Meet The Judges

Ryan Arp is currently the co-director of bands at Iowa City Liberty High School. When the school opened in 2017, he helped oversee the design of the music facilities and the initial band equipment needs for the new program. At Liberty, he leads the Jazz Ensemble and Concert Band, and co-directs the Wind Ensemble, Lightning Jazz Band, and The Lightning Marching Band with Nicholas Carlo. Under their direction, Liberty bands have consistently earned Division I ratings and placed highly at area festivals.

Before teaching at Liberty, Ryan began his career in NEIBA, teaching at East Buchanan in Winthrop from 2008–2010, and later at City High and Southeast Junior High in Iowa City from 2010–2017. In 2014, the City High Jazz Ensemble was selected as the featured jazz band at the Iowa Bandmasters Association Conference. Ensembles he co-directed at Southeast Junior High with Bill Pringle were featured at the IBA Conference in 2014 (concert band), 2016 (jazz band), and 2017 (concert band). Ryan has also served the profession in several leadership roles, including three years as IBA Jazz Affairs Chairperson, five years as SEIBA District Jazz Chair, and SEIBA District President from

2019–2021.

A native of Eldridge, Iowa, Ryan is a graduate of North Scott High

School. He earned a bachelor's degree in music education from the University of Iowa and a master's degree in music education from the University of Kansas. His professional affiliations include the Iowa Bandmasters Association, Southeast Iowa Bandmasters, and Jazz Educators of Iowa. Ryan lives in Iowa City with his wife, Lindsey, their son, Eli, and their pets, Callie (woof) and Mia (meow). In his spare time, he enjoys nothing more than exploring the great outdoors.

Eric J. Hayes, Jr. is a professional performing artist, choreographer, and arts educator from Indianapolis. His resume boasts work in theatre, commercial and live entertainment, and sporting events. He also has choreographed for independent recording and touring artists, as well as for arts education programs and organizations throughout the country. Selected performances and choreography credits include: Indiana Pacers & Fever, Indianapolis Colts, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Ideal Talent (Indianapolis), Glam Tie Media (Chicago), Marcus Terell & The Serenades (Chicago & cruise ship), Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre, Indiana State Fair, Hoosier Lottery, Super Bowl XLVI, and The Indianapolis 500 Festival & Parade.

Since 2005 he has worked with competitive high school and middle school show choirs as a choreographer and clinician. His groups have placed and won caption awards at state-, regional-, and national-level competitions. He has created choreography and staging for more than 30 schools and ensembles, including college and professional groups. In 2015, he was nominated for an Aspire Award for Best New Choreographer, presented by FAME.

 Stephanie Michalicek, dramatic soprano, holds a Master's in Music (vocal performance) from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Bachelor's in Music (vocal performance) from Lawrence University. 

Under the tutelage of Dr. Karen Leigh-Post (a pioneer in the application of cognitive neuroscience in the voice studio), she fell in love with teaching and has held a private studio since 2012, championing vocal techniques through the cognitive and kinesthetic relationship. Working with professional opera companies since 2004 and advancing her language and voice studies in Montpellier (France) and Florence (Italy) has given her the opportunity to collaborate with the following world-renowned teachers, coaches, and directors: Gregory Keller (Metropolitan Opera), Robert Morrison (Metropolitan Opera), Jane Klaviter (Metropolitan Opera), Patricia Misslin (instructor of Renee Fleming and Stephanie Blithe), and Dale Duesing (internationally acclaimed baritone.) 

Currently, Stephanie is a Voice and Course Instructor at Mount Mercy University and Coe College. She is also the owner of one of the oldest theater licensing and publishing houses in the nation, Heuer Publishing (est. 1928.)

Julie Schnieders received her BA in Vocal Music Education from Luther College in Decorah,

Iowa and her MA in Music Education from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls,

Iowa. The majority of her 33 years of teaching Vocal Music were with the Indianola Community

School district where she directed high school curricular choirs, 2 show choirs, annual musicals,

and taught Music Theory, Music History, and voice lessons.

Julie has been an active board member with Iowa Choral Director’s Association for many years.

She has served as the SC-ICDA District representative, the 9th Grade OPUS Chairperson, the

Treble Clef Repertoire & Standards Chairperson, the High School Awards Chairperson, and

directed both the 7-8 th Grade SC-ICDA Treble Choir and the 2015 9 th Grade Opus Honor Choir.

She is currently the ICDA Co-Mentor Chair (assigning choral mentors with all first-and second-

year vocal teachers in Iowa) and the ICDA Retired Member/Legacy Chair.

Julie adjudicates regularly for the Iowa High School Music Association vocal contests, she is a

lead vocal adjudicator for the Iowa All-State Festival and adjudicated the 3-day Missouri High

School Solo/Small Ensemble State Contest. She is an adjudicator and clinician for several

private show choir competitions, has been a guest conductor at several festival choirs in Iowa,

and has supervised many student teachers. She had a private voice studio for over 30 years, has

taught music education classes at Simpson College, Grand View University, and Drake

University, and is an active musician in her church.

Julie loves spending time and laughing with her family, best grandson ever, faithful friends, and

is looking forward to baby granddaughter coming this spring!

Chase Shoemaker currently serves as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus, the Director of Music for Capitol Hill Lutheran Church, the vocal music accompanist for Timberline Middle School (Waukee, IA), and as a vocal teacher/coach through his own studio in the vibrant East Village of Des Moines, IA. Apart from these positions, Chase also works as a freelance composer, arranger, vocalist, clinician, and adjudicator for various schools and organizations throughout the state of Iowa.

Chase recently completed a decade of work as a music educator for the Harlan Community School District, Portland State University, and Bettendorf High School. In those years, he worked with over 500 students directing choirs, providing private voice lessons, and teaching courses in music theory, music history, and vocal techniques. Chase has been involved in the show choir world since 2007; 6 years as a singer/dancer, 7 years as a showband accompanist, and 8 years as a director for Bettendorf’s “Surround Sound” and Harlan’s “Breaking Cylence”/”Cytones.” Now outside of the realm of education, he enjoys working as a clinician, judge, and arranger for show choirs throughout Iowa and its neighboring states.

Chase is a graduate of Simpson College (Magna Cum Laude) where he received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Portland State University (Summa Cum Laude) where he received his Master of Music in Choral Conducting. He is driven by a love of music in all of its forms and seeks ways to make music-making more inclusive for all singers, presenting at local and regional conferences around the United States. Outside of his music career, Chase also enjoys spending quality time with friends and loved ones, doing a mean “Pig the Pug” impression for his beloved niece and nephew, and yelling at UPS trucks alongside his 10-year-old corgi, Rosie.

Mark Traynor Quamme is in his 15th year as freelance choreographer + clinician, thrilled to support students across the Midwest and beyond! Mark is a 2008 Holmen High School graduate (Wisconsin), where he got his start with show choir in “Midwest Express”. Mark continued performing at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he started choreographing with show choir programs in the Chippewa Valley and continued to do so while getting his Master of Arts in Servant Leadership from Viterbo University. Mark has continued to direct, choreograph, and clinician over the last 15 years with a variety of ages + styles of movement, including show choir programs, college music ensembles, high school theatre productions, and studio dance.

When he isn’t choreographing, Mark is also the Founder + Lead Flow Finder at The Creative’s Flow (@thecreativesflow), a creative studio designed to support freelance creatives + small business owners. Mark lives in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota with his husband, Nick, and dogs, Nora + Betty. Have a great season, ya’ll!