Prometheus Bios
Paul Crabb, Prometheus Artistic Director and Conductor
R. Paul Crabb is Artistic Director of the professional vocal ensemble, PROMETHEUS and Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri where served as Director of Choral Activities and Chair of Graduate Choral Conducting. His ensembles have sung at state, regional and national conventions, and traveled extensively in Asia, Europe, and Australia. Crabb has served as assistant conductor at the Russian-American symposium at the Moscow Conservatory and as a visiting professor in England, Austria, Sweden,Taiwan, and Poland. He was the first American Visiting Choral Professor at the Liszt Academy of Music (Budapest), and first American lecturer at the Choral Department at the University of Vienna’s Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst. Since 2012 Crabb has served as a faculty member at Laudate Dominum in Vienna. As an orchestral conductor, Crabb was resident conductor for the Dante Music and Arts Festival in Nagoya, Japan, and regularly conducts at the Conservatory of Domenico Cimarosa in Italy.
Crabb’s travels facilitate opportunities for students. In December 2017, he organized seminars and performances for graduate students in Italy, culminating at the newly restored Gesualdo Castle. His semester conducting/lecturing in Sweden resulted in collaborative concerts for University Singers in Malmö, Lund, Piteå, Stockholm and Tallinn, Estonia, in May 2018. In 2019 conducted again in Vienna, before additional conducting workshops in Slovenia and Italy. Regretfully, the pandemic resulted in canceled lectures and tours scheduled for Inner Mongolia and Cuba in the past three years.
Crabb’s teaching awards include: Allen Teaching Award (Truman State University), the Missouri Professor of the Year, and Kemper Award for Teaching (MU).
Emily Edgington Andrews, Prometheus Assistant Conductor
Long an advocate for quality musical arts in the community, Emily Edgington Andrews is extremely active in Columbia, working with children and adults at every level of their musical development.
Emily is thrilled to have joined the Columbia College Visual Arts and Music team as a newly appointed Music Faculty member in August 2022. There she teaches various courses in music, gives private voice lessons, co-conducts the Jane Froman Singers and conducts the Froman Treble Choir, and leads recruiting efforts for the music area.
In addition to her work at Columbia College, Emily is the Artistic Director of Choral Arts Alliance of Missouri, a non-profit organization that offers choral experiences for youth through adults, and is the founder of CAAM’s youth choir subset, Columbia Youth Choirs. Through CAAM, she conducts Columbia Chorale and Columbia Youth Choirs’ Canta Bella, and serves as the Assistant Conductor for the professional chamber vocal ensemble, Prometheus: An American Vocal Consort. Emily is the conductor at the historic Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Columbia, MO, where she maintains a thriving music program, conducting the Adult Choir of volunteer and paid musicians.
Emily regularly serves as a guest clinician and adjudicator, and is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, Missouri Choral Directors Association, and the National Association for Music Education. She received her degrees in Music at Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri (B.A.; M.A.) and at the University of Missouri (M.M.). Emily is a Ph.D. candidate in Music Education at the University of Missouri. Her research interests include investigating gender disparity in collegiate and professional choral ensembles and creating inclusive classroom spaces.
SINGERS
Joshua Chism, Tenor
Joshua Chism (b. 1987) is currently the Associate Director of Choral Studies and Coordinator of Music Education at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. Joshua advises music education students, teaches choral music education and music history courses, and conducts the Forest Treble Choir. He also is the founder of the Whitworth Community Chorale, a 150-voice ensemble of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members. Joshua is the Conductor and Artistic Director for Chorale Coeur d’Alene, a regional choral arts society based in Idaho. Founded in 2001, Chorale CdA’s mission is to promote excellence in choral artistry, engage the local community through creative collaboration initiatives, and support music education through targeted programming. He currently serves as the Director of Traditional Worship at Whitworth Church where he conducts the adult choir and handbell choir. He has served as director and minister of music in churches since Fall 2012. Beginning in the Fall 2024, Joshua will serve as the Director of Choral Activities at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, OK.
Joshua holds a PhD in Music Education with an emphasis in Conducting and Choral Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma in Norman (2022). He earned an MM in Choral Conducting from the University of Missouri–Columbia, graduating in 2019. Joshua holds Bachelor of Music Education degree and a Bachelor of Music Composition degree from Missouri State University in Springfield, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2010. Additionally, he holds Kodály Level I, II, and III certification.
His research interests include the impact of service-learning internships, music assessment, MUED curriculum content, and community music. Joshua has recently presented research at the Collegiate Musicological Society, NAfME, ACDA, and SMTE conferences. In his spare time, Joshua likes to compose, travel, garden, eat sushi, and play board games. Joshua, his wife Natalie, and their young children (Jacob and Hannah) reside in Spokane, WA. For more information, visit www.joshuachism.com.
