2023 UNT A Cappella Tour Program

WORDS OF WELCOME

by the Dean of the College of Music

Iam pleased to greet you on behalf of the alumni, faculty, staff and students of the College of Music at the University of North Texas (UNT). Under the direction of Allen Hightower, our A Cappella Choir continues to garner attention in some of the most prestigious venues, including auditioned appearances at both the Southwest Regional and the National Conventions of the American Choral Directors Association in the recent past. Most recently, the A Cappella Choir performed with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in a triumphant presentation of Handel’s Messiah to critical acclaim and thunderous applause.

Our distinguished faculty in Choral Studies also includes Kristina Caswell MacMullen (Associate Professor of Choral Studies and conductor of the UNT University Singers and Kalandra), Jessica Nápoles (Professor of Choral Music Education and conductor of the UNT Concert Choir) and Jamey Kelley (Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education).

For information about upcoming concerts and other UNT choral events, please be sure to consult our Events page at the UNT College of Music website at music. unt.edu/events. Thank you for joining us for this celebration of the choral art.

Most sincerely, JOHN W. RICHMOND,

PH.D.

Professor and Dean of the College of Music University of North Texas

Tour Dates & Repertoire

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10

7:30 PM St. Monica Catholic Church

9933 Midway Road, Dallas, Texas

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11

Jordan High School

Raegan Grantham, Director

Audrey De La Cruz, Assistant Director

Tompkins High School

Christian De La Cruz, Director

Kristin Killingsworth, Assistant Director

Kingwood High School

Jason Watt, Director

Penelope Campbell, Assistant Director

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12

Montgomery High School

Heather Orr, Director

Spencer Tripp, Assistant Director

7:00 PM South Main Baptist Church

4100 Main Street, Houston, Texas

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13

Klein High School

Sean Stultz, Director

Rebecca Berger, Assistant Director

The Woodlands High School

Patrick Newcomb, Director

Melissa Newhouse, Assistant Director

Elisa West, Assistant Director

In the Beginning (1947)

Aaron Copland (1900–1990)

Ruth Sytsma, soloist

Stars (2011)

Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977)

Taylor Fenner, soloist

Kenneth Sieloff, conductor

from Midwinter Songs (1983)

1. Lament for Pasiphaë

Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)

from Four Quartets, Opus 92 (1884)

1. O Schöne Nacht

4. Warum?

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)

Hail, Gladdening Light (1919)

Charles Wood (1866–1926)

Seek Him That Maketh

the Seven Stars (1995)

Jonathan Dove (b. 1959)

There Will Be Rest (1999)

Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)

Moonlight Sound Design (2012)

Raimonds Tiguls (b. 1972)

In the Still of the Night (1937)

Cole Porter (1891–1964)

arr. Roy Ringwald

Hannah Watkins, soloist

Timothy Sanchez, piano

of UNT A

A Cappella Choir UNT

Through the years

The flagship ensemble of the University of North Texas Choral Studies Program, the 50-voice

A Cappella Choir, led by Allen Hightower, director of choral studies, is selected by competitive audition from among the more than 1,500 music majors within the College of Music. The choir includes both undergraduate and graduate students, most of whom are pursuing careers in music education, vocal performance, or choral

conducting. Former members of the A Cappella Choir have gone on to lead highly

successful careers as solo vocal artists, voice teachers, professional choral singers, and choral conductors in a wide spectrum of settings.

Founded in 1938 by Wilfred C. Bain, the choir celebrates its 85th anniversary having been led by only six conductors including Bain, Frank McKinley, Henry

“Hal” Gibbons, Milvern

“Mel” Ivey, Jerry McCoy, and Allen Hightower. It has enjoyed a rich performance history including a three-

Wilfred C. Bain

Frank McKinley

Henry “Hal” Gibbons

A Cappella Choir

month tour of Europe under the sponsorship of the United States Department of State in 1966. Through the years, A Cappella Choir has received numerous invitations to perform for both the Texas Music Educators Association and the American Choral Directors Association. A Cappella Choir has been featured at the national conference of ACDA in 1999 (Chicago), 2005 (Los Angeles), 2013 (Dallas) and 2021 (live streamed). A Cappella Choir performed by invitation at the National Collegiate Choral Organization in 2008 (Cincinnati) and the International Choral Festival in 2012 (Daejeon, South Korea) and in 2009 (Taipei, Taiwan). In addition to

frequent concert tours, the A Cappella Choir serves as the core of the 150-voice UNT Grand Chorus which partners each spring with the UNT Symphony Orchestra to present major choral/ orchestral works.

Allen Hightower assumed leadership of the choir upon his appointment as Director of Choral Studies in the Fall of 2016. During his tenure, the UNT A Cappella Choir has performed by invitation at the 2020 TMEA conference, the 2021 national ACDA conference and the 2022 Southwestern ACDA conference. Additionally, the choir has partnered with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra on three occasions for presentations

of Handel’s Messiah. Dr. Hightower’s previous choirs have performed for the Southwestern, North Central and national conferences of ACDA. He has held faculty appointments at Klein High School, Odessa Permian High School, Sam Houston State University, and Luther College.

The A Cappella Choir is one of ten choral ensembles at UNT which includes the University Singers, Concert Choir, Kalandra, Chorale, Camerata, Vox Aquilae, Grand Chorus, Conductors’ Chorus and UpFront!. The Choral Studies program works closely with the renowned vocal studies and opera programs at UNT, creating an ideal environment for student singers.

Milvern “Mel” Ivey

Jerry McCoy

Allen Hightower

2022-2023 UNT A

CONDUCTOR

Allen Hightower

SOPRANO

Danah Berry

Harli Daniel

Taylor Fenner

Emma Garcia

Marissa Guerrero

Danielle Harrington

Madison Lang

Hyejin Lee

Kyuyim Lee

Katherine Stedman

Ruth Sytsma

Hannah Watkins

ALTO

Nicole Barbeau

Sarah Decker

Trinity Del Regno

Madeline Friesen

Raquel Guest

Meredith Hinshaw

Kassidy Montan

Brianna Nelson

Madison Pfaffenberger

Anna Schmelter

Savanna Singleton

Chloe Spellmann

A Cappella Choir

TENOR

Caleb Aguirre

Samuel Benavidez

Ezechiel Daos

Joshua Durrwachter

Jack Forden

Cecil Garrison

Xavier Howard

Marquis McBride

Chase Shaw

Kenneth Sieloff

Craig Smith

William Swinney

Nicholas Veazey

BASS

Jacob Augsten

Seth Bazan

Joseph Boatwright

Hawkins Burns

Brian De Stefano

Matthew Dexter

Xavier Garcia

Peter Mooney

Zachary Rohwer

Max Rubenstein-Miller

Timothy Sanchez

Avery Sanderlin

PIANIST

Dong Hyun Kang

Meet The Conductor

ALLEN HIGHTOWER

is a seventh generation Texan and resides in McKinney, with his wife Dr. Kristin Hightower and their two daughters Caroline and Julianne. As the director of Choral Studies at the University of North Texas, Allen leads the master’s and doctoral programs in choral conducting and oversees a comprehensive choral program of ten ensembles. Allen serves as the conductor of the UNT A Cappella Choir and the UNT Grand Chorus, which collaborates annually with the UNT Symphony Orchestra in performances of major choral-orchestral works. As a member of UNT’s Early Music faculty, he leads the vocal ensemble Vox Aquilae, an artistic partner of the UNT Baroque Orchestra. Since arriving at UNT in 2016, Hightower’s Vox Aquilae and the Baroque Orchestra were featured in the 2022 virtual conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization.

As a teacher and conductor, he has visited 30 states, Asia and Europe. His students hold positions of leadership as choral conductors in public schools, colleges and universities, churches and community choirs throughout the United States.

Prior to his appointment at UNT, Dr. Hightower held the Weston Noble Endowed Chair in Music at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he served as conductor of the renowned Nordic Choir and artistic director of Christmas at Luther. As Luther’s director of choral activities, he gave leadership to a choral program that included four conductors, six choirs and over 530 singers. Under his direction, the Nordic Choir performed at the 2014 North Central ACDA, recorded six compact discs, made annual concert tours throughout the United States and toured Europe on two occasions.

From 2000-2010, he served as professor of music and director of choral studies at Sam Houston State University.

During his tenure, the SHSU Chorale toured Europe, performed for the 2007 National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association, the 2010 Southwestern ACDA, and the 2003, 2006, 2010 and 2020 conventions of the Texas Music Educators Association. His public school teaching career included tenures at

Klein High School in Spring, Texas and at Odessa Permian High School in Odessa, where he led the PHS Kantorei and Satin Strings in performance at the 1996 TMEA convention.

Outside of his work in the academic setting, he currently serves as director of the Houston Symphony Chorus and has served as the artistic director of the Houston Masterworks Chorus and Orchestra, leading an annual concert series of choral-orchestral masterworks. As a church musician, he has served Baptist, Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches in Texas, California and Minnesota. He currently serves on the music and worship staff of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, and is a past church music vicepresident of the Texas Choral Directors Association. Dr. Hightower has served as an adjunct professor of conducting at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

As a conducting student of the Texas choral legend Bev Henson, Allen earned his undergraduate degree in music education and piano from Sam Houston State University. He went on to earn a master’s degree in choral conducting from the Eastman School of Music where he was a student of Baroque scholar Alfred Mann, and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Baylor University, where he served as assistant conductor to Stephen Heyde and pianist to Donald Bailey and the Baylor Chamber Singers.

Allen earned his doctorate in conducting from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he served as assistant conductor to Donald Neuen. Hightower pursued additional orchestral conducting studies with Jung-Ho Pak at the University of Southern California, additional choral conducting studies with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College, and choral-orchestral conducting with Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival. After winning first prize in the graduate division of the American Choral Directors Association’s Conducting Competition in 1997, Allen served as assistant to Paul Salamunovich, conductor of the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Kenneth Sieloff Conducting Associate

Kenneth Sieloff is a first-year graduate student at the University of North Texas where he is pursuing a master’s degree in choral conducting. Prior to UNT, Sieloff served as director of choirs at Permian High School in Odessa, Texas.

In his time at Permian HS, Sieloff’s choirs performed at the 2018 Texas Music Educators Association Conference and the 2020 Southwestern ACDA Conference. In 2017 he was named a “Young Director of Distinction” by the Texas Choral Directors Association.

Along with his passion for working with young musicians in the classroom, Sieloff has long been dedicated to the art of conducting. In 2011 he competed in the American Choral Directors Association’s National Student Conducting Competition in Chicago, Ill. and won first place. Sieloff enjoys serving as an active clinician and adjudicator throughout the state of Texas.

Sieloff holds a bachelor of music education degree from The University of Michigan, where he studied voice with Professor Martha Sheil and conducting with Eugene Rogers, Paul Rardin and Jerry Blackstone.

Ken loves to spend time with his wife Annie, daughter Charlotte and dogs Lily and Sadie. He enjoys the great outdoors, including hunting and spending time with friends whenever he has the chance.

Choral Studies University of North Texas

Vocal Studies

MOLLY FILLMORE

Chair, Division of Vocal Studies

Professor of Voice (soprano)

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN

Professor of Voice (baritone)

ALLEN HIGHTOWER

Director of Choral Studies

Professor of Choral Studies

A Cappella Choir, Vox Aquilae and Grand Chorus Conductor

KRISTI NA CASWELL MACMULLEN

Associate Professor of Choral Studies

University Singers and Kalandra Conductor

JESSICA NÁPOLES

Professor of Choral Music Education

Concert Choir Conductor

DANIEL BUBECK

Lecturer of Voice (countertenor)

RICHARD CROFT

Distinguished Research Professor of Voice (tenor)

STEPHEN DUBBERLY

Associate Professor of Vocal Literature and Coaching

NEREIDA GARCÍA

Adjunct Instructor of Voice (soprano)

JAMEY KELLEY

Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education

JOSHUA HABERMANN

Adjunct Lecturer of Choral Literature

Graduate Students

JACOB AUGSTEN

Concert Choir & Kalandra Conducting Associate

J. CHRISTINE LE

Camerata Conductor & University Singers Conducting Associate

WILLIAM MCLEAN

Dallas Symphony Chorus Assistant Conductor and Conducting Class

DONG HYUN KANG

Vox Aquilae Conducting Associate; A Cappella Choir & Grand Chorus Collaborative Pianist

THOMAS RINN

Chorale Conductor & Conducting Class

KENNETH SIELOFF

A Cappella Choir Conducting Associate; Choral Librarian; Director of Choral Studies Assistant

Collaborative Pianists

DONG HYUN KANG

A Cappella Choir & Grand Chorus

DAEUN KIM

Kalandra & University Singers

CHIAO-JU HUNG

Camerata & Concert Choir

MATTHEW WILKINSON Chorale

WILLIAM JOYNER

Associate Professor of Voice (tenor)

JENNIFER LANE

Professor of Voice (mezzo-soprano)

JEFF MACMULLEN

Adjunct Professor of Voice (baritone)

STEPHEN MORSCHECK

Professor of Voice (bass-baritone)

ELVIA PUCCINELLI

Professor of Collaborative Piano and Vocal Coaching

JEFFREY SNIDER

Associate Professor of Voice (baritone)

CAROL WILSON

Professor of Voice (soprano)

WARREN HENRY

FELIX OLSCHOFKA

EMILITA MARIN

ADMINISTRATION UNT SYSTEM

MICHAEL R. WILLIAMS Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

NEAL SMATRESK President

MICHAEL MCPHERSON Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

COLLEGE OF MUSIC

JOHN W. RICHMOND Professor and Dean

Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

Associate Dean for Operations

Assistant Dean for Business and Finance

RAYMOND ROWELL Assistant Dean for Scholarships and External Affairs

KIRSTEN SORIANO

JAYMEE HAEFNER

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Director of Graduate Studies

BENJAMIN BRAND Chair, Division of Music History, Theory and Ethnomusicology

MOLLY FILLMORE

STEVEN HARLOS

JOSEPH KLEIN

Chair, Division of Vocal Studies

Chair, Division of Keyboard Studies

Chair, Division of Composition Studies

KIMBERLY COLE LUEVANO Chair, Division of Instrumental Studies

ROB PARTON

SEAN POWELL

ANDREW TRACHSEL

CYRIEL AERTS

MATT HARDMAN

AUSTIN MARTINEZ

CAROL POLLARD

Chair, Division of Jazz Studies

Chair, Division of Music Education

Chair, Division of Conducting and Ensembles

Director, Piano Services

Director, Communications, Marketing and Public Relations

Director, Recording Services

Director, Undergraduate Advising

JOEL WILEY Director, Admissions

MARIA BAYLOCK

MATT HELLMAN

Executive Assistant to the Dean of the College of Music

Program Design, Graphic Design Specialist

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

ALL-STATE CHOIR CAMP

KRISTINA

JULY 5-8

ALLEN HIGHTOWER

Soprano/Alto

Evan Brown

Cathy Koziatek

Tara Sikon

PIANISTS:

Kelly Pfaffenberger

Nathan Ratliff

Andrew Steffen

Hank Tharpe

Kathryn Zetterstrom

CHOIRCAMP.MUSIC.UNT.EDU

& Tenor/Bass Choir Conductor

JESSICA NÁPOLES

Camp Director

CASWELL MACMULLEN

Mixed Choir Conductor