In additional to freelance singers, the members of Roots in the Sky include lawyers, nurses, teachers, professors, dieticians, software developers, and business men and women, as well as chemical, biological, biomedical, mechanical, and industrial engineers. We are united by our art, community and deep sense of place.
THE CHOIR
Hannah Anderson, Isobel Anthony, Kaleb Biladeau, Kayla Bojkovsky, Mandy Bowker, Beth Campbell, Andrew Cantley, Cordelia Cluett, Derek Conder, Adam Copeland, Emily Copeland, Patrick Fischer, Lukas Graf, Maren Haynes, Erin Henke, Logan Henke, Eli Isbell, Michael Juel, Rachel Juel, Henry Koch, Annie Murphy, Natalie Mills, Robert Nack, Alan Newbold, Jack Reeder, Cara Robertus, Faith Suhre, Ana Warner, Katie Webb, Madison West, and John Zirkle.
Conductor — Andrew Major
Assistant Conductor — Logan Henke
Sound Designers — Luke Scheeler & Henry Koch
Andrew Major is a versatile conductor, singer, and pianist interested in exploring historic and contemporary choral music in order to ask questions about the world in which we are living. Hailing from Bozeman, Montana, Andrew has a proven track record of culturally-relevant programming, dynamic collaborations, and community building as the artistic director and conductor of Roots in the Sky, an amateur-turned-professional chamber choir that he founded while an undergraduate at Montana State University, where he graduated summa cum laude with degrees in Music and Neuroscience. An in-demand singer, Andrew’s recent credits include performances with the Grant Park Music Festival Chorus, Music of the Baroque, Chicago Opera Theater, Stare at the Sun, and as a substitute member of the GRAMMY Award-winning chamber choir The Crossing.
Andrew holds graduate degrees in choral conducting from the Bienen School of Music (DMA and MM), where he studied with GRAMMY Award-winning conductor Donald Nally. During his doctoral residency, Andrew was the assistant conductor of the Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble (BCE), and in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic served as chorus master for Northwestern Opera Theatre’s pioneering, virtual production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. Andrew was also the assistant conductor of the Apollo Chorus of Chicago as they celebrated their 150th anniversary and helped to prepare performances of historic and modern symphonic works including Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St. John Passion, and Stacy Garrop’s Terra Nostra. Most recently, Andrew assisted in preparing members of the Apollo Chorus for performances of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito and Don Giovanni for performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the 2022 Ravinia Festival.
Andrew’s 2022-23 engagements included the tenth anniversary season of Roots in the Sky, the world premiere of The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing with Chicago Opera Theater, performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Music of the Baroque and Dame Jane Glover, and leading the opening program of the Handel Week Festival in Oak Park, IL, for which Andrew received the Mark and Randi Ravitts Woodworth Award for Young Conductors. Andrew also performed with The Crossing in the world premiere of Julia Wolfe’s unEarth in collaboration with the New York Philharmonic.
Logan J. Henke is a conductor, composer, and vocalist in his first year of graduate study at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. Logan is pursuing a Master of Music, studying under GRAMMY-Award winning conductor Dr. Donald Nally. Logan earned his first graduate degree, a Master of Education, from Montana State University. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Music Education, a B.A. in Music Technology, and an Honors College Baccalaureate, summa cum laude, all from Montana State.
At Northwestern, Logan is the graduate assistant conductor of the University Singers. Professionally, Logan is a member and assistant conductor of the Bozeman-based choral ensemble, Roots in the Sky, where he also serves on their board of directors. Logan had the pleasure of conducting Roots in the Sky as the first choral ensemble to appear at Tippet Rise Arts Center in Fishtail, MT, as part of the Montana State University Honors College Musicale. Logan was also selected as a participant in the Student Conductor Masterclass at the 2018 Northwest American Choral Directors Association Regional Conference.
Previously, Logan performed the baritone solos for the Messiah community sing in Bozeman from 2017 – 2019. Logan also performed the baritone solos for Roots in the Sky’s 2018 performance of Fauré’s Requiem. Additionally, he has joined Intermountain Opera Bozeman for 4 productions, including the roles of Samuel in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance and Zaretsky in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.
Logan is an active composer whose works have been performed in Europe and the United States. Most recently, Logan’s electronic composition Botanical Drift was selected for performance at the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival 2021. Logan continues to compose and perform in the Chicago area.