St. Left turn onto Whitehall Road. Proceed North, at dead end, right turn onto Skippack Pike (PA-73) one mile to St. John’s on the right.
  From Allentown and NE Extension: I-476 South to exit 31 Lansdale. Turn left onto Sumneytown Pike (PA-63), right turn onto Valley Forge Rd (363), left turn onto Skippack Pike, 3 miles to church on right.
  Harrisburg and West: PA turnpike east to exit 333, Norristown. Follow signs for Plymouth Road, turn left. Right onto W. Germantown Pike, right onto US-202 (DeKalb Pike) Left turn onto Skippack Pike (PA-73) 7/10 of mile to St John’s on left.
  New Jersey and East: PA turnpike West to Exit 339 Fort Washington. Take exit road straight to Pennsylvania Ave, turn right on PA Avenue to the dead end at Bethlehem Pike, left turn on Bethlehem Pike. Right turn onto Pa-73 (Skippack Pike) Go straight through the US 202 (DeKalb Pike) intersection. Continue on 73 to St. John’s on left.

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• January 16, Columbia, SC

  Incarnation Lutheran Church; 3005 Devine St Columbia SC 29205

  Clinicians Paul Weber, Choral Florence Jowers, Organ

  
  

  Click for directions

  From I-26 Eastbound: Stay in one of the left 2 lanes, exit Rt. 126 toward Downtown Columbia, travel on Rt. 126 East in one of the right 2 lanes for about 4 miles, exit right on Huger Street, travel on Huger Street in the left lane for 1.5 miles, turn left on Blossom Street, travel in left lane on Blossom Street for 2.6 miles (the road will narrow to two lanes after 1.7 miles), pass Carolina Coliseum on your left, pass the University of South Carolina on your left, pass Maxcy Gregg Park on your right, turn left on Sims Avenue at the flashing caution light, go 1 block and you will see Incarnation at the corner of Devine Street and Sims Avenue.
  From I-26 Westbound (via I-77 North): Exit I-77 North, travel about 8 miles to the Garners Ferry Road Exit #9, turn left on Garners Ferry Road getting in the middle lane, Garners Ferry Road becomes Devine Street once you cross Beltline Boulevard, travel 3.3 miles on Garners Ferry Road/Devine Street, pass Dorn VA Hospital and Woodhill Mall on your left, keep moving straight ahead following Hwy 76 & 378 signs (do not bear right at Bojangles on Hwy 16), cross Beltline Boulevard, pass Dunbar Funeral Home and Piggly Wiggly on your left, stay in the left 2 lanes as you pass Winn-Dixie on your left (do not bear right on Millwood Avenue), look for Incarnation on your right at the corner of Devine Street and Sims Avenue
  From I-20 Eastbound: Exit I-26 East, follow the I-26 Eastbound directions above
  From I-20 Westbound (via I-77 South): Take Exit #76 at I-77 South, travel 5.5 miles on I-77 South and take Exit #10 at Jackson Boulevard, turn right on Jackson Boulevard for about 1 mile and merge right into Garners Ferry Road, Garners Ferry Road will become Devine Street once you cross Beltline Boulevard, travel about 1.4 miles on Garners Ferry Road/Devine Street, pass Dunbar Funeral Home and Piggly Wiggly on your left, stay in the left 2 lanes as you pass Winn-Dixie on your left (do not bear right on Millwood Avenue), look for Incarnation on your right at the corner of Devine Street and Sims Avenue.
  

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• January 16, Pasadena, CA

  Trinity Lutheran Church 997 E Walnut Street Pasadena CA 91106

  Clinicians Robert Hobby, Choral and Organ

  
  

  Click for directions

  From the 210 Freeway in Pasadena traveling east, exit at Lake Avenue. Turn right on Lake Avenue. Then left on Walnut Street. Go two blocks to the church. Parking is north of the church on Locust Street. (Go one block on Catalina to Locust.)
  From the 210 Freeway in Pasadena traveling west, exit at Hill Avenue. Turn left onto Hill Avenue. Then right on Walnut Street. Go 6 blocks to the church. Parking is north of the church off Locust Street. Go north one block on Catalina to Locust.

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• January 16, Seattle, WA

  Trinity Lutheran Church 6215 196th St SW Lynnwood WA 98036

  Clinicians Kris Mason, Choral Richard Lind, Organ

  
  

  Click for directions

  From Northbound 15: Take Exit #181A, left at stoplight (44th Ave W), left on 196th ST SW (Fred Meyer) Trinity is one block West of Highway 99 on the right side.
  From Southbound 15: Take Exit #181, left at stoplight (196th St SW) Trinity is one block West of Highway 99 on the right side.
  Northbound 405: To Southbound 15, follow directions above.

