presented by GSU Repertory Singers
Wednesday
February 11, 2026
12 p.m.
Florence Kopleff Recital Hall
Aaron Cummings, Nicholas Johns-Cooper, Katie Kress, Logan Kropp, Rae Laury, & Alexandria Thompson, conductors
Atasha Widemond, soprano Dayela Lima, mezzo-soprano Lesh’ln Edwards, tenor Rontray Miller II, baritone
The Ordering of Moses, Op. 58
R. Nathaniel Dett | 1882–1943
Introduction— All Israel’s Children— O Lord, Behold My Affliction— God Looked on Israel— And from a Burning Bush— Lord, Who Am I?— Who Hath Made a Man Dumb?— Interlude— And When Moses Smote the Water— March of the Israelites— The Egyptians Pursue— And When They Reached the Other Shore— Come Let Us Praise Jehovah— Sing Ye to Jehovah— He Is King of Kings
Program Notes
Celebrated composer Nathaniel Dett was born in Drummondville (Niagara Falls), Ontario on October 11, 1882. Dett studied piano as a child and was church organist in Niagara Falls, Ontario from 1898-1903. During this period he composed numerous works, including the well-known The Cake Walk and After the Cake Walk. Among his other works are Listen to the Lambs (1914), an eight-part anthem that was recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; Juba Dance (1913), a piano solo that has appeared in the Royal Conservatory of Music syllabus and was a favourite of Dett’s friend, Percy Grainger; and the oratorio The Ordering of Moses (1937). Dett earned several degrees at prestigious educational institutions, including Oberlin College; Howard University; and the Eastman School of Music. Dett studied composition in Paris with the internationally renowned teacher Nadia Boulanger. Dett was also in demand as a teacher, and held positions at Lane College, Hampton Institute, Samuel Houston College, and Bennett College. He was dedicated to the cause of Black music, winning the Bowdoin and Frances Boott prizes in 1920 from Harvard University for his paper The Emancipation of Negro Music, and for his motet, “Don’t Be Weary, Traveller.” Dett also explored and promoted Black music by editing collections of spirituals and folk songs, and was President of the National Association of Negro Musicians from 1924 to 1926.
Dett completed The Ordering of Moses in 1937, having begun it as his MM thesis at the Eastman School of Music (1932), Rochester, NY. The oratorio’s rich, emotional orchestration offers a symbolist portrait of Moses from the burning bush up to his deliverance of the Israelites through the Red Sea. The Ordering of Moses is Dett’s only orchestral piece known to survive today.
"There was poured into the astonished and delighted ears of the world an indigenous music, sung by its own creators, a music as fresh as the morning, as intimate as the breath and as vital as the heartbeat."
~ R. Nathaniel Dett
ENSEMBLE
SOPRANO Astrid Adams Adrien Gregory Amaya Hardin Audrey Jung Tiana McCaskill Zahri Munroe Liana Perlman Caitlin Norton Alexandria Thompson Madison Tiegreen
ALTO Kiana Castellano Margot Cohen Kelly Grba Katie Kress Rae Laury Carolyn Mielke Leyla Vargas TENOR Shaun Gibbons Trey House Logan Kropp Benjamin Latting Nathan Schreer BASS John (Jack) Allison Leonel Argueta-Tzun Christian Aycock Qi Cai Rocky Chatman Jayvyn Copeland Aaron Cummings Connor Cushma Ryan Griffin Anthony Hoots Alexander James Nicholas Johns-Cooper Michael Mobley
ORCHESTRA
VIOLIN I Adam Moore Mary McCoy VIOLIN II Seith Reichert VIOLA Elena Martinez Joshua Cowan CELLO Denielle Wilson DOUBLE BASS Rex Delgado David Cooper Cameron Smith FLUTE/PICCOLO Ncole Hom Dillon Hauke Jaylan Jones OBOE Sophia Monteagudo Ayahnah Glymph
CLARINET Nova Davis Richelle Nuñez BASSOON Jackelin Guevara-Blanco Ahmad Duncan HORN Bethany Driggers Ethan Atkinson Terri Lynn Ingram TRUMPET Devin Scott Will Morgan TROMBONE Austin Teas Jakobi Gerideau Jacob Chuven TUBA Roger Pomposello Jr. Timpani Caleb Franklin PERCUSSION Stuart Gerber Dylan Mantione Thomas Philpot PIANO Miya Suen
GRADUATE CONDUCTORS
Aaron Cummings
Aaron Cummings is conductor, baritone, and music educator from Alexandria, Louisiana. Aaron is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Choral Conducting at Georgia State University, and graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance. At GSU he regularly conducts Choral Union and Tenor-Bass Choir, and is currently the Music Intern at Central Presbyterian Church, where he conducts the Children's Choir.
