Omaha Symphonic Chorus

A. Barron Breland has emerged as a conductor set apart from others by his eclectic skills, equipped to perform music from masterworks of the Baroque and Classic eras to great contemporary works of art, including repertoire in various popular styles. Recent choral performances conducted include the Duruflé, Brahms, and Mozart Requiems, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and Bach’s Cantata 140 at Creighton University; Handel’s Alexander’s Feast, Honegger’s King David, Brahms’s Neue Liebeslieder Walzer, and Vivaldi’s Magnificat at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music; Einhorn’s Voices of Light with the Bach Chorale Singers of Lafayette, Indiana; and the preparations of opera choruses for the IU Opera Theaters’s productions of Bizet’s Carmen, Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia, and Gilbert & Sullivan’s Mikado and HMS Pinafore. Critics have praised the warmth and communicative power of his performances and choruses.

In 2009 Breland completed his doctorate in choral conducting at the Jacobs School of Music, where he had been a member of the choral conducting faculty, preparing the University Singers for a performance with Dale Warland in 2008, and the previous fall giving over 12 performances as guest conductor of the 120-member Grammy-nominated Singing Hoosiers. Currently, Breland is on faculty at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, conducting the choral ensembles and teaching classes in theory, history, conducting, and diction. He is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician around the Midwest, and in his eighth year at Creighton, the Chamber Choir he conducts has performed at NMEA and North Central ACDA conferences and appears regularly with the Omaha Symphony. They have also more than doubled their number of performances on and off-campus, and they are performing the core repertoire of virtuoso chamber ensembles.

With degrees in Music Theory and Choral Conducting from the University of Georgia and Indiana University, Breland has a diverse background in many different fields of music, including the piano and saxophone. Singing from the age of 6, Breland’s first exposure to professional choral music was in 1990 as a member of the Atlanta Boy Choir, where he performed with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, as well as in tours and festivals throughout Europe. Since then he has been active in the direction of many choral organizations, presently as the Artistic Director of the River City Mixed Chorus and Music Director of Résonance, and recently as the Associate Conductor of Apollo’s Voice, a professional choral ensemble which regularly appears with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. His conducting teachers include Jan Harrington, former chair of the Choral Conducting Department at IU and for whom Breland served as personal assistant during his years as an Associate Instructor at the Jacobs School, John Poole, William Jon Gray, Carmen Tellez, and Allen Crowell. He has also participated in master classes with Tonu Kaljuste and Gregg Smith. Breland has studied voice with Mary Ann Hart and Michael Belnap, piano with Ivan Frazier, organ with Jolene Davis, and composition and counterpoint with Roger Vogel. As a performer, Breland has been a member of Indiana University’s oldest chamber choir, the University Singers, and the University of Georgia’s top choral ensembles, the Concert Choir and Men’s Glee Club, appearing at ACDA, IMEA, and GMEA conferences across the country. He has also performed in and been actively involved with many United States and world-premiere performances at the IU Jacobs School, including works by Sven-David Sandstrom, Giles Swayne, James MacMillan, and others. On occasion, Breland has also been seen on the opera stage, performing in various choruses for the IU Opera Theater, from Rossini’s La Cenerentola to Bock and Harnicks’s She Loves Me.

A Virginia native, Marques L. A. Garrett is an Assistant Professor of Music in Choral Activities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the Glenn Korff School of Music. His responsibilities include conducting the auditioned Chamber Singers and non-auditioned University Chorale (soprano-alto) as well as teaching graduate choral literature. Before earning his PhD in Music Education (Choral Conducting) at Florida State University, he was the Director of Choral Activities at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Derrick Fox is the Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He earned a BME from Arkansas State University, a MM in Choral Conducting from the University of Missouri – Columbia and a DMA in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, where he was awarded the prestigious University Enrichment Graduate Fellowship.

