Spirit Journey

Andy Waggoner is Artistic Director of the 140-voice St. Louis County Community Chorus, the Collinsville Chorale, and Director of Worship at Concord Trinity UMC. He currently serves as the American Choral Director’s Association state chair for Worship and Community Choirs in Missouri. He has prepared choirs for five residencies at Carnegie Hall, most recently in 2011. He has produced and prepared concerts for Christine Brewer, Sandi Patty, and Fantasia. In addition, he also serves on the Board of Directors for Epworth Children and Family Services. Andy and his partner Steven reside in St. Louis, Missouri.

Andy Waggoner is Artistic Director of the 140-voice St. Louis County Community Chorus, the Collinsville Chorale, and Director of Worship at Concord Trinity UMC. He currently serves as the American Choral Director’s Association state chair for Worship and Community Choirs in Missouri. He has prepared choirs for five residencies at Carnegie Hall, most recently in 2011. He has produced and prepared concerts for Christine Brewer, Sandi Patty, and Fantasia. In addition, he also serves on the Board of Directors for Epworth Children and Family Services. Andy and his partner Steven reside in St. Louis, Missouri.

Andy Waggoner is Artistic Director of the 140-voice St. Louis County Community Chorus, the Collinsville Chorale, and Director of Worship at Concord Trinity UMC. He currently serves as the American Choral Director’s Association state chair for Worship and Community Choirs in Missouri. He has prepared choirs for five residencies at Carnegie Hall, most recently in 2011. He has produced and prepared concerts for Christine Brewer, Sandi Patty, and Fantasia. In addition, he also serves on the Board of Directors for Epworth Children and Family Services. Andy and his partner Steven reside in St. Louis, Missouri.

A native of Houston, Texas, Kevin McBeth is Director of Music at Manchester United Methodist Church in suburban St. Louis and Associate Conductor for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, leading both the IN UNISON Chorus and the Holiday Festival Chorus. McBeth is a graduate of Houston Baptist University, and has done graduate studies in choral conducting at the University of Houston. He has conducted honor and festival choirs in 15 states, as well as tours of Great Britain and Italy, including mass at the Vatican. Previous appointments include Assistant Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, Adjunct Professor in Choral Music at Webster University and Music Director of the St. Louis Metro Singers. He has served as guest lecturer at several American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conventions and on the campus of the Westminster Choir College. Most recently, he was appointed as the National Community Choir Repertoire and Resources Chairperson for ACDA. McBeth has made appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Avery Fischer Hall at Lincoln Center. Choirs under his direction have performed at state and division ACDA conventions. Professional affiliations include MMEA, MCDA & TCDA. His orchestral conducting credits include performances with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the New England Symphonic Ensemble, the Houston Civic Symphony, and the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra.

The St. Louis Symphony IN UNISON Chorus is an all-volunteer, 120-voice auditioned ensemble that performs a variety of musical styles, with a focus on the interpretation, performance, and preservation of the music of African-American and African cultures. Steeped in the traditional of symphonic gospel music, chorus members have traditionally come from the IN UNISON Program member churches, but also from area universities and colleges. Chorus members are teachers, nurses, office workers, students, doctors, and people from many other walks of life. Some members have retired from long careers, some are just entering the work force or working on degrees. Many sing in other vocal ensembles or church choirs. All share a love of music and of singing.

A native of Houston, Texas, Kevin McBeth is Director of Music at Manchester United Methodist Church in suburban St. Louis and Associate Conductor for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, leading both the IN UNISON Chorus and the Holiday Festival Chorus. McBeth is a graduate of Houston Baptist University, and has done graduate studies in choral conducting at the University of Houston. He has conducted honor and festival choirs in 15 states, as well as tours of Great Britain and Italy, including mass at the Vatican. Previous appointments include Assistant Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, Adjunct Professor in Choral Music at Webster University and Music Director of the St. Louis Metro Singers. He has served as guest lecturer at several American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conventions and on the campus of the Westminster Choir College. Most recently, he was appointed as the National Community Choir Repertoire and Resources Chairperson for ACDA. McBeth has made appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Avery Fischer Hall at Lincoln Center. Choirs under his direction have performed at state and division ACDA conventions. Professional affiliations include MMEA, MCDA & TCDA. His orchestral conducting credits include performances with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the New England Symphonic Ensemble, the Houston Civic Symphony, and the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra.

The Chancel Choir is the premier ensemble of Manchester United Methodist Church. The choir, celebrating 65 years of musical leadership, presents annual concerts, featuring the finest in choral literature. Previous major works have included; GOSPEL MASS (Ray), THE CREATION (Haydn), MAGNIFICAT (Rutter), TESTAMENT OF FREEDOM (Thompson), THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF CHRIST (Dubois), MESSIAH (Handel). Members of Chancel Choir have made appearances at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and 5 performances at Carnegie Hall. Annually, members of the choir have performed with international artists and composers, including Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, Mark Hayes, Rollo Dilworth and Joseph Martin. With more than 8 commissions to date, the choir regularly collaborates with noted composers and arrangers, fostering a love of new music for the church. Representing a rich heritage of styles from classical to gospel, this choir is the embodiment of a community, drawn together by their love of choral music.

R. Kyle Linson is Director of Music and Worship Arts at First United Methodist Church in Little Rock AR. Kyle is a graduate of West Plains High School. Kyle attended Arkansas State University where he completed his undergraduate work and worked in graduate studies in Choral Music Education under Mr. Alfred Skoog. Kyle taught in Sikeston Missouri before going into full time church ministry. He has served at Fisher St., Harrisburg and Sikeston United Methodist churches before he landed at St. John’s UMC in Memphis TN for 17 years. While at St. John’s the music ministry was asked to sing for two annual conferences, installation service for Bishop Dick Wills, and recorded two CD’s. The Chancel Choir also premiered Morton Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna in Carnegie Hall under direction of Tim Sharp. Kyle also started the, “Concert of Love” which brought several UMC Choirs together to sing for the Church Health Center and raise money for its mission to give health care to those who do not have or cannot afford benefits. Kyle also served at Central UMC in Kansas City Mo for 2.5 years as well as taught a private voice studio of 22 students with 12 All State Choir members named in those years. Today he is at First UMC of Little Rock in his sixth year and loving being back in the south. Kyle has been a judge and clinician in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Tennessee. The FUMC Choirs have been invited to sing several AR Methodist conferences, as well as singing on SWACDA Conference hosted by FUMC in Little Rock AR. He is the R&S Chair for Music in Worship for Arkansas ACDA and the President of Arkansas Chapter as well as on National Planning Board of the Fellowship of United Methodists Musicians and Worship Arts. Kyle partnered with St. Mark’s Baptist Church to co-conduct a community choir for the 60th Anniversary of Central High School Integration in the Robinson Center for the Performing Arts. In 2018, the choirs of FUMC will be premiering the 3rd installment of “Spirit Suites” by Mark Hayes at Carnegie Hall in NYC.

The choirs of First United Methodist Church Little Rock Ar. have a vast history of servanthood. FUMC has two adult choirs that serve in ministry. The Chancel choir is made up of 47 singers and the Ensemble is made up of 44 singers. These choirs have been asked to sing at AR Annual Methodist Conferences, for the Robinson Center for the Performing Arts and the Southwest ACDA conference. They also provide music for Christmas and Easter for the Community. This is their first time performing in Carnegie Hall. We are truly honored to be a part of the music of Mark Hayes.

Wayne Hinton For over 20 years, Dr. Wayne Hinton has pursued an active career as a vocal coach and recital pianist in chamber music, opera, and song repertoire in addition to working in arts administration. After finishing his undergraduate studies in piano with honors at Florida State University, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna and at the Institute of Advanced Musical Studies in Montreux, Switzerland. In this innovative school he performed in Master Classes of such great artists as Gregor Piatigorsky, Zino Francescatti, composer Alberto Ginastera, and pianists Ania Dorfmann and John Ogdon. After finishing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Southern California, Dr. Hinton worked as a music editor for film and television and was assistant music director of Orange County Opera and Golden West Opera. Dr. Hinton has been the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, the General Manager of the Nimoy Concert Series of Temple Israel of Hollywood and the Executive Director of the Riverside County Philharmonic in Riverside, CA. He currently works as Opera Coach and Accompanist at the University of Redlands, Adjunct Faculty at Moreno Valley College and is the Music Director of Palm Springs United Methodist Church.

The Chancel Choir of the Palm Springs United Methodist Church has been an integral part of the life of the church since its founding in 1965. It is a volunteer group composed of 20 to 30 members of the congregation. The Chancel Choir provides meaningful special music for the services of the church every Sunday. During the Easter and Advent seasons the group puts in many hours of extra rehearsals to present a Cantata or musical service as a special service for the congregation. During the height of the tourist season in Palm Springs, the church offers two services on Sunday and members of the Chancel Choir offer solos and small ensembles as special music for the service.

Leslie Fox Mabe received her bachlor's degree in Music Education from Radford University in Virginia. She has taught in the Virginia public school system for 20 years and has directed the St Paul United Methodist Church Sanctuary Choir for 15 years.

