Composers

• Craig Courtney
• Dan Forrest
• Deborah Govenor
• Lynda Hasseler
• Bill Griffin 
• John Ness Beck 
  
• Jay Althouse
• Lee G. Barrow
• Hank Beebe
• Douglas Benton
• Bud Bisbee
• Susan Bentall Boersma
• C. Harry Causey
• Bryan Chapell
• Willie E. Character
• Patricia Sanders Cota
• Patti Drennan

• Don Gillespie 
• Mark Hayes
• Howard Helvey
• John Hudson
• Molly Ijames
• Paul Isensee
• Michael Jothen
• David M. Kellermeyer
• Jason W. Krug
• Linda Lamb
• David Lantz III
• Lyndell Leatherman
• Janet Linker
• Joseph Martin
• Mary McDonald
• Jane McFadden 

• Julia Morgan
• Hart Morris
• John Muschick
  
• Carl Nygard
• William Ringham
• Penny Rodriguez
• David Schwoebel
• Dr. Thomas More Scott
• Larry Shackley
• R.C. Sproul
• Julie Stitt
• Martha LynnThompson
• Patricia Thomson
• Philip Young

Craig Courtney,  Executive Music Editor

A native of Indiana, Craig Courtney began playing the piano at the age of three and the cello at the age of eleven. He received a Bachelors and a Masters degree in piano performance at the University of Cincinnati, studying piano under Raymond Dudley and chamber music under Walter Levin of the LaSalle Quartet. During that time, he was a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda Honorary Music Society.

Following a three-year stay in Milan, Italy, where Mr. Courtney studied the piano with Illonka Deckers, performed for the Associazione Musicale "Gustav Mahler", and worked extensively as a vocal coach, he was invited to join the music faculty of the famed Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, serving as piano teacher and accompanist for the woodwind and brass department.

It was during this six-year period, while serving in the music ministry of the Salzburg International Baptist Church, that Mr. Courtney began directing a church choir and composing sacred choral music, due to the unavailability of English language music. In 1985, his compositions came to the attention of John Ness Beck, through the publication of his octavo, Thy Will Be Done, initiating a close working relationship between the two men which continued until Mr. Beck's death in 1987. In making plans for the ongoing of Beckenhorst Press, Mr. Beck appointed Craig Courtney to assume his responsibilities as staff composer and editor.

At this point in time, Mr. Courtney's published works include more than two hundred choral octavos, nine vocal collections, a piano solo collection and six extended works for choir and orchestra. Compositionally, Mr. Courtney combines his training and background as a pianist, a cellist, a vocal coach, an accompanist and a choral director to create words that bear his unique style. He has been a frequent recipient of ASCAP achievement awards and his composition, Peace I Give to You, was awarded 1st place in the 2003 John Ness Beck Foundation competition.

In demand throughout the country as a choral clinician and featured composer, Craig Courtney now resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, Susan, and his fourth son, Nathan.

See works by Craig Courtney

Dan Forrest,  Assistant Music Editor

Dan Forrest has been described as “a composer of substance” (Columbus Dispatch), with  “superb choral writing…full of spine-tingling moments” (Salt Lake Tribune). Born in 1978, Dan is a pianist-turned-composer whose music has already established a lasting presence in the US and abroad.

Dan’s choral works have received numerous awards and distinctions, including the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer’s Award, the ACDA Raymond Brock Award, Meet The Composer grants, the Raabe Prize, the Donald Sutherland Endowment award, numerous ASCAP Standard Awards, and many others. His “A Basque Lullaby” for wind band was included in Volume 8 of the well-known Teaching Music Through Performance In Band series. His music has been broadcast on NPR’s “Performance Today”, and has been performed in leading venues across the country and around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center. 

Dan serves as assistant editor at Beckenhorst Press, and also has a choral series in his name with Hinshaw Music. He holds a doctoral degree in composition from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in piano performance. He is a former professor of music at Bob Jones University, where he served as Department Head of Music Theory and Composition for several years. He has served as an adjudicator for numerous composition contests (including the John Ness Beck Foundation and the Southern Division MTNA), has been recognized in Who’s Who In America multiple times, and currently serves on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed journal The Artistic Theologian. Dan keeps a full schedule of commissions, workshops, and residencies with university, church, and community choirs, and remains active as an accompanist and recording producer.

More information about Dan and his music can be found at www.danforrest.com.

See works by Dan Forrest

Deborah Govenor,  Organ Editor

Deborah Govenor (b. 1954) is an Ohio native and a graduate of The Ohio State University, where she received a Bachelor of Music Education degree as a piano major, and Trinity Lutheran Seminary, where she received a Master of Theological Studies degree, and is a certified Associate in Ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.   She served as organist in several Columbus, Ohio area Lutheran churches, as well as directing adult, junior, high school and bell choirs.   Debby serves as organ editor for Beckenhorst Press. She is also a composer of sacred choral music with over 60 anthems in print, is a private piano teacher, and is organist, choir director and handbell choir director at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Ellsworth, Maine.
Debby lives in Bar Harbor, Maine, with her husband, Paul Bartels, a retired German and English teacher and singer, along with their family of four dogs and four cats.  Her other musical interests include the Celtic harp, hammered and mountain dulcimers, bowed psaltery and she recently began studying the cello.  Three of her Celtic harp and recorder duet books have been published by Afghan Press.  She and her husband enjoy traveling, and are avid football fans.