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• January 9, St. Paul, MN

  Luther Seminary Olson Campus Center 1490 Fulham St. St. Paul MN 55108

  Clinicians William Mathis, Choral Michael D. Costello, Organ, Piano

  
  

  Click for directions

  Located one block east of Highway 280 and Como Ave. in St. Paul. The Olson Campus Center and the Chapel of the Incarnation are located at the corner of Hendon and Fulham Sts., One block east of Como Ave.

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• January 16, Milwaukee, WI

  St Matthew Lutheran Church 1615 Wauwatosa Ave Wauwatosa WA 53213

  Clinicians Christopher Aspaas, Choral Michael D. Costello, Organ & Piano

  
  

  Click for directions

  Coming from the East or West on I-94 exit, 68th Street going North.
  Turn North on to 68th Street. Continue north until the street comes to a “T” end, about 1-2 miles.
  Turn West/Left on Milwaukee Ave. and continue to 76th Street/Wauwatosa Ave.
  The church is on the South West Corner of Milwaukee Ave and Wauwatosa Ave.
  Parking is behind the church

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• January 9, Columbus, OH

  All Saints Lutheran Church 6770 N High St Worthington OH 43085

  Clinicians Zebulon Highben, Choral Norma Aamodt-Nelson, Organ & Piano

  
  

  Click for directions

  from the North: take 71 South to 270 west, take first exit, (exit 23-Worthington) south past 2nd traffic light. Located next block on the east (left) side of the street.
  from the South: take 71 North to 270 west, take first exit 23 (Worthington) south past 2nd traffic light. Located next block on the east (left)side of the street.
  from the East: take 70 West to 270 north/west, take exit 23 (Worthington) south past 2nd traffic light. Located next block on the east (left)side of the street.
  from the West: take 70 East to 670 East to 71 north to 270 west, take exit 23 (Worthington) south past 2nd traffic light. Located next block on the east (left) side of the street.

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Clinician Biographies

David Schelat is Director of Music at First & Central Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware. At First & Central, he creates and presents Thursday Noontime Concerts and Festival Concerts, as well as conducts the Chancel Choir (the church's Sunday choir), Center City Chorale (a community choir of downtown workers), and Mastersingers of Wilmington (a concert choir of professional and amateur singers). Committed to new music, Mr. Schelat has led the church to commission music by Bruce Neswick, Gerald Near, and James Bassi and has conducted a number of Delaware premieres of recent compositions. In addition, he has explored a significant amount of secular and multi-cultural choral literature with the choral ensembles at First & Central.

In recent years, Mr. Schelat was chosen four times from international candidate pools to be a Conducting Fellow participating in the Dennis Keene Choral Festival, where he studied conducting with Dennis Keene (Voices of Ascension), John Alexander (Pacific Chorale), Peter Bagley (University of Connecticut), and Vance George (San Francisco Symphony Chorus). Previously, he studied conducting with Maurice Casey at The Ohio State University and Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College.

He is a frequent recitalist in the United States, and has been heard on the nationally syndicated program on National Public Media, “Pipedreams.” He has performed numerous times for regional conventions of the AGO, national conferences of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, and National Association of Pastoral Musicians. He is a member of the Concert Organist Cooperative.

David Schelat is an active member of the American Guild of Organists, and is presently Sub-Dean of the Delaware Chapter, and a District Convener in Region III. He is also a member of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, the American Choral Directors Association, and the Presbyterian Association of Musicians. He has served on the national board of directors of this organization and was Conference Director of PAM's 2000 Westminster Conference on Worship and Music. Committed to education of the new organist, he teaches organ on the keyboard faculty of the Music School of Delaware, is coordinator for the Vernon de Tar Scholarship Competition sponsored by the Delaware Chapter, A.G.O., and has taught at numerous summer Pipe Organ Encounters for high school organists. He served on the Delaware State Arts Council for 6 years, and in 2005, received a Wilmington Award for his longstanding arts leadership in the city of Wilmington.

David Schelat received his Bachelor of Music degree cum laude from The Ohio State University, his Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, and has pursued additional post-graduate studies at Syracuse University. His major instrument was organ, which he has studied with Will O. Headlee, Wilbur Held, and David Craighead.

Mr. Schelat composes on commission. Some of his most recent commissions include Suite in C  (Delaware Suite) commissioned by the Delaware Chapter A.G.O., Te Deum laudamus commissioned by the Episcopal Church of Sts. Andrew and Matthew (Wilmington, Delaware), and Dreams of Love, commissioned by CoroAllegro (Wilmington, Delaware). His music appears in the catalogues of Oxford University Press, Augsburg-Fortress, and MorningStar Music.

