The Music Department
Conservatory for the Performing Arts
Viterbo University
Friday, February 27; 7:30 p.m.
Saturday. February 28; 7:30 p.m.
Jessica Stoeffler, MSN, RN, CNE
Assistant Professor of Undergraduate Nursing
Viterbo University
Dear Audience Members,
It’s great to have you with us. The 2025–26 performing arts season is a blend of outstanding music, comedy, dance, and drama sure to entertain and rouse the emotions while reminding us all of everything we love about the arts.
Each production is made possible through the hard work and support of our staff, volunteers, students, faculty, benefactors, sponsors, the FSPA whose vision and courage made the Fine Arts Center possible, and of course, you—our patrons. Thank you to everyone for your crucial role in making Viterbo University the premier destination for the arts in the region.
If you have not yet had the pleasure, I would like to extend a personal invitation to attend one of our Conservatory for the Performing Arts productions this season. The immense talent of our students always makes me extremely proud.
Now, on with the show!
“Pace e Bene”
Peace and all good
Rick Trietley
Viterbo University President
Welcome to our 2025-26 season at the Conservatory!
Great stories and great music have the power to touch lives, inspire hope, and create community and a sense of belonging. This season, our stages will be alive with bold, heartfelt work from the extraordinary young artists in our Theatre, Musical Theatre, and Music programs.
From timeless classics to fresh new works, from joyful celebrations to thought-provoking journeys, every performance reflects the passion, courage, and artistry of students refining their creative voices. And you—our audience—are the essential ingredient that turns their hard work from "just another rehearsal" into something extraordinary.
By joining us, you're not only experiencing the magic of live performance—you're helping shape the next generation of artists who will carry that magic into communities across the country and around the world. Thank you for believing, as we do, in the power of the arts to surprise, to connect, to transform, and to inspire.
Rick Walters
Executive Artistic Director
Conservatory for the Performing Arts
If you are unfamiliar with Dylan Thomas’s poem, Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night, I’ve included it below. My mother is 96 years old and has no desire to ‘go gently.’ Recently, my brother, her live-in caregiver, broke his leg due to slippery ice. Mom lamented that she was unable to care for him like she would have 40 years ago when he broke the other one (again due to ice). She still sees herself as the woman who has always been in control; the strong matriarch we all relied as children and young adults. After his fall, our other siblings and I immediately jumped into action. However, in our desire to get things done quickly (organize care schedules, plan meals and visits to the house, pay bills, order online items to be delivered, etc.), we left Mom out of the decision-making process. She resented being ‘handled.’ We were confused and irritated by her seeming lack of appreciation for our hours of work and assistance while holding down our jobs and families. Although we had good intentions, she thought we were unkind not to include her in every decision. It was a stark reminder to me that no matter how old we get, we still want to maintain some sense of the dignity and self-worth we once had. I hope our story tonight provides you with not only a moment to reflect on the desire of the aging to rage, but how we, the survivors, respond to them. What will this be like for each of us, since we will eventually find ourselves in the same situation?
by Dylan Thomas (1914 – 1953)
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
The Strawberry Fields area of New York City’s Central Park. A row of benches surrounds the “Imagine” mosaic dedicated to John Lennon. The Dakota Hotel, where Lennon and Yoko Ono lived, can be seen in the distance. It is a warm autumn afternoon.
