2025 Clinicians

Shannan Baker serves as postdoctoral fellow within the School of Music. Her appointment immediately follows the completion of her Ph.D. in Church Music from Baylor University. Dr. Baker endeavors to find ways to connect contemporary worship research with the practice of the church. Primarily, this has occurred through the creation of contemporary worship workshops where students are encouraged to connect their classroom learning with practical applications in a band-led worship style. Dr. Baker has experience playing multiple instruments including drums (her emphasis for her BA), piano/keys, acoustic guitar, and bass guitar, which allows her to communicate with the various band members. Dr. Baker is a Michigan native, who now lives in Waco and serves the local church through the many gifts with which God has blessed her.

Jeff Barnett is the Director of Worship Sales at Sweetwater. He has 25 years' experience in worship technology as a live sound and recording engineer, system designer, installer, educator, and musician. Jeff works with thousands of churches and worship artists from all over the world, including Jesus Culture, David Crowder, Shane & Shane, and many more. Jeff enjoys working in his home studio and singing with his a cappella group, Smooth Edge 2. Jeff and his wife Brit are proud parents of six kids and are still trying to figure out where the youngest one's left shoe is. (If you find the shoe, please let him know.)

Allison Blumenthal serves as the Elementary Design Editor for Growing in Grace. A native of Rochester, New York, she is an elementary general music educator, collaborative pianist, piano and elementary voice teacher, musical theater and choir director, composer, and curriculum editor. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the State University of New York at Fredonia, and both a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano and K-12 Music Teaching Certification from Louisiana State University. Prior to her time at Growing in Grace, Allison taught public school elementary general music in Tennessee and Louisiana, served as a church music director in Georgia, and as a church pianist in all three states. In addition to her role at Growing in Grace, she is an adjunct collaborative pianist at Middle Tennessee State University, has a private studio of piano and elementary voice students, and serves at St. Paul’s Episcopal church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee as the director of Junior Choristers, pianist for Senior Choristers, and as a member of the adult choir. She and her husband have a house full of rescue cats and a three-legged dog named Clover.

He is the Ben H. Williams Professor of Church Music and Director of the Church Music Program and the Center for Christian Music Studies at Baylor University where he is a member of the undergraduate and graduate faculties and directs the Baylor University Men's Choir. With a passion for building bridges between Christian musicians, he continually looks for ways to create meaningful dialogue among all who are committed to serving the church through music.

Noted by The New York Times for playing the organ with flair, French-born musician Daniel Brondel is the Associate Director of Music at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, where he plays Masses each week that are streamed on the Internet and broadcast live on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. He is also the Associate Director of the Cathedral Choir, and he manages the organ recital series. He performs solo recitals in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Europe, and has also appeared as soloist in piano concertos of Mozart and Rachmaninoff, and organ concertos of Poulenc and Jongen. He recently accompanied the Sistine Chapel Choir during their visit to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, and he has collaborated with famous opera stars, including Renée Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Michael Fabiano, Isabel Leonard, Matthew Polenzani, Susan Graham, James Valenti, Danielle de Niece, and Joyce DiDonato.

Ryan Flanigan is a melodist, church music director at Resurrection South Austin, founder of Liturgical Folk, and the theological artist in residence at Baylor University. As an artist rooted in the Christian Story, Ryan works to create beautiful and believable sacred music for church folk and the world. He believes the Church can be a credible artistic witness of God's beauty, truth, and goodness to the whole world, not only Christians, and not just through words. Ryan’s melodies are accessible and rooted in the inherently joyful sounds of the American folk traditions. 

Dr. Monique Ingalls serves as Associate Professor of Church Music at Baylor University. Dr. Ingalls is dedicated to building collaborative research networks for the study of Christian music and religious music more broadly. She co-founded the “Christian Congregational Music: Local and Global Perspectives” conference, a biennial international gathering which meets in Cuddesdon, Oxford, UK (congregationalmusic.org). She is senior series editor for the Congregational Music Studies book series with Routledge Press. She also was co-founder and first president of the Religion, Music, and Sound Section of the Society for Ethnomusicology. 

Dr. Chris Johnson became the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of San Antonio in August of 2018 after serving as Co-Pastor for one-year.  He served as Pastor of Chalk Bluff Baptist Church, Waco, Texas from 2009 until July, 2017 when he accepted the call of First Baptist Church, San Antonio.  While pastor of Chalk Bluff, Chris developed comprehensive local and international missions endeavors, launched men’s and young adult ministry programs, oversaw the planning of new construction projects, and demonstrated his passion for discipleship through leadership and example. 

