Stambaugh Chorus is fortunate to have these very talented music professionals to bring out the best in us!

Dr. Hae-Jong Lee, Director

Lee-Hae-JongDr. Hae-Jong Lee, a native of South Korea, has directed, for more than thirty years, church choirs, high school choirs, honor choirs, college choirs, community choirs and professional choirs in Korea and the United States. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Seoul National University and his Master of Music degree from the Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ. Lee received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting and literature from the University of Illinois, Champaign, IL. At the University of Illinois he directed the University of Illinois Chorus and served as Chorus Master of the University of Illinois Opera Company. While staying in Princeton, he toured Taiwan, Korea, France (Colmar International Festival), and Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, with the renowned Westminster Choir. He, as vocalist, had performed with major orchestras including New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Luke Orchestra, LA Philharmonic Orchestra, and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra under the baton of world class conductors including Kurt Mazur, Wolfgang Sawallish, Zdenek Makal, Helmuth Rilling, Joseph Flummerfelt, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. As voice teacher, he has taught numerous singers including wide range of ages in both Korea and the U.S. He joined the Dana School of Music as Director of Choral Activities in 2002. At the Dana School of Music he directs Dana choral ensembles and teaches undergraduate choral/instrumental conducting and advanced choral conducting classes. He also supervises graduate choral conducting students. Lee had been the Chorus Master of the Opera Western Reserve 2005-2015. He had directed the Cleveland Korean Presbyterian Church Choir and Chamber Orchestra for ten years (2004-2014). He conducts Handel’s Messiah annually as the Director of Warren Civic Chorus. His choral music review appeared in Choral Journal, the official national publication of ACDA. Lee’s conducting teachers include Joseph Flummerfelt, James Jordan, Andrew Megill, Fred Stoltzfus, Don Moses (choral conducting); Donald Schleiger and Bong-Heun Yoo (orchestral conducting). He is interested in performing not only pure choral compositions but also choral/orchestral works. He remains active as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for a variety of choral events in the U.S. and Korea. Some of his recent activities include his appearances with Korean choirs as a guest conductor, including Busan City Chorus, Noel Chorus, and Seoul Motet Choir, and in Korean music workshops as a master clinician and in the Ohio Music Educators Association conferences as a clinician. One of his most recent activities includes a lecture appearance at the 10th World Symposium on Choral Music in Seoul, Korea during August 2014. Lee has also been one of six international jurors for Busan Choral Festival and Competition (Busan, Korea, October 2016). He has also conducted the BCFC Festival Youth Chorale during the event. His advanced college choir, the Dana Chorale, has toured Korea successfully for twelve days during May 2017, enjoying enthusiastic applauses from Korean audiences in six cities. Most recently he gave a lecture presentation at the Podium 2018 (Canada’s biennial national choral conference and festival) in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. He is an active member of professional organizations, including American Choral Directors Association, International Federation for Choral Music, Chorus America, and The National Association for Music Education. He is an oversea advisor for the Seoul Motet Music Foundation (Seoul, Korea) and Korea Choral Institute (Busan, Korea). He is also an Honorary Conductor for the Noel Chorus of Busan, Korea.

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Kathryn Davison Miller, Accompanist

Kathryn Davison Miller serves as Director of Music/Organist at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Boardman, Ohio.  She serves as chancel choir director, adult hand bell director, children’s hand bell director, concert series coordinator and performer.  She is staff accompanist at Youngstown State University working in the choral department.  One of her other roles includes Organist/Director at Congregation Rodef Sholom in Youngstown.  Kathryn is accompanist for Stambaugh Chorus, Warren Civic Chorus, New Castle Music Club Chorus and maintains a private organ/piano studio at Westminster.

Kathryn received her Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance from The Ohio State University where she studied with Gordon Wilson.  She earned her Master of Music degree in organ performance from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. While attending CCM she studied organ with David Mulberry and was on full accompanying scholarship working in the vocal department.  While serving on adjunct faculty at Youngstown State University, Kathryn also received her Bachelor of Engineering degree majoring in Industrial Engineering.

Kathryn recently moved to the Kent area to be closer to her four children and three grandchildren.

Nicholas Mattiussi, Assistant to the Director

Lee-Hae-JongNicholas Mattiussi is a senior vocal music education student in the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University. After starting out with a focus on trumpet, Nick fell in love with singing and studying voice through his active participation in the choir at St. Columba Cathedral as well as Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica. Last August, Nick took over as the director of music at Our Lady of Mount Carmel – St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Youngstown and serves as the lead cantor and choir director at both churches.

Nick is a baritone and currently studies with Dr. Misook Yun at YSU after previously studying with Mr. Bill Ambert for a short period of time. He currently serves as the section leader for the tenors in the Dana Chorale and is also a member of the Dana Opera. Before switching to voice, Nick studied trumpet with Dr. Christopher Krummel. In addition to voice, he is currently studying the organ with Dr. Daniel Laginya, who recently retired from his position as the music director and organist at St. Columba Cathedral.

Nick is a recent graduate of the Cecilia Project which is an organization created by the Diocese of Youngstown to assist and train young adult musicians throughout the Diocese. As a part of the program, Nick was recently able to travel to St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota to attend “One Call;” a retreat for church musicians from all over the country.

Nick is excited to once again be able to sing with the Stambaugh Chorus; he recently performed John Rutter’s Requiem with the group at Carnegie Hall in New York as a part of the Youngstown Cantorum.