Ebonee Thomas, 2023 Shooting Stars Winds & Percussion Category Judge

Ebonee Thomas is currently the Second Flute and Piccolo of The Dallas Opera. She has previously served as Principal Flute of the Knoxville Symphony, Principal Flute of the Florida Grand Opera, and Second Flute of the Houston Symphony. Ebonee spends her summers as a flutist with the Central City Opera in Colorado. She has also been guest principal with the Seattle Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, and Santa Fe Opera. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Southern Methodist University, her Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and completed a fellowship with the New World Symphony. In the Fall of 2021, Ebonee joined the faculty of the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory as Assistant Professor of Flute.

Joe Straws III, 2023 Shooting Stars Winds & Percussion Category Judge

Joseph A Straws III, born and raised in Wyandotte County, graduate of Sumner Academy of Arts and Science, and KCKCC with a degree in Audio Engineering, Joseph had been teaching and educating students for over 20 years in the inner city core, at the high school and middle school level. Owner of 2 the MAAXE Audio Video Solutions, he provides services that include music production, recording, vocal training, and performance coaching. He himself is an accomplished and published percussionist that has played Jazz Drums across the country for the past 25 plus years. His passions are the youth and the advancement of the arts back into the fabric of the inner city lives of kids, through dance, music, tech and more.

Erik Meixelsperger, 2023 Shooting Stars Theatre Performance Category Judge

Erik Meixelsperger is a professional actor, writer, and teacher in the Kansas City area. Erik completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he was a two-time Irene Ryan regional finalist in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), as well as a national finalist in the Gary Garrison Ten-Minute Play competition. Erik later received his Master of Fine Arts in Acting at the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. During his time at FSU, he became a company member of the celebrated Asolo Repertory Theatre, where he trained and collaborated with various theatre professionals. Erik’s acting work in Florida comprises numerous productions, including the Asolo Repertory’s touring productions of The Tempest, Oedipus Rex, The Rehearsal, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Crucible, to name a few. Additionally, he spent a summer abroad in London training with renowned vocal coach Patsy Rodenburg. Most recently, Erik was seen as Paris in Heart Of America Shakespeare’s production of Romeo & Juliet.

Matt Schwader Harbor, 2023 Shooting Stars Theatre Performance Category Judge

Matt Schwader Harbor has been a professional actor since 1998. Notable stages include the Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Indiana Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville, ACT Theatre in Seattle, American Players Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Globe and more. Currently he performs and directs with Kansas City Actors Theatre (KCAT), where he is a core company member. You can hear him in KCAT’s radio plays on the Kansas City Actors Theatre Podcast. Matt has an MFA from the University of Delaware’s Professional Theatre Training Program and is a member of SAG/AFTRA and Actors Equity Association. He is the Director of Performance Studies at Avila University in Kansas City, MO, where he teaches acting.

Michael Mermagen, 2023 Shooting Stars Strings Category Judge

Cellist Michael Mermagen (M.M. The Juilliard School, B.M. The Peabody Conservatory of Music) is Professor of Cello at UMKC Conservatory and Head of Strings. He was formerly Associate Professor of Cello and Chamber Music and Head of the Instrumental Division at the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at The Catholic University of America.

Michael made his debut at the age of sixteen with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra after receiving the Young Soloist’s Award. Michael began his studies at Peabody Preparatory where he studied with Paula Skolnick-Childress and Mihaly Virizlay. Principal teachers in college were Stephen Kates at Peabody Conservatory, and Zara Nelsova at The Juilliard School. As the Juilliard School’s concerto competition winner, he performed with Juilliard Orchestra under Otto-Werner Mueller in Alice Tully Hall. He was soloist with National Orchestra of New York, where he held the prestigious Emanuel Feuermann principal cello chair and performed in Violoncello Society of New York Master Classes lead by Yo-Yo Ma, Janos Starker, and Bernard Greenhouse.

