Meet the Directors, Creative Team, and Administrators
Jared holds a Bachelors degree from IU’s Jacobs School of Music in Choral Music Education. During his time at IU, he performed and toured with the internationally recognized collegiate show choir the Singing Hoosiers under both Dr. Michael Schwartzkopf and Dr. Steve Zegree. In 2019, Jared completed his Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from Butler University studying under Dr. Eric Stark and Dr. John Perkins.
Jared student taught at North Central under Mike Raunick in the fall of 2015. After graduating, he taught for two years at Westlane Middle School. After completing his graduate degree at Butler, he once again joined the North Central Choir family in the fall of 2019. Jared became Head Choir Director at North Central in 2024. He currently serves as director for The Counterpoints and Varsity Singers. Jared was named 2026 Director of the Year by homeroomshowchoir.com.
Jared has served as the Assistant Artistic Director of the Indianapolis Men’s Chorus since 2014. The IMC is a community chorus of approximately 75 singers that seeks to promote inclusivity around Indianapolis through song. Jared has performed as a featured soloist in multiple Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra productions, and was a chorus member for the world premiers of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in Concert, and as Stewpot in their production of South Pacific. He has served as chorus master for the Indianapolis tour stops of both Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban.
Jared has been married to his high school show choir sweetheart, Jenna, since 2015.
Elizabeth Morrison
Elizabeth Morrison is a graduate of Michigan State University where she earned her degrees in both Music Education and Vocal Performance. While a student at Michigan State, she performed various opera/musical theater roles in the MSU Opera Theater productions and local professional theaters, as well as interned as a student director with the MSU Children’s Choir. After college, she moved back to Indianapolis and began teaching at Center Grove Middle School North. While at CGMSN, she co-directed 7 choral ensembles as well as directed the Drama Club.
Prior to joining North Central, she was the head director at Whiteland Community High School. During that time, she led their varsity mixed show/concert choir, Rhythm Masters, and assisted with their vocal jazz ensemble, Shades of Blue, and also a variety of their beginning and intermediate ensembles. Elizabeth currently leads the KC Jazz program as well as the Accents intermediate show choir.
Outside of school, you can find her hiking, cooking, or catching up on shows with her husband Scott, son JJ, and daughter []
Daria Weingartner
Daria Weingartner earned her bachelor’s degree from Ball State University in K-12 Vocal and General Music. While at Ball State, she performed with the Ball State Concert Choir, Ball State Chamber Choir and the Indiana Choral Connection where she toured to New Orleans and New York. Daria also served on the Panhellenic Council for Greek Life on campus as the VP Risk Reduction and Education as well as serving on the executive board for Alpha Chi Omega.
After college, Daria began teaching in Warren Township at Raymond Park Middle School and Warren Central High School. In her six years in Warren Township, Daria directed the middle school ensembles as well as the beginning choir at the high school and Hi Lites, the Advanced Competitive Unisex show choir. Following Warren Township, Daria taught at Shortridge High School in Indianapolis Public Schools. In her six years in IPS, Daria directed the four choirs and taught IB Music Year 1 and Year 2. Daria has vocal directed 7 musicals and directed 6 others. At North Central, Daria leads The Descants and Northernaires.
Daria and her son Eddie live in the Indianapolis area with her partner and her two children.
TENÉH KARIMU
Tenéh B. C. Karimu is a multi-hyphenate creative encompassing talents in piano, voice, theater, and creative direction in the performing arts. Tenéh studied and performed the piano in her hometown of Indianapolis and, after attending Hampton University to study piano and voice, she returned to contribute to the local arts scene, most notably as an instructor and music director with Asante Children’s Theatre and Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre. In 2020 she was honored to be chosen as a Featured Artist by the Indianapolis Arts Council for its annual Art and Soul series. She has performed throughout the city including with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Indiana Repertory Theatre and Beef And Boards where she won a Broadwayworld.com award for music and orchestral direction for Sophisticated Ladies. Tenéh has had the opportunity to music direct The Rocky Horror Show with Zach and Zack Productions in 2022, 2024 and 2026.
Tenéh has also had the privilege of working with Summer Stock Stage since 2021. During her time with Summer Stock, Tenéh has held the role of music director and teaching artist. Tenéh’s Summer Stock credits include Once On This Island, Fugitive Songs and Hadestown. This year, Tenéh will music direct Ragtime, Newsies Jr. and Beatlejuice Jr. at Summer Stock Stage.