Old lady, a rich old lady: Georgia Galvan
Student, a graduate student: Tom Hartl
Son, of the old lady: Lucas Wienken
Daughter, of the old lady: Skye Hermsen
Workman: David Dewey
Boy*: Noah Blackburn
Girl*: Rylie Nusz
Panhandler*: David Dewey
Nurse: Lynn Barnet
Musician*: Mackensy Benish
Tourist, husband : Andrew Mukka
Tourist, wife: Lucy Prush
Waitress*: Gwen Mahoney
Shopper*: Skye Hermsen
Shopper: Lynn Barnet
Office Worker*: Amelia MacFarland
Nanny*: Anastasia Sieren
*Chorus of John Lennon admirers
Director: Judy Myers
Music Director: Dan Johnson-Wilmot
Pianist/Music Director: Mary Ellen Haupert
Costume Design: Joe Anderson
Production Manager/Scenic/Lightning: Jason Underferth
Stage Manager: Brayden Nguyen
DIRECTOR
Judy Myers
M.F.A., Professor Emeritus, Stage Director Myers taught theatre at Saint Mary's University for 24 years. She holds a M.F.A. in Acting and Directing (University of Arizona) and a B.A. in Music and Theatre (University of Michigan). Before teaching, Myers worked in Chicago receiving a Joseph Jefferson Citation for Musical Direction (Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates), Sound Design (The Incorruptible), and an After Dark Award for Directing (4 a.m. Boogie Blues: an acapella musical). Myers serves on the Board of Directors for the Sandbar Storytelling Festival and the Winona Creative Commission. Opera and Musical Theatre staging credits: Later the Same Evening, Pirates of Penzance, Sondheim on Sondheim, Legally Blonde; Songs for a New World, 9 to 5, She Loves Me, A Grand Night for Singing, Next to Normal, A Chorus Line, Little Shop of Horrors, Showtune: Celebrating‚ Jerry Herman, Company, Nunsense II, Hello Dolly, Hansel and Gretel, Die Fledermaus. Music direction credits: The Drowsy Chaperone, Working, Urinetown, Guys and Dolls, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Baby, Gypsy, Into the Woods, Tintypes, Cabaret, Cinderella, The Me Nobody Knows, The Sound of Music, Pippin, Bye Bye Birdie, The Amorous Flea, Cowardy Custard, I Do! I Do!, Carnival, Little Mary Sunshine.
Music Director
Dan Johnson-Wilmot
Dan Johnson-Wilmot is a Professor Emeritus and Visiting Professor of Music at Viterbo University in his fifty-third year in the Music Department. He was chosen as a Master Teacher for the NATS Intern program in 2019. In 2024, Dan received the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award from Viterbo University and a Lifetime Achievement Award from NATS at the National Conference in Knoxville. As a soloist he has performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pro Arte Quartet, Fox Valley Symphony, Waukesha Symphony, La Crosse Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra. With the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, he sang the solos in Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth symphony, Haydn’s Creation, Verdi’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah. His students have won over four hundred fifty awards in the NATS State, Regional and National Auditions and first and second place winners in Schubert Club Bruce Carlson Scholarship Competition. Former students of his sing in major opera houses in Europe and the United States and on Broadway.
PIANO
Mary Ellen Haupert
is a tenured professor of music at Viterbo University and holds a BA in music education with emphases in piano/flute performance from the College of St. Scholastica, as well as MM and PhD degrees in Piano Performance Practice from Washington University in St. Louis. She also holds certificates from the Diocesan School of Biblical Studies and St. Mary's University (Pastoral Ministries). In addition to teaching, she was director of music and liturgy at Roncalli Newman Parish from 1998-2023. Her performing interests are almost exclusively in the realm of chamber music. She was artistic director and founder of the One-of-a-Kind Chamber Music Series (2008-18) and the Bonfire Summer Chamber Music Series (2018-2022). She currently directs and performs on Viterbo University‚ Out-of-Our-Minds Chamber Music Series (2018-present). Haupert has received both of Viterbo University's most prestigious teaching awards–the Alec Chui Memorial Award (2012) and Teacher of the Year (2014), recognizing her dedication to excellence in student research and music composition. She was named a Research Fellow for Viterbo's Institute for Ethics in Leadership (2015-16) and currently serves as chair of the music department.
PRODUCTION MANAGER/ SCENIC/ LIGHTING
Jason Underferth
is a seasoned lighting designer with over two decades of experience lighting the stages of the Midwest. He dedicated over a decade to shaping the theatrical landscape as the production manager and lighting design lecturer at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. During his tenure, he artfully designed the visual components for more than 40 shows. Most recent designs include Young Frankenstein and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street at Viterbo. Now on his fourth year at Viterbo, Underferth continues in his roll as the production manager for the Conservatory for the Performing Arts. He looks forward to creating memorable experiences for the Conservatory's upcoming performances through his designs.
STAGE MANAGER
Brayden Nguyen
is a first-year student studying piano education and is considering switching to accounting major with piano minor. His interests are playing piano, photography, occasionally video games, and his family dogs. His favorite color is white, his favorite movie is White Chicks, and his current favorite song is 679 by Fetty Wap! "What a banger!""
