Enhanced by stunning artistic projections and accompanied by a professional orchestra, this performance showcases Haydn’s Paukenmesse (Mass in Time of War). This piece is a breathtaking work that journeys through a season of beauty and goodness disrupted by darkness and confusion. The first half of the concert will highlight the National Youth Chorus on a program of shorter works. Centered around the theme of “The Light Within”, which was inspired by the Nido Qubein quote, “Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start”.

JULIE YU, GUEST CONDUCTOR

Dr. Julie Yu (She/Her/Hers) is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University and the Artistic Director of Canterbury Voices, Oklahoma’s premier symphony chorus.

She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Central Oklahoma, Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Oklahoma State University, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of North Texas. Before joining OCU and Canterbury Voices, she taught at Norman North High School in Oklahoma, San José State University, and Kansas State University.

She has given presentations, conducted, and/or her choirs have performed for state and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, and the European Music Educators Association. She is the past president of the Southwestern Region of the American Choral Directors Association and served as an International Conducting Exchange Fellow to Kenya in 2019. 

Her favorite area of research and performance is working as a guest clinician/conductor for various honor choirs and professional organizations.

CAROLYN CRUSE, GUEST CONDUCTOR

Dr. Carolyn Cruse brings a passion for fostering vocal development and musical artistry in singers-musicians of all ages and expertise in collaboration and artistic vision in multiple settings. The 2024-2025 season is her third with the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio after a 14-year tenure at Texas Tech University as Associate Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music Education. Dr. Cruse has served as a clinician/conductor and festival adjudicator throughout the United States and in Canada, Finland, Italy, and Kenya. She currently serves as Acting President of the Texas Choral Directors Association (TCDA). As a performer, she is a founding member of mirabai (nationally project-based) and Alegría (San Antonio), professional-level women’s choral ensembles dedicated to enhancing artistic expectations of women’s choral singing.

Before her appointment at Texas Tech, Dr. Cruse served as a choral conductor-teacher in both middle and high schools in Richardson and Plano ISDs. Her education includes a Ph.D. in Music Education from Michigan State University, a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas. She and her husband Rob enjoy exploring the San Antonio area, movies, 80’s music, and cheering on the Detroit Lions.

ANDREA RAMSEY, GUEST CONDUCTOR

Dr. Andrea Ramsey enjoys an international presence as a composer, conductor, scholar, and music educator. Her teaching experiences range from work with adolescent and children’s voices to high school and collegiate voices. She enjoys regular opportunities to conduct all-state and divisional level honor choirs, festival events at Carnegie Hall, and served as a principal conductor for the Pacific International Young Women’s Choral Festival in Eugene, Oregon and conducted the National ACDA Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir in 2023. Before leaping into full time composing and guest conducting, Andrea held positions in music education and conducting at The Ohio State University and the University of Colorado, respectively.

An ASCAP Plus award-winning composer, Andrea believes strongly in the creation of new works. Her compositions are available with traditional publishers and also through MusicSpoke, a digital sheetmusic marketplace. She enjoys residency collaborations with ensembles and festival choirs, some of which have included: the University of Oregon, the Allegro Choirs of Kansas City, and the Crescent City Choral Festival in New Orleans.

As a scholar, she has presented for state, divisional, and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, the 6th Annual Symposium on Sociology in Music Education, as well as The Phenomenon Singing Symposium in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. She has co-authored articles published in the Choral Journal, as well as the Journal of Research in Music Education. A native of Arkansas, she has experienced in her own life the power of music to provide a sense of community, better understanding of our humanity, and rich opportunities for self-discovery.

PROGRAM

Saturday June 14, 2025 at 8:00 PM
CARNEGIE HALL

National Masterwork Chorus 
HAYDN PAUKENMESSE (MASS IN TIME OF WAR)
Julie Yu, Guest Conductor

National Youth Chorus 
Carolyn Cruse, Guest Conductor
Andrea Ramsey, Guest Conductor/Composer
DILWORTH Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around
LABARR Where the Light Begins
RAMSEY Hope Lingers On
SABELO Sikirileke/Koloi
FOX Journey On
RAMSEY We Cannot Keep From Singing