Recent Graduates

Gregory Santa Croce, BM 2017 

Gregory Santa Croce, originally from Binghamton, New York is a graduate of the University of North Texas in Denton, where he studied organ and sacred music with Dr. Jesse Eschbach and Dr. Charles Brown and jazz with professors Pat Coil and Richard DeRosa. His recent awards include first prize in the 2016 William Hall Pipe Organ Competition in San Antonio, Texas, and the University of North Texas College of Music Presser Scholarship, the highest honor the school of music may award to an undergraduate. Greg was also a finalist in the 2017 American Guild of Organists Southwest Regional competition in Dallas, Texas. Greg maintains an active musical schedule as an organ soloist as well as freelancing as a jazz and collaborative pianist, composer, and arranger. Greg has just begun a master's degree in sacred music at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, where he studies organ with Dr. Craig Cramer and serves as an organ scholar at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

 

 


David Summers, BM 2016

Born in Doylestown, Ohio and currently a resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, David is a proud alumni of The University of North Texas.  He is organist at St Theresa of Avila in Gonzales, LA, and serves as an assistant organist at Immaculate Conception Church in Lakeland, LA.  David teaches organ and piano lessons, and is also a group lesson instructor for sight-singing methods and Gregorian chant.  He sings with the Baton Rouge Symphony Chorus as a bass and is a sectional rehearsal leader.  David is a full-time life insurance agent and investment professional for the New York Life Insurance Company.  In his spare time, he enjoys golf, marathon running, and spending time with his wife, Brittani and two dogs, Taylor and Finn.  

 

 

 

 


Andrew Kenney, MM 2016

Andrew Kenney holds a M.M. in Organ Performance from the University of North Texas, Denton, where he studied with Dr. Jesse Eschbach.  In 2015, Andrew received the 2nd place award, graduate division, at the 44th annual Hall Organ Competition in San Antonio, TX.  In March 2016, he won the 1st place award in the same competition.  During his tenure at UNT, Andrew was organist for Maurice Duruflé’s Messe ‘cum jubilo’, op. 11 with the University of North Texas Men’s Chorus; other collaborations include the university’s Collegium Singers, A Capella Choir, and Concert Choir.  He also served as Director of Music and Organist at St. Peter Catholic Church in Lindsay, TX.  In July 2016, he became the Director of Music and Organist at St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church in Lewisville, TX.  As a soloist, Andrew has performed throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth Metro area with other recitals in San Antonio, TX and his hometown of St. Louis, MO. 


Lerie Grace Delosa, DMA 2015

Lerie Grace Dellosa finished her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 2015, with a major in organ performance under Dr. Jesse Eschbach and related field in sacred music under the late Mark Scott. Dr. Dellosa's dissertation is entitled Messiaen’s Musical Language: Technique and Theological Symbolism in Les Corps glorieux, “Combat de la mort et de la vie” under the research guidance of Dr. Robert Pearson. This dissertation (157 pages) is an extensive analysis on Messiaen's melodic and harmonic technique with discussions on symbolism that ties his technique with his theology. 

Dr. Dellosa marked the beginning and ending of her studies at UNT with two of her performances: Messiaen's Combat de la mort et de la vie in a masterclass with Gillian Weir during the UNT Inaugural Organ Conference in October 2008; and Liszt's Fantasie and Fugue on the chorale, Ad nos ad salutarem undam at the 51st American Liszt Society Festival hosted by UNT in September 2015. While in her doctoral studies, Dr. Dellosa has been actively involved in teaching, large ensemble performances, and participation in international organ tours. She was the Organ Teaching Fellow at UNT in 2008-2012, and an adjunct faculty in organ and piano at the Texas A&M University – Commerce in 2014-2015. As a winner of the UNT Concerto Competition, she performed the Toccata from Joseph Jongen’s Symphonie Concertante for Organ and Orchestra with the UNT Symphony Orchestra in 2013 at the Murchison Performing Arts Center. Previous to this performance was a premier performance of a wind symphony arrangement with the University of Minnesota – Duluth Symphonic Wind Ensemble, with guest conductor Jean Baily (former Music Director of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels). Other subsequent large ensemble performances were Saint-Saens’ Organ Symphony with the UNT Symphony Orchestra in 2014; Eugene Gigout’s Grand Choeur Dialogue with the Southwestern Adventist University Wind Symphony at the Meyerson Symphony Center in 2015; and John Priddy’s Resurrection, a premier performance with the UNT Wind Symphony in 2015. Awarded with several travel grants, Dr. Dellosa participated in the Bach Organ World Tour in Germany led by Quentin and Mary Faulkner in 2010, and in the Organ Music Seminars in France, Spain and Britain in 2011 where she had masterclasses with Daniel Roth, Olivier Latry, Aude Huertematte, Ben van Oosten, and Francis Jackson. 

