Directors & Staff

Teri Fay, Conductor & Artistic Director

terifay.choir@gmail.com

Teri Fay has spent her adult life as a teacher and musician in Bismarck.

She is the founding director of Central Dakota Children’s Choir and has also served as Artistic Director since 2001.  She directs Bel Canto and is the founding director of Angelica. She developed and directs “Treble Makers” and “Singing for 2nd Graders” CDCC classes.  Teri’s vision for CDCC has taken it from 1 choir of 65 to seven different performing/teaching segments in the Bismarck/Mandan area.  Teri is honored to have performed at so many local and state functions over the past 20 years with CDCC! (We won’t even try to list them all!)

Teri spent 38 years as an elementary music teacher, 35 of which were at Dorothy Moses, where she taught grades K-6 music and 5th and 6th grade band.  A lover of the Orff philosophy, Teri, together with Sister Millicent and Sister Jeanette Hinds founded the Prairie Winds Orff Chapter, which led to helping many of the area schools and teachers develop an Orff curriculum, changing the way music is being taught in the area.  Teri also conceived the idea of the Bismarck Public Schools Band camp, establishing this unique opportunity for children to begin learning their instrument. Teri was also the first elementary band instructor to enter a 6th grade marching band in the local Band Night Parade. 

Teri plays horn in the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony, West River Winds, and the Bismarck-Mandan Wind Ensemble. She also performed with the Missouri River Community Band for 15 years.  Teri spent 25 years as a cantor, pianist, organist, and choir director at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.  Because of her dedication to the school district and community, Teri received the 2000 Crystal Apple Award from the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce.  Teri is the composer of “That’s What North Dakota is to Me,” sung at the state Centennial Celebration in 1989 and often performed by Bel Canto.

 A North Dakota native, Teri is a graduate of Minot State University with additional graduate work done at the University of Colorado.  Teri earned a Level III Orff Certification (studying with Jos Wuytack), a Level I Certificate in the Kodaly Method and completed Levels I and II of Creating Artistry with Henry Leck.

 Of all her accomplishments, she is most proud of her children, MeriCarol, Stephanie and Ron Storhaug.

 In March 2018, Teri was inducted into the North Dakota Music Educators Hall of Fame.

Dawn Hagerott, Conductor

dawn.hagerott@bismarckstate.edu

Dawn brings a great deal of vocal and choral experience to CDCC.  She has a Master of Music degree from Northern Arizona University where she was a graduate assistant in opera, and a music instructor for six years.  She was the chair of the vocal department of the Northern Arizona University Preparatory School of Music where she was a voice instructor and children’s choir director.  She was also the choral director of Flagstaff Middle School and the Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy high school.  Dawn conducted the ensembles of the Academy at the Grand Canyon for President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore.

Before moving to Arizona, Dawn and her husband David lived in Moscow, Idaho for six years where they attended the University of Idaho.  Dawn graduated with a Bachelor of Music Education and was a featured soloist with several choruses and orchestras of Washington and Idaho.  She also directed the children’s choir at Emmanuel Lutheran church in Moscow.  Prior to returning to her hometown, Dawn and her husband, David, were in Dickinson for a year where Dawn was an adjunct professor of music for Dickinson State University.  She was also the children’s choir director at St. John Lutheran Church and the director of the Badlanders Barbershop Chorus.

As part of the Bismarck Public School District’s Student Instructional Programs, Dawn presents an educational program with BMCC about opera for all the third graders in the Bismarck Public Schools each year as well as presenting an educational program about choir for all the first graders in town with Jubilate. Dawn has been a member and soloist with the Bismarck-Mandan Civic Chorus since 2000 and is also a professional chorister and soloist with Dakota Pro Musica.  Dawn has played leading roles in many operas, including her favorite, the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute by Mozart with the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra.  Dawn was soloist in Handel’s Messiah with orchestras in Arizona, Dickinson and Bismarck. In the summer of 2005, Dawn was the soprano soloist in Rutter’s Requiem with the Frankfurt Philharmonic in Rothenburg, Germany.

Dawn also keeps busy presenting vocal master classes, directing festival choruses, and adjudicating festivals and competitions in North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota. She has directed the North Dakota ACDA Surround the State in Song, the Northern Plains Music Festival, the South Dakota Elementary Choral Festival, and the Bismarck All-City Middle School Choral Festival. Dawn is an active member of the American Choral Director’s Association and is past president of the ND National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Dawn has been the director of the Jubilate Choir of Central Dakota Children’s Choir since its inception in 2001 and spent two years as the director of the Angelica choir. Dawn has been teaching music at Bismarck State College since 2000 and is currently an associate professor of music at BSC where she teaches voice and directs the BSC Men’s Ensemble. She has twice been the recipient of the faculty award for excellence. She also received the 2020 Crystal Apple Higher Education Teacher of the Year award. Dawn is also an adjunct professor of music for Dickinson State University in their Bachelor of Music Program through DSU at BSC. Her husband, David, is employed with AE2S. Their son Morgen was a singer in CDCC for ten years and Gabriel was a member of Jubilate for two years.

