2024 SUPAF Adjudicators

Kay Andersen, Dance

Kay Andersen received his Bachelor of Arts from Southern Utah State College (SUSC) and his Master of Arts from New York University (NYU) in dance and dance education with an emphasis in performance/choreography. 

His career as a dancer/teacher/choreographer has spanned five decades and six continents. For thirteen years he was a soloist and teacher with Nikolais Dance Theatre and Murray Louis Dance Company in New York City. With the company he performed worldwide, participated in the creation of important roles, taught at the Dance Lab in New York City, and has presented workshops throughout the world. 

He has toured internationally performing in venues such as the Paris Opera, Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music (NYC), The Joyce Theater (NYC), Spoleto Festival (Italy, USA), American Dance Festival (Korea, USA), Carlton Festival (Brazil ), Italica Festival (Spain), Athens Festival (Greece), Aix en Provence Festival (France), Kuopio Festival (Finland), Jacob’s Pillow (USA), and many more, as well as serving as a cultural ambassador to India representing the USIA Department.

He worked as a performer/choreographer for Televisa of Mexico City where he appeared in weekly television specials as well as tours throughout the republic of Mexico.

He has danced as an invited artist with Imago Dance Theatre of Florence, Italy, San Juan De Letran, Mexico City, Mexico, and New York based companies such as: Shapiro and Smith Dance, Linda Nutter Dancers, Erroll Simpsom and Company, Zipolitos, E. Laura Hausmann and dancers, among others.

In Los Angeles he performed extensively with Burch Mann’s American Folk Ballet and was a member of the company for twenty-four years.

For twenty-three years he was a professor of dance at Southern Utah University and continues to teach and choreograph domestically and internationally.

Jennie Jones, Dance

Jennie Jones is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer with over 25 years in the industry. Performing credits include Colorado Ballet, Utah Ballet, Contemporary Dance Wyoming and St George Dance Company. She received a BFA in ballet from the University of Utah, and then went on to study modern dance in her professional career. 

She was the Artistic Director of St George Dance Company from 2019-2021, and continues to grow the company now in other capacities while she raises her four children. She has taught all ages from pre-K to higher education in both the private and public sectors.

Currently, she is on the faculty at Utah Tech University, and creating her own play-based dance curriculum for early education called Dance FUNdamentals.

Mindy Arrington, Violin

Violin has always been a part of Mindy Arrington’s life. She began playing at the age of three and went on to earn a Violin Performance degree from BYU studying with Monte Belknap. She won an assistantship and began work towards her Masters at the University of Utah studying with Hasse Borup.

A certified Suzuki Teacher as well as a certified Kodaly music instructor, Mindy has enjoyed teaching for over 15 years. In addition to teaching Mindy has worked in movie score, commercial and sitcom recording primarily at L.A. East Studios. Recording the Olympic theme and NBA finals music was so fun as she is an avid sports fan.

Having a chance to record accompaniment on Jenny Oaks Bakers music as well as performing with David Archuleta were great experiences. She was the Associate Concertmaster at the National Orchestra Institute in Washington D.C. as well as a touring member of the Orchestra on Temple Square. While living in Salt Lake playing for Ballet West was among the highlights of her professional work. 

Since moving to St. George she has played for many Broadway shows at Tuacahn as a violinist in their orchestra. Soloing the Bach Concerto V with the St. George Chamber Orchestra at the Kayenta Center for the Performing Arts was a wonderful experience. As Concertmaster, playing the complete work of Handel’s Messiah along with the St. George Chamber Singers was a unique opportunity.

Mindy continues to seek out opportunities to learn and grow as a teacher and musician.

Dr. Ka-Wai Yu, Cello

Dr. Ka-Wai Yu is Associate Professor of Music at Utah Tech University, where he teaches cello and string chamber music. He previously taught at Eastern Illinois University and Indiana Wesleyan University.

In great demand as a clinician, Dr. Yu has given master classes in numerous universities and institutions in North America and Asia. He is the Director of the Castle Rock String Camp. He has served as adjudicator, held clinics, guest-conducted and taught regularly at various music competitions, festivals and workshops in Illinois, Georgia, Michigan and Utah, as well as internationally in Germany and Hong Kong, among them the Saarburg Music Festival. He was a recipient of the Board of Trustee’s Excellence in Education Award at Utah Tech University (ASTA). He is a former President of Utah’s American String Teachers Association, Artistic Director of the Cello Society of Southern Utah and directs the annual Cello Festival of Southern Utah that he founded. He has presented in the national and regional conferences of ASTA, National Association for Music Education, Historical Keyboard Society of North America and the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association.

