Garrett Breeze (Vocals/Finals) is a Nashville-based composer best known for his catalog of more than 1,500 choral arrangements of popular music, including more than 1,000 written for competitive show choir.

He has worn many hats during his career as a freelance orchestrator and music preparer including work on 11 large-format films, Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir, video games such as World of Warcraft and Overwatch, and artists such as Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jordan Smith, Kristin Chenoweth, Michael W. Smith, Santino Fontana, Sutton Foster, and Tauren Wells. 

His original production music has been used in commercial spots on all the major television networks and in shows such as Access Hollywood, Judge Judy, Lego Masters, and NOVA.

In 2022 he ventured into podcasting with his show Selling Sheet Music, which quickly became a leading voice in the publishing industry.

Garrett holds a bachelor’s degree in Media Music from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in Commercial Composition and Arranging from Belmont University. 

Visit garrettbreeze.com for more information or to book Garrett for a commission or other event.

Dina Else (Saturday Critique) is a highly sought after vocal technician/specialist, choral clinician, motivational speaker and adjudicator through the United States. She is a published author and columnist, as well as a highly regarded voice teacher headed into her 43rd year of teaching privately.

Dina has 17 years of high school choral classroom experience and 10 years at the collegiate level including; Ithaca College, Wartburg College, Drake University, University of Northern Iowa and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She received her Bachelor and Masters Degrees from the University of Northern Iowa and has completed her doctoral coursework in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

She continues to dedicate her career to empowering singers through a thorough knowledge of the mechanics of their instrument, as well as an understanding of the mental skills necessary to perform with impact and live life to the fullest!

Ellie Jordan (Visuals/Finals) is a highly regarded freelance choreographer based in Chicago, Illinois, and a standout figure in the world of dance and performing arts. Ellie laid the foundation for her career at Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. Her mastery includes a wide variety of dance disciplines, encompassing Jazz, Ballet, Modern, Tap, and Hip-Hop, blending her technical skills and artistic finesse.

Beyond show choir, Ellie's choreography has been seen at Six Flags Great America and numerous theatrical productions, including Singin' in the Rain, The Little Mermaid, Phantom of the Opera, Godspell, and West Side Story. Ellie was a member and part of the creative team for the Hip-Hop ConneXion-Michigan Dance Company. Her versatility shines through in these various artistic ventures.

Ellie's contribution to the show choir art form has been honored with the FAME Aspire award. She further shares her expertise as a clinician and executive adviser at Showchoir Camps of America during the summer, where she loves to inspire the next generation of performers, directors, and choreographers. Ellie maintains a busy schedule choreographing for multiple award-winning high school and middle school show choirs nationwide. She is grateful for her roles as an adjudicator and clinician at various show choir competitions and All State Festivals throughout the year.

Shanna Luckett (Vocals/Finals) is in her 15 th year as the Director of Choirs at Petal High School in Petal, MS and on her 23 rd year of teaching. As the director of the award-winning Petal Soundsations Mixed Show Choir, the Petal Innovations Women’s Show Choir, and assisting the Petal Women’s Ensemble, Shanna Luckett has reestablished the program (from the Gail McInnis years) winning a plethora of Grand Champion awards, as well as Best Vocals, Best Visuals, and Overall Show Design captions. In 2022, she received the Allen & Sandra Chapman Outstanding Director of the Year award for Show Choir Nationals at the Grand Ole Opry. 

Mrs. Luckett graduated from Clinton High School where she was a member of the Attache’ Show Choir and the Clinton High School Color Guard for the Marching Band and Concert Bands. She received her Bachelors and Masters of Music Education: Vocal Emphasis at the University of Southern Mississippi. She is married to her amazing husband, Jason, for 20 years and they have one handsome son, Caleb, who is 14 years old and in 9 th grade at Petal High School and a member of Petal Soundsations Show Choir.

Grant Luther (Critique/Finals) is a freelance choreographer based out of Des Moines, IA. His show choir groups have garnered multiple awards including Grand Champion, Best Choreography, as well as multiple top 5 finishes. His work beyond the show choir stage ranges from professional theatre productions to national TV specials.

A graduate of Iowa State University, Grant holds multiple degrees in Music and Marketing. He was also the founder and director of the first ever Iowa State Alumni Choir. At Iowa State Grant studied under associate professor of music, Mary Creswell, director of choral activities, Dr. James Rodde, and internationally acclaimed opera singer, Simon Estes. Prior to Iowa State University, he attended Waukee High School, where he was actively involved in the vocal music department under the direction of Dr. Ryan Beeken, Dr. Amy Vorhees, Ben Walters, Matt Huth, and Laura Engels.

