CO-FOUNDER, SHANTYMAN

Zac Stelzer is a choral director, former sailing instructor, and sea shanty enthusiast. He graduated from Missouri State University with his Masters in Choral Conducting in 2022, and from William Jewell College with a Bachelors in Music Education in 2017. Long before he was singing shanties, Zac served as the Aquatics Director for the Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation teaching people of all ages how to operate small and large sailing vessels on the lake. Zac recently accepted a teaching position in Liberty, Missouri, where he will be assisting in the direction of the choirs at both the high school and middle school level. He is an Eagle Scout (2012) and enjoys hiking and floating with his friends. Zac loves leading the Shanty Choir because of the transformative power that singing can have on people’s lives.

CO-FOUNDER, SHANTYMAN

Shawn Vomund is a teacher, musician, and enthusiast of many hobbies. He graduated from Missouri State University in 2018 with a Bachelors of Music Education, and also performed with various band and vocal ensembles. Shawn enjoys spending time with his wife Lauren, arranging sea shanties, and producing music in his home studio. He teaches in the Fordland School District, where he directs middle and high school band. During his first three years there, he also directed the Fordland choirs. Shawn plays clarinet in the MSU Community Band and the Brandon Street Stompers Dixieland Band, and serves as tenor section leader with the Springfield Chamber Chorus. He hopes that through Shanty Choir, he can encourage communal singing for all ages and abilities.

SHANTYMAN (Kansas City)

Josiah Ketterman is the current Director of Choirs at Lansing Middle School. He graduated with his Bachelors degree in Vocal Music Education at Missouri State University in 2021. He is currently working on his Master of Arts in Education, Curriculum and Instruction from Baker University. During his time at MSU, he was heavily involved in the choral program. While there, Josiah had the opportunity to travel across the world with choirs to China, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, as well as domestically to New York City, Chicago, Baton Rouge St. Louis, and Nashville. In his free time, Josiah likes to travel, play golf, watch sports, and try new foods! His favorite shanties right now are Leave Her Johnny and London Julies.

SHANTYMAN (Kansas City)

Nathan earned his associates degree in Music from Kansas City Kansas Community College in 2022, and is currently studying Vocal Music Education at William Jewell College. Nathan fell in love with shanties many years ago and used them to learn many musical skills such as composition, transposition, and conducting. He has arranged countless shanties over the last few years, and even written a few of his own! Some of his favorites include Leave Her Johnny, Mollymauk, Four Hours, John Kanaka, and Barrett’s Privateers. His enjoyment of sea shanties has launched numerous projects and subsequent obsessions with folk artists like Stan Rogers. Nathan plans on using shanties and folk music in his future career as a choir teacher and to teach musical skills and introduce students to a wider range of musical styles.