Michael toured regularly with The Aspen Ensemble, the American Chamber Players from 1997 to 2003, and with Arista Piano Trio (named Chamber Music America’s Artists to Watch) from 1987 to 1995. During his tenure at The Catholic University of America, he joined violinist Jody Gatwood and pianist Marilyn Neeley in the Rome Trio. He collaborated with the San Francisco Ballet and was featured as the cello soloist for the New York premiere of two works by the renowned choreographer Mark Morris. Michael is currently performing around the country with the Aspen String Trio, formerly the ensemble in residence at the University of Baltimore.

As an artist-faculty member at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Michael has held the prestigious position of principal cellist of the Aspen Chamber Symphony for over twenty-five seasons. He has performed chamber music in Aspen with such artists as Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Jeremy Denk, Vladimer Feltzman, Lynn Harrell, Robert McDuffie, Susanne Mentzer, Anton Nel, Nadja Salerno- Sonnenberg, Gil Shaham, The Takács Quartet, and the Weilerstein family. He has also collaborated with many distinguished conductors, including Comissiona, Conlon, Levine, Maazel, Marriner, McGegan, Robertson, Skrowaczewski, and Zinman.

Michael has toured and given recitals, concerto performances, master classes and chamber music performances around the world. He has participated in Grand Canyon Music Festival, Prince Albert Music Festival in Kauai, and Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, Maine. He has been heard on WQXR’s Concerts Plus, WNYC’s Around New York, and regularly on NPR’s Performance Today. Michael performed live with Richard Westenberg’s ensemble Musica Sacra on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor and performed as a substitute cellist in the New York Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Orchestra of Saint Lukes, 92nd Street Y Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York, American Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the Long Island Philharmonic.

Michael recorded and performed the Patrick Zimmerli Piano Trios for Arabesque label, after a celebrated debut of the same pieces at Seattle Chamber Music Society. He made the premier recording and critical edition of composer and Holocaust victim James Simon’s “Arioso” for solo cello. He performed and recorded for the documentary film featured on PBS and Netflix, Defiant Requiem, a film about a most dramatic example of intellectual and artistic courage in the Theresienstadt (Terezín) Concentration Camp during World War II. Upcoming commercial releases include the Music of Martinu for Naxos label with the Aspen String Trio. Recent appearances include the performance of Brahms Double Concerto with violinist Livia Sohn and Stockton Symphony, again with violinist David Perry and the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and the Prince George’s Philharmonic, Beethoven Triple Concerto with Elisabeth Adkins and Edward Newman and the Maryland and Fairfax Symphonies, and Vivaldi Concertos with conductor Nicholas McGegan. He performs on a Nicolo Gagliano cello, Naples, 1774. 

Destiny Mermagen, 2023 Shooting Stars Strings Category Judge

Pioneering Musician and American Violinist Destiny Ann Mermagen is the first-ever artist alongside pianist Heather Adelsberger to record the complete works of Henri Vieuxtemps’ Bouquet Américain—A collection of charming, witty, and virtuosic pieces based on popular American and Irish folk tunes that are written in the typical “Classical Music” style, while at the same time giving a nod to the “American Fiddling” tradition. These works are featured on her 2018 world premiere album, Classical Cowgirl ~ Bach to Barn Burners™. As the winner of international competitions and performance awards, Destiny Ann has appeared as violin soloist and chamber musician in many prestigious venues across the United States, in Russia, Prague, and elsewhere in Europe. More information can be found on her website, www.destinyviolin.com.

Lisa Maione, 2023 Shooting Stars 2D Visual Arts Category Judge

Lisa J. Maione is a designer, artist and educator. Her creative practice investigates the nature of the screen as a material that complicates perceptions of histories, social economy, and the self in relation to others. She runs a studio, for instance, a design practice, working on collaborative projects in the arts, architecture, publishing and education. Lisa holds an MFA and BFA in Graphic Design from Rhode Island School of Design and a post-graduate certificate in Typeface Design from Type@Cooper NYC. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Kansas City Art Institute.

