Conductors and Pianist

Associate Professor Dr. Richard L. Schnipke, Director

Dr. Richard Schnipke serves as Associate Professor of Music Performance/Choral Activities at Bowling Green State University.  His duties at BGSU include conducting the Collegiate Chorale and Men’s Chorus, as well as teaching graduate courses in choral repertoire and graduate and undergraduate conducting.  Previously, Dr. Schnipke held faculty positions at Xavier University and The Ohio State University and spent 15 years as a public-school choral director.  He holds degrees from Bowling Green State University and The Ohio State University and has done additional graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.  

Choirs under Schnipke’s direction have performed at national and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and have made numerous appearances at the Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conference and the Ohio Choral Directors Association Summer Conference.  Schnipke’s choirs have also sung for the American Musicological Society and for several national seminars of the IMC: The Tenor-Bass Choral Consoritum.  Dr. Schnipke also regularly prepares professional choruses for the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and frequently presents at state, regional, and national conference on the incorporation of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the choral rehearsal.

Schnipke performs regularly as a professional chorister and has served as tenor section leader for Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble (Grammy Award winner, Craig Hella Johnson, music director).  He is a Past-President of the Ohio Choral Directors Association, has served on the National Board of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, and is currently on the board of IMC: The Tenor-Bass Choral Consortium.

CJ CAPEN is musical coordinator and accompanist in the department of Theatre & Film. He holds an MM in Collaborative Piano from University of North Carolina, Greensboro, a BFA in Piano Performance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Choral Conducting from Messiah University. 

He has been staff accompanist & vocal coach for Chicago Summer Opera, Elon University, Interlochen Center for the Arts, and American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. He has served as keyboard artist for Georgetown Chorale, Vienna Chorale Society, and the semi-professional choir, "Voce Chamber Singers" from 2013-2023. He has toured China with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra flutist Lauren Sileo in 2014, given lecture recitals for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and he has given benefit concerts to include: S.O.M.E's 40th Anniversary Celebration, St Thomas More Cathedral Recital Series, Reston Drop-In Center, Cornerstone, and the Maryknoll Society.

He is also a conductor, having served as conductor for Opera Steamboat's production of "Frida", guest conductor for Reston Chorale's Messiah Sing-Along, conductor for the Arlington Diocese Choral Festival, choral director and musical director at Paul VI High School for many years, and he served as Director of Music at St John Neumann Church in Reston VA from 2008-2023, one of the largest churches in the Diocese of Arlington.

Aaron Roos graduated from Bowling Green State University with his Bachelors in Choral Music Education in the Spring of 2020 and has returned to the university to pursue a Masters in Choral Conducting. During his time at BGSU, he was a member of the A Cappella Choir, the Men's Chorus, and the Collegiate Chorale, as well as serving as President and Music Director of Ten40 Acappella. As a conductor, Roos has taught high school choir, consistently scoring Superior ratings at contests, and has found great success as a music director in Ohio and Michigan musical theater scenes. As a vocalist, he has traveled the country performing, medaling in the International Barbershop NextGen Quartet Competition, taking the stage at the Croswell Opera House, and performing with ensembles such as whateverandeveramen, NOVA, Vocal Arts Ensemble, Voices of Harmony, and the Toledo Symphony Chamber Chorus.

Alejandro Charles Goenaga V is a classically trained vocalist with experience in solo, opera, and musical theater performance. Highlights of recent performances include the role of Jack from Into the Woods and Georg from Spring Awakening. Though still an active vocalist, Alejandro found his true passion when he began to conduct and lead ensembles, including the Wake Forest University Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, and collegiate choirs.

An experienced arranger, Goenaga frequently arranges works for voice, most recently for the MeloDeacs, a mixed a cappella group he cofounded in 2014. Passionate about giving back through performance, the MeloDeacs formed as a non-profit to raise funds for charity.  Alongside his co-director Aaron Rodriguez, Goenaga was responsible for arranging or composing all the pieces performed by the MeloDeacs.

Also a dedicated educator, Goenaga taught in schools throughout Orange County (Orlando, FL) that cater to economically disadvantaged communities. While teaching at these schools, Goenaga recognized that students would benefit from a safe after-school activity and needed help reaching their musical goals. To address that need, he created an after-school program where students could sign up for free lessons in voice, piano, guitar, vocal percussion, and even composition.

Born and raised in Orlando Florida, Goenaga journeyed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to attend Wake Forest University where he received a Bachelor of Music in Liberal Arts. Goenaga has since traveled even further north to Ohio, where he is pursuing his master's degree in Choral Conducting at Bowling Green State University.