Upon graduation from Waukee, Grant started the Music in Motion Show Choir Camps. Currently in their 11th year of existence, the camps offer fundamental show choir skills for children grades 4-9.

Grant is no stranger to the stage. As an avid performer, Grant has been involved in multiple productions including: The Sound of Music, Into the Woods, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Beauty and the Beast, The Fiddler on the Roof, The Mikado, and Gianni Schicchi. Grant was also a proud performer and manager of the professional a cappella group, Shy of a Dozen, which under his direction had performed around the state of Iowa, the Midwest, and was featured on PBS’ DooWop Generations. In addition to Shy of a Dozen, Grant has also performed multiple years with the Des Moines Choral Society.

Grace Pacheco (Visuals/Finals) is a freelance choreographer and dance educator based out of Indianapolis, Indiana. She is an alumna of the Franklin Central FC Singers. Grace graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Fitness and Wellness. While at IU, Grace was a member of the RedStepper Dance Team and received the Rookie of the Year award. She has had the pleasure of choreographing for a large variety of show choirs across the country. Grace prides herself in teaching her students many different dance styles, technique, and confidence! She hopes to have a positive impact in the show choir community. Grace is excited to be here today and can’t wait to see what the groups have in store!

Brent Peterson (Critique/Finals) completed 33 years of directing choirs in Iowa, and retired in May of 2024 as a Vocal Music Director in the Waukee Community School District, most recently at Waukee Timberline.  In addition to his work with the choirs in Waukee, he was also a volleyball coach and track coach in the district, and was named the Iowa Association of Track Coaches Junior High Track Coach of the Year in 2015.  Brent was the conductor for the Bass Clef OPUS Honor Choir in 2006, and has also received the WOI Channel 5 “My Favorite Teacher” award.

Mr. P., as he is known at Waukee, graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 1991 with a B.S. Ed. in Vocal Music Education.  In 1999 he completed a Master of Arts in Effective Teaching degree from Viterbo University, where he has also served as an adjunct professor. When not working with students at Waukee, Brent is an active guest director, show choir clinician and judge, accompanist,  IHSMA All-State Choir Lead Auditor, IAAE/ICDA Mentor, and speaker around the Midwest.  He is married to Anne Peterson, an Elementary Music Teacher at Eason Elementary in Waukee, and proud Dad to 17 year old Joel Peterson, a Senior at Waukee High School.  When not working, the family loves to travel to Florida, golf, and enjoy boating at their lake home on Sun Valley Lake.  In retirement, Brent hopes to do all of these things even more frequently, especially watching Joel’s senior year activities and judging/critiquing/accompanying ensembles around the state wherever he is invited!

Mike Berg Raunick (Vocals/Finals) is a graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and holds a master’s degree from Butler University in Educational Leadership.  Mike was the Director of Choirs at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana from 2013-2024. Under his leadership, the choir program at North Central continued a tradition of excellence that included 10 choirs and over 300 students. During his time at North Central, the choirs won 8 state show choir championships and 3 state concert choir championships.  In 2018, North Central’s most advanced choir, the Counterpoints, was named Show Choir Nationals Grand Champion.

In his current professional role, Mike is the Managing Director for Summer Stock Stage, a community and regional professional theatre company operating at the Butler Arts and Events Center in midtown Indianapolis.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mike co-founded Riverbend Production Company, a virtual performance company.  During the 2020-2021 school year, the company created over 200 virtual performance videos for choirs, orchestras, bands, and theatre companies across the United States and Canada.

Mike is also an active composer and arranger.  His arrangements and compositions for show choir and concert choir have been performed by choirs throughout the United States. He also wrote the book and score for an original musical titled Welcome to College that was performed for over ten years as part of orientation programming at Indiana University – Bloomington.

Mike lives in Indianapolis with his wife Cara and daughter Ruth.

Drake Van Roekel (Saturday Bands) is in his eighth year of teaching and first year serving as a band director at Waukee High School in Waukee, Iowa.  He previously taught four years as the 6-12 band director for the West Marshall Community School District and three years as the Director of Bands at Winterset High School  Mr. Van Roekel is the director of the Waukee High School Concert Band, Jazz One, Clarinet Choir, and co-directs the Waukee Warrior Regiment.

Bands under Mr. Van Roekel’s direction have consistently received Division I ratings at their respective Iowa High School Music Association contests. The Winterset Wind Ensemble was selected as the 3A Honor Band for the 2022 IBA Conference.  In addition to his responsibilities at Waukee, he is an active member of IBA, SCIBA, JEI, and serves as the SCIBA High School Honor Band Co-Chair and IBA Equipment Co-Chair.  Mr. Van Roekel is originally from Polk City, Iowa and graduated from North Polk High School in 2013.  Mr. Van Roekel graduated summa cum laude from Iowa State University with a Bachelors in Music Education in 2017.  In his free time, Mr. Van Roekel loves to spend time with his wife Laura and 2 year old daughter Selah, go outdoors, read, and enjoy music.