Currently the Principal Cellist of Southwest Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Yu has performed in Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. He is vivid as a chamber musician, and has been a member of the Zion Trio and the period-instrument ensemble Cosmopolitan Baroque. He was a featured performer in the Grand Circle New Music Series, Kayenta Arts Foundation Concert Series, Midtown Concert Series organized by the Gotham Early Music Scene, Blue Sage Center for the Arts Concert Series, and the Hong Kong CN Concert Series. His recent solo performances include concerto appearances with the BYU-Idaho Baroque Ensemble, Fresno State Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Southern Utah, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra Illinois, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, and Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra. His performances have been broadcast on RTHK and WILL-FM. His transcription of Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto for cello and string quartet has been published by A-R Editions, Inc. A few of his cello ensemble arrangements have been published by the Ovation Press. Keen on creative research, he has recently commissioned and premiered new music for 5-string baroque cello by Luke Dahn and Jennifer Bellor.

Dr. Yu obtained his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he studied with cellist Brandon Vamos of the Grammy-winning Pacifica Quartet. He also holds a Master of Music in Cello Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Music with first-class honors from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His other major mentors have included conductors Maurice Peress and Angela Tam, cellists Helga Winold, Csaba Onczay, David Starkweather and Ming-Yuen Cheung, singers Raymond Fu and Chiu-May Wong, and viola da gambist Wendy Gillespie. He has also studied chamber music with members of the American String Quartet, Tokyo String Quartet, Pacifica Quartet and Parker Quartet.

Carl M Johnson, Cello & Piano

Carl has been involved in music virtually his entire life.  He grew up in Logan, Utah, where he began piano instruction when he was five and cello instruction four years later.  He studied piano with Ruth Helm and Deanne Johnson and began cello lessons with Dr. Warren Burton, with whom he studied all the way through his graduation from Utah State University with degrees in Music Education and Cello Performance.  Upon graduation from USU, he was also commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army – and subsequently served on active duty for nearly 25 years.  During his military years he was able to play with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra (Alabama), the St. Joseph Symphony (Missouri), and towards the end of his military service, the Salt Lake Symphony Orchestra.

Upon his military retirement he worked in private industry for several years, before accepting an offer to be the Orchestra Teacher at Timpanogos High School in Orem, Utah.  He stepped down from this position in 2019, but has continued to adjudicate high school and middle school Orchestra Festivals, regional and state Solo and Ensemble Festivals and Utah State Sterling Scholar Competitions.  Carl thoroughly enjoys a continuing association with youth, providing both cello and piano instruction to his small studio of students – and pursuing his hobby as a referee for high school basketball and both high school and youth soccer.  

Carl and his wife Karen live in Eagle Mountain Utah.  They both love to travel and love outdoor adventure activities – and they are both delighted that their children and grandchildren are active in the performing arts.  They love seeing and hearing them perform – whether it be in orchestras, wind symphonies, choirs, musical productions or marching bands.

Kathryn Holman, Dance

Kathryn Holman is a Virginia native, and a graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she earned a BFA in dance performance and choreography. Kathryn earned her license as a physical therapist assistant in 2021, and has been lucky to practice in various settings in the physical therapy field. She taught modern, ballet, and tap dance at Southern Utah University from 2016-2019 as an adjunct faculty member.

Kathryn performed as principal dancer with the St. George Dance Company from 2017-2019. She performed in [STRIPPED], at the 92nd Street Y with Doug Varone and Dancers, dancing in Varone’s DEMOCRACY in 2015. She studied abroad at Concorzio Universitario Mediterraneo Orientale A.R.L (CUMO) under Melanie Richards—performing in the city of Noto, Sicily and Syracuse, Sicily. Kathryn and her husband, Jordan love to spend time with their two little girls adventuring in the outdoors of Southern Utah. 

Sarah Martin, Dance

Sarah grew up dancing at the Life Arts Center under Pearl Garff.  She graduated from SUU with a degree in Dance Performance in 2006.  Post-graduation, she had the opportunity to perform in dance concerts in Salt Lake, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. 

Sarah always has some type of dance project going on.  She choreographs for high school concerts around Utah, pieces for the Shakespeare festival (including multiple award-winning entries), musical theatre productions around the Salt Lake Valley, a handful of music videos and other sporadic commissions, and occasionally still performs when it fits in her schedule.  She also adjudicates for dance sterling scholar applicants and dance company auditions or competitions whenever asked. She is married to a performer, as well, and is the mom of four beautiful, spirited children so life is never dull.