Jennifer Short, 2023 Shooting Stars 2D Visual Arts Category Judge

Over the past 15 years, Jennifer Short has been active in teaching and instructing fine art to a diverse range of learners. Ms. Short has been on staff at Nelson- Atkins Museum of Art in their education department teaching studio workshops and connecting with community organizations through the museum’s outreach programs. Additionally, Ms. Short has taught in a variety of traditional K-12 art classrooms, as well. She is currently teaching in the Center School District. She is passionate about her learners and tries to instill the values of how a fine art education can enrich a person’s life. Ms. Short holds degrees from William Jewell College and UMKC  in Fine Art and Art Education. She has had the distinguished pleasure of being a juror of the National  Congressional Art Competition and Prairie Village Art Shows, as well as being recognized by the National Park Service as an art educator liaison for helping students create ornaments for the President’s Christmas Tree in 2012.

Jason Piggie, 2023 Shooting Stars Photography Category Judge

Jason Piggie (born 23 January 1971 in Kansas City, Missouri), is an Afro American photographer, filmmaker, writer, curator, and director. Piggie got his start in a high school photography class.Piggie continued his study in photography though out high school and into college years, where he received his BA in Comminution. Piggie creates thought provoking work by capturing images of everyday life, things, and people.  He prefers his expression to be without enhanced manipulation. Piggie’s photography has been exhibited in numerus regional group and solo exhibitions. Piggie photography has exhibited at Spiva Center for the Arts, American Jazz Museum, Kansas City Museum, Johnson County Museum, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.   Piggie received the first-place award at the 3/5/7 Film Festival in the 5-minute category in 2009. In 2012, Piggie won best in show at an Arts KC show.  Piggie has received grants and has been awards local residencies, Piggie is a Founding member of the African American Artist Collective in Kansas City.

Andrew McIlvaine, 2023 Shooting Stars Photography Category Judge

Andrew Mcilvaine is a Mexican American interdisciplinary artist. Born in San Antonio, Texas, and later moved to Missouri, Mcilvaine creates work about displacement and replacement and how these issues effect both cultural and personal memory, identity, and a sense of self. Mcilvaine earned his BA in studio art from the University of Missouri – Kansas City. After receiving his BA, Mcilvaine moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he attained his MFA from Washington University in St. Louis in painting and drawing. Currently, Mcilvaine lives and works in Kansas City and holds a visiting lecturer position in the foundation program at KCAI. 

Daniel Doss, 2023 Shooting Stars Voice Classical Category Judge

Daniel Doss has established himself as a Music Director, Conductor, Composer and Collaborative Pianist in over 90 musical theater productions across the globe since 2002, including the National Tours of THE COLOR PURPLE, THE ADDAMS FAMILY and RAGTIME and has served as Music Director for the New Theatre & Restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas since 2015. Daniel’s composition credits include TRUMAN & PENDERGAST: The Musical; NELLY DON: The Musical, which has also been made into a feature film premiering in late 2023; WILD AND WILLFUL WOMEN, which was selected as one of three original musicals for the 2014 TRU Musical Reading Series in New York City; RED DEATH, an original one act opera based on the short story by Edgar Allen Poe which was awarded the ‘Best of Kansas City Fringe Festival 2014’; and multiple choral works including WHEN I KNEW, commissioned by the Heartland Men’s Chorus which premiered at GALA Choruses Festival 2012 in Denver.

Dr. Neal Long, 2023 Shooting Stars Voice Classical Category Judge

Dr. Neal Long enjoys a diverse career as a singer, pianist, and arts administrator. Neal has performed leading tenor roles in opera and especially finds joy in championing contemporary vocal works. In his role as Director of Learning at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Neal oversees the company’s programs of education and community engagement– all crafted with the goal of promoting societal artistic literacy in Kansas City. A recent highlight of his work includes the development of Opera Unlocked, a sequential and comprehensive in-school education initiative serving area schools.