John Stafford II (Jazz Choir Clinician) is Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities, and Coordinator of the Music Department at Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC). Among his current professional activities, Professor Stafford currently serves as the National Repertoire and Resources Vocal Jazz Chair of the American Choral Directors Association. He also wrote a chapter in the book, “Rehearsing The Vocal Jazz Ensemble”, published by GIA Publications. 

Professor Stafford is a nationally sought after clinician and presenter for vocal jazz and choral music. Recently, he directed the 2021 Iowa All-State Jazz Choir, which won a 2022 Downbeat Magazine Student Music performance award, and has directed All-State Vocal Jazz Ensembles in New York, Oklahoma, Missouri, Wyoming, Illinois and North Dakota. In June 2022, Professor Stafford gave his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall, giving the New York Premiere of Justin Binek’s “Missa Lucis” for choir and jazz ensemble. In November 2024, Stafford was received 3rd place for The American Prize Dale Warland Choral Conducting Award (in the small college/university category).

Professor Stafford was a 2015 recipient of the John & Suanne Roueche Excellence Award for outstanding teaching and was the 2020 recipient of the Henry Louis Award for Teaching Excellence at KCKCC.  He holds degrees from Millikin University (music business), Bowling Green State University (composition), and has done additional doctoral studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (choral conducting).

Professor Stafford directs, The Standard, the award-winning contemporary vocal jazz ensemble from Kansas City Kansas Community College. They have been invited to perform at the national conferences of the Jazz Education Network, the American Choral Directors Association, and the National Association for Music Education. They have also been selected to perform at the Southwestern Divisional Conference of the American Choral Directors Association, Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop, and the New York City Jazz Festival at Jazz at the Lincoln Center and has received a number #1 rating at the University of Northern Colorado/Greeley Jazz Festival. 

Within the past eight years, The Standard has earned 13 DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards for Outstanding Performance in the Large Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Blues/Pop/Rock and Latin Jazz Ensemble categories. Two of those DownBeat awards included being the 2020 Community College Co-Winner for Blues/Pop/Rock and Large Vocal Jazz Ensemble. The ensemble has released two studio albums and will release their third, Rain, later in 2025. The group has shared the stage with such highly acclaimed artists as Take 6, The New York Voices, m-pact, säje, Sweet Honey On The Rock, and Carmen Bradford.

David von Kampen (Jazz Choir Clinician) is a composer from Lincoln, Nebraska. David’s creative work spans a wide variety of genres and styles, including jazz, choral music, hymnody and liturgy, solo voice, chamber music, and musical theater. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Kansas, and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Nebraska. He has studied composition with James Barnes, Dan Gailey, Forrest Pierce, Eric Richards, and Randall Snyder.

David is a six-time Downbeat Award winner in graduate-level jazz writing categories, a three-time winner of the Vancouver Chamber Choir Young Composers Competition, and was named the MTNA Distinguished Composer of the Year for his song cycle "Under the Silver and Home Again." He has been among ten winners of the ORTUS International New Music Competition, the recipient of an ASCAP Young Jazz Composer award, winner of the San Francisco Choral Artists New Voices Project, winner of the National Band Association’s Young Jazz Composers Competition, and received Honorable Mention in the New York Youth Symphony First Music Commissions. Puddin’ and the Grumble, David’s original musical with playwright Becky Boesen, was one of seven finalists for the Richard Rodgers award.

David has over 80 choral and instrumental compositions and arrangements published with Walton Music, G. Schirmer, Hal Leonard, Concordia Publishing House, Pavane Publishing, UNC Jazz Press, Graphite, MusicSpoke, and others. His music has been performed by the Aeolians, KHORIKOS Vocal Ensemble, the L.A. Choral Lab, KC VITAs Chamber Choir, the Taiwan Youth Festival Chorus, San Francisco Choral Artists, the U.S. Army Blues Jazz Ensemble, the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and by collegiate, all-state, high school, and church ensembles throughout the United States and internationally.

David is a lecturer of music theory and literature at the University of Nebraska, where he teaches a variety of music courses and directs the award-winning UNL Jazz Singers. He also serves as Music Coordinator for Sanctuary Worship at Christ Lutheran Church in Lincoln. David is a member of ASCAP, the Jazz Education Network, and the American Choral Directors Association. He is active as a conductor and pianist, and as a clinician for vocal and instrumental ensembles. He lives in Lincoln with his wife Mollie and three daughters.