Director of Choral and Vocal Activities
Professor of Music

Biography

Dr. Michael Busch is professor of music at Concordia University Irvine, where he serves as Director of Choral and Vocal Activities. His teaching responsibilities include the areas of conducting, music theory, and choral methods. His work with the Concordia Choir and the Concordia Master Chorale is featured in an acclaimed concert series which annually attracts filled-to-capacity audiences to the Concordia Center for Worship and Performing Arts. He has led the Concordia Choir on concert ministry tours throughout the United States, as well as through Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, and Italy. Most recently, he conducted the Concordia Choir on a tour through Germany and Austria to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, where they were featured at the impressive Berliner Dom, the Salzburg Residenz, and the Wittenberg Castle Church where Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses and started the Reformation.

Dr. Busch received the doctor of musical arts degree in the literature and performance of choral music from the University of Colorado, Boulder. His attained his master’s degree in both the fields of choral conducting and organ performance from San Jose State University. His work has been influenced by his studies with Charlene Archibeque, Lynn Whitten, Alan Luhring, and Roger Nyquist. Prior to his arrival at Concordia, he taught choral music at every grade level and administered large choral and orchestral music ministry programs in California and Colorado. It is his great joy share his passion for music and to mentor musicians desiring to serve as music educators and church music leaders.

At Concordia, Dr. Busch instituted the MasterWorks Concert series which features performances of major choral works with professional orchestra. Under his direction, these concerts have included such works as the Bach Mass in B Minor, Mendelssohn Elijah, Mozart Grand Mass in C Minor, Haydn Lord Nelson Mass, Poulenc Gloria, Honegger King David, Handel Messiah, Mozart Requiem, Bach Magnificat, Bernstein Chichester Psalms, Mendelssohn St. Paul, Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem, Duruflé Requiem, and the Bach St. Matthew Passion.

In addition to his duties at Concordia, Dr. Busch is active as a guest conductor, festival organist, choral adjudicator and workshop leader at clinics, conventions and festival events throughout the western United States. He has served as Repertoire and Standards Chair for Music in Worship for the western division states of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and has presented at conferences of the ACDA and Chorister’s Guild. He is the proud father of three boys and is happily married to his bride of over thirty years.

Education

• San Jose State University, CA, B.M. Music, 1987
• San Jose State University, CA, M.A., 1989
• University of Colorado, Boulder, D.M.A., 1999

Teaching

• Conductor, The Concordia Choir
• Conductor, Concordia Master Chorale
• Music Theory
• Conducting
• Choral Methods

Assistant Dean - College of Arts & Sciences, Director of Arts Activities, Professor of Music, Director of Instrumental Activities

Biography

"A very strong musical personality."
(Dr. Glenn Price, conductor of the Cincinnati Conservatory Wind Orchestra)

Jeff Held is the music director of both the Concordia Wind Orchestra and the Concordia Sinfonietta, as well as Director of Arts Activities and Assistant Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences (music, theatre, and art). He joined the faculty of Concordia University in 2005 and established most of the existing orchestral instrument program at the university.

Dr. Held received the Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education from Boston University. His research interest was comparing learning atmospheres for music majors between large and small universities. He received a master's degree from The American Band College at Southern Oregon University and an undergraduate degree in music from Valparaiso University. In addition, he completed the Lutheran Teaching Colloquy from Concordia University, Irvine. His career began as band director and music department chairman at Orange Lutheran High School, where he established a prominent concert band, jazz band, and handbell ensemble. Held is known nationally for his innovative hymn festivals with wind orchestra and voices, sacred-theme concerts, implementation of new music for wind band in worship, involvement with the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and his work as a board member of Lutheran Music Program (which produces Lutheran Summer Music Academy and other music programs).

Education

• D.M.A. Music Education – Boston University
• M.A. Arts and Letters – The American Band College (Southern Oregon University)
• B.A. Music – Valparaiso University
• Lutheran Teaching Certificate – Concordia University (Irvine, CA)

Teaching

• Conductor, Concordia Wind Orchestra
• Conductor, Concordia Sinfonietta
• Instrumental Conducting Methods and Rehearsal Techniques
• MUS 112: Music in the Liberal Arts
• AART 201: Integrated Arts
• MUS 312: Brass Techniques

Music Department Chair

Associate Professor of Music, Associate Director of Choral and Vocal Activities

Biography

Dr. Marin Jacobson is Music Department Chair and Associate Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at Concordia University Irvine where she conducts the Concordia Men’s Chorus and Donne di Canto and teaches choral methods, music history, diction, aural skills, and voice. She has conducted all four Concordia choirs, the Grinnell College Community Chorus, the University of Iowa Kantorei, and the University of Iowa Women’s Chorale. Choirs under her direction have toured the western United States and Austria, performing in the esteemed Stephansdom in Vienna and the Salzburg Mozarteum. She hosts three annual educational outreach events, the Collegiate Women’s Choir Festival, the Invitational High School Women’s Chorus Festival and the Elementary/Middle Lutheran Schools Choral Festival. Dr. Jacobson brings a wealth of experience in collegiate, church, community, school, and studio settings to her work at Concordia. Beyond the university, she leads choral clinics for high school and middle school choirs and conducts and adjudicates choral festivals.

