Dr. Haidee Heaton
Haidee Heaton is associate professor of theatre and head of the Department of Theatre at Culver-Stockton College. She earned her B.F.A. in theatre performance from Wichita State University, her M.A. in theatre from Oklahoma State University, and her Ph.D. in theatre from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Heaton teaches acting and acting styles, directing, theory, voice for the actor, musical theatre and directs during the C-SC theatre season.
Dr. Heaton is actively involved in the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival's Region V as a production respondent and has served multiple times as a member of the festival's regional management team. Along with being involved in KC/ACTF, she is a member of ATHE, MATC, Phi Kappa Phi and Alpha Psi Omega. She is also the theatre department's faculty sponsor of Theta Alpha Phi, the national theatre honor fraternity. Dr. Heaton's research interests include post-structuralist linguistics theory, symbolist acting styles and performance theory.
Trent Hollinger
Conductor, composer and saxophonist Trent A. Hollinger has been acclaimed as a “dynamic, powerful and energetic” conductor with a “driving passion to make music at its highest possible levels of accomplishment.” A wind conducting doctoral candidate at the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University, Mr. Hollinger currently serves as director of bands and assistant professor of music at Culver-Stockton. He is very active in the area as a guest conductor and clinician, most recently to appear as conductor of the Clarence Cannon Conference Honor Band. Additionally, Mr. Hollinger serves as the music director for the Quincy Area Youth Orchestra and for the Quincy Concert Band in Quincy, Illinois. Previously, he served as head of the instrumental division, director of bands, and assistant professor of music at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich. As director of bands, Mr. Hollinger oversaw drastic changes in the ensemble’s organization, repertoire and recruitment, which lead to a 40 percent increase in growth and the university’s Outstanding Service Award. Additionally, Mr. Hollinger served as interim director of bands at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa., for the Spring 2008 semester.
Mr. Hollinger’s transcriptions and arrangements for wind band have been praised as “marvelously creative, technically flawless, tastefully colorful and thoroughly compelling.” His compositions have been heard throughout the East Coast and the Midwest. Recently, Mr. Hollinger was commissioned by trumpet virtuoso Joe Burgstaller for a piccolo trumpet and wind ensemble transcription of Vivaldi’s Concerto in D Major, premièred in January 2010. For his dissertation project, Mr. Hollinger completed two large scale wind transcriptions from orchestral works by living composers--Ecstatic Orange by Michael Torke (premiered April 2010) and Idyllwild Crown by Christopher Theofanidis (premiered December 2009). As a professional saxophonist, Mr. Hollinger performs as an active recitalist, orchestral saxophonist and chamber artist; engagements include performing with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra.
A strong believer in studying all aspects of music, Mr. Hollinger received three master’s degrees in music – classical saxophone performance, composition and wind conducting–from the Peabody Conservatory. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in music education and a Bachelor of Arts in music with concentrations in jazz/classical saxophone performance and theory/composition from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., where he graduated summa cum laude with departmental honors.
Fonzie Geary
Dr. Fonzie Geary is visiting assistant professor of theatre for the 2011-12 academic year. He serves as instructor of theatre history, voice and diction, playwriting, oral interpretation and introduction to theatre. Dr. Geary completed his Ph.D. in theatre at the University of Missouri-Columbia with an emphasis in 20th century American drama. He earned his Bachelor of Science from Eastern Kentucky University with a double-major in psychology and theatre arts and earned a master's degree in clinical psychology from EKU, as well. Dr. Geary has worked in theatre as an actor, playwright, director, teacher and scholar. He has performed in more than 30 productions and workshopped with playwrights such as Lanford Wilson and Romulus Linney. In addition, Dr. Geary has been published in the New England Theatre Journal.
Elliot Jones
Elliot Jones (Director of Choral Activities) oversees the choral program at Culver-Stockton College that consists of three choirs, while maintaining a tradition of choral excellence dating back over 100 years. He also teaches conducting, voice, choral literature and choral methods. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from New York University, a Master of Music from Indiana University, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in choral conducting from the University of Arizona. He has studied conducting with Bruce Chamberlain, Jan Harrington and Donald Nally. Trained first as a singer, he studied with Roy Samuelsen, Marcia Baldwin, Alan Seale and Shirlee Emmons. He has performed as baritone soloist and professional chorister in venues and festivals worldwide, including Merkin Concert Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York City, Opera Delaware, Indiana University Opera Theater, Exeter and Truro Cathedrals in the United Kingdom, and in a national tour of Amahl and the Night Visitors.
Prior to C-SC, Dr. Jones was Assistant Professor and Director of Choral Music at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware. There, in addition to conducting the college choir, chamber choir and women's choir, he taught voice lessons and courses in music theory and choral conducting while serving as chair of the faculty lecture and cultural arts committee. He also formed the Wesley Festival Chorus, a community effort which coordinated five choral organizations and gave several performances of large-scale works for chorus and orchestra.
