DAMON SNEAD

Workshop Speaker

Pastor C. Damon Snead currently serves as the chaplain for NEWSTART, a program based in Weimar, CA that combines health and the gospel for the best path to healing. He has also served as an adjunct professor of theology at Weimar College and a local church pastor in Oklahoma and Texas. He is also a regular guest on the 3ABN program called NEWSTART NOW.

He graduated with a B.S. in Theology, minoring in Biblical languages from Southwestern Adventist University, and an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry from Andrews University.  Pastor Snead has found a personal relationship with Christ that transformed his world. Now his greatest joy is sharing that message with others for revival and authentically connecting with those around them.

The wheel of faith is a teaching tool designed to illustrate the central points of the everlasting gospel. It is taken from the book steps to Christ, and using Romans 1-8 and Acts chapter 2 as the Biblical narrative. The wheel of faith highlights the steps to Justification, Sanctification, and the Law and the Sabbath as they relate to the Gospel. It is an evangelistic tool to the Non-Adventist world, and a revivalistic campaign to Adventist at large. It is the Third Angel’s message in verity, and if followed through will bring about the long-awaited latter rain in the church and in the world.

Benjamin Ng

Plenary Speaker

Pastor Benjamin Ng is a Malaysian pastor and evangelist known for his practical and dynamic teaching style. Pastor Benjamin has a passion for training and equipping young people for church ministries. He founded SALT and Army of Youth Asia, a conference and school to train youth to be God’s helping hand to finish the work in this generation. Presently, he serves as senior pastor at Serdang and Damansara Adventist Hope Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is happily married to Hui Yee and has three adorable kids.

Emmanuel Higgins

Speaker

Emmanuel has a love for music, youth and serving God. He pioneered Music Camp Australia with Eastward Missions. Under his leadership, Music Camp has grown to involve young musicians from across Australia and New Zealand. 

First and foremost his passion is to lead others to a personal experience with Christ. He has traveled extensively working in youth ministry and literature evangelism.

He is skilled at cinematography, graphic design and many forms of media production.

ABIGAIL KOO

Conductor
B.M., M.M., P.D., D.M.

Born in South Korea and raised in New York City, Abigail Koo began her professional music training by attending La Guardia High School of Music and Arts & Performing Arts. She received bachelor of music degree from Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of sought-after pedagogue Jeffrey Cohen, and continued on to Indiana University with full-tuition scholarship to study with world-renown pianist Menahem Pressler. She further pursued her piano studies with Performer’s Diploma from Indiana University with full-scholarship. After three performance degrees on piano, she received Doctor of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting with Dean’s Scholarship from Indiana University. 

Abigail Koo has performed twice in Carnegie Weill Recital Hall from winning the New York Young Artist Competition. A prolific solo pianist, chamber musician, orchestral violinist, as well as a conductor, Abigail has performed in major concert halls of New York and France, including the Carnegie Isaac Stern Hall, 92nd Street Y, Cami Hall, Alice Tully Hall, New York Steinway Hall and Avery Fischer Hall. Her musical composition has received 3rd place award from the prestigious Bertlesmann World of Expression Scholarship. As an orchestra conductor, she has worked with maestros David Effron, Arthur Fagen, Leonard Slatkin and Herbert Blomstedt. In 2017 and 2018 she worked with the master of classical music maestro Bruno Weil at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria. She was also invited by maestro Bernard Haitink to study with him at the fiercely competitive Lucerne Festival Masterclass in 2015.

ERWIN GABRIEL NANASI

Chorale Instructor
B.A., M.A., D.W.S.

Erwin Nanasi currently serves as minister of music, director of choral activities and faculty in the general education department at Weimar Institute, California.  He enjoys working with young people and helping them reach their full potential. Erwin is happily married to Janell. 