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Zebulon Highben is a choral conductor, church musician, and composer. He has served Lutheran congregations in Ohio and Minnesota, and recently became Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Lansing, Michigan. He has taught at the University of Wisconsin at River Falls, Luther Seminary, and the Lutheran Summer Music Academy, where he has been the Paul Bouman Chapel Choir Director since 2005.

In addition to his conducting and teaching work, Zebulon currently serves as president of Region 3 of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians and is active in the American Choral Directors Association and the Hymn Society. A published author and reviewer, his choral and liturgical music is published by Augsburg Fortress.

Zebulon is a commissioned Associate in Ministry in the ELCA. He holds degrees from Ohio State University and Luther Seminary, and is presently pursuing the DMA degree in choral conducting at Michigan State University.

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Kris Mason, founder and Artistic Director of Seattle Children's Chorus, is a choral specialist who has worked in public education and churches for over 30 years. She is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education.  Kris has served as Washington State president for the Chorister's Guild and as the Washington State Repertoire & Standards Chair for Children's Choirs of the American Choral Director's Association.  She is an advisor to fellow choral directors and participates as a vocal music clinician for area schools.  She has also been a guest conductor for children's choirs and festivals.  Along with her role as Artistic Director, Kris conducts Arioso and Intermezzo, the upper level and intermediate level treble choirs of Seattle Children's Chorus.  Over the years, she has also enjoyed serving as Director of Music at Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Marysville, Washington. 

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Norma Aamodt-Nelson is currently serving Trinity ELCA in Lynnwood, WA as Minister of Music, where she administers a multi-faceted lay-led music program and is primary organist. Since 1994 she has served as Acquisitions Editor of instrumental music for Augsburg Fortress.  In addition, she is on the affiliate faculty team for Trinity Lutheran College of Everett, WA teaching music ministry courses.  An active member of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, she is currently president of Region IV (western states).   

Aamodt-Nelson earned degrees from Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Iowa, with mentors David Dahl, Paul Manz, Delores Bruch and Delbert Disselhorst.  

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Richard Lind, Organist at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Seattle since 2003, is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Music, where he earned his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in organ performance as a student of Clyde Holloway.  Previously, Mr. Lind served congregations as organist and choirmaster in Indianapolis, Indiana; Sarnia, Ontario; Houston, Texas; and Seattle.  As an active recitalist in Texas both as soloist and accompanist in several recital series around the state, he was one of four Houston area organists invited to participate in a pre-convention concert at the 1988 American Guild of Organists National Convention in Houston, for which he co-chaired the Competition Committee.  Mr. Lind has been a featured soloist in Seattle at the First Covenant Church; the Plymouth Congregational, First Methodist, and Trinity Parish Episcopal Church noon recital series; and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. He has also appeared as a Compline recitalist at St. Mark's Cathedral.  He is on the music staff at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bellevue, serves as Dean of the Seattle Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and served as Secretary of the Seattle 2009 Regional Convention Steering Committee.

Mr. Lind held the position of Accompanist and Assistant Conductor for the North American Welsh Choir from 1998 to 2003, participating in concerts that took place in Minneapolis, New York City, Winnipeg, and Wales. He is also a former accompanist and director of the Seattle Welsh Choir.

Among Mr. Lind’s publications are Jubilate Deo (1987), for four-octave hand bell choir; On December Five and Twenty (1994), four Christmas carols arranged for organ; Lullabies and Carols for Christmas (2005), eleven Christmas carols arranged for piano;  Piano Impressions for Worship (2007), eleven settings of hymns; and Fum! Fum! Fum! (2009), thirteen Christmas carols arranged for organ.  He participated with several composers in a project sponsored by Augsburg-Fortress Publishers to compose introductions and accompaniments for piano for each hymn included in the recently published hymnal for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

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Michael D. Costello is the Cantor at Grace Lutheran Church and School in River Forest, IL. At Grace he conducts the Senior Choir, the Bach Cantata Vespers ministry, and serves as the principal organist. Before coming to Grace, Michael was the Assistant Pastor and Director of Music Ministries at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in Columbia, SC and Adjunct Instrctor for Liturgical Ministries at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, also in Columbia, SC.

