Southwestern College faculty members are preparing for an upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.  The group is planning several local appearances in an effort to raise funds for the trip.

Tim Shook, chair of performing arts at SC, and Daniel Stevens, assistant professor of strings music, will perform a specially-commissioned composition at Carnegie Hall on March 16.  Stevens and  his brother, Phillip Stevens, will play viola and Shook will play the piano in the string trio.  They will be performing a piece composed by Christopher Schmitz, assistant professor of music at SC.

The three fund raising concerts will be Feb 5-7.

• Feb. 5—7 p.m. at Ascension Lutheran Church at 842 N. Tyler in Wichita. Free to attend with a free will offering taken.  A reception will follow the performance.

• Feb. 6—7 p.m. at the home of Jim and Robbie Banks, 901 E. 10th in Winfield.  Tickets are $20 per person.  Dessert will be served during the recital.  Limited seating is available.  Call (918) 809-6568 for tickets or more information.

• Feb. 7—2 p.m. at the Marland Grand Home in Ponca City, Okla.  Recital hosted by the Ponca City Federated Music Club. Tickets are by invitation only.

Timothy Shook is chair of the division of performing arts and professor of music at Southwestern College where he has taught since 1988.  Shook teaches applied piano, piano class, music history, and creativity.  He was a keynote speaker for the Innovation Odyssey 2007 at the St. Francis Methodist School in Singapore. He is known for performing and presenting workshops for teachers throughout the midwestern U.S., New York, Malaysia, and Singapore, and is the author of several articles published in "Keys Magazine," "Keyboard Companion," and "Kansas Music Review."  Shook serves as chair of national committees for Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), is a past president for the Kansas Music Teachers Association (KMTA), and is an active member of two local chapters—Wichita Metropolitan Music Teachers Association and Walnut Valley Music Teachers Association.  
          
Daniel Stevens joined Southwestern College in 2006 as the assistant professor of music / director of strings, and the Mazie Barnett Kilmer chair for string education. His roles there include conductor and artistic director of the South Kansas Symphony at Southwestern College, coach of the new Williams String Quartet and teacher of applied violin/viola and music department courses.  Stevens also serves as the executive director/conductor of the Southwestern College Youth Symphony, a regional orchestra for area high school and middle school students.  

Phillip Stevens, violist, began his musical education in his hometown of Kansas City, Mo.  He later received his bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan studying with Yitzhak Schotten, and completed graduate work at Northwestern University under Peter Slowik.  During this time, he won first prize in the viola division of the 1994 National ASTA Music Competition, and spent numerous summers studying at the Aspen Music Festival.
           
Christopher Schmitz has been an assistant professor of music at Southwestern College since 2003.  His jazz and classical compositions have been featured in performances at academic institutions, regional and national music conferences, award competitions, and feature films.  Schmitz holds degrees from Arizona State University and the University of Northern Iowa, and is currently completing a doctorate in music composition at the University of Texas in Austin.