Jefferey A. Hall is the Director of Music Ministries for St Joseph Parish, Madison TN. At St. Josephs, Jeff directs three choirs and arranges/conducts the music periodically at special liturgies for the Nashville Diocese. He has conducted/arranged music for several National Catholic conventions, Deacon ordinations, Priest ordinations, and Bishop installations. Jeff has also written and conducted the Prelate of honour for Monsignor Owen Campion. Always busy arranging music, Jeff makes time to be involved with Collie Rescue and spends time frolicking around with his collies Ace, Ellie Mae and Emma. Jeff studied voice at Pennsylvania State University and organ at Middle Tennessee State University (BM). Jeff was awarded the 2001 Jeffers Handbell Supply Composer/Arranger of the year award.

Jefferey A. Hall is the Editor of CIR.

Since its inception in 2006, Julie Turner has been the Associate Conductor, Composer in Residence, ringing member and a board member of Music City Bronze, Nashville's advanced community handbell group; and in 2021, she became the group's Principal Conductor. Julie also directed the handbell choirs at her church in Nashville for 22 years. She holds a B.A. in Music from Cumberland University and for 9 years was a contract music engraver for the United Methodist Publishing House (Abingdon Press). Julie has over 40 published handbell arrangements and compositions, several of which have been performed internationally, and in 2009 was named Composer of the Year by Jeffers Handbell Supply. Over the years, Julie has had the privilege and pleasure of serving as Clinician for several handbell festivals, seminars and workshops throughout the country. In the non-musical part of her life, Julie retired after working 19 years for the Tennessee Supreme Court's lawyer disciplinary agency, the Board of Professional Responsibility. Prior to that, she was a corporate Human Resources professional specializing in employee benefits. Julie and her husband Jim have lived in Nashville for over 30 years, where they raised their two now-grown children, Dylan and Mallory, and have joyously welcomed to the family their daughter-in-law, Kasey and their granddaughter, Brooklyn.

Julie Turner is Co-Editor of CIR

American composer MICHAEL KUREK’s music is receiving increasing acclaim for its lush, neo-traditional, melodic, narrative style, reminiscent of the early twentieth-century symphonists. It has garnered performances by numerous symphony orchestras and chamber groups throughout the U.S and in fifteen countries on five continents, in addition to online streams in over 100 countries on six continents. His works have been heard nationwide on NPR and other countries’ national radio broadcasts, also been profiled in national print media and music journals. Kurek has received several important awards for his music, including the prestigious Academy Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (the Academy’s top lifetime achievement award, now called the Arts and Letters Award), also the Academy’s Charles Ives Award and national awards or fellowships from the League of American Orchestras, BMI, NEA, Meet the Composer, MTNA, the Tanglewood Music Center, and others. His 2017 album, The Sea Knows, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Music chart, and he has served on the Classical Nominations Committee for the Grammy Awards. In 2022, The Tennessee State Legislature and Governor officially proclaimed Michael Kurek “Composer Laureate of the State of Tennessee.” He has been a popular guest composer at universities and an adjudicator of the national composition contests of ASCAP and others. His teachers included the German composer Hans Werner Henze, French composer Eugene Kurtz, and Pulitzer-prize winning American composers William Bolcom and Leslie Bassett. His book on spirituality in music, The Sound of Beauty, was released by Ignatius Press to strong reviews in September 2019. He holds the doctorate in music composition from the University of Michigan and is a Professor of Composition Emeritus at Vanderbilt University, where he chaired the department of composition for fourteen years. The Panhellenic Council of the university presented him with the award “Best Music Educator at Vanderbilt.”

Freddy Maresca is a music teacher and freelance trumpeter living in Nashville, TN. He received his bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Belmont University and is currently pursuing his master’s degree at Belmont in Trumpet Pedagogy. Freddy is a founding member of The Lakes Brass Quintet where he arranges and performs both sacred and secular repertoire at church services and private events. He regularly plays at St. Joseph’s Parish in Madison, TN where he also sings in and directs the 8:30 and 11:00 choirs under the tutelage of Jefferey A. Hall. Freddy is a brother of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Nolan Roth is a professional composer and freelance trumpet player residing in Nashville, Tennessee. Nolan attended Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee where he earned a bachelor degree in Classical Music Composition. He studied under Dr. Joel Treybig, grammy award winning artist Bill Pursell, Dr. Tony Moreira, and Dr. Mark Volker. Nolan’s compositions have been showcased throughout Nashville including the 2020 ECHO concert series at the Parthenon. In addition to composing music, Nolan has performed globally including in France, Italy, Germany, and Denmark. Nolan is a founding member of The Lakes Brass Quintet where he composes, arranges and performs secular and sacred music. He regularly plays at St. Joseph’s Parish in Madison, Tennessee where he directs the Handbell choir under the tutelage of Jefferey A. Hall.

Soren Allen is a freelance composer living in Nashville, TN. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Composition and Music Theory from Belmont University, where he studied with Dr. Mark Volker, Dr. Antonio Moreira, and Dr. Jeffrey Phillips. Soren served as the president of the university’s chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and represented the chapter at the Fraternity’s 56th National Convention in New Orleans, LA. He has also worked with Christian Youth Theater’s Nashville and Atlanta chapters directing music for their stage productions and teaching weekly music classes.

Rolin Mains has worked as a composer/conductor/pianist in Nashville and NYC for over 25 years. He has played keyboards on concert tours (Sandi Patty, Donna Summer), recorded in studios from Indiana to Nashville, produced award winning records (Dove Award for Best Instrumental, 1998), recorded his own record (A Time To Dance), produced concerts for shows at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in NYC, composed and underscored live improvised music for several non-musical theatrical productions, and has conducted and music directed for musical theater productions in the Nashville and NYC. Mr. Mains is the founder of the Nashville Composers Association.

Violinist Kristi Seehafer works as the first violin at the Nashville Symphony. A native of Wausau, Wisconsin, where she played piano in her brother's polka band in high school, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. She began her studies as a voice major, sang in the Concordia Choir under Paul J. Christiansen, and later switched her focus to the violin. Kristi earned her Master of Music degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she studied violin with Myron Kartman and Blair Milton, and orchestral repertoire with Victor Yampolsky.Previously, Kristi has performed with the Knoxville Symphony and the Fargo-Moorhead Civic Symphony and Opera Company. An avid traveler, she has also performed with orchestras in Texas, Colorado, Oregon, Spain, Slovenia and Austria. When she's not practicing or fixing up her house, she enjoys gardening, hiking, swimming, bicycling and rollerblading. An avid distance runner and triathlete, she is a proud member of the Nashville Symphony Legacy Society and the Hadassah Legacy Society.

Ryan McAvoy is a freelance composer, arranger and low brass player in Nashville, TN. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s of Music from Belmont University in Music Composition, Tuba Performance and Music Theory. Outside of school, Ryan performs and arranges for a number of groups in the Nashville area including the Lakes Brass Quintet and the Vanderbilt University Spirit of Gold marching band. Ryan also currently serves as the president of the Belmont University chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Adam Mamula is a percussionist, composer, and arranger currently residing in Nashville, TN. Originally from the Pittsburgh, PA area, he attended college at Youngstown State University where he earned his bachelor’s degree. He went on to study classical percussion performance at Cleveland State University. Adam has performed as a percussionist with various orchestras including the Cleveland Opera Orchestra, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Erie Philharmonic, the West Virginia Symphony, and many others. He also performed for several years as a drummer on various cruise ships travelling the world. He has also written a percussion ensemble piece entitled “What’s the Clatter?” which is scheduled to be performed in late 2023 at the University of Miami of Ohio.