Tenéh has recently joined the North Central Choirs support staff as the full time accompanist, show choir band director and assistant director of the Northernaires. Tenéh thanks her tribe, family, friends and all those fighting for oppressed people.
Meet the Creative Team
It takes a lot of people to put together the high-quality show choir performances North Central is known for. NC Choirs is fortunate to have some of the best in the business on our team.
Garrett Breeze – Arranger
Garrett Breeze (North Central Class of 2007) is a Nashville-based composer best known for his catalog of more than 1,500 choral arrangements of popular music, including more than 1,000 written for competitive show choir.
He has worn many hats during his career as a freelance orchestrator and music preparer including work on 11 large-format films, Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir, video games such as World of Warcraft and Overwatch, and artists such as Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jordan Smith, Kristin Chenoweth, Michael W. Smith, Santino Fontana, Sutton Foster, and Tauren Wells.
His original production music has been used in commercial spots on all the major television networks and in shows such as Access Hollywood, Judge Judy, Lego Masters, and NOVA.
In 2022 he ventured into podcasting with his show Selling Sheet Music, which quickly became a leading voice in the publishing industry.
Garrett holds a bachelor’s degree in Media Music from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in Commercial Composition and Arranging from Belmont University.
Julianne Merrill – Arranger
Originally from Indianapolis, Julianne (a.k.a. PatchMaster Productions) works in NYC as a Professional Music Director, Pianist, and Electronic Music Designer. She is currently pursuing an M.A. in Creative Media and Technology, specializing in Live Experience Design at BerkleeNYC. Recent credits: Keyboard Programmer for A Strange Loop (Broadway), Ableton Programmer for Afterwords (5th Avenue Theater, Seattle), Music Director and Playback Engineer for Maestra’s Amplify 2022 concert at Le Poisson Rouge, Artist-in-Residence with Andréa Burns at Pace University, Associate Professor of MT at Marymount Manhattan College, MD MT Intensive at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, MD for SuperYou Drive-In Concert, Rock Of Ages MD/Sub (Off-Broadway). www.juliannemerrill.com
Victoria Brindis – Choreograper
Tori is a full-time freelance choreographer living in Portland, OR. Originally from Connecticut, she was a member of high school show choir and has been a student of dance for her entire life. Throughout college she participated in many shows and musicals as well as spent her summers at Show Choir Camps of America. After college, she moved out to Los Angeles and was signed by Clear Talent Agency and began to dance professionally. She trained at some of the top studios in Los Angeles and had the opportunity to work on many different shows, music videos, and live performances for things like LA Fashion Week, ABC’s Mixology, Tokyo Disney’s Little Mermaid attraction and much more. She has been choreographing and adjudicating show choirs full time since 2012. She has had the opportunity to work with and clinic for many amazing programs, All State Show Choirs, and groups in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Indiana, South Dakota, Ohio, Nebraska, Illinois, Arizona, California, West Virginia, and Texas.
Dom Matas – Choreographer
Dominic Matas is a highly talented and dedicated Freelance Choreographer, Show Designer, and Show Choir Coach based in North Hollywood, CA. With a passion for creative expression and a wealth of experience, Dominic has proven his expertise in choreography and show design for a range of high school show choirs across multiple states over the past decade. His impressive portfolio includes lead choreography for “Powerhouse” at John Burroughs High School, co-directing and show designing for the Bass Group “Men @ Work”, and choreographing and designing for numerous other show choirs around the United States. His dedication to nurturing young talent has earned him a reputation as a sought-after professional in the industry.
Philip Crawshaw – Choreographer
Phillip Crawshaw is from Indianapolis, IN and has devoted over a decade to a career in professional dance. His artistic journey began with Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre and further at Dance Kaleidoscope.
Phillip’s regional theatre credits include “Guys & Dolls,” “Newsies,” “Kinky Boots,” “An American in Paris’” and others!
Furthermore, Phillip is a choreographer around the Indianapolis area and the broader Midwest. His choreographic portfolio includes Chicago, The Wedding Singer, and Tuck Everlasting, Frozen (at North Central HS!) and recently Hadestown with Summer Stock Stage. His current projects include Mamma Mia and Newsies.
