Amanda SneedMel Harp, BME, MA, DMA, though born in Ft. Smith, Arkansas considers himself a native Texan. He spent his childhood and teenage years in Sweetwater, then after college and two years teaching in Texas panhandle schools, he returned to teach choral musc at his alma mater. Mel later completed a Master of Arts in Music and Theater at West Texas A&M University (then West Texas State University, ) and a Doctor of Musical Arts in the Literature and Perfomance of Choral Music at the University of Colorado-Boulder. During his years of high-school teaching, Mel also directed church choirs, performed as an actor/singer in outdoor drama productions or the Pioneer Amphitheater, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas. Later, at Nebraska Wesleyan University, and the Conservatory of Music and Dance, University of Missouri-Kansas City while continuing to direct church choirs, and perform as an opera, oratorio, and chamber music soloist, he sang as an American Guild of Musical Artists chorister for three seasons with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City; conducted and directed European concert tours of the Missouri Youth Chorale/Mid-America Youth Chorale; and taught choral music-education, graduate choral literature, and conducting classes at UMKC. Upon his return to Texas, Mel found a new avenue of expression as a singer/songwriter and member of the Americana groups Song Writers of the Llano and Sweetwater Medicine Wagon. Read More Read Less