Meet the HOMEteam
Founded on the principles of faith, family and friendship, HOME came together quickly for these four veteran a cappella vocalists. Tenor Micah Jeppesen and Lead Mark Fortino have been singing together off and on in various a cappella quartets since 1997. Micah & Mark sang with Bass Shaun Whisler from 2011 to 2012. Micah, Mark and Baritone Michael Troyer have been singing together for the past seven years in another a cappella quartet. But it wasn’t until this past fall of 2023 that Micah, Mark, Michael and Shaun got together as friends to test drive this new, but familiar in many ways, sound. We all said “It was like coming home!” and HOME “construction” began! Our hope is that our music will inspire you to take that feeling of joy and love back into your homes and make your lives a little brighter!
Micah "Doc" Jeppesen
Tenor
A graduate of The University of Texas with a major in Microbiology and a minor in Chemistry, Micah, for the past 30 years, has made a living as a practicing Dentistry. Today he has the unique privilege of practicing with his two sons, in the small town of Papillion Nebraska...just outside of Omaha. Like so many of you, it was always a dream of his to be a “famous” singer/ entertainer. Barbershop music, with its combination of community outreach and unique embracement for nostalgia, has helped him get as close to his dream as he could ever have hoped. He is a proud veteran of the United States Air Force, where he served our troops in the Medical/Dental Corp. Micah has 3 Central States District Championships that he is most proud, along with decades of International Competition appearances. The love and unselfish support of his childhood sweetheart, Carolyn (married for nearly 40 years), has made it possible for him to succeed both in business and in barbershop. He boasts 3 children and 8 grandchildren (and counting)! Family, Home, and our Heavenly Father is where he receives his strength and motivation. He is grateful and acknowledges every single blessing in his life!
Mark Fortino
Lead
A Bank COO by day and a vocalist by night and weekends. Mark is a proud graduate of The University of Kansas where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Administration and began his career in public accounting for 10 years and then became a Bank CFO and COO for the next 25 years. Since 2015, he has served on and Chaired the Board of Directors of the Starlight Theatre Association of Kansas City. He is
the owner, as well as recording and mixing engineer of IN-Tune Productions Studio in Overland Park, KS and is a performer of a cappella music and a five-time Central States District Quartet Champion. He’s the assistant choir director and a cantor at his church and a sought-after soloist for weddings in the Kansas City area and can even be heard performing the National Anthem at Royals Stadium every summer! He and his wife Sarah have been married for over 35 years and are the proud parents of four amazing children and proud grandparents of 5 beautiful grandchildren.
Michael Troyer
Baritone
What’s a quartet without a baritone?......A trio! Michael has been singing a cappella music since his high school days. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in vocal production from Northwest Missouri State University. After a short stint of performing in Branson, MO he found his niche in IT and has never looked back. For the past 25 years, Michael has been a software engineer certified in call center technology such as Genesys, NICE, Virtual Hold Technology, and Nortel. He is currently employed for 10 years as a Principal Engineer for Verizon Business Solutions. With all that said, he hasn’t strayed too far from music where he has earned four district championships (2 Central States District; 2 Rocky Mountain District) and ten appearances in the Barbershop Harmony Society International Contest. Michael and his wife, Crissy, have recently embarked on a journey of entrepreneurship where they opened their first Scooter’s Coffee drive-thru in May of 2023. Michael and Crissy have been happily married for over 23 years and are proud parents of three children…Jaycee, Jocelyn, and Spencer. No grandkids yet, but patiently and anxiously waiting. In their downtime, Michael and Crissy love to go to contemporary christian concerts and are avid Chiefs fans!
Shaun Whisler
Bass
Shaun Whisler is a 2005 graduate of the University of Kansas where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance. Shaun grew up in Olathe, Kansas developing his passion for music, singing, and directing as a member of the 1995 ACDA National Honor Boys Choir and the 1998 SWACDA Men’s Honor Choir. In addition to his involvement in the music department at KU, Shaun sang for the Lyric
Opera of Kansas City, Civic Opera of Kansas City and even had the chance to sing on the stage at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Shaun spent his down time singing in competitive barbershop quartets from Junior High through college. Since graduating from KU, he has built his professional resume directing church choirs and barbershop choral groups and performing regionally as a soloist and part of ensembles. Additionally, Shaun’s previous quartets include Back in Business, Voices Unlimited (with Micah and Mark) and BoomTown. On top of barbershop, he sings the Croon part in Local duo Key’s and Croon. In his free time Shaun and wife, Janelle, enjoy hiking, watching KU sports, Royals, Chiefs, Sporting KC and Current, and spending time with their two daughters Brooke and Brilee and son Brett. Shaun’s full-time Job is Director of Music and Liturgy at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Lawrence since 2014.
