Dr. Mike Mitchell - Youth

Michael A. Mitchell is Associate Professor of Music at Oakland University in Michigan, and also serves as Director of Choral Activities, while conducting the Oakland Chorale,the University Chorus, and the Symphony Chorus.

In addition, Mitchell supervises the graduate program in choral conducting and teaches choral literature and undergraduate conducting. He is also Artistic Director/Conductor of the Detroit based Cantata Academy Chorale, a choir that has produced a full independent concert series every year since 1963 and which he recently led on its fifteenth European concert tour.

In the fall of 2005, Dr. Mitchell served as Resident Guest Conductor of the professional ensemble Choir Ivan Goran Kovacic in Zagreb, Croatia and also became the first American to lecture at the Slovak University of Music and Art in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Before coming to Michigan, he taught at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and was a teacher and music supervisor in the public schools in Texas.

Dr. Mitchell studied conducting, music education, and voice at the University of Texas and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, where he received his doctorate while serving as assistant to the eminent conductor Eph Ehly for three years. As a doctoral student he was the winner of the UMKC Chancellor’s Award for Academic Merit and was a finalist in the American Choral Directors Association national conducting competition.

His dynamic, energetic approach to music has made him a frequently invited guest conductor throughout the country. He also has extensive experience as a church and studio conductor, and has received several commissions as a composer of choral music.

He is a member of The American Choral Directors Association, The American Music Center, The College Music Society, The Michigan School Vocal Music Association, The Music Educators National Conference, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Mark Patterson - Children

Mark Patterson is quickly gaining recognition as a composer, music educator and choral clinician. He is a Part-Time Instructor in the School of Music at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, where he is pursuing a PhD in Music Education. Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, Mark was Director of Choirs at Covington Middle School and Director of the Choristers Choir at Covenant Presbyterian Church, both in Austin, Texas. Mr. Patterson holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Texas at Austin.

He is frequently invited to conduct honor choirs and choral festivals across the United States and is often asked to lead workshops for choral directors. In both church and school settings, Mark is well known for his work with the child and adolescent voice, for developing imaginative approaches to teaching in the choral rehearsal and for working to cultivate a quality sound in even the most challenging of ensembles.

Mr. Patterson's choral compositions for adults, youth and children comprise a rich variety of styles for the sanctuary, classroom and concert hall. His works are known for their meaningful texts, memorable melodies and rhythmic vitality. Currently he has over 200 works in print with numerous major publishers. Mark has been a recipient of the ASCAP Award in composition each year since 1997.

Jane Anderson - Handbells

Jane Anderson is currently Organist and Director of Bell Choirs at Coutryside United Methodist Church in Topeka, KS. She directs workshops and festivals throughout the United States and has directed three National Handbell Festivals of the Bahamas. Jane is a graduate of the University of Kansas where she currently teaches handbells as a part of the Masters in Church Music program.

Jane's articles in Creator magazine entitled "It's Never Too Late" and "Activating the Potential of Your Bell Choirs" offer creative methods of enhancing handbell choir experiences. She has also written, for Overtones of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, articles entitled "Expressive Conducting Techniques" and "How Do You Change Your Conducting Motions to Indicate Changes in Emotion?"

Jane is Married to William Anderson, and they have two children and six grandchildren. Her husband is the composer of six published children's sacred musicals: Daniel, The Troubabble of Zerubbabel, Elijah, A Stable Fit For A King, Bones, and Let's Go With Mo.

She has also served as President of the Fellowship of American Baptist Musicians.

Mark Johnson - Instrumental

Paul Oakley - Organ

Paul E. Oakley is the Director of Choral, Vocal and Sacred Music Studies and Associate Professor of Music at Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina, where he is also the College Organist. He is currently the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Ethos Consortium, a fully professional chamber orchestra and professional chorus in Charlotte, North Carolina. Maestro Oakley is the Artistic Director and Conductor for the Northstar Choral Festival and the Manhattan Festival of Sacred Music (both in New York) and the Masterclass Conference on Church Music.

Professor Oakley was the Artist-in-Residence for the Wake Forest University Divinity School, and has served on the music faculties of the School of Music, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina; The Hartt School - University of Hartford, connecticut; Atlantic Union College, South Lancaster, Massachusetts, and Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has served as the Minister of Music and/or Organist in prominent congregations in New York, North Carolina, Minnesota, Illinois, Kansas, and Massachusetts. Known for his unique level of versatility, Mr. Oakley is in constant demand as a choral conductor, orchestral conductor, opera conductor, concert organist, collaborative pianist, lecturer, adjudicator, and clinician. He has performed throughout North America and in England, Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Hong Kong, Brazil, and several Caribbean nations.

As a clinician Mr. Oakley has taught at two National Conventions of ACDA (American Choral Directors Association). In 2006, he was the invited lecturer at the prestigious Mortenson Dialogues in Sacred Music at Concordia College in Morehead, MN. He has been a clinician for numerous Divisional Conventions (North Central, and Central Divisions) and is a regular headliner at State ACDA and MENC conventions and regularly teaches workshops and performs recitals and hymn festivals for chapters of the American Guild of Organists and Choristers Guild. He has performed and lectured for AGO regional conventions, and recently performed for the national convention of the American Institute of Organbuilders.

Paul E. Oakley holds the Master of Music degree in Conducting from Boston University where he was a Dean's scholar in Music and was a student of Dr. Ann Howard Jones. He holds two undergraduate degrees from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, one in Organ Performance and another in Sacred Music (Choral Emphasis). At Friends he was a Presser Scholar in Music.