Craig Courtney

Conductor

Internationally known composer, Craig Courtney, is native of Indiana and began playing the piano at the age of 3 and the cello at the age of 11. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati, studying piano under Raymond Dudley and chamber music under Walter Levin of the LaSalle Quartet. During that time, he was a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda Honorary Music Society.

Following a three-year stay in Milan, Italy, where Courtney studied the piano with Illonka Deckers, performed for the Associazione Musicale “Gustav Mahler,” and worked extensively as a vocal coach, he was invited to join the music faculty of the famed Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, serving as piano teacher and accompanist for the woodwind and brass department.

It was during this six-year period, while serving in the music ministry of the Salzburg International Baptist Church, that Courtney began directing a church choir and composing sacred choral music, due to the unavailability of English language music. In 1985, his compositions came to the attention of John Ness Beck through the publication of his octavo, Thy Will Be Done, initiating a close working relationship be-tween the two men that continued until Beck’s death in 1987. In making plans for the ongoing of Beckenhorst Press, Beck appointed Craig Courtney to assume his responsibilities as staff composer and editor.At this point in time, Courtney’s published works include more than 400 choral octavos, nine vocal collections, three piano solo collections and seven extended works for choir and orchestra. His music is performed world-wide and has been translated into several foreign languages. He has been a frequent recipient of ASCAP achievement awards and his composition, Peace I Give to You, was awarded first place in the 2003 John Ness Beck Foundation competition. He is also in demand throughout the world as a choral clinician and featured composer.

John McClain

Conductor

John M. McClain is the Director of Music and Worship at First Presbyterian Church in Lancaster, Ohio, an active professional singer, and clinician for soloists (pop, musical theatre, and classical) and choral ensembles. As a proud graduate of Capital University, he sang in the Capital University Chapel Choir, Philomel – under the direction of Dr. Lynda Hasseler, and Chordsmen – under the direction of Mr. Craig Courtney. He acted as a tenor section leader and soloist in those ensembles. Choirs under John’s direction have toured domestically, sung at state professional development conferences and Carnegie Hall, and produced professional-level major works with orchestra—most recently Elaine Hagenburg’s Illuminare. Passionate about high-quality musical theatre as well, John is proud to have produced, music directed, and conducted several shows including Mary Poppins, Into the Woods, Next to Normal, Shrek, Footloose, and Grease. John is regularly heard on professional choral music recordings from Beckenhorst Press produced by Aire Born Studios, as a soloist and choral scholar with Deo Cantamus of Minneapolis, MN, and in the Choral Union at Capital University. Some highlights of John’s solo ventures include performing the Star Spangled Banner for former President Barack Obama, singing as soloist in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, and various venues throughout Europe. As an educator, John was recognized as the Ohio Music Education Association Outstanding Young Music Educator Award for 2022.  He considers himself extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to make music every day, as his job, with the best people in the world.

The Rev. Dr. Derek C. Weber

Chaplain

Born and raised in Indiana, Dr. Weber has a BA in Speech and Theatre from the University of Indianapolis, a Master of Theology, (MTh) from Perkins School of Theology, Dallas, TX and a Ph.D. in preaching and communication from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

An ordained United Methodist Elder, Derek has served churches, from small to large, in Indiana, Arkansas, and the UK. As of July 1, 2019, Derek was named Director of Preaching Ministries with Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church in Nashville Tennessee.

Derek is married to La Donna Riddle Weber and they are parents to their now adult children Rhys Edmund Myung-hoon Weber and Madeleine Marie Min-hee Weber. 

Susan Blaese

Orchestra Conductor

Susan Blaese is in her tenth year as adjunct faculty at Elmhurst University, IL, where she conducts Varsity Strings, supervises student teachers, coaches chamber ensembles and teaches private lessons for the Community Music Program. Ms. Blaese taught for 33 years in School District 23, Prospect Heights, Illinois from 1980-2013. She is an active guest conductor and clinician for workshops and festivals throughout the Midwest region. Susan Blaese received her bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studied violin with Virginia Farmer and Paul Rolland. She holds a master’s degree in Educational Administration and Supervision, also from the U of I. Ms. Blaese was named Outstanding School Orchestra Director of the Year (2001) by the Illinois American String Teachers Association (ASTA), and she received the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award given by Quinlan and Fabish Music Company (2009). She has served as the orchestra director many years at the Epworth Music and Worship Retreat, and 2024 will be her 49th year attending the camp! As a violinist, she was a member of the Dubuque Symphony (Iowa) from 1980- 2001 and is currently performing with the Harper Symphony in Palatine, IL.