Featured Guest:
Neil Harmon
Acclaimed as “one of the finest products of the American organist school,” [La Nuova Venezia] Neil Harmon is a member of the organ faculty at Brigham Young University. An organist, conductor, composer, and teacher, he served 19 years as Director of Music and Organist at Grace United Methodist Church in Wilmington, Delaware. Neil holds a Bachelor of Music degree from BYU and Masters and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees from The Eastman School of Music. Dr. Harmon’s widely published compositions include a seven-movement Requiem for choir, orchestra, and soprano, as well as music for solo organ, handbell choir, mixed chorus, and brass quintet. Active in the American Guild of Organists, he served twice as Co-Director of the Delaware Pipe Organ Encounter. Neil and his wife, Anese, are the parents of five children.
Additional Presenters
Kay Card | Kristi Crusan | Sharla Dance
Marilyn Dougall | Julie Higgins | Joseph Hoffman | Laurey Lee
John Noffz | Deanna Peabody | Anni Scott | Dr. David Thomas
Kay Card
(Music Chair)
Kathleen (Kay) Card transplanted from Utah to Tualatin OR 33 years ago with her husband, Brian, and four children. She began her music experience at age 7 with her grandmother and then began playing the organ for Sunday School at age 13. She played the cello, sang with various small groups and several choirs, including Stan Gilbert Singers, Portland Choir and Orchestra and has directed many ward choirs and a women’s group, The Noteables. For over 20 years she has taught piano and has been taking organ lessons for the past 12 years. She has served as a Stake Music Chairman, Ward Music Chairman, Ward Choir Director, and ward organist. Her love of music has increased throughout the years, especially since serving on the Portland Music Workshop committee since 1995. Kay has been the chair of the Performers Concert over 15 years.
Kristi Crusan
(Vocal Techniques)
Kristi Crusan studied Vocal Performance and Music Dance Theatre at BYU and traveled with University Singers and Young Ambassadors. She studied with Meyer Friedman at the International School of Voice and presented vocal techniques at the International Symposium of Audiology. She taught private voice lessons at BYU before opening her own vocal studio. Her talents have taken her to Opryland USA in Nashville, Russia and South Korea. She has performed with such artists as Michael McLean, Janice Kapp Perry, Donny Osmond and Michael Ballam. She currently resides in Ridgefield, WA with her husband Ben and the youngest three of her five children.
Sharla Dance
(Primary Music)
Sharla Dance has long been a favorite instructor at our workshops. She loves to teach children’s music. She published the book, “To Teach a Child a Song,” keeps a Primary blog, teachingprimarymusic.com. Her Bachelor of Music Education degree at BYU was a good start for post graduate studies in How the Child’s Brain Learns Music. Sharla is Kodaly and Orff Level trained. She combines brain research, teaching research, and good plain fun as a way to teach teachers in her workshops. Her favorite workshops are those that combine gospel truths with the power of music to help each of us learn. Sharla has 5 children and an incredibly supportive husband. They live in the Seattle area.
Marilyn Dougall
(Deeper Testimonies, Brighter Minds and Happier Families)
Marilyn Dougall began her passion for children's music in 1982 when she began a music program in her own children's preschool called "lunch and music". She continued this pursuit until 1988 when she opened her own music business called "Marilyn's Music and More". She taught many many children from infancy through kindergarten age for the next 10 years. She and her husband then left Oregon to serve several missions, including Washington DC, New Zealand and in Utah.
Prior to mission service, other music opportunities in the Beaverton Stake included functioning as the ward and Stake Primary Music coordinator and later as Stake Music Chairman. Marilyn currently serves as her ward organist and as a temple organist in the Jordan River Temple in South Jordan, Utah where she lives.
Julie Higgins
(Piano Accompanying: How to be a co-artist with your soloist)
Julie Higgins has a BA from BYU. She started piano lessons at age 8 and organ lessons at 18 and studied piano with Richard Anderson at BYU. In recent years she has furthered her music education at Clark College and Portland State University where she studied choral conducting with Ethan Sperry. She has had extensive experience as a ward and stake pianist, organist and accompanist as well as having accompanied many soloists and choirs including the Life of Christ regional choir in Vancouver, WA and the Portland Choir and Orchestra. She served a mission to Quebec and has taught French for Clark College for many years. She has a private piano studio and is currently a ward and stake organist and temple ordinance worker.
Joseph Hoffman
(Getting Them to the Bench)
Pianist, educator, and YouTube personality Joseph Hoffman (MM) served as faculty at BYU’s School of Music before moving to Portland in 2007 to found Hoffman Academy. Joseph's passion is empowering and inspiring students to become life-long musicians using an innovative approach that is equally rigorous and fun. Under Joseph's leadership, Hoffman Academy has expanded to a faculty of twelve teachers and seen the addition of a groundbreaking online program which has trained thousands of young musicians around the world using the Hoffman Method.
Laurey Lee
(Choral Reading)
Laurey Lee learned to sing harmony while riding on a bus to girls’ camp. She was mesmerized and her singing partner became her new best friend. She has served in various music callings including choir director for over 25 years. She recently returned from a mission with her husband to the Philippines Missionary Training Center where she directed the Philippines MTC Choir and mentored missionaries wishing to learn choir directing skills. She is a mother of six and grandmother of 15 and lives with her husband in Keizer, Oregon. Laurey says she has been inspired by the music workshop for many years and is delighted to share some wonderful music with everyone again this year.
John Noffz
(Encore Choir)
John is now in his sixth year as the conductor of the Encore Youth choir. He absolutely loves working with the youth and leading them in sacred music. John has directed numerous small group choirs and has been the ward choir director multiple times. When directing or singing, his goal is always to help people feel the spirit of the music.
John Noffz operates Brentwood Homes, two Baskin Robbins franchises, and a summer concessions company. He and his wife Cheri have three married daughters, one grandson and a granddaughter on the way.
Deanna Peabody
(Basic Hymn Conducting)
Deanna Peabody and her husband Rick have lived in Beaverton for 25 years where they have raised three children. She has been a piano teacher in the area for 20 years and enjoys singing in the Portland Choir and Orchestra. She has been a ward choir director three times and is currently serving as the Stake Music coordinator and Stake choir director.
Deanna Peabody is currently serving as Beaverton Stake Music Coordinator and Stake Choir director. She has been a piano teacher in the Beaverton area for 20 years and enjoys singing in the Portland Choir and Orchestra.
Anni Scott
(Music and the Restoration)
Anni Scott has been a life long learner and lover of music. She has been involved with music her entire life. In her younger years, she was a much better pianist and violinist. 🙂 Most of her adult participation has been dedicated to choral music, both in singing and conducting.
She has served as a primary chorister, ward chorister, and ward music chairman. She currently serves as ward choir director, a calling that she loves, almost as much as that of primary chorister! She and her husband have called Salem home, for the past twenty two years.
David M. Thomas
(Choir Rehearsal Technique, Conducting Master Class)
Dr. David Thomas has served as the Artistic Director of Portland Choir & Orchestra since 2007. He attributes much of his success as a teacher and conductor to his years of study and performance with Dr. Ronald Staheli. Dr. Thomas received his DMA from the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in St. Petersburg, Russia, and holds additional degrees in Russian language and vocal performance. Dr. Thomas has previously served as Artistic Director of Portland Choirs and Co-Director of Hoffman Academy of Music. He and his wife Emily enjoy performing together and operating Studio Thomas: Music Performance Instruction, as well as loving the wonders of life with their three girls and two boys.