Dr. Bradley Almquist, Professor of Music, and Director of Choral Activities, was named the 2004 recipient of the Robert K. Baar Award for Choral Excellence by the Kentucky Choral Directors Association at its 2004 summer convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The award, named for the former MSU Director of Choral Activities, recognizes individuals in the Commonwealth who have made significant contributions to choral music education in the state. Mr. Baar was the MSU Director of Choral Activities for 31 years serving from 1951 to 1982. He also conducted the Paducah Symphony Chorus and directed the music at several churches in western Kentucky.

Dr. Almquist was appointed MSU Director of Choral Activities in 1992. He currently serves as the College and University Division Chair for the Kentucky Music Educators Association and the College/University Repertory and Standards Chair for the Southern Division of the American Choral Directors Association and is on the editorial board for the Bluegrass Music News, the official publication of the Kentucky Music Educators Association. He is a past president of the Kentucky Choral Directors Association and the First District of the Kentucky Music Educators Association. At Murray State University, he conducts the Concert Choir, University Chorale and the Chamber Singers. In addition he conducts the Murray High School Concert Choir, the Paducah Symphony Chorus and the Paducah Symphony Children's Chorus.

Sonya Gabrielle Baker made her Carnegie Hall debut with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, singing music of Aaron Copland. This soprano has been heard in concert both nationally and internationally, including concert appearances in Sardinia, Italy, the Troy Music Hall in New York, Haverford College in Pennsylvania and Syracuse University in New York. Noted for her performances of American music, Baker's most recent performances included a solo recital of American music in Charleston, West Virginia and the presentation of a solo lecture recital entitled "Creating the Best of All Possible Worlds" presented for the Murray Civic Music Association featuring music by American women Libby Larsen and Ruth Schonthal. These composers are two of five American women art song composers represented on Baker's debut recording, SHE SAYS, released in October 2004. In 2003, Baker had the honor of appearing as a soloist at the US Ambassador's residence in Moscow and joined members of the Yale Alumni Chorus in to sing on the palace stage of the Kremlin last April. Nearer home, Baker was the soprano soloist for the Paducah Symphony's gala opening concert at the Four River's Performing Arts Center and she appeared there again in April 2005. Equally at home in opera, highlights of Baker's operatic roles include Elisabetta in Verdi's DON CARLO, Donna Anna in Mozart's DON GIOVANNI, Monisha in TREEMONISHA, and the title role in the U.S. premiere of Mascagni's PINOTTA. In 1998, Baker was invited to visit China as a soloist in performances of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and other choral works. Baker has also sung solos in several choral masterpieces including Bach's Magnificat, Poulenc's Gloria and Mendelssohn's Elijah with Robert Shaw conducting

Baker is currently Associate Professor of Voice at Murray State University in western Kentucky. Along with a Doctor of Music from Florida State University, Baker holds a Master of Music degree from Indiana University and a Bachelor's of Arts in American Studies from Yale University. Her voice teachers have included Yvonne Ciannella, Rita Patané, Lili Chookasian, and Virginia Zeani. Baker has also worked with renowned teachers, coaches and directors such as Frank Corsaro, Evelyn Lear, Jerome Hines, Douglas Fisher, Michael McConnell and Craig Rutenberg.

Baker has received numerous academic and vocal awards including the Arthur J. and Glenna B. Collins Memorial Scholarship to attend the Stean's Institute for Young Artists at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago and a University Fellowship from Florida State University. As a recipient of a Dissertation Research Grant from FSU, she visited the Marian Anderson Collection at the University of Pennsylvania. The resulting lecture recital entitled, "For Thee We Sing: The Historical Implications of Marian Anderson's 1939 Easter Concert," includes interactive web site materials and has been presented at several universities including Florida State, Syracuse, and Ohio Northern Universities, the Phenomenon of Singing International Symposium in Newfoundland, Canada, and most recently at the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts in Lexington, Kentucky.

Baker is a frequent guest artist and teacher, having appeared regularly at the Virginia Governor's School for the Arts and having completed three summers on the faculty at the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts. In addition to her singing and teaching engagements, Baker has performed in children's theater, served as a vocal coach for soul music, and worked as a youth self-help facilitator.

Tenor Randall Black has won critical acclaim with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States for his portrayals of roles and repertoire ranging from Monteverdi and Bach to Henze and Eaton. Highly respected for his mastery in all musical styles, Mr. Black specializes in Baroque and Twentieth Century repertoire.