Katherine Crawford, Mezzo-Soprano
Katherine Crawford holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri–Kansas City and a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from St. Olaf College, where she sang in the St. Olaf Choir under the direction of Dr. Anton Armstrong. She is an alto section leader in the Trinity Choir at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, KCMO, and a member of the GRAMMY®️ Award–winning Kansas City Chorale.
Rachel Field, Soprano
A Native of Kansas City, soprano Rachel Field (she/her) is a vocalist with a “flexible, expressive sound” and a stage and voice actor praised as “both a skillful comic and appropriately terrifying”. Rachel completed her Bachelor’s of Music at Wichita State University, where she performed the principal role in the North American premiere of The Path to Heaven, an ambitious new opera by Adam Gorb. As a solo singer, she was a featured soprano soloist in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem and Handel’s Dixit Dominus, and the two-time winner of the Barbara Rondelli Classical Voice Competition. She currently sings with the Grammy Award-winning Kansas City Chorale and when she is off-stage she has a professional career in business and enjoys volunteering for local government.
Frank Fleschner, Tenor
Tenor Frank Fleschner is an accomplished choral musician having just began his nineteenth season with the Grammy Award-winning Kansas City Chorale. His tenure with the Chorale has afforded him the opportunity to work closely with and debut works by several prominent composers such as Mark Hayes, René Clausen, and Eric Whitacre. As a soloist, Frank has appeared in Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Johannes-Passion (Evangelist), Mendelssohn’s Elijah and is the featured tenor soloist on the Kansas City Chorale’s Grammy Award-winning recording of Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil. Frank graduated from Truman State University and currently resides in Kansas City with his wife, Lindsey, and sings at Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, KS.
Patrick Graham, Baritone
Baritone Patrick Graham has been praised for his “vocal strength and beautiful tone, as well as his “striking performance.” Patrick has performed as a soloist or principal artist with Opera Columbus, Eastman Philharmonic, the University of Missouri Choral Union, Seagle Music Festival, Ad Astra Musical Festival, KC VITAs, Eastman Collegium Musicum (under the direction of Grammy-award winner Paul O’Dette), Voices Chamber Choir, and the Eastman Opera Theater. Patrick has degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Missouri. Patrick is also an active stage director and arts administrator, and currently serves as the Artistic Director for First Act Theatre Arts. He lives in Kansas City with his wife Becca, where he is a member of the Grammy-award winning Kansas City Chorale, sings with the Choir at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Brookside, and maintains a small private voice studio.
Ernest Harrison, Tenor
Dr. Ernest Harrison is a poet, musician, and teacher, committed to and specializing in the intersection of music and social justice. He is a proud graduate of Tuskegee University (Bachelor’s in English Liberal Arts, 2010), Auburn University (Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance, 2014), and University of Missouri (Master’s in Choral Conducting, 2016), with voice and choral mentorship from Drs. Rosephanye and William Powell and Dr. R. Paul Crabb. Ernest concluded his Doctoral studies in Choral Music at the University of Southern California in 2023, where he studied under Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe, Dr. Nick Strimple, Dr. Tram Sparks, and Dr. Cristian Grases.
Ernest has been the Music Director and Head of Education and Outreach of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles since 2019. Having previously taught at the University of Southern California, Pepperdine University, and Loyola Marymount University, in 2023 Ernest accepted a position as an assistant professor of Ethnomusicology at Cal state Polytechnic Pomona. Ernest became a member of the international Grammy Award winning choral ensemble, Conspirare, in 2019. He was an associate conductor for the Grammy Award-winning National Children’s Chorus (2017-2022) and conductor of the Pasadena Conservatory of Music’s Cantare Chamber Choir (2019-2022). As professor, conductor, and community leader, Ernest leans on his unique knowledge of Music of the African Diaspora, including spirituals, gospel, R&B, Jazz, blues, rock & roll, and hip hop, and his dedication to the intersections of music making, community building, and activism to advocate for equity and inclusion in choral classroom, on the concert stage, and in the world. No matter the setting, his capacity to love guides his leadership and his music making.
Christine Jarquio, Mezzo-Soprano
A force in the local music community for almost two decades, Christine Jarquio (she/her) is a sought after collaborative artist from choral to musical theatre, and pianist to conductor. She is the Director of Vocal Arts at Columbia Independent School and also serves as Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. These platforms, especially in tandem, allow for the uplifting and spreading awareness of lived experiences in order to nurture more compassion in this world.
Christine is a strong proponent of being an active musician both in and outside of the classroom. Singing in Prometheus since its second season is always a highlight of her year. She also co-founded and is the Artistic Director of Vox Nova (www.voxnovacomo.org), another professional choir whose mission is to provide free performances of high quality choral music with thoughtful and informative programming to the local community.