As musical director and conductor of the Ames Chamber Artists, an auditioned adult community choir, Dr. Jacobson commissioned and premiered a new work each year and initiated a series of collaborative concerts with the Central Iowa Symphony, the Ames Children’s Choirs, and several area high schools. Dr. Jacobson has also served as a Lutheran church musician for over twenty years, providing worship leadership as an organist, pianist, and conductor of choral and handbell ensembles for children and adults. She also served as founding conductor of the Mankato Children’s Chorus, a community chorus in Mankato, Minnesota. Mentoring students who are preparing to serve as choral conductors, church musicians, teachers, and performers is one of her greatest joys.

Dr. Jacobson earned the DMA in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy from The University of Iowa, a MM in Vocal Performance from the University of Minnesota, and a BA in Vocal Music Education magna cum laude from St. Olaf College. She studied conducting with Timothy Stalter, Kenneth Jennings, and Robert Scholz. Jacobson’s professional activities include scholarship, performance, and composition. Her article “Text and Musical Gesture in the Choral Music of Rebecca Clarke” was featured in the April 2016 issue of the Choral Journal, the peer-adjudicated publication of the American Choral Director’s Association. In 2012, she presented research about the choral music of Margaret Ruthven Lang at the National Symposium on American Choral Music in Washington, DC. Jacobson has also performed numerous choral-orchestral works with the Pacific Chorale and Pacific Symphony. Active as a composer, Jacobson has premiered several compositions with the Concordia University choirs.

Dr. Jacobson is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and has served as regional vice president for the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.

Education

• D.M.A. Choral Conducting and Pedagogy – The University of Iowa
• M.M. Vocal Performance – University of Minnesota
• B.A. Vocal Music Education – St. Olaf College

Research

Publication: “Text and Musical Gesture in the Choral Music of Rebecca Clarke,” American Choral Directors Association Choral Journal, April 2016.

Presentation: “The Choral Music of Margaret Ruthven Lang,” June 2012, at the National Symposium on American Choral Music sponsored by the American Choral Director’s Association, Washington, DC; Dissertation Title: “Stylistic Development in the Choral Music of Rebecca Clarke.”

Teaching

• Aural Skills 3
• Aural Skills 4
• Beginning Conducting
• Choral Methods
• Diction for Singers
• Donne di Canto
• Experiences in Music
• Men’s Chorus
• Music History 1
• Music History 2
• Special Topics: Conducting Women’s Choirs
• Special Topics: Conducting Men’s Choirs
• Voice

Associate Professor of Church Music

Biography

Carol R. (Schroeder) McDaniel is now a full-time faculty member, having taught at Concordia since 1993. She is teaching courses in Organ and Service Playing, Church Music, Aural Skills and Children’s Music Methods; she also serves as the music faculty representative on the Chapel Planning Committee. She was instrumental in developing our first series of organ classes for students wanting to experience organ for the first time. Carol recently celebrated 30 years in music ministry as a teacher, conductor, organist and parish music administrator. She received her B.S. in Education, with an emphasis in organ, music education and parish music, from Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska in 1983. She was a graduate teaching assistant and received her Master of Music degree in Organ Performance from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1985. She has studied with Charles W. Ore, Quentin Faulkner, George Ritchie, Marianne Webb, Michael Burkhardt and Esther Jones. She has taken additional coursework at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, University of California, Los Angeles, California, California State University, Fullerton, California, and Concordia University, Irvine, California. Carol serves part-time at Bethany Lutheran Church, Long Beach, California as Director of Music/Organist, and is a frequent clinician and organist for Lutheran events in the southern California area. When she’s not at Concordia or Bethany, Carol enjoys writing new hymn texts for worship, in addition to spending time traveling with her husband Gary and their four adult children.