Dr. Fox has conducted all-state choirs, honor choirs and led professional development workshops across the United States and internationally. His professional workshops focus on assessment in the choral classroom, building classroom community, rehearsal strategies, choral conducting techniques and shape note singing in the African American community. Dr. Fox’s recent engagements included and teaching residencies at the Latvian Academy of Music and Syracuse University, performance tours through Lithuania and Estonia as well as conducting the 2018 Texas All-State MS/JH Honor Choir and the SWACDA 7–10 Men’s Honor Choir. Highlights from his upcoming engagements include presentations at Nebraska ACDA, Kansas ACDA, Kentucky ACDA, South Carolina MEA and North Dakota MEA as well as conducting the Hawaii All-State Festival Choir, Alabama All-State Choir, New York All-State MS/JH Choir, and the National ACDA Middle School/Junior High Mixed Honor Choir.

As a baritone soloist, Dr. Fox has collaborated with various organizations; among them are the Arkansas Symphony, Lansing Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Columbia Chorale, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Missouri, Michigan State University, Webster University and the Espaço Cultural (Brasilia, Brazil). He can be heard singing selections from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess on the compact disc In This Hid Clearing, available on the Naxos Classical Music label. Dr. Fox is delighted to sing Elijah this season at the University of Missouri Columbia and with the Omaha Symphonic Choir.

Dr. Fox serves on the National ACDA Diversity Subcommittee, the Missouri Music Educators Association Diversity Council and is the Collegiate Coordinator for Student Activities for Nebraska Choral Directors Association. As an author, he has written articles for many organizations and was a contributing author in the Hal Leonard/McGraw Hill choral textbook Voices in Concert. His compositions and arrangements are published by Hal Leonard Sacred Music Series, G. Schirmer Andrea Ramsey Choral Series and BriLee Music. His newest book, Yes You Can: A Band Director’s Guide to Teaching Choirs will be published by Brilee/Carl Fischer.

David Batter is the founding conductor of the Omaha Chamber Singers. He also serves as Director of Music and Liturgy at Saint Columbkille Catholic Parish in Papillion, Nebraska. Batter has served as Director of Music and Choirmaster at several Roman Catholic parishes in Omaha, including Saint Cecilia Cathedral, where he assisted in establishing the Saint Cecilia Schola Cantorum.

Batter has taught music at the elementary and secondary levels in the Omaha metropolitan area. Higher education appointments have included the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Creighton University, College of Saint Mary, Kent State University, and the University of Iowa.

Batter has served as a clinician and adjudicator in Nebraska and Iowa. He has been chorusmaster for the Omaha Symphony and has sung professionally in the choruses of The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Opera Omaha, was a tenor soloist at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City with the Robert Shaw Workshop Choir at Westminster Choir College, and a chorister and section leader of the acclaimed Robert Shaw Festival Chorus at Carnegie Hall for ten years.

In 1996, he was selected as a member of the Grammy Award winning Robert Shaw Festival Singers. Batter served as a singer and section leader numerous years for the Carnegie Hall Festival Chorus under the leadership of conductors James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, Sir Neville Marriner, Andrè Previn, Helmuth Rilling, and Robert Spano, performing classic works of the choral/orchestral repertoire with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

Batter received the Bachelor of Music degree in music education and voice from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and the Master of Music degree in choral conducting from Kent State University. Doctoral study in conducting took place at the University of Iowa. He has served as a board member of the Nebraska Choral Directors Association, as well as the steering committee for the 2006 North- Central American Choral Directors convention in Omaha, where he produced and prepared a performance of the Mozart Requiem with local choruses, the Omaha Symphony, and conductor Craig Jessop. Batter was named the Outstanding Choral Director of the Year in 2007 by the Nebraska Choral Directors Association.

Jonathan Mueller is very excited to be the Assistant Conductor of Omaha Symphonic Chorus. He currently serves as the Director of Music at Dundee Presbyterian Church in Omaha, Nebraska, where he conducts the adult choir and coordinates all musical activities at the church, including the praise band, bell choir, children’s choir, and audio-visual elements. The adult choir also collaborates with the Omaha Symphony and Palladium Brass.

In addition to his responsibilities at Dundee Presbyterian Church, Jonathan is the Assistant Conductor of Madrigali et al., a community chamber choir. He has also worked as a 4th-12th-grade music teacher at Norfolk Catholic, graduate teaching assistant at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Assistant Choir Director at Ankeny Centennial High School, and Director of Music at Maplewood United Methodist Church. Jonathan has taken master classes from Dr. Matthew Harden, Dr. Tim Sharp, Dr. Bruce Browne, and Dr. Greg Zielke. He has conducted or been the rehearsal conductor for Handel’s Messiah, Hayden Creation, Faure requiem, and Carmina Burana.

In his spare time, Jonathan loves to travel with his wife Kristina, especially to Disney World. A little dachshund named Piper runs their household.

A versatile pianist, Stacie Haneline maintains an active recital career in symphonic, chamber, opera, vocal and instrumental repertoire. Thomas Wilkins (Music Director of the Omaha Symphony and Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra) states, “…her musical excellence is overshadowed only by her generous spirit and kindness to her colleagues.” Stacie’s career highlights include performing with Boston Symphony’s Hawthorne Quartet in the world premiere of Clint Needham’s Voices for String Quartet and Orchestra; and the premiere of Leslie Adams’ Dunbar Songs with soprano Gail Robinson-Oturu. Haneline has served as a collaborative pianist for the Sydney Opera House, the University of Australia, New York City Opera, Kennedy Center, Hawaii Opera, Virginia Symphony, Virginia Opera, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brevard Music Center, Omaha Symphony and Opera Omaha.

An established collaborator with Nebraska-based soprano, Jamie Reimer, Haneline and Reimer performed at the African American Arts Song Alliance featuring Robert Owens’ 4 Sonnets to Duse, and most recently, the duo has developed cutting-edge research on collaborative partnerships between singers and pianists, presenting their findings in Stockholm, Sweden and at the International Symposium on Performance Science in Reykjavik, Iceland. Stacie also frequently joins flutist Christine Beard, with whom she has performed at the National Flute Association Convention, at flute festivals in Ecuador, Honduras and France, and on numerous faculty recitals at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Stacie’s avid accomplishments as a chamber artist garnered her recognition as a semi-finalist for the coveted American Prize in chamber music as a member of I, the Siren 2015.

A passionate proponent of chamber music, Ms. Haneline’s arts administration experience extends throughout multiple organizations, including a 10-year position as Executive Director of the Omaha Chamber Music Society. For her efforts, Wilkins has again hailed Stacie, stating that, “her tireless efforts to keep chamber music alive in the city is a gift not only to my musicians, but to our entire community as well.” In her current role as Artistic Director for Vesper Concerts, she enjoys collaborating and programming many different musical and artistic genres, and is particularly drawn towards socially relevant projects.

A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and Converse College, Haneline studied with Dr. Mark Silverman, Arkady Aronov and Dr. Douglas Weeks, as well as Josef Raieff and Marilyn Neeley. Stacie joined the piano faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2010 where she serves as the collaborative pianist for visiting artists, faculty, and ensembles.

Mr. Gardner’s music, ranging from choral to larger orchestral works, has been performed internationally at various festivals, competitions, and recitals by a variety of community and professional organizations to include the Boston Children’s Chorus, William Baker Festival Singers, Nebraska Wind Symphony, and numerous universities and community choruses. Recent years have brought exciting new venues such as the 2018 Bali International Choral Festival, new premieres such as Requiem – The Promise of Eternity, a 40-minute work for chorus and expanded chamber orchestra, new locations such as performances in Hong Kong, Denmark, and Australia, and new experiences such as the premiere of his first official work as part of the Omaha Symphonic Chorus artistic staff. Most recently, Mr. Gardner had the distinct honor of having his arrangement of “Loch Lomond” performed by the National Youth Choir of Scotland for the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Scottish Parliament, attended not only by members of parliament, but also Her Majesty The Queen.

