Events

Christa Tahere began her tenure as upper school choral director at Chattanooga Christian School in the fall of 2019, after having served as the director of the Indiana University Children's Chorus, First Voices. She holds a masters degree in choral conducting from Lee University in Cleveland, TN. She is an active choral scholar, serving as a clinician, adjudicator and presenter for IMEA, ACDA and NafMe. She is active both as a singer and conductor, with choirs performing both nationally and internationally. She and her husband along with their two children currently live in Lookout Mountain, GA.

David J. Cochrane, a native of Scranton, PA, currently serves as the Director of Music at both Cardinal Newman School, a 550 student diocesan Catholic school for grades 7-12, and at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Columbia, South Carolina. Cochrane holds degrees from Dickinson College (Bachelor of Arts), where he studied conducting with Dr. Robