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Clinician to work with sutdents in Barton's Vocal Masterclass
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Barton Community College’s Music Department will present its 27th annual Vocal Masterclass on Saturday, featuring Dr. Holly Swartzendruber, an adjunct vocal music instructor at Tabor College and Hesston College.

Students in Barton’s applied voice class and high school students from the area have been selected to perform for the clinician throughout the day in the Dorothy Moses Morrison Chapel, located in the Fine Arts Building, F-157. The Masterclass will be divided into two sessions: Session I, 9 a.m. to noon, and Session II, 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The public is invited to observe as the clinician works with the performers. Admission is free. Anyone interested in learning about healthy singing techniques is welcome, said Barton voice instructor Glenna Gaunt.

Barton students participating in the morning session are Joann Stacey, Great Bend sophomore music major; J.W. Feemster, Ellinwood sophomore theatre tech major; John Radenberg, Ellinwood music major; Brooke Smith, Great Bend sophomore music major; Rose Radenberg, Claflin freshman music major. High school students selected for the afternoon session are Taylor Fry, Great Bend High School sophomore; Erin Bowers, GBHS freshman; Estella Schumacher, GBHS sophomore; Marla Bethke, Larned High School senior; and Rachael Herter, LHS sophomore.

Swartzendruber teaches applied voice, vocal pedagogy and diction, and introduction to music theory. In addition, she works as Coordinator of Music in Worship at First Mennonite Church in Hillsboro.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Goshen College and a master’s in vocal performance with a vocal pedagogy emphasis from Ohio University. She completed work for her doctorate of musical arts from the University of Kansas in 2001.

Among the operatic roles she has performed are Lucia from Britten’s "The Rape of Lucretia," Despina from Mozart’s "Così fan tutte," and Susanna from Mozart’s, "The Marriage of Figaro." She has performed locally, singing the soprano solos for Handel’s "Messiah" (Hesston College), the Brahms "Requiem" and Mozart "Requiem" (Bethel College), as well as Mozart’s "Exsultate, Jubilate" (Tabor College).

In addition to her duties at Tabor and Hesston, she adjudicates regional and statewide judging. She is married to Douglas Miller, professor of Bible and Religious Studies at Tabor.