Presenters
In addition to supporting one another, participants in the Composers Symposium will have the opportunity to learn from experts in the field in both formal and informal sessions. Confirmed presenters are listed below with more details to follow as they are confirmed.
Jeremy Bakken has served as Director of Worship and Sacred Music at Northwestern Publishing House since September 2016. He is an active church musician, serving as adult choir director and liturgical ensemble coordinator at Trinity Lutheran Church (WELS) in Waukesha, WI. He has performed part-time since 2008 with the Christian music group Branches Band (www.branchesband.com), with which he has been to over 500 WELS churches spanning all 50 states and Canada. He has contributed significantly to Christian Worship (NPH, 2021), including four original hymn tunes, all but one of the arrangements in the two volumes of Christian Worship: Easy Hymn Accompaniments, and many support materials found in Musician’s Resource (https://online.nph.net/musicians-resource). His choral anthems are published by NPH, Choristers Guild, Kjos, and others. He holds degrees from Wisconsin Lutheran College (B.S. in music and mathematics, 2004), University of New Mexico (M.M. in composition and choral conducting, 2013), and University of Southern California (D.M.A. in choral music, 2022).
Where Do We Go From Here – Panel Discussion
Northwestern Publishing House
Luke Fitzpatrick is the principal flutist of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. During the summer, Luke also plays flute with the Chautauqua Symphony in western New York. He has held principal positions with the Des Moines Metropolitan Opera and the Sarasota Opera companies. Passionate about education, Luke is a professor of Flute at the Purdue University of Fort Wayne in Indiana. He is also the co-founder and director of the Bonita Boyd International Master Class, “The Artistic Flutist,” a summer flute intensive at the Eastman School of Music that draws musicians from all over the world. Participating in summer music festivals has been one of Luke’s greatest joys as a musician. He has spent summers at the National Orchestral Institute, National Repertory Orchestra, Music Academy of the West, Aspen music festival, the National Symphony’s Summer Music Institute, and the Chautauqua music festival. Luke holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Carnegie Mellon University, and The Colburn School.
Composing for Instruments
Andrew Hicks has played Bass Trombone with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic since 1996. He has performed and recorded with the Cleveland Orchestra as well as performing with the Cincinnati Symphony, Columbus Symphony and the Louisville Orchestra. He has participated in the Festival Di Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy and performed with Brass Odyssey in Hong Kong. He attended the Cincinnati Conservatory for his undergraduate studies and the Cleveland Institute of Music for his graduate studies. He resides in Fort Wayne with his infinitely better half Deborah who is a wonderful Cellist. With his wife’s assistance, he has become a world class Dachshund wrangler.
Composing for Instruments
Anne Preucil Lewellen is Principal Harp of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, a position she has held since 1987. With this orchestra, she has appeared as soloist on numerous occasions and is a regular performer on the Philharmonic’s Freimann Chamber Music series. In addition to the Philharmonic, she has performed with many other orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony and the Utah Symphony and Opera. Since 1999, Ms. Lewellen has performed every summer as a member of the prestigious Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
A dedicated teacher, Anne served as Associate Faculty at Purdue University Fort Wayne School of Music and maintains an active private harp studio, teaching students of all ages. In addition to her musical life, she also works as the Administrative Program Coordinator for Audiences Unlimited, Inc. Ms. Lewellen holds a B.M. in Harp Performance from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music.
Composing for Instruments
Adrian Mann joined the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in 1973 as Principal Bass. Additional positions he has held over the years with the Phil include Personnel Manager, Director of In-School Presentations, Director of Gallery Concerts, and Stage Manager. He has been Staff Arranger since 1990 and Librarian since 2007.
He holds an Artist Diploma from the New School of Music and a Master of Music and D.M.A. from Catholic University of America. Before coming to Fort Wayne Adrian performed with the U.S. Marine Band and White House Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony, and the Orchestra International Iuventus of Salerno Italy. He has served on the faculties of IPFW, the Eastern Music Festival and Oberlin Conservatory and was Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Joseph Hessen Cassel Church for 20 years. He studied theory with Matthew Colucci and composition with Seymour Barab. As a composer, he has received commissions from Trinity English Lutheran Church, Heartland Chamber Chorale, Northeast Indiana Suzuki Talent Education, Concordia Lutheran High School, and FAME.
His arrangements have been performed by many orchestras including those of Pittsburgh, Toronto, Milwaukee, San Diego and Cincinnati, Philly Pops and New York Pops. Since 1990 the Phil has performed over 75 of his arrangements and more than a dozen original compositions.
