Musicians

Lincoln Lutheran Choir's members are both professional and amateur singers from Lincoln and southeast Nebraska who share a love of singing and of performing excellent sacred choral music.

Joshua Norris, director

Josh Norris, a native of Kingman, Arizona is currently a Doctoral student in Choral Conducting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he studies with Dr. Peter A. Eklund and Dr. Therees Tkach Hibbard. Norris received his undergraduate degree in Music Education and Choral Conducting from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa under the guidance of the internationally renowned choral conductor, Weston Noble, and a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas under Dr. Joey Martin.

In addition to his duties with Lincoln Lutheran Choir, he serves as Music Director at the Lutheran Student Center at UNL and can be heard on NET Radio as a classical music announcer. Immediately prior to his move to Lincoln, Norris was the Director of Choral Activities at Stony Point High School in Round Rock, Texas, and previously served as Associate Director of Choirs at Harlingen South High School in Harlingen, Texas.

David Schack, organist

David Schack has achieved a unique relationship with Lincoln Lutheran Choir that has contributed substantially to its success. For the majority of the Choir's concerts Schack has performed as solo organist, created and performed new works for organ and for choir and organ, accompanied the Choir, and led in worship and congregational song, often with improvised accompaniment of hymns. He has participated imaginatively in performances, but extensive contributions were made in programs dedicated to the works of Buxtehude, Bach, the hymns of Jaroslav Vajda, and for the Twentieth Anniversary Concert that focused on Luther's hymn "Christ Jesus Lay in Death's Strong Bands."

A native of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, David Schack attended Valparaiso University and received the M.M. degree at Indiana University. He studied organ with August Stellhorn, Philip Gehring, and Oswald Ragatz. Five different publishers have published his many choral and organ compositions and his liturgical works have found wide acclaim through appearance in three major Lutheran hymnals. He has been honored by guest appearances at several regional and national conferences of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. Schack is organist and choir director of First Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska, and Information Systems Engineer at Mutual of Omaha.

Founding Director

Carlos Messerli

After a twenty-year career as teacher of music history, piano and director of the Concordia Singers of Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska and many years of service as a church musician, Dr. Carlos R. Messerli founded the Lincoln Lutheran Choir in 1978. Shortly thereafter he was called to become the founding Executive Director of the Lutheran Music Program, which sponsors a summer program in classical music for high school musicians on various Lutheran college campuses. He held this post until his retirement in 1995. For twelve years he was an active member of the group that developed the Lutheran Book of Worship and was co-author of the Manual of that publication. He served two terms as national President of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. Earlier, he served several terms as a national officer of the Lutheran Society for Worship, Music and Arts.

A native of Oregon, Dr. Messerli graduated from Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois. He went on to receive Master's Degrees from Northwestern University (piano) and the University of Michigan (musicology); and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Iowa (choral literature). In 1994 Concordia University, River Forest, Illinois, conferred on him the honorary Doctor of Letters degree. Messerli was the content editor of "Celebrating the Musical Heritage of the Lutheran Church," funded by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Carlos and his wife, Susan are now retired in Oak Park, Illinois. Dr. Messerli was director from 1978 through 1998.

Past Directors

James J. Lytton

James J. (Jim) Lytton was Interim Director for the 2006-07 season. Born in Omaha, living in east and central Nebraska as a youth, later in Kansas City, Missouri, and most recently in Reno, Nevada, (where he was Director of Music for St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral), Jim relocated to Lincoln a year ago. He received his Bachelor of Music Degree in organ from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, his Master's in Choral Conducting from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, and also holds certification as ChoirMaster from the American Guild of Organists. Mr. Lytton's classroom teaching experience in both public and private settings includes music, music history and theory and computer technology related courses. He has served in ten states as Director of Music or ChoirMaster and has prepared choirs to sing at Carnegie Hall and at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. In addition to being Lincoln Lutheran Choir's Interim Director, Jim is the current choir director at Lincoln's Cathedral of the Risen Christ.

Stephen Mohring

Stephen Mohring, Interim Director for Spring 2006, is a native of Sioux City, Iowa. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education in 2003 and his Master of Music Degree in 2005 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. As part of his master's program, he wrote a thesis which developed a measure to assess social outcomes in high school students. He has worked as a freelance music arranger, arranging music for school choirs and show choirs throughout Nebraska and across the midwest and has taught in the Lincoln Public Schools.

Kathleen Ohlman

Kathleen Ohlman, the Choir's Interim Director from 2003 to 2005, directed choral music and taught both vocal and instrumental music in elementary, junior high, and high school settings. She served Lutheran schools in Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Seward, Nebraska; and Lincoln, Nebraska. She received Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska and is a candidate for a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Cassandra S. McMahan

Cassandra S. McMahan began her music career by directing several church choirs. She served the Lincoln Lutheran Choir as Assistant Director and also as Director. Cassie has held the position of Director of Parish and School Music at Faith Lutheran Church in Lincoln and has been a workshop leader and guest lecturer in the fields of choral music, music education, and family life ministry. She graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a bachelor of Music Degree in piano performance and has done graduate work there in choral music. She received her Master's Degree in Family Life Ministry from Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska in 2002.

William Kuhn

Dr. William Kuhn, the choir's third director, is Associate Professor of Music at Concordia University - Seward, NE. Dr. Kuhn brought a rich music and cultural background to the choir. A 1977 graduate of Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois, he studied with such notable Lutheran musicians as Paul Bunjes, Richard Hillert, Carl Schalk, Herbert Gotsch and Thomas Gieschen. After teaching at Luther High School South in Chicago, Illinois, Kuhn received a call to teach music at Hong Kong International School, an American style college preparatory school run through the auspices of the Lutheran Board of Missions of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In addition to his work at HKIS, Kuhn was Minister of Music at Church of All Nations-Lutheran. In Hong Kong, Kuhn had the opportunity to work with English choral conductors Gordon Kembar and Professor Nicholas Routley, former Chorus Master of the Sydney Opera House and son of famed Church Historian, Erik Routley.

In the 1984-1985 school year, Dr. Kuhn was awarded a sabbatical to study at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He studied with Dr. Robert Harris and band legend Dr. John Paynter. Kuhn had the opportunity to study with well-known music education philosophers Dr. Bennett Reimer and Dr. David Elliott. In the fall of 1985 Kuhn returned to Hong Kong and remained there until he accepted his current call to teach at Concordia University in 1993. In the year 2000, William Kuhn received his Doctor of Education degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.