Education

• Doctor of Worship Studies – Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies (Jacksonville/Orange Park, FL)
• M.M. Organ Performance – University of Nebraska
• B.S. Education (music emphasis) – Concordia University (Seward, NE)

Research

• Recovering the Practice of the Spiritual Disciplines as preparation for corporate worship.
• Lectio Divina, an ancient-future way to study scripture. Adapted format for small groups and retreat settings.

Publications

Two recent Hymn texts:

God at Work 8.7.8.7.8.7 Suggested tune: Newly composed tune: GOTTESWERK © Carol McDaniel, OR Voices Raised to You We Offer, LSB (under copyright) OR a more common PD tune: REGENT SQUARE (Angel’s From the Realms of Glory)

God at work among His people
Serving us in prayer and praise
God at work in our vocations
Gifting, leading all our days
God creating, God relating: Soli Deo, Gloria!

God at work in Word and water
Font and pulpit, Holy Meal
God at work forgiving sinners
Justified: His grace will heal
God declaring, God repairing: Soli Deo, Gloria!

God at work in Vine and branches
Yielding fruit abundantly
God at work in dormant seasons
Nurturing the fruit to be
God abiding, God providing: Soli Deo, Gloria!

God at work while we are waiting
Forming life within the womb
God at work in Jesus’ dying
Rising up from death’s dark tomb
God conceiving, God receiving: Solus Christus, Gloria!

God at work: He sends His Spirit
Calling us to do our part
God at work in sanctifying
Breathing faith into the heart
God exploring, God restoring, Soli Deo, Gloria!

God at work: He sends His Spirit
Calling us to do our part
God at work in sanctifying
Breathing faith into the heart
God exploring, God restoring, Soli Deo, Gloria!

God at work before creation
God at work on Calvary
God at work in faith’s formation
God at work eternally
Triune God we laud and praise You: Alleluia, Gloria!

Carol R.S. McDaniel, August 7, 2014 (rev. 08/09/14) God’s Love is Grace Carol R.S. McDaniel (b. 1961) Meter: LM (8.8.8.8 iambic) Suggested Tune: WALY, WALY English Traditional Scripture Reference: Romans 6 and Romans 8

Persuaded, Yes! Of this I'm sure:
God’s love is strong and will endure!
His Spirit gives me faith to see
God’s love is grace; God’s love is free!

Baptized in Christ, who gives me breath
I share in His life-giving death
His love is true: for me He died
God’s love is grace, God’s love is wide!

When days are dark with doubt and fear
When nights are long and paths unclear
When demons rage: around, within,
God’s love is grace, God’s love will win!

The Risen Christ gives victory
His Spirit pleads eternally
With gift of water, Word and meal
God’s love is grace, God’s love will heal!

(April 2013, for Chloe Elizabeth Ruiz’s confirmation service. Revised July 2014, with an additional new stanza (4), at the LCMS Worship Institute)

Teaching

• Organ Class
• Private Organ Lessons
• Hymnody
• Planning Music for Christian Worship
• Music for Children
• Aural Skills
• Guided Readings

Assistant Professor of Church Music

Biography

Dr. Tom Mueller is Assistant Professor of Church Music and University Organist at Concordia University in Irvine, California, where he teaches organ, jazz, and composition, and directs the keyboard and composition programs. An award-winning church musician, he serves as the Associate Organist at St. James’ Church in Los Angeles, where he accompanies the acclaimed Choir of St. James’ under the direction of James Buonemani. He is an active recitalist, clinician, and adjudicator.

In 2014, Mueller was awarded first place in the Schoenstein Competition in Hymn-Playing, held in conjunction with the national convention of the American Guild of Organists in Boston, Massachusetts. He was honored by The Diapason as a member of the inaugural “20 Under 30” list of influential figures in the world of organ and church music in 2015.

He maintains an active concert schedule, and has performed at universities and churches across the United States. In 2010, he performed the complete organ works of J. S. Bach in a series of seventeen concerts in his native state of Maine. He has received numerous commissions for new choral and liturgical works, and performances of his compositions have been broadcast on national radio and television. Mueller is also an accomplished guitarist, and toured the country as a member of The Muellers, a nationally-recognized family bluegrass band. Their fourth album, The Muellers, was released in 2009.

Research interests include the early organ and keyboard works of J. S. Bach, the performance practice of organ continuo playing in the classical-era concerted sacred music of Germany and Austria, and the American reception of the nineteenth-century opera star Jenny Lind. He has presented workshops, masterclasses, and lectures for numerous organizations, including several chapters of the American Guild of Organists, and has served as a faculty member for the Guild’s Pipe Organ Encounter (POE) program for young organists. Most recently, he served as the Subdean of the Orange County AGO chapter, and serves on the national Committee for Continuing Professional Education (CCPE) of the AGO.

