MENTOR

Rebecca Farmer is a composer, pianist, teacher, cellist, Colorado Composes Project alumni and mentor, Composers Institute and Studio alumni and Vice-Executive Producer of the program. She is pursuing a Bachelor of the Arts (BA) in Music with an Emphasis in Composition at Utah State University in Logan, UT. Rebecca studies composition with Dr. Stephen Mitton and Dr. Kevin Olson, piano with Dr. Cahill Smith, and cello with Dr. Ghyas Zeidieh. She is a piano teacher in USU’s Youth Conservatory, Undergraduate Teaching Fellow in the music program at USU, and member of the Cache Symphony Orchestra. Rebecca completed multiple commissions in her first year of college. The first was a 15- minute work for a Master’s Thesis Project for a choreographer. The project was titled Be Apart or Be A Part, focusing on the evolution of ancient to modern dance. Later on, she completed a commission for the Utah Public Radio. They sought background music for their podcast featuring Temple Grandin in partnership with the Utah Stem Action Center. In 2022 Rebecca received the Eric Stokes Grant, “Earth’s Best in Tune,” to put on a concert of her original compositions for chamber ensemble surrounding themes of environmentalism

MENTOR

Campbell Helton is an accomplished, multi-facetted musician with the belief that music can change lives. She is an experienced pianist, violinist, vocalist, and composer out of Des Moines, Iowa and Logan, Utah.

Campbell began playing the piano at age 5 and studied with her grandmother, Marlene Bachelder. She currently studies with Dr. Aleksandra Kasman Laude. She has won concerto competitions with the Des Moines Symphony (2020) and Ottumwa Symphony (2023), and played as a guest artist on a Des Moines Symphony set featuring pianist Natasha Paremski (2022). Campbell is a three-time MTNA piano division competition participant and has attended Utah State’s Piano Festival and the Stringwood Chamber Music Festival.

As a violinist, Campbell won the Des Moines Symphony Young Artist Competition (2023) and received an honorable mention from the 2019 MTNA competition string division. She studied violin with Julie Fox Henson starting at age 7 and currently studies with Rebecca McFaul. She was the concertmaster the Des Moines Youth Symphony, TRHS Orchestra, Drake University Honors Orchestra, and was a 4-year Iowa High School Music Association All-State Music Festival Participant; she won the position of principal second and concertmaster at the IHSMA’s 2021, 2022 All-State Music Festivals. Campbell played first violin in the DMSYO Honors String Quartet and was featured in chamber concerts around the city of Des Moines and prior to DMSO concerts. In 2023, Campbell won Best of Center at the Des Moines Solo and Ensemble Festival.

In the vocal area, Campbell performed with Roosevelt high school’s jazz choir at Carnegie Hall in the summer of 2022, premiering Dr. Justin Binek’s jazz mass: Missa Lucis. She studied voice with Dr. Rose Dino for 2 years. Campbell lead and participated in her high school’s gospel choir, show choir, jazz choir, and classical chamber choir. She participated in the opera choir for the Des Moines Metro Opera production Turnadot and starred in various musicals at the Des Moines Playhouse community theatre.

Campbell is also a composer, currently studying with Dr. Stephen Mitton and Dr. Kevin Olson. She has received instruction from great modern composers such as Alyssa Weinburg and has collaborated with artists such as pianist Dina Kasman. Her works explore complex, transcending harmonies in choral ensembles, string ensembles, and solo piano. She is also an experienced songwriter and jazz musician, recently releasing her first EP Bittersweet on iTunes, Apple Music, and Spotify.

As a collegiate member of UMTA, Campbell is a passionate private piano and composition instructor. She believes that music is for learners of all ages and can positively influence all aspects of life. Music helps with emotional, social, and intellectual development and should be a necessary part of children's education. She is a fierce advocate for her students, embracing everyone individually and celebrating diverse learning needs.

Campbell is a freshman earning her Bachelor of Music in piano performance at Utah State University. In her free-time she enjoys painting watercolor, attending live concerts, and reading. Her favorite composer is Brahms.

INSTRUCTOR

Susan Ogilvy owns an innovative music studio in Denton, TX for children of all ages where Clavinovas are incorporated into every activity. She has been a consultant for YAMAHA Corporation of America, training teachers how to use the Clavinova in their studios and for the Clavinova Festival. She is director of KETS (Keyboard Ensemble and Technology Seminar), a seven-day seminar for piano teachers, music educators and worship musicians co-sponsored by Ogilvy Music, YAMAHA and currently hosted by the University of Central Oklahoma.

Susan holds a B.M.E. and M.M.E. from the University of North Texas where she studied piano with Robert J. Rogers and Margaret Grubb. Susan and her husband Jim, compose digital keyboard ensembles for their publishing company, Ogilvy Music. She has written piano solos for Alfred Publishers and for the “Celebrate Piano!” method published by Frederick J. Harris (Canada).