Percussionist and conductor specializing in contemporary classical music. He teaches at the University of California, San Diego and is currently the Music Director and Conductor of the La Jolla Symphony Orchestra. Schick was born in Iowa and raised in a farming family. For the past 40 years, he has championed contemporary percussion music as a performer and teacher, by commissioning and premiering more than 150 new works for percussion.
Schick is Distinguished Professor of Music at UCSD and was previously a Consulting Artist in Percussion at the Manhattan School of Music.

Prior to joining San Diego State University in September 2019, Dr. Khaefi served as director of choral activities at Fullerton College and Towson University in Maryland. He holds D.M.A and M.M. degrees in conducting from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the University of California, Los Angeles, respectively. An active member of the American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, and the National Collegiate Choral Organization, Dr. Khaefi is also the current Secretary of the Choral Consortium of San Diego.