Faculty

Barbara began teaching on the campus of Aquinas College in 1987 and is currently an Associate Professor of Music, with course assignments including Voice Techniques, Private Voice, Vocal Pedagogy and Literature, Opera Workshop and Music Appreciation classes. As a soloist, she has given many recitals in concert halls and churches in addition to having been a featured singer in Grand Rapids Symphony Pops Concerts, with the Kalamazoo and Calvin College Oratorio Societies, the Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys, St. Cecilia Music Society (now SCM Center), the Ann Arbor Cantata Singers, at Lake Michigan College, Western Michigan University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the College Music Society.

Her performing career has spanned over four decades, from Art Song to Musical Theater, opera productions to Summer music camp recitals. Lansing Lyric Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, 18 productions for Youth Opera USA with composer Sanford Jones, Circle Theater, Spectrum Theater, Summerfest at the GR Civic Theater, the Summer Cooler Series at Frederik Meijer Gardens, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, the Dominican Center at Marywood, and the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts are just some of the regional venues where her soprano voice has been heard in performance.  Ms. McCargar toured in Austria and Hungary, recorded a CD, and performed in several concerts as a member and soloist with the Chamber Choir of Grand Rapids. Ms. McCargar has recorded a CD, Women’s Works for soprano and piano, through River City Studios, Ltd. which evolved out of annual lecture recitals with her colleagues on the campus of Aquinas during Women's History Month. The 2005 CD includes songs for solo voice and piano by Larsen, Price, Moore, Beach, Glickman, and King. Fellow faculty members performing on the CD are accompanist and piano soloist, Mary Hurd, and pianist, Catherine Williams, O.P., playing extended works by Rhene Jaque and Lili Boulanger, respectively.

In the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Barbara is a sought after cantor, clinician and speaker on vocal technique, leader of workshops for the church cantor, and is the director of the St. Stephen Church Choir in East Grand Rapids.  A long time member and past president of the GR Chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM), she most recently was a presenter at the Eastern Regional NPM Convention in 2008.  As a founding member of the vocal chant trio, Vox Angelica, she recorded "Hildegard von Bingen - Chants of Heaven and Earth", performed in concerts for mid-west regional conventions of NPM, been an Artist in Residence at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew, and toured Spain and Portugal as the featured artists in 2005 with the Diocesan Choir of Grand Rapids, under the direction of Dr. Brandon Spence. Recent recordings featuring Ms. McCargar are of her singing the work of Morton Feldman (Wind) which debuted on air in May of 2010 through Ogre Ogress, Marc Chan’s I Sail'd Out To Sea (2009) for 3 voices and instruments, on the POSTCAGE project also for Ogre Ogress now in post-production, and on the soon-to-be-released CD called "Songs from the Abbey" featuring Linn Maxwell Keller as Hildegard von Bingen with The Hildegard Singers, recorded by River City Studios, Ltd.

Mary Hurd has a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Northwestern University, a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the American Conservatory of Music and a Diploma in Church Music, specializing in Piano Performance, from Moody Bible Institute.

 Since beginning to teach piano in 1972, Ms. Hurd continues to teach privately, managing an extensive list of private students across the entire age spectrum. She has taught courses in piano, piano pedagogy and music theory at Aquinas College, Grand Valley State Colleges, Grace Bible College and Grand Rapids School of the Bible and Music. She has been with Aquinas College, teaching courses in piano, piano pedagogy, piano literature, and music theory, since 1994.

 Ms. Hurd has been active both as a soloist as well as an accompanist, giving solo performances for music conferences and faculty recitals, and collaborating with many vocalists and instrumentalists for concerts in Western Michigan.  As an accompanist, Ms. Hurd has travelled with choirs in both the United States and Europe.    In addition to performing on live concerts, Ms. Hurd has recorded a CD of Women’s Works, along with Soprano, Barbara Witham McCargar, and Pianist, Catherine Williams, O.P., including accompanying the vocal works, and contributing solo repertoire written by Rhene Jaque.

Dr. Mark Webb - College Chorus, Conducting Fundamentals, Choral Literature and Interpretation, Secondary Vocal Methods and Materials, Secondary Student Teaching Supervisor, MCEN Coordintaor

Dr. Webb earned his B.M. and M.M. in Music Education and Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan; and his D.M.A. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University.  Dr. Webb was a high school choral director for 33 years, most recently serving as Director of Choral Activities and Music Department Chair at East Grand Rapids High School.  Dr. Webb is also the director of the Chamber Choir of Grand Rapids, and the Chancel Choir at Mayflower Congregational Church (Grand Rapids).  He served as the Choral/Opera Coordinator for the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and directed the camp's International Choir from 2004-2009. In 2003, Dr. Webb was recognized as "Teacher of the Year" by the Michigan School Vocal Music Association, and "Arts Educator of the Year" by ArtServe of Michigan.  Dr. Webb returns to Aquinas College this Fall 2011 where he has taught for several years, after teaching as a Visiting Professor at Albion College from 2009-2011. 

Carmen Maret - Flute

Carmen Maret, is a freelance performer, composer, and concert organizer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is an endorsed Pearl Flute artist, Blue Griffin Recording artist and tours internationally with Folias, the flute and guitar duo that she co-founded with her husband Andrew Bergeron in 2002. She also manages Folias music, the blog and publishing company promoting new original works for flute and guitar.

Ms. Maret is the co-music director and choir conductor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, MI and is the founder/director of the MAJIC (Musical Arts for Justice in the Community) Concert Series that provides donation based classical, jazz and world music concerts to the community to raise money for social justice organizations throughout West Michigan. In 2009, Carmen Maret also founded the early childhood music center Heartside Music Together at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

Carmen received her Bachelor of Music in flute performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and her Master of Music in flute performance from Michigan State University School of Music. She also received a second Master of Music degree in ethnomusicology at Michigan State University with a focus on Argentine tango music and dance. Carmen Maret is co-founder of the Grand Rapids Tango Community where she works as a tango dance teacher and tango musician.

Carmen Maret’s primary teachers are Mary Posses and Richard Sherman. She attended the Eastern Music Festival in 1999 and also studied with Peter Lloyd at his summer flute seminar in St. Andrew’s, Scotland in 2000. Carmen has performed in with William Bennett and Julia Bogorad and attended master classes with Carol Wincenc, James Galway, and Emmanuel Pahud. Carmen’s jazz teachers include Bobby Watson and Ron Blake. She also studied tango music with bassist Pablo Aslan.