Angela Leonhardt is the music specialist at Hidden Forest Elementary in San Antonio where she was named the NEISD 2018 Elementary Teacher of the Year. She holds Master’s degrees in music education and Administration with principal certification. She received her Orff certification from Trinity University and Orff Schulwerk apprenticeship at Anderson University. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Central Texas Orff Chapter in the posts of Recording Secretary, Treasurer, VP and President and on the Curriculum Oversight and Review Committee for AOSA.  Her service to NAfME-Texas includes President, the council of chairs for K-12 Music and Music in Our Schools Month. She serves as an adjunct professor on the music education faculty at the University of Texas at San Antonio and Trinity University teaching courses in music technology, diverse learners in the music classroom and music and related arts. She has also served on the editorial review board of General Music Today, a NAMfE publication.

Joseph Martin, a native of North Carolina, earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Subsequently he earned a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Texas, Austin. He is a member of the staff of Shawnee Press, Inc. as Director of Sacred Publications, with responsibilities for overseeing the editorial and creative direction of the company and also coordinating the recording and production aspects of future sacred publishing efforts. 

Originally from Recife, Brazil, Maria serves as Lecturer in Church Music at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and as Music Director at Primera Iglesia Bautista Mexicana (First Mexican Baptist Church), in San Antonio. Before joining the Baylor faculty in 2020, she taught for seventeen years at Baptist University of the Américas, also in San Antonio. Maria holds a Master of Music (1991) and a Bachelor of Music (1987) degrees in Music History and Literature from Baylor University, a Certificate of Graduate Studies in Musicology (1998) from Duke University, and a Ph.D. in Church Music (2021) from Baylor. 

Kent Morris is the Live Sound Market Manager for Sweetwater and a forty-year veteran of the live event arena. He has spent decades on the road with countless artists such as Paul Baloche and Israel Houghton. He’s overseen hundreds of AVL installations in every type of venue imaginable. An in-demand writer, Kent has penned thousands of industry articles for hundreds of print and online publications. He's the live sound engineer for In Touch Ministries where he mixes each week for First Baptist Atlanta (Dr. Charles Stanley). Kent and his wife Melani are based in Georgia and have two adult sons. 

David music in a retired professor of Church Music at Baylor University, where he taught from 2002-2020. He is the author of numerous publications on hymnody and Christian music history. Music has authored more than 2000 articles for journals and scholarly publications. 

Eric Nelson serves as director of choral studies at Emory University, where he teaches graduate choral conducting and choral literature. He conducts Emory's 40-voice Concert Choir and its 180-voice University Chorus. In 2004, he was the recipient of a "Crystal Apple" award for excellence in teaching at the university. He is also the artistic director of the Atlanta Master Chorale, a 60-voice adult chamber choir specializing in a cappella repertoire. Dr. Nelson’s choral compositions and arrangements are sung regularly by ensembles throughout the United States. He is the editor of the “Atlanta Master Chorale Choral Series,” a division of Morningstar Music Publishers and ECSchirmer. His compositions are also published by Colla Voce and Augsburg Fortress. He holds degrees in voice and conducting from Houghton College, Westminster Choir College, and Indiana University.

Andrew Pressley is the creator and director of KidsCore Worship, a music and worship curriculum for children that emphasizes rich content and congregational involvement. He serves as an Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church in Lindale, TX. He is a Graduate of the Fine Arts Center of Greenville County (Jazz Guitar) and has a music degree (Classical Guitar) from Anderson University as well as a Master of Divinity in Church Music (Composition) from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Andrew married Meghan in 2016. They have one daughter, Eliza, and two sons, Isaac and Jude.

Born and raised in Ohio, Michèle began her musical career with the flute and studied composition and flute performance at the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.  She began ringing and directing handbell choirs in 1991 and in January, 2002, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to join America's premier professional classical handbell ensemble, Sonos. In addition to touring extensively with Sonos, she teaches handbell lessons and workshops and regularly appears as clinician at regional handbell events.  As a Handbell Solo Artist, she is increasingly in demand to take the stage across the United States, Canada, and abroad, having played bells in 37 US States and 9 countries.