Lola Mazza McIntyre,  pianist & educator, is an early proponent of new media since the 1980's. She is one of MTNA's first invited clinicians to state conventions to address the topic of integrating computer use into the private studio & classrooms. (Tennessee Music Teachers Association/1988 & Indiana Music Teachers Association/1989.) With past experience teaching as an adjunct professor & instructor at the University of Tennessee & University of Indianapolis, currently Lola utilizes her creativity & digital prowess as a realtor with CENTURY 21 Scheetz, as well as maintaining a private studio of select piano students for over 30 years. Lola has several students who have gone on in the field of music.

Phillip Keveren is a Nashville based composer, arranger, orchestrator and pianist. His work can be found in projects from an array of artists including John Tesh, Ronan Tynan, Jeremy Camp, Mandisa, Scott Krippayne, Sandi Patty and Travis Cottrell. Phillip’s distinctive piano compositions and arrangements are featured in The Phillip Keveren Series (Hal Leonard Publishing), and he has produced numerous instrumental recordings. 

Sharon Parr, a member of the University of Indianapolis faculty since 1985, teaches piano, music history and literature, and serves as Director of the Secondary Keyboard program.  She has recently spent time developing curricula and materials that incorporate an integrated arts perspective into music history coursework.  She has developed an interrelated arts course for the Honors College entitled, The Arts:  Connections and Relevance and recently submitted a proposal for an interrelated arts course for music students seeking a Master of Arts degree.  She has performed solo piano recitals in England, France and many U.S. states including Hawaii.   She is currently a member of the performing ensemble, Molto Piano, with two colleagues from the University of Indianapolis.  Dr. Parr earned undergraduate degrees in both piano performance and choral music education from Taylor University, a Master of Music in piano performance from Indiana University and a doctorate from Ball State University.

Kelly Freije is an adjunct piano professor at Indiana Wesleyan University and maintains an independent piano studio in north-central Indiana. She holds degrees from Western Michigan University and the University of Oklahoma in piano performance and piano pedagogy. Mrs. Freije is currently pursuing a D.A. degree in piano performance from Ball State University, studying with Dr. Robert Palmer.  

Claudia Bossard, pianist, has concertized in the United States, Europe and the Far East as a soloist and chamber musician.  Her performances include appearances at the National Taiwan Academy of Arts in Taipei, the Köngresshaus in Innsbruck, Austria, the American Institute of Music Studies in Graz, Austria, the Vizcaya Museum in Miami, Florida, and at museums, colleges and universities in the United States.  She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Miami, the Master of Music degree from Boston University and the Bachelor of Music degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida.
 
Bossard’s research includes Russian piano pedagogy and its applications to American students, Slavic piano music for the intermediate-level student, piano study within the context of service- learning, and the effect of the Bologna Process on music in higher education.
 
In addition to teaching applied piano and class piano, Bossard has taught music theory, music appreciation and film music.  She has held teaching positions at Florida Atlantic University, the University of Florida, DePauw University and Franklin College.  A member of the Indiana State Music Teachers Association since 1990, she currently serves as President-elect.

The Oracle Trio:
April Johnson, violin
Peter Seidenberg, cello
Kate Boyd, piano

Founded in 2005, The Oracle Trio is committed to performing celebrated classics of the chamber music literature as well as music of our time. 

The Oracle Trio made its premiere at the 2005 Heidelberg New Music Festival, performing works by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Samuel Adler, Charles Ives, and Mark Mellits.  Oracle has since performed throughout the Midwest and on the East coast.  The Oracle Trio has been a featured ensemble at the Ohio Music Teacher's Association state conference, performing Douglas McConnell's "Piano Trio No. 1”, a commissioned work composed for the trio. Tonight’s program contains another world premiere written for the group, by Long Island composer Daniel Koontz.

With a strong conviction in the importance of bringing music to young people, all of the members of the Oracle Trio are committed to teaching.  Oracle has given numerous performances and workshops in children’s hospitals and educational institutions, where they have witnessed the transformative power of music.

April Johnson, violinist, has performed throughout the U.S. She has appeared as concertmaster with the Jupiter Symphony, the Galatea Ensemble, and the Canton Symphony. She has also performed with the Norwalk Symphony as assistant concertmaster, as well as the Bridgeport, New Haven, Fairfield, Harrisburg Symphony Orchestras.  She attended the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and the Brooklyn College Conservatory. Ms. Johnson was Dean of the Mount Vernon Music Academy and is on the faculty of Hoff-Barthelson Music School.

Peter Seidenberg, cellist, has played throughout Europe, America and Asia and was a fellow in the Marlboro, Aspen, and Norfolk music festivals. He was principal cellist of the Osaka Orchestra, a founding member and cellist with the Elements Quartet, and is the cellist with The Queen's Chamber Band. His solo CD of Bach sonatas will be released on the Lyrichord label in 2010.  He holds degrees from Eastman and the New England Conservatory as well as an Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Kate Boyd, pianist, has performed as a soloist on many concert series, as a concerto soloist, and as a guest artist with established chamber music ensembles throughout the United States and beyond. She holds degrees from Oberlin, Stony Brook, and Hanover Academy of Music (Germany).  Kate Boyd is on the faculty of Butler University in Indianapolis and is a 2009 recipient of an Arts Council of Indianapolis Creative Renewal Fellowship. Her CD of new American piano music is coming out on the Parma label later this year.

Dana L. Collins, Commissioned Composer

Dana L. Collins, Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition, has taught at Taylor University since 1992. He serves the Music Department as coordinator of the music theory program and instructor/director of the composition concentration. He has also provided guided expertise in the area of music technology by building and coordinating the electronic music studio, hosting two electronic music creation stations for student audio production and electronic composition.

Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts (Boston area), Dana has pursued and received degrees in composition from the University of Massachusetts, University of Toronto, California State University in Fullerton, and lastly from Indiana University (Doctor of Music in composition, 2002). He has had opportunity to study with the composers Phillip Bezanson, Charles Fussell, Gustav Ciamaga, Edward Laufer, Bruno Amato, Frederick Fox and Claude Baker, with additional research grants for master studies with Aaron Copland, Elliot Carter, and Leonard Stein, the last as a National Endowment for the Arts Resident Scholar recipient at the Arnold Schoenberg Institute.

He has had a diversity of musical works performed in the Los Angeles area, Boston area, Toronto, Texas, and Indiana, including Fort Wayne and Upland. Writing predominantly for the love of the art, his works have also enjoyed the privilege of recognition through commissions from a variety of sponsors, including the chamber groups in Fullerton, soloists in Fort Wayne, Bloomington, and Texas, churches in Los Angeles, Toronto and Fort Wayne, orchestras in Bloomington and Fort Wayne, and of course, his current home of Taylor University.

Dana and his wife Debra have called Fort Wayne their home since 1981, including their children and grand children.

- August, 2009