Dr. Jones has served on the voice faculty at West Chester University, the Wilmington Music School and Saint Andrew's School. In 1996 he was selected for the prestigious National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Intern Program at Ohio State University. He has enjoyed an unusually rich education in the vocal arts, having been exposed to the teaching of such vocal pedagogy luminaries as Margaret Harshaw, Giorgio Tozzi, Virginia Zeani, Paul Sperry and Shirlee Emmons. He brings this experience to his students, as well as elements of Alexander Technique and Dalcroze Eurythmics. His students regularly win prestigious vocal competitions, have been accepted to All-State and All-Eastern Choruses, and have appeared with such performing arts organizations as the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and Opera Delaware.
In 1999 Dr. Jones conducted the Wesley College Chamber Choir in a service of evensong at the National Cathedral in Washington DC, and became the founding Artistic Director of the Rainbow Chorale of Delaware. In June 2004 he conducted the East-Coast premiere of Jake Heggie's Anna Madrigal Remembers (text by Armistead Maupin), scored for mezzo soprano, men's chorus, strings and piano. This was followed by a repeat performance in Montreal in July. In June 2007, just before relocating to Tucson, he was honored with tributes from Ruth Ann Minner, Governor of Delaware, and James M. Baker, Mayor of Wilmington, in recognition of ten years of leadership of community choirs.
Dr. Jones has a record of activity as a clinician, guest conductor and adjudicator, including the University of Delaware’s concerto competition, and has held regional leadership positions in the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). His dissertation on choral settings of metaphysical poetry by Gerald Finzi was nominated for the ACDA Julius Herford Prize for outstanding doctoral terminal research project in choral music for 2010.
Joseph Jorgensen
Joe Jorgensen is professor of art and head of the Art & Design Department at Culver-Stockton College. He earned his B.S. in art education and M.F.A. in studio art in the areas of ceramics and sculpture from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kans. Before coming to C-SC in 1994, he held the position of division chair of Communications, Fine Arts and Social Sciences at Highland Community College in Highland, Kans. Early in his career, Jorgensen was named as one of six emerging artists in the United States by a publication in Galveston, Texas and in 2006 was the recipient of the Helsabeck Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
Jorgensen currently teaches clay, sculpture, digital photography, photography field experience at the Grand Canyon, art & architecture in Chicago, senior portfolio, e-portfolio, and art & design senior show. As a practicing artist, his artwork has been in more than 50 national, regional and local art exhibitions. He has served as judge for numerous Scholastic Art Shows and more than 25 high school, college, and professional art shows in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.
Anthony Luetkenhaus
Tony Luetkenhaus is an instructor of theatre and the technical director for Culver-Stockton’s Department of Theatre. He is also the facilities manager for the Robert W. Brown Performing Arts Center. Tony is a 2006 graduate of Culver-Stockton with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre. He is completing a Master of Fine Arts in theatre/lighting design from Western Illinois University. Tony has worked in theatre for 12 years and has been designing coast to coast for the last eight. His resume includes designs for musicals, straight theatre, opera, film and experimental studio theatre. Tony still works in professional theatre during the summer, staying current with the ever-changing world of technical theatre. He is a member of The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and Theta Alpha Phi National Theatre Honors Fraternity.
Dr. Carol Fisher Mathieson
Dr. Carol Mathieson is professor of music and director of opera workshop at Culver-Stockton College where she has taught musicology and vocal pedagogy courses, as well as applied voice lessons since 1975. Dr. Mathieson appears frequently in the region as a singer of opera and art song. Her lecture-recital “Jenny Lind and the Songs of the Blue and Gray” has been a feature of such events as the International Festival of Singing in Newfoundland and at the Sesquicentennial Civil War commemoration series in Tulsa, Okla. A graduate of Maryville College (TN) and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, she received the doctorate in musical arts from the University of Iowa in 1981. Dr. Mathieson has received Abbott and Burlington awards for excellence in teaching; she serves on the boards of numerous arts organizations in the community including the Muddy River Opera Company and the Canton Area Arts Council. She holds the Certified Church Musician credential from the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, and her textbook Music of Many Cultures is used by middle and secondary schools throughout the country.
Gary Meacher
Gary is assistant professor of art & design at Culver-Stockton College. He earned his B.A. in studio art: graphic design with a minor in marketing from Cleveland State University in 2008 and his M.F.A. in graphic design with certificate in user experience from Kent State University in 2012.
