Missouri State University’s Dr. Cameron LaBarr, director of choral studies and Clif and Gail Smart Professor, was invited by the National Concerts organization to conduct a performance at Carnegie Hall April 11, 2026. He collaborated with Dr. Michael Barrett, former director of choral activities at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, to conduct the National Concert Chorus.

Cameron LaBarr conducted several pieces composed by his wife and Missouri State alumna, Susan LaBarr. She currently serves as a National Concert composer-in-residence. Those selections were “Where the Light Begins,” “Grace Before Sleep” and “The Cardinal and the Roller.”

The program also featured Parker Payne, artist-in-residence and collaborative pianist in Missouri State’s Department of Music. He accompanied the performers on piano.

Additionally, 10 Missouri State students sang in the concert, They were Kaden Chapman, Eto Tagur, Gio Hernandez, Anne Copiaco, Destiny Romero, Ashlee Martin, Katie Penkalski, Jonah Hagerty, Cole Dobbs and Nolan Scotidis. Several Missouri State alumni, faculty and staff also attended the performance to show their support.

This was Cameron LaBarr’s first official project with National Concerts. He and Barrett will appear again at Carnegie Hall in April 2027. The program will be similar in format to the 2026 performance. Susan LaBarr will once again serve as composer-in-residence.

A family affair

Like her husband, this was Susan LaBarr’s first event with National Concerts. The LaBarrs have known Matthew Workman, who heads the organization, for several years.

“Over the years, we’ve built up mutual trust and respect, so it was a natural next step to collaborate on this project,” she said.

Susan LaBarr described the Carnegie stage as an “acoustical wonder.”

“I keep telling people that Carnegie Hall lives up to the hype,” she said. “I have had compositions performed on the main stage at Carnegie Hall before, but this was the first time I got to hear them performed in person.”

One memory Susan LaBarr will treasure forever is watching her son, Elliott, play the djembe drum on the Carnegie stage.

“He started playing percussion in band this past year in sixth grade,” she said. “This was quite a moment that he got to play at Carnegie Hall so young!”

Elliott LaBarr takes percussion lessons from Missouri State percussion student Lyndon Wilson.

Music faculty influence career as a composer

During her journey as a student in Missouri State’s music program, Susan LaBarr found herself drawn to music composition.

“I always knew that I wanted to do something in music for a living,” she recalled. “But I wasn’t sure what that would be in the early years of my undergraduate.”

She found direction, inspiration and support from three music department professors: Dr. John Prescott, Dr. Peter Collins and Dr. Guy Webb.

“They were instrumental in leading me on the path that eventually led me to becoming a composer,” she said. “They were supportive of my desire to explore different possibilities and never made me feel less than for not knowing my specific path.”

Nature as inspiration

Susan LaBarr said she finds much of her inspiration for her compositions in nature. “A lot of my works use texts that revolve around what I see in the beautiful nature of the Ozarks.”

One example is her composition “The Cardinal and the Roller,” which was performed at the April 11 Carnegie event.

“[It] is about two birds, the Northern Cardinal of North America and the Lilac Breasted Roller of South Africa,” she explained. “It tells the story of these two ordinary birds that are spectacular when seen from another’s perspective.”

The composition, she noted, is a metaphor “for finding what is great in our differences and seeing all the things in life that connect us.”

Photos provided by Susan LaBarr.

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