John Planer has been teaching courses in music and the humanities at Manchester College since 1969. Dr. Planer holds a Ph.D. and Masters are from the University of Michigan and his Bachelors Degree is from Knox College. A true lover of the liberal arts, Dr. Planer has interests in many areas. His most notorious journal article deals with the function of popular music; the article is entitled Function in Tight Fitting Jeans. Dr. Planer is co-President of the Guild of Temple Musicians and is a recognized national speaker on Jewish liturgical music.

Debra Lynn, Associate Professor of Music, is in her tenth year at Manchester College where she serves as Chair of the Music Department, Director of Choral Organizations, and instructor of applied voice, conducting, vocal pedagogy, and choral arranging.  Choral ensembles under her direction include the A Cappella Choir and Chamber Singers.  Her ensembles have performed at various locations throughout the U.S. including Carnegie Hall in New York.  In 2004, her A Cappella Choir traveled to Italy for a tour emphasizing world peace. Debra holds a Doctor of Arts in Music degree with an emphasis in choral conducting and voice performance from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.  Prior degrees from Truman State University and William Jewell College include emphases in choral conducting, voice performance, and music education. Before moving to North Manchester, Dr. Lynn has held teaching and conducting positions at Northeast Missouri State University, William Jewell College, and Mid-America Nazarene College.  She has served as opera chorus director for Illinois Opera Theatre and as guest conductor for various composer forums and honor choir festivals.  She is married to tubist, Robert Lynn.  They reside in North Manchester with their four daughters, Bethany, Abby, and twins: Emily and Erin.

Tim Reed graduated with a B.A. in Creative Music Technologies from LaGrange College in 1999 and subsequently attended the Dallas Sound Lab School for the Recording Arts in the Fall of 2000. Tim completed his M.M. in composition/theory at Illinois State University in 2004 and his PhD in composition at the University of Florida in 2008. Tim has received awards in the Goliard Ensemble Composition Competition, the LaGrange Symphony Young Artist Composition Competition, and the 2004 Pedrick-Hutson Guitar Duo Commission Contest. Tim's compositions have been performed at various festivals including Music '04 (Cincinnati Conservatory), the 2005 Nong Project, The Kentucky New Music Festival, Electronic Music Midwest, Electroacoustic Juke Joint, SEAMUS and by the string orchestra, R20 in Wroclaw, Poland. His music has also been featured on radio programs including No Pigeonholes, Difficult Listening, Futhernoise Radio and Foldover. In October of 2003, Tim composed a score for the WIP Studios film, “Prison-a-Go-Go!”, which has received several awards including “Best Feature Film” in the Backseat Film Festival. His compositions have been published by Trevco Music and by Lonely Whistle.

Scott Humphries is a native of Alleghany County, Virginia. He received a Bachelor of Music Education from James Madison University and a Master of Arts from

Virginia Tech. He is currently pursuing a D.M.A at Boston University. While in Virginia, Mr. Humphries directed bands at both the middle school and high school levels where his ensembles consistently earned superior ratings. His teaching also included duties with the Roanoke Youth Symphony Orchestra and Dabney S. Lancaster Community College. In addition, he remains active as a judge and clinician throughout the United States. He has presented research at the Virginia Music Educators Association Convention, the Music Educators National Conference Convention, and has published research in the international journal Psychology of Music. He is also a published composer of music for concert band and wind ensemble. His compositions have been published by MSB Publishing and Stephen Melillo.

Alan Chambers holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Keyboard Performance from DePauw University and a Master of Arts in Music from Ball State University.  He has professional experience as conductor, musical director, singer, keyboardist, actor, arranger and teacher.  He sang in Chicago with the 16-voice chamber ensemble Fleur de Lys, toured Germany and Austria with the James Chorale, and performed in the vocal jazz quartet Creme de Menthe, who sang on WFMT's "Midnight Special" and were interviewed by the legendary Studds Terkel.  Mr. Chambers has been a soloist in the Faure Requiem and the Mozart Missa Brevis in D, and appeared in Puccini’s Turandot at the Lyric Opera as an illustrious supernumerary (i.e., a banner carrier!).  He has worked for many professional theatres in Indiana and Illinois including the Wagon Wheel Playhouse, Enchanted Hills, Round Barn at Amish Acres, Canterbury and Indiana Repertory.  At Manchester College Mr. Chambers has taught applied piano, applied voice, and music theory, has directed the Manchester Choral Society, Cantabile and Chamber Singers, has accompanied the A Cappella Choir and Chamber Singers on many tours and concerts, and frequently performs with the Manchester Symphony Orchestra.  In addition, he is Director of Music Ministry and Organist at Warsaw First United Methodist Church where he also leads their praise band, and he has traveled with the Indiana Ambassadors of Music Concert Choir three times to Europe as Assistant Conductor and Accompanist. 

