Biography coming soon

Timothy Banks received the Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Voice from this institution; the Master of Music and the Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting from the University of Colorado Boulder; additional study includes work at Yale University and a conducting internship with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. He is the conductor of the University Chorale. Dr. Banks has served as the Director of Choruses for the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and has conducted choral, orchestral, and musical theatre performances with many regional organizations. His international study and concert performance credits include work in England, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain and the People's Republic of China. Dr. Banks is a past Alabama state president of the American Choral Directors Association, and he serves as faculty advisor for the Samford student chapter of ACDA. He also serves as Minister of the Arts at the Southside Baptist Church. He is married to Wanda Alexander Banks, and they have two daughters, Allison and Abigail.

Bill Bugg received the Bachelor of Arts from Furman University, the Master of Church Music from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Memphis. Dr. Bugg holds membership in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Kappa Phi, the National Honor Society and is a former member of the Southern Baptist's Centurymen. He was selected in 1970 as one of the "Outstanding Young Men of America." Dr. Bugg has served as State Governor of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, as well as State President. He was a Metropolitan Opera regional finalist in 1970, and is listed in Who's Who in American Music: Classical. He has appeared with the Kentucky, Shreveport, Birmingham, Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Southern Regional Opera Companies. In April of 1986 he made his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall and returned to Carnegie Hall in April of 1988 to present his original work of Dr. Bartolo. In 1990, he sang with the New York Grand Opera. He is a five-time winner of Birmingham's OBELISK Award for Outstanding Vocal Performance and participates annually in the International Cathedral Music Festival held in England. In April of 1998, Dr. Bugg founded and now directs Alabama Operaworks, a regional opera company. In the summer of 1999 he sang for the consecration of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. Dr. Bugg is married to Virginia Finney Bugg; they have two daughters and two grandchildren.

Grant Dalton is the Instructor of Percussion Studies at Samford University where he directs the Samford Percussion Ensemble and Samford Steel, the university’s steel drum band. He is also the Assistant Athletic Band Director and teaches several academic courses. He is an extra percussionist with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, and he is the percussionist for the Birmingham Broadway Series and Broadway Across America. Before moving to Alabama he regularly performed with the Springfield (OH) Symphony, the Westerville (OH) Symphony, and the Dayton Philharmonic. He is a graduate of Lipscomb University, where he earned the degree Bachelor of Science in Instrumental Music Education, and of The Ohio State University, where he earned the degrees Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in percussion performance. He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, the College Music Society, and Pi Kappa Lambda. He is the vice-president of the Alabama chapter of the Percussive Arts Society, and regularly hosts the Alabama Day of Percussion. Dr. Dalton is also an endorser of Innovative Percussion Sticks and Mallets. His wife, Jennifer, is an English teacher at Vestavia Hills High School, and they have one son, Beckett. In his free time he enjoys traveling with his family and golfing.

After receiving the Bachelor of Music degree cum laude from the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts, Mr. Flaniken completed the Master of Music degree from Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. His teachers included Dorothy DeLay, Kurt Sassmansshaus, Masao Kawasaki and Hyo Kang. While in Cincinnati, Mr. Flaniken taught in the University of Cincinnati Preparatory Department, the Cincinnati School of Fine Arts and the Summer Musical Institute. A native of Kentucky, Mr. Flaniken began his professional career as a violinist in the Louisville Orchestra. He then held a position for eight years with the Alabama Symphony. He has performed and recorded with the Cincinnati and Atlanta symphonies. Mr. Flaniken spent many summers performing and teaching at music festivals, including Tanglewood and Aspen. Locally, Mr. Flaniken has performed on the Birmingham Chamber Music Society Concert Series, the Festival of Arts, Birmingham City Stages, Artburst and the Gerhart Chamber Music Festival. Mr. Flaniken enjoys playing chamber music with his wife, Angela M. Flaniken, a violist. They have three sons and are members of Faith Presbyterian Church.