Nicholas Johns-Cooper
Nicholas Johns-Cooper has a Bachelor of Music degree in organ and piano performance from Georgia State University where he was a University Scholar, played the piano with the GSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and sang with the University Singers. While at GSU, he studied organ with Sarah Martin and piano with Geoffrey Haydon, and was the recipient of the Tom Schneider Memorial Scholarship, the Atlanta AGO Scholarship, and the Atlanta Music Club Scholarship. Nick began his piano studies at the age of five with Martha Melton. Early on in his childhood he developed a curiosity for the pipe organ, and in high school began studying the organ with David Houston. While in high school he conducted orchestras for the musicals Fiddler on the Roof, Hello Dolly, 1940′s Radio Hour, and Les Misérables. He is a first prize winner of dozens of annual competitions such as the GMEA and GMTA All-State Piano and Chorus competitions, DMEA and DMTA piano competitions, the Margaret A. Guthman piano competition. Nick teaches piano at Guitar Decatur and teaches organ lessons around Atlanta. He currently serves as Director of Music/Organist for Oglethorpe Presbyterian Church and is in his first year as a M.M. in Choral Conducting student at Georgia State University. He lives in Forest Park with his two spouses Sammie and Jace, and their two dogs and two cats.
Katie Kress
Katie Kress is a conductor, vocalist, and music educator originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan! Katie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Kenyon College, where she studied conducting privately under Dr. Dane Heuchemer and Dr. Benjamin Locke. Since her time at Kenyon, Katie spent three years in New York City, where she taught choir to her middle and high school students, and sang and conducted for C4: The Choral Composer Conductor Collective. In Atlanta, Katie is thrilled to serve as an Assistant Conductor for Georgia State's Choral Union, as well as the Intern to the Music Director of the Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Intern to the Music Director of the Atlanta Homeward Choir.
Logan Kropp
Logan Kropp is excited to start his graduate studies in choral conducting at Georgia State University. Mr. Kropp has spent the past five years teaching at North Middle School and C. M. Russell High School (CMR) in his hometown of Great Falls, Montana. During those five years, CMR’s top choir performed at the 2025 Northwest National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Conference and the 2022 Northwest American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA) Conference. Logan earned his Bachelor of Music Education at Pacific Lutheran University (Tacoma, Washington), where he studied conducting with Richard Nance. He completed his student teaching with Dan Schwartz at Olympia High School in Olympia, Washington. In addition to his choral activities, Logan has been active with the Great Falls Theatre Company, a community theatre group for artists of all ages. During the summer of 2025, he was the vocal music director of their production of “Fiddler on the Roof,” and during the summer of 2024, performed the lead role of Professor Harold Hill in their production of “The Music Man.”
Rae Laury
Rae Laury is a conductor, mezzo-soprano, and composer from Alpharetta, GA. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Berry College in Rome, GA and completed her student teaching at Johns Creek High School.
During her time at Berry, Rae spent three years co-directing the BCEMS Choir and Steel Drum Ensemble. Rae also got the unique experience to study abroad in South Africa and toured across Europe with the Berry Singers. Rae performed alto solos for Handel’s Messiah (2022), Menotti’s The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore (2023), and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb (2023). Rae is also an aspiring composer, and the first movement of her song cycle Three Olsson Songs was featured in Ramifications, Berry College’s Literary and Arts magazine.
Rae is a second-year graduate choral conducting student at Georgia State University and serves as the music intern at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Buckhead. She regularly conducts in GSU ensembles like Repertory Singers, Treble Choir, and Choral Union. At Georgia State, Rae has performed as a soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass (2025) and Haydn’s Creation (2025). Rae also served as one of the chorusmasters for Georgia State’s production of Die Fledermaus (2025).
Rae lives in Woodstock, GA. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, learning to play the mandolin, and teaching swim lessons.
Alexandria Thompson
Alexandria (Alex) Thompson, an Augusta native, is a first-year choral conducting student at Georgia State University. After conferring her Bachelor of Music in Music Education (B.M.E.) with a vocal performance certificate from the University of South Carolina in 2020, Alex went on to teach choir and piano at Ridge View High School in Columbia, SC for five years. During that time, Alex served as a staff singer for several wonderful churches in the Columbia area and as a member of Limited Time Only, a chamber choir serving the Midlands of South Carolina under the direction of Dr. Alicia Walker. Currently, Alex has the pleasure of serving as the music associate at Northside United Methodist Church and as an assistant conductor for Choral Union. Alex is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) as well as the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and a proud soror of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.