2023 UNT A Cappella Tour Program

WORDS OF
WELCOME
by the Dean of the
College of Music
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Message from the Dean--------------------- 2
Schedule of Events --------------------------- 3
Repertoire --------------------------------------- 3
History of UNT A Cappella Choir------------4
A Cappella Choir ------------------------------- 6
Meet the Conductor--------------------------- 8
Conducting Associate------------------------ 9
Choral & Vocal Studies Divisions--------- 10
UNT Administration ---------------------------11
I
am pleased to greet you
on behalf of the alumni,
faculty, staff and students
of the College of Music
at the University of North Texas
(UNT). Under the direction of Allen
Hightower, our A Cappella Choir
continues to garner attention in
some of the most prestigious
venues, including auditioned
appearances at both the Southwest
Regional and the National
Conventions of the American
Choral Directors Association in the
recent past. Most recently, the A
Cappella Choir performed with the
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
in a triumphant presentation of
Handel’s Messiah to critical acclaim
and thunderous applause.
Our distinguished faculty in
Choral Studies also includes
Kristina Caswell MacMullen
(Associate Professor of Choral
Studies and conductor of the UNT
University Singers and Kalandra),
Jessica Nápoles (Professor of
Choral Music Education and
conductor of the UNT Concert
Choir) and Jamey Kelley (Assistant
Professor of Choral Music
Education).
For information about upcoming
concerts and other UNT choral
events, please be sure to consult
our Events page at the UNT
College of Music website at music.
unt.edu/events. Thank you for
joining us for this celebration of the
choral art.
music.unt.edu
Most sincerely,
JOHN W. RICHMOND, PH.D.
Professor and Dean of the College of Music
University of North Texas
2 A Cappella Tour Program

Tour Dates & Repertoire
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10
7:30 PM St. Monica Catholic Church
9933 Midway Road, Dallas, Texas
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11
Jordan High School
Raegan Grantham, Director
Audrey De La Cruz, Assistant Director
Tompkins High School
Christian De La Cruz, Director
Kristin Killingsworth, Assistant Director
Kingwood High School
Jason Watt, Director
Penelope Campbell, Assistant Director
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12
Montgomery High School
Heather Orr, Director
Spencer Tripp, Assistant Director
7:00 PM South Main Baptist Church
4100 Main Street, Houston, Texas
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13
Klein High School
Sean Stultz, Director
Rebecca Berger, Assistant Director
The Woodlands High School
Patrick Newcomb, Director
Melissa Newhouse, Assistant Director
Elisa West, Assistant Director
In the Beginning (1947)
Aaron Copland (1900–1990)
Ruth Sytsma, soloist
Stars (2011)
Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977)
Taylor Fenner, soloist
Kenneth Sieloff, conductor
from Midwinter Songs (1983)
1. Lament for Pasiphaë
Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)
from Four Quartets, Opus 92 (1884)
1. O Schöne Nacht
4. Warum?
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Hail, Gladdening Light (1919)
Charles Wood (1866–1926)
Seek Him That Maketh
the Seven Stars (1995)
Jonathan Dove (b. 1959)
There Will Be Rest (1999)
Frank Ticheli (b. 1958)
Moonlight Sound Design (2012)
Raimonds Tiguls (b. 1972)
In the Still of the Night (1937)
Cole Porter (1891–1964)
arr. Roy Ringwald
Hannah Watkins, soloist
Timothy Sanchez, piano
University of North Texas College of Music 3

History of UNT A
Wilfred C. Bain Frank McKinley Henry “Hal” Gibbons
A Cappella
UNT
Choir
Through the years
The flagship
ensemble of the
University of North
Texas Choral Studies
Program, the 50-voice
A Cappella Choir, led by
Allen Hightower, director of
choral studies, is selected
by competitive audition from
among the more than 1,500
music majors within the
College of Music. The choir
includes both undergraduate
and graduate students,
most of whom are pursuing
careers in music education,
vocal performance, or choral
conducting. Former members
of the A Cappella Choir
have gone on to lead highly
successful careers as solo
vocal artists, voice teachers,
professional choral singers,
and choral conductors in a
wide spectrum of settings.
Founded in 1938 by Wilfred
C. Bain, the choir celebrates
its 85th anniversary having
been led by only six
conductors including Bain,
Frank McKinley, Henry
“Hal” Gibbons, Milvern
“Mel” Ivey, Jerry McCoy,
and Allen Hightower. It has
enjoyed a rich performance
history including a three-
4 A Cappella Tour Program