Mueller earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with David Higgs. He also holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame (M.S.M. in organ), and the University of Maine at Augusta (B.M. in jazz composition and piano), where he graduated summa cum laude. His former teachers include Craig Cramer, Alan Wingard, William Porter, Frank Mauceri, and Steve Grover, and he has performed in masterclasses with Stephen Tharp, Isabelle Demers, Ken Cowan, Alan Morrison, Michael Bauer, and Diane Meredith Belcher, among others. He resides in Orange County with his wife and two daughters.

Professional Service and Memberships

Co-chair, Programming Committee, American Guild of Organists 2019 Regional Convention, 2016–present.
Member, Committee for Continuing Professional Education (CCPE), American Guild of Organists, 2015–present.
Member, Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.
Member, Organ Historical Society.
Subdean, Orange County AGO chapter, 2015–2017.
Member, Education Committee, Los Angeles AGO chapter, 2014–2016.

Writing, Presentations, and Workshops:

“Why Art? Music, History, and Faith Through the Eyes of Heinrich Schütz,” Concordia University Irvine Enduring Questions and Ideas Forum, September 2017 (http://blogs.cui.edu/core/)
“A Leader and a Servant: Preparing Hymns for Congregational Singing,” LCMS Institute for Preaching, Liturgy, and Church Music, Chicago, July 2017
“The 2016 EROI Festival—Breath for Singing: The Organ and the Human Voice,” The Diapason 1293 (2017): 22.
“Organ Continuo Practice in Viennese Concerted Sacred Music,” American Guild of Organists National Convention, Houston, June 2016
“Jenny Lind Sheet Music in Pre-Lindomania America,” North American Conference for Nineteenth-Century Music, Andover, MA, July 2015
“Seventeenth-Century Influences on the Earliest Organ Works of J. S. Bach,” University of Notre Dame, October 2014
“A New Evaluation of ‘Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern,’ BWV 739,” American Guild of Organists National Convention, Boston, June 2014

Current Teaching

• MUS 303 Music Theory III
• MUS 304 Music Theory IV
• MUS 305 Arranging
• MUS 403 Orchestration and Instrumentation
• MUS 430 History and Analysis of Modern Music
• MUS 482 Music Cultures: Musical Expression in Christianity

• Applied Organ
• Applied Composition
• Applied Harpsichord
• Applied Jazz Piano

• Director, Concordia jazz ensembles
• Director, Concordia Americana Ensemble

Past Teaching Assignments

• MUS 102 Music Fundamentals
• MUS 111 Experiences in Music
• MUS 331 Music History I
• MUS 332 Music History II

Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Worship Arts Leadership Institute

Biography

Steve Young is Assistant Professor of Music and the Director of the Worship Arts Leadership Institute at Concordia University Irvine. He directs the commercial music program, leads the chapel worship bands, and teaches music theory, music technology, ensemble leadership, worship arts and keyboard performance. Steve also leads workshops and is a conference speaker throughout the country in the areas of music and worship arts.

Steve comes to Concordia Irvine with more than 25 years of professional experience as a studio and touring musician, composer, arranger, producer, creative consultant and church leader. An active music producer, Steve has produced projects in New York City, Nashville and Los Angeles, working with world class studio musicians and engineers. As a pianist and keyboard player, he has recorded and performed with recording artists such as Cheri Keaggy, Fernando Ortega, John Patitucci, Tony Award winner Nobert Leo Butz, The Maranatha Praise Band, Patty Cabrera and Crystal Lewis. An active arranger, Steve has written hundreds of arrangements for studio and stage. Steve also composes music for radio, film and television as well as concert music. His string quartet, American Hymn (2014) was recently premiered at the University of Pittsburgh. As a student at Concordia, Steve's original score for the play Hyppolytus (1990) won a meritorious achievement award from the Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival.

Steve is the architect of the music technology program at CU. He has been published in numerous publications such as Worship Leader. CCM, Roland User's Group magazine and his book All About Music Technology in Worship was published by Hal Leonard Publishing in 2004.

As a church leader, Steve has served as Creative Arts Director at a Southern California megachurch, and has served as co-planmter for two start-up church — one in Southern California and one in the New York City area. He has served on the advisory board for the Arts Movement at Willow Creek Community Church, been a speaker/clinician for Integrity Music, Maranatha Music, and a consultant and creative coach for dozens of churches in the U.S.