Kathryn Fouse serves on the faculty of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama where she is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Piano Pedagogy and Class Piano. In addition to her commitment to education, she continues to maintain an active career as a virtuoso pianist and a professional accompanist as evidenced by recent appearances in such venues as Carnegie Hall and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She graduated cum laude from Baylor University with the Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and received the Master of Music degree in Piano from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the University of North Texas. Her major teachers include Eugenia O'Reilly, Dr. David Albee, and Dr. Ruth Slenczynska. Before joining Samford, Dr. Fouse served on the faculties of the University of North Texas ( Denton, TX); Texas Wesleyan University ( Fort Worth, TX); Collin County Community College ( Plano, TX); and Lon Morris College ( Jacksonville, TX). Dr. Fouse is currently the First Vice-President of the Alabama Music Teachers Association.

Having developed a strong interest in contemporary music, Dr. Fouse frequently presents lecture-recitals in an effort to bring greater understanding of this music to audiences. In 1992 Kathryn was the national recipient of the Merle Montgomery Doctoral Grant awarded by Mu Phi Epsilon for her research into the Surrealist movement and its influence on American composers. Her special interest in the study and performance of American piano music of the Twentieth Century has resulted in invitations to present her research in lecture-recitals at such prestigious institutions as the University of Illinois, Baylor University, the Dallas Art Museum, Gothenburg University ( Sweden) and the Norwegian State Academy of Music ( Oslo).

In addition to her solo performances, Dr. Fouse is in great demand as a professional accompanist. She has collaborated with such artists as Timofei Dokschidzer, Edward H. Tarr, David Bilger, Ronald Barron, James Thompson, Vincent diMartino, Leonard Candelaria, Andrei Ikov, Steven Mead, and Dale Underwood. She has served as staff accompanist for many international competitions and festivals including conferences of the International Trumpet Guild; the North American Saxophone Alliance; the European Trumpet Days; the Moscow International Trumpet Competition and Festival; and the prestigious ARD International Trumpet Competition in Munich, Germany. In 1996, Dr. Fouse was awarded the Marian Bowker Davidson Accompanying Award by Mu Phi Epsilon to travel to Saratov, Russia to participate in the first Vassily Brandt International Trumpet Solo Competition and Festival.

Jim Jensen obtained the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Pittsburg State University and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Florida State University. His composition teachers have included John Boda, Carlisle Floyd, and David Cope. He has written musical compositions in a variety of genres. He is a member of the International Clarinet Association, International Association of Jazz Educators, Board Member and past President of the Birmingham Chamber Music Society, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, American Federation of Musicians, Reserve Officers Association, Society of Composers, Inc., a founding member of the Birmingham Art Music Alliance (a consortium of local composers), and currently serves as Commander of the 313th United States Army Band. He is a member of St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Birmingham and is married to Diane Holladay Jensen. They have two children, 3 grandsons and a granddaughter.

A native of Tennessee, Sharon Leding Lawhon completed her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds the Master of Church Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in vocal performance from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. As a part of her doctoral studies, she pursued additional voice instruction at Indiana University, Bloomington with Virginia Zeani. During her graduate studies she was awarded the 1986 Outstanding Music Student award and the 1993 Jay W. Wilkey Vocal Artist of the Year award. She is listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, Outstanding Young Women in America, and most recently, Who's Who Among America's Outstanding Teachers. Lawhon is an active performer in solo recital, with choral and orchestral ensembles, and in oratorios and operas. Prior to coming to Samford in 1994, she taught on the voice faculties of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Kentucky Governor's School in Louisville, Kentucky, and Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, Indiana. She is a recurrent visiting professor at the Department of the Russian Evangelical Christian Baptists Union Bible College in Moscow, Russia, and for the Chinese Christian Church Music Institutes held in California, Canada, New York, and Kentucky. In addition, Lawhon has been Associate Minister of Music at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama, Minister of Music at Hermitage Hills Baptist Church, Nashville, Tennessee, Audubon Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky, and Associate Minister of Music at St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville. She currently serves on the Chorister's Guild Board, has published numerous articles, and is an active choral director, clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States. She is married to organist and church musician, Daniel E. Lawhon.

Moya Nordlund received both her Bachelor of Music in Music Education and the Master of Arts degree in Music Theory from the Eastman School of Music. She received her Doctor of Education in Music Education and Early Childhood Education from the University of Alabama. Dr. Nordlund has also earned a Licentiate from the Royal Schools of Music in London.

A native of Hong Kong, Dr. Nordlund was an adjunct instructor in Music Education at Samford from 1997-2001 and faculty member in the Music Preparatory Department at Samford from 1992-2002. She became a full-time member of the music faculty in 2001. Prior to her move to Birmingham, she was music specialist with the Rochester (New York) City School District, where she taught in the magnet School of the Arts and was involved with curriculum writing and school-based planning. Her professional interests include cognitive psychology in music learning and music instruction for preschool children. Dr. Nordlund is currently President of the Birmingham Music Teacher's Association and faculty advisor for the Samford chapter of CMENC (Collegiate Music Educators National Conference). She directs the children's choirs at Altadena Valley Presbyterian Church, where she is a member, and is sought after as a judge/adjudicator for piano competitions and as speaker in music workshops. She is currently exploring the possibility of joint-research with her physicist husband, Dr. Thomas Nordlund of UAB, in the effect of early childhood music education on a scientific mind manifested in High School and beyond. They have three children, Samuel, Sarah, and Annika.

Rebecca Remley received the Bachelor of Music degree in Theory/Composition from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and the Master of Music degree in composition from North Texas State University. She has also completed course requirements from the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from the latter institution. At Samford, she teaches theory and composition courses, private flute, music technology, and coaches the Samford Flute Ensemble. She is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota music fraternity, the National Flute Association, and ASCAP. She has had several music compositions published. She is married to Jon Remley, and they have one child, Lian. They are members of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church.

Paul Richardson holds degrees from Mars Hill College (Bachelor of Music) and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Master of Church Music, Doctor of Musical Arts). He has done post-doctoral studies at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester and at Colgate Rochester Divinity School/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminary. In the summer of 2000, he was Fellow in the Lilly Foundation Summer Seminar, "Christian Scholars and Academic Culture," at Mount Saint Mary's College.

Dr. Richardson joined the Samford faculty in 1995 after serving as Professor and Chair of Doctoral Studies in the School of Church Music at Southern Seminary. He is a past president of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada and a contributing editor to its journal, The Hymn. He has also been editor of the Southern Baptist Church Music Journal and Links, the newletter of the Worship Resources Network. He has published numerous book chapters, articles, and reviews and has recently completed a new edition of Erik Routley's A Panorama of Christian Hymnody. His professional memberships include the American, British, and European hymn societies, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and the Whitsitt Baptist Heritage Society. As a Samford faculty member, has been named to Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Pi Kappa Lambda.

Dr. Richardson is married to Susan Chapman Richardson, a librarian with the Birmingham Public Library and organist. They are the parents of Robert, a junior at Baylor University, and Rachel, a eighth-grader at The Alabama School of Fine Arts. The Richardsons are members of Vestavia Hills Baptist Church.

Randall Richardson obtained the Bachelor of Music degree from Samford University. He completed the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Louisiana State University. Dr. Richardson has performed with the Kansas City Lyric Opera, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Pensacola Opera Theater, Birmingham Civic Opera, Birmingham Savoyards, Missouri Repertory Theater, UAB Town and Gown Theater, Atlanta Ballet, Alabama Ballet, Northland Symphony, and has been a featured soloist in a number of concert series. He has been a Metropolitan Opera regional finalist, National Association of Teachers of Singing "Singer of the Year" regional finalist and included in Who's Who in American Classical Music. He has also recorded two solo albums of sacred music and is co-author of The Audition Sourcebook. Dr. and Mrs. Richardson, the former Rebecca Lynn, have a son and a daughter, and the family attends Baptist Church of the Covenant.