Cappella Choir
Milvern “Mel” Ivey Jerry McCoy Allen Hightower
month tour of Europe under
the sponsorship of the
United States Department
of State in 1966. Through
the years, A Cappella Choir
has received numerous
invitations to perform for both
the Texas Music Educators
Association and the
American Choral Directors
Association. A Cappella
Choir has been featured at
the national conference of
ACDA in 1999 (Chicago),
2005 (Los Angeles), 2013
(Dallas) and 2021 (live
streamed). A Cappella Choir
performed by invitation
at the National Collegiate
Choral Organization in
2008 (Cincinnati) and the
International Choral Festival
in 2012 (Daejeon, South
Korea) and in 2009 (Taipei,
Taiwan). In addition to
frequent concert tours, the
A Cappella Choir serves as
the core of the 150-voice
UNT Grand Chorus which
partners each spring with the
UNT Symphony Orchestra
to present major choral/
orchestral works.
Allen Hightower assumed
leadership of the choir
upon his appointment as
Director of Choral Studies in
the Fall of 2016. During his
tenure, the UNT A Cappella
Choir has performed by
invitation at the 2020 TMEA
conference, the 2021 national
ACDA conference and the
2022 Southwestern ACDA
conference. Additionally,
the choir has partnered with
the Fort Worth Symphony
Orchestra on three
occasions for presentations
of Handel’s Messiah. Dr.
Hightower’s previous choirs
have performed for the
Southwestern, North Central
and national conferences of
ACDA. He has held faculty
appointments at Klein High
School, Odessa Permian High
School, Sam Houston State
University, and Luther College.
The A Cappella Choir is
one of ten choral ensembles
at UNT which includes the
University Singers, Concert
Choir, Kalandra, Chorale,
Camerata, Vox Aquilae,
Grand Chorus, Conductors’
Chorus and UpFront!. The
Choral Studies program
works closely with the
renowned vocal studies and
opera programs at UNT,
creating an ideal environment
for student singers.
University of North Texas College of Music 5

2022-2023 UNT A
CONDUCTOR
Allen Hightower
SOPRANO
Danah Berry
Harli Daniel
Taylor Fenner
Emma Garcia
Marissa Guerrero
Danielle Harrington
Madison Lang
Hyejin Lee
Kyuyim Lee
Katherine Stedman
Ruth Sytsma
Hannah Watkins
ALTO
Nicole Barbeau
Sarah Decker
Trinity Del Regno
Madeline Friesen
Raquel Guest
Meredith Hinshaw
Kassidy Montan
Brianna Nelson
Madison Pfaffenberger
Anna Schmelter
Savanna Singleton
Chloe Spellmann
6 A Cappella Tour Program

Cappella Choir
TENOR
Caleb Aguirre
Samuel Benavidez
Ezechiel Daos
Joshua Durrwachter
Jack Forden
Cecil Garrison
Xavier Howard
Marquis McBride
Chase Shaw
Kenneth Sieloff
Craig Smith
William Swinney
Nicholas Veazey
BASS
Jacob Augsten
Seth Bazan
Joseph Boatwright
Hawkins Burns
Brian De Stefano
Matthew Dexter
Xavier Garcia
Peter Mooney
Zachary Rohwer
Max Rubenstein-Miller
Timothy Sanchez
Avery Sanderlin
PIANIST
Dong Hyun Kang
University of North Texas College of Music 7