Dr. Dellosa received her Master of Music degree in both organ and piano performance from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. She studied organ with Henry Lowe, and piano with the late Reynaldo Reyes where she played all of Liszt's Twelve Transcendental Etudes for her graduate recital. Originally from Philippines, Dr. Dellosa received her Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila with a major in organ and piano performance (magna cum laude), and from the Adventist University of the Philippines with a major in music education.


Hyun-Kyung Lee

Hyun-Kyung Lee is a current DMA organ performance candidate and serves as organist at First Presbyterian Church in Denton. Prior to her study at UNT Hyun-Kyung studied with Myung-ja Cho and completed her bachelor of music degree at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea in 2003. She then earned a masters degree studing organ with Hirosawa Tzukuto and harpsichord with Mitzui Yasuko at Elisabeth University of Music in Japan on full scholarship as the result of receiving the university’s premier prix prize. Hyun-Kyung also won a scholarship from Otagawa Lion’s Club as a superior student in 2003-2005. She played organ at the 54th and 55th annual concert and performed a concerto with the Elisabeth Symphony Orchestra. She was invited to perform at the Hiroshima Concert and Nagisa Organ Festival. Hyun-Kyung received the master of music degree in 2005. She then gave an organ recital at Cecilia Hall as a premier graduate student and at the Catholic Association for International Peace as a rising organist. After returning home to Korea, her performance was given a favorable reception and was reviewed in organ magazine “Organ” and Korea newspaper “Kukmin Ilbo”.

 

 


Hentus van Rooyen, MM 2015

Hentus van Rooyen is a doctoral student in organ performance and early music at the University of North Texas where he studies under the tutelage of Paul Leenhouts and Jesse Eschbach. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pretoria and a master’s degree from the University of North Texas. During his studies with Wim Viljoen, he completed the Teacher's Licentiate and Performer's Licentiate in organ at the University of South Africa, after which he won the Stephanus Zondagh Overseas Music Study Scholarship at the UNISA Overseas Music Scholarship Competition in 2012, as well as the Scholarship for Overseas Study from the Southern-African Church Organist’s Association. In 2013 he was awarded Second Prize in the graduate division of the William C. (Bill) Hall Organ playing Competition, in San Antonio, Tx, and in March 2014 he won the First Prize of the same competition. Hentus is the Teaching Fellow for organ at the University of North Texas and is the assistant organist at Christ the King Roman Catholic Church, Dallas.

 

 
 


Louie Kim, MM 2014

Hyejung Kim (Louie) was born in South Korea. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Organ performance in Church Music from the Kosin University in Pusan, S. Korea, and master’s degree in Organ performance from University of North Texas. After graduation, she served as an organist at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church in Farmers Branch, TX. She is a DMA student and the Teaching Fellow for Keyboard Skills at the University of North Texas, starting Fall 2015.

 

 

 

 

 


Dr. S. Andrew Lloyd, DMA 2014

S. Andrew Lloyd is an organist and composer. He is the current Adjunct Professor of Organ at Texas Woman’s University and the organist at First United Methodist Church in Denton, Texas. In 2014, Lloyd received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance with a related field in composition from the University of North Texas where he studied with Jesse Eschbach, and was awarded the highly competitive Master's and Doctoral Fellowship. He completed his other collegiate degrees at the University of Kansas and Brigham Young University where he studied with James Higdon and Douglas E. Bush respectively. As an active recitalist, Andrew Lloyd has performed as a guest organist at the Salt Lake Tabernacle, and most recently as a featured recitalist in the Eccles Organ Festival at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. Andrew Lloyd placed first in two organ competitions: The William C. Hall Organ Competition (2011) at First Presbyterian in San Antonio, TX and also the Strader Organ Competition (2010) at the University of Cincinnati.

As an active composer, S. Andrew Lloyd has written extensively for organ, piano, voice, choir, orchestra, and chamber ensembles. One of his recent commission includes an organ and choir piece that was written for Jerry McCoy and the Schola Cantorum of Texas as part of the 2015 Fort Worth Regional AGO Convention. Andrew Lloyd studied composition with Forrest Pierce at the University of Kansas, and with Jon Nelson, Andrew May, and James Worlton while in Denton, TX.  Lloyd’s music has been premiered and performed at the Salt Lake Tabernacle, Bales Recital Hall at the University of Kansas, Libby Gardner Hall at the University of Utah, Arizona State University, Texas Woman's University, University of North Texas, Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, and internationally in South Africa. 

You may learn more about S. Andrew Lloyd on his website, sandrewlloyd.com.


Robert Dicks, BM 2013

As Assistant Director and Accompanist for the Cathedral Choir School of Delaware, Robert directs the musicianship and keyboard studies program for students who attend the choir school. In addition to serving as primary accompanist for the choir, Robert is also involved in the administrative work of the music program.

A native of Wisconsin, Robert received his degree in organ performance from the University of North Texas. There he studied organ with Dr. Jesse Escbach and harpsichord with Christoph Hammer. In addition to serving as organist for the University Singers, Robert was named undergraduate organist of the year for 2009-2010. In 2010, Robert took first place at the Bill Hall Pipe Organ competition in San Antonio, Texas and won the Hymn Playing prize as well. While in Milwaukee, he served as the first Organ Scholar at All Saints Cathedral under Canon Joseph Kucharski, who is also Professor of Church Music at Nashatoh House Seminary. In Texas, Robert was Organ Scholar at the Church of the Incarnation in Dallas, Texas for three years. During his time there he worked with Christopher Berry, Dr. Richard Sparks and Scott Dettra.

From 2013-2014 Robert was appointed the Lloyd E. Cast Organ Fellow at The Cathedral of All Saints in Albany, New York. There he served as primary organist for Cathedral services and accompanied the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys. 


Christopher Dougherty, BM 2013

Christopher James Dougherty, a native of California, graduated from the University of North Texas in May 2013 with a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance - Specialization: Organ/Church Music. On July 23 2013, Mr. Dougherty took his Senior Recital program on the road to his home town of San Diego, where he performed at Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian church. In his years in North Texas, Mr. Dougherty served as the organist of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in North Richland Hills. In the fall of 2013, Mr. Christopher Dougherty entered Our Lady Of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Seminary in Boston, Kentucky where he is currently studying toward the Catholic Priesthood. Mr. Dougherty also currently serves as the Principal Organist of the adjoining chapel.  

 

Dr. Damin Spritzer, DMA 2012

After an appointment as Visiting Professor of Music at the University of Oklahoma for Fall 2014, Dr. Damin Spritzer has now been appointed full-time Assistant Professor of Organ there and will begin teaching in Fall of 2015. She serves the Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew in Dallas as Principal Organist and Artist-in-Residence for the Cathedral Arts series, and has been Adjunct Professor at the University of North Texas, teaching Organ Literature and Sacred Music. 

Praised for “enormous sensitivity and musicianship” by the AAM Journal and hailed as “elegantly assured” by the Dallas Morning News, recent recital appearances include the 2012 Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina; the University of Houston 2012 Conference on Historical Eclecticism: Organ Building and Playing in the 21st Century; recitals in Kentucky, California, Arkansas, New York, Oregon, Georgia, and numerous appearances in Texas, including the Meyerson Symphony Center and the Big XII Trombone Conference in Lubbock. She was a featured artist at the AGO Regional Convention in Austin, TX in July of 2013, giving both a recital and a separate lecture on the life and music of R. L. Becker (1882-1956. In October of 2011 she was a guest lecturer at the University of Michigan 51st Annual Conference on Organ Music, and gave a similar lecture and performance about Becker’s music in Louisville, KY in May of 2012. She has written an extended preface for a forth-coming multi-volume critical edition of Becker’s organ works (Wayne Leupold Editions) and has been asked to submit a monograph on Becker as well. 

Upcoming and recent performances for the 2014-2015-2016 calendar year include Sainte-Croix in Orléans, France; Dallas (Texas) with Pipedreams and the Texas Camerata; Chicago, Illinois at Loyola University; Ft. Worth, (Texas) at Broadway Baptist; Methuen Memorial Music Hall (Massachusetts); New York City at St. Malachy’s, “The Actor’s Chapel”; giving a lecture on Becker at the 2016 National AGO convention in Houston next summer; and with Aaron David Miller at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

In April of 2011, she released a world premier commercial international recording of the music of René Louis Becker. Recorded in Pithiviers, France in 2010 at the newly renovated historic Cavaillé-Coll organ of the church of Saint-Salomon-Saint-Gregoire de Pithiviers, the disc has received wonderful reviews. The 2011 September/October issue of Choir & Organ magazine gave it five stars, writing that “Damin Spritzer serves both instrument and music well, alert to the music’s lyrical mien and harmonic muscle, negotiating the III/49 machine with an easy command of drama and a real feeling for Becker’s melody-led, cleanly-executed music…A second volume is eagerly awaited.” The AAM Journal wrote, “The music comes alive under her touch!...This recording is a delight...” And a review from Classical Music Sentinel praised the recording, saying “…Damin Spritzer drives the music along with plenty of forward momentum which adds a singing quality to the melodic lines and an assured rhythmic movement to the toccatas and marches...the final glorious chord of the Marche Triomphale will make you glad you’re alive.” 

