Dr. Sebastian Buhts
Sebastian Buhts is a percussionist and conductor based in St. Louis, MO. As Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Lindenwood University, Sebastian conducts the Wind Ensemble, Marching Band, Percussion Ensemble, and teaches courses on conducting and Applied Percussion. Sebastian also serves on the percussion faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, where he lectures on North Indian tabla drumming.
Adam Donohue
Professor Adam Donohue received his Bachelor of Music from Berklee College of Music in Boston. He then began an eight-year tenure as a musical director in the cruise line industry, after which he went on to earn a Master of Arts in music from Washington State University with an emphasis in jazz composition and saxophone.
Pamela Grooms
Pamela Grooms has been an active music educator since 1986. She presently serves as professor of choral music education, professor of piano, and music director for all musical theatre productions at Lindenwood University.
Adjunct Faculty
- Keely O’Hara Abeln – Private French Horn
- Leslie Allnatt, DMA – History of Western Music I and II, Private Voice, Vocal Pedagogy and Literature – Dr. Leslie Allnatt is an adjunct professor at Lindenwood University where she teaches applied voice and music history. She has previously taught at the University of Louisville and at the University of Iowa as well as maintaining a private voice studio. Dr. Allnatt has performed in choirs and operas in the United States, Austria, Poland, and England.
- Bob Baker – Guerilla Music Marketing, Case Studies in the Music Industry – Bob Baker is an author, speaker, musician, and former music magazine editor dedicated to showing musicians of all kinds how to get exposure, connect with fans, sell more music, and increase their incomes through their artistic passions. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook and created the Music Marketing 101 course for Berklee Online. He is one of the most widely recognized authorities on music marketing and has been called the “Godfather of Independent Music Marketing”.
- Sebastian Buhts, DMA – Private Percussion, Percussion Ensemble, Lion Pride Drumline – Sebastian Buhts is a solo, chamber, and orchestral percussionist based in St. Louis, MO. He currently teaches percussion at Lindenwood University and has appeared as a recitalist and clinician throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Sebastian enjoys collaborating with chamber ensembles and composers to foster new music. Sebastian is a proud artist endorser for Marimba One and Black Swamp Percussion instruments.
- Ryan Curtis, EdD – Private Tuba, graduate courses in Master of Music Education – Dr. Ryan Curtis received a Bachelor of Science in Education from Missouri State University, a Master of Music Education from the University of Missouri–St. Louis, and a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Instructional Leadership from Lindenwood University.
- Justin DiCenzo – Private Bass Guitar, Modern Music Ensemble, Improvisation – Justin DiCenzo is a bassist, producer, and music technician who works on film/tv soundtracks, and video games. Justin spent 10+ years honing his craft and skills in Los Angeles with the film/tv industry around composers David Schwartz, Gabriel Mann, Ludwig Goransson, Freddy Scott, and Michael Abels. Credits include second engineering for Lady Gaga, Robin Thicke, Bloodpop, a studio build and tech for Snoop Dogg and DJ Pooh, and engineering for Anderson Paak, Miguel Atwood-Furgeson, Ronnie Laws, Thomas Chase, David Schwartz, and Clayton Studios.
- Cara Dineen – Private Jazz and Contemporary Voice – American jazz and contemporary vocalist Cara Dineen performed extensively throughout the NYC-metro area from 2012-2020, as solo vocalist, founder, band manager, booking agent, and musical/creative director for her bands: BELLATONIC (jazz/pop), The Brooklyn Sugar Stompers (traditional jazz & blues 1920’s-1930’s), and her original music project ANAAM. Under this moniker, Ms. Dineen creates solo-vocal improvisations with a loop/effects pedal and writes multi-layered electro-acoustic voice compositions.
- Shawn Harrel – Instrumental and Choral Composition and Arranging – Shawn Harrel is a multi-talented digital media technology educator with a wide range of experiences in education, audio/video production, instrumental music, composition & arranging, and radio. Mr. Harrel is an adjunct professor at Lindenwood, an Ed. D. student in instructional design and performance technology at Baker University, and a part-time announcer at KCUR 89.3 FM, NPR in Kansas City.
- Rebecca Hill – Music in America, Private Clarinet, Woodwind Techniques – Rebecca Hill is an active freelance musician and music educator in the St. Louis area. She is 2nd clarinet for the Paducah (KY) Symphony Orchestra and performs with many recognized ensembles in St. Louis. As an educator, she teaches clarinet, saxophone, and piano lessons, in addition to music appreciation and American popular music.