Outside of music and teaching, Christine loves to travel with her husband, Jay; run on the beautiful Columbia trails; and cook and eat any and all varieties of delicious food.
Lindsey Lang, Soprano
Soprano Lindsey Lang is noted for her bold interpretations of early music with a “tone [of] pure, radiant sunshine.” She has appeared as a soloist with modern and period orchestras nation-wide and has sung in main-stage events for early music festivals in Berkley, Bloomington, New Brunswick, New York, and Quito, Ecuador. She frequently performs locally as a guest artist with the Bach Aria Soloists and the Kansas City Baroque Consortium. Lindsey is also an avid choral singer, and in addition to singing with Prometheus, she currently sings with the Kansas City Chorale under the direction of Charles Bruffy, with whom she has recorded several commercial albums, won two Best Choral Album Grammys, and is a featured soloist on the Grammy-winning CD “Life and Breath.” Lindsey graduated with a Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Missouri in 2008 and then studied for two years at the Early Music Institute at Indiana University. She currently resides in Kansas City with her singer husband and fellow Promethean Frank and is the Music Director at Asbury United Methodist Church and maintains an active performing career.
Christina Ray, Mezzo-Soprano
Praised for her “velvety mezzo” (OperaWire), Christina Ray is equally at home on the operatic, concert, and musical theatre stages. Ms. Ray has sung professionally with Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Overland Park Orchestra, The Missouri Symphony, Lawrence Opera Theatre, Opera Kansas, and Manhattan Concert Productions. In 2016 she was a recipient of an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, in the Little Rock, AR district. As an active choral singer, Ms. Ray is a current member of Vox Nova and Prometheus.
Ms. Ray is the Founding General Director of boutique opera company, Landlocked Opera. Landlocked Opera makes opera accessible to our community by celebrating historic operas while championing new works, ideas, and artists. Believing strongly in breaking down barriers and opera stereotypes, Landlocked Opera’s motto is “Opera for All.” www.landlockedopera.org
Ms. Ray is an evidence-based voice specialist and Professor of Voice at MU. She was recently selected for the highly competitive 2024 NATS Intern Program and recognized as a 2024 NATS Emerging Leader. In 2023 co-created Classically Untrained Voice Collective, a community of voice professionals committed to offering continuing educational opportunities in voice cross-training. Ms. Ray also serves as treasurer for Mid-MO NATS. www.christinarayvoice.com
Cameron J. Rolling, Bass
Cameron J. Rolling boasts a multi-faceted career as an emerging operatic baritone, professional chorister, and conductor. He currently serves as the Director of Music at Village Church on Antioch in Overland Park, KS and the Artistic Director of the Northland Community Choir in Parkville, MO. He also sings with the Spire Chamber Ensemble and Missouri Choral Artists in Kansas City, MO.
Last summer, Cameron participated in the prestigious Merola Opera Program as a young artist where he performed Junis in Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia. This summer he will be at the Glimmerglass Festival in upstate New York as a young artist where he will perform in three of their main-stage productions. His recent performances include Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte as well as featured soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Jesu Meine Freude, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. In addition to being a vocal and choral artist, he frequently does workshops across the U.S. as a teaching artist with the Voces8 Educational Foundation.
Cameron holds two Master of Music degrees in Choral Conducting and Vocal Performance from the Conservatory at University of Missouri-Kansas City and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education with concentrations in voice and conducting from Mercer University.
Marques Jerrell Ruff, Baritone
Marques Jerrell Ruff is an international musician, hailing from New England. The Hartford Courant marveled, “Ruff has a voice that has power, clarity and brilliant shades of color.” While GoldenPlec Magazine wrote, “Marques Jerrell Ruff has a voice that is powerful, acrobatic, and full of soul.” Marques has been a featured soloist with the National Chorus of Korea & Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Rogue Valley Symphony, and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra. As an ensemble musician, he has appeared with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Conspirare, Exigence, Chanticleer, and Seraphic Fire. In addition to being a bass-baritone, Marques is also a conductor who has conducted across the country, including with the Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley, St. Louis District Honor Choir, Leon County Tenor/Bass Ensemble, and the Missouri Choral Artists. Marques is a passionate educator who is committed to the proliferation and preservation of the Negro Spiritual and Black music across the globe. His efforts have resulted in numerous presentations, both nationally and regionally, centering on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, and Belonging within the Choral Arts. Marques is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University, where he was also the recipient of the University Singers Scholarship under the direction of Dr. Pamela J. Perry. He holds dual Master of Music degrees in Choral Conducting and Voice Performance from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and also a Ph.D. in Music Education with an emphasis in Choral Conducting from Florida State University. Marques is a proud member of the American Choral Directors Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. He can be found on all social media: @marquesjruff
Catherine Sandstedt, Soprano
