Musicians

MUSIC DIRECTOR

Singer-songwriter Joey McGee creates music shaped by the vitality of his native New Orleans, refined through years of living and working in Pittsburgh, and enriched by his experiences in the Brazos Valley, where he now resides in Bryan, Texas. Time spent in San Antonio has also left its mark on his sound. The result is a distinctive blend of soul, country, blues, and rock, grounded in the American folk-roots tradition.

Joey serves as St. Cecilia’s beloved artist-in-residence. More about him and his work can be found at www.joeymcgee.com.

MUSICIAN & DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE ARTS OUTREACH

2010 Official Texas State Musician Sara Hickman (after Willie and before Lyle!) has been recording, performing and touring since 1988. Through broad television and radio exposure, massive touring, over 20 albums, a successful career---including hosting VH-1 shows, two appearances on the Tonight Show, Carnegie Hall and multiple awards for her songwriting and philanthropy, Sara Hickman is internationally known for her Grammy nominated and award winning pop/folk music. Through her music, Sara has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a multitude of non-profits including Habitat for Humanity, SAFE, SPCA, the Ugandan Fistula Fund, House the Homeless, Sanford Community Center, Tanner Romanian Mission, Hill Country Youth Ranch and many others. 

Sara has acted in films and on stage, sings on national commercials (Daisy Sour Cream, Popeye’s, WalMart), licenses and distributes her own music catalogue, teaches classes on songwriting, creativity, the music industry, and enjoys being an inspirational speaker. She was the National Ambassador for Half Price Books

Sara grew up in Houston with visual artists for parents, one a weaver and one a painter/professor, which led her to graduate with a BA from the University of North Texas in painting. As a teenager, Sara became a volunteer performing music for youth in psych units. This led to her working as a professional music and art therapist, receiving a lifetime achievement award from The National Association of Music Therapists.

Alongside music, Sara accepts painting and sculptural mosaics commissions. After purchasing a B&B down on Matagorda Bay, Sara became the project coordinator/fundraiser and volunteer executive director to restore an historic building formerly known as the Palacios Colored School, which existed during segregation. Sara led a team effort of turning the school into an historical community center, The Sanford Community Center, which is now up and running.

Since 2019, Sara has donated over $42,000 from the sales of her Texas Musicians Coloring Book (Volumes 1 & 2). Lastly, she is the booking agent for a yearly family music festival called MossFest (inside the ABC Kite Festival at Zilker Park) and is a proud mom to two amazing kids and her dog, Twig. 

MUSICIAN

Stephen Mansolo has been playing music for 30+ years. Playing with numerous bands, featuring jazz, country, rock, spiritual and theatrical music, his favorite venues include The Palace Theater in Georgetown and The Broken Spoke. He served as a worship leader
for churches while also working as a registered nurse. He lives in Brenham with his wife, youngest son and his mother, and two companions, a Beagle
and a Boxer-Pit mix. When he’s not playing on the keys, Stephen enjoys bowling and adventuring.

MUSICIAN

Anna La Mare is a singer-songwriter whose stormy, poetic folk Americana—touched by Celtic, Appalachian, and jazz influences—has earned her comparisons to Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Natalie Merchant. With her soulfully tender yet powerful voice and a storyteller’s instinct, she crafts songs that feel both intimate and expansive. A lifelong traveler and community-builder, Anna spent almost 15 years living, studying, and working abroad, an experience that fostered deep cultural sensitivity and a love for global folk traditions that informs her writing and presence on stage. After returning to the U.S., she spent years rooted in the restaurant industry while building her musical life in North Carolina, New Orleans, and Houston—communities that shaped her sound with their rich storytelling and character. Her path has taken her through international residencies and performances across the U.S., U.K., and Canada. She was awarded a City of Austin Live Music Fund grant for her upcoming debut album that she is in the preproduction phase of, and has collaborated with celebrated writers. After three years living full-time on the road, Anna has recently settled into a home in Austin and is excited to dig into the city’s vibrant musical community. She brings her heartfelt presence and a voice that carries both tenderness and power to every collaboration. She is grateful and delighted to share her songs and spirit with  the St. Cecilia’s community.

MUSICIAN

David Pulkingham is a guitarist, songwriter, producer and teacher. Based in Austin TX he has been a mainstay of the thriving music scene for the last twenty-five years.

 David has released two instrumental albums entitled David Pulkingham Plays Guitar volumes 1 and 3, and in 2015 he released his first singer/songwriter album entitled Little Pearl. His other recording projects include the instrumental duo Pulkingham Layne (with longtime friend and guitarist extraordinaire DarinLayne). That duo has three albums under its belt: PoisonFlower (2017), Stringology (20190 and D Shack (2021). Most recently David has teamed up with Canadian keyboardist and songwriter, Jay Stiles, to form the band SuperTonic. This project will release their first album, Time To Repair, in 2021.