- Stephanie Hunt – Private Cello – Stephanie Hunt has gained international recognition as a performer on both the cello and the baroque cello. In addition to teaching at Lindenwood and the Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville Suzuki program, she performs with the Perseid String Quartet, Chamber Project St. Louis, and La Petite Brise, an early music ensemble.
- Wendy Hymes, DMA – Private Flute – Wendy Hymes is known to exert definitive interpretations of standard repertoire from the Baroque era to modern composers. She sets the pace in intercultural music, especially non-European composers from Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, having been a featured soloist at the Compositions in Africa & the Diaspora symposia and the Festival of African & African American Music., now Intercultural Music Initiative Festival. Dr. Hymes has performed with the St. Louis Philharmonic, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Union Avenue Opera, and has collaborated with numerous chamber groups with violinist Rachel Barton Pine, harpists Amy Camie and Elisabeth Chardonnet, and the late organist Dr. Lucius Weathersby, with whom she collaborated on the album, Spiritual Fantasy (Albany Records).
- Christopher Jackson – Private Bassoon – Staff Sergeant Christopher Jackson is a bassoonist with United States Air Force. Sergeant Jackson is a native of Atlanta, GA. Prior to enlisting in the Air Force, Sergeant Jackson received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music and University of Memphis, respectively.
- Darcie Johnson – Class Voice, Private Voice – Darcie Johnson has been an active performer and teacher in the St. Louis since 2008. She is Soprano I section leader for Bach Society of St. Louis and The Church of St. Michael and St. George. She has also been a featured soloist with Bach Society, the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, and Manchester United Methodist Church.
- Ken Kehner – Private Jazz Piano – Ken Kehner holds a degree in Piano Performance from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. He has backed such noted artists as Bill Watrous, Bobby Shew, Buddy DeFranco, Pete Christlieb, Eric Marienthal, Louie Bellson and Clark Terry. Ken is also a member of Elsie Parker’s group, the Poor People of Paris, and can be heard on that group’s CD entitled Live!
- Brett Kristofferson – Private Voice, Music Theory for Non-Majors
- Dr. Mihyun Lee - Piano
- Debbie Lennon – Jazz and Contemporary Voice – A member of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus for thirty-two seasons, Debby Lennon made her solo debut with the St. Louis Symphony
Orchestra in the 1992 Carnegie Hall premiere of William Bolcom's "Songs of Innocence and Experience." The Boston Globe called her "brassily irresistible." From 1992-1999, Ms. Lennon recorded and performed with the nationally known a cappella group "Pieces of 8" of which she was a founding member. Ms. Lennon is active in the St. Louis opera scene having performed in Winter Opera's 2012 production of La Boheme, and with Union Avenue Opera (UAO) in their productions of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera and Puccini's Madama Butterfly. She played Annina in La Traviata and Giovanna in Rigoletto directed by Tim Ocel, and Mrs. Mullen in Carousel directed by Ken Page at UAO. She made her Opera Theater of St. Louis debut in the ensemble of Dialogues of the Carmelites. - Bernard Long, Jr. – Private Drum Set – Bernard Long, Jr. is an accomplished jazz drum set artist, having performed with and directed several notable groups and toured with many recognized jazz musicians. He is currently the band director at Madison High School and is active throughout the community as a musician and an educator. Mr. Long is a Zildjian cymbals Education Artist.
- Cassandra Loy - Oboe
- Dr. Matthew Pace - Music Theory
- Jessica Platt, DA – Orchestra, Private Violin/Viola, String Ensemble - Dr. Platt holds undergraduate, masters, and doctorate degrees in Violin Performance from Boston University and Ball State University, with a minor in Vocal Performance. She has performed in orchestras across the United States and Europe. Currently, she is the concertmaster of the Saint Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gateway Festival Orchestra, and the Edwardsville Symphony.
- Mathew von Doran – Private Guitar, Guitar Ensemble – Matthew Von Doran’s career highlights include the release of his acclaimed modern jazz album of original compositions, In This Present Moment, featuring Jimmy Haslip, Peter Erskine, Larry Goldings, Bob Sheppard, James Genus, Terri Lyne Carrington, (and more) as well as a world tour with La Quinta Estacion, winner of the 2010 Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album, and has recorded with numerous artists. Von Doran is the creator of The 99 Decisions Guitar Program, a comprehensive online instructional video course and served as ten years as an instructor at the Grammy Foundation’s Summer Music Camp in Los Angeles, California.
