Join us at one of our Augsburg Fortress Winter 2012 Worship & Music Clinics.

These free events have been developed for the continuing education of today's church musician. Held in a variety of locations across the nation, these events provide opportunities for church musicians to network, learn and be inspired.

Each clinic features a variety of choral, organ, and piano reading sessions to help plan for the coming season (check out the music planning calendar). Our expert clinicians offer valuable insights and ideas to help participants explore ways to revitalize and refresh worship in their local settings.

Register here to be eligible for one of our prize drawings. Watch this site for frequent updates and fan us on Facebook .

All attendees will enjoy a 15% discount on all featured Augsburg Fortress music and 10% discount on all featured non-Augsburg Fortress Music ordered or purchased during the event. .

*Psalms and Faithful Speech in the Christian Life: A Conversation about the biblical Psalms in Christian Worship

**Preparation: Gestures and Suggestions on the Art of Practicing". This workshop will cover preparing yourself and a choir for a piece of music as well as approaches to organ practice for Sunday services.

***Sponsored by the Houston Chapter of Choristers Guild you must register at: http://houstonchoristers.org/

****Sponsored by Abendmusic of Lincoln you must register at: http://www.abendmusik.org/

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

Clinician Descriptions

Eve Gardellin Keane (Philadelphia) has been active as a soprano soloist, private teacher, coach and choral director/clinician since 1981. Her recitals reflect her ability to perform in virtually any language and style ranging from Opera to Cabaret to Folk, Jazz and Pop. She has toured in ensembles and as a solo performer in Canada, the United States, South America and Italy, delighting audiences with her warm dynamic approach and personal style. She was Director of Vocal Arts at The Perkiomen School since 1991 where she taught general music and was responsible for the organization, conducting and development of its choral programs from elementary through high school.

Aaron David Miller (Minneapolis) is known as one of the finest organ improvisers in the country having won numerous international awards and given concerts across the country.  Dr. Miller's performances have been heard on Pipe Dreams and numerous television programs.  His orchestra works have been performed by such ensembles as the Seattle Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Zurich Symphony, and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.  His organ, choral and orchestra compositions are published by Kjos Publishing House, Augsburg Fortress, and Paraclete Publishing.  In addition to many performance prizes, Dr. Miller was recipient of the 2004 Hellenikon Idyllion Prize for Composition, Athens, Greece.  Dr. Miller is Music Director at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul.  He lives in Bloomington with his wife, Nina, and son Zachary.  He is represented by Penny Lorenz Management; www.organists.net.

Matthew Culloton (Minneapolis) is the Founding Artistic Director of The Singers – Minnesota Choral Artists.  He holds degrees from Concordia College (B.M) and the University of Minnesota (MM & DMA).  Matthew is also Choirmaster at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul. He is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Saint Thomas and conducted the University of Minnesota Women's Chorus from 2008-2011. In 2004, Matthew received the MN ACDA Outstanding Young Choral Conductor of the Year Award. In 2003, he received the VocalEssence/ACDA of Minnesota Creative Programming Award. He has been commissioned to compose for the Dale Warland Singers, Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester, and the MMEA All-State Choir. He is co-editor of the "Matthew and Michael Culloton Choral Series" with Santa Barbara Publishing Company.  He is editor of the "Christmas with The Singers Choral Series" published by MorningStar Music Publishers.

Nicole Koehler Busarow (Columbus) serves as the Cantor – Director of Music Ministries for Trinity Lutheran Church and School in Saint Joseph, Michigan where she also teaches K-8 music and choir.

Nicole holds a Masters of Sacred Music degree from the University of Notre Dame (’10) where she studied with Craig Cramer and John Chappell Stowe.  While acquiring her Masters she was an assistant in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. She worked with the Women’s Liturgical Choir, Basilica Schola, and served as Assistant to the Director of Basilica Music and Head Librarian. 

While earning a Bachelor of Music degree in Church Music – Organ from Valparaiso University (‘08), Mrs. Busarow studied with Dr. Lorraine Brugh. During Dr. Brugh’s sabbatical, Nicole assumed all musical responsibilities in the Chapel. During that time she also studied with Karl Paukert.  During a semester in Germany, she also studied with Wolfram Rehfeldt in Rottenburg am Neckar.

Nicole is a graduate of Christ College, the honors college of Valparaiso University, a member of Pi Kappa Lambda honors music society, a member of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, a member of the Twin Cities Organ Concert Series committee, the 2008 recipient of the Reidenbach Award in Church Music, and a member of the American Guild of Organists.

Jonathan Busarow, (Columbus) tenor, is currently serving at his alma mater, Valparaiso University, as the Director of the Valparaiso University Chorale, Men's Choir, Bach Choir, and instructor of voice as a sabbatical replacement for his mentor Dr. Christopher M. Cock.  Jonathan has served at several churches in Ohio and Indiana.  Jonathan holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Valparaiso University, and a Masters in Music degree in Choral Conducting from The Ohio State University as well as a Kodály Certification through the Kodály Institute at Capital University.  Jonathan has studied voice with Kenneth Scheffel, Christopher Cock and Loretta Robinson.  He has studied conducting with Christopher Cock, Dennis Friesen-Carper, Lenki Igo, Robert J. Ward, and Hilary Apfelstadt.