Her second volume of Becker’s organ music was released in November of 2014 for Raven Recordings, and was recorded in Orléans, France in April of 2013 at the Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d'Orléans. It received four stars from Choir & Organ, and the following praise from Classical Music Sentinel: “…Spritzer jumps right into the action with an assured confidence and refined musicality that quite simply reinforces the high level of craftmanship and beauty inherent to the music of composer René Louis Becker...The opening Toccata in B-flat alone, which could easily intimidate many organists with its agitated left-hand and busy pedal work, moves forward at quite a pace under Spritzer's command, and thus reveals its determined musical lines all leading to a powerful finish…her choice of registration for the softly tender Cantilène, Op. 63 demonstrates an organist who knows how to balance colors on a sonic canvas… Both volumes belong on the shelves of all organ music enthusiasts.” Two more recordings of Becker’s music are planned for the coming years, as well as a number of collaborative projects. 

Dr. Spritzer has been heard on Michael Barone’s nationally-syndicated “Pipedreams®” radio broadcast on programs including: Historical Eclecticism in Houston, Prayers and Alleluias, Twenty-Somethings, Merriment at the Meyerson, and “Pipedreams: Live!” performances at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas in 2005, and at Saint Michael and All Angels in November of 2014. Tracks from her first CD for Raven have also been broadcast on With Heart and Voice® out of Rochester, New York (program 1309, Psalms of Lament, Psalms of Reflection), on RVM radio in Montreal, Quebec, in the Netherlands on HET ORGELUUR op GROOTNIEUWSRADIO 1008 AM, in interview and broadcast on the Catholic Channel, SiriusXM 129, radio talk and music show, Sounds from the Spires, with Dr. Jennifer Pascual, Director of Music at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York, and on WRR 101.1 in Dallas, Texas.

Her Doctor of Musical Arts degree was received from the University of North Texas, and she received her MM in Organ Performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and her BM in Organ Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Leupold Foundation, which is dedicated to the preservation of pipe organ music and culture, and has also been Active in the Dallas Chapter of the AGO in various roles and looks forward to participating in the Oklahoma chapters of the AGO.  For more information visit http://www.daminspritzer.com/


Stephen Gourley, MM 2011

Stephen Gourley, a native of Goldsboro, NC, holds degrees from the University of North Texas (2011) and the North Carolina School of the Arts (2009). He has studied organ and harpsichord with Jesse Eschbach, Jack Mitchener, Erica Johnson, and Christoph Hammer, church music with Mark Scott, and piano with Dianne Finan. While at North Texas, Stephen held a teaching assistantship in the choral department and served as accompanist for the Chamber Choir and Concert Choir. In 2010 Stephen was elected to Pi Kappa Lambda, the National Music Honor Society. He was also named the Outstanding Graduate Student in Organ in 2011. After returning to North Carolina in the summer of 2013, Stephen was selected as Organ Scholar to the Royal School of Church Music Carolina Course for Girls and Adults, where he shared service playing and accompanying duties with the Course Organist. He now serves as a staff member for the same course, charged with planning and coordinating several aspects of the course.

Since March of 2014, Stephen has served as Director of Music at the Village Chapel, an interdenominational community of faith in Pinehurst, NC, where his duties include serving as organist for all worship services (totaling 200 services yearly), conducting and accompanying the Chapel Choir, conducting the Adult Chime Choir, overseeing the Youth and Children’s music program, and administering and executing The Village Chapel Music Series. Stephen also serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Moore County Choral Society, approaching its 45th year of existence. He also serves on the board of the Fayetteville-Sandhills chapter of the American Guild of Organists. His choral works are published by Renforth Music.


Daniel Stipe, BM 2006

Equally at home as a solo recitalist, collaborator and arranger on both the piano and the organ, Daniel Stipe’s broad array of abilities lends a rare depth of understanding and excitement to his music-making. His large and varied concert repertory, with special focus on works of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, continues to delight audiences wherever he performs. He is a prizewinner in the William Hall Pipe Organ Competition in San Antonio (where he also garnered the Hymn-playing Prize), the Tulsa Crescendo Music Awards, the Fort Wayne National Organ Playing Competition, and the AGO/Quimby Region VII Competition for Young Organists. In 2014 he was featured on the Richmond AGO’s Repertory Recital Series.

