Joseph Hopkins, Professor of Music and Dean of the School of the Arts at Samford University, holds degrees from Shorter College, Baylor University and Indiana University. Dr. Hopkins has concertized in the United States, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Canada. His professional stage experience includes leading roles with the Dallas Lyric Opera, Operafestival di Roma (Rome, Italy), and Artist-in-residence at the Wildwood Opera Theatre and Performing Arts Center. Before Samford, Dr. Hopkins served as Dean of the Petrie School of Music at Converse College and chair of the Dept. of Music at the University of Evansville. He is the Director of the Harlaxton International Chamber Music Festival which will celebrate its inaugural season this summer. Performances in recent years include leading opera roles in Rome, soloist for the Mozart Requiem with the St. Petersburg State Orchestra and Moscow Philharmonic, a concert with the International Chamber Orchestra of Rome, and performances and recitals in the USA, Europe, and Japan. Recordings include The Songs of Richard Faith, a collaboration with the composer for Leyerle publications; Canciones, a collection of Spanish songs performed with guitarist Renato Butturi; and Christian Contemporary recordings with his wife, soprano Suzanne Hopkins. He has served as Minister of Music since college days. His favorite role is that of husband and father, and his favorite pastime is playing dancing music on the piano for his sons Joseph and Vance.

Music of Tzu-Ling Sarana Chou has been described as "very clear expression, well designed, and creative." Her music has been awarded for numerous prizes, including the first prize winner (Leo Kaplan Award) at the 2002 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, the Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Prize from International Alliance for Women in Music, and the USA Florida Chapter of the International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM) competition. Her music has been performed at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in New York City, Taiwan National Theater in Taipei, and Akademie der Künste in Berlin, Germany;

Sarana Chou is currently completing a doctorate in composition at the Eastman School of Music. She obtained her Master of Arts from the University of Chicago ('04), and Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School ('02). Her principal composition teachers have included Samuel Adler, Shulamit Ran, Robert Morris, David Liptak, and Gordon Chin.

Born in Taichung City, Taiwan, Sarana Chou moved to United States in 1998.  She enjoys movies, traveling, and international cuisine. She joined Samford University Music faculty in 2008.

Paul A. Richardson is Professor of Music in the School of the Arts at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, where he teachers voice and church music.  In August 2007, he received the university's John H. Buchanan Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching.

A past president of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, Dr. Richardson served on the editorial committee for The Worshiping Church (Hope, 1990) and contributed to its Worship Leaders Edition (1991). He also wrote for the Handbook to The Baptist Hymnal (Convention, 1992) and The New Century Hymnal Companion (Pilgrim Press, 1998). Together with Harry Eskew and David Music, he is joint author of Singing Baptists: Studies in Baptist Hymnody in America (Church Street Press, 1994).  His revised and expanded edition of Erik Routley's A Panorama of Christian Hymnody (GIA) was published in 2005.  Will You Come and Follow Me, a worship and devotional resource on faith, vocation, and learning (Samford University Press) was released in January 2007.  His most recent book is "I Will Sing the Wondrous Story": A History of Baptist Hymnody in America (with David Music; Mercer University Press, 2008).  He is currently completing a Festschrift for Donald P. Hustad and is chair of the Format and Organization Committee for Celebrating Grace, A Hymnal for Baptist Worship (Mercer University Press, forthcoming).  His articles and reviews appear in a variety of periodicals related to hymnology, church music, and worship.

Dr. Richardson holds degrees from Mars Hill College (Bachelor of Music) and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminar (Master of Church Music and Doctor of Musical Arts).  He has done post-doctoral study at the Eastman School of Music and at Colgate Rochester Divinity School/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminary.  In the spring of 2004, he spent a semester on study leave in England engaged in hymnological research and was a senior fellow at Regents Park College, the Baptist affiliate of the University of Oxford.  He has been a participant in Lilly summer seminars on "Christian Scholarship and Academic Culture," "Teaching Theology through Music," and "Teaching Hymnody."

Dr. Richardson is a member of Baptist Church of the Covenant in Birmingham and serves on the board of directors of the Alliance of Baptists. He is married to Susan C. Richardson, a librarian and organist. They are the parents of two children: Robert, a broadcast journalist, and Rachel, a senior at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

Randall Richardson received the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from Louisiana State University and the Bachelor of Music degree from Samford University. He is a Professor of Voice in the School of the Arts at Samford University and serves as Coordinator of Performance Studies and Musical Theatre.

