Dr. Richard Schnipke serves as Associate Professor of 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 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 Ohio State University, and has done additional graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Choirs under Schnipke’s direction have sung for conferences of the Ohio Music Education Association, the Ohio Choral Directors Association, and the American Musicological Society, as well as national seminars of the Intercollegiate Male Choruses organization. Dr. Schnipke also frequently presents at state, regional, and national conferences on the incorporation of Dalcroze Eurhythmics in the choral rehearsal.
As a vocalist, 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). Dr. Schnipke also currently serves as Vice/Past-President of the Ohio Choral Directors Association.
CJ Capen is musical coordinator and accompanist in the BGSU Department of Theatre & Film.
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 toured China with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra flutist Lauren Sileo in 2014, has given chamber music lecture recitals for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in 2010, 2012, and 2014, and has given benefit concerts in recent years to include: St Veronica's Patriot Day Concert, Reston Drop-In Center, Cornerstone, Maryknoll Society, S.O.M.E's 40th Anniversary Celebration, All Saints Church, as well as the St Thomas More Cathedral Recital Series.
He is also conductor, recently conducting Steamboat Opera's production of "Frida", guest conducting the Arlington Diocese Choral Festival, guest conductor for Reston Chorale's Messiah Sing-Along, and he has been music director for Paul VI High School musical productions from 2018-2022. 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, where he conducted the Festival Choir & Orchestra as well as oversaw the other six ensembles. The St John Neumann Choir completed a recording project in 2019, “Rejoice! Sounds of the Season!", and the choir has toured France, Austria, Germany, and Czech Republic.
He is a member of NAfME, ACDA, NPM, DC’s Friday Morning Music Club, and remains active as educator, conductor, recitalist, accompanist, and vocal coach.
For 20 years, in a range of opera and concert repertoire including Baroque, Classical, verismo, 20th Century and many of today's composers, Keith Phares has appeared in leading roles with Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, São Paolo Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and elsewhere; in collaboration with Hal Prince, Francesca Zambello, Frank Corsaro, Paul Curran, Richard Hickox, Patrick Summers, Harry Bicket, Marin Alsop, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Thomas Allen, among others; and in recital with the Marilyn Horne Foundation, WordSong, Illuminarts and LyricFest; bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond and master's degree from the New England Conservatory, with additional study at Music Academy of the West, Aspen Music Festival and the Juilliard Opera Center; studied with W. Stephen Smith, Richard Hughes, Edward Zambara, Marilyn Horne, Warren Jones, Steven Blier, Ken Merrilll and John Moriarty.
An ardent exponent of contemporary American opera, Phares sang Kynaston on the Grammy-nominated recording of Carlisle Floyd’s Prince of Players, Charlie in the premiere and recording of Jake Heggie's Three Decembers opposite Frederica von Stade with Houston Grand Opera and San Francisco Opera, the Father in the premiere and recording of Gregory Spears’ Paul's Case with UrbanArias and PROTOTYPE, Elder Tull in the premiere of Craig Bohmler's Riders of the Purple Sage, Dr. Ludwig Binswanger in the premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's Ellen West, George Hurstwood in the premiere and recording of Robert Aldridge's Sister Carrie, and the title role in the premiere and live, Grammy-winning recording of Aldridge's Elmer Gantry.