Ann Donner,  flute instructor at Manchester College,  was a member of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic for 21 years.  In January 1990 she was one of the three soloists in the Bach Brandnburg Concerto No. 4 with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. She left the orchestra in 1997 to pursue her interests in chamber music and teaching. 

She has performed in chamber music recitals in the eastern and midwestern United States, England, Germany, and Ethiopia.  She is  a member of Flutes and More (flute duos/flute and accordion), the Civil War Trio (as narrator, fife player, and flutist), and Music Eleganza (recorders and Baroque flute), an early music group.  Her Bachelor of Music and MM degrees are from  New England Conservatory of Music.  She studied in Germany on a Fulbright Scholarship from 1968 to 1969. Flute teachers Gerald Carey, Sam Baron, James Pappoutsakis, Fritz Demmler, Marzio Conti, Stephen Preston, and Liisa Ruoho have all influenced  her playing and teaching.

Inspired by hearing flute choirs at a National Flute Association Convention in the early 1990s,  Mrs. Donner has developed a  special interest in flute choirs.  She has conducted flute ensembles at both Taylor and IPFW Universities.  She has taken the IPFW Community Flute Choir to Toledo University flute choir symposiums in 1994 and 1995 and to the  Chicago Flute Club Fair on May 2, 1998.  She  performed as a member of the Professional Flute Choir at the August 16, 2000 at the National Flute Association Convention in Columbus, Ohio.  At present she conducts the IPFW Community Flute Choir  and conducts and performs with the SAI Flute Ensemble.

Robin Gratz is the College Organist and Adjunct Instructor of organ. He has also been the College Library Director since 1989.  He has held various positions as an organist including church organist at Zion Lutheran (N. Manchester) and in Presbyterian, Methodist,  Lutheran, Episcopal, and Catholic congregations for more than 40 years. He received colleague certification from the American Guild of Organists in 1989.  Robin studied organ with R. Gary Deavel at Manchester from 1964-1970 and has had further studies and masterclass coaching from John Gouwens, Robert Glasgow, and Hans Davidsson.  Robin holds a B.A. Manchester College and M.A. degrees from Duke University and the University of Chicago.

Robert Jones, associate professor emeritus of music, joined the faculty of the Manchester College Music Department in 1968 and was appointed conductor of the Manchester Symphony Orchestra in 1979.  He retired from the position at Manchester College in May, 2004.  Before his appointment to the Manchester College faculty, Mr. Jones held teaching positions at Wichita State University, McPherson College (KA), where he was conductor of the McPherson Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Montana where he also was principal clarinetist with the Missoula Symphony Orchestra.  He participated in American Symphony Orchestra League conducting institutes in Monterey, California and Ann Arbor, Michigan.  From 1980 to 1995 he was a member of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, playing clarinet and bass clarinet. 

Mr. Jones holds a baccalaureate degree from Northern Arizona University where, as a student, he was principal clarinet with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra.  He earned the Master of Music degree in clarinet performance from Wichita State University and earned additional graduate credits from Indiana University and Ball State University.  His background in clarinet includes private study with Clark Brody, former principal clarinet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Portnoy, former clarinet professor at Indiana University, Lawrey Bloom, bass clarinetist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and James Pyne, clarinet professor at the Ohio State University.

In addition to conducting the Manchester Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Jones’s teaching responsibilities at Manchester College included applied woodwind instruction and courses in conducting, orchestration, and fine arts appreciation.   Mr. Jones has performed in recital on numerous occasions on the Manchester College campus and as a guest recitalist at Valparaiso University, Huntington University, University of Minnesota-Morris, and Ball State University.

Kira Lace Hawkins recently moved to Northern Indiana from the Twin Cities area in Minnesota.  Kira attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN earning a BA in Music and a BA in Theatre.  While there, she studied voice with Janis Hardy, traveled as a tour soloist with the St. Olaf Choir, and performed in many theatrical productions. After college Kira continued her performing career in Minneapolis working at the Guthrie Theatre, Frank Theatre, Bedlam Theatre, and numerous community theaters. Since moving to Indiana she has performed with Wabash Area Community Theatre in Hello Dolly as Irene Malloy, and at the Wagon Wheel Theatre in Cinderella as the Queen, The Wizard of Oz as Aunt Em / Glinda, and Footloose as Vi Moore.  Kira manages KenapocoMocha, North Manchester’s “locally owned, locally minded” coffee shop with her husband Zach, teaches private voice lessons, and loves being involved with theater programs around the community.

