Dr.
Stephen W. Sachs, (2004) Professor of Piano and Music Department Chair
B.A., & B.S., Lebanon
Valley College
M.M., Ohio University
D.M.A., The Catholic University of America
(601) 974-6471
ssachs@belhaven.edu
Dr. Stephen W. Sachs, Professor of Piano and Music Chair at Belhaven University, has been active as a piano soloist, duo-pianist, chamber musician and accompanist in the eastern US and France. Dr. Sachs is a founding member of the Belhaven Piano Trio with esteemed colleague Mr. Song Xie, Assistant Professor of Violin and String Ensembles, and Mr. Bennett Randman, Mississippi Orchestra Principal Cellist. He has appeared with many orchestras, most recently in October, 2007 with the MSO of Jackson, MS performing Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini” under the direction of Maestro Crafton Beck. He received the D.M.A. degree in piano performance from The Catholic University of America studying with Thomas Mastroianni, the M.M. degree in piano performance from Ohio University studying with Richard Syracuse, a B.A. degree in music and a B.S. degree in music education from Lebanon Valley College studying with William Fairlamb. Dr. Sachs serves as Director of Music Ministries at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Jackson and is on the board of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. From 1978-2004, Dr. Sachs served on the faculty of Eastern Mennonite University teaching piano and music theory and directing instrumental ensembles.
Dr. Paxton Girtmon (2007) Associate
Professor of Music
601-974-6472
pgirtmon@belhaven.edu
Dr. Paxton M. Girtmon is Director of Bands, Associate Professor of Music and Music Education Chair. He oversees all aspects of the Marching, Pep, and Concert Bands, as well as, the large and small ensembles in the spring terms. He supervises student teachers, as well as teaching instrumental method courses and instruction, instrumental orchestration, also undergraduate and graduate level conducting courses. Dr. Paxton earned his D.M.A. from The University of Southern Mississippi and his B.M.Ed. and his M.M.Ed. at Northwestern State University. Dr. Girtmon has performed professionally with the Shreveport Symphony and Northwestern/Natchitoches Symphony where he performed with Jazz legend Pete Fountain, the world renowned Ray Charles, and former "Tonight Show's" band leader, "Doc" Severinsen. Dr. Girtmon has served as Associate Director of Bands/Coordinator of Music Education, and Assistant Professor of Music at Jackson State University. He published frequently in national magazines and periodicals for music education and research. He also maintains an active conducting schedule and is a frequent honor band clinician and adjudicator for concert band events around the nation. Dr. Girtmon's most precious and valuable treasures are his wife Reca and children: Lauren, Calvin, Jace and Georgia.
Dr. Andrew Sauerwein (2005)
Assistant Professor of Music
A.A., Multnomah Bible College
B.Mus. & M.Mus., University of Oregon
M.A. & Ph.D., Duke University
601-974-6470
asauerwein@belhaven.edu
Dr. Andrew Mark Sauerwein is Assistant Professor of Music Composition and Theory, as well as composer-in-residence. He oversees the theory and musicianship curriculum, teaches various courses in theory and composition, and directs the Composers Forum. He has also contributed to Belhaven’s Worldview Curriculum and provided lectures on music for the High Scholars program, which is part of Belhaven’s Virtual Campus. Dr. Sauerwein earned his PhD in music composition from Duke University. He also holds a Master of Music and Bachelor of Music from the University of Oregon, as well as an Associate of Arts in Biblical Studies from Multnomah University. A native of the Northwest, Dr. Sauerwein came to Belhaven in Fall 2005 after a visiting appointment at Northwestern College of Iowa. He is married to Quita and has two college-age children, Christopher and Hannah.