Katherine Call, Dance

Katherine Call was trained in ballet at the Children’s Ballet Theatre in Salt Lake City, UT by Stacey Orlob-Richins and Julie Orlob. She was a member of the Wasatch Youth Ballet Company during high school with whom she had the opportunity to perform in New York City and with the Salt Lake Symphony. Call received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance Performance with a minor in Creative Writing at Southern Utah University. After graduations she lived in St. George, UT where she was adjunct faculty for Utah Technical University’s Dance Department and a choreographer and principal dancer for St. George Dance Company.

Call has received awards for her choreography including acceptance to the American College Dance Festival, Audience Choice Award at the Red Rock Dance Festival, and First Place at the Utah High School Shakespeare Competition. Call continued her education at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee where she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance. 

Call relocated to Salt Lake City in 2016 to teach at Taylorsville High School. She also produced three independent concerts featuring her work and the works of community dance artists. She served on the Utah Dance Education Organization as the state chair for The National Honor Society for Dance Arts, has been featured in the podcast and book “Dance With Teachers” by Victoria Dobson, and has presented at the UDEO conference on “Mindfulness and Dance” and “NHSDA – Love Your Body Week.”

Call has adjudicated for the Utah High School Shakespeare Competition and taught master classes for UHSSC and UHSDF. Call currently teaches at Taylorsville High School where she choreographs for her students and Theatre Department.

Mark Ely, Band/Percussion

Mark Ely grew up on a small farm in rural Ohio. He was raised in a musical family and began playing the saxophone at age nine. By age 10, he and his two older brothers (12 and 13) performed as a trio (sax, piano, & drums) and entertained numerous organizations throughout southern Ohio. Throughout junior high and high school, he sang in the choir, played in the concert band, jazz/stage band, and marching band, and performed in many All-State/All-Ohio/Regional honors bands. After graduating Valedictorian of Southeastern High School in 1976, he attended The Ohio State University where he studied with Dr. Burdette Green and James Hill. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1980. Following graduation, he studied saxophone performance with Trent Kynaston at Western Michigan University where he received his Master of Music degree and a minor in Music History.

During his time at WMU, Dr. Ely taught applied saxophone, saxophone methods and non- Western music courses. From 1982-1985, he was Director of Bands in the Ross County Public School System in Ohio where he taught elementary, junior high, and senior high instrumental music. He returned to OSU in 1985 and completed his Ph.D. in Music Education degree in 1988 while also emphasizing saxophone performance and music perception and cognition. For the past 34 years, he has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in music education and saxophone performance at The University of Utah.

Dr. Ely is an active performer, clinician, and adjudicator and has performed as a soloist and with a variety of ensembles at state, regional, and national conferences including: National Music Educators Association Conference (MENC); College Band Director’s National Association Conference (CBDNA); Music Educators National Conference (MENC); World Saxophone Congress; North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA); Utah Music Educators Association (UMEA) Professional Development Conference, and the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) Conference.

Dr. Ely presents regularly at music education conferences and has published articles in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, Utah Music Educators Journal, School Music Newsand The Instrumentalist. His Dictionary of Music Education: A Handbook of Terminology co-authored with Amy E. Van Deuren, Esq. is published by GIA Publications, and his two-volume book set that focuses on wind instrument pedagogy entitled Wind Talk: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching Woodwind Instruments and Wind Talk: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching Brass Instruments is published by Oxford University Press. Forthcoming publications include a dictionary of terminology used in saxophone literature containing over 2,600 terms/phrases and a reference guide to select saxophone literature with program notes for over 250 pieces.

Dr. Ely has held offices at the state and national levels as well, including: the Utah Higher Education Research Chair, the Utah State CMENC Chair, and the Western Division Chair of Collegiate Music Educators National Conference (CMENC).

Dr. Ely received the Outstanding Music Educator Award in Music Education from the Utah Music Educators Association (UMEA) in 2008 a Superior Accomplishment Award in Music Education from the Utah Music Educators Association (UMEA) in 2003-2004 and 2019-2020, and he was recently inducted into the UMEA Hall of Fame.

Jennie Jones is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer with over 25 years in the industry. Performing credits include Colorado Ballet, Utah Ballet, Contemporary Dance Wyoming and St George Dance Company. She received a BFA in ballet from the University of Utah, and then went on to study modern dance in her professional career. 

She was the Artistic Director of St George Dance Company from 2019-2021, and continues to grow the company now in other capacities while she raises her four children. She has taught all ages from pre-K to higher education in both the private and public sectors.

Currently, she is on the faculty at Utah Tech University, and creating her own play-based dance curriculum for early education called Dance FUNdamentals.

SOUTHERN UTAH PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL