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The Heartland
Vocal Camp
Faculty 2008
 Deke
Sharon
Deke
Sharon will be teaching sessions in directing, managing and arranging for
collegiate a cappella groups. Founder of the acclaimed San Francisco vocal band
The House Jacks, Deke is called "a one man a cappella revolution" by the Boston
Globe, and “the voice of a cappella music” by Songwriters Monthly. He also
founded the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America, an international force
in vocal music. He has directed Disneyworld’s American Vybe and LA’s Vybration
(formerly Disney’s Groove 66). He has done over 1,000 custom arrangements and
produces a cappella recordings for college and pro groups around the world. More
info is at www.totalvocal.com.
InPulse
The members of
the acclaimed pro a cappella group InPulse serve as artists in residence for the
entire week of the camp. All camp participants get to work with InPulse members
Matt McDonald, Gabe Koxlein, Hershel Webster, Marcus Hanson and Steve Howe in sessions in solo
and ensemble performance techniques, vocal percussion, and music business. InPulse will teach sessions on healthy vocal techniques for singing in pop
styles. InPulse members are classically trained singers and alums of the St.
Olaf Choir. You can meet the band in detail at
www.inpmusic.com.
Matt McDonald
baritone |
Gabe Koxlien
tenor |
Steve Howe
vocal drums |
Hershel Webster
bass |
Marcus Hansen
manager / bass |
 Justin
Binek
Justin Binek is
the Director of Vocal Jazz Studies at
The
University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, where he directs the UArts Jazz
Singers, teaches Jazz History, Jazz Improvisation, Musicianship, and Applied
Voice, and serves as an accompanist and vocal coach. Additionally, he maintains
an active jazz and classical performing schedule as a singer, pianist, steel
pannist, and saxophonist, as well as being a frequent adjudicator and guest
performer at premiere jazz festivals. Justin is a member of The Voices of the
POPS, the twelve-voice professional ensemble affiliated with Peter Nero and the
Philly POPS Orchestra. He is also an active arranger and composer whose works
are performed by ensembles across the country.
He has spent the past six years as a partner in the
Heartland Vocal Camp in Tiffin, OH, and also served as a show choir and vocal
jazz clinician for the International Music Camp in Dunseith, ND, for nine
years. Prior to joining the UArts faculty, Justin was the Director of Vocal
Ensembles at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. He holds degrees in Music
Education and Music Performance from the University of Mary, and an MM in Jazz
Studies from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI, where he was the
Assistant Director of the award-winning vocal jazz ensemble “Gold Company” and
received two DownBeat Student Music Awards. Justin is a contributing
author to Diana Spradling’s new book, Jazz Singing: Artistry and Craft.
Justin and his wife, Claire, who is also a professional singer and a voice
teacher at The University of the Arts, live in Philadelphia. More info at
www.justinbinek.com.
Brad Rees
Brad Rees serves as Director
of Performing Arts at
Tiffin
University, where he directs the award-winning a cappella ensemble
Up in the Air.
Brad has served on the music faculty at Bowling Green State University, was the
Assistant Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Northern Colorado, and
was on the commercial music faculty at the School for Music Vocations in Iowa.
His choirs have appeared at the Salzburg Music Festival in Austria, at the
United Nations in New York and Geneva, and on tour in the Republic of China,
Europe and South Africa. His ensembles have also performed on a variety of
television broadcasts, including Robert Schuller's "Hour of Power," and on an
annual CBS Christmas broadcast. His own performing credits include appearances
with Joe Williams, Bobby McFerrin's Voicestra, George Shearing, the New York
Voices, African gospel artist Rebecca Malope, and others. He sang with the
Grammy-nominated vocal jazz quintet, The Axidentals, with Phil Mattson's Voices,
and in residence at the Smithsonian Institution. Brad holds a Master of Music
degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado, degrees in
music and public relations from George Mason University in Virginia, and is
pursuing a doctorate at Boston University. His
compositions and arrangements are available through UNC Jazz Press. Brad
is an avid Red Sox fan, and lives in Tiffin,
Ohio, with his wife, Ali, son Noah, and daughter Brynn.
Chris Venesile
Chris Venesile serves as Director of
Choral Activities at North Olmsted High School in North Olmsted, Ohio. His vocal
jazz ensemble Special Edition is one of the leading high school vocal jazz
groups in the region, and appears regularly at jazz festivals throughout the
Midwest. The group performed at the 1997, 2001, and 2005 OMEA conferences, and
at the 2002 IAJE conference in Long Beach. He holds a BME degree from The Ohio
State University, and an MM in Choral Studies from Cleveland State University.
He is a doctoral candidate at Case Western Reserve University, and serves as
coordinator of the vocal jazz curriculum at Cuyahoga Community College, and on
the Board of Directors of the the International Association of Jazz Educators
Ohio chapter and the Ohio Choral Directors Association.
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