Although Dawn loves to perform music, her true passion lies in teaching music. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and love of singing with singers of all ages. She believes singing gives us the ability to connect to people at a deeper level that transcends ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. We can be a member of a chorus and become part of something that is unified and much larger than us. Singing is something we can share with others and enjoy our entire lives.

James McMahon, Conductor

james_mcmahon@bismarckschools.org

James McMahon earned a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Mary in 2002 and has done continuing education work with UND, NDSU and UMary.

James started his professional teaching career in the Fall of 2002 at Simle Middle School in Bismarck. In his work he helps students realize their value by teaching community, collaboration, and creativity.

Now in his 20th year in education, he continues to develop the Choral Program at Simle with many students participating. At Simle, he teaches 6th-8th grade Choir, as well the extra-curricular Simle Singers and Swing Choir. He was awarded the North Dakota American Choral Directors Association “Outstanding Young Choral Director” in 2008 for his commitment to his students and the choral art form. He has also received the “Golden Apple” award for teaching excellence. He is enjoying his 9th season directing Kantorei, the middle-level auditioned choir with Central Dakota Children’s Choir. Under his direction, Kantorei was selected as a showcase performance choir for the 2016 NDACDA State Choral Convention. Recently his auditioned choir, Simle Singers, was chosen as a showcase choir for the 2022 NDACDA state convention. James received Arthur Hull Drum Circle facilitation training in 2019 and utilizes that to teach community and teamwork in the classroom. He has been doing work in Bismarck Public Schools with behavioral and mental health, supporting the needs of all students. He enjoys composing music as a singer-songwriter and integrating his original work into his choral ensembles. He can be found performing with various local musical ensembles and most recently releasing an EP with the musical group Peace Garden Collective, which features CDCC’s Kantorei on a song. James has a love for the Bismarck community and has served as President of the Dakota West Arts Council Board of Directors. James is an accomplished trumpet player and has played Principal Trumpet in the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony and has served on the International Music Camp Jazz Faculty. James is an Assistant Tennis Coach for the Legacy Sabers boys and girls tennis teams, working with fundamentals of resilience, effort and integrity. He especially values quality time with his family and loved ones.

Dean Jilek, Conductor

Dean Jilek, artistic director of the Grand Forks Master Chorale, currently serves as a Mission Advancement Officer at Light of Christ Catholic Schools in Bismarck, the Director of Music at Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, and the director of the Angelica and Cantus Choirs of the Central Dakota Children’s Choir. Dr. Jilek served as the University of North Dakota Director of Choirs from 2016-2023, where he conducted the Concert Choir and the Varsity Bards and taught choral conducting, choral literature and vocal methods courses. He also served as the president for the North Dakota State Chapter of ACDA from 2021-2023.  Dean earned his Doctorate of Choral Conducting from the University of North Texas where he studied with Jerry McCoy and Richard Sparks.  Dean received his Master of Choral Conducting and Literature from North Dakota State University and earned his undergraduate degree in vocal education from Dickinson State University in North Dakota. Dr. Jilek’s experience in conducting includes the Vancouver Professional Chamber Choir Symposium where he studied under Jon Washburn, and the International Conducting Workshop Festival in Bulgaria, where Dean focused on orchestral conducting.

Prior to his university position, Dean’s teaching career encompassed k-12 education with short tenures in North Dakota at the Hazen School District and Dickinson Trinity High School, as well as, the Mitchell School District in South Dakota.  From 2004-2013, Dean was the Director of Choral Activities at Roseville Area High School in Minnesota.  Under his direction, the school’s top mixed choir, Cantus Certus, was invited by blind audition to perform at the National ACDA Convention in Dallas (2013), Concordia College Choral Festival (2013), Luther College Dorian Vocal Festival (2013), Luther College Dorian Spring Choral Festival (2012), Minnesota MEA Convention (2012), Minnesota ACDA Choral Arts Finale (2011), Minnesota State ACDA Convention (2006, 2011).  Dean is a sought after clinician and guest conductor in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas, and he served as the North Dakota Women’s All State Choir director in March 2015. He currently resides in Bismarck with his wife Diane, daughters Clare, Gemma, Cecilia, Felicity, and son Basil.