He also owns a hot sauce business with a mission to giving back to animal charities and rescues called PUP & THE PEPPER.
Lalah Ayan Hazelwood – Dance Technique Instructor
Lalah Ayan Hazelwood began her dance training in Indianapolis, Indiana at Kenyettá Dance Studio under the direction of her mother, Vanessa Owens. She has had the opportunity to study at Deeply Rooted Dance Theater’s Summer Intensive, International Association of Blacks in Dance conferences and The Alvin Ailey School on scholarship. She is a 2013 graduate of Indiana University Bloomington. While at IUB, she performed works by Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, David Parsons, Bella Lewitzky, Laurie Eisenhower and Larry Keigwin & Nicole Wolcott.
She is currently teaching an advanced dance course at her alma mater, Indiana University Bloomington and is a faculty member for the Indiana Ballet Conservatory in Carmel, IN. Lalah is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Lalah is also an Associate Artistic Director for Kenyettá Dance Company.
Joey Mervis – Video Design
Joey Mervis is a videographer, editor, and performer based in NYC. He is the Director of Video Content for BroadwayWorld, where he produces news coverage for Broadway, off-Broadway, film, & television. Joey is the co-founder of Riverbend Production Co. and a 2017 graduate of North Central, where he was a proud Counterpoint and a recipient of the Pat Wiehe Choral Music Award.
Randy Lanoue – Costuming
Randy Lanoue is a show choir costume designer from Cleveland, Ohio. Randy has designed costumes for premier show choirs from Boston to Los Angeles. Previously, Randy was the director and choreographer of the Twinsburg Great Expectations. Under his direction, the group won championships and caption awards from coast to coast.
Meet the Administration
NC Choirs enjoys support from amazing administrators who can often be spotted in the audience at choir events.
Mr. Rick Granlund – Chair of the Performing Arts Department
Rick Granlund is the Director of Bands and Chair of the 6-12 Performing Arts Department at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Since 1992, he has held positions in five communities across Indiana and the Chicago area.
Under Mr. Granlund’s leadership, the North Central High School Wind Ensemble won the ISSMA State Concert Band Championships in 2006, 2007, and from 2009 to 2011. His other accolades include the Ball State University Alumni Achievement Citation and being named one of SBO Magazine’s “50 Directors Who Make a Difference” in 2014-2015. Mr. Granlund was honored as the Indiana Bandmaster of the Year in 2014 and was a Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow in 2013. He received the Indiana Music Educators Association Outstanding High School Music Educator Award in 2011. Mr. Granlund has served twice as President of the Indiana Bandmasters Association (IBA) and twice as President of the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA).
A graduate of Ball State University, Mr. Granlund completed his Master of Arts at the University of Indianapolis.
Mr. Jagga Rent – Principal
Mr. Jagga Rent was named principal of North Central High School at the start of the 2024-25 school year and quickly became one of NC Choirs’ biggest supporters.
Mr. Rent’s extensive background in educational administration spans multiple roles and settings. He has served as an administrator in urban and suburban settings and has demonstrated an understanding of the importance of culturally responsive instructional practices and has a proven track record of fostering inclusive learning environments that promote academic excellence and personal growth.
Mr. Rent was previously the principal of Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate Junior High School. Before that, he served as an assistant principal and dean at Hamilton Southeastern High School. He received both his bachelor’s degree in secondary education and master’s degree in educational administration from Ball State University.
Dr. Sean Taylor – Superintendent
Dr. Taylor was appointed Superintendent July 1, 2025. A fierce advocate for public education, Dr. Taylor believes that when a school community of diverse stakeholders collectively commit to improving student achievement, all of our children can and will succeed. He also believes that central to that collective commitment is exemplary leadership.
Prior to becoming Superintendent, Dr. Taylor served as Associate Superintendent, as well as a middle school and elementary school principal for more than eight years in the district. Before joining Washington Township Schools in 2009, he also worked as an assistant principal, an elementary school teacher, and a middle school English Language Arts teacher.
Dr. Taylor has earned three degrees: a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Ball State University, a Master of School Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Doctoral Degree in Executive Educational Leadership from Indiana University-Bloomington.
He is active in the community through the Washington Township Schools Foundation, the Washington Township Community Coalition, Lion Catchers, Student Impact, Young Life, and Westfield Youth Sports.
