Leadership

Artistic Staff

Ryan Main (Director, Youth Chorus of Kansas City & YCKC Intermezzo, Artistic Director) is passionate about quality music education for all, and is proud to serve as the artistic director of the Youth Chorus of Kansas City. Additionally, he serves as the Director of Music at Village Presbyterian Church on Antioch.

An award-winning composer, his music is published and performed internationally. His titles have earned multiple Editor’s Choice distinctions from JW Pepper, and are featured at national and regional American Choral Directors Association Conferences, festivals, Carnegie Hall, and other events around the world. For more information on his work, visit www.ryanmain.com.

Ryan holds a Master of Music in Music Composition and a Master of Music in Music Education from the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Composition from the University of Missouri - Kansas City's Conservatory of Music and Dance. He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the Missouri Choral Directors Association, the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He currently serves as the southwestern region representative on the NAfME Council on Music Composition.

Jana Houston (Director, YCKC Singers) teaches choir at Hocker Grove Middle School in the Shawnee Mission School District, and has previously served at Argentine Middle School in Kansas City, Kansas. She earned a Bachelors in Music Education from the University of Missouri - Kansas City's Conservatory of Music and Dance.

Jana has been active in the Kansas City music scene, performing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus and Te Deum Chamber choir. She has served as a vocal instructor for Shawnee Mission South’s Summer Raiders Camp, teaches private lessons, and coaches barbershop with the Kansas City Chorus.

Bethany Unruh (Director, YCKC Prelude) is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Conservatory of Music and Dance, where she received a Bachelors of Music Education. She teaches music and directs the Special Chorus at Rolling Ridge Elementary School in the Olathe School district. Previously, she taught music and directed the Special Chorus at Manchester Park Elementary in the Olathe School District, serving students in grades K-5. During her tenure at Manchester Park, her students performed with distinction at the Kansas Music Educator’s Association state conference.

Bethany is an active member of the American Choral Director's Association, the National Association for Music Education, and the Kansas Music Educator’s Association, and most recently her song "Be Who You Are" was selected for the JW Pepper's Editor's Choice distinction.

Christina Vogler (Assistant Director, Youth Chorus of Kansas City) is an elementary music teacher at Chouteau Elementary in the North Kansas City School District. She is a recent graduate of William Jewell College, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Music Education. While at William Jewell, she served as a student conductor for Symphonic Band, Concert Choir, and Choral Ensemble. She has experience teaching students of many different ages both in school and in private voice lessons.

Outside of the Youth Chorus of Kansas City, Christina loves to sing in choirs, serving as a frequent substitute chorister in many Kansas City area churches and being a part of Cardinalis. She also enjoys The Beatles and named her cat "Sgt. Pepper" after the song "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Christina is excited to be a part of the Youth Chorus and to help foster a love of music in young minds!

Dan Rasmussen (Assistant Director, Youth Chorus of Kansas City) is excited to be joining the staff for the Youth Chorus of Kansas City. He is the current Director of Choirs at Liberty Middle School. He teaches 6th-8th grade chorus and assists with various musicals, plays, and vocal ensembles throughout the district. He completed his undergraduate work at Northwest Missouri State University receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcasting.

Dan is a proud member of the Barbershop Harmony Society competing in both barbershop quartets and choruses. He is the assistant director of Central Standard, a perennial medalist chorus at the Barbershop Harmony Society's international contest. When not singing barbershop tags, Dan enjoys spending time with friends and family, exploring Kansas City and attempting to memorize the lyrics to “Guns and Ships” from the musical Hamilton.

Charles Tsui (Collaborative Pianist) is a native of Hong Kong, and an active pianist in Kansas City. He currently serves as the collaborative pianist of the Youth Chorus of Kansas City. He is also the pianist of the Topeka Symphony, where he occupies the Dr. Phillip Sisk Memorial Chair. His collaboration with soprano Jennifer Forni was being broadcasted through Kansas Public Radio. Additionally, Charles was invited to perform at the Emerald Coast Music Alliance Festival in Florida. Besides in the United States, he also performed in various music festivals in China, England, Japan, and South Korea.

Besides being a full-time accompanist at the Basehor-Linwood School District Choirs, Charles also serves as the organist and pianist at the Avondale United Methodist Church. Under the pandemic, Charles also organized the Avondale Music Series, offering both local and international musicians a platform to perform and promote high standard classical music for the local community even during the pandemic.

Charles is currently a Doctoral candidate (ABD) at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, supervised by the world-renowned pianist Alon Goldstein. He previously received his music education at the Longy School of Music of Bard College and Hong Kong Baptist University. Charles is a Licentiate of Trinity College London and the membership of the Music Teachers National Association. He also served as the judge of the Young Artist Competition in Topeka.

Paul Graeme Thomas (Collaborative Pianist) began playing piano at age 8, though his affinity for music began much earlier. He continued to take lessons throughout middle and high school, and ultimately enrolled in courses at the University of New Mexico, where he studied with the pianist Falko Steinbach. Paul won the MTNA Young Artist State Competition on multiple occasions, and has represented New Mexico at regional competitions in Phoenix and Honolulu. During the summer months of 2012-2016, he accepted his teacher’s invitation to participate in the Lindlar International Klavierfestival in Würzburg, Germany. This led to a semester aboard at Würzburg’s Hochschule für Musik.

An active soloist, Paul is also a budding church musician. He worked as a music associate and eventually the interim music director at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Albuquerque, NM for two years, gaining experience as an organist and choir conductor. In 2016, Paul graduated from UNM with a Bachelor’s of Music degree, and in the fall of 2017 he began pursuing a Master’s degree at the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory with renowned pedagogue Robert Weirich. In addition, Paul is an avid accompanist and chamber musician; most recently, he was a recipient of a graduate assistantship at UMKC as a choral accompanist, and rehearses and performs with three of the student choirs.