Rebecca Holt
Handbell Ensemble Director
(317) 253-6461
Instrumental Ensembles
Handbells
Led by Rebecca Holt, the Handbell Ensemble rehearses on Saturday mornings and plays in worship services monthly. Moderate music-reading ability is helpful and a sense of rhythm and coordination important. No audition is required. The Ensemble is open to eighth grade students and older. Successful handbell choirs always have a sense of group spirit and mutual support with regular attendance at rehearsals crucial.
Second Winds
All youth and adults who have completed at least three years of study on wind, brass or percussion instruments are eligible and encouraged to become part of Second Winds, a symphony wind ensemble comprised solely of volunteers from the Second Presbyterian community. This ensemble is a great opportunity for youth and adults to work together to create beautiful music, enjoy fellowship and use their gifts and talents to glorify God.
Jazz Ensemble
The Jazz Ensemble, comprised of the formidable skill and talent of musicians Gary Walters (piano), Chris Pyle (drums), Steve Dokken (bass guitar), and vocalist Erin Benedict, is a renowned jazz performance group leading music at select worship services.
Festival Orchestra
This professional orchestra draws on members of Indianapolis Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber orchestras, and other area professional organizations. The Festival Orchestra performs for special concerts in addition to enhancing festival worship services.
Festival Brass
The Brass Ensemble draws on members of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, as well as other area professional organizations and performs with the Sanctuary Choir at special worship services and events.
For more information, or to sign up, please contact the Music and Fine Arts office at MFA@Secondchurch.org, or (317) 253-6461, ext. 309.
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Handbell Ensemble Director
(317) 253-6461 | RHolt@SecondChurch.org
First and foremost, Rebecca Holt received Jesus Christ as her personal Savior and Lord when she was a young child. She is very thankful for His guidance in her life. She received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Indiana University Fort Wayne. Upon graduation, she directed the children’s choirs, youth choir and the handbell ensemble at Faith Baptist Church in Fort Wayne. She moved to Indianapolis in 1984 to teach General and Choral Music at Clay Junior High School in Carmel. While there, she established the handbell program as well. She also received a Master of Music Education from Butler University.
Rebecca formerly rang with the Indianapolis Handbell Ensemble and served as the choir director at Hope Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Indianapolis. Currently, along with directing the Handbell Ensemble here at Second, she directs the Wesleyan Ringers at St. Luke's United Methodist Church. She also stays involved with the music ministry of her home church, Northside Baptist.
Rebecca is married to Charles Holt and has three adult children: Ian, Brianna and Linnea.
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Candi Granlund
Second Winds Co-Director
(317) 253-6461Second Winds Co-Director
(317) 253-6461 | SecondWinds@SecondChurch.org
Candi Granlund teaches band at Zionsville West Middle School, and has several years of experience as a band director, music educator, clinician, and performer. Previous teaching experience includes five years at the Delphi Community School Corporation in Delphi, Indiana where she served as the assistant director of bands. Prior to her position at Zionsville West, Mrs. Granlund served for nearly two decades as Band Director at Sycamore School.
Bands under the direction of Mrs. Granlund have earned numerous honors and awards at national, state and local festivals and competitions. The Sycamore School Symphonic Band was selected to perform at the 2009 IMEA/MENC North Central Division Convention, and the 2005 IMEA convention. The Symphonic Band travels yearly for performances in festivals and concerts. Past venues include St. Louis, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Chicago. Granlund is a co-founder and clinician of the Ball State University Bassoon Camp.
She has been a clinician at the Indiana Music Educators Association Convention three times and served as a guest conductor for the 2007 Indiana Bandmasters Association (IBA) All-Region Honor Band. She served as the music librarian for IBA from 1997-1999 and the IBA Middle School Representative and All-Region Honor Band Chair from 2010-2012, and also served as the recording secretary on the IMEA executive board of directors in 1999-2000. She served on the IMEA executive board as the awards chair from 2003-2011. She currently serves as the co-chair of the IMEA/IBA Jr. All-State Band. Professional memberships include IMEA, NAfME, Phi Beta Mu and IBA.
Mrs. Granlund is also an accomplished bassoonist, performer, and private lesson instructor. Performance credits include Lafayette Symphony, Lafayette Citizens Band, Kokomo Park Band, Lafayette Directors Woodwind Quintet, Muncie Symphony Orchestra, Anderson Symphony Orchestra, Kokomo Symphony Orchestra, and the National Honors Orchestra. Private lesson students of Mrs. Granlund have gone on to hold first chair positions in the All-State Orchestra, All-State Honor Band, Interlochen Arts Academy ensembles, and earn undergraduate and graduate bassoon performance degrees and music education degrees. She was selected as a 2013 Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow. As a part of the $10,000 grant from the Lilly Foundation, Candi traveled to Austria and Hungary to bicycle through the countryside, visiting historical sites related to the lives of Mozart, Mahler, and Franz Liszt. She then returned to study the Mozart Bassoon Concerto with Dr. Keith Sweger in preparation for a performance of the solo with members of the Sycamore Symphonic Band in the winter of 2013.
Mrs. Granlund is a graduate of Ball State University where she was a Presidential Scholar and was awarded the prestigious Young Artist Award. She has completed masters coursework at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois, and the Masters of Arts in Education with a focus on music from the University of Indianapolis. Mrs. Granlund is married to Rick Granlund who is the Performing Arts Department Chair and Director of Bands at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. They have three children, Elise, Connor, and Laurel.