See works by Deborah Govenor

Lynda Hasseler, Co-Editor, Capital University Choral Series

Dr. Lynda Hasseler is professor of music at Capital University (Columbus, OH), teaching several conducting courses, and conducting the Chapel Choir and Choral Union. She also travels widely as a clinician, singer, and guest conductor. Choirs under her direction have received numerous invitations to perform for multiple conferences and have toured nationally and internationally.

In addition to her work as a conductor, Professor Hasseler has maintained an active singing career. A mezzo-soprano, she has performed, toured and recorded nationally and internationally with professional choral ensembles including the Robert Shaw Festival Chorus and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus. She toured  France with the Shaw Festival Chorus and appeared as a soloist.Along with the concerts presented in France, she also has performed several works in Carnegie Hall with both ensembles. As a member of the Oregon Bach Festival Choir, she toured internationally performing concerts in Krakow and Warsaw, Poland; Santiago de Compostela, Spain; and Frankfurt and Stuttgart, Germany. She shares Grammy honors with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and Orchestra, which, under Helmuth Rilling’s direction, were awarded the 2000 Grammy Award Best Choral Performance for their recording of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Credo.

See works by Lynda Hasseler

Bill Griffin,  Handbell Editor

William H. Griffin received degrees from The Ohio State University and has had additional training at the Westminster Choir College and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

Bill is a “retired” teacher who taught choral music for thirty-one years and established successful handbell programs in two Columbus (Ohio) high schools.  He has directed handbell programs at OSU, several Methodist Churches in the Columbus area, and was an adjunct staff member at the Lutheran Theological Seminary.  His handbell choirs were internationally recognized through recordings and performances in the U.S., Korea, Japan and Canada.  He was also the Director of the Symphonic Handbells of Columbus, a community handbell ensemble he founded in 1991.

A past national president of The American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, Bill worked with that organization from 1991 to 2003 as its Music Editor.  He is currently the Handbell Music Editor for Beckenhorst Press.  In addition to serving as AGEHR Interim Executive Director from July, 2001 through June, 2002 and Events Director, Bill has been active in the Handbell Industry Council serving in three elected offices.  On the international level, he was Chairman of the International Handbell Committee for eight years.  

See works by Bill Griffin

John Ness Beck,  Founder

John Ness Beck was born in Warren, Ohio, on November 11th, 1930. After attending public schools in Warren, he enrolled at The Ohio State University in 1948. Although he had begun piano lessons at an early age, he did not feel that career prospects in music were bright enough to pursue. In 1952 he graduated from the The Ohio State Universtiy with B.A. and B.Sc. degrees with a major in English. After working for a year in Student Union activities at the State College of Washington, he spent two years in the army. During this time he was assigned to Special Services, and became increasingly involved in arranging for various music groups. Ultimately, he decided that his interest in music could not be denied, and after discharge from military service, he returned to Ohio State and completed M.Mus. and M.A. degrees in music with composition as his major.

Following that, he gained experience in many allied careers in music. First, he was a faculty member of The Ohio State University School of Music. After seven years of teaching harmony and theory, he left the university to become owner and manager of The University Music House, a retail sheet music store in Columbus. In this capacity he was able to observe the business side of the music industry and gain some insight into the complexities of music publishing and merchandising. Ultimately, as more and more of his compositions found their way into print and popularity, it seemed the next logical step to join forces with his long-time friend, John Tatgenhorst (also a gifted composer and arranger), in the creation of a publishing partnership, Beckenhorst Press. While managing his business and developing the publishing company, along with continual composing and arranging, he also served as choir director of the University Baptist Church in Columbus. His reputation as a composer and his experience as a choral director soon led to an increasing demand for appearances as guest conductor and lecturer at various clinics and festivals throughout the country.

With a universal interest in all forms of art, he had considerable experience in theater, which also included some work in dance. He began the study of art, specializing in graphic design and production. He learned the art of engraving music and autographed many of the Beckenhorst publications. He also designed and produced most of the covers. With his increasing involvement in publishing, it became necessary for him to sell his retail store in 1975, and then devoted full time to reviewing and editing manuscripts, engraving them, and designing and producing their covers. He found great satisfaction in returning to a form of teaching, by discovering and encouraging new talents, sharing his experience with them and helping them in any way he could to become newly established composers.

John Ness Beck died on June 25, 1987, leaving a wonderful legacy of music to be enjoyed by all.

For a complete list of the published works of John Ness Beck (including those not found in the BPI catalog), click here.

See works by John Ness Beck

Jay Althouse

Jay Althouse received a B.S. degree in Music Education and an M.Ed. degree in Music from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. For eight years he served as a rights and licenses administrator for a major educational music publisher. During that time he served a term on the Executive Board of the Music Publishers Association of America.

As a composer of choral music, Jay has more than 650 works in print for choirs of all levels. His music is widely performed throughout the English-speaking world. He is a writer member of ASCAP and is a regular recipient of the ASCAP Special Award for his compositions in the area of standard music. Jay has also co-written several children’s musicals with his wife, Sally K. Albrecht, compiled and arranged a number of highly regarded vocal solo collections, and is the co-writer, of the best-selling books The Complete Choral Warm-up Book and Accent on Composers, a reproducible source book for classroom music teachers featuring the music and lives of 22 composers. His most recent books are Sixty Music Quizzes, a supplemental book of music quizzes, and 50 One-Page Composer Bios, a reproducible book for the music classroom. He is the co-writer, with his wife, Sally, of I Hear America Singing, a choral work performed performed by the San Francisco Girls and Boys Choirs at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.

Jay resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he serves on the board of the North Carolina Master Chorale.

See works by Jay Althouse

Lee G. Barrow

Dr. Lee G. Barrow, Professor of Music at North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega, Georgia, received a masters degree in composition from Florida State University and a doctorate in conducting from the University of Miami. He has over 30 years of experience as a college teacher, conductor, administrator, and musical theater director. As a conductor, Barrow has decades of experience directing collegiate, church, community, and professional choral, handbell and orchestral ensembles of all sizes and types. His publications include four books, a dozen professional articles, and music published by Lorenz, Beckenhorst, Colla Voce, Plymouth and others. He has achieved an international reputation in two areas, first in the identification and correction of errors in editions of major choral works, and second as an expert on Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. His research in the former area has led to numerous articles as well as a new performing edition of Camille Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio. His annotated bibliography on Respighi is one of the best-selling books about this noted composer, and some of his handbell compositions have ranked among top-selling works. Other creative accomplishments include commissioned compositions, numerous arrangements, madrigal dinner scripts, and nationally syndicated crossword puzzles.

See works by Lee G. Barrow

Hank Beebe

See works by Hank Beebe

Douglas Benton

Douglas J. Benton has been directing handbell choirs since 1973. He is a published composer/arranger of handbell, choral, organ, brass and orchestral music. Doug is a frequent contributor to OVERTONES, writing articles on techniques, conducting, and the first major research on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and handbell ringing. He is an internationally respected Clinician and is in great demand nationally as a Festival Massed Conductor. Doug has served the AGEHR as State Chair, Area XI Chair and as Chair of the Director Education Department. Currently, he is Director of Music Ministries at Gold Canyon United Methodist Church in Gold Canyon, Arizona.

See works by Douglas Benton

Bud Bisbee

See works by Bud Bisbee

Susan Bentall Boersma

Susan was born and educated in Michigan and began her study of music with her parents, both of whom were performing artists. Her piano/organ/voice studies continued while attending Hope College.  She has served as accompanist for college choirs and touring groups as well as for various solo artists and community choirs. She has led workshops on Music and Worship and has held positions as Pianist, Choral Director and Director of Music Ministries at churches in Michigan, Wisconsin, Vermont and Ohio.

Susan is a published lyricist and writes primarily with Craig Courtney for Beckenhorst Press. She also collaborates with David Lantz III, Lloyd Larson and Mark Hayes on both sacred and school repertoire.

Susan lives in Holland, Michigan with her husband, Dr. James A. Boersma.

See works by Susan Bentall Boersma

C. Harry Causey

Harry Causey is a Christian choral and orchestral conductor, author, composer, arranger, orchestrator, speaker, and radio host. His national reputation began when he served as Minister of Music for the College Hill Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio (Dr. Jerry R. Kirk, Pastor). His innovative worship leadership brought visitors from throughout the country to observe and learn. Later, he served at the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland (Dr. Richard C. Halverson, Pastor), with similar results. So many requests came for him to train choirs and worship leaders in churches coast to coast and to speak at national conferences that he decided to become a freelance minister of music in 1981. He established Music Revelation through which he published a national newsletter, authored three books ("Open the Doors to Creativity in Worship," "Things They Didn't Tell Me About Being a Minister of Music," and "If Only I Could Read Music"), and provided other resources to equip church musicians for their ministries. In 1984, he founded the National Christian Choir in Washington, DC - an auditioned choir of nearly 200 singers - and serves as their full time Music Director and Executive Director. He is a published composer and arranger of more than 100 choral anthems. He studied at Davidson College (B.A. in Music), Florida State University School of Music (M.M. in Composition), and choral conducting at the College- Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati. He was ordained as a pastor in 1981 by the Evangelical Church Alliance. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from Antietam Bible Seminary in 2006.

See works by C. Harry Causey

Bryan Chapell

Dr. Bryan Chapell has served since 1994 as the President of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, the national seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Raised in Memphis, TN, Dr. Chapell also served as a pastor of two churches.
Dr. Chapell now preaches and teaches in churches and schools in many nations. He has authored several books including: the highly acclaimed, Holiness by Grace; Each for the Other; Praying Backwards; and, Christ-centered Preaching, a preaching textbook now in multiple editions and languages throughout the world.
While pastoring his first church in Illinois, Dr. Chapell met his wife, Kathy, who was the piano player. An accomplished flute player and singer, she has also served as a choir director for many years. The Chapells have four children (two married sons and a married daughter and one younger daughter).

See works by Bryan Chapell

Willie E. Character

Willie Character (b. 1939, Rome, GA). Ohio State University, B.S  Music Education, Ohio State University, Masters in Music Education, University of Georgia. Other Colleges: U.S. Naval School of Music, Emory University, Georgia State University, Shorter College (Rome, Ga), Valdosta State University. While attending Ohio State University, one of his major instructors was the late John Beck.

