GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH - Key Persons
I grew up coming to Grace and participated in many events and organizations the church offered from attending Luther Park Bible camp to performing in both the Ringers of Note and Pacibells handbell choirs. I attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison where I earned a degree in Classical Humanities. In my free time I enjoy reading, biking, playing music and gaming.
I was born and raised in Eau Claire and grew up seeing Grace Lutheran's beautiful stained glass windows every Sunday. I'm the owner of Iconostar Productions LLC and work full-time as a video producer, photographer and filmmaker. I hold B.A.s in Broadcast Journalism and Psychology and have won two national Telly's for directing documentary films.
Diana Cataldi earned her bachelors and masters degree in vocal performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and her doctorate of musical arts at The Ohio State University. As a performer, she has had many opportunities to share her talents with art song recitals, oratorio and opera performances throughout New York and the Midwest. While she taught applied voice at the collegiate level for seventeen years, she is currently turning her focus to rehabilitating voices by earning a masters degree in Communication Science Disorders at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Singing healthily and finding joy in the process are two of her biggest passions as a musician, teacher, and director. Already a member at Grace Lutheran Church, Diana is thrilled to direct the choir that first compelled her to join this congregation.
After I served for eighteen years as a professor of theology at Texas Lutheran University, my family decided to return to the Midwest where my wife and I grew up, attended college and seminary. I have served at Grace for the past seen years. When I am not ministering with the good people of Grace Lutheran, I travel the country to tell biblical stories and speak about God's love. My wife of three plus decades is the Campus Pastor at University Lutheran. We have two adult children. Luisa is a professor at the University of Dayton and Lucas is the fiddler in Zach Bryan's band.
Job Titles:
- Organist, Music Coordinator
I hold a Master of Music from Boston University, and Bachelor of Music degree from Greensboro College. I am an active member and Fellow of the American Guild of Organists. I am also an Associate in Ministry in the ELCA. When not playing music or attending concerts, I tend my gardens, enjoy traveling, reading, and visiting with friends and family.
Karen Lionberger has been in the Grace Lutheran music ministry since 1961, beginning in the vocal choirs. She then took piano lessons (from Avis Evenrud), and played flute and guitar in jr./high school years, often performing for worship and special events. Karen started with handbells in 1977, and over the next 37 years has attended 13 Handbell Festival Conferences, taking classes for handbell techniques for all positions and performing from treble to bass. She also took directing classes at the festivals and assisted Norma Lionberger with the kids' groups at Grace and First Lutheran, while continuing to ring with Pacibells, and other community groups. In 2013 Karen became director of handbells at First Lutheran (now Spirit Lutheran). She brings a passion for handbells, and a wealth of musical experience to the music program at Grace.