Linda Kummermuss received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Conservatory of Music at Capital University, where she studied violin with Andrew Lisko. Linda has taught in the Chillicothe, Ohio and the Prince George’s County, Maryland public schools. She has taught private lessons for Capital University’s pre-college division, for the Miami School for the Musical Arts, in Miami, Florida, for the Magnet School for the Arts at Suitland High School in Maryland, and for the Wayne Center for the Arts in Wooster, Ohio. In addition to running the Suzuki Violin Program at Manchester College, she is currently on staff with The Fort Wayne Suzuki Talent Education program, and runs a small Suzuki program in Auburn.

Linda has performed with the following symphonies: Hicksville Symphony and Merrick Symphony in Long Island, NY; the North Miami Symphony and the Broward Symphony in Florida; the Prince George’s Philharmonic and the Tuesday Morning Music Group Symphony in Washington D.C.; The Ohio Valley Symphony and the Tuscarawras Symphony in Ohio. Linda was also principal second violin for the Wooster Symphony in Ohio for six years.  Linda currently plays with the Manchester Symphony and has also with the Elkhart Symphony and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.  Linda has also been a member of the Secrest Quartet. In addition, Linda has performed as a freelance musician including performances with Peggy Lee, John Byner, Ann Murray and Manheim Steamroller

Robert Lynn has appeared as soloist with the Liberty Symphony Orchestra, the Brass Choir and Wind Symphony at Truman State University , the William Jewell College Symphonic Band, the Symphony Band and Concert Choir at Ball State University , the Concert Band and A Cappela Chior at Manchester College, and the Manchester Civic Band.  Particularly interested in performing new works, Dr. Lynn has premiered two works written for him: in 1998, Three Songs by Jody Nagel, and in 1996, Italian Dance Suite by Debra Lynn.  In 1995, he performed Images for Solo Tuba, Brass, and Percussion, by David Sargent, with Musica Nova of Kansas City during a symposium featuring Sargent as guest composer. 

Dr. Lynn received the Doctor of Arts degree in Tuba Performance with a cognate in Music Theory from Ball State University, where he served as a Doctoral Teaching Assistant for three years, teaching applied low brass and ear training classes. He holds a Master of Arts degree from Truman State University (Kirksville , Missouri ), and a Bachelor of Science in Music degree (with performance emphasis in both tuba and cello) from William Jewell College (Liberty, Missouri).

Carol Murphy Streator, soprano, holds a master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music and an undergraduate degree from Crane School of Music, SUNY in the state of New York. At Eastman Carol studied with Metropolitan opera star, Anna Kaskas. Carol has also studied with Eileen Farrell, Richard Miller, Mari Taniguichi and Carol Randal. Her concert experience has included opera, oratorio, chamber music and recitals in New York, Florida and Indiana where she has sung many times with the North Manchester Symphony. Carol’s teaching experience began at Manchester College both full and part time and includes several years at Grace College at Winona Lake. She currently directs the Ecclesia Choir at the Manchester Church of the Brethren and has directed the Mostly Madrigal Singers. Carol recently produced and has often performed a historical musical play about Grace Quivey Van Studdiford, a Metropolitan opera singer born in N. Manchester, IN. She is married to Dr. James Streator, recently retired from Manchester College Science Department. They have two sons, three grandchildren and two cats.

Phil Schurger is a guitarist/composer residing in the Fort Wayne area.  His musical expressions draw from diverse corners and blend as cohesive sounds that speak their own unique story.His primary group is an explosive collective of Chicago musicians.  The music draws strong influence from the jazz tradition while striving forward and leaves no stone unturned in pursuit of the expansion of its voice. Inspiration is drawn from  20th century composers, trance music, balinese and brazilian music, and several diverse sources as they arise in its persistent explorations of motion and lyricism. Schurger’s music is intent on elevating the listeners’ perceptions with a panorama of sonic landscapes and grooves, ranging from the linear stream of consciousness “scorpio” to the delicate chordal lyricism of “inclusion”.  In 2007, the Phil Schurger Group released two albums; “Motion”, and “the Black Hat”.  Schurger is currently working on a new set of jazz compositions to be recorded in late 2008.