Before coming to Culver-Stockton College in 2012, Gary taught as adjunct instructor on the faculties of Cleveland State University, Kent State University and Cuyahoga Community College. Gary's passion for teaching came from his work with Apple as a "creative" (technology personal training and support). Certified at Apple's corporate headquarters in Cupertino, California in the use, instruction, and maintenance of all of Apple's "small devices" (iPods, iPhones, and iPads), Gary is also certified in both the instruction and troubleshooting of Apple's OSX, iLife, iWork, and Aperture software programs. Before deciding to pursue his M.F.A., Gary spent two years teaching technology to adult learners, working with large groups of consumers of all ages in the use of Apple products. At Culver-Stockton College, Gary teaches Introduction to Graphic Design, Advanced Graphic Design, Design and Illustration, Media Design, Web Design, ePortfolio, Creative Professional, Design Perspectives and the art program’s Senior Capstone course.
S. Kent Miller
Kent Miller, a 1973 graduate of Culver-Stockton College, is a full professor of theatre and chair of the Fine Arts Division. He earned his M.F.A. in theatre design from Western Illinois University in the areas of scene, lighting and costume design with an emphasis in scenic design. Before returning to C-SC, Mr. Miller was with the Theatre Department at Western Illinois University for nine years as technical director, he ended his tenure at WIU in the Office of Student Activities as the performing arts coordinator for the university.
Mr. Miller has worked professionally with the Augusta Ballet, Augusta Ga.; Towson State University, Towson, Md.; Circa 21 Dinner Theatre, Rock Island, Ill.; as well as the Lexington Children’s Theatre, Lexington Ky. With more than 300 theatrical designs, Mr. Miller brings a wide breath of knowledge and practical experience to the C-SC theatre design program.
Mr. Miller is actively involved in the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival's Region V, receiving a Merit Award in Scene Design for the production of “Proof.” He also directed the first C-SC production invited to participate at the 2009 Region V conference. Along with being involved in KC/ACTF, he is a member Phi Kappa Phi and Theta Alpha Phi, the national theatre honor fraternity.
Dr. Thomas C. Polett
Dr. Polett is a full professor of music at Culver-Stockton College, where he teaches brass instruments, music theory and is the director of jazz studies. Before coming to C-SC in 1997, he held similar positions at Limestone College (SC), North Greenville College (SC) and Georgia College. In the summer he serves as a core faculty member at the Missouri Fine Arts Academy in Springfield, Mo. Dr. Polett earned his bachelor’s degree from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, his master’s degree from Arizona State University, and his doctorate from The University of Georgia. He has performed with numerous professional orchestras including the Charleston Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony and the Arizona Ballet Orchestra. As a member of the Aurora Brass Quintet, he has toured Italy and recorded two CDs. He is currently the principal trombonist with the Quincy Symphony and the Muddy River Opera, and a member of the Missouri Brass Consortium and Big River Swing Machine Big Band. Dr. Polett appears frequently in the Midwest as a clinician, soloist, adjudicator and conductor.
Debra Scoggin-Myers
Debra Scoggin-Myers received her B.F.A. in art from Columbia College and her M.F.A. from the University of Missouri – Columbia. She taught art for two years at Canton R-V Elementary School and for 25 years at Highland C-1 High School. Nationally Board Certified in art education, Myers received the Lewis County C-1 Teacher of the Year award and was honored as the Missouri Art Education Association’s state high school art teacher of the year. She organized and directed a summer school program called ArtTrek for almost 20 years. In addition, she was part of a consortium of regional art educators who developed an elementary and middle school juried art show for the Canton Area Arts Council. A practicing artist herself, Scoggin-Myers has participated in various juried exhibitions and one-woman exhibits.
Lori Scott
Lori Scott is instructor of music at Culver-Stockton College where she teaches voice, piano, fundamentals of music, and music education courses. An honors graduate of Drury University in Springfield, Mo., she earned both a Bachelor of Music Education and a Bachelor of Arts in music performance. She received the master's degree in music education from the University of Kansas at Lawrence. Throughout her 31 years in high school teaching, Lori Scott’s choirs earned consistent top competition ratings throughout the state including many "Gold" ratings at Heritage Festivals. Her students have been selected for national, regional, state, and district choirs. In addition to her classroom experience, Lori has served as a choral clinician, state and district choral competition judge, and West Central and South Central coordinator for the Missouri All-State choir. Beyond the classroom, she conducts the Mark Twain Community Chorus and has served as organist and choir director as well as praise and worship leader in several churches.
