Nicholas Shaneyfelt is Visiting Assistant Professor of Music in Collaborative Piano at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.  He completed his doctoral studies in the Collaborative Piano studio of Martin Katz at the University of Michigan. Prior to Michigan, he served as Staff Accompanist for the Department of Music and Dance at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with regular involvements at the Northampton Community Music Center, Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, and the UMass Newman Center.  He currently accompanies Luther College’s Nordic Choir, and has accompanied the Chamber Choir and Chorale at UMass under the direction of Tony Thornton, the UMass Conducting Institute, the South Hadley Chorale, and regional honor choirs and choral societies in western Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Maine.

Originally from Knightstown, Indiana, Dr. Shaneyfelt received Bachelor’s degrees in Music and Computer Science from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master of Music degree from UMass with a dual focus in Solo and Collaborative Piano. At UMass, he was the recipient of the 2011 Eugenie May Piano Award. While at Notre Dame, he was the winner of the university’s concerto competition. His piano trio, “The Nora Trio,” was the first Notre Dame chamber ensemble to be selected as a finalist in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Notable recent performances include the premiere of David Amram’s Greenwich Village Portraits with saxophonist Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, recital tours with soprano Katie Calcamuggio-Donner, engagements in Los Angeles, New York City, and the Kennedy Center through the University of Michigan’s Gershwin Initiative, and Winterreise with tenor William Hite.

Nicholas has studied with John Blacklow, Nadine Shank, Estela Olevsky, and Gilles Vonsattel.

Baritone Andrew D. Whitfield enjoys a vibrant career as a performer, teacher, and stage director. In addition to appearances with Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Southwest, and Pensacola Opera, Andrew was a resident artist with Portland Opera Works and toured with outreach programs for Opera Kansas and Opera Birmingham. Other performance highlights include engagements with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, and the Peoria Bach Festival. He has been a featured soloist in the Brahms Requiem (Grinnell College) and in Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass (with the Luther College Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, MN.) He performed as the baritone soloist in the world premier of Mohammed Fairouz's Anything Can Happen with the Grinnell College Singers at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois. Along with his colleague Jessica Paul, he has presented Schubert's Winterreise numerous times in recital in Iowa, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Texas. Also, his recording of Brooke Joyce’s Three Iowa Ballads, released on the Innova label, has received notable praise. Recent appearances include performances of Handel's Messiah, as well as chamber music recitals at The Baroque Room in St. Paul, MN and as part the Second City Chamber Series in Tacoma, WA.

Originally from Shelbyville, Indiana, Andrew received the Bachelor of Music degree from Butler University, the Master of Music degree from Wichita State University, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Louisiana State University. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Music and Coordinator of Opera at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he teaches applied voice and opera workshop. He is also a co-founder and co-director of the International Music Festival of the Adriatic, a summer chamber music festival for piano, strings, voice, and composition in Duino, Italy.

To see and hear excerpts of Andrew's performances, or for further information, please visit his website: andrewdwhitfield.com.