As an operatic personality, Mr. Black made his professional debut with Opera Memphis as Ralph Rakestraw in H. M. S. Pinafore and went on that season to create the role of the First Soldier in the American Premiere of Henze's We Come to the River with the Santa Fe Opera. Other World Premieres include the role of Orestes in John Eaton's The Cry of Clytemnestra, the role of Dan in David Ott's Lucinda Hero and the role of Choragos in Dinos Constantinides' Antigone.

As an oratorio singer, Mr. Black is in great demand, having performed with the Evansville and Lexington Philharmonics and the Richmond (VA), North Carolina, Indianapolis (IN), and Atlanta Symphonies. A frequent soloist in the works of Bach he has been featured with the Bach societies of Louisville (KY), St. Louis (MO), Rochester (NY), Miami (FL), Christ Church Cathedral of Indianapolis and as a fellow with the Bach Aria Festival in Stony Brook. In a performance of the Bach's St. John Passion with conductor Margaret Hillis, she commented, "He is the best evangelist I have ever heard!" The review for the performance agreed with that evaluation.

"...As he opened with, "Jesus went out with his disciples," Black sustained a strong, stylized yet dulcet tone one is tempted to call "iconic." It suited admirably the need to keep up the clear, even slightly impersonal detachment required by a storyteller. Yet when called for, as when Peter denies Jesus, Black could sound glacially white and chilling. Again, when Jesus is handed over to be crucified, Black introduced a note of passion - not too much - which cut the ear's heart to the quick. One is convinced that this tenor has the reserve to sing any role, in song, oratorio or opera, to stunning effect."

Last season was particularly active and included: the tenor solos in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the Lexington (KY) Philharmonic conducted by George Zack, the evangelist in J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion with Bethany Messiah Festival of Art and Music in Lindsborg, KS conducted by Dan Mahraun, the tenor solo in Bach's Cantata 198 with the Louisville (KY) Bach Society conducted by Melvin Dickinson, the tenor solos in Bach's Easter Oratorio with the Rochester (NY) Bach Festival conducted by Tom Folan, the tenor solos in Bach's Magnificat with the Tulsa (OK) Oratorio Chorus conducted by Don Studebacker and the Rochester (NY) Bach Festival conducted by Tom Folan, the tenor solos in Verdi's Requiem with the Marshall University (WV) Chorus and Orchestra conducted by David Castleberry, the tenor solos in Handel's Messiah, with the Southern Illinois University Choruses and Symphony conducted by John Mochnick and the Bethany Messiah Festival of Art and Music in Lindsborg, KS conducted by Dan Mahraun, and the tenor solos with the Murray State University Concert Choir in the World Premiere of Jubilate Deo (written for Dr. Black and acapella chorus by Joseph Baber).

Recent accomplishments include: his European debut with a solo concert at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London, England, the release of his first compact disc, An American Son: The Vocal Works of Joseph Baber, Vol. 1, becoming the inaugural recipient of the "Ethel Closson Smith Vocal Artist/Teacher Lectureship" at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN, creating the role of the evangelist in the World Premiere of William Averitt's St. Matthew Passion in Columbia, SC conducted by Larry Wyatt, his selection as the Southern Illinois University Music Department's Distinguished Alumnus for '96-'97, and "re-creating" the role of the evangelist in the American Premiere of the 1769 version of CPE Bach's St. Matthew Passion with St. George's Church, Nashville, TN conducted by Murray Forbes Somerville. The score of CPE Bach's St. Matthew Passion was thought to have been destroyed during World War II and was discovered recently by Harvard musicologist Christoph Wolff.

Dr. Black can be seen this year in performances on-campus for Faculty Showcases (September 28 in the fall) and in Lexington, KY on December 12, 2004 for a performance of Handel's Messiah at Central Christian Church under the direction of Michael Rintamaa. He will also be featured in a half-hour Christmas special on KET, Music from Murray. In the spring (March 13, 2005) he will perform the role of the evangelist in Bach's St. John Passion in Oklahoma City, OK. He will be the featured artist in the inaugural year of the Oklahoma City Bach Festival. For additional performance dates, email Dr. Black at randall.black@murraystate.edu.

A native of Carbondale, Illinois, Dr. Black received his Bachelor of Music degree from Southern Illinois University and his Master and Doctor of Music degrees from Indiana University. He is now in his nineteenth year of teaching at Murray State University. He and his wife, Kim, also a music teacher, have two children.