In addition to his academic responsibilities, Richardson has performed with the Kansas City Lyric Opera, Atlanta Ballet, Alabama Ballet, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Pensacola Opera, Alabama Operaworks, Birmingham Civic Opera, Opera Birmingham, Northland Symphony, UAB-Town and Gown Theatre, Missouri Repertory Theatre, Red Mountain Orchestra, Birmingham Festival of Arts, and Birmingham Savoyards. He has been a finalist in the Gulf Coast Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions and the National Association of Teachers of Singing "Singer of the Year" regional auditions. He has also recorded two solo albums of sacred music and been a featured soloist in a number of university and church concert series. His book The Audition Sourcebook (co-authored with Don Sandley, Samford University Theatre Department Chair) was recently published by Heinemann.

Dr. Richardson has served as Chair of the Alabama Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing State Vocal Auditions and has had the pleasure of teaching nine Miss Alabama Pageant winners (including Diedre Downs, Miss America 2005) and a national winner in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. In addition to teaching careers, other students have performed in Las Vegas, Disney World (Orlando and Tokyo), cruise ships, professional opera companies, and musical theatre companies.

Dr. Richardson is an avid bicyclist and is married to Rebecca Richardson. They have two children, Colin and Eden, and attend Baptist Church of the Covenant.

Dr. Ronald Shinn previously was Dowling Professor of Music at Huntingdon College where he was a member of the music faculty for thirty years.

His BM in Piano Performance is from The University of New Mexico (George Robert, teacher), his MM from The University of Wisconsin (Madison; Howard Karp), and his D.M.A. from The University of Alabama (Amanda Penick).

Shinn’s students have won numerous awards in many events, including MTNA state and regional competitions; AMTA solo and concerto events; Blount-Slawson (Montgomery), Tuscaloosa, Brevard, and the Alabama Symphony concerto competitions; and the Alabama Federation and Birmingham Music Clubs. He has judged many piano competitions throughout the U.S., including the Florida, Georgia and Southwest MTNA Collegiate Artist Competitions.

In 1993 he was awarded the Exemplary Teaching Award through Huntingdon and was honored as the recipient of the 1999 AMTA Teacher of the Year Award.
Shinn is on the faculty for the outstanding summer piano program known as the International Institute for Young Musicians (IIYM, www.iiym.com), which has included such esteemed piano faculty as Emilio del Rosario, Alan Chow, Jack Winerock, Larry Graham, and John Perry.

During the past academic year, Shinn’s students won the MTNA High School Competition, MTNA Junior High, MTNA Honorable Mention in Southern Division, Alabama Symphony Concerto Competition, the Shoals Symphony Concerto Competition, the National Yamaha Instrument Competition (in piano), and the Alabama Federation of Music Clubs State Competition.

Through Samford University Dr. Shinn will continue to direct the successful Senior Piano Camp (which was for 7 years the Huntingdon Senior Piano Camp).

Kathleen Costello has been recently appointed the position of Principal Clarinet with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.  She continues to spend time in Pittsburgh, where she performs with the ensemble the IonSound Project, which she helped to found in 2004.  She has recently graduated with a Master of Music degree from Duquesne University where she studied with Pittsburgh Symphony clarinetist Ron Samuels, and holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University where she studied with Russell Dagon.  She has also studied with the former Second and E-flat clarinetist of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Dan Johnston.

In addition to maintaining an active free-lance career, Kathleen has held positions with the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater Orchestra, the Youngstown Symphony, and the McKeesport Symphony.  She has also performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, the Canton Symphony, the Wheeling Symphony, and the Renaissance City Winds.  During her time in Pittsburgh she has held adjunct teaching positions with Seton Hill University and the University of Pittsburgh.  Kathleen spends two weeks each summer performing with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra in Lancaster, Ohio.

James Dorroh has played recitals throughout the United States and has been a featured recitalist for two Regional Conventions of the American Guild of Organists. As an undergraduate student at Birmingham-Southern College where he studied organ with Sam Batt Owens, Dorroh was the winner of ten performance competitions, including regional winner of the AGO Young Artists’ Competition and was a finalist in the National Young Artists Competition.

He holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Birmingham-Southern, the Master of Music degree from the University of Texas where he studied organ with William Doty, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in musicology from Vanderbilt University. He did post-doctoral study in Paris with the late French organist and composer Jean Langlais.

Dr. Dorroh is Organist and Director of Music for Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham. He has taught organ at the University of Texas (Austin), Birmingham-Southern College, and has been a member of the Faculty of Music at Samford since January 2008.

Brian Doyle joined the Alabama Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Principal Bass in 1997. This was after finishing his Bachelor's or Music at Oberlin College (1995), and his Master's of Music at Rice University (1997). His teachers have included Tim Pitts, Paul Ellison, Roger Fratena, Eugene Levinson, and Scott Haigh. In the summer of 1997, Brian won first prize in the International Society of Basses orchestral competition. Brian plays on a bass by Abraham Prescott (c. 1875) and his bow is by Paul Jombar. Brian has been the bass instructor for Samford University since January 2001.