Tenor 1
*Cameron Baker, ‘25, Music Education, Orville HS (OH)
Dominic Carlozzi, ‘27, Music Education, Solon HS (OH)
Cody Carr, ‘25, Social Studies Education, Sidney HS (OH)
Jackson Clarke, ‘25, Social Studies Education, Jackson HS (OH)
Austin Cochrun, ‘25, Communications, Dover HS (OH)
Sam Eggenton, ‘26, Computer Science, Otsego HS (OH)
Seth Foth, ‘27, Vocal Performance, Archbold HS (OH)
Dylan Gheen, '25, Music Education, Elmwood HS, (OH)
Henry Griffiths, ‘24, Aviation, Dayton Christian HS (OH)
Will Hermanowski, ‘24, Master of Music in Composition and Choral Conducting, Aurora HS (OH)
Dylan Hohlfelder, ‘26, Biochemistry, Gibsonburg HS (OH)
Corban Hutchins, ‘26, Music Education, Princeton HS (OH)
Ethan Martinez, ‘26, Music Education, Sylvania Northview (OH)
-^*B. Michael Perry, ‘25, Music Education, Anderson HS (OH)
Micah Roth, ‘26, Accounting, Hoover HS (OH)
Andrew Vo, ‘27, Music Education, Grove City HS (OH)
Tenor 2
Cooper Adams, ‘26, Business, Van Wert HS (OH)
Landon Arnett, ‘25, Aviation, Lakota East HS (OH)
Kyle Atkins, ‘27, Sports Management, Centerville HS (OH)
-^Will Baughman, ‘24, Master of Music in Choral Conducting, Otsego HS (OH)
Schneider Cornely, ‘24, Exercise Science, Ramapo HS (NY)
*Andrew Dahlke, ‘25, Hotel Management, Olentangy Berlin HS (OH)
Jossiah Ellinger, ‘26, Business, Lakewood HS (OH)
Gray Garza, ‘26, Art Education, Hicksville HS (OH)
-^Alejo Goenaga, ‘25, Master of Music in Choral Conducting, Freedom HS, (FL)
Anthony Iacovone, ‘24, Information Systems, Mentor HS (OH)
Bruin Kennedy, ‘26, Musical Theater, Sandusky HS (OH)
Patrick Osinski, ‘25, Geology, Sylvania Northview HS (OH)
Robbie Reed, ‘24, Music Education, Findlay HS (OH)
Henry Sadler, ‘27, Aviation, Maine East HS (IL)
Mason Smith, ‘27, Music Education, Liberty Benton HS (OH)
Aaron Stephenson, ‘27, AYA Integrated ELA, Loudonville HS (OH)
Anthony Stout, ‘27, Music Education, Oak Harbor HS (OH)
Gabriel Switzer, ‘25, Bachelor of Musical Arts, Piqua HS (OH)
Benjamin Tittl, ‘27, Music Composition & Musical Theater, St. John’s Jesuit HS (OH)
Colin (Woody) Wood, ‘26, Psychology, Copley HS (OH)
*Wesley Yoder, ‘26, Music Education, Kettering Fairmont HS (OH)
Baritone
Nahom Agide, ‘27, Undecided, Licking Heights HS (OH)
Andrew Blachley, ‘24, Software Engineering, Olentangy Liberty (OH)
Xavier Branch, ‘24, Music Education, Homewood-Flossmoor HS (IL)
^Gio Castiglione, ‘24, Music Education, Solon HS (OH)
*Jaylen Donald, ‘24, Business Administration, Lima Senior HS (OH)
Jess Driggs, ‘27, Music Education, Sylvania Northview HS (OH)
Landon Fickiesen, ‘27, Computer Science, Findlay HS (OH)
Nicolas Golini, ‘27, Ecology and Conservation Biology, Sylvania Southview HS (OH)
Kierce Gonzalez, ‘27, Mechatronics, Maumee HS (OH)
Jake Grafitti, ‘27, Music Education, Perrysburg HS (OH)
Jeremy Ledyard, ‘27, Marketing, Napoleon HS (OH)
Alec Lee, ‘25, Music Education, Oak Hills HS (OH)
Will Lindsay, ‘25, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Avon HS (OH)
Holden McDonald, ‘25. Computer Science, Grove City HS (OH)
*Jonathon McNevin, ‘26, Communication, Olentangy Berlin HS (OH)
Colton Ogg, ‘27, Music Composition, Mohawk HS (OH)
Zach Ortega, ‘25, Music Composition, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy HS (OH)
Samuel Scheele, ‘25, Master of Music in Composition and Euphonium Performance, Homestead HS (IN)
Matthew Steele, ‘24, Music Education, Granville HS (OH)
Joe Varga, ‘27, Criminal Justice, John F. Kennedy Catholic HS (OH)
Zachary Walker, ‘25, Computer Science, Pickerington Central HS (OH)
Issac Washington, '27, Vocal Performance, Stivers HS (OH)
