2014 Concert Web Info - St. Pius X / St. Leo School 6905 Blondo

ST. PIUS X / ST. LEO SCHOOL
Alumni Showcase
Benefit Concert
(Take 2)
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
7:00 PM, St. Leo Church
FEATURING:
Fr. Bob Dufford 1957
Fr. Roc O’Connor 1963
Dave Batter 1976Amy Morris 1977
Jules DeSalvo 1998Karly Jurgensen 2000
Tara Vaughan 2002Elizabeth Liebermann 2006
Shelby Seier 2006 Luke Witchger 2006
2014 7th & 8th Grade Girls Chorus
Current SPSL Talent and Others!
Visit www.spsl.net for more information
about the concert and the musicians
Ticket Prices If Purchased Before December 19:
Reserved Seating $35, One Adult $25, Two Adults $45, Family $50, Under age 25 $10
*Special book of 10 tickets $225*
Purchase your tickets in the school office or St. Leo Parish Office
Tickets purchased the night of the event will cost $5 more
ALL PROCEEDS GO TO
ST. PIUS X / ST. LEO SCHOOL TUITION ASSISTANCE
FR. BOB DUFFORD, S. J., Class of 1957, is an internationally acclaimed composer of liturgical music. He has
composed liturgical music used all over the Christian world, songs such as Let Heaven Rejoice, Play Before
the Lord, Be Not Afraid and Sing to the Mountains, just to name a few. Father is a member of the St. Louis
Jesuits and began composing music over 25 years ago. He currently serves as the pastor in Griswold, IA. Fr.
Dufford was the 1997 recipient of the Distinguished Graduate Award at St. Pius X / St. Leo School, chosen for
his many contributions to society and the Catholic Church. He has served as spiritual director at the Jesuit
Retreat House in Oshkosh, Wis. And Has given hundreds of workshops on liturgy and liturgical music in US
, CA and Austrailia. Jesuit College, Bellarmine House of Studies, Marquette University and Seatt Received his Masters
Degrees in Philosph and Spritality from St. Lou University.
FR. ROC O’ CONNOR, S. J., Class of 1963, teaches in the Theology Department at Creighton University,
after taking on his role as Rector of the Creighton University Jesuit Community in 2007. Since coming to
Creighton in 2000 he has offered courses in Sacraments and Eucharist while also serving as the Liturgist
for St. John’s parish and campus. Since being ordained in 1979 he has served as an associate pastor and
minister of music at several parishes. Father O’Connor is part of the St. Louis Jesuits and has contributed
a number of musical compositions to seven collections published by the St. Louis Jesuits and two collections of his own. In 2005 the St. Louis Jesuits recorded a reunion collection of new music called “Morning
Light”. Creighton University awarded the St. Louis Jesuits an Honorary Doctorate in Music at the May 2006 Commencement. Fr. O’Connor is a contributing member of the “Formation for Liturgical Prayer” seminar group of the North American
Academy of Liturgy. He received the 2003 NCEA Distinguished Graduate Award at St. Pius X / St. Leo School for his many
contributions to society and the Catholic Church.
DAVE BATTER, Class of 1976, serves as Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Columbkille Catholic Parish
in Papillion. Batter is the founding conductor of the Omaha Chamber Singers, an ensemble of 16-24 pro- fessional music educators and singers that have gained regional recognition. Batter has taught music at the
elementary and secondary levels as well as collegiate level. Batter serves as a clinician and adjudicator in
both Nebraska and Iowa. He has sung in choruses of the Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Opera Omaha and
was a tenor soloist at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City with the Robert Shaw
Workshop Choir at Westminster Choir College. In 1996 he was selected as a member of the Grammy Award
winning Robert Shaw Festival Singers. He has a Bachelor of Music degree in music education and voice
from UNO and the Master of Music degree in choral conducting from Kent State University. He completed coursework for
the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting at the University of Iowa.
AMY MORRIS, Class of 1977, is the second flutist/piccolo with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra and
a member of two successful chamber music groups, The Prairie Song Project and Indande. She has
performed with the groups in the US, UK and Europe. Indande recently completed their debut recording with pianist Mary Goetz and The Prarie Song Project will record its first cd in 2011. Amy released
two solo flute cd’s in 2003 (Stories) and 2004 (Theme and Variations). She holds music degrees from
the University of Iowa and Northwestern University and currently teaches at Hamline and St. Catherine Universities in St. Paul, MN.
JULES DESALVO, Class of 1998, began playing the trumpet in 5th grade at SPSL and the euphonium became his primary instrument in high school at Creighton Prep. Jules majored in music education and music
performance at UNO. After graduating Jules began working as a music teacher and teaching band and
orchestra at Brownell Talbot, while maintaining a studio of private brass students. Jules has performed in
France England, Ireland, Wales, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Norway and plays in several local ensembles,
including the Santa Lucia Festival Band and Omaha Symphonic Winds. He is also a capable composer and
arranger. His three piano pieces won first place in the 2005 UNOCMTA composition contest and his Saxophone Quartet no. 1 was awarded second place in the 2007 UNOCMTA composition contest. Jules is in the
process of completing his Master’s degree in Brass Performance.
KARLY JURGENSEN, Class of 2000, graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston where she studied
songwriting, piano and singing. She now lives in New York City where she works several interesting jobs
so she can continue to live and create her music. Karly began taking piano lessons at age eight and while
attending Marian High School she realized she loved being on-stage. Her goal as a musician and performer
is to leave her listeners feeling powerful and inspired.
TARA VAUGHAN, Class of 2002, graduated from Tufts University in Massachusetts last May where she
studied music and psychology. During her time there she directed an award winning a cappella group Tufts
sQ!, and played in several student bands. She has performed throughout the U.S. and overseas in London
and Barcelona. While attending Marian High School Tara was a National Merit Finalist and recipient of an
American Choral Directors Award. She is currently working on her upcoming album “Better Versions’” in
Omaha and playing solo shows regularly.
ELIZABETH LIEBERMANN, Class of 2006, is a freshman at the University of Nebraska Kearney on a music
scholarship, where she is pursing a degree in musical theatre. She performs with the UNK “Nebraskats”.
She performed with the Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha for six years and has been in numerous community theatre productions since the third grade. While attending Skutt High School, she was selected to All
State for vocal music and received superior ratings at the district music contest. She was also very active in
speech, show choir, drama and music productions. The Theatre Arts Guild of Omaha awarded her a TAG
scholarship this year for her contributions.
LUKE WITCHGER, Class of 2006, is a freshman at Vanderbilt University where he studies violin with Dr. Carolyn Huebl. In 2006 he formed the DeBrodiez Quartet, which performed in the Bluebarn Music Festival. Luke
won the Omaha Area Youth Concerto Competition. As a result, he performed a feature solo with the Omaha Area youth Orchestra’s Youth Symphony. In 2007 Luke helped form Trio DePaz. The piano trio played
several concerts and won the Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music Society young artist competition and went
on to release a CD named Harmonize. Luke has also performed with the Omaha Symphony at the Holland
Performing Arts Center.
SHELBY SEIER, Class of 2006, is a freshman at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX where she is studying
theatre and communication. She is very active in theatre and has played many lead roles in productions
during her high school years at Duchesne Academy, as well as in the Omaha community. Shelby has spent
time volunteering at the Orpheum Theatre, for the drama club at SPSL School, and has been a teacher’s aid
for dance and drama class for autistic children at the Rose Theatre. She received the United Way of the Midlands Volunteer Service Award for her work with Autistic children.