Outside the orchestra, Brian enjoys playing golf and is an avid sports fan. He lives with his wife Amy, and their daughters Rose and Stella.

Judy Sullivan Hicks has been the Principal Harpist of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 1981. She received her Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, where she was a pupil of Eileen Malone. Before that, she attended the Cleveland Institute of Music where she received her Bachelor of Music degree. She has also studied privately in New York with Pearl Chertok, former Harpist with the CBS Orchestra. She is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen, Michigan.

Ms. Sullivan Hicks spent nine summers at the Aspen Music Festival as a scholarship student. In addition, with a professional contract, she was Principal Harpist with the Aspen Chamber Symphony.

Judy maintains a busy teaching studio here in Birmingham and has served on the faculties of Vanderbilt University, Samford University, and the University of Alabama. She has appeared as a soloist with the ASO and the Tuscaloosa Symphony.

Jeffrey Koonce is a native of Birmingham and an active freelance bass trombonist in the area.  He has performed regularly with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 2000 and also has held the bass trombone position in the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra since 2003.  In May 2008, Jeff won the same position with the Mobile Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the Huntsville and Chattanooga Symphonies.  In addition to orchestral playing, Jeff maintains an active teaching studio, serving on the adjunct faculties of Samford University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and is a member of the trombone quartet, Quatuor d'Sud.

Jeff holds a Bachelor of Music degree in music performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he studied with Randy Campora and David Fedderly.

Kevin Kozak has been a member of the Alabama Symphony horn section since 1981. He holds a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Mr. Kozak has performed, recorded and toured with the Atlanta Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, and the Nashville Symphony. His performances include seven recordings with the Atlanta Symphony and appearances in Carnegie Hall with both the Atlanta and St. Louis Orchestras. He also performs as a studio musician in Nashville, recording the theme music for CNN, Wimbledon, IMax Theaters and TBS, as well as commercial and religious recordings.

Locally Mr. Kozak is a faculty member of Samford University, where he is instructor of horn, a member of the Samford Faculty Brass Quintet, and director of the Samford Horn Ensemble. He also teaches various courses at Samford, including a Survey of Symphonic Literature and Aural Skills.

In addition Kozak is the horn instructor of the Alabama School of Fine Arts, and director of the Chamber Choir of St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Hoover. He resides in Homewood with his wife, Sophie, and Roxie- the smartest Golden Retriever in Alabama.

Milburn Price recently retired as Dean of the School of Performing Arts at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, where he also conducted the Samford A Cappella Choir and the Samford Orchestra and taught conducting, voice, and church music courses.  A native of Mississippi, he holds the B.M. degree from the University of Mississippi, the M.M. degree from Baylor University, and the D.M.A. degree from the University of Southern California.  Prior to moving to Samford in August, 1993, Price served as Dean of the School of Church Music at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky for twelve years.  He was also Chair of the Music Department at Furman University from 1972-1981.

Dr. Price has served as part-time Minister of Music for Baptist churches in Mississippi, Texas, California, South Carolina, and Kentucky, and most recently served in a similar role at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham from 1994-2003.  He has written text and music for several hymns, some of which have been included in the 1975 and 1991 editions of Baptist Hymnal and in The Worshipping Church (1990).  He is currently serving as one of the editors of Celebrating Grace: Hymnal for Baptist Worship, to be published by Mercer University in 2010.  His choral compositions and arrangements have been published by Oxford University Press, Hinshaw Music, Genevox, Harold Flammer, Carl Fischer, Hope Publishing Company, MorningStar, Coronet Press, Mark Foster, and Alliance Music Publications.  He has been the recipient of an annual ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Award each year since 1980.

Dr. Price is co-author of The Dialogue of Worship, written in collaboration with Gary Furr and published in 1998 by Smyth and Helwys.  He is also co-author of A Survey of Christian Hymnody, published by Hone Publishing Company and now in its fourth edition.  Additionally, he has contributed articles related to worship and church music to The Hymn, Review and Expositor, The Choral Journal, and Creator magazine and was a contributing author to Handbook to the Baptist Hymnal. For his contributions to church music, he was awarded Baylor University's Award for Exemplary Leadership in Christian Music in 2006.  In 2005 he was presented the W. Hines Sims Award by the Baptist Church Music Conference for his contributions to church music among Baptists.

Dr. Price served as National President for the American Choral Directors Association from 1999-2001, after having served from 1993-1995 as President of the Southern Division of ACDA.  He received the biennial Award for Choral Excellence from ACDA's Southern Division in 2006.  Guest lecturing and conducting engagements have taken him to twenty-six sates, as well as Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Scotland, Switzerland, and Russia.

