2026 Presenters
Presenters for the workshop in 2026 will be announced in the fall. Stay tuned!
2025 Presenters
Dr. Stephen Schank, the featured presenter in 2025, has worked as the manager of the Church music office at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City since 2016. Prior to that, he taught religion and choir classes at institutes of religion in Nevada, Arizona, and Utah for twenty-five years. He studied music history and literature, theory and composition, choral conducting, and orchestral conducting at UNLV (Las Vegas), BYU (Provo), and ASU (Tempe, AZ). While in Arizona, he served as an assistant chorusmaster for the Phoenix Symphony. He is the composer and lyricist of “I will walk with Jesus” and the chair of the Hymnbook Committee. Steve enjoys composing and arranging music when he can find the time. He and his wife, Lynn, have six children and seven grandchildren.
Dr. Schank’s workshop sessions:
Worship Is Never Accidental: Intentional Worship through Music in Church Meetings
Sing, Choirs of Angels: Coming Closer to Christ in the Ward Choir
Where’s My New Hymnbook? Pulling Back the Curtain on the Hymnbook Revision
Videos of his workshops and handouts are available on the Handouts and Links page under 2025 Resources.
Additional Presenters
Maura Brewer | Kristi Crusan | Leah Espinoza
Donna Howard | Ramona Jones | Dr. David Thomas
Maura Brewer
Leveling Up Piano Accompaniment: Accompany with New Power
See, Hear, Touch, Know: Inviting Children to Christ Through Primary Singing
Maura graduated from BYU with a BM in Music Education: Elementary Music Specialist with dual teacher’s certifications in Music Education and also K-8 Elementary Classroom. She has taught private and group piano, voice, and theory lessons for 20 years. Maura is the co-founder and current director of Arise Children and Youth Choir in the Vancouver/Ridgefield, Wa area. Maura married her high school sweetheart and they are raising 5 children.
Kristi Crusan
Vocal Technique
Vocal Technique: Master Class
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.
Leah Espinoza
Going Beyond the Page: Arrangements and Medleys
Leah Espinoza is a pianist, composer, arranger, and music coordinator from the Pacific Northwest. She holds a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance, is an experienced performer including as a concert soloist, and has 20 years of experience providing music business services. Leah is an experienced teacher, accompanist, adjudicator, and recording artist, yet her biggest passion is creative musical expression through frequent arranging and composing. Leah also holds degrees in Workplace Psychology and a Master’s of Business Administration and currently works as an analyst in local government. She lives in Hillsboro, OR, with her husband and three children.
Donna Howard
Primary
Donna Howard holds a Bachelors in clarinet performance and music composition as well as a Master’s degree in music composition. Donna has taught music in public schools, and later at BYU-Idaho 6 years. She has been sharing her expertise the last six years with Primary leaders, Music leaders, and Primary teachers across the region. She has taught workshops in a dozen states and counting, with several more scheduled for 2026. Currently she is the conductor for Rob Gardner’s Lamb of God Oratorio in Eastern Idaho. She and her husband have raised ten children. Sharla Dance has enthusiastically endorsed Donna for the Workshop.
Ramona Jones
The Basics – Transitioning from piano to Organ
More Tools for Transitioning from Pianist to Organist
Ramona is a retired piano teacher of over 30 years. She has had 15 years of organ training from Dr. Jeannine Jordan. Ramona has been a church organist for many years. She currently serves as ward organist, and teaches Relief Society. She and her husband, Ivan, will soon leave their Hillsboro home and their growing family to serve their fourth mission together.
Dr. David Thomas
Choral Conducting Master Class
Dr. David Thomas studied conducting and performance at BYU as well as at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is the Artistic Director of Portland Choir & Orchestra. He and his wife Emily enjoy performing together and operating Studio Thomas: Music Performance Instruction.