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Mason Siders 
​Elementary Pianist
Mason Siders is a pianist based in Colorado. Mason is a graduate of Colorado State University with a degree in Music Education (Instrumental concentration). Specializing in musical theatre and jazz, he performs frequently with school choirs and show productions, in addition to Music Directing at Candlelight Dinner Playhouse in Johnstown, CO. ​
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Anastasia Damick
​Assistant Instructor
Anastasia has been playing piano since she was 4, has been singing most of her life, and has been singing in a choir since 6th grade. She will be graduating in December with her Bachelors’ of Music in Music Composition as well as Choral/General Music Education from Miami University in Ohio, after which she plans to be a middle or high school choir teacher. 

Anastasia first composed a recorder trio at the age of 7 on a few sheets of printer paper on which she drew staff lines using a ruler; unfortunately, that composition has been lost to time. She began composing in earnest in 9th grade. Through her studies at Miami University, she has had the opportunity to compose music for musicians from Guerilla Opera as well as Unheard-Of Ensemble during their short residencies. She also presented her choral piece at a reading session at the Indiana Choral Directors’ Association conference in 2024.

​While Anastasia currently lives in Indiana with her family, she grew up in Longmont and was a student in the camp from 2017-2019 (you can spot the back of her head below and just to the left of the flag in the group photo in the footer), and she is so excited to be back on staff!
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Grable Howie
Assistant Instructor
Grable Howie is a producer, songwriter, music director, and performer who currently studies at Berklee College of Music. He is earning his bachelors in Independent Recording and Production and a minor in Music Health. He is working to perfect his craft as an independent musician, developing skills in production, mixing, and mastering. Specializing primarily in guitar and voice, Grable performs all around Boston and Colorado, mainly in the genres of folk, alternative, and pop. 

He is also the current music director of On The Vox A Cappella, an award winning pop based collegiate a cappella group at Berklee. This group recently became two time semifinalists in the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella. 

Grable has a diverse choral and theatre background, winning multiple awards in both areas. Most notably, Grable has been a MainStage performer at the International Thespian Festival, and won the National School Choral award back in 2021. He is so excited to bring his knowledge and experiences to Ascent Vocals again!
Cathy Keller
​​Elementary Director
Cathy Keller is in her sixteenth year at Prairie Ridge Elementary School in the St. Vrain Valley Schools where she serves as the general music teacher and conductor of the Soaring Singers. She also serves as the conductor of the third grade Beginning Choir as well as the director of the Soaring Sounds tone chimes ensemble and other musical extra-curricular activities. In 2017, Mrs. Keller co-presented with her fellow general music council member a session at CMEA entitled “Tried and True: Our Choral Favorites.” She also, along with her district colleagues began collaborating in order to develop and prepare viable lesson plans and materials for the autism spectrum disorder programs at their respective schools. She and her colleagues presented their work at the CMEA Conference in 2018. Following their presentation, they shared their work again at the University of Colorado NafME student chapter meeting in early spring. She served on the General Music Council for CMEA for eight years, four as the district 3 representative, and most recently as the Chair and Chair-Elect of the GMC and on the Board of Directors for CMEA.
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Mrs. Keller has two children with her husband, Travis Keller: Matthew (14) and Emma (11). She and Travis have been happily married for 18 years. She enjoys traveling, swimming, camping, hiking, attending Broncos and Rockies games and any outdoor activities with her family. She loves exercising every day and taking care of her mental and physical health. She loves attending Travis’ and Matthew’s marching band activities in the fall to cheer on the Fairview Marching Knights and Emma’s dance and voice recitals!
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.
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.

We would LOVE to tell you more, so sign up to hear the updates, or contact us directly!