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Rick Granlund
Second Winds Co-Director
(317) 253-6461Second Winds Co-Director
(317) 253-6461 | SecondWinds@SecondChurch.org
Rick Granlund serves as Performing Arts Department Chair at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has held similar positions at Perry Meridian High School (2001-2004), Morris Community High School (Illinois 2000-2001), Delphi Community High School (1994-2000), and Caston Jr./Sr. High School (1992-1994).
Bands and individual students directed by Mr. Granlund have earned numerous honors, awards, and distinctions at state and local festivals and competitions. Under his direction, the North Central High School Wind Ensemble was ISSMA State Concert Band Champions in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The NCHS Jazz Ensemble has been named the Honor Band at the prestigious Purdue Jazz Festival.
Mr. Granlund was honored as a band director who makes a difference with SBO Magazine's 17th Annual, 2014-2015 "50 Directors Who Make a Difference" Award and in 2014 as the Phi Beta Mu Indiana Bandmaster of the Year. In 2013 he was selected as a Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow. As a part of the $10,000 grant from the Lilly Foundation, Rick traveled to Austria and Hungary to bicycle through the countryside, visiting historical sites related to the lives of Mozart, Mahler, and Franz Liszt. He then returned to study conducting and score preparation with Steve Pratt in preparation for a performance of works by these composers with NCHS students in the fall of 2013. In 2012, he was awarded the Ball State University Alumni Achievement Citation.
Mr. Granlund was honored with the Indiana Music Educators Association Outstanding High School Music Educator Award in 2011. He has also been a guest clinician for the IMEA non-competitive festivals. In 1998, his Delphi Community Middle School 8th grade band served as a demonstration group for band composer Mr. Mark Williams at the IMEA Convention. Mr. Granlund served as a clinician at the 2003 IMEA state convention. The convention clinic focused on "Forgotten Works for Wind Band" with the Perry Meridian High School Wind Ensemble serving as the convention demonstration group. The North Central High School Wind Ensemble was a featured ensemble at the 2006 IMEA convention and the 2009 MENC North Central Division Convention. Mr. Granlund has served as a conductor for the IBA All-Region Bands and the IBA All-District Bands, an adjudicator for the ISSMA organizational festivals, and a clinician and state chair for the IMEA Non-Competitive Festival. Mr. Granlund served as President of the Indiana Bandmasters Association (IBA) from 2007-2009, and served as President of the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) for the 2010-2011 school year. Professional memberships include IBA, Phi Beta Mu, IJEA, IMEA, and NAfME.
Rick Granlund earned his undergraduate degree in music education in 1992 from Ball State University, where he was a Pressler scholar. In addition to completing masters coursework at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Indiana University, Purdue University, and Illinois State University, he completed his Master of Arts degree at the University of Indianapolis in 2004. Rick is married to his wife, Candi, who serves as the band director at Sycamore School in Indianapolis. They have three children: a daughter, Elise; a son, Connor; and a daughter, Laurel.
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Dr. Michelle L. Louer
Director of Music and Fine Arts
(317) 253-6461Director of Music and Fine Arts
(317) 253-6461 | MFA@SecondChurch.org
Michelle L. Louer received the doctoral degree in choral conducting from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying under Jan Harrington, Carmen Helena-Téllez and Thomas Dunn. She holds both Master of Music and Master of Divinity degrees from Yale University where she graduated summa cum laude, and a Bachelor of Music in piano and church music, magna cum laude, from Stetson University. In addition, she studied with noted conductors Fiora Contino and Joseph Flummerfelt.
Dr. Louer is in her twelfth year as the Director of Music and Fine Arts at Second Presbyterian Church where she leads a comprehensive program for children and adults, providing vocal and instrumental opportunities for education, ministry, and performance. Dr. Louer conducts the 70-voice Sanctuary Choir and the Beecher Singers (a professional chamber choir) and oversees a talented music staff that directs children and youth music, handbell ensemble, wind ensemble, and a vibrant fine arts area.
She is a former Adjunct Professor of Choral Music at Butler University, and prior to her appointment at Second, served on the faculties of University of Evansville and Oklahoma City University, and as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Kokomo (Indiana) Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for 3 years.
Dr. Louer has led the Sanctuary Choir in annual performances of choral/orchestral masterworks, including Beethoven’s Choral Fantasie with André Watts, J.S. Bach’s Johannes Passion with Alan Bennett (Evangelist), Verdi’s Requiem, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, Poulenc’s Gloria, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah.
For six seasons, she served as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bach Chorale Singers of Lafayette, Indiana where she was known for innovative programming of works such as James Whitbourn’s Annelies and a retrospective of the choral music of Leonard Bernstein. In the summer of 2016, Dr. Louer led choral groups on a performance tour through Germany and parts of the Czech Republic. Equally comfortable leading orchestras, she has conducted Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 (“New World”), Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1, and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919), and in 2018 served as Guest Conductor of the 14th Annual International Festival of the Aegean in Syros, Greece. Dr. Louer also serves on the Sacred in Opera Committee of National Opera Association.
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Dr. John Allegar
Organist and Assistant Director of Music and Fine Arts
(317) 253-6461