Thomas Williamson, ‘25, Media Production, Elida HS (OH)
Bass
+Harry Bare, '83 & '88, Math Education & Masters in Education, Milton Union HS (OH)
Sean Barry, ‘25, Film Production, Bartlett HS (IL)
+Randy (Beef) Baughman, 81, Music Education, Dover HS (OH)
Apollo Bernath, ‘27, Music Education, Sylvania Northview (OH)
Luca Caretto, ‘25, Bachelor of Musical Arts, Shaker Heights (OH)
Ivan Cobb, ‘24, Music Education, Archbold HS (OH)
*Jaylen Donald, ‘24, Digital Arts, Lima Senior HS (OH)
Dylan Haywood, ‘26, Political Science, Copley HS (OH)
John Humphrey, ‘27, Environmental Science, Mount Vernon HS (OH)
Evan King, ‘26, AYA Integrated Social Studies, Watsons Memorial HS (OH)
Brendan Kracht, ‘27, Aviation, Pioneer HS (OH)
Samuel Lee, ‘26, Business, Otsego HS (OH)
Devon North, ‘25, Music Education, Fairlawn HS (OH)
Austin Panos, ‘26, Social Work, Wait HS (OH)
Martin Repka, ‘26, Computer Engineering, Woodmore HS (OH)
Zach Sanford, ‘24, Master of Music in Vocal Performance, Tri-Valley HS (OH)
Kyle Schmidt, ‘26, Psychology, Theodore Roosevelt HS (OH)
^Chris Schock, ‘24, Music Education, Shawnee HS (OH)
Jack Summanen, 27, Psychology, Bishop Watterson HS (OH)
Ian Wisecup, ‘26, Vocal Performance & Music Education, Princeton HS (OH)
*chorus officers
^section leaders
-graduate assistant conductors
+BGSU SAGE program
The BGSU Men’s Chorus is an auditioned ensemble open to all tenor and bass students, faculty and staff at Bowling Green State University. Established in 1971, the chorus’ motto and reputation as “America’s Finest Singing Machine” is well deserved, emanating decades of musical excellence. The ensemble encompasses students from all majors; over half are non-music majors, representing all seven colleges at the university. The chorus organizes and presents two tours each academic year. Fall finds the singers traveling to locations in Ohio and Michigan, performing at high schools during the day and various concert venues in the evenings. The spring tour ventures to different locations each year. Past trips have taken the group to destinations including Colorado, Florida, New York City, Washington D.C., and Toronto. These off-campus pursuits provide opportunities to perform for diverse audiences, serve as musical ambassadors for BGSU, see different parts of the country, and bond and create lasting friendships with fellow chorus members. Along with producing numerous CDs, the BGSU Men’s Chorus has performed at a number of regional and national ACDA conferences, the North Coast Conference of NAfME, as well as numerous OMEA state conferences and IMC national seminars. Last year the group was honored to perform at the 2023 ACDA National Conference in Cinncinati, the 2023 OMEA Professional Development Conference in Columbus and the 2023 IMC National Seminar in Albion, MI. With the support of the College of Musical Arts, the group also frequently commissions new works for the BGSU Choral Series. Recent commissioned composers include Stacy Gibbs, Dave Brubeck, Tim Takach, Zebulon Highben, Michael Cox, and Steven Sametz.
Thanks for attending this performance. If you have enjoyed your experience, please consider donating to the College of Musical Arts in support of our students and programming. Donate online at bgsu.edu/givecma, or call Sara Zulch-Smith at 419-372-7309.
Audience members are reminded to silence alarm watches, pagers and cellular phones before the performance. As a matter of courtesy and copyright law, no recording or unauthorized photographing is allowed.
Updated: 10/25/2023 01:44PM