Kevin Demery, 2023 Shooting Stars 3D Visual Arts Category Judge

Kevin Demery is an interdisciplinary artist from the San Francisco Bay Area. He holds a BFA from California College of the Arts and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Demery received the Municipal Art League Grant from SAIC and participated in the Artist in Residence programs at Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, CA, The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, NE, and Acre Residency in Steuben, WI, among others. He has exhibited work both nationally and internationally at the University of Chicago’s Arts Incubator, H&R Block Space at the Kansas City Art Institute, and the Art Berlin fair in Berlin, Germany. He most recently had a solo exhibition at SakhileandMe gallery in Frankfurt, Germany in 2022. He is currently a Visiting Assistant professor and AICAD fellow at the Kansas City Art Institute and an Artist in Residence at the Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri.

Sam Davis, 2023 Shooting Stars 3D Visual Arts Category Judge

Samuel Davis is a ceramic and mixed media artist from Knoxville, Tennessee. He earned his BFA in Visual Arts from the University of Tennessee in 2006 and his MFA in Visual Arts from Clemson University in 2009. In 2008 he completed an Artist’s Residency at Tainan National University of the Applied Arts in Tainan, Taiwan. He also studied abroad in Japan, learning from and working with various artists and craftsmen in Kyoto and Mashiko. He currently teaches as an Adjunct Professor at Johnson County Community College.

Em Swenson, 2023 Shooting Stars Production & Design Category Judge

Em Swenson has been working in Kansas City theatre as a professional designer for over a decade. She has designed props, lighting, scenic, and projection designs. She recently received her Master’s in Public Administration with an emphasis in Non-profit Management from UMKC. Em works as the Director of Development at Unicorn Theatre, where she continues to design cutting edge theatre.

Gary Mosby, 2023 Shooting Stars Production & Design Category Judge

Gary Mosby has been making his living in technical theatre for 32 years now. Gary is primarily a scenic designer and technical director/ builder. He has worked for most of the theaters’ in Kansas City, MO. including American Heartland Theatre, Coterie Theatre, The Unicorn Theatre; where he currently serves as resident designer. Gary was the owner of a professional scenic studio, Design Production Services for ten years serving primarily live theatre and some industrials and display work, including the space and water areas of Kaleidoscope at Hallmark. Gary Is part of the Full-Time faculty at Kansas City Kansas Community college where he heads the theatre technology area, designs scenery and lighting for all of the department productions. He also serves as the technical director for the department of theatre and the Performing Arts Center itself.

Throughout his career Gary has either taught or had some association with students of the arts and finds that association to give real value to his career. Collaborating with other artists on a project to create a truly unique theatrical experience is his favorite part of his work. Gary holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Tarkio College and a Master of Fine Arts from University of Missouri, Kansas City, both in Theatre Design and Technology.

Jose Faus, 2023 Shooting Stars Literature Category Judge

Jose Faus is a visual artist, performer, writer, independent teacher/mentor with an interest in the role of artists as creative catalysts for community building. He is a founder of the Latino Writers Collective and sits on the boards of The Latino Writers Collective, The Full Frame Initiative, UMKC Alumni Assn, and Charlotte Street Foundation. His chapbook This Town Like That was released by Spartan Press. His book of poetry The Life and Times of Jose Calderon was published by West 39 Press. He maintains caridostudio in downtown Kansas City, KS.

Steve Paul, 2023 Shooting Stars Literature Category Judge

After retiring from a long career in daily journalism, Steve Paul has turned his writing practice toward literary biography. His recents books include Hemingway at Eighteen and Literary Alchemist: The Writing Life of Evan S. Connell. The latter is the first biography of this overlooked and intriguing Kansas City-born writer and won the Society of Midland Authors’ Brommel Award for best biography in 2022. He is currently at work on a biography of the Kansas-born poet William Stafford (1914-1993). He writes regular cultural columns for KC Studio magazine and serves on the board of the Biographers International Org.