Troy Castle has been recognized for his robust bass-baritone voice, the regional and national success of his voice students, and the quality of his original research. He has covered and performed leading stage roles, including Mr. Laurence in Little Women: The Broadway Musical, Capulet in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Melchior in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, the title role in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Bartolo in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. His major concert credits include featured solo performances in the Brahms Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and St. Paul, Mozart’s Requiem, and Handel’s Chandos Anthem No. 9. His performance output also includes numerous collaborations with regional and university ensembles, in addition to many collaborative and solo recitals encompassing a broad range of literature.

Castle was a finalist in the “Men in Opera” category of the 2019–20 American Prize competition, and was a 2018–19 finalist for the “Men in Oratorio/Art Song” category and the Chicago Oratorio Award of the same. In 2017, he was a finalist in the artist division of the National Opera Association’s Carolyn Bailey and Dominick Argento vocal competition. He was twice a regional runner-up in the highly competitive National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Artist Award competition.

Castle’s students have enjoyed success in their performance endeavors, winning and placing in regional and national competitions, being accepted into competitive graduate programs, and performing in a variety of regional, national, and international venues. A frequent adjudicator of voice competitions, Castle has also presented numerous masterclasses and workshops. He currently serves as the vice president of the Central Illinois chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and continues to perform regularly in addition to his teaching and research endeavors. For more information, visit https://millikin.edu/people/troy-castle.

A captivating concert and collaborative pianist, Pei-I Wang is Assistant Professor of Piano and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at Millikin University. She has regularly collaborated with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, and Springfield Choral Society as well as performed as the featured soloist with the Illinois Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the Sangamon Valley Civic Orchestra, and the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra. She has received awards in various competitions, such as the National Music Competition in Taiwan, the UIUC Concerto Competition and the Liszt-Garrison International Competition.

Wang’s recent recording of world-premiere four-handed piano duets by Carl Czerny with Dr. Sam Gingher was released in September 2021 by NAXOS label. Wang is a nationally certified teacher of music in piano by MTNA and has served as frequent adjudicator, performer, clinician, and presenter. Currently, she serves as Secretary-Treasurer of Illinois State Music Teachers Association, Chair of ISMTA Competitions SOUTH, and President of Decatur Area Music Teachers Association. Please visit https://millikin.edu/people/pei-i-wang to learn more.