David currently tours with Patty Griffin and has played with her for the past 8 years. He co-wrote two songs on her recent Grammy winning eponymous album.

His mastery of numerous styles has lead him to share the stage and record with many artists around the world. Famed David Bowie producer, Tony Visconti calls David " the complete guitarist, one of the best I have ever worked with."

In addition to his extensive touring work with Alejandro Escovedo, Carrie Rodriguez, Sara Watkins and Patty Griffin, David has performed with both the Lampedusa and Lantern tours to benefit refugee services. On these performances he served as an accompanist for the likes of Robert Plant, EmmyLou Harris, Steve Earle, Joan Baez, Jackson Browne, Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams and Lila Downs.

MUSICIAN

CRISPIN SCHROEDER is a musician, singer, songwriter and restless creative. Crispin grew up in Midland Texas and moved to Southeast Louisiana in his early twenties where he currently lives with his wife Dina in the eclectic little town of Abita Springs (across the lake from New Orleans).

Crispin is an award-winning songwriter and recording artist who has written hundreds of songs and released numerous albums both as a solo artist and with various other artists and bands. Crispin has been featured on numerous albums by Vineyard Music and his song Not Be Moved, which he wrote in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, became the title track for one of their releases. While Crispin has been playing music professionally since his teens he also spent over 2 decades working within the church as a music director, associate pastor and finally as senior/founding pastor of Common Ground Church (est. 2010 Covington La.) where he pastored for 10 years before retiring in 2020 to return to music full-time. Crispin’s music makes its home somewhere between the wide open west Texas skies and the cultural gumbo that is New Orleans as he explores sonic territory from Americana and country to Gospel, Blues and New Orleans Funk. His subject matter is just as diverse as the styles of songs he writes, from songs of worship, to songs about good weather, bad weather, sentient machines, water bears and why they don’t care, and more than a few about love. Crispin can be found most weeks playing piano and singing somewhere around the New Orleans area in one of his 250+ shows a year. All of Crispin’s original music is available for streaming through any platform including his two latest singles The Wonder of You and Me (June 2024) and No Beginning Quite Like and End (Aug 2024).

MUSICIAN

Rob Kazenel Born in Montréal, Canada, with the music of Bach, Beethoven, rahms and The Beatles ringing out at home, Robert Kazenel began playing his first drum set at age thirteen. By age eighteen, Robert began working in a thriving Montreal music scene, culminating in numerous album recordings, a few top twenty hits, a Canadian gold record and extensive touring throughout North America as well as multiple jazz festival appearances across Canada. Upon the completion of a music degree from Concordia University, Robert moved to the Live Music Capital that is Austin Texas in 2004, where his skills, creativity, versatility and experience quickly found a new home. Over the last twenty years of his tenure in Austin, he has performed widely in musics ranging from Jazz, Country, Blues, Western Swing, Rock, Classical and Latin music, with ensembles large and small, from The San Antonio Symphony Orchestra to the Mitch Watkins Trio, and from John Mills Times Ten to the David Pulkingham Duo! Robert has also made numerous recordings as a session player at Sugar Hill Studio in Houston as well as studios in Austin, Montreal and elsewhere. Robert also considers himself a friend to all God’s creatures.

MUSICIAN

A bass player for more than 40 years, Bobby has been playing and studying music since his youth in Houston Texas. He studied music at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. While living in Southern California he continued developing skill in bands with his brother Raymond as well as having the opportunity to make music with many artists playing with Duane Jarvis, Carla Olsen, Mick Taylor, and Joe Walsh. He has been a Vineyard worship pastor for 25 years playing guitar, leading worship and developing musicians. For two decades he was a recording musician for Vineyard Music, regularly playing national and regional conferences with a variety of artists, as well as teaching band dynamics seminars. He has recorded and/or traveled playing with CrispIn Schroeder, Raymond McDonald, John and Marie Barnett, Ryan Delmore, Chris Lizotte, and Casey Corum. He also plays locally with jazz artists. Bobby has a recording studio working in sound engineering and producing records, including those of CrispIn Schroeder and Raymond McDonald. When not thinking about music he is probably fixing up houses, on a long bike ride or reading.

MUSICIAN

Cellist Patrick Moore is a musician of diverse interests who performs as a chamber musician, soloist, orchestral player, jazz improviser, and is an avid new music enthusiast. As an orchestral musician, he is the assistant principal cellist of The Houston Latin American Philharmonic and Opera in the Heights. Patrick also enjoys performing chamber music with The Axiom Quartet. He also performs contemporary music with Aperio New Music Ensemble and Musiqa New Music Ensemble. Currently, he is adjunct faculty at the University of St.Thomas. Patrick Moore received a Bachelors degree from Roosevelt University, and a Masters degree from Rice University.