Carol Huck, Accompanist

Carol is a native of Bismarck and first studied piano locally under Erma Garrity. She is a 1981 graduate of North Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education. She was a member of the NDSU Concert Choir and was the accompanist for the renowned composer/director Edward Fissinger. Carol studied piano privately under Andrew Froelich while at NDSU.

She has been an accompanist for Bismarck and Mandan Public Schools and has a long history of musical involvement in the community. Carol is active in local church and community musical groups and is employed with Eckroth Music in Bismarck.

Carol has three grown children and four grandchildren. She resides in Mandan with her husband, Don.

Beth Weiss, Accompanist

Beth enters her thirteenth season with CDCC, having served as original accompanist for both Jubilate and Angelica through 2007. Upon her return to Bismarck in 2017, she resumed playing for Jubilate and added Bel Canto to her group of favorite kids!

Beth began her musical life on a tiny Charlie Brown piano, plunking out tunes at age 3. She’s indebted to her mom for starting her in lessons soon afterward, so she learned to read music at the same time she was reading words. Her first public performances occurred as accompanist for her seventh grade chorus in Grand Forks where she grew up. She became a pianist and choir accompanist in her church and went on to study music and art at UND and beyond. Beth eventually auditioned for a Christian band called New Day, touring North America for four years as the assistant director. It was there she met her late husband, Bob, and together they included music in their pastoral ministry. Their son, Ben, is a librarian in Minneapolis.

Beth is a grateful supporter of our local arts community. In addition to her work as an award-winning visual artist, she accompanies the Bismarck-Mandan Civic Chorus and Bismarck State College ensembles and soloists. She continues music ministry at McCabe United Methodist Church.

David Larson, Accompanist

David is a long-time resident of the Bismarck area and has been involved in music in North Dakota for many years. He graduated from the University of North Dakota in 2019 with a Bachelors of Music in Piano Performance under Nariaki Sugiura. While at UND, he performed junior and senior recitals and accompanied the Varsity Bards Men’s Choir under the direction of Dr. Jilek. He also coached vocalists and chamber music while collaborating with musicians in the community of Grand Forks, including at the Empire Arts Center, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Red River High School, and the Summer Performing Arts program. David has over a decade of experience teaching private piano lessons and from 2015-2017 he accompanied the Legacy High School choirs in Bismarck. He has appeared in masterclasses with Stephen Carlson, Laura Loewen, Lydia Artimiw, Emile Naoumoff, Heidi Williams, and Irina Nuzova, among others. David loves sharing music with others and always enjoys playing for choirs. He lives in the Bismarck area with his wife and son.

Tammy Rector, Executive Director

tammy@aboutcdcc.org

Tammy joined our staff in September, 2007 as Operations Director. In 2009, she was promoted to Project Manager and in the fall of 2012 took on the additional duties of Director of Development. In the spring of 2015, she accepted the position of Executive Director following the retirement of Karen Traeholt.

Tammy graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in Business Administration with special emphasis in personnel management and speech communication. She and her husband, Tim, moved to Mandan, ND in 1994. In 1996, they opened Heart River Animal Hospital, where Tim was a private practitioner and Tammy kept the books and thoroughly enjoyed being a full-time, stay-at-home mom. Prior to moving to ND, Tammy was an account representative for a printing business in Spokane, WA. Before that she worked as an editorial advisor at an educational publishing company in Manhattan, KS.

Tammy grew up in a musical family. Her mother directed the church choir and she and her brother and sisters performed for school and community events from a young age. Her love of music continued through high school and college where she participated in concert choir, swing choir, All-State and various ensembles. Her first encounter with CDCC was seeing Bel Canto pose for pictures on the steps of the State Library. She was so impressed, she approached Karen to inquire about the group and made a mental note of how old her daughter would need to be to audition!

Tammy and Tim have two children, Erin and Thane. Erin was one of the first 10+ year students, participating in both Kantorei and Angelica her freshman year and Angelica and Cantus as a junior. Thane was a member of CDCC for three years.

Amy Miller, Operations Director

amym@aboutcdcc.org

Amy became part of CDCC’s staff in February, 2009. She is a Bismarck native. Amy has degrees from BSC and Alexandria Technical College. She has a strong background in customer service and design. Amy started as our Administrative Assistant and shortly after assumed Operations Director responsibilities.

Amy and her husband, Brett, have a three amazing children, Samuel, Rory & Eva.

Jennifer Bender, Uniform Coordinator & Volunteer Coordinator

Jennifer began working at CDCC in the summer of 2016. She has a teaching degree from Moorhead State University, taught 3rd grade in Minnesota and Special Education in Hawaii.

She and her husband, Dave have 3 sons – Lucas is attending NDSU, Nathan is attending Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, and Eric is a junior at CHS. Nathan sang with CDCC for 7 years and this is Eric’s 4th year.