Terry Knowles, born in 1938 to Walter “Red” and Agnes Lasater Knowles, was raised in Great Bend where he excelled in baseball and was a member of the GBHS 1955 State Championship team.  He also played for various semi-pro teams, including the Great Bend Ban Johnson and Wichita Boeing Bo-Jets when he faced legendary pitcher Satchel Paige in 1960, getting two hits in five at bats.  Terry was the starting catcher at Kansas State University for three years.

Following graduation from K-State, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an infantry officer, 1961 to 1965. He served a 14-month deployment throughout the Far East, including Vietnam following the Tonkin Gulf attack in August, 1964. Terry is proud to have served his country as a Marine platoon leader…”the best job I ever had.”

Upon his return home, Terry became an FBI Special Agent with assignments in Portland, San Diego, Washington D.C., and New York City before being promoted to Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of two field divisions, Salt Lake City and Sacramento.  As an FBI Agent, he was involved in a number of high-profile cases.  In San Diego, Terry and his FBI partner, disguised as mechanics, overwhelmed the hijacker of an airliner with 85 passenger hostages on board.  With the threat of a bomb, the subject had demanded passage to Cuba and $500,000.

In New York City, Terry directed the investigation of the Lufthansa heist where cash in excess of 5.9 million was stolen.  Code named LUFROB, this case was later developed into the Movie GoodFellas and the book Wise Guy. 

Terry always seemed to be on the frontlines for the FBI.  In Salt Lake City, he overpowered an armed bank robber who had fired his gun at point-blank range at Terry.  Thankfully, the subject’s first round was a mis-fire.  During the ensuing struggle, the subject fired wildly inside the crowded bank before being subdued and arrested by Terry. Clearly, Terry was the recipient of “divine intervention” on that blessed day!

As SAC in Sacramento, he directed the largest clandestine meth raid in FBI history, eliminating a $10.8 million-per-week operation. Terry also led a night-time raid in South Lake Tahoe rescuing two young kidnap victims (ages 10 and 11), locating their two murdered chaperones, and arresting the subject, currently on death row at San Quinton Prison.  Terry’s FB career culminated with a 42-month, complex undercover investigation and sting operation of corruption within the California State Legislature, resulting in conviction of all 14 subjects.  The Sacramento Division led all FBI offices in kidnap case resolutions, victims rescued, and bank robbery solution rate.

Terry retired from the FBI in 1989, and then served as Chief of Police of the Springfield (MO) Police Department where he implemented the concept of Community Oriented Policing, leading to a 16.2% crime reduction for three consecutive years.  In 1995, he returned home to Kansas to serve as Deputy Director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). He reorganized the KBI Forensic Laboratory and implemented a demanding quality-assurance program.  He greatly expanded the forensic services of Great Bend’s regional laboratory, and built satellite laboratories in Pittsburg and Kansas City.  The laboratory was awarded national accreditation in 1998.

Terry concluded his 40-year law enforcement career in 2005 – a career that was filled with unrelenting and difficult challenges.  His focus has always been simple…God, family, and country.

In retirement, Terry was a competitive cyclist, racing in 5K and 10K Time Trial events throughout the country, including five national senior competitions. He won numerous state championships; setting the Iowa 5K Time Trial record with an average speed of 25.71 mph. In 2011, he ranked sixth in the nation.

Throughout their 64-year marriage, the epicenter of Terry’s world is the love of his life…Marcia Butler Knowles.  Marcia is a portrait of the ideal FBI wife who never hesitated, questioned, nor complained about her expanding role.  Life was filled with stress, anxiety, and unknown consequences, but Marcia and Terry were able to survive with a loving partnership, while raising their two daughters, Laura and Julie.

The lessons Terry learned from GBHS baseball coach Al Burns – hard work, attention to detail, teamwork, and not backing down from difficult challenges – became the cornerstone of his performance, both as a military officer and as a national leader in the demanding profession of law enforcement.