Catherine Sandstedt (She/Her), Coloratura Soprano, is a native of Columbia, Missouri, who now resides in New York, where she just completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA) in Vocal Performance from Stony Brook University in May of 2023. Dr. Sandstedt currently studies voice with soprano, Brenda Harris, after she concluded her undergraduate studies at Mizzou with Ann Harrell in 2016. Dr. Sandstedt has performed many operatic roles, some including Dialogues des Carmélites (Blanche), Impressions de Pelléas (Mélisande), Il re pastore (Elisa), Le Nozze di Figaro (Susanna) and Rinaldo (Almirena). She has also sung in several choral ensembles, including NYC’s Marble Collegiate Choir, as well as Vox Nova and Prometheus, both based in Columbia, MO. Additionally, she loves to teach Applied Music in Voice at Suffolk County Community College, as well as privately. Dr. Sandstedt has competed in many competitions and was a 1st place winner and soloist for the North Shore Choir (2019); placed top 10 in the Kentucky Bach Choir Competition (2016); and placed 2nd in the Senior Women division at the 2015 National level of National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). For more info on Catherine Sandstedt, please visit: www.catherinesandstedtsoprano.com
Clara Smith, Soprano
Clara Smith is an avid musician performing both as a vocalist and conductor around the world. She received her undergraduate degree in vocal music education from Missouri State University where she had the opportunity to travel as a chorister quite extensively both domestically and internationally. She recently received her Masters in Choral Conducting from the University of Missouri and plans to pursue her DMA in Choral Conducting. She now serves as an adjunct professor in Music Theory at Columbia College as well as the director of treble choir, Bella Voce. Clara recently traveled to London and performed as a soloist with the University of Missouri’s Concert Chorale and Vox Anima Symphony. She has performed as a soloist for a wide variety of repertoire and venues including a United States presidential inauguration. Clara is thrilled to perform under the direction of Dr. R. Paul Crabb alongside such talented musicians.
Bryan Stenson, Tenor
Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Bryan Hiroto Stenson attended and graduated from St. Mary’s International School in Tokyo, where he sang in the choral program under the direction of his parents. He received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA and his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. He served six years in the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” singing for global leaders, nationally televised events, and the public. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, and researched Ko Matsushita’s choral arrangements of Japanese folk songs. Dr. Stenson works with a variety of ages and abilities. Past organizations include the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, the Tacoma Youth Chorus, the Children’s Chorus of Washington, the Chamber Chorale of Fredericksburg, and Christ United Methodist Church in Plano, TX. Dr. Stenson currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Columbia College in Missouri.
Nickolas Stoppel, Bass-Baritone
Nick Stoppel, is a multi-talented musician excelling in a variety of arenas from classical choral music to video game soundtracks. As a native of Kansas City, he continues to contribute across America and around the world both as a soloist and group member. Nick has been privileged to be a featured soloist on illustrious stages around the world including the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Kings Place in London, the Maihama Amphitheater at Disney Tokyo and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri. In December of 2018 he released his first Christmas album The Season of Light, which charted on the Official iTunes Top 100 Christmas Albums as well as the Top 15 New Christmas Albums of 2018 on iTunes. For six seasons, Nick was been a member of the Kansas City Chorale performing across the United States and Canada. Nick was privileged to be a part of the Chorale’s recording, Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, which won the 2015 GRAMMY® Award for Best Choral Performance. While based in Kansas City he also records and tours internationally with the Irish chorus, Anúna. As a member of Anúna his voice can be heard on multiple recording projects. He has appeared on tours throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Iceland, Japan and China as well as performing on national television and radio in the Netherlands.
Jeremy Wagner, Bass
Jeremy Wagner is a promising and engaging music educator, with a Master’s of Music in Choral Conducting at the University of Missouri. At the institution, Wagner was able to work alongside and learn directly from mentors, Dr. R. Paul Crabb, Dr. Wendy Sims, and Dr. Brandon Boyd. Wagner has been serving as the Director of Choral Activities at Missouri Valley College, preparing choirs as well as teaching several curricular courses such as Music Appreciation, and Jazz, Pop, and Rock. Wagner also worked individually with students as the applied lessons professor. Additionally, Wagner has been granted opportunities to work with established local educators, including Lee’s Summit North’s George Peng and Jonathan Krinke, Dr. Rika Heruth, Christine Nichols, and Emily Edgington Andrews. Through his participation within the community, Wagner has established himself as a talented conductor, educator, and performer around Missouri. These accolades, in conjunction with his focused work ethic, led to Wagner being named the Director of Music Ministry at several churches, most recently Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia. He also works as the Assistant Chorale Conductor and Co-Chamber Choir Conductor with the Choral Arts Alliance of Missouri. Wagner currently performs in a semi-professional chamber ensemble, Vox Nova, who celebrated their first Missouri Music Educators Association performance in 2018 and won the Ernst Bacon American Prize in 2019.