Amy Elizabeth Boers (Seattle) is well known as a teacher, pianist, coach, and church musician, and is one of the region's most sought after accompanists. Her playing for conductors and professional soloists alike has been characterized as deeply expressive, artistic, and insightfully supportive of singers and instrumentalists alike. She is currently on the staff at Seattle Pacific University, as well as serving as accompanist for Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma Symphony Chorus, and Tacoma Youth Chorus.  In addition, she is active accompanying professional soloists and master classes most recently with Brian Chin and Cherie Hughes, both on the faculty at Seattle Pacific University.

Amy is also recognized as a national leader in Lutheran church music. She currently is on the Board of Directors for the Minneapolis-based Lutheran Music Program, has been a contributing editor of Augsburg Fortress's popular Sundays and Seasons worship resource, and active with the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. She continues to act as a worship resource for many regional congregations. Prior to her career as accompanist and coach, Amy was director of the music ministry at Mountain View Lutheran Church in Edgewood, Washington from 1997 to 2009.

Dr. Lillian Quackenbush (Columbia SC) received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from Florida State University, and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance, and Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of South Carolina.  She retired in 2009 from Columbia College after 33 years of voice teaching, conducting the Columbia College Choir and serving as Chair of the Department of Music for 10 years.  A retired Diaconal Minister in the United Methodist Church, she has served as Director of Music at Shandon Presbyterian Church since 1992.  In 1996, she and her husband Dave founded and organized the Sandlapper Singers, a professional choral ensemble committed to presenting the music of American choral composers.  Over the past 40 years of conducting elementary, middle, high school, collegiate, church, community, and professional choirs, Dr. Quackenbush has focused on bringing the joy of singing to both audience and performer.   In addition to her work as a choral conductor, Dr. Quackenbush has performed as a solo artist in choral, musical theater and operatic performances throughout the state of South Carolina.

Andrew Senn (Philadelphia) is a native of Chicago, and began his music studies on the piano at the age of six.  At thirteen he focused his studies on the organ, primarily with William Aylesworth, and also serving as Organ Scholar at The Parish Church of St Luke in Evanston, Illinois.  During this time he also undertook coachings with Paul Manz, David Schrader and Martin Jean.

At eighteen Andrew was accepted to study organ with John Weaver at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. While at Curtis, he held posts at historic St Peter's Church and Washington Memorial Chapel, the National Shrine in Valley Forge National Park. He also began a ten-year post as an Assistant Organist at the world-famous Wanamaker Organ.

Upon graduating from Curtis, Andrew was appointed to a unique dual position of Organ and Choral Scholar at Truro Cathedral in Cornwall, England, where he studied the English choral tradition under the cathedral organist, Andrew Nethsingha.

After returning to the United States, Andrew was appointed Assistant Organist and Director of the Girls' Choir at St Peter's Church Morristown NJ, where he established a high standard of performance and organized the first Four Choirs' Festival with the girls choirs of Christ Church Greenwich CT, Church of the Redeemer Bryn Mawr PA, and St Philip's Cathedral Atlanta GA. He left his post in Morristown to assume the position of Director of Music at St Luke's Church in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, where he established a still successful residential choral scholarship program.

In August of 2006, Andrew was appointed Director of Music and Organist at The First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. There he continues the rigorous music program set forth by the legendary Alexander McCurdy and continued by such notables as Keith Chapman and John Tuttle. In addition to the all-professional Chancel Choir, he has formed a volunteer Parish Choir as well as a successful concert series.

Carol R. McDaniel (Los Angeles) has served as Minister of Music and Organist at Bethany Lutheran Church in Long Beach CA since 1990. In addition to administrating the school and church music programs and assisting the pastors with worship planning, Carol directs our 80 voice adult choir, 3 school choirs and our advanced adult handbell choir. She received her B.S. in Education, with an emphasis in organ, music education and parish music, from Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska in 1983, studying primarily with Charles Ore. She was a graduate teaching assistant and received her Master of Music degree in Organ Performance from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1985. In 2007 she received her Doctoral Degree in Worship Studies from the Robert Webber Institute of Worship Studies in Florida. Carol also serves as a part-time faculty member and organist at Concordia University in Irvine, California, and she is a frequent clinician and organist for Lutheran events in the southern California area. When she's not at Bethany or Concordia, Carol enjoys running, writing new hymn texts for worship  and traveling with her husband Gary and their four children.

Kenneth L. DeJong is Music Director and Organist at Saint Andrew's Lutheran Church in Bellevue, where he has been since 1987.  He is the choir director there, and has developed an orchestral program which exceeds fifty instrumentalists.   A graduate of Seattle Pacific University, he studied conducting at the University of Washington and the University of Southern California and UW.   He has served on the faculty of several colleges and universities. He sang for twenty-five years with Male Ensemble Northwest, a professional chorus comprised of twelve conductors.  He currently conducts the 16 singers and chamber orchestra of the Lyric Arts Ensemble.  An active orchestrator and arranger, he is also a published composer, and has a complete music setting of the Lutheran liturgy in active use at Saint Andrew's.   This January will mark his tenth year as conductor for an annual winter retreat for mid-west church musicians at Blue Cloud Abbey in South Dakota.  A member of the Northwest Baseball Umpire Association, he may be seen umpiring baseball games on fields throughout Puget Sound.

Wayne L. Wold is Associate Professor of Music and College Organist at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, and an active church musician, composer, author, performer, clinician, and hymn festival leader. He has performed across the U. S. and in three European countries, both as a solo performer and in ensembles, including the Maryland Symphony Orchestra. He has served as clinician for the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, Presbyterian Association of Musicians, American Guild of Organists, Choristers Guild, the Hymn Society, Lutheridge Music Week, and numerous publishing companies. He served on the editorial committee for Evangelical Lutheran Worship and is the author of three books, all on the topic of spiritual development for the church choir. Over 300 of his compositions are in print, and they include organ works, anthems, psalmody, descants, two recorder suites, a children's musical, and several hymn texts and tunes.

Donald Armitage received hi Bachelor of Music degree from Central Methodist College in Fayette, Missouri,  he received the Master of Sacred Music degree from the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and  was awarded the Ph.D. in Applied Music, Theory, and Literature from Michigan State University in 1982.

Upon graduation from Seminary Dr. Armitage began his work as Organist-Choirmaster of the Court Street United Methodist Church in Flint, Michigan.  In 1973 he assumed the position of Director of Music at Central Presbyterian Church in Summit, New Jersey, and in 1975 the position of Director of Music and Arts at First Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  While there he was also Chorus-Master of the Winston-Salem Symphony Chorale, Adjunct Instructor of Organ and University Organist at Wake Forest University, and the Founder-Director of the Piedmont Chamber Singers.

In 1992, he became Cantor of Augsburg Lutheran Church, also in Winston-Salem.  He is a member of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, and the American Guild of Organists.  He is an active organ recitalist, clinician, and workshop/conference planner.

Don and Mary (CMC, '62) live in Lewisville, North Carolina, a suburb of Winston-Salem, with their three cats – Domino, Co Co and Romeo – who are the real powers in the home.

Dr. Donald L. Armitage is the Cantor of Augsburg Lutheran Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  He holds the Master of Sacred Music Degree from the School of Sacred Music, Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and the Ph.D. in Applied Music, Theory and Literature from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.  In addition to his duties at Augsburg Church, he is an active recitalist and clinician, has been the Conference Director of the Montreat Conferences on Worship and Music and the Biennial Conference of Region 2 of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and is University Organist at Wake Forest University. 

John Sutton's professional choral career spans three decades of work in the community, church, academic, and professional settings. From major choral and instrumental works, concert and chamber choirs, to music for television and movies, John is recognized for his work with children, youth, adults, and with amateurs and professionals alike. Today is one of the most active professional conductors in the nation, conducting over 400 singers and orchestra members weekly.

As a student, Dr. Sutton has studied with some of the most distinguished conductors in the field of choral music. John holds degrees from Northwest University (B.A. in Sacred Music and Biblical Literature), San José State University where he was a student of Dr. Charlene Archibeque (MA in Choral Conducting), and the University of California at Los Angeles, where his mentoring professor was Donald Neuen (DMA in Choral Conducting). He continues to actively study with both Dr. Archibeque and Professor Neuen.

Dr. Sutton is Assistant Professor at Azusa Pacific University where he leads and gives vision to the entire choral program as the Director of Choral Activities and conducts the Oratorio Choir and the University Choir and Orchestra. He is Director of Worship and Adult Choirs at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena.

Moving to Los Angeles in 2000, John began working in the Hollywood film scene, where he has conducted choral music that has been heard on weekly television series, national ad campaigns, and major motion pictures such as the Harry Potter series, the Spider Man series, The Divinci Code, Fantastic Four, and countless others. In 2005, he began a relationship with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association that resulted in him being named Musical Director and Conductor for their annual Christmas Holiday Sing-a-Long. 2008 marked Dr. Sutton being named as the Principle Conductor of the Angeles Chorale, in Los Angeles and in 2010, he was named as their Artistic Director. In October 2009, John prepared choruses for Hollywood Bowl performances with pop singer Barry Manilow and the legendary Italian composer Ennio Morricone. In 2010, Dr. Sutton was the Azusa Pacific University nominee for the national Arlin G. Meyer Award for Outstanding Musical Performance.