Born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, Bryan Pinkall moved at age five with his parents, Gary and Michelle, and his brother, Brent, to his father’s hometown of Great Bend, where Gary Joined USD 428 as a middle school science teacher. With his parents’ endless support, Bryan grew up immersed in Great Bend’s musical life-studying piano with Connie Schneweis, cantering at St. Patrick Catholic Parish, and performing in community ensembles, including Barton Community College and the City Band.  At Great Bend High School, he found a strong, supportive community in the Madrigals and A Cappella Choirs under Susan Stambaugh and took voice lessons from Betty Erickson during that time.  He also played trumpet in the GBHS band and competed in Scholars’ Bowl and on the golf team.  The community’s strong support for the arts laid the groundwork for his life in music. 

After graduation, Bryan continued studying music at Kansas State University, earning a B.A. in Music and an M.M. in Vocal Performance/Choral Conducting.  He held leadership roles in the choral program and began intensive operatic study that led to competition successes and opened doors both professionally and in academia.  He was later named a Kauffman Scholar to pursue the D.M.A. at the UMKC Conservatory, where he performed multiple mainstage operatic roles as his professional career gained momentum.

While singing with a professional opera company in the Chicago area, he was offered a career-shaping opportunity: to be a featured soloist for the Grand Opening of Kansas City’s new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, singing the role of Tony in West Side Story and sharing the stage with world-renowned artists including Plácido Domingo, Patti LuPone, and Itzhak Perlman.  That exposure let to further opportunities, including a residency at Yale University as an Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellow and membership in one of the world’s leading choral recording ensembles, the Kansas City Choral. 

In Bryan’s first season with the Kansas City Chorale, the ensemble won three Grammy Awards. Since then, its recordings featuring Bryan have earned an Emmy nomination, nine Grammy nominations, and five Grammy Awards, including his work as a soloist on the 2016 album Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil. He now serves the Chorale as a singer, soloist, and marketing manager – overseeing seasons and album releases.  Two of the ensemble’s last four albums under his supervision have debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Classical chart.

Upon completing his doctorate in April 2013, Bryan accepted a faculty position at his alma mater, Kansas State University.  At the same time, his research on Olympic ceremonies opened a new lane in large-scale arts productions.  He joined the production team for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony as a manager for performance operations and direction, work that contributed to a Primetime Emmy Award and three nominations. He later served in production management for the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and for the World Meeting of Families papal Mass in Philadelphia (2015.)

Three months after the Sochi Games, Bryan made his Carnegie Hall solo debut with the National Festival Chorus.  Since then, he has appeared as a soloist and in recital on many of the world’s storied stages – including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, The Sydney Opera House, and St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna – with performances across Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.

In 2014, Bryan was offered a tenure-track faculty position at Kansas State University and earned tenure as an Associate Professor in 2020. Named Director of the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance in 2022, he has led record growth – nearly doubling enrollment in three years and making the School on of the largest and fastest growing units on campus-while launching new degrees and certificates in Music Business, Sacred Music Studies, and Popular Music Studies, and forging partnerships across the performing-arts industries.  Passionate about expanding access to arts education in Kansas, he serves as Administrative Director for the Master Teacher Institute for the Arts, which provides free summer music education for high school students; founded the Kansas City Vocal Institute, which delivered thousands of free lessons; and founded K-State’s newly endowed Sawin Arts Extension in Kansas, which held its debut event in Great Bend in 2023 and now provides free, statewide access to arts education, therapy, and support services.

Along the way, he has been recognized as the Topeka Capital-Journal’s Distinguished Kansas of the Year in Performing Arts, a National Quarterfinalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award, and a winner of The American Prize in Vocal Performance.

From GBHS Madrigals to global stages and productions, Bryan Pinkall’s career reflects the values he learned at home and at Great Bend High School – hard work, service, and a deep love of music and community – shared generously with audiences and students alike.

Bryan and his husband, Patrick Dittamo, a Topeka native, former U.S. Army captain, and doctoral fellow in musicology at the University of Chicago reside in Manhattan, KS, where they share a love of learning, supporting local arts organizations, and take joy in their growing collection of musical instruments.