Anda Zirnitis
Dr. Anda Zirnitis is a professor of music at Culver-Stockton College. She received her training at the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Iowa. Dr. Zirnitis has premiered major solo and ensemble compositions by Stephen Chatman, Thom Ritter George, Janis Kalnins, Arnolds Sturms and Christopher Rouse. Premiere performances include concertos with the Milwaukee Symphony and at the "Music in the Mountains Festival" in New Paltz, N.Y. Concert tours have taken her to Europe and Australia. The World Federation Fund of Free Latvian Culture awarded her the Krisjanis Barons Prize for the performance of works by contemporary Latvian composers. Her D.M.A. essay, a survey of the life and piano works of Latvian composer Jāzeps Vītols also received the Krisjanis Barons prize. Dr. Zirnitis was the 1999 recipient of the Helsabeck prize for Excellence in Teaching. She is a member of the honorary music society Pi Kappa Lambda and is a frequent adjudicator and clinician.
Adjunct Faculty
Dr. Christine Damm
Christine Damm currently serves on the music faculty of Culver Stockton College and John Wood Community College. She is Principal Clarinetist with the Quincy Symphony Orchestra. She is an active performer and teacher in the Quincy, Illinois area and she maintains a successful private woodwind studio. Her students have gone on to receive solo awards and college scholarships. She has performed extensively as a clarinetist with the By-B-Flats Clarinet Quartet, Muddy River Opera, Quincy Park Band, San Angelo Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, and the Prairie Winds. Dr. Damm frequently gives clarinet and saxophone clinics at area schools. She is an advocate of new music and has premiered several works for the clarinet.
Jesse Mazzoccoli
Jesse Mazzoccoli is adjunct instructor of guitar at Culver-Stockton College. Prior to his degree work at Quincy University, he had an active performing career on the east coast as well as in the Midwest. After graduating as the first Guitar Performance major at QU, he became the university’s first director of guitar studies. Mazzoccoli earned a Master’s degree in guitar performance at Western Illinois University, studying with Matthew Warnock. He teaches at several regional colleges and universities and is a contributing author for Guitar International online magazine.
Mazzoccoli continues to perform professionally, having played in a wide variety of ensembles including metal, jazz, classical, rock, country, and fusion. He currently plays with Ben Bumbry and the Messengers, as well as with The Pulse, Ushers to the Apocalypse and is the front man of the politically-charged Prog-metal Band.
D. Larry McSpadden
Emeritus Professor D. Larry McSpadden is supervisor of music student teachers. During his distinguished career in choral music, he was awarded the Helsabeck Teaching Prize and Governor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. He has been inducted into the Missouri Music Educators Association Hall of Fame.
Jane Polett, violin
Jane Polett received a Bachelor of Music in violin performance and both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Arizona State University where she served as concertmaster of the Arizona State Symphony Orchestra. She performed as a member of the Greenville (SC) Symphony, Asheville (NC) Symphony, and the Brevard Chamber Orchestra until the Polett family relocated to Canton. In addition to teaching as adjunct instructor of violin at C-SC, Jane is a violinist in the Muddy River Opera Orchestra, the Quincy Symphony Orchestra, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and the Illinois Chamber Orchestra. She is the general manager of the Quincy Symphony Orchestra Association and in 2008 was named General Manager of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras.
Douglas Reeve, low strings
Bassist Douglas Reeve first started private instruction at the age of 10 with Chicago Symphony cellist Alois Trnka. At the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, he studied further with John Frazer and Peter Howard of the Cleveland Symphony. His instructor at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria was K. M. Schwamberger. In his graduate study at the University of Illinois School of Music, Douglas Reeve furthered his cello study with Peter Farrell and Robert Swenson.
Engaging principally in choral music in his early teaching years, Douglas Reeve taught at Quincy Senior High School, the University of Northern Iowa and finally at Quincy University; teaching lower strings, voice, theory and conducting the choral ensembles. In retirement, he is principal bassist with the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and plays both cello and bass for other area musical organizations such as the Muddy River Opera Company and McDonough Choral Society. Currently, Reeve in adjunct instructor of double bass at Culver-Stockton College and Quincy University; he has a small private studio for both cello and double bass students.
Aren Van Houzen, trumpet
Aren Van Houzen currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa and works as an educator and freelance trumpet performer throughout eastern Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. College teaching positions currently include Cornell College and Culver-Stockton College. In addition to performing with the Cornell Faculty Brass Trio, Aren performs with Orchestra Iowa, Quincy Symphony Orchestra and frequently plays with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra and the Iowa City Chamber Orchestra. He has been a featured soloist with several Iowa performing organizations and continues to develop a modest soloing schedule. Further activity in the music industry has included performing with Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, West Shore Symphony and Clyde Beatty Cole Brothers Circus. He has also apprenticed with mouthpiece and mute manufacturers while offering custom trumpet alterations in the late 1990’s. Aren began soloing with the piccolo trumpet at age 17, having been selected to perform Purcell’s Trumpet Sonata at the 1990 West Michigan Music Showcase, and from this young age it became apparent that this tiny trumpet would be the source of musical inspirations throughout his career. Aren earned his bachelor’s degree from Hope College and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Iowa.
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