Scott Hamlin
MS/HS Pianist
Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Scott began taking piano lessons at a young age and continued through high school. He began accompanying choirs in 7th grade and continues to enjoy this. Scott has always enjoyed music, so during his first college experience, he minored in church music. After three years, he moved to southern California to major in music education with a voice and choral emphasis. From Southern California to the Bay Area, and then to Longmont in 1987, Scott has been privileged to lead the music in several churches.

This is Scott’s 18th season with the Longmont Chorale.  Prior to this, he served for three years as the Associate Director of the Chorale Singers (now Viva Voce) ensemble.  He has been directing choirs for over forty five years, in Oregon, California, and Colorado. Since 2003, Scott has also been an accompanist for the St. Vrain Valley School District, where he currently accompanies six choirs at Erie Middle School.
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In December 2007, he completed the Master of Music degree with an emphasis in conducting at the University of Northern Colorado under the direction of Dr. Galen Darrough (Director of the Longmont Chorale 1990-2000).
Matthew Sebald
Elementary Pianist
Known for his bold performance presence and praised as a “dedicated musician”, Matthew Sebald is very active as a collaborative pianist and vocal coach. He recently graduated with a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano from CU Boulder and is pursuing his DMA in this field starting this fall. As a collaborative pianist, Matthew has experience playing for both instrumentalists and vocalists, from beginners to professional musicians. His most recent engagement was a trip to the XVIII World Saxophone Congress in Croatia where he collaborated with Dr. Scott Sandberg (UND) in the premiere of Catherine McMichael’s Duality for tenor saxophone and piano. Matthew has also proven himself to be an accomplished soloist; some of his accolades include winner of the 2016 Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra Concerto competition and UND’s 2015 Mozart Piano Concerto competition, and runner-up for the 2017 Greater Grand Forks Concerto Competition. His experience as a pianist/harpsichordist in small and large ensembles includes the Red River Trio 2016-2017, the UND Chamber Orchestra 2017-2018, CU Boulder’s Symphony Orchestra 2020-2021, and CU Boulder’s Chamber Singers 2021.
Melody Sebald
Elementary Director
Melody Sebald holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of North Dakota. She is currently pursuing her Master of Music Degree with a concentration in Kodály from Colorado State University.

During her time at UND, she was awarded the undergraduate choral conducting scholarship and studied under Melanie Popejoy. Although Melody has been teaching for less than five years, Popejoy says, “It is very rare to find someone of Mrs. Sebald’s age who has a real sense of who she is, what she believes in, and what she aspires to do with her life. Melody demonstrates wonderful character traits, an admirable work ethic, the spirit of a servant-leader, and great personal integrity. These qualities have garnered her the admiration and respect of both adults and students who have had the privilege to work with her.”
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Melody currently teaches elementary music to over 500 students in Jefferson County Public Schools, and is the director of the introductory choir of the Boulder Children's Chorale. She is an active member of ACDA, NAfME, and OAKE. She likes to play board games with her husband, go on walks with her dog, and read in her spare time.
Mister Tim
​MS/HS Director
Mister Tim is a prolific and award-winning singer, composer, actor, teacher, artistic director and conductor, Mister Tim has performed around the world in thousands of shows with dozens of performing groups.  He has performed on the stage of America's Got Talent, was a headline performer on the Las Vegas Strip, and has appeared in movies, on television, and in numerous viral internet hits. 

As one of the leading innovators in modern a cappella music, Mister Tim has created more than a dozen award-winning groups that have toured around the world.  His groups include 2010 International Harmony Sweepstakes Champions Plumbers of Rome, comedy quartet and internet celebrities moosebutter, all-'80s party rockers Rubix, indie-rock vocal band THROAT, beatbox quartet Mouth Beats, and the world's first (and only?) a cappella heavy metal band Placental Armageddon. 

​Mister Tim performs around the globe with his solo vocal live-looping show, with a cappella acts, as lead singer of the Irish rock band Delilah's Revenge, and with the retro close-harmony trio Vintage. He is the co-founder of this camp.
Hannah Judson
MS/HS Director
Hannah Judson is an amazingly versatile vocalist and gifted teacher. Singing pop, rock, r&b, jazz, and classical music, she graduated with honors from the University of Colorado-Boulder with a degree in Music Education. She has years of experience in choirs and theater productions. While at CU-Boulder she performed with and was business manager for the collegiate a cappella group “Mile 21.”

​In addition to her considerable performing talent, Ms. Judson has an infectious positive attitude, as well as wonderful kindness about her. She excels at creating a safe space and teaching advanced skills to her student. Ms. Judson teaches choir at Westminster High School in Westminster, Colorado and performs with the a cappella group Rubix. She has been with the camp since its inception, in 2017.
Ben Thompson is a piano player, composer, and teacher that currently lives in the Boulder/Denver area. He is a versatile musician, mixing jazz improvisation, classical music, salsa, funk, and rock to create his own musical identity. Ben has a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies which he attained in 2020 from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

During the summer of 2018, Ben played with the National Repertory Orchestra where he worked with Michael Stern, Chris Deviney, and She-e Wu. In 2020, he was selected to participate in the IASJ music conference in New York City before the conference was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    
While being a gigging and composing musician, Ben also loves teaching music. He works with CCJA (Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts), an organization that’s purpose is to let kids learn jazz from professional jazz musicians, of which he is an alumni. In addition to CCJA, he works as an accompanist at Niwot HS, as well as teaches students individually.
Sam Stech has attended the camp since its inception in 2017, and has participated in other past camps (before this one existed) with Mister Tim. He now serves as an assistant staff member and accompanist for the camp. He is a skilled singer, beatboxer, pianist, looper, and overall musician. Sam is excited to return to the a cappella camp to share those skills and  help other campers have the same awesome experience that he had. During the school year, Sam attends the Colorado School of Mines, and is working on completing on his degree in Computer Science.
Victoria Bailey holds a Master's Degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Southern California. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Choral Music Education from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she also won the Anderson's Undergraduate Vocal Scholarship Competition in 2011. After graduating, she  held the position of Choir and Drama Director at Lyons Middle Senior High School for 6 years. Additionally, she has spent the last five summers as the music director for Center Stage Theatre Company's summer camp intensive. Ms. Bailey has a wealth of experience and talent, and loves sharing as much of this as she can with each of her students, bringing a positive energy to the process.  She has been with the camp since its inception, in 2017.
​Please consider partnering with our organization to support our mission.  Your tax-deductible donation will help us provide the following:
  • Access to small ensembles for students seeking further musical challenge
  • Uplifting and educational summer intensives for any interested student
  • Educational festivals and classroom visits for music programs in need
  • Special scholarships for students seeking additional education (college degree, private lessons, etc.)
  • Grants for public music education programs to supplement severely limited budgets
  • An affordable price for ALL of our offerings, and scholarships for students with financial need

You may use the button above to uplift students and music programs throughout the state of Colorado. They will most certainly be grateful for your support and generosity.
Ascent Vocals exists to support and strengthen music education in our state. We provide support to music educators, opportunities for their choirs, and extra-curricular activities for ANY interested student. 

We don't want a lack of funding to stop students from experiencing the joy of singing, so we make everything as affordable as possible, and provide scholarships for both schools and students when they're needed. We can't do this without the support of those who also believe in the importance of doing so.

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