Steve has studied composition with Dick Grove, Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin, Lennie Niehaus, Clare Fischer, Bill Conti, Jonathan Bailey Holland, John Fitz Rodgers, Roger Zahab and Rick Baitz. He has studied jazz piano with Dick Grove, Lou Levy, Victor Feldman, Russell Ferrante, Joyce Collins and Terry Trotter.

Education

• M.F.A. Music Composition — Vermont College of Fine Arts
• B.A. — Concordia University Irvine
• Graduate of Composing and Arranging Program — Grove Music (Los Angeles, CA)
• Graduate of Keyboard Instruction Program — Grove School of Music (Los Angeles, CA)

Resident Faculty, Director of Handbell Activities and Music Education

Biography

Dr. Donavon Gray has recently accepted the position as Resident Professor of Music at Concordia University, Irvine. Previous to this position, he was invited to be the Executive Arts Director at Shantou University: Shantou, China where he guided nine professors and 3000 students within the Arts Education Center. From 1991 until 2015 Dr. Gray was at Azusa Pacific University. His varying responsibilities included: Associate Dean for the School of Music, Director of Bands, Wind Ensemble, Handbells, Graduate Music Education Chair, and conducting classes for undergraduate and graduate students. Previous music faculty positions include Biola University, Cerritos College, and Director of Bands at Bellflower Christian Schools in Cerritos, California. Dr. Gray has been a guest conductor, lecturer, performer, and clinician throughout the United States, China, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Greece, Thailand, Australia, England, Germany, Singapore, Indonesia, Armenia (directing the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra) and Carnegie Hall. His international experience also included duties as Faculty/Director in Residence at Oxford University: Oxford, England. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dordt College, Master’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa, and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California.

Senior Manager of Music Operations

Biography

Mike Zelazo assumed the position of Senior Manager of Music Operations at Concordia University Irvine in June of 2016. Mike brings a broad range of music performance, adjudication, music proofreading and preparation, administration and event production to Concordia. As a professional trombonist, he has performed with such diverse artists as Chris Botti, Roger Daltrey, Diane Schuur, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Bob James, Peter Cetera, Natalie Cole, Leonard Bernstein, Michael Feinstein, Bernadette Peters, Tommy Tune, Englebert Humperdink and Ralph Carmichael. He has also performed for motion pictures, television, soundtracks, symphony orchestras, big bands, theme park atmosphere groups, and in pit orchestras for over 100 Broadway-style musical productions. As a music copyist and proofreader, Mike has prepared scores and parts for such notable clients as John Williams, The Olympic Games, Jerry Goldsmith, Elliott Goldenthal, Bob Florence, The Pacific Symphony Orchestra and many publishing companies. His production company has provided musical equipment for The Grammy Awards, PBS Broadcasting, the Black Entertainment Network, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Warner Bros. Television, The Walt Disney Company, the Getty Museum and many other respected organizations. Mike managed thousands of live entertainment performances and special events at The Disneyland Resort for 15 years prior to joining us at Concordia University Irvine in 2011.

Staff Accompanist

Biography

Rachel Ehring is Staff Accompanist at Concordia University, Irvine. She is a sought-after pianist and accompanist who has performed in Asia, Europe, and throughout the United States. She received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Colorado-Boulder where she studied with Dr. Margaret McDonald and Dr. Alexandra Nguyen. Before moving to Colorado, Rachel served on the piano faculty at Henderson State University. Rachel is passionate about collaborating with instrumentalists and singers as well as accompanying choirs and musical theatre and teaching young accompanists. She received a Master’s of Music degree from the University of Kansas where she studied with Robert Koenig and a Bachelor of Music degree from Moody Bible Institute where she was a student of Dr. Un-Young Whang.

Director of Contemporary Worship Arts

Teaching

• Praise bands
• contemporary worship

Professor of Composition

Education

Christian Guebert is a commissioned composer, educator and music professor from Orange, California. He has a music education background in teaching classes and private lessons in theory, composition, orchestration and technology. He earned his Master of Music degree in music composition from Cal State University, Fullerton in 2013, and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia University, Irvine in 2010.

Biography

Christian Guebert is the Composer-in-Residence at Concordia University. His music has been performed in many US states and some European countries. His frequently performed works include published and award-winning pieces for instrumental and choral ensembles. He has conducted music throughout this country and in Europe on music tours, having studied choral and orchestral conducting at Concordia University Irvine, and at Cal State University, Fullerton. He currently serves as music director at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Orange, studies church music, and composes for handbells, wind band, orchestra, and church ensembles.

Teaching

• Studio Faculty: Composition
• Orchestration
• Music Technology