Artistic Directors

TERRY CRULL

Dr. Terry Crull is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Fort Hays State University in Hays, KS. His duties include conducting Fort Hays Singers, Concert Choir, Women’s Chorale, and Smoky Hill Chorale. He is music director of the Fall Musical, serves as chorus master for FHSU Opera, supervises choral student teachers, and teaches courses in choral conducting, choral music education, aural skills, group voice, and music appreciation. He holds professional membership in ACDA, KCDA, NAfME, & KMEA.

2022-2023 marks the eighteenth year Dr. Crull has been at FHSU. In those years, an FHSU choir has been selected to perform at the KMEA Workshop nine times. Fort Hays Singers also tours regularly within the five-state region. Recent tours have been to and from Estes Park, CO, Branson, MO, Oklahoma City, OK, and Kansas/Nebraska. More extended tours have been to Taiwan in May of 2007, Austria in June of 2018, and to Hawaii in December 2021, where the Fort Hays Singers represented the 5-state region at the 80th anniversary commemoration ceremonies of the attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th, 1941.

Dr. Crull has conducted both MS and HS Honor Choirs for nearly all of the Kansas districts statewide, and numerous league vocal clinics in Western Kansas. He has also conducted choral festivals in California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, and has presented numerous clinics for choral musicians. Dr. Crull has conducted numerous church choirs, and has been actor, musical director, conductor, producer, or stage director for 100+ musical theater productions.

Dr. Crull has degrees in choral music education from the University of Northern Colorado (D.A.), the University of South Dakota (M.M.), and Dordt University (B.A.). His 43-year career in teaching has included Ontario Christian School (grades 5-8), Ontario, California; Unity Christian HS, Orange City, Iowa; Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, SD; the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO; and Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS.

JO-MICHAEL SCHEIBE

Jo-Michael Scheibe chaired the Department of Choral and Sacred Music at the USC Thornton School of Music from 2008 to 2020 and continued to teach and conduct as a full-time professor in the department until the end of December 2022, and awarded the title Professor Emeritus of Choral Music. Scheibe served as National President of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) (2011-2013), Western Division President (1991-1993), and National Repertoire and Standards Chairperson for Community Colleges (1980-1989). He served as a member of the board of the International Federation for Choral Music (2020-2023).

Ensembles under his leadership sang at seven national ACDA conventions, two national conventions of the National Association for Music Education (formerly MENC), the National Conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, and the World Choral Symposium in South Korea. He remains professionally active as a conductor and teacher.

Scheibe collaborated with Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras, the Rolling Stones, Sir Elton John, the Eagles, and Kenny Loggins and has prepared choruses for Helmuth Rilling, Sir Colin Davis, Michael Tilson Thomas, James Judd, Carl St. Clair, Jeffrey Kahane, and Jamie Martin. Recordings of his ensembles are available on the Albany, Cane, Centaur, NAXOS, Arsis, and ANS labels.

Music publishers Walton, Colla Voce, Hal Leonard, Santa Barbara Music, and Pavane distribute the Jo-Michael Scheibe Choral Series internationally. Scheibe was the editor and co-authored Teaching Music Through Performance – Choir Volume 4 and Teaching Music Through Performance – Choir Volume 5.

In April of 2023, Scheibe was named one of the fourteen US Fulbright Scholars in Ireland for 2023-2024. His home base was north of Dublin, in Balbriggan, at the Irish Institute for Music and Song for Fall 2023. He conducted the IIMS Chamber Choir at the Institute, Còr Fingal, and taught a Conducting Course. During the Fall of 2023, Scheibe was active throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland, working with ensembles of all levels, lecturing, and visiting choirs throughout Ireland. Jo-Michael Scheibe received his DMA from USC (1985) and earned his BA and MM degrees from California State University at Long Beach, where he was named a Distinguished Graduate.