Our People
Dr. Mark Lucas, Messiah Festival Artistic Director
Sponsored by Marylen and Richard Anderson for 2021
Dr. Mark Lucas is an Associate Professor of Music and the Director of Choral Activities at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas where he is also director of the Bethany Oratorio Society and Co-Chair of the Department of Music. At Bethany Mark teaches conducting, music education courses, voice lessons and is the conductor of the Bethany College Choir and Bethany College Chamber Ensemble. He is also the Senior Choir Director at Messiah Lutheran Church in Lindsborg.
Prior to his appointment at Bethany College, Mark was a tenured Associate Professor of Choral Music Education and the Associate Director of Choral Activities at the University of Oklahoma, where he conducted the University Singers, taught choral conducting and courses in choral methods, and supervised student teachers.
Dr. Lucas received a degree in Music Education from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas and an M.M. in Choral Conducting from the University of Oklahoma. He received his Ph.D. in Choral Music Education from the University of Oklahoma. His dissertation, Adolescent Males’ Motivations to Enroll or Not Enroll in Choir, is a study of what factors influence young men in grades 7 and 8 to participate in choir. His more recent work has been published in the Choral Journal and UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education. Mark is currently serving on the advisory committee for the Music Educators Journal.
As a tenor, Mark has sung professionally with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and remains active in teaching studio voice. As a conductor, Mark’s past work ranges from preparing major works, such as Brahms’ Requiem and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, to extensive work with middle and high school choirs. In his teaching he employs an integrated approach to choral methods, using authentic teaching experiences as a major part of course work.
Dr. Lucas is a frequent clinician and adjudicator for choral groups of all ages. He is the founder of the Young Men’s Vocal Workshop at the University of Oklahoma, which has featured more than 1000 young men in concert. A new incarnation of that festival, “Real Men Sing” has been an addition to the offerings at Bethany College since 2015 and recently featured over 800 young men from around the state of Kansas joined together in song!
Previously, Mark served for four years as Director of Choral Activities at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kansas and taught vocal music to students in grades 6-12 in Marion, Kansas. Mark enjoys spending time with his wife Jeanne and their two boys Matt and Jake.
Professor Greg LeGault, Theatre Department
Dr. Keith Dodson, Director of Instrumental Studies
Keith Dodson is currently an Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Studies at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. Dr. Dodson completed the PhD in Music Education with an emphasis in Orchestral Conducting at the Florida State University College of Music. He also completed the Specialized Study in Music Theory Pedagogy program. As an educator, he held secondary instrumental positions at Space Coast Junior/Senior High School and Matanzas High School. He has had the opportunity to present at the Florida Music Educator’s Conference on “Introducing and Utilizing Singing in the Instrumental Classroom” with Ian Schwindt, and “Passion as a Path to Excellence: Teaching Strategies that Last” with Dr. Alexander Jiménez.
As a conductor, Dr. Dodson was selected to participate as a fellow at The Conductor’s Institute in South Carolina under the direction of Dr. Donald Portnoy. He was also selected as a Conducting Participant in the College Orchestra Directors Association’s Conducting Masterclass with Bruce Hangen in Boston, Massachusetts. His conducting teachers include Michael J. Garasi, Joseph Kreines, and Alexander Jiménez. An enthusiastic string pedagogue, Dr. Dodson is a private student of violinist Dr. Benjamin Sung.
As a graduate teaching assistant at Florida State University, Dr. Dodson served as assistant conductor to the renowned University Symphony Orchestra and as assistant music director to the undergraduate University Philharmonia Orchestra. In addition, he has served as an instructor for undergraduate conducting and director for the non-major Campus Symphonic Orchestra. Other opportunities included serving as a Music Director to the Summer Sinfonietta Orchestra and FSU’s New Music Ensemble. As a proponent of new music, he has conducted works by Michael Gordon, Victoria Bond, James Primosch, Richard Maltz, Avner Dorman, Ash Stemke, Aaron Houston, Brian Junttila, and Eunseon Yu.
Dr. Dodson earned Bachelor’s Degrees in Music Performance and Music Education from the University of Central Florida, Orlando. He earned a Masters in Music Education from the Florida State University.
Dr. Hentus van Rooyen, Sacred Music Coordinator and College Organist
Hentus van Rooyen, a native of South Africa, is Assistant Professor of Music, Sacred Music Coordinator and College Organist at Bethany College in Lindsborg KS, where he teaches organ, music history, music theory, aural skills, and directs the Bethany College Handbell Ensemble. He graduated with the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in organ performance from the University of North Texas in December 2019. In addition, he holds a Master of Music from the University of North Texas, a Bachelor of Music, and a Diploma in Church Music from the University of Pretoria, and the Teacher’s and Performer’s Licentiates from the University of South Africa. He studied organ performance with Jesse Eschbach and Wim Viljoen, and baroque repertoire studies with Paul Leenhouts. During the Summer of 2019, van Rooyen traveled to Italy to play several Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century organs by Italian builders as part of his research for his dissertation: The Keyboard Toccatas of Michelangelo Rossi (ca. 1602 – 1656): Performance Perspectives for Organists. In January 2020, he was invited by the Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Dietrich Brauer, to perform organ recitals at the Lutheran Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Moscow and at Saint Catherine Lutheran Church in Saint Petersburg. Hentus van Rooyen serves as the Director of Music and Organist at Christ Episcopal Cathedral in Salina, KS.Manda Deegan, Messiah Festival Coordinator
Manda Deegan is a violin and viola instructor, musician, and string instrument bow repairer and rehairer in Salina, Kansas, and works weekday mornings at Bethany College as the Messiah Festival Coordinator. A Denver native and a graduate of The Lamont School of Music at The University of Denver, Deegan spent a decade traveling, playing, and teaching in locations from Korea to Kentucky during her husband’s army career. She settled in Kansas with her family in 2007 and has since played Principal 2nd Violin with The Salina Symphony, both Principal 2nd Violin and Principal Viola with The Lindsborg Bethany Oratorio Society and Messiah Festival Orchestra, and both violin and viola with The Hays Symphony, The Lawrence Community Orchestra, and The Hutchinson Symphony. Deegan took advantage of the downtime during the Covid-19 Crisis by studying bow repair, rehairing, and maintenance with renown American bow maker Lynn Hannings, and has since been actively spreading the word about the importance of bow knowledge for string music educators. Deegan currently has a private studio of 45 violin and viola students; has been on the summer music faculty for Midwestern Music Camp at The University of Kansas, High Plains Music Camp at Fort Hays State University, and Summer String Camp at Kansas Wesleyan University; has conducted young orchestras at String Fling at Kansas State University; adjudicates and provides sectionals and clinics all over the region; has presented at The American String Teachers Association National Conference and at The Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Conference; is a volunteer Connect Champion for the new online community of the American String Teachers Association; and is an active member and former president of The Salina Symphony Guild.
Taylor Deutscher, College Events Coordinator
Taylor Deutscher received her Bachelor of Arts in English (writing) with a minor in journalism from Fort Hays State University. Before her time at Bethany College, Deutscher worked at FHSU as an Admissions Counselor. During the summers, she also works for the Pecos League of Professional Baseball Teams where she operates live statistics.