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Music Faculty
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John Egan (email me)
Professor of Music
Degrees: Bachelor's degree in Music, College-Conservatory of Music of Cincinnati; doctoral degree, Indiana University.
Professor Egan is Chair of the Music Department and has been teaching at SJC since 1962. A native of Lima, Ohio, he has served the College in a number of capacities, including Director of the nationally recognized Core Program, Coordinator of the Humanities Division of the Academic Cabinet, and Vice President for Student Affairs. His areas of specialization include piano, organ, voice, theory, and composition, and he has been a private piano teacher since the age of 10. He is the author of numerous compositions, and his piece "An American Requiem" has been performed both in the United States and abroad. Professor Egan's accomplishments include winning the Lima Central Catholic High School Hall of Fame for professional achievement, Indiana University Singing Hoosiers Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Rensselaer-Remington Chamber of Commerce Public Service Award. Additionally, he is a Sagamore of the Wabash, an honor/service award given by the Governor of Indiana. |
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Paul Geraci (email me)
Assistant Professor of Music
Degrees: Bachelor's degrees in Music Education and Music Performance, George Mason University; Master's degree in Music, Bowling Green State University; D.A., Ball State University.
Professor Geraci has been teaching at Saint Joseph's College since 2005, bringing with him an extensive background in music performance and composition. He has taught music at all levels from elementary to graduate school. At SJC, Professor Geraci teaches courses in music theory, composition, improvisation, sight singing, ear training, music for elementary education majors, form and analysis, and counterpoint. He also directs the jazz band and teaches private lessons for trumpet and piano. Professor Geraci has composed music for the SJC concert choir as well as a faculty recital. He also recently finished his first opera, "The Cask of Amontillado." In addition to teaching, performing, and composing, Professor Geraci enjoys being a part-time fencing master and airplane pilot. |
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Rev. Lawrence Heiman, C.PP.S. (email me)
Professor Emeritus of Music
Degrees: Bachelor's degree, Saint Joseph's College; master's degree, Catholic University of America; master's degree in Gregorian Chant, Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome; doctoral degree in Music, Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome.
A Saint Joseph's College graduate, Fr. Heiman's primary efforts are focused on the Rensselaer Program of Church Music and Liturgy, which offers master's degrees in Music with concentrations in Church Music and Liturgy as well as Pastoral Liturgy and Music, and the Gregorian Chant Institute, an annual week-long summer program held on SJC's campus. |
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Steve Janco (email me)
Director of the Rensselaer Program of Church Music and Liturgy
Degrees: Master's degree in Church Music, Concordia University; Licentiate of Sacred Theology, Pontifical Faculty of Theology, University of St. Mary of the Lake; Doctor of Ministry, Catholic Theological Union.
Dr. Janco has been with Saint Joseph's College since 2003 and teaches liturgy courses during summer sessions and coordinates liturgies and prayers each year. As a well-known composer of liturgical music, Dr. Janco has had articles and reviews published in Pastoral Music, AIM, Modern Liturgy, New Theology Review, and GIA Quarterly. Mass of the Angels and Saints, published by GIA in 1996, and Mass of Redemption, published by WLP in 2000, are sung widely in the United States and beyond. His most recent work is Jesus When the Sun Goes Down, a collection of music for evening prayer published by WLP in 2005. In addition to being Director of the Rensselaer Program, Dr. Janco also for World Library Publications, the Chicago Archdiocesan Office of Worship, and the Institute Team for the North American Forum on Catechumenate. |
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Todd Samra (email me)
Assistant Professor of Music, Choir Director
Degrees: Bachelor's degree in Music, Indiana University-Purdue University in Fort Wayne; bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies, Ball State University; master's degree in Music, University of Missouri.
Professor Samra has almost 20 years of experience in teaching Music at both the high school and college level. A doctoral candidate at Ball State University, he hopes to teach his students the importance of having perspective on how musical studies fit into life's bigger picture. "Music does not exist in a vacuum," he said. "There is no example of a piece of music that exists just for itself. It's about emotion, spirituality, conveying a theme or metaphor. Music provides a looking glass into the psyche and culture of all sorts of different groups of people. It makes us all a little more human." In addition to teaching, Professor Samra also holds private lessons for piano, organ, trombone, all string instruments, and voice. He also belongs to the American Choral Directors Association. Additionally, he currently serves as the Associate Editor of the Indiana Choral Directors' Association (ICDA) newsletter Notations, published quarterly. |
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Robb Thiel (email me)
Associate Professor of Music
Degrees: Bachelor's degree in Music Education, University of Evansville; master's degree in Music Education, Indiana University.
Robb G. Thiel is the Director of College Bands at Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana. A 1975 graduate or South Bend Riley High School, Thiel holds a bachelor's degree in Music Education from the University of Evansville (1979) and a master's degree in Education from Indiana University (1989). During his tenure at Saint Joseph's College, the band has grown by over 300%. In addition to the Director of College Bands responsibilities, Thiel also teaches courses in Music Education and Instrumental Arranging. Before coming to SJC in 1993, he held the Director of Bands position at North Miami High School (1979-84), Winamac High School (1984-85), and Knox High School (1985-93). In his fourteen years as a high school band director, his bands qualified for the Indiana State School Music Association State Marching Band Contest seven times. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Thiel has also arranged and composed percussion books for schools in Indiana, Michigan, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Thiel is a past member of the Indiana State School Music Association State Board and holds current memberships in the Music Educators National Conference, Indiana Music Educators Association, the Indiana Bandmasters Association, and the National Catholic Band Directors Association. In 2007, Thiel was honored by the Indiana Music Educators Association as the Outstanding University Music Educator of the Year. He is frequently asked to serve as an adjudicator for marching band, jazz band, solo and ensemble, and concert band contests, as well as a consultant and clinician for all areas of music. Thiel resides in Rensselaer with his wife Kris. His daughter, Abby, is a 2005 graduate of Saint Joseph's College. |
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