Dr. Christopher Shelt (1999) Professor of Voice,
Church Music & Choral Activities
B.M.E., Florida State University
M.A., Columbia Biblical Seminary
M.Div., Reformed Theological Seminary
M.M., Mississippi College
D.M.A., University of
Southern Mississippi
601-974-6497
cshelt@belhaven.edu
Dr. Christopher Shelt is Coordinator of Vocal Arts at Belhaven University where he serves as Professor of Voice, Music Ministries, and Choral Activities. A tenor soloist, vocal clinician, choral conductor, and published author, Dr. Shelt has studied with many of the world's finest vocal and choral artists including Roy Delp, Lara Hoggard, Don Neuen, and Sir David Willcocks. He spent a sabbatical at the Robert Shaw Choral Institute shortly before Mr. Shaw's death. Dr. Shelt earned his Bachelor of Choral Music Education and a Certificate in Voice Performance at Florida State University, his Master of Arts in Bible at Columbia Biblical Seminary, his Master of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary, his Master of Arts in Music from Mississippi College and his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Southern Mississippi. In addition to numerous recital and oratorio appearances, Dr. Shelt has performed operatic roles in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Weill’s Street Scene. He has conducted professional vocal workshops locally and internationally and is a frequent adjudicator in area vocal and choral competitions. A full member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and of the American Choral Directors' Association, Shelt’s students have distinguished themselves in recordings, in teaching roles, in vocal competitions, and in graduate studies. Shelt has prepared and conducted many classic choral works such as Handel’s’ Messiah, Pergolesi’s Magnificat, Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis, Bach’s Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. He has performed 20th and 21st century repertoire, staging Britten’s Gloriana Dances and Leavitt’s Missa Festiva with soloists and dancers. Under Shelt’s direction, Belhaven University commissioned and performed the world premiere of John Cheetham’s O the Depth. Through the last decade, Shelt prepared Belhaven choirs for community performances of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Elijah; and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast. He was invited to be guest conductor of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra performing portions of Mozart's Vesperes de Confessore with the Belhaven Choir in 2004. Dr. Shelt was a clinician/conductor in The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Summer Orchestral Institute in 2004 and currently conducts the orchestra at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church. As Musical Director for all of Belhaven musical theater productions since his arrival, Dr. Shelt has led performances of The Fantasticks, Kiss Me Kate, Once Upon a Mattress, The Pirates of Penzance, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Oklahoma!, Fiddler on the Roof, Geraniums and Wrens, and The Gondoliers. In 2006, Dr. Shelt founded Belhaven Connections, an ambassadorial Christian ministry primarily made up of Belhaven musicians building winsome relational, cultural, and artistic bridges through music performances and educational events. Belhaven Connections most recently visited two nations in Africa and will be returning to Peru in the Spring of 2009. Shelt received the Humanities Teacher Award by The Mississippi Humanities Council in both 2001 and 2004 in conjunction with public lectures entitled "Bach's Cantatas: Art and Theology in Counterpoint (2001)" and “Genius During Time of War: Franz Josef Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis (2004).” Dr. Shelt served as Chair of Music at Belhaven University from 1999-2004, a time of the department’s revitalization, growth, and relocation to new facilities. A leader in Church Music for over 25 years and ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), Shelt continues to promote the revitalization of biblically principled worship and music ministry using a multi-faceted strategy of modeling, preaching/teaching, professional education, and literature. He has published church related articles in The Christian Observer (1995), Reformed Theological Review (1996), the Southern Baptist Convention Church Music Conference Journal (1998), and Discovery (2001). Shelt has been married to his wife, Jackie, for 30 years and has two grown children, Katie and Stephen. Dr. Shelt envisions a Belhaven Music Department that is unparalleled in its musical excellence, uncompromised in its Christian distinctiveness, and unleashed in its transforming influence in the cultural life of our city, state, nation, and world.
Song
Xie (2005),
Assistant Professor of Music
601-974-6149
xsong@belhaven.edu
Song Xie is Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola, Conductor of the Belhaven Chamber String Orchestra, Chamber Music Coach and violinist of the Belhaven Piano Trio at Belhaven University. He received his B.A. Degree from GuangXi Institute of Arts and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and his M.M. degree from Louisiana State University. His world class instructors have included Shi-Xiang Zhang, Sally O’Reilly, and Camilla Wicks. As a concert soloist, he has played concertos and solo pieces with many orchestras. Mr. Xie keeps a very busy performing schedule in solo recital, chamber music, and conducting. The most recent commitment will be to play “Carmen Fantasy” with The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra in its 2009-2010 Season. Song Xie is currently the Principal Second Violinist of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra which he has held since 1998. As a passionate string educator, he has a great love and enjoyment in working with young string players. Before arriving in Jackson, MS, Mr. Xie resided in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Nanning, GuangXi Province, China where he served on the violin faculty at GuangXi Arts Institute for three years. His lovely wife, Renee Chen and two children, David (10) and Caleb (3), reside here in the Jackson area.
Adjunct Faculty:
Chris Alford, Jazz Guitar, Jazz Guitar Ensemble
Nancy
Bateman received both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Music
from Wichita State University andpursued advanced musical studies at the
University of Missouri at Kansas City. She has performed as a cellist in
the Wichita Symphony from 1974-90, the Omaha and Lincoln Symphonies from
1990-93, and the Mississippi Symphony from 1993 until the present. She
has performed as a soloist as well as in various small ensembles for
weddings, funerals, and church services since 1974. She has enjoyed
starting and maintaining String Music Programs at both First
Presbyterian Day School (for the past 6 years) and the Veritas School
(for the past 3 years), as well as teaching a Summer String Orchestra
Workshop for the past 3 summers at Jackson Preparatory School. In the
past six years, she has started over 150 children on a stringed
instrument, as well as prepared many private students for festivals,
competitions and auditions. God has blessed Mrs. Bateman and her
husband, Jim, with five children through whom she has learned very much
about teaching. Mrs. Bateman understands what a great honor, privilege,
and responsibility it is to teach, especially young people who are
making career choices at this time in their lives.