 
 
 

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Robert A. Hobby is Director of Music at Trinity English Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana. In the congregation of almost 3,500 members, his responsibilities include playing for many of the worship services, overseeing the graded choral program, and managing the concerts that the church offers. Among the numerous activities during his tenure, Trinity Church has established a choral series with seventeen composers commissioned thus far, hosted a regional convention of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, produced four recordings, and expanded the opportunities for music ministry, including an active youth choir of forty teenagers.
Mr. Hobby received his Bachelor’s Degree in Church Music from Wittenberg University in 1985 and a Master’s Degree in Organ Performance from the University of Notre Dame in 1987.  His organ teachers have included Darwin Leitz, Kirby and Kristi Koriath, Donald Busarow, and Craig Cramer. His private study in composition has been under Donald Busarow and Richard Hillert.  He has had private coaching in improvisation with Paul Manz, and most recently, he has had compositional coaching from English composer, Andrew Carter.
To date, most of his composition time has been spent writing commissions for churches and organizations throughout the country.  Over one hundred of Mr. Hobby’s compositions are in print with Augsburg Fortress Publishing House, Choristers Guild, Concordia Publishing House, G. I. A. Publishers, MorningStar Music Publishers, Northwestern Publishers, Pavane Publishing Co., and Warner Brothers Publishers.  His music has been heard on nationally syndicated radio programs such as “The Lutheran Hour”, “Pipe Dreams”, and “Sing for Joy”.
As a performer and clinician Mr. Hobby keeps an active schedule throughout the United States. Robert and his wife, Jennifer, are the proud parents of three daughters: Hannah, Lydia, and Elizabeth.

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Florence Jowers is Associate Professor of Music and University Organist of Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC, teaching in the Sacred Music Program, and also serving as organist at First Baptist Church.  Ms. Jowers received music degrees in organ performance and church music from the Yale University School of Music, New Haven, CT, and Stetson University, DeLand, FL.  Organ study has been with Charles Krigbaum, Todd Wilson, Leonard Raver, and Paul Jenkins. She was also the recipient of a Rotary International Fellowship for post-graduate study abroad, at which time she studied with the late Anton Heiller at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria, and with Peter Planyavsky at St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
 
In addition to her organ work, Ms. Jowers has always been involved with children’s choirs, founding the Shenango Area Youth Chorus in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, and in 1997 the Lenoir-Rhyne Youth Chorus.  She was on the faculty of the first “Young Lutherans Sing”  children’s choir camp in 2005 and was the children’s choral clinician for 2009’s Music Weeks at Montreat.  
 
Ms. Jowers has served as president of Region 2 of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, Dean of the Hickory Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and is currently serving on the executive board of the Charlotte Chapter of the AGO. She has served as clinician for many professional  conferences, and has concertized extensively in the United States, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, including two performances at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, and has had performances aired on National Public Radios’s “Pipedreams”.   

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Dennis Elwell has appeared as organ recitalist, guest artist, or conductor with orchestras and choral ensembles in concert halls, churches and synagogues in the United States and Europe for more than forty years. His lengthy list of solo recitals has included many organ dedications in addition to a ten year tenure from 1971-1981 as Staff Organist at The Wanamaker Organ at the Grand Court at Macy’s in Philadelphia, the largest pipe organ in the world, where he performed hundreds of recitals. In 1977, he performed at the 3rd International Congress of Organists presented by the American Guild of Organists, the Canadian Royal College of Organists and the Royal College of Organists of Great Britain, and he was the first Philadelphia based organist to be included the in 1989 First Edition of American Keyboard Artists, published in Chicago. Sought after as an organ accompanist, Mr. Elwell has performed nearly one hundred choral oratorios and cantatas, often utilizing his own transcriptions or arrangements of orchestral or instrumental accompaniments.

Now in his 37th season as Minister of Music at the Overbrook Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Mr. Elwell directs a diverse music program which presents a yearly Music Series of concerts and recitals. Blending amateur and professional singers, many of whom have achieved international status on their own, his Overbrook Choir has performed in Europe at choral music festivals, and presented more than thirty large scale oratorios with orchestra, in a repertoire which has spanned the works of composers from five centuries.

Having had a long association with the American Guild of Organists, the largest musical organization committed to a single instrument in the United States, Mr. Elwell has had the honor of serving as the Dean of the Philadelphia Chapter from 1979-1981, and Convention Coordinator for both the Guild’s 1989 Region III Convention, and the 2002 National Convention in Philadelphia, an event which was attended by over 2,500 organists and guests from five continents. Currently, he is the Guild’s National Councillor for Conventions, overseeing more than twenty National and Regional conventions in process throughout the United States. 