St Paul UMC Sanctuary Choir consists of 25 members. The choir has performed many musical dramas and cantatas throughout it's history. They were privileged to perform Pepper Choplin's "Night of the Father's Love" under his direction in 2015 in their hometown of Wytheville, Virginia.

Wendy Kallen, a native of Pennsylvania, is enjoying a career as a singer, accompanist, director, teacher, and innovator. Ms. Kallen has sung with the Pittsburgh Opera, the Slovak Radio Television Orchestra, the University of Southern California Orchestra, and in the Aspen music festivals. Now residing in San Diego, she continues to perform, train singers, and direct multiple choirs as a director of music ministries. She has created a concert series that draws artists, choirs, and composers from around the United States to come and share their talents.

The Voices of Hope Choir has been in existence since Hope United Methodist Church of San Diego was founded in 1977. The choir sings various styles ranging from contemporary, classical, spirituals, traditional, and everything in between. The choir sings 4-5 concerts per year, hosts a national composer festival, and encourages outreach opportunities. Through this powerful music ministry, the choir sings for worship, for the people, and for God.

Cody C. Killian has served Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Hayesville NC, as Director of Music since August 2015. He directs the choirs, oversees the Music Ministry and serves as Principal Organist/Pianist. Having received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Young Harris College in Georgia, Cody's background in Liturgical Music includes employment in Baptist, Catholic and Methodist Congregations. He enjoys accompanying and performing in Europe and an active schedule of teaching. He is currently working toward his Master of Music in Piano Performance at Converse College in Spartanburg SC, with an expected graduation date in 2019.

The Community Choir from Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Hayesville NC, is comprised of around 30 music lovers of multiple faiths, from far western North Carolina and north Georgia. The thirty-plus volunteer members lend their voices at various IHM’s Masses, adding musical prayers to the liturgy. Thirteen members of the choir, ranging in ages from 23 to 72, are thrilled to be travelling to New York City in June 2018 to participate in the DCINY concert, Pepper Choplin’s “Our Father: A Journey Through the Lord’s Prayer.”

Mark Elam Green is the Associate Pastor of Music at First Baptist Church, Gainesville, Georgia where he has served since March, 1999. In this role, he annually leads a Living Christmas Tree Production approximately 6,500 attendees. Mark directs choirs for adults, youth and children, and accompanies soloists regularly. A native of Oneonta, Alabama, he received a Bachelor of Music in piano performance at the University of Alabama and a Master of Music in Church Music with a piano concentration at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. He is married to Joy, and they have one daughter, Lucy Katherine.

The 120-member Sanctuary Choir of First Baptist, Gainesville, provides music leadership each Sunday in the 8:30 am Chapel Service and the 10:50 Sanctuary Service. We also sing for special services and events throughout the year. The Sanctuary Choir has just completed its 17th year of presenting a Living Christmas Tree in five presentations for approximately 6,500 attendees. We have recorded one CD, "We Will Stand," a collection of timeless contemporary classics. The Sanctuary Choir sang Mozart's Coronation Mass in Carnegie Hall in 2002 under the direction of Terre Johnson. We are delighted to sing tonight with Pepper Choplin.

Mary Jane Shervais has been active in and inspired by church music programs from childhood. She earned her Master of Music degree from Eastern Washington University, Cheney, Washington, and has served as the Director of Music at Cheney United Methodist Church since 2006. She has also served as the director of the Annual Pacific Northwest District Choir Festival, composed of choirs from churches throughout the area. A former Commanding Officer in the United States Marine Corps, Mary Jane has brought her extensive leadership skills and music knowledge to her church, directing a challenging and inspirational program.

Recognizing music as a powerful worship tool, Cheney United Methodist Church Chancel Choir has served the worship services at their church since its inception in 1889. Membership in the choir is open to all those who are called to seek, serve, and share God through our music. The choir also participates in the annual Inland District music festivals, and performs an annual Christmas Cantata for the community. We are honored to be invited to participate in the DCINY tenth anniversary celebration, and to be singing in this wonderful cantata by Pepper Choplin.

Svetlana Kuzmina M.A. is a graduate of St. Petersburg State Arts Institute, Russia. She has been working with church choirs for more than 25 years as a part of her ministry . Her professional background includes working with Christian TV broadcasting and public relations. Currently she applies her skills and talents as a piano teacher, accompanist and choir director. She has a husband, Sergey and two children, Mary and Daniel.

Youth choir of Russian-Ukrainian Seventh Day Adventist church was formed about two years ago. The main focus of the choir is to sing contemporary Christian choir music. On April, 2017 the choir had performed Pepper Choplin's cantata "Our Father" in Russian language for the Russian speaking community of greater Seattle. This collective has traveled to various churches in the area popularizing Christian music and praising the Lord.

Carol is a retired elementary music teacher of 36 years and she has directed adult, youth, children and handbell choirs for 41 years. She has been involved with the music ministry at Norwalk Methodist for 36 years. She has particularly enjoyed directing the Christmas cantata's that are accompanied by a full orchestra and also producing many children's Christmas presentations at their church. Singing in the concert choir at Mount Union College and touring internationally with this group helped begin Carol's appreciation for the role choral music plays in worship. She hopes that with all the new influences of music in worship the choral sound, the participation of many voices in song, will continue to be heard in our churches. That is why events like this are vital!

The Chancel Choir has been in existence for over a hundred years. It is well recognized in the Norwalk Community for its beautiful choral sound. This choir provides music every Sunday and is often invited to participate in community events. They provide several entire worship services during the year which share "WORD" and music. This has been done through cantatas or arranging a service around the many choral anthems in their library. This choir feels the music they provide is a very special ministry blessed by God.

Andrew Hipwell, our director, has always had music in his life. Born in Gloucester, Massachusetts to a UMC Pastor and Missionary family, Andrew grew up with music and ministry. He studied music at Geneva College, where he had the privilege of performing overseas in Royal Albert Hall in London. After college, he moved to DuBois, where his father was preaching at the time and the rest of his family now lived. He has been part of the music program for 20 years as director of the Shepherd's Bells, the hand bell choir, and singing and later taking over as director of the Chancel Choir.

Ezequias Guerra – Maestro For 32 years he has been developing his teaching work. He graduated in Bachelor of Music with a specialization as Regent and Singer by the Baptist Theological Seminary of Minas Gerais, where He taught several subjects as composition, regency, harmony and counterpoint, analysis and orchestration, and, in addition, was conductor of the Student Choir Seminary. In the master's degree was student in the class of Professor Dr. Ralph Manuel and Professor Dr. Sandy Simmons, among others. He conducted several choirs, from 1986 and 2006, in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. He was Minister of Music in the First Baptist Church of Água Branca, a neighborhood in the city of Contagem for 5 years. He is 11 years as Minister of Adoration and Arts of the First Baptist Church of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.

Mixed Choir of the First Baptist Church of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil The main purpose and commitment Chorus of the First Church of Manaus is to serve God in worship and to our local church through edification every Sunday. Since 1926, the Choir has actively participated in the life of the church. Composed of about 60 singers, but the true beauty of the Choir takes place when everyone comes together, from different cultures and lifestyles, and blending our voices in worship of our Creator. We serve the body of Christ in the First Baptist Church of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, every Sunday and on special occasions. In addition, for decades our annual Easter concerts, Choir anniversary (September) and Christmas have been a tradition for our city. In September 2016, on the 87th anniversary, we held the "Oratory": "Our Father, a journey through the Lord's Prayer" by Pepper Choplin, in Portuguese, produced in Brazil by Anthema Music, by Carlos Alberto Silva, which was for us an amazing and wonderful experience. Our goal is to open the soul to the presence of God, so that, through music, Jesus can transform lives. Our repertoire is specifically sacred, ranging from the popular, various styles, and erudite, of various eras. God has blessed the Church with musical talent and we want to be faithful and productive with the talents He has already entrusted to us.

Rev. Mark Williams has served as Minister of Music at First Baptist Church, Waycross, GA since October of 1991. He earned a Bachelor of Music concentrating in voice and church music at Stetson University (1988) in DeLand, Florida and earned a Master of Music from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (2001) in Fort Worth, Texas. He sings and tours annually with the nationally recognized men’s choral, The CenturyMen, created by Buryl Red. Married with two children.

The Chancel Choir of Waycross First Baptist Church is a 45 member mixed ensemble under the direction of Mark Williams, Minister of Music and accompanied by Carole Parker, piano, and Jennifer Crummey, organ. They sing weekly for the church's main worship services and provide a variety of music for the congregation including classical, contemporary, hymn arrangements, African-American spirituals, and gospel songs. The choir began when the church was formed in 1882 and has continued since.

David Soyars has served as organist / pianist at College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, since 2005. He began playing the piano in elementary school and is celebrating his 25th year of leading worship with his music. He accompanied the Triangle Gay Men's Chorus for several years and has enjoyed singing with community choirs. He released his "Peace & Joy" CD of Christmas favorites in 2012.

This all-volunteer choir has led worship services for the 112 years for this progressive and inclusive congregation. They perform a wide variety of genres including spirituals, classical and contemporary. All choir members also stay busy with various ministries of the church. The church is located adjacent to the University of North Carolina Greensboro, the alma mater of Pepper Choplin.