​The C-HOP Festival 2019 is sponsored by the Stanton Memorial Carillon Foundation and ISU Department of Music & Theatre.

Guest Artists:

Koen Cosaert, carillon Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn", Mechelen, Belgium

Koen Cosaert is director of the Royal Carillon School “Jef Denyn”, one of the leading institutes for carillon art in the world under the Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Mathilde. Since 1987 Koen Cosaert has been teaching carillon, campanology, harmony and music theory at this institute. He has been visiting professor for carillon and campanology at the St.-Petersburg University in Russia from 2007 until 2016. He is carillonneur for the Belgian cities of Kortrijk, Roeselare, Harelbeke and Izegem. He performed carillon recitals and gave master classes all over Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States.  As campanologist he lectures on topics of campanological interest and has published numerous books and articles. Koen Cosaert is vice-president of the Flemish Carillon Association (VBV) and has been secretary for the European Countries of the Executive Committee of the World Carillon Federation from 2011 until 2018.

Michael Elsbernd, organ St. John's Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Iowa

Michael Elsbernd is Director of Worship and Music at St. John’s Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Des Moines, Iowa, where he conducts the Cathedral Choir, String Scholars, and serves as principal organist. He is also a member of the adjunct faculty of Grand View University, where he teaches organ. A graduate of Luther College, Elsbernd earned a Master of Music Degree from Westminster Choir College of Rider University and completed his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the University of Michigan. He was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda (National Music Honor Society) in 1999 and was awarded a grant from the Theodore Presser Foundation in 2001, upon the recommendation of the Faculty Council for Graduate Studies at the University of Michigan. The Presser Foundation grant funded Elsbernd’s dissertation project on the music of Jan Adam Reincken. His principal teachers include William Kuhlman, Eugene Roan, James Kibbie, and Marilyn Mason. Additional studies were completed with Harald Vogel at the North German Organ Academy. Elsbernd has served terms as Repertoire and Standards Chair for the South Dakota ACDA, District Convener and Chapter Dean for the South Dakota Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), and is currently member-at-large of the Central Iowa Chapter AGO board. He has made concert appearances with Boston Brass, Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir, Michigan Sinfonietta Orchestra, and the choirs of South Dakota State University. He has three hymn-based compositions published by Alliance Publications, Inc. Elsbernd resides in Waukee, Iowa, with his wife, Nichole Colsch, and their two children, Ethan and Abigail.

Logan Skelton, piano University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Logan Skelton is a much sought-after pianist, teacher and composer whose work has received international critical acclaim. As a performer, Skelton has concertized widely in the United States, Europe and Asia and has been featured on many public radio and television stations including NPR's "Audiophile Audition," "Performance Today," "All Things Considered," and "Morning Edition," as well as on radio in China and national television in Romania. He has recorded numerous discs for Centaur, Albany, Crystal, Blue Griffin, Equilibrium, Supertrain, and Naxos Records, the latter two consisting of collaborations with fellow composer-pianist William Bolcom. He has been a juror for many international piano competitions. Skelton regularly appears in such festival settings as Gina Bachauer, Amalfi Coast, Gijón, Eastman, Tunghai, Chautauqua Institution, American Romanian, Eastern, New Orleans, Poland International, Indiana University, Hilton Head Island, and the Prague International Piano Masterclasses. He is a popular presenter at music teacher organizations including numerous appearances at MTNA national conventions and EPTA World Piano Conferences, as well as serving as Convention Artist for state conventions in New York, Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, North Carolina, Wyoming, Indiana, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Iowa. Moreover, he has given countless performances and masterclasses at colleges and conservatories throughout the world. He is a frequent juror for international piano competitions. His Centaur Records compact disc, of all 20th century American solo piano music, is titled American Grab Bag: Piano Music of Our Time. American Record Guide described this as a “fascinating recording,” commenting on Skelton’s “superb, wonderfully subtle and elegant playing … Bravo!” As a composer, Skelton has a special affinity for art song, having composed nearly two hundred songs, including numerous song cycles, many of which have been recorded commercially and performed internationally. Critics have noted the close fusion of text and music in Skelton’s songs, how words are “… illuminated with brilliance and deep emotional power,” American Record Guide. In Fanfare magazine reviews, Skelton as a composer of song has been singled out for his ability to “… plumb the depths of emotion … these are exquisitely crafted art songs in the American tradition … we are in the hands of someone who lives and breathes song.” A devoted teacher himself, Skelton has been repeatedly honored by the University of Michigan, including in 2003 the Harold Haugh Award for excellence in studio teaching, and most recently in 2017 with the Arthur F. Thurnau named professorship, among the highest honors given to faculty members at the university. Skelton’s own piano students and former students have won awards in many national and international competitions including Hilton Head, San Antonio, Cincinnati World, Washington, Bartók-Kabalevsky-Prokofieff, Fischoff, Jacob Flier, Iowa, Frinna Awerbuch, Eastman, Crescendo, Dallas, Missouri Southern, Los Angeles Liszt, Wideman, Concorso Internazionale di Esecuzione Musicale, Schimmel, Liszt-Garrison, Grieg Festival, Del Rosario, Beethoven Sonata, Ithaca, Piano Arts, Heida Hermanns, Dubois, Schmidbauer, Peabody Mason, Janáček, Seattle, Kingsville, New York, Oberlin, Idyllwild, as well as numerous Music Teachers National Association national competitions. His former students hold positions of prominence in music schools and conservatories throughout the world. He has served on the faculties of Manhattan School of Music, Missouri State University, and is currently Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Piano and Director of Doctoral Studies in Piano Performance at the University of Michigan.

ISU Faculty:

Janci Bronson, class piano & piano pedagogy
Mei-Hsuan Huang, piano
Tin-Shi Tam, carillon
Miriam Zach, organ and harpsichord

 Festival Poster

Schedule of Events

* All events are free admission unless otherwise noted.

Friday, September 6

Saturday, September 7