Mr. Gardner, currently the Composer-in-Residence for the Omaha Symphonic Chorus of Omaha, Nebraska, believes that the greatest innovation and challenge for the modern composer is not just the creation of something new, but of something unique, accessible, and enduring. As a result, his deeply introspective, beautifully melodic and moving compositional style appeals to a wide range of audiences and performers. He continues to explore original concepts of music composition including Story-Composing, the simultaneous composition of music and poetic narrative. Additionally, he enjoys working with local poets and organizations to collaboratively create original works. Whenever possible, Mr. Gardner rehearses and conducts performances of his music, providing compositional insight and interpretation from the composer’s point-of-view. His interests also include speaking with students and aspiring artists about self-publishing, music composition, and the confident pursuit of musical interests.

In addition to being a composer passionate about the benefits of self-publishing, Mr. Gardner is the director of Freedom Voices, an a cappella chamber choir dedicated to the service of military veterans and their families. He has remained active as a performer by singing in all the organizations with which he is associated, even venturing into new territory by learning to sing Barbershop.

Mr. Gardner earned his undergraduate degree in music composition and theory from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He studied composition primarily with Dr. W. Kenton Bales, and has performed extensively under the direction of Dr. Z. Randall Stroope, Dr. James Saker, and Dr. Cina Crisara. He completed his Master of Science in Music Technology degree at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, a unique program that leverages expertise from both the Indiana University Department of Music and the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology.

Whether inspiration for a melody or chord is found while walking in nature, looking up at the heavens, or spending time with his family, Mr. Gardner’s music is a reflection of the joy found in all of these combined experiences.

Dr. Greg Zielke is the Performing Arts Director and Professor of Music at Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas. He supervises a vibrant arts program housed in the Shari Flaming Center for the Arts and conducts a newly formed choir, Theater of Voices.

Previously, Dr. Zielke was Professor of Music and Director of the Music Program at Grace University in Omaha, Nebraska. He began teaching at Grace University in 1991. There he was conductor of the Grace Chorale, and the Chamber Singers. In addition, he taught conducting, choral methods, church music, music theory, music history, and private voice. Under his direction, Grace choirs performed across America and took numerous concert tours to Australia and Europe. The latest tour to Europe came in 2017.

They have also performed with Soli Deo Gloria Cantorum, the Clarion Chorale, the Omaha Municipal Orchestra, and the Omaha Symphony Chamber Orchestra. Grace University choirs under Dr. Zielke’s direction have performed the Faure Requiem, Amahl and the Night Visitors, the Mozart Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Vivaldi Gloria, the Rutter Gloria and Requiem, Mozart’s Mass in C “Coronation,” Requiem for the Living by Dan Forrest, and Messiah by Handel.

Together with daughter Mackenzie Dehmer, he developed a musical theatre program at Grace University. The musicals became a signature part of the Grace story and helped produce a number of very passionate and dedicated performers.

Dr. Zielke has been Conductor and Artistic Director of the Omaha Symphonic Chorus since their 2002-03 concert season. Christmas at the Cathedral is OSC’s signature event, now in its 21st edition. Other recent performances include Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven), Requiem (Faure), Carmina Burana (Orff), Porgy and Bess: Concert version (Gershwin), the Dvorak Stabat mater, and the Poulence Gloria.

Dr. Zielke debuted at Carnegie Hall (New York City) in 2009 as conductor of a performance of Haydn’s “Te deum.” He returned in 2016 to conduct Mass in C (Coronation) by Mozart.

As a church musician, he is blessed to have two served churches in Omaha: Community Bible and Westwood. He has been involved in training and developing passionate worship leaders for Christ honoring music and worship. He especially enjoys the opportunity to lead church music seminars and church choir festivals.

Dr. Zielke studied at Tabor College (Bachelor of Arts in Music Education), Wichita State University (Master of Music Education), and the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory of Music (Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting). His conducting teachers include Dr. Harrison Boughton and Dr. Eph Ehly.

His wife Tamara is an elementary music specialist for Millard Public Schools (Nebraska). His two daughters, Mackenzie and Mikaela, are musicians pursuing careers in singing, theatre and teaching. He is grateful for two wonderful sons-in-law, and two terrific grandsons. Other than a baton, his favorite thing to wave in his fly rod.