ABOUT THE MUSIC DIRECTOR

Nancy Menk, Music Director, holds the Mary Lou and Judd Leighton Chair in Music at Saint Mary’s College where she is celebrating her 38^th year as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities.  She also serves as Chair of the Department of Music and teaches graduate conducting at the University of Notre Dame.  At Saint Mary’s College, Dr. Menk conducts the Women’s Choir and the Collegiate Choir, teaches conducting, and prepares the Madrigal Singers for the annual Christmas Madrigal Dinners.  Under her direction, the Women’s Choir has performed on tour throughout the United States and it regularly commissions, performs, and records new works for women’s voices for their series on the ProOrgano label.  In February 2005 they performed for the ACDA National Convention in Los Angeles, CA. They made their first international tour, visiting China in March 2011, and in 2012 they were named second place winners of the American Prize in Choral Performance.  Dr. Menk served as conductor of the 110-voice Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus from 1998-2022.

Menk serves regularly as a guest conductor and choral adjudicator throughout the United States.  She has conducted All-State Choirs in Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, North Dakota, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.  In August 2011, she served as guest conductor for the Hong Kong Youth Music Camp Chorus.  In 2014 she appeared at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, conducting music by American composer Gwyneth Walker for women’s voices and orchestra. In March 2019 she made her seventh appearance at Carnegie Hall, conducting a program of works for women’s voices and orchestra by Michael Haydn, Johannes Brahms, Ralph Vaughan William, Libby Larsen, and Ola Gjeilo. In 2017 she became the first woman to program and conduct a subscription concert of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra.

Kevin J. Vaughn is Director of Music and Organist at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (South Bend, Indiana), accompanist for the South Bend Chamber Singers, and a nationally-touring concert artist. He appears regularly as a solo organ recitalist, and recent engagements include concerts at churches and universities in Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Berlin (Germany) and Toronto (Canada). He also performs with baritone Stephen Lancaster in collaborative programs of sacred music for voice and organ. Their first recording, Sacred Song, was released on the Albany label in 2018. In addition to performing, Vaughn has previously served on the instructional faculty of Goshen College (organ, harpsichord) and the University of Notre Dame (piano, organ). He regularly teaches organ literature to the master’s and doctoral students in the Graduate Program in Sacred Music at Notre Dame.

Vaughn holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano, organ, and sacred music, including the first Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance conferred by the University of Notre Dame. His former teachers include Phyllis Warner and Craig Cramer. He is a past dean of the St. Joseph Valley (IN) chapter of the American Guild of Organists and holds the Guild’s Colleague certificate.

To learn more about Kevin visit his website.