Donald Sanders obtained the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of South Carolina; the Master of Music degree from Michigan State University; the Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Kansas and the Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology from the University of Kansas. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the American Musicological Society, Music Teachers National Association, Alabama Music Teachers Association and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He has published articles on seventeenth and eighteenth century music in both American and British journals and was a contributor to the second edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He received Samford's Macon Award for teaching in 1995. Dr. Sanders is married to Ruth Roubicek Sanders. They have three children and four grandchildren. He is a member of the Church of the Advent in Birmingham.

Bradley Sargent joined the music faculty of Samford University during the fall semester, 2000. He serves as Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Jazz Ensemble. Prior to his appointment at Samford, Dr. Sargent served as a graduate teaching assistant in trumpet at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has performed with the Tuscaloosa, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Roanoke Symphony Orchestras and has performed as a semi-finalist at the 1999 National Trumpet Competition in Fairfax, Virginia. Dr. Sargent holds the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in trumpet performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the Bachelor of Science degree in instrumental music education from The University of Alabama. He is married to Ann Dempsey Sargent, and they have one son, Henry, and a daughter, Katie.

Betty Sue Shepherd received the Bachelor of Arts Degree from Judson College, the Master of Music degree from the University of Alabama, and was awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters from Judson College. She has done additional study at the Juilliard School of Music and Peabody Conservatory. Currently Dr. Shepherd is organist at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham and holds membership in the Alabama Music Teachers Association, Birmingham Music Teachers Association, Delta Omicron, and Omicron Delta Kappa. Dr. Shepherd has made and continues to make appearances as a soloist and as a member of the Birmingham Piano Quartet in the Southeast. She has also performed with the Alabama Symphony, formerly the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, as both a soloist and duo pianist. She has been Conference Pianist/Organist for weeks at Glorieta, Ridgecrest, and the Church Music Conference of the Southern Baptist Convention, Adjudicator for Music Teacher's Festival and Music Church Groups. She has published Favorite Hymns for Organ. In 1994, she was named Alumna of the Year by Judson College and in 1998 she was named Teacher of the Year by the Alabama Music Teachers Association. In the fall of 2004, Dr. Shepherd received the George Macon Teaching Award at Samford. She is married to Neil Shepherd, and they have two daughters and two granddaughters.

Originally from Bayshore, New York, Dr. James J. Smisek is Director of Bands and Interim Chairman of Instrumental Studies at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated with a D.M.A. degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, studying with Dr. John R. Locke.  While at UNCG he served as the conductor of the UNCG Symphonic Band 2004-05 and previously conducted the University Band 2003-04.  In addition, the School of Music faculty and students selected Dr. Smisek for the 2004-05 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award.  Dr. Smisek has taught high school band and orchestra for thirteen years in the public schools of Bradenton, Palmetto, Winter Park, and Orlando, Florida.  He also taught at Seminole Community College as the Director of Jazz Studies from 2000-01.  He continues to work as an adjudicator and clinician throughout Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, Virginia, South Carolina, and Kentucky.  In 2000, he completed the Master of Music degree in Music Education with honors at Rollins College, in Winter Park, Florida.  He earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from the University of Florida in Gainesville and the Associate of Arts degree from Seminole Community College in Sanford, Florida.  Dr. Smisek was also a musician in the United States Army Band program as a trumpet player from 1989 - 91.  He is a member of MENC, College Music Society, Alabama Music Educators Association, Alabama Band Masters Association, National Band Association, International Association for Jazz Education, College Band Directors National Association, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.  Dr. Smisek is married to Lynette Aileen Smisek, and they have two children, Chelsea and Carson.

A graduate of Samford University's School of Music, Dr. Strickland holds the Bachelor of Music and the Master of Music degrees. He received the Doctor of Philosophy in higher education administration from the University of Alabama. He directs the handbell choir (Bells of Buchanan) and teaches in the Theory Department. He is a member of the Baptist Church of the Covenant in Birmingham and holds membership in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Kappa Lambda, and the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers. He is Chair-Elect of AGEHR Area VI and an active member of the Committee for Handbells/Handchimes in Music Education (CHIME) as a part of AGEHR, Inc. He is chapter "Dad" of Delta Omicron. He is married to Nina Byrd Strickland.