Summit Choral Society Staff

DR. FRANK C. JACOBS, Founder/Artistic Director

Dr. Jacobs founded the Summit Choral Society in 1990 and since that time has devoted his full energies to managing, promoting, and serving as its artistic director and chief administrator.

He holds degrees from Occidental College (Los Angeles, CA); DePauw University (Greencastle, IN); and the University of Illinois (Champaign, IL).  He has studied with such noted choral conductor/teachers as Wilhelm Ehman, Joe Flummerfelt, Kenneth Jennings, Elmer Iseler, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Helmuth Rilling, Howard Swan and David Willcocks.  Master conductors for whom he has prepared choral/orchestral works include Lukas Foss, Louis Lane, Gunther Schuller, Robert Shaw and Howard Swan.

Dr. Jacobs has taught elementary, junior high, and high school music in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and California, and served as director of choral activities for five years each at DePauw University and at the University of Akron. During this time, he devoted much of his interest and energies to the study and performance of major choral/orchestral works, and continues to have a primary interest in that area of performance. In the spring of 2000 he became the recipient of one of four Ovation Awards presented by the state-wide organization VARN (Vocal Arts Resource Network) for "instilling and inspiring the love of vocal music through his work with children and adults, and through the Summit Choral Society's outreach into their whole community."

In the summer of 2005, Dr. Jacobs was privileged to be invited to conduct Bach’s B Minor Mass in the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, China. As a result of that invitation, forty members of the SCS Masterworks Chorale and the West Shore Chorale of Cleveland combined with sixty-five singers from Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music to sing this monumental work accompanied by the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra to a capacity crowd. Reviews were universally outstanding and many friendships were forged.

In addition to his duties with the Summit Choral Society, Dr. Jacobs remains active as a choral clinician, strategic planning consultant and guest conductor. He resides in Fairlawn, Ohio with his wife, Arlene, as they revel in their new-found role as grandparents to Kylie Rose Jacobs.

MS. LAURA MUSARRA, General Manager

Ms. Laura Musarra has over 20 years of executive experience in marketing, product management, business development, strategic planning, and licensing with Fortune 500 companies such as Newell Rubbermaid/Little Tikes, BP America, American Greetings and Fisher Price.  She also serves on various nonprofit Boards and on panels to assist companies and nonprofits with their marketing programs. Laura has worked in a creative role to develop a broad range of new products and programs throughout her career and is now applying her private sector experience to help nonprofits succeed.  Prior to her role as General Manager at SCS, she served on SCS's Board of Directors for three years as V.P. Marketing. To keep things lively in her private life, she has a fine art photography company and is a duathlon participant. Laura received her MBA from Weatherhead at Case Western Reserve.

MS. ALYSE BROOKS, Administrative Assistant

Ms. Brooks holds a Bachelor of Arts History from the University of Akron, graduating with honors, and is a current Arts Administration student in the University of Akron's graduate program.  Her experience in research and writing allow her to provide additional grant writing support to the Summit Choral Society.  She has successfully held various management positions in business in Akron.  Alyse holds honors in the Golden Key National Honor Society and speaks fluent French. 

MRS. BARBARA EATON, Music Director, Training Level III

Mrs. 'Bobbie' Eaton is a native of Huntington, WV and received her Bachelor and Master degrees in music education and voice from Marshall University. She is enjoying retirement after thirty-five years of teaching vocal music in the Akron Public Schools. She served as a director of the citywide May Festival Select Choir for many years and her choirs have sung in many community programs and special events throughout Akron. Mrs. Eaton has been a member of the Masterworks Chorale since its inception and is a music director with the Summit Children’s Choir.

MRS. ARLENE JACOBS, Music Director, Touring Choir

Mrs. Arlene Jacobs holds Bachelor and Master degrees in Music Education from DePauw University (Green-castle, Indiana). She has taught music for public schools in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and California and recently retired after twenty years of teaching elementary music at Arrowhead Primary School in the Copley-Fairlawn City Schools. She is an active member of the Ohio Music Educators Association (OMEA), American Orff-Schulwerk Association (OAKE), American Kodaly Educators, and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).  As the music director of the SCC Touring Choir she has taken them to state, regional, and national conferences and led them on international tours to China, England, Hawaii, Italy, German, the Chez Republic, Malta and Sicily. Mrs. Jacobs has also sung with the Masterworks Chorale since its inception.