Composing for Instruments
Anne Krentz Organ is a composer and church musician serving as the Director of Music Ministries at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, IL. Along with worship planning and service playing, she oversees the choral and instrumental music program including adult and youth choirs, a handbell choir, and a variety of instrumental ensembles. She is the primary composer of the Setting 12 liturgy in All Creation Sings. Additional compositions for choir, handbells, organ, and piano are published by Abingdon Press, Augsburg Fortress, Choristers Guild, Concordia Publishing House, Hope Publishing Company, and MorningStar Music. Anne holds degrees from Valparaiso University, the University of Illinois, and Concordia University, Chicago. She has served on the faculty of the Lutheran Summer Music Program, teaching church music, composition, and serving as composer-in-residence. Anne is a past president of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.
Writing with Artistry for Smaller Ensembles
Nancy Raabe has been the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Hatfield PA, since July 2021. She specializes in incorporating music and the liturgical arts into worship services. She is known as an empathetic servant leader, an effective preacher, and as a thoughtful teacher for those of all ages. Nancy M Raabe is an author, worship leader, and composer of church music. Her piano, organ, vocal, choral works, and books have been published by Augsburg Fortress, Choristers Guild, MorningStar Music, Concordia, Hope Publishing, Lutheran University Press, and Northwestern.
Panel Moderator: “Where do we go from here?”
Daniel Schwandt has established himself as a thoughtful and engaging voice in the organ world through his work as a performer, church musician, composer, and teacher. He is an advocate for music that is engaging and accessible to diverse audiences, honoring both the pipe organ’s historic place in Western music while being responsive to its evolving role in contemporary society.
He regularly performs concerts, hymn festivals, and leads organ and church music workshops around the United States, including performances at national conventions of the Organ Historical Society and the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, along with regional gatherings of the American Guild of Organists. His choral and liturgical compositions are published by Augsburg Fortress, MorningStar Music, and GIA Publications.
It Is right and proper: Small-scale liturgical music for the Sunday propers
Kevin Simons is the Editor for St. James Music Press and Associate Professor and Director of Choirs at Saginaw Valley State University where he teaches applied and class voice, choral methods and conducts both the Cardinal Singers and the Concert Choir. He holds degrees in vocal performance, choral conducting, and music education from the University of Oklahoma, Central Michigan University, and Boston University. He is also the Director of Music and Organist at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Saginaw and the Director for the Sewanee Church Music Conference, the oldest conference for musicians serving the Episcopal Church. . Since 2007, he has been the Choral Director for the Baroque on Beaver Island festival.
Where Do We Go From Here? – Panel Discussion
St. James Music Press
David Sims is the Senior Music Editor at Augsburg Fortress, where he directs the development and production of choral, instrumental, and assembly song resources. From 2014 to 2021 he served as Cantor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis, where he played organ, assisted in worship planning, and directed two adult choirs. He previously worked as an organ builder and church musician in Indiana. David grew up in the cornfields of central Illinois and holds degrees in Church Music and Organ Performance from St. Olaf College and Indiana University. His compositions are published by Augsburg Fortress and GIA.
Where Do We Go From Here? – Panel Discussion
Augsburg Fortress
Kevin Uppercue is a veteran of the music publishing industry and has held editorial positions with several leading companies, most recently as managing editor for ECS Publishing Group, which includes the imprints of E. C. Schirmer Music Company, Galaxy Music Corporation, and MorningStar Music Publishers. He now offers editorial, engraving, and audio services to composers and publishers under his company Fugue State Music. An active composer, he has numerous organ, choral, and instrumental works published and has received commissions from various churches, colleges, and performers. Kevin holds a Master of Music in Music Theory and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition and has taught music theory and ear training courses at the collegiate level. A multifaceted performer, Kevin frequently serves as a cellist, classical guitarist, and vocalist, and is the organist at historic Old St. Andrew’s Parish Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Where Do We Go from Here? – Discerning the music software that is right for you
Importing XML/MXL files into Dorico: Best Practices
Wayne Wold is Director of Music at First Lutheran Church in Ellicott City, Maryland; Adjunct Associate Professor and Director of the Church Music Institute at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia; and Professor Emeritus and College Organist at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. From 1996-2013 he served as Director of Chapel Music at Camp David, where he helped lead worship for four U.S. presidents, their families and guests, and military families. As an organist and harpsichordist he has performed recitals and hymn festivals across the U.S. and in Europe, and he has performed numerous times with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, the Frederick Symphony Orchestra, the Bach in Baltimore Orchestra, the Hood Chamber Players, and other ensembles. He is the author of four books, numerous articles, and several anthem and hymn texts that appear in hymnals in the U.S. and Australia, and he is the composer of over 400 published compositions. His hymn texts have won awards from Eastman School of Music, The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and the ELCA. Wold has held elected offices in the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians and the American Guild of Organists, and he served on the editorial committee for the hymnal Evangelical Lutheran Worship. He holds degrees from Shenandoah University, Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. His website is at waynelwold.com.
A Survey of Authors and Texts