Henry Panion, III, PhD, holds degrees in music education and music theory from Alabama A & M University and Ohio State University, respectively. He is most known for his work as conductor and arranger for superstar Stevie Wonder, for whose performances and recordings he has led many of the world's most notable orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic, the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra, the Birmingham (England) Symphony, the Orchestra of Paris, and the Melbourne (Australia) Symphony.
Timothy C. Takach (b. 1978) has received a number of commissions from various choral organizations including the St. Olaf Choir, Cantus, the Bowling Green State University Men's Chorus, The Singers: Minnesota Choral Artists, the Appleton North High School Varsity Men's Chorus, and the Western Michigan University Chorale. His compositions have been heard on NPR and have been recorded by various groups in North America. Takach graduated with honors from St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN in 2000.
Lee Whitmore, Ed.D., is the Managing Director of SoundTree (www.soundtree.com), the educational division of Korg USA, Inc (www.korg.com). Distinguished educator, author, clinician and keyboardist, Lee has been a leading advocate for the integration of technology in music education for fifteen years. Lee has authored books and course materials on the use of MIDI and electronic musical instruments in the classroom, and presented hundreds of hours of instruction using synthesizers and keyboards.
Dr. David Williams is Professor Emeritus of Music and Arts Technology at Illinois State University. He serves as Consultant with The Growth Group and is a technology evangelist on the Internet, Web design, music and arts technology, and education and information technology in general. He is a teacher, musician (clarinet/tenor sax), writer, software developer, and former administrator.
Carole Paulson Flatau
2009
Carole Flatau's long and distinguished career in music has included positions as Director of Keyboard Publications for Columbia Pictures and as Music Editor at Belwin/CPP and Warner Brothers. A charter member of the North Dakota Music Teachers Association, she served as president from 1972 to 1974. Flatau has been recognized as the 2002 North Dakota Music Teachers Association Teacher of the Year and as a 2005 Music Teachers National Association Foundation Fellow. She is a free-lance editor and composer and owns her own music publishing company, Noteworthy Publications. Flatau graduated from Valley City Teachers College in 1960.
Josephine Wright Rhoades
In Memoriam 2009
Josephine Wright Rhoades, composer of VCSU's beloved Alma Mater, graduated from the Valley City Normal School in 1917. Rhoades served as Instructor of Piano; and as accompanist for the department and nearly every musical group in Valley City. One of her compositions won the 1916 All North Dakota Song Contest. A member of the Valley City Music Club and a church musician at Epworth United Methodist Church, she was the recipient of the community's Distinguished Service Award in 1953. She was married to Louis D. Rhoades, who taught at VCSU from 1919-1961, and for whom the VCSU Rhoades Science Center was named.
