For the 2011-12 season, Chorus Abilene is delighted to have a series of guest conductors for the Classical Chorus!

Dr. Monte Garrett, Associate Professor of Music, joined the Howard Payne faculty as Director of Choral Activities in 2001. In addition to conducting Concert Choir and Heritage Singers, he also teaches elementary and choral conducting, choral literature, and courses in music education. He has also taught courses in church music and music history.
      He earned both the Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Music from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, and the Doctor of Musical Arts in choral conducting at the University of Texas at Austin. His conducting teachers include Dr. Loyd Hawthorne, Dr. David Keith, and Dr. James Morrow. He has done additional study at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth and The Conductor’s Institute at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX.
      In 2003 he received the Abbott-IPCO Professional Scholarship and in 2004 received the Glenda Casey Professional Scholarship, both of which were awarded by the Texas Choral Directors Association. His article “The ‘Forgotten’ Music of Salzburg: The Organ Sonatas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Choral Graduals of Johann Michael Haydn” was published in the February 2008 issue of The American Organist.
      Since joining the faculty, choirs at Howard Payne have commissioned and premiered choral works by Kurt Kaiser, Kinley Lange, Libby Larsen, Mary McDonald, Robert Sterling, Robert Tucker, David Ashley White, and Robert Young. He has served as a clinician for several high school choirs in TMEA Region 7 and served as the clinician/conductor for the Region 7 All-Region Choir in 2003. In the summer of 2005, he conducted the Texas Baptist All-State Youth Choir – the first “alumni” of the choir to do so. He also conducted the TBAS choir in the summer of 2009. Prior to his appointment at Howard Payne, he served as Choral Director at Cisco Junior College.

Jonathan Krake is currently in his fourth season with Chorus Abilene serving as the Conductor for Youth Chorus and Youth Chorale. Mr. Krake is a graduate of Hardin-Simmons University where he received both his Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Master of Music in Choral Conducting. In addition to working with Chorus Abilene, Mr. Krake is the Worship and Outreach Pastor at Southwest Park Baptist Church.  Prior to his church work, Mr. Krake taught music for five years with the Abilene Independent School District, three of which were spent as the Associate Choir Director and Advanced Placement Music Theory Instructor for an award-winning class at Cooper High School.  Mr. Krake also served as the pianist for Broadview Baptist Church where he also served as Interim Music Minister in 2001-2002.  Mr. Krake has taught private piano lessons for the past fourteen years and private voice lessons for the past six.   He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Texas Music Educators Association, Music Educators National Convention, Chorus America and Texas Choral Director’s Association. He has been honored by being named to Who’s Who Among American High School Teachers, the National Dean’s List and the Chancellor’s List. He and his wife, Amy, are the proud parents of their two sons, Conner and Camden.

Gaye Lynn Williams, Conductor of the Children’s Chorus, received a Bachelor of Sciences degree in education with a specialization in music from Abilene Christian University in 1980.  She has worked as a music teacher and an elementary classroom teacher in both the public and private school settings and has fourteen years experience conducting elementary choirs.  She was the director of a local Christian school for 3 years.  She has also taught piano privately.  Mrs. Williams is currently employed with AISD, working at Long Elementary.  She attends Beltway Baptist Church.  She is married to Randall Williams and has 3 children and one granddaughter:  Justin Williams with wife, Hope, and baby Hannah; Kristen and husband, Brandon Pierce; and Cara Dowdy & her new husband.  Both Kristen and Cara enjoyed many years in the Abilene Youth Chorus.

Shirley J. Anderson is in her fourteenth season as accompanist for the Adult Chorus.  She is an honor graduate of Hardin-Simmons University with Bachelor’s and Masters degrees in Music.  While a student she was recipient of the Dean’s Honor Award, the SAI scholarship, and winner of the TMTA Composition Contest.

Mrs. Anderson has maintained a successful independent piano studio in Abilene for 37 years, teaching preschool through adult students.  Abilene Music Teachers Association selected Mrs. Anderson as Teacher of the Year in 1979, 1984, and 2003.  In 1995 Texas Music Teachers Association presented her the prestigious award for Outstanding Pre-College Teaching.  Mrs. Anderson has held numerous offices in AMTA and during her presidency in 2002, Abilene MTA was chosen as the Outstanding Local Association of the Year by Music Teachers National Association.

Shirley Anderson teaches class piano and serves as a staff accompanist at Hardin-Simmons University.  She is the pianist at Lytle South Baptist Church.   She is married to chorus charter member Marcus Anderson.  They have a daughter April (Mrs. Bill) Darroch and two grandchildren, Hannah and Samuel.

Van Hayes has accompanied the Abilene Youth Chorus and Chorale for the past 15 years. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from McMurry University and his Level 1 Orff Schulwerk training in music education at Southern Methodist University.  Mr. Hayes teaches 1st and 2nd grade music at Wylie Elementary School.  He was chosen as Teacher of the Year for 2004-2005. He also serves as the Organist at Aldersgate United Methodist Church. His wife, Kristy, is the Choral Director for the Wylie ISD.  Mr. Hayes is the originator of what has become the informal slogan for the youth choirs: Adapt, Improvise and Overcome!

Terry Graham is accompanist for the Children's Chorus.   Ms. Graham has a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Angelo State University. She has also completed Level II of the West Texas Kodaly Initiative. Ms. Graham has taught elementary music for the Abilene Independent School District at Taylor for 18 years, where she was also coordinator for the AISD Children's Convocation Choir for three years.  She is currently chairman of the AISD Elementary all-district choir committee.   She has also taught private piano lessons for 24 years and served as an assistant director of the Children's Chorus for the 1997-1998 concert season.  Ms. Graham is the proud parent of three sons 24, 19, and 17, and has one grandchild, Ali, born in December.

Gwynn Haseltine, Executive Director, is originally from Oklahoma and graduated from Oklahoma Christian with a degree in Social Work. She has been involved with Chorus Abilene since 1994 in a variety of roles, including Lead Parent and Head Parent, as well as having served on the Board of Directors. Mrs. Haseltine began her duties as Executive Director in 2002.  Her husband, Jeff, is Assistant Dean in the Abilene Christian University College of Arts & Sciences, and they have four daughters, all youth alumni.