Richard Brown, string bass
Sybil Cheesman, was born into a
musical family. Piano lessons were followed by flute lessons at an early age.
Throughout her educational experiences, she was blessed to perform in numerous
musical settings including band, chamber music and orchestra. Mrs. Cheesman has been with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra since 1972. She
became principal flute and one of the founding members of the MSO woodwind
quintet in the fall of 1978. Her responsibilities include all performances of
the MSO and playing concerts at every elementary school in Jackson, Clinton and
Hinds County. She performs concerts locally, teaches at Mississippi College,
Belhaven University and has an active private flute studio. A graduate of the
University of Southern Mississippi (B.M., M.M.), she has performed with the
Meridian, Pensacola, Gulf Coast and Mobile symphonies. She performs regularly
with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and is principal flute of the Mississippi
Opera Orchestra. She is the founder and director of Magnolia Flutes, a
community flute choir. Her husband, Bob, is also a member of the MSO.
They have two children.
Dr. Dennis Cranford, theory, skills and conducting
Lisa Davis, Brass: French Horn
Mark Davis, Brass: Low Brass
David Dick, Music Theory, Form and Analysis, Brass: Trombone
Mrs. Judy Dodson, clarinet
Mr. Frank Dolansky, Center for the Arts Facility Manager
Mrs. Carol Durham, organ
Gena
K. Everitt, Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Vocal Performance from
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Mrs. Everitt has been
teaching voice in Jackson for 26 years as an independent teacher. She
previously taught on the faculty of Jones County Junior College and at Hinds
Community College. She has been a frequent recitalist, and soloist in oratorio
and opera. She has performed with the Mississippi Opera in the productions of
La Traviata, Pirates of Penzance, and The Magic Flute. She is involved with the
music ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Jackson as both a soloist and
director of ensembles. Post graduate study has been with Richard Miller, Oren
Brown, Vera Rosza, and Martin Katz. She and her husband, Jerry, are the parents
of two sons.
Barry
Hause, Instructor of Guitar and Humanities, studied philosophy and music at Emory University in Atlanta and musicology at Philipps-Universität in Weimar, Germany. He is a graduate in Guitar Performance of the Franz Liszt Conservatory in Weimar . He actively concertizes as a soloist and chamber music player. Current obligations include a guitar duett with his 14 year old son Daniel and work with the Mississippi Guitar Quartett. His performance experience includes ensemble work with Zart Beseitet and with the Marburger Gittarrenduo. He was featured in several performances with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, performing a Baroque lute concerto of J.L. Krebs. He sang and played lute in a performance of Adriano Banchieri's, "La Barca de Venezia" with the Canticum Antiqum Marburg. Barry has performed many solo concerts in Europe and in the United States. He is also active as a public speaker on topics related to Christians and the Arts. Barry teaches Guitar Fundamentals, Applied Guitar, Popular Music 1930 - Present: Mirror of Culture, and Form and Meaning at Belhaven.
Barry is married to Dr. Melissa Hause, Assistant Professor of Art History at Belhaven. They homeschool two sons: Daniel (14) and Joshua (8).
Mr. Paul Heindl, percussion
Ana Catalina Ramirez, Clarinet
Elizabeth Pasarilla Richardson,
Light Lyric Soprano, has recently completed her Bachelor of Music at Wheaton College in Vocal Performance and her Master of Music in Vocal Arts at the University of Southern California during which time she has had the opportunity to meet and work with such gifted artisans as composer and director Marvin Hamlisch, conductor John Nelson and soprano Sylvia McNair. Favorite opera and music theater roles include Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Susannah in Le Nozze di Figaro, Cinderella in Into the Woods, Mrs. Ham in Noye’s Fludde, and Maria in West Side Story. Elizabeth also possesses a great love for choral music and has performed in numerous choral works including soprano soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria and Faure’s Requiem. Elizabeth currently sings for both Redeemer Presbyterian Church and Chapel of the Cross. At Belhaven she serves as a Vocal Adjunct, teaching private students as well as Vocal Fundamentals. She is recently married, and she and her husband reside in Jackson, Mississippi.
Carolyn
R. Sachs, has taught piano for 30 years in both private and class settings.
She performs regularly as
duo and duet pianist with her husband, Stephen. She
received the M.M. degree from Ohio University studying with Eugene Jennings, and
the B.A. in music from Lebanon Valley College studying with William Fairlamb.
Mrs. Sachs is a member and adjudicator for the National Guild of Piano
Teachers. She served as president of the Harrisonburg Piano Teachers Forum and
was founding co-director of the Forum Piano Festival. Dr. and Mrs. Sachs have
four children. They enjoy jazz, card playing, and hiking.
Mr. Lloyd Turner, trumpet
Dr. Brenda Wilder, piano, piano pedagogy, and functional piano