Daniel, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, started playing the piano before he could walk, and studied piano in high school with Elwyn Ratliff and organ with Casey Cantwell. At the University of North Texas, where he studied organ with Jess Eschbach and piano with Adam Wodnicki, he was named the 2004-05 Presser Scholar for outstanding achievement in the music department. While there he served as organist for Evensong services at St Mark's School in Dallas, Texas. He went on to earn a master's degree in organ performance from Westminster Choir College in 2012 as a student of Ken Cowan; while there he also studied improvisation with Bruce Neswick and Peter Richard Conte.

Mr Stipe serves as Director of Music at Trinity Lutheran Church in Richmond, Virginia. Previously he served as music director for the Episcopal Church at Princeton University, as assistant to Tom Whittemore at Trinity Episcopal Parish in Princeton, NJ, and as assistant to Robert Delcamp at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He has also served as organist at First Presbyterian Church in Denton, Texas, and Church of the Madeline (RC) in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Mr Stipe's passion for liturgical music of the highest quality has led him to produce numerous sacred choral, solo vocal and organ works, in addition to hymn arrangements and reharmonisations. His transcriptions of large orchestral works for the organ, including Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, and Brahms’ Fourth Symphony, are noted for their flexibility and elegant solutions. As a collaborator, he has served five times as the accompanist for choirs singing in residency or concerts at major English cathedrals, has accompanied countless vocal and choral ensembles, and has an extensive knowledge of the string and wind repertory. He maintains an active concert schedule, with recent performances in Richmond, Tulsa, Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Princeton, New York City, Hartford, Denver, and Atlanta.

Daniel lives with his beautiful wife, Julie, in Richmond, VA. In his spare time his interests tend toward road cycling, hiking, role-playing games, and good literature.

More information about Daniel can be found at his website: www.danielstipe.com.


Christopher Berry, BM 1997

After graduating from UNT in 1997, Berry received the Master of Music degree from the University of Kansas and won the premier prix at the Conservatoire de Rueil-Malmaison. He has been Assistant Director of Music at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and held positions as Director of Music at Holy Trinity R.C. in Manhattan, The Pontifical North American College in Vatican City, Church of the Incarnation in Dallas, and The Basilica of St. Josaphat in Milwaukee, WI. His recording with JAV is entitled Regina Immaculata. Recent concert engagements have included the Saint-Saens Mass with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, the Chemin de la Croix of Dupre at the Church of the Gesu in Milwaukee and a solo recital at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, WI. A recording of organ and choral music from the Basilica of St. Josaphat is due to be released later this year.
 


Scott Warren

Since 2011, K. Scott Warren has served as Director of Music Ministries at New York City’s Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, leading a dynamic ministry team consisting of over 150 individuals, professional and volunteer, in providing music at approximately 400 liturgies annually.  He is the principal conductor of the 19-voice professional Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola, which sings a demanding schedule of services throughout the year, with repertoire spanning Gregorian chant to 21st-century masterpieces.  The choir, along with the Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola, form the backbone of the parish’s critically acclaimed concert series, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, whose recent performances have been lauded by the New York Times as “stirring…positively thrilling” and “broad, wide-ranging, and powerful”.  In addition to the vast choral spectrum presented at St. Ignatius, Mr. Warren presides over the four manual, 91-rank N. P. Mander Organ, the largest mechanical action organ in the New York metro area, and an instrument of international stature.

From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Warren served as Assistant Organist at Temple Emanu-El, Fifth Avenue, becoming Organist and Choirmaster in 2006.  In this capacity he leads the 17-voice professional Temple Emanu-El Choir in 120 full choral liturgies annually.  The Temple boasts three pipe organs, including the Main Sanctuary organ, originally built in 1929 by Casavant (dedicated by Marcel Dupré), most recently renovated by Sebastian Glück in 2002.

As a collaborative musician, Mr. Warren has appeared as organist with the New York Philharmonic, the American Symphony Orchestra, the New York Pops, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Dresden Philharmonic, in venues ranging from Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls to the Ravinia and Bravo! Vail music festivals.  Mr. Warren has also had an active career as choral accompanist, working with Voices of Ascension, Musica Sacra, the Choir of Trinity Church, Wall Street, the Oratorio Society of New York, and the New Jersey Oratorio Society, among others.  His work as accompanist has been featured on National Public Radio. 

Active as a choral composer, Mr. Warren’s music has been published by Oxford University Press, and has been performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia.  He is also in demand as a film score choral conductor, having worked on several major motion pictures in this capacity.

Mr. Warren is a proud graduate of the Organ Department at the University of North Texas, having studied with Dr. Jesse Eschbach.