You can view the slides about our composers and sponsors here or read below. 


Melanie DeMore

With a solid education in music composition, this accomplished songwriter, composer, choral conductor and former Sister of the Cloth, has a level of understanding as to the pure intention of Music that comes to only a very few in each generation. Life for Melanie DeMore is for the seeking and sharing of light, joy, and deep love for what moves you.

Tyler Secor

Tyler Secor is a graduate of Manchester University (N. Manchester, IN) with an undergraduate degree in Piano Performance and Music Theory and Composition. Tyler received a master's degree in Music Theory from the University of Oregon and completed coursework at Ball State University (music theory & vocal pedagogy) and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (music theory). For seven seasons, Tyler was the assistant director and pianist for the Indianapolis Women's Chorus before moving full-time to Cincinnati to become the Assistant to the Music Director at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO). Tyler now serves the CSO, Cincinnati Pops, May Festival and Vocal Arts Ensemble as the Director of Publications and Content Development as part of the Communications and Digital Media Department. 

Katy Rose Bennett

Katy Rose Bennett has been creating her earthy, intimate folk music for
over 20 years, telling stories of love, despair, connection and community.
She empowers audiences to be emotionally open by sharing the strength in vulnerability, through the vessel of song. She has released 7 albums to critical acclaim with plays on BBC Radio 2, 3 & 6 and RTE Radio 1.

Elaine Hagenberg

In addition to composing full-time, Elaine actively engages in bringing her music to life as the guest artist and featured clinician for professional conferences and festivals both in the U.S. and abroad as a composer, conductor, and accompanist of her work.
Rosephanye Powell
Hailed as one of America’s premier women composers of solo vocal and choral music, Dr. Powell has an impressive catalogue of works that have been conducted and premiered by nationally and internationally renowned conductors. She currently serves as a professor of voice at Auburn University.

Elizabeth Alexander

Elizabeth Alexander grew up in the Carolinas and Appalachian Ohio. Her love of music, language, and challenging questions is reflected in her catalog of over 150 compositions. Her music is described as “brilliantly innovative” (New York Concert Review), “truly inspired” (Boston Intelligencer) and “stunning…exquisite…sculpting light into sound” (Kansas City Metropolis).

Joan Szymko

Joan Szymko lives and works in Portland, Oregon. A dynamic conductor, she founded and directed Viriditas Vocal Ensemble, has served on the choral music faculty at Portland State University, and after 26 seasons, recently retired as Artistic Director of Aurora Chorus. 

Remel Derrick

Remel Derrick is a native of Dallas, Texas, and is a music graduate of Southwestern Christian College and Abilene Christian University. For seven years, he has been the Associate Director of Choirs at Abilene High School in Abilene, Texas. Remel resides in Abilene, Texas, with his wife Angela, their daughter Caylie, and their Mini Australian Shepherd, Asher.

Nancy Grundahl

Nancy Grundahl is the conductor of four choirs in the Minneapolis area. Her work with choirs draws upon her experience as a solo singer and voice teacher. She received vocal performance degrees from St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota, and as a soprano soloist appears in recitals, concerts and oratorios throughout the area. She is active as a vocal adjudicator and clinician and as a guest conductor for state and regional choral festivals.

Joni Mitchell

Grammy-winning folk singer Joni Mitchell recorded her first album in 1968 before finding commercial and critical success in the early 1970s. Mitchell’s songs have been covered by the likes of Judy Collins and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, with her emotionally vulnerable lyrics influencing scores of musicians. Her impact on music has earned her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Gershwin Prize.

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an American folksinger who moved from folk to rock music in the 1960s. Dylan has sold tens of millions of albums, wrote more than 500 songs recorded by more than 2,000 artists, performed all over the world, and set the standard for lyric writing. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. 

Jonathan Larson

Larson was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musical, Rent, which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, substance use disorder, and homophobia. He received three posthumous Tony Awards and a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Drama.