Liesl Higgins

Strings Instructor (Violin)
AMusA, LMusA (violin & piano), BMus (Hons), MMus (Performance)

Liesl is a versatile musician and highly motivated teacher with extensive background in performing and teaching. She is a poised and charismatic soloist and ensemble performer with more than 8 years teaching experience, holding responsible teaching positions at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Newcastle Conservatorium of Music, Maitland Conservatorium of Music, Maitland Music Specalists and Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College, among others.

Liesl has served as associate concertmaster for Sydney Conservatorium
Conductor's Orchestra and Concertmaster for the Newcastle Symphony Orchestra. She was a finalist in the Marcus Edwards Violin Scholarship Showcase competition and was awarded an APA scholarship for postgrad studies at Sydney Conservatorium.

Liesl graduated from Sydney University with a Masters of Music (Performance) under Associate Professor Alice Waten. She has received many music prizes and awards, and was the recipient of the University Medal for music (2013). In addition to loving music she is passionate about evangelism and is involved with literature evangelism and church planting with Eastward Missions, Australia.

MARILYN DE OLIVEIRA

Strings Instructor (Cello)
B.M., M.M.

Brazilian cellist Marilyn de Oliveira is the Assistant Principal Cellist of the Oregon Symphony, a position she has held since 2009.  Since moving to Portland, Mrs. De Oliveira has become a founding member of the PDX-based string quartet Mousai Remix, initiated the Oregon Symphony Player’s Caroling Project—now in its 5th season, joined the faculty of Portland Summer Ensembles as well as Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestras and is the cellist for Pyxis String Quartet. Prior to joining the Oregon Symphony, Marilyn was a member of the San Antonio Symphony for three seasons, during which she was both a member of the section and acting assistant principal. In February of 2006, she was the Bronze Award Winner in the Senior Division of the 9th Annual Sphinx Competition, an organization in which she is still actively involved as both guest artist and coach.

Before moving to San Antonio, Marilyn was a fellow of the New World Symphony in Miami, FL.  While in Miami, she served as principal cello during tours to Teatro Santa Cecilia in Rome and to Carnegie Hall, all under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas.  After moving to the United States to pursue her musical career, Marilyn received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University under cellist Emilio Colon and her Master of Music degree at Rice University with Norman Fischer. While in school, Marilyn attended several prestigious American music festivals such as Tanglewood Music Center (where she received the Karl Zeise Memorial Cello Prize), Spoleto Festival USA, Kent/Blossom Music Center, the Youth Orchestra of the Americas as well as European Music Festivals. Some of her live solo performances can be heard regularly on National Public Radio’s Performance Today.  Marilyn is married to fellow Oregon Symphony cellist Trevor Fitzpatrick.

CHRIS ALBRETCH

Brass Instructor
B.M., M.M., D.M.A.

Chris Albrecht is a trumpet teacher and performer from Phoenix, Arizona. As an orchestral trumpeter, he is principal trumpet with the MusicaNova Orchestra, and has performed with the Scottsdale Philharmonic, the West Valley Symphony, and the Salt River Brass. As a teacher, he has taught trumpet at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. He recently completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet Performance at Arizona State University, where he served as a one of Regents’ Professor David Hickman’s Graduate Teaching Assistants.

Josué L. Rodríguez Coutiño

Wind Instructor
B.M., M.M.

Originally from Tabasco, México, he began studying music in choirs and youth bands. He graduated from the University of Montemorelos with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and later completed a Master’s Degree in Performance at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. He has taken lessons with great oboists from our time and played in several orchestras around the world. He has co-organized and presented (and played in most) of 12 concerts for the Oaxaca non-profit educational program, The Oaxaca Learning Center. Presently he is principal oboist of the Oaxaca Symphony Orchestra, Principal Oboe of the Camerata Oaxaca, and an active chamber music player. He also teaches at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Oaxacan Autonomous University and is assistant director of Camerata Oaxaca. Conscious of the necessity of qualified music teachers everywhere, he volunteers as a winds instructor at the Santa Cecilia School of Music, a youth orchestra program in a marginalized community which is the location of the capital city's landfill.