Related areas in the music profession;  Composer, arranger, songwriter, teacher, instructor of voice, piano, and guitar, historian/researcher, former conductor of the 4th Armored Division chorus in Goeppingen, Germany, writing/producing commercial and political jingles, conducting workshops songwriters, music engraving, and seminars on music in the Bible and author of four unpublished books.

Hobbies/Special interests: Photography, cemetery enumeration, Afro/American History, Native American Indian history, caring for the elderly and handicapped, and working with children.

See works by Willie E. Character

Patricia Sanders Cota

Patti Coda (b.1954) began her music career at age 3, copying her older sister's piano lessons by ear. She and her twin sister performed music together from childhood through college years in church and school choirs and bands. A graduate of Bethany Bible College, Santa Cruz, CA, she received her Masters Degree in Music Education from California State University, Fresno, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Since 1980 she has taught school and church music, homeschooled her son, and accompianied (piano) professionally. She currently resides in Fresno with her husband and son, and enjoys gardening, walking, watching sports, sewing and reading.

See works by Patricia Sanders Cota

Patti Drennan

Patti Drennan earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree at Oklahoma State University and a Masters of Music Education degree at the University of Oklahoma. She taught Choral Music for twenty-eight years in Norman Public Schools, the first twenty years at West Mid-High School, where she was voted "Teacher of the Year", and eight years at Norman High School. In 2004 she was awarded the coveted "Director of Distinction Award" given yearly by the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association.
An active composer and arranger, Patti has over 250 choral octavos published with Beckenhorst Press and other major publishers. She has served as a clinician for school and church workshops in 19 states and several times in Canada, She has been guest director at numerous Composer Weekends and has had a composition from Sing for the Cure performed at Carnegie Hall. She has been an adjudicator for choral contests in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas.
Retired from teaching in 2004, Patti serves as Director of Music and Worship Arts at First Baptist Church, Norman, and frequently serves as festival choir clinician, workshop presenter. She is married and has two grown children. She recorded a vocal CD with her daughter that accompanies her new vocal solo book. Her website, www.pattidrennan.com, may be accessed for more information and music excerpts of her compositions.

See works by Patti Drennan

Don Gillespie

See works by Don Gillespie

Mark Hayes

Mark Hayes is an award-winning concert pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. His personal catalog, totaling over 750 published works, includes work for solo voice, solo piano, multiple pianos, orchestra, jazz combo, small instrumental ensembles, and choruses of all kinds. He is honored to have his works regularly featured at ACDA, MENC and Chorus America conventions. Mark received a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in Piano Performance from Baylor University in 1975. He has conducted the SWACDA & MCDA Community & Church Honor Choir and served as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall featuring his Te Deum and Magnificat. In 2010 Baylor University Center for Christian Music Studies awarded Mark the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Christian Music. Mark arranged and orchestrated the music for Civil War Voices, which won six awards including “Best Musical” in the Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York City in July, 2010. He will conduct the world premiere of his newest work for chorus, orchestra and narrator, The American Spirit, at Lincoln Center in May 2011.

In addition to his involvement in the sacred and secular choral music fields, Hayes is an accomplished orchestrator and record producer. He is a recurring recipient of the Standard Award from ASCAP. The album, ""I've Just Seen Jesus,"" which Mark arranged, orchestrated and co-produced, received the Dove Award for “Praise and Worship Album of the Year in 1986. In June 2010 Mark released his first CD of original songs titled “All Is Well” through Omnis Bene Media, featuring vocalist, Monique Danielle.

See works by Mark Hayes

Howard Helvey

HOWARD HELVEY (b. 1968) resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he is active as a composer, arranger and pianist, and serves as organist & choirmaster of historic Calvary Episcopal Church. Nationally and internationally he is in frequent demand as a composer, conductor, speaker, and member of the Steinbach/Helvey Piano Duo.

Known particularly for his choral music, Mr. Helvey maintains an extremely active writing schedule, and his hundreds of compositions and arrangements are published by numerous publishers. His compositions have been featured on numerous recordings, national television and radio broadcasts, in such eminent concert venues as New York's Carnegie Hall, the Walt Disney Concert Hall (LA), the Meyerson Symphony Center (Dallas), the White House, the National Cathedral (Washington, D.C.), and many locations throughout Europe and Asia. His music, which has been acclaimed as "engaging" (Choral Journal), "definitive" (Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians), "magical" (The Hymn) and in response to his occasional inclusion of jazz elements "fun and certain to be of interest" (The Diapason). Mr. Helvey is commissioned frequently by church, university, and professional ensembles, and recent performance highlights have been presented by the Kansas City Chorale, Chicago a cappella, the Turtle Creek Chorale (Dallas), the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola (New York), the Bach Society of Saint Louis, the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, Kammerchor Constant (Cologne), Pro Musica (Copenhagen) and by numerous university/collegiate choirs. As a pianist, Mr. Helvey since 1997 has collaborated with distinguished artist Richard Steinbach in concerts and recordings of four-hand and two-piano literature.

A Missouri native, Mr. Helvey holds a Bachelor of Music degree in composition from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Master of Music degree in composition and piano performance from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. Designated an undergraduate Chautauqua Scholar, he pursued additional studies in piano at New York's Chautauqua Institution. Mr. Helvey has studied piano with Raymond Herbert, Jan Houser, Richard Morris and Dolores Gadevsky; and his composition teachers have included John Cheetham, Thomas McKenney, Darrell Handel and Frederick Bianchi. As one passionate about effective congregational hymn-singing, Mr. Helvey received additional training in hymn-accompanying and organ improvisation from Gerre Hancock.

See works by Howard Helvey

John Hudson

John F. Hudson (b. 1987), a talented and inspiring conductor, is currently pursuing a graduate degree in choral conducting at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey.  He plans to continue with doctoral studies in conducting upon completion of his degree.  Originally from Greenville, South Carolina, John holds B.Mus. in Piano Performance and a M.Mus. in Composition from Bob Jones University with his primary composition teacher being Dr. Dan Forrest.  John has studied conducting with nationally acclaimed conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, Jerry Blackstone, Charles Bruffy, Dennis Shrock, James Jordan, Joe Miller, and Simon Carrington.

See works by John Hudson

Molly Ijames

See works by Molly Ijames

Paul Isensee

Dr. Paul R. Isensee is Dean of the School of Music and Performing Arts at Philadelphia Biblical University.   In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Isensee teaches courses in church music history, philosophy and administration, worship, arranging, and music fundamentals.  He is the director of the university ensemble, Crimson Call, and coordinates the church music internship program.  He received a B.S. from Seattle Pacific University, a M.Div. and a M.C.M. from Western Baptist Seminary and a D.M.A. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary School of Church Music.  Dr. Isensee has served as Minister of Music in churches for nearly 30 years and has had choral and instrumental pieces published with several publishers.

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Michael Jothen

Michael Jothen is Past - President of the National Board of Directors of Choristers Guild, Dallas, Texas, recently retired Music Director of the Senior Choir of St. Michael's Lutheran Church, Baltimore, Maryland, and Professor of Music and Division and Graduate Program Director for Music Education at Towson University, Towson, Maryland.

As a choral and general music educator, composer, guest conductor and clinician, Dr. Jothen has shared with church and school musicians, choral educators and young people throughout North America and Europe. His years of teaching and leadership experience in churches and schools in Michigan, Ohio, Colorado and Maryland, have contributed to his co-authoring the P-8 basal textbook series,Music and You, Share the Music, and Spotlight On Music published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Publishing. He is also a lead author of the grades 6-12 choral textbook series Experiencing Choral Music published by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill and author of Master Strategies for Choirs published by Hal Leonard Publishing. Jothen's degrees are from St. Olaf College, Case-Western Reserve University, and The Ohio State University where as a student, Beckenhorst Press and Choristers Guild published his earliest compositions. In addition to his writings he has continued to compose and has consistently received recognition and awards from ASCAP especially for his compositions for children and youth.

See works by Michael Jothen

David M. Kellermeyer

David Kellermeyer has an undergraduate music degree from Heidelberg College and MA and EdD degrees from Teachers College Columbia University. His doctoral dissertation centered on the Adult Church Choir. David retired after a career of music instruction in choral and instrumental music spanning elementary through college graduate level courses. He has been Director of Music in churches of various denominations and directed both singing and ringing choirs. David has also conducted community orchestras and choruses in various locations. In addition to Beckenhorst Press, David's choral and handbell compositions appear in catalogs of a number of other major music-publishing companies.

See works by David M. Kellermeyer

Jason W. Krug

Jason W. Krug (b. 1978) is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000 with a degree in Music. He is currently the interim music director at Irvington United Methodist Church. He has several private piano students, and has extensively accompanied school choirs, musicals, and private voice students.

His handbell career began in 2001 when he began ringing with and arranging music for the Wagner Memorial Bell Choir at Irvington United Methodist, and in 2005, he took over as the choir's director. In 2006, Beckenhorst Press picked up his arrangement of the French carol Il Est Ne, marking his first publication. Since then, he's had a total of eleven compositions and arrangements accepted for publication. In addition, the Raleigh Ringers of North Carolina commissioned a piece from him, a commission he fulfilled with a humorous arrangement of Jingle Bells. His pieces have been featured at the Capital Area Handbell Festival in North Carolina and the New Jersey Youth Handbell Festival.

Outside his musical career, he is the media director at Brandywine Elementary School. In addition to his duties as a librarian and teacher, he has inspired his third, fourth, and fifth grade students to become novelists through the National Novel Writing Month Young Authors Program. at school he can't get away from music, as he accompanies all the school music programs, and one of his compositions, Celebration, is dedicated to the Brandywine Elementary Visions Chime Choir, who premiered the piece.

Jason continues to live in Indianapolis with his wife Ellen, and his feline creative consultants Marcus and Susan. For more information about Jason, visit him on the web at www.jasonwkrug.com.

See works by Jason W. Krug

Linda Lamb

Linda Lamb has been involved with handbells since 1992, as director, composer, and sometime ringer. She is the handbell director at Lexington Park Baptist Church, Lexington Park, Maryland, where she directs one adult and one youth choir. She is also a founding member of the Pax River Ringers, a community group in Southern Maryland, and the founder and list owner of the Frustrated Friends of Finale (FFFinale), an internet mailing list for handbell composers and arrangers who use the Finale music program. She graduated from Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee, with a B. A. in sociology, and from Concordia University in Wisconsin with a Master of Church Music (emphasis in handbells). She and her husband Ken are the proud parents of two grown children and two grandchildren.

See works by Linda Lamb

David Lantz III

David Lantz III is a full time choral director and teacher of music theory, composition, voice and piano at East Stroudsburg High School, in East Stroudsburg, PA, where he has taught for the past 18 years. He also serves as choir director for the Stroudsburg United Methodist Church in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

A composer and arranger with over 400 choral octavos in print with many major publishers, he has also written music for symphonic band, orchestra, jazz band, chamber ensembles, and piano. He is also an editor and engraver. A working musician, he has sung and played electric and upright bass in various musical groups for the last 34 years.

Lantz has a B.S. in Music Education from Susquehanna and M.M. in Composition from West Chester University. He is married to composer and musician Marti Lunn Lantz, and is father of 5 musical children, ages 11 to 24.

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Lyndell Leatherman

Lyndell Leatherman was born into a Nazarene parsonage in southeast Kansas in 1953. He studied piano with his mother, Wilma, who today--as an active octogenarian--is still playing the piano and organ in her church and community of Eureka, Illinois. Lyndell has been accompanying soloists, ensembles, and choirs since the age of 13, when he began playing the piano for his church youth group in Green Rock (now Colona), Illinois. He earned a degree in Church and Choral Music at Olivet Nazarene University, Kankakee, Illinois, where he studied piano with Stephen Nielson and organ with Ovid Young, two professors who later teamed up to form the world-renowned piano duo known as Nielson & Young. He then completed the course work for a Master’s degree in Music Theory and Composition at Illinois State University, Bloomington-Normal, where his composition professor was Roque Cordero, who in his youth had been a student of Igor Stravinsky.

From 1977 to 1997 Lyndell served as Music Editor at Lillenas Publishing Company, Kansas City, Missouri. Since 1997 he has freelanced as a composer, orchestrator, music engraver, accompanist, and editor (primarily for FJH Music Company, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida). He is a member of ASCAP, and has placed many choral, keyboard, and instrumental publications with major companies. His family includes his wife Barb, one son, two daughters, and two grandchildren.

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Janet Linker

Janet Rupp Linker received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in organ performance from capital university and the University of Michigan, respectively.  Her organ  instruction was under Marjorie Jackson Rasche at Capital, and Marilyn Mason at the U of M. Her first organ position at the age of fifteen was at the Wauseon, Ohio, Evangelical Mennonite Church. She held church positions in lubbock and Waco, Texas , Sacramento, California and Columbus Ohio.   She is now organist at Trinity United Methodist Church in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

Mrs. Linker’ s first teaching position was at texas tech university in Lubbock, Texas. She has taught at the Capital University Conservatory of Music, first in the community music school, then on the faculty  for over thirty years. She  plays for variousts at the ohio theater on the well-known morton theater organ. She has published eighteen books of organ music, several anthems, and, in collaboration with Jane McFadden,  over sixty works for organ and handbells and a piano/organ duet book.

Janet resides in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Jim, who is the owner of the link stamp company. They are the parents of two grown sons, Jeff and Tim. Their daughter, Jenni, died at the age of twenty-two in 1985.  They now have six grandchildren.

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Joseph Martin

Joseph Martin, a native of North Carolina, earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Subsequently he earned a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Texas, Austin. Joseph taught for five years in the Piano Pedagogy Department of the University of Texas. While at Furman University, he was accompanist for choral director and composer Milburn Price and, inspired by his teaching, Martin began to compose. He is a member of the staff of Shawnee Press, Inc. as Director of Sacred Publications, with responsibilities for overseeing the editorial and creative direction of the company and also coordinating the recording and production aspects of future sacred publishing efforts. Joseph lives in Austin, Texas with his children Jonathan and Aubrey and his wife Sue.

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Mary McDonald

Mary McDonald is a multi-talented musician from Knoxville, Tennessee. In addition to her work as a composer, arranger, producer, pianist, and organist, she was a sacred choral editor for The Lorenz Corporation for more than twenty years and has served as both organist and pianist for Central Baptist Church in Knoxville. Her music and talents have blessed choirs and congregations across the country for nearly thirty years.

Mary is the composer of more than700 published choral anthems, several Christmas and Easter cantatas, and numerous keyboard collections, and still serves as an editorial consultant for Lorenz. She is also active as a choral clinician, traveling throughout the United States conducting workshops and concertizing. Her unique blend of heart, hands, and humor, combined with a wide range of writing and performing styles, keep her in constant demand. One of Mary's greatest joys has been serving as accompanist for the Tennessee Men's Chorale since 1985. In 2000, Mary served as the first woman President of the Southern Baptist Church Music Conference. She was recent recipient of second-place in the John Ness Beck Foundation composition award and is a member of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

Mary is a 1978 graduate of Carson-Newman College. She and her husband, Brian, a Knoxville architect, have been married for 33 years and have two children: Bethany K. and C.A. Smith are their daughter and son-in-law, along with grandson, Aidan and granddaughter, Addy;  and Chris and Hope McDonald are their son and daughter-in-law. Chris is Minister of Music at FBC, Taylorsville, KY.

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Jane McFadden

Jane McFadden directs the Soli Deo Handbell Choir at Christ Lutheran Church, Columbus, OH and is adjunct professor of handbells at Trinity Lutheran Seminary.  She retired in May, 2010 from David's United Church of Christ in Canal Winchester, OH, after 20 years as organist.  She previously directed the Hallelujah Ringers at David's for 16 years, and before 1990 she had a multiple choir program of youth and children's handbell and vocal choirs at Christ Lutheran Church.  Jane has over 95 titles in print with ten publishers, many of them in collaboration with Janet Linker.  She won the 1999 Area II Original Handbell Composition Contest for her composition Psalm 30.

Jane has a degree in Music Education from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota.  She began her music career teaching Intermediate and Junior High School music in California and Florida.  She now teaches private piano and organ lessons. Jane holds certification from the AGEHR as a Massed Choir Director and has served the Guild as Ohio State Chair.

Jane lives in Groveport, OH with her husband John, a retired Navy pilot.  They have two sons, John and Kevin, and three grandchildren.

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Julia Morgan

Associate Professor Emerita Julia Morgan has retired from Auburn University Department of Music, where she taught piano, theory and piano-related courses. A piano teacher for 41 years, she also taught private students.

For 47 years, Mrs. Morgan was also a church organist. The last 25 years were at Auburn United Methodist Church, from which she retired in December, 2006.

During her years as a professional musician, she enjoyed teaching, performing, accompanying, adjudicating, composing, arranging, and being a member of professional organizations. Now she is enjoying retirement, which includes traveling, reading, participating in several local activities, and being with her husband of 52 years.

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Hart Morris

Hart Morris has been Minister of Music at Asbury United Methodist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma, since August 1992. He has served in the same capacity for churches in Florida, Texas and Tennessee. He is a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, Oklahoma, and the University of Houston, Houston, Texas, with additional studies in percussion at Oklahoma City University and the University of Houston. He is a member of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers and American Choral Directors Association.

He has served as handbell clinician at AGEHR National Seminars and Festivals, and has led numerous AGEHR Conferences and workshops. His published works include both handbell and choral numbers.

He and his wife, Marty, are the parents of two grown children, the grandparents of eight grandchildren, and the caretakers of three quarter horses and Gus the Cat.

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John Muschick

John Muschick served as a vocal instructor at Ohio State University for thirty years. Two of his students achieved considerable success and fame. Anita Berry won the Chicago Opera Studio Competition during her senior year at OSU and later won the Pavarotti Competition and sung with the tenor at the Philadelphia Opera. Another student, Diane Kesling, sang with the Metropolitan Opera for eight years and has performed in other opera houses around the world.

Mr. Muschick joined Beckenhorst Press in January of 1980, serving as executive secretary and layout editor and retired in 1987. Since that time he has continued to serve as consultant and layout editor on a part-time basis.

John Muschick passed away early in 2000.

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Carl Nygard

Composer Carl Nygard has been associated with the music industry since 1982, and is represented in the catalogs of fifteen American music publishers. His published works, scored for all manner of voices and accompaniments, number more than 180, and have been performed on six continents. His conducting career has taken him to thirteen states, where he has led reading sessions and festivals at every level from local to all-state. West Chester State University honored him in 1988 as an outstanding graduate. He has adjudicated choirs for PMEA and the Baltimore County School System, and is the retired director of vocal music for the Fleetwood Area School District in Fleetwood, PA. He and his wife Dorian are the proud parents of two grown sons.

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William Ringham

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Penny Rodriguez

Penny obtained her degree in piano performance from Moody Bible Institute and American Conservatory of Chicago. She has released nine solo piano CDs of her own compositions and has published several piano books with various publishers (Portraits of Christmas, Portraits of the Cross, Portraits of Christmas II, Portraits of Praise, Images, Images II, Midnight Clear, Near to the Heart of God, Timeless, Morning Has Broken, The Solo Piano Wedding). She has also had close to forty choral pieces published.

Penny lives in Indianapolis with her husband, Dave, who is the senior pastor of Grace Community Church. They have two grown children, Barry and Lucy.

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David Schwoebel

David Schwoebel is Minister of Music / Composer in Residence at Derbyshire Baptist Church in Richmond, VA. He is a graduate of McKendree College in Lebanon, IL, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, TX where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Voice and Organ Performance, and a Master of Church Music with an emphasis in Composition respectively. Prior to beginning his ministry at Derbyshire in January 1997, he had served churches in his hometown of Belleville, IL, Montgomery, AL and Atlanta, GA.

As an ordained minister, David administrates and oversees a comprehensive music ministry of nine choral organizations, five handbell choirs, an Orff ensemble, a 28-piece orchestra and brass ensemble. His energetic, hands-on approach to ministry finds him working each week with people of all ages, encouraging and equipping them to discover and develop their varied musical talents and skills.

The MICHELLE hymn tune included in the 1991 Baptist Hymnal is named after David's wife, Michelle. The BRITTANY, ASHLEY and COURTNEY hymn tunes in the Celebrating Grace Hymnal are named after their three daughters.

For more information on David's extended music ministry, compositions and arrangements, or the Soli Deo Gloria! CD, please visit www.davidschwoebel.com.

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Dr. Thomas More Scott

Dr. Scott has an undergraduate degree in piano performance and a Master’s Degree in choral conducting from BGSU, a Master’s Degree in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, and a Ph.D. in music theory and music composition from Kent State. He is a life member of the American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA) and holds the Choirmaster certification from the American Guild of Organists (AGO).

His choirs have sung at The Vatican, The Duomo in Florence, S. Paul’s in Venice, The Basilica of S. Francis in Assisi, S. Ignatius in Rome and elsewhere. In demand as a clinician, composer and vocal coach, Dr. Scott has recorded several jazz compact disc recording, and is currently performing with Los Gatos, a latin/jazz ensemble.  He and Ann have been married 30 years, and they have four children.

Dr. Scott is the Director of Music Ministries at First Congregational Church in Hudson, OH.  He also directs the vocal music program at Trinity High School as well as the award-winning Men of Independence, who are currently ranked in the top 30 choruses internationally by the Barbershop Harmony Society.

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Larry Shackley

Larry Shackley is a full-time composer and editor from Columbia, SC.  From 1995-2007, he taught and directed the music program at Columbia International University in Columbia, SC. Prior to that, he worked for several years at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, creating original music and producing radio programs for the Moody Broadcasting Network. He served as staff keyboardist for ten years at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL.  Shackley’s published music includes over 200 choral pieces, six cantatas, and 400 keyboard arrangements, as well as vocal and instrumental collections.

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R.C. Sproul

Dr. R.C. Sproul is the founder, chairman and president of Ligonier Ministries.  He can be heard teaching daily on “Renewing Your Mind,” on more than 220 radio outlets in the United States and throughout six countries.  He is the author of over 70 books.

Dr. Sproul holds degrees from Westminster College (B.A. in Philosophy, 1961), Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (B.D., 1964), The Free University of Amsterdam (Doctorandus Dogmatik, 1969).

Dr. Sproul was ordained to the Gospel Ministry on July 18, 1965.  He has taught at numerous colleges and seminaries, most recently as a Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetis at Knox Reformed Seminary, from 1995 to 2004, and prior to that at Reformed Theological Seminary, from 1980 to 1995.

Dr. Sproul and his wife, Vesta, have two children, Sherrie Sproul and R.C. Sproul, Jr.  Since 1997, Dr. Sproul has served as the Senior Pastor of Preaching and Teaching at Saint Andrew’s in Sanford, Florida.

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Julie Stitt

Julie Stitt grew up in San Bernardino, CA where she began ringing handbells at an early age at First United Presbyterian Church. She spent most of her childhood summers in northern Minnesota and after graduating from high school, received her Bachelor’s Degree from Bemidji State University in Elementary Education and Elementary Music. Her graduate work at B. S. U. included a certificate in Learning Disabilities. She completed a Master’s Degree from the University of Minnesota in Educational Psychology in 1985 and a license to teach vocal and classroom music K - 12. Julie’s 30 years of teaching experience include assignments in special education, 2nd – 4th grades, elementary music and 6th grade science. She is currently a 6th grade science teacher in Independent School District 15, a district in the northern Minneapolis Metro area.

Julie has been composing and arranging handbells for more than 10 years. She has published handbell pieces in print with several publishing companies. Several pieces have been performed at area festivals around the United States. Her original composition, La Paix, was performed at the Loire Valley Handbell Festival in France in 2004 by Twin Cities Bronze. She was a member of this auditioned choir during that time. Strikepoint Handbell Ensemble from Duluth, MN commissioned Glory on Their Wings in 2005 and included the piece in their repertoire for several years. It was published in 2009. As the Director of Handbells at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in East Bethel, MN, she is responsible for 2 children’s handbell choirs, an inter-generational handbell choir, and an experienced handbell quartet. She has been ringing handbells at Our Saviour’s for 22 years, and directing for 11 years.

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Martha LynnThompson

Martha Lynn Thompson was the Organist and Associate Director of Music at St. James United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas from 1969 until her retirement in July 2002. Her husband, Felix, was the Director of Music and jointly they directed the handbell program. Under their leadership, the St. James Music Ministry grew from 2 to 20 choirs, including 13 bell choirs. Prior to coming to St. James, Martha Lynn taught junior high school choral music and, with her husband, developed a graded choral and handbell program at the Methodist Children's Home in Little Rock.

In 1989 Martha Lynn was elected AGEHR National Secretary and for two years served on its Board of Directors. In 1995 she was given the status of Master Instructor of Handbell Notation, and in 2001 she was given the highest honor of an Honorary Life Membership.

Mrs. Thompson is a graduate of Henderson State University where she received her Bachelor of Music Education degree with a major in organ and theory. She has many published arrangements and transcriptions that range from music for the beginning bell choir to music for the most advanced choirs. 
In her retirement, as a volunteer, Martha Lynn continues to direct three handbell choirs at St. James UMC and to be active as an arranger of handbell music. In her “spare time” she also does free-lance music engraving.

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Patricia Thomson

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Philip Young

Philip M. Young is a native of Greenville, SC. He received his education at North Greenville University, Furman University, and the Graduate School of Music of Florida State University. In 1987 he was awarded the honorary Doctor of Letters from Campbell University.

He became Minister of Music of The First Baptist Church of Henderson, NC in 1959. Upon his retirement in 2004, he was given the title of Composer-in-Residence.

As a composer he has received numerous awards and commissions. Over two hundred of his choral, handbell, and organ compositions have been published. He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, having won numerous Society's standard compositions annual awards. He is also a member of the American Guild of Organists, and a past president of the North Carolina Baptist Music Conference.

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