Related to his work in music administration, Dr. Price has been a frequent evaluator and consultant for the National Association of Schools of Music and served a three-year term on NASM's Commission on Accreditation.

He is married to the former Barbara Stevens of Jackson, Mississippi, and they have one son, Steven, a daughter-in-law, Catherine, a granddaughter, Shelby, and a grandson, Sidney.

Mr. Robertson has been the Director of Music at Trinity United Methodist Church, Birmingham, Alabama since January of 2002. During this time the Music Department of Trinity has experienced significant numerical and musical growth at all age levels. Mr. Robertson has served as a full-time Director of Music in the United Methodist Church since 1985. Mr. Robertson also serves as Adjunct Music Faculty, Instructor of Tuba and Euphonium, at UAB’s Department of Music and Samford University School of Performing Arts.

His musical career has included membership in the Grammy Award Winning Atlanta Symphony Chorus and Chamber Chorus under the direction of the late Robert Shaw. He has also worked as a substitute tubist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. At 17 years old, Mr. Robertson was the youngest person to have both played with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and to have sung with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus. That same year, Mr. Robertson performed as a member of the Atlanta Symphony Chorus in three historic and highly acclaimed performances at Carnegie Hall in New York. Mr. Robertson has also played as a substitute musician with the Savannah, Milwaukee, and Alabama Symphony Orchestras. Mr. Robertson was the former Principal Tubist and soloist with the United States Army Ground Forces Band.

Most recently, Mr. Robertson lead a group nine professional Alabama musicians to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in musical mission support of the United Methodist Church.

Mr. Robertson attended Northwestern University and is a graduate of the United States Navy School of Music. His principal teachers have included Arnold Jacobs, Gene Pokorny, and Michael Moore. He studied conducting with John Paynter and Frederick Fennell.

Barbara Shinn is a member of the music faculty of Samford University, where she teaches music appreciation and theory lab courses. She also maintains a private piano studio in her home in which she teaches pre-college and adult students. Ms. Shinn’s students are consistent winners in solo and concerto competitions throughout the state and the south.

Awarded the Alabama Music Teachers Association Teacher of the Year Award in 2006, she holds two undergraduate degrees - one in applied piano and the other in music education - from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, and two masters degrees - one in piano and the other in accompanying - from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in addition to extended studies in music theory at UW-Madison. She has held faculty positions at the University of South Dakota, Cumberland College of Tennessee and Huntingdon College.

Ms. Shinn regularly performs in faculty chamber music recitals and has presented numerous programs with her husband in duet and duo-piano recitals. She is a Past President of Alabama Music Teachers Association and is currently a member of the AMTA Board and MTNA Junior High Coordinator for the Southern Division.

James Sullivan has been Principal Oboe of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra since the rebirth of the orchestra in 1997. Prior to this appointment, he was Principal Oboe of both the Atlanta Opera Orchestra and the Columbus Symphony. While in Atlanta, James often performed with the Atlanta Symphony, with whom he recorded Bach's B Minor Mass and Mahler's Sixth Symphony.

James received his Master of Music degree in oboe performance from the Boston University School for the Arts where he was a scholarship student of Ralph Gomberg. During this time, he served as Principal Oboe of the Boston Civic Symphony. James' other principal teachers were Jonathan Dlouhy of the Atlanta Symphony and John Mack of the Cleveland Orchestra. He also studied for two summers at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada where he worked with Richard Killmer and Peter Bowman. James received his undergraduate degree in Music Education form the University of Georgia and currently has an active teaching career in oboe. He serves on the faculties of Samford University and the University of Montevallo. In Atlanta, James was oboe instructor at Clayton State University and DeKalb College. Prior to teaching oboe, James taught choral music in the public schools for two years and worked closely with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Chorus. In 2001, James was the featured soloist with both the ASO and the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra performing The Flower Clock Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra, by Jean Francaix.

Principal flutist of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 1997, Lisa has also been the principal flutist of the Savannah Symphony Orchestra and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. She was also the assistant principal and 2nd flutist of the former Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Solo appearances with these orchestras have included Nielsen Concerto, CPE Bach – Concerto in d minor, Charles Griffes – Poeme, and J.S. Bach – Brandenburg Concerto #4. Summers find Lisa in New Hampshire as a member of the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra.

Born in Germany and raised in Eagle River Alaska, Lisa received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees, as well as an Artist Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Her major teachers were Robert Willoughby and Timothy Day. Active in education, she is on the faculties of the University of Montevallo, Samford University, and Birmingham Southern College. Lisa also maintains an extensive private teaching studio. When not busy with the orchestra or teaching, Lisa is an avid dog fancier, participating in obedience and field competitions with Molly and Tess, her yellow labrador retrievers. Molly and Lisa are also a certified dog therapy team and visit hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and schools.