MRS. LAUREL LABBE, Music Director, Concert Choir

Mrs. Laurel Labbe is a music director for the Summit Children’s Choir for seven years. She has Bachelor of Arts degrees in both English and Music from Duke University and a Master degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Massachusetts. Her Kodaly training has been taken at Cleveland State University. Mrs. Labbe is also Director of Choirs for the Orrville City Schools for over ten years and a conductor of the Orrville Community Chorus. Her professional affiliations are ACDA, OCDA, MENC and OMEA. She previosyly sang with the Masterworks Chorale for many years and lives in Copley.

MRS. BETH LEHOTY, Accompanist, Concert Choir

Beth has been an accompanist for the Summit Children's Choir program for over ten years.  She earned her Bachlor of Music Education degree from the University of Akron and was the choral director at Southeast High School.  She currently teaches middle school choral music in the Copy-Fairlawn Schools and directs a children's choir at The Chapel in Akron. Beth has been an OMEA choral and piano adjudicator, supports local schools by accompanying students going to solo and ensemble contests and teaches private piano lessons.  She lives in Coply and when not making music, enjoys tournament water skiing and camping.

MS. JENNIFER MIDCAP, Director of Marketing

Ms. Jennifer Midcap is from Hartville, Ohio. She graduated magna cum laude from Malone College (Canton, Ohio) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts and extensive coursework in music. Jenn is an accomplished flutist who has been playing the flute for over 15 years, and has been singing publicly for approximately five years. She frequently shares her music by performing in church services, nursing homes, weddings and other functions, and always welcomes the opportunity to play and sing in new venues. Jenn is also the Director of Music at Oak Hill Presbyterian Church in Akron where she directs the Chancel Choir and Bell Choir.  She also sings with the Masterworks Chorale, plays flute with the Summit Choral Society choirs and volunteers as a youth soccer coach.

MR. ROBERT D. MOLLARD, Associate Director and Accompanist

Robert Mollard has over fifteen years with the Summit Choral Society. He also serves as principal key-boardist of the Akron Symphony Orchestra and Associate Director of the Akron Symphony Chorus as well as Organist/Choirmaster of Faith Lutheran Church of Fairlawn. His rather eclectic professional career has included work with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops, Telarc Records, and with recording artists including Vladimir Horowitz, Victor Borge, John Browning, Andre Watts, Dave Brubeck, Sherill Milnes, Chick Corea, Richard Tucker, and Kathleen Battle. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Conducting from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and holds an Associate Certificate with the American Guild of Organists (AAGO).

He is the Founder and President of Mollard Conducting Batons Inc., the leading manufacturer of products for professional conductors worldwide. When not performing, Bob is often found sailing Lake Erie in all types of weather.

MRS. KAY SHUE, Music Director, Training Level IV

Mrs. Kay Shue is in her sixth year as a member of the Summit Children’s Choir music staff. She is originally from Kidron, Ohio and received her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Bowling Green State University. Since then she has completed Kodaly Levels I, II and III and holds a Masters of Music Education with an emphasis in Kodaly from Capital University. She is director of the Orville City School District and her professional affiliations are with OMEA, OAKE and ACDA.

MRS. MELISSA SMITH, Music Director, Training Level II

Mrs. Melissa Smith has enjoyed the love of music since a very early age and has been performing vocally since high school. She has been a music director with the Summit Children’s Choir Program for over five year. She received both her Bachelor and Masters degrees in Music Education from the University of Akron and has been teaching in Kent’s City Schools for over fourteen years at elementary and middle school levels. Melissa has also been choir director of the Mogadore United Methodist Church for over fifteen years. She resides in Suffield and when not teaching or performing, she and her family enjoy boating and camping on the Ohio River.

MR. HAL WALKER, Music Director, Training Level I

Mr. Hal Walker has almost ten years as a music director with the Summit Children’s Choir staff having first joined us at Summer Vocal Camp 2002. He grew up blowing the harmonica along the banks of the Cuyahoga River. Born into a musical family, he has been singing since before he could talk and, since graduating from Northwestern University (Chicago, Illinois) with a Bachelor of Arts in history, has made his living as a music teacher and freelance musician. He is affiliated with Young Audiences of Greater Cleveland; is an Ohio Arts Council artist-in-residence in Ohio schools; and is Director of Music for the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Kent. He has distributed thousands of harmonicas (complete with beginning lessons) to students throughout Ohio. His original compositions entitled My State Ohio, Home in Ohio and Father Abraham have been significant parts of the Summit Choral Society’s concerts.