Mr. Elwell has enjoyed teaching privately and through two universities, Temple University in Philadelphia and Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.  Many of his pre-college students have gone on to attend the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, Westminster Choir College at Ryder in New Jersey, Southern Methodist University in Texas and the Julliard School in New York City. He has also taught at five summer Pipe Organ Encounters for teenagers sponsored by the American Guild of Organists and is committed to encouraging young people to pursue the joy of playing the instrument. Additionally, he has led seminars and workshops on a variety of topics related to the organ and sacred music fields, and has served as Organ Consultant for religious institutions, colleges and organizations which are considering the purchase of a new instrument, and or renovation of an existing instrument. 

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William H. Mathis is Minister of Music and Fine Arts at the Hennepin Ave. 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 music director of the Twin Cities community handbell ensemble, Bells of the Lakes, a group noted for its dual focus of performance and education. His compositions are found in the catalogues of thirteen publishers.
 
 

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Christopher Aspaas received his M.M. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University in East Lansing, and his B.M. in Voice Performance from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Dr. Aspaas recently completed his Ph.D. in Choral Music Education at The Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. He was the Interim Director of Choral Studies at Central Washington University. Prior to pursuing his doctorate, Dr. Aspaas was on the faculty of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. While there, he conducted the Concert Choir and Cantamus, taught private applied voice and choral conducting. Additionally, Dr. Aspaas served as Acting Director of Choral Activities in 2000-2001 and conducted the Glee Club and Chamber Choir, who performed the Durufle' Requiem and Bach's Mass in B Minor.

Since 2001, Dr. Aspaas has sung with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus in Eugene, Oregon, under the direction of Helmuth Rilling. He has recently performed as a soloist with Rilling and the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, the Bach Collegium of Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and the South

Dakota Symphony Orchestra. He has participated in master classes with Ingeborg Danz, John Wustmann and Bradley Ellingboe, and remains active as an adjudicator, clinician and researcher.

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Dr. Paul Weber, Professor of Church Music, is Director of Choral Activities and the Sacred Music Program at Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, North Carolina. Since 1999 he has served as Director of the A Cappella Choir. Weber is also the conductor of the Lenoir-Rhyne College Singers and the Chapel Choir. Since 1996 he has served as coordinator of the University's Sacred Music Program, developing it into a nationally recognized course of study whose students have attained several honors and awards, have won competitions and are currently serving local congregations or in graduate programs.

Weber is the editor of the choral series, "Sacred Music from Lenoir-Rhyne," available from MorningStar Music Publishers, St. Louis. This series features a variety of Weber's compositions first performed at Lenoir-Rhyne. Weber is also a contributing composer to two recently published Lutheran hymnals: Lutheran Service Book and Evangelical Lutheran Worship.

In February 2007, Weber served as the producer of "Evangelical Lutheran Worship: Hymns Audio Edition, Volume 2" available from Augsburg Fortress Publishers. This compact disc features the A Cappella Choir and Lenoir-Rhyne Youth Chorus in new hymn settings for choir, organ, and instruments arranged by Weber and former sacred music graduate, Michael Costello.

Weber received the Raabe Prize for Excellence in Sacred Composition from the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians for a career of outstanding contributions to the profession as exemplified in a specific work. The winning anthem, "Arise, Shine," published by Augsburg Fortress, was first sung by the A Cappella Choir on its 2001 tour and has received subsequent performances by the National Lutheran Choir, the Luther College Nordic and Cathedral Choirs, and by the Cantorei and Chapel Choir of St. Olaf College.

Weber received a doctor of musical arts degree in choral conducting from The University of Iowa, a master of musical arts degree in composition from Yale University, and a master of music degree in organ performance and composition from Washington University, St. Louis. His composition teachers have included Krzysztof Penderecki, Jacob Druckman, Bruce MacCombie, and Roland Jordan. He has studied choral repertoire and conducting with Tamara Brooks, Richard Bloesch, Jon Bailey, Joseph Flummerfelt, Robert Bergt, and Ralph Schultz. Prior to his tenure at Lenoir-Rhyne University, Weber held conducting positions at Thiel College, Greenville, Pennsylvania, and The Albertson College of Idaho, Caldwell, Idaho.

He was in the first graduating class of Christ Seminary-Seminex and received a master of divinity degree through the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He attended Concordia College, Bronxville, New York, and Concordia Senior College, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, before registering at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. He was ordained in 1979. His ministry has included two pastorates in western Pennsylvania. Weber is married to Florence Jowers, University Organist at Lenoir-Rhyne and Conductor of the Lenoir-Rhyne Youth Chorus. They are the parents of three talented young adults: Erin, Jeffrey, and Amanda.

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