Based in the Chicago metropolitan area, NANCY BOCEK enjoys a national reputation as a choreographer, clinician and adjudicator for show choirs from the middle school through college levels. She is a proud graduate of the University of Illinois and holds a BS in Education. Ms. Bocek has had the opportunity to choreograph for over 90 show choirs throughout the country and serve as a judge or clinician at numerous festivals and competitions from Massachusetts to California. She was a staff choreographer for Show Choir Camps of America for over 35 years as well as serving as a choreographer for the Rising Stars Show Choir Workshops and several others. In addition to her work with show choirs, Ms. Bocek has choreographed over 160 high school and community musical theater productions and is proud to be the only person asked to choreograph both the IL All-State Show Choir and IL All-State Musical. She is both humbled and honored to have shared her love of dance with thousands of students during her career.

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​​​​​​​​TED BRIMEYER serves as Teaching Artist of Choirs and Voice at Drake University. There he conducts Borealis, the auditioned treble choir, and teaches studio voice. During his tenure at Drake, the choir toured Ireland and collaborated with Cantus, the world-renowned treble choir from Trondheim, Norway. Ted recently completed fifteen years of service to Urbandale High School as Director of Choirs. There, he led a vibrant vocal music program enrolling 470 students in seven performing ensembles. Under his direction the choirs were recognized at state, regional, and national levels with highlights including the 2020 American Prize in Choral Performance, 2019 American Choral Directors Association Conference, 2017 Iowa Choral Showcase, and Regional ACDA Conferences in 2022, 2016 and 2014. In 2022 the Iowa Choral Directors Association named him the inaugural Outstanding High School/Post-Secondary Choral Educator. Passionate about supporting living composers, Ted worked to establish the Composer in Residence Project at UHS. This endeavor commissioned choral works for mixed, treble, and bass voicings and provided young singers the special experience of workshopping music with the composer. Ted recently joined the team at Plymouth Church in Des Moines as Director of Children, Teens, and Families and the Matins Choir. He is thrilled to be part of Plymouth’s storied musical tradition and strong social justice mission.

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SETH JOHNSON (Solo Competition) is a tenor with a passion for both opera and education. Hailing from Illinois, he is a graduate of Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. During his time in Peoria, his interest in opera was piqued through his work with arts organizations such as Opera Illinois and Bradley Opera Youth Outreach. Shortly after graduating, Seth moved from Illinois to Ohio where he began work with the local arts scene. He has worked with many local arts organizations in several capacities, including as a performer in various roles with Toledo Opera and Detroit Opera, soloist with Masterworks Chorale, performer for Toledo Symphony Orchestra, both house manager and resident artist at Ohio Light Opera, and education administrator at Great Lakes Light Opera. Johnson works with many of these companies regularly, being cast in supporting roles of various sizes including Vanderdendur in Candide, Pritschitsch in The Merry Widow, Giuseppe in La Traviata, Le Petit Veillard and L'Horloge comtoise in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, Von Marambot in Cloclo, Magus in Gift of the Magi, Pop in The Pajama Game, and the Purser in Anything Goes. His work in supporting roles does not preclude Mr. Johnson from commanding the stage as a leading man. Throughout his time on the stage, Johnson has also performed such roles as Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, L’amante in Amelia al ballo, Archibald Grosvenor in Patience, and Gabriel von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus. In 2021, Seth completed his Master’s in Vocal Performance at the University of Toledo, where he began his collegiate teaching experience as a Teaching Assistant for vocal pedagogy and repertoire, chamber singers, music theory/aural skills, and opera workshop. Now, Mr. Johnson can be found teaching an array of classes at Owens Community College in Perrysburg, OH including voice lessons, piano lessons, class piano, music theory, aural skills, professions of music, and music business. Johnson also manages his own private voice and piano studio.

 

DALLAS JAMES PRITT is the creator and camp director of the new Florida Show Choir Intensive, a summer program in Orlando designed for students and educators to grow and experience competitive show choir. He is currently an Equity Principal Actor at Walt Disney World, where he can be seen in the Frozen show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In 2024, Dallas released his debut single, “Somehow (Beautiful to Me),” with renowned musical theatre composer Joey Contreras. The song and accompanying music video have earned thousands of views and have been played on show-tune radio stations around the world. Over the past 13 years in the show choir world, Dallas has worked as a choreographer, show designer, and vocal coach for ensembles in 13 states and has served as a clinician and adjudicator for approximately 50 competitions. His groups have earned numerous awards, including Overall Grand Champion, Best Choreography, Best Show Design, and Best Overall Effect, and have consistently been finalists with national placements. He is the recipient of the 2018 FAME Aspire Award for Best New Choreographer, after also being nominated in 2017. As an actor, singer, and dancer, Dallas has performed across the country in regional theatres, theme parks, and on television. He is best known for the short film A Heart’s Calling, national commercials for Toyota Tacoma Mall Terrain and Curology, and for co-starring as Chet alongside Billy Ray Cyrus in Season Two of Still the King on CMT. Dallas holds a BFA in Musical Theatre, having studied at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts and Lipscomb University’s College of Entertainment and the Arts.

 

SANDI THOMAS is the retired choral director from Clover Hill HS in Midlothian, Virginia. After 38 years in music education, Sandi retired in 2019 and relocated to Durham, New Hampshire, where she resides with her husband. Throughout her 38 years, Thomas’ competitive show choirs consistently won many caption awards in the best vocal, best choreography, and best show design categories, as well as Grand Champion Awards. Her Chamber Choirs were known for their challenging repertoire and the affection with which they perform. Sandi is a seasoned judge on both the regional and national levels. Having judged from Nebraska to Florida throughout the past 20 years, she particularly loves the chance to make a difference in her comments to competing show choirs. Sandi is also a clinician for show choirs across the country, offering them a fresh, unbiased assessment of their shows and vocal quality, as well as strategies to improve both. Sandi has a passionate love for all choral music. Whether it is as the Artistic Director of the Granite State Choral Society or as the Director of Music at the Lee Congregational Church in Lee, New Hampshire, she loves helping singers find their passion through the music they sing.

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​SCOTT THORNE is a 1998 graduate of Auburn University, with a Bachelor of Music Education and 2010 graduate of The University of West Alabama with a Masters of Counseling. Mr. Thorne recently retired after completing his 25th year of teaching choral music, the last 20 as the director of the award winning Homewood High School show choirs, where his program was named to the NAMM 100 best schools for music education in the nation 16 times during his tenure at Homewood. Mr. Thorne was honored to be named the Allen and Sandra Chapman Show Choir Nationals Outstanding Director, in 2015. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Music Education from SCN in 2023. In 2001, he took himself to the country stage, as a member of the Country Treasures cast at Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee where he also sang back up to several Grand Ole Opry Legends. As a philanthropist, Mr. Thorne has created and organized a Multiple Sclerosis Society of Alabama Signature event, which this year, after only 8 years has exceeded 2.5 million dollars raised for research and grants for those living with Multiple Sclerosis.

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