Meet The Conductor
8 A Cappella Tour Program

ALLEN HIGHTOWER
is a seventh generation Texan and
resides in McKinney, with his wife Dr.
Kristin Hightower and their two daughters
Caroline and Julianne. As the director
of Choral Studies at the University of
North Texas, Allen leads the master’s and
doctoral programs in choral conducting
and oversees a comprehensive choral
program of ten ensembles. Allen serves
as the conductor of the UNT A Cappella
Choir and the UNT Grand Chorus, which
collaborates annually with the UNT
Symphony Orchestra in performances
of major choral-orchestral works. As a
member of UNT’s Early Music faculty, he
leads the vocal ensemble Vox Aquilae,
an artistic partner of the UNT Baroque
Orchestra. Since arriving at UNT in
2016, Hightower’s Vox Aquilae and the
Baroque Orchestra were featured in the
2022 virtual conference of the National
Collegiate Choral Organization.
As a teacher and conductor, he has visited
30 states, Asia and Europe. His students
hold positions of leadership as choral
conductors in public schools, colleges
and universities, churches and community
choirs throughout the United States.
Prior to his appointment at UNT, Dr.
Hightower held the Weston Noble
Endowed Chair in Music at Luther College
in Decorah, Iowa, where he served as
conductor of the renowned Nordic Choir
and artistic director of Christmas at Luther.
As Luther’s director of choral activities, he
gave leadership to a choral program that
included four conductors, six choirs and
over 530 singers. Under his direction, the
Nordic Choir performed at the 2014 North
Central ACDA, recorded six compact discs,
made annual concert tours throughout the
United States and toured Europe on two
occasions.
From 2000-2010, he served as professor
of music and director of choral studies
at Sam Houston State University.
During his tenure, the SHSU Chorale
toured Europe, performed for the 2007
National Convention of the American
Choral Directors Association, the 2010
Southwestern ACDA, and the 2003, 2006,
2010 and 2020 conventions of the Texas
Music Educators Association. His public
school teaching career included tenures at
Klein High School in Spring, Texas and at
Odessa Permian High School in Odessa,
where he led the PHS Kantorei and Satin
Strings in performance at the 1996 TMEA
convention.
Outside of his work in the academic
setting, he currently serves as director
of the Houston Symphony Chorus and
has served as the artistic director of
the Houston Masterworks Chorus and
Orchestra, leading an annual concert
series of choral-orchestral masterworks.
As a church musician, he has served
Baptist, Congregational, Methodist
and Presbyterian churches in Texas,
California and Minnesota. He currently
serves on the music and worship staff of
Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco,
Texas, and is a past church music vicepresident
of the Texas Choral Directors
Association. Dr. Hightower has served
as an adjunct professor of conducting
at the Southwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary in Fort Worth.
As a conducting student of the Texas
choral legend Bev Henson, Allen earned
his undergraduate degree in music
education and piano from Sam Houston
State University. He went on to earn a
master’s degree in choral conducting from
the Eastman School of Music where he
was a student of Baroque scholar Alfred
Mann, and a master’s degree in orchestral
conducting from Baylor University, where
he served as assistant conductor to
Stephen Heyde and pianist to Donald
Bailey and the Baylor Chamber Singers.
Allen earned his doctorate in conducting
from the University of California, Los
Angeles, where he served as assistant
conductor to Donald Neuen. Hightower
pursued additional orchestral conducting
studies with Jung-Ho Pak at the University
of Southern California, additional
choral conducting studies with Joseph
Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College,
and choral-orchestral conducting with
Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach
Festival. After winning first prize in the
graduate division of the American Choral
Directors Association’s Conducting
Competition in 1997, Allen served as
assistant to Paul Salamunovich, conductor
of the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Kenneth Sieloff
Conducting Associate
Kenneth Sieloff is a first-year
graduate student at the University
of North Texas where he is
pursuing a master’s degree in
choral conducting. Prior to UNT,
Sieloff served as director of
choirs at Permian High School in
Odessa, Texas.
In his time at Permian HS, Sieloff’s
choirs performed at the 2018
Texas Music Educators Association
Conference and the 2020
Southwestern ACDA Conference.
In 2017 he was named a “Young
Director of Distinction” by the Texas
Choral Directors Association.
Along with his passion for
working with young musicians in
the classroom, Sieloff has long
been dedicated to the art of
conducting. In 2011 he competed
in the American Choral Directors
Association’s National Student
Conducting Competition in
Chicago, Ill. and won first place.
Sieloff enjoys serving as an
active clinician and adjudicator
throughout the state of Texas.
Sieloff holds a bachelor of music
education degree from The
University of Michigan, where
he studied voice with Professor
Martha Sheil and conducting with
Eugene Rogers, Paul Rardin and
Jerry Blackstone.
Ken loves to spend time with his
wife Annie, daughter Charlotte and
dogs Lily and Sadie. He enjoys the
great outdoors, including hunting
and spending time with friends
whenever he has the chance.
University of North Texas College of Music 9

University of North Texas
Choral Studies
ALLEN HIGHTOWER
Director of Choral Studies
Professor of Choral Studies
A Cappella Choir,
Vox Aquilae and
Grand Chorus Conductor
JACOB AUGSTEN
Concert Choir & Kalandra
Conducting Associate
J. CHRISTINE LE
Camerata Conductor &
University Singers Conducting
Associate
JAMEY KELLEY
Assistant Professor of
Choral Music Education
KRISTINA CASWELL
MACMULLEN
Associate Professor
of Choral Studies
University Singers and
Kalandra Conductor
JOSHUA HABERMANN
Adjunct Lecturer of
Choral Literature
Graduate Students
Collaborative Pianists
DONG HYUN KANG
A Cappella Choir & Grand Chorus
DAEUN KIM
Kalandra & University Singers
WILLIAM MCLEAN
Dallas Symphony Chorus Assistant
Conductor and Conducting Class
DONG HYUN KANG
Vox Aquilae Conducting Associate;
A Cappella Choir & Grand Chorus
Collaborative Pianist
JESSICA NÁPOLES
Professor of Choral
Music Education
Concert Choir
Conductor
CHIAO-JU HUNG
Camerata & Concert Choir
THOMAS RINN
Chorale Conductor &
Conducting Class
KENNETH SIELOFF
A Cappella Choir Conducting
Associate; Choral Librarian;
Director of Choral Studies
Assistant
MATTHEW WILKINSON
Chorale
Vocal
Studies
MOLLY FILLMORE
Chair, Division of Vocal Studies
Professor of Voice (soprano)
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
Professor of Voice (baritone)
DANIEL BUBECK
Lecturer of Voice (countertenor)
RICHARD CROFT
Distinguished Research
Professor of Voice (tenor)
STEPHEN DUBBERLY
Associate Professor of Vocal
Literature and Coaching
NEREIDA GARCÍA
Adjunct Instructor of Voice (soprano)
WILLIAM JOYNER
Associate Professor of Voice (tenor)
JENNIFER LANE
Professor of Voice (mezzo-soprano)
JEFF MACMULLEN
Adjunct Professor of Voice (baritone)
STEPHEN MORSCHECK
Professor of Voice (bass-baritone)
ELVIA PUCCINELLI
Professor of Collaborative Piano
and Vocal Coaching
JEFFREY SNIDER
Associate Professor of Voice (baritone)
CAROL WILSON
Professor of Voice (soprano)
10 A Cappella Tour Program

ADMINISTRATION
UNT SYSTEM
MICHAEL R. WILLIAMS
Chancellor
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
NEAL SMATRESK
President
MICHAEL MCPHERSON
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
COLLEGE OF MUSIC
JOHN W. RICHMOND
Professor and Dean
WARREN HENRY-------------------------------------------------------- Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
FELIX OLSCHOFKA--------------------------------------------------------------------- Associate Dean for Operations
EMILITA MARIN-------------------------------------------------------------- Assistant Dean for Business and Finance
RAYMOND ROWELL------------------------------------------Assistant Dean for Scholarships and External Affairs
KIRSTEN SORIANO---------------------------------------------------------------- Director of Undergraduate Studies
JAYMEE HAEFNER-------------------------------------------------------------------------Director of Graduate Studies
BENJAMIN BRAND-------------------------------- Chair, Division of Music History, Theory and Ethnomusicology
MOLLY FILLMORE-----------------------------------------------------------------------Chair, Division of Vocal Studies
STEVEN HARLOS------------------------------------------------------------------ Chair, Division of Keyboard Studies
JOSEPH KLEIN------------------------------------------------------------------Chair, Division of Composition Studies
KIMBERLY COLE LUEVANO---------------------------------------------------Chair, Division of Instrumental Studies
ROB PARTON------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chair, Division of Jazz Studies
SEAN POWELL----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chair, Division of Music Education
ANDREW TRACHSEL-------------------------------------------------- Chair, Division of Conducting and Ensembles
CYRIEL AERTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Director, Piano Services
MATT HARDMAN-------------------------------------- Director, Communications, Marketing and Public Relations
AUSTIN MARTINEZ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Director, Recording Services
CAROL POLLARD-------------------------------------------------------------------- Director, Undergraduate Advising
JOEL WILEY------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Director, Admissions
MARIA BAYLOCK------------------------------------------- Executive Assistant to the Dean of the College of Music
MATT HELLMAN-----------------------------------------------------------Program Design, Graphic Design Specialist
University of North Texas College of Music 11

2023
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
ALL-STATE CHOIR CAMP
KRISTINA CASWELL
MACMULLEN
Mixed Choir Conductor
JULY 5-8
ASSOCIATE CAMP
DIRECTORS:
Brian Murray and Cody Alarcón
ALLEN HIGHTOWER
Soprano/Alto & Tenor/Bass
Choir Conductor
JESSICA NÁPOLES
Camp Director
ASSISTANT CAMP
DIRECTOR:
Nicholas Standish
SECTION LEADERS:
Derrick Brookins
Evan Brown
Cathy Koziatek
Tara Sikon
PIANISTS:
Kelly Pfaffenberger
Nathan Ratliff
Andrew Steffen
Hank Tharpe
Kathryn Zetterstrom
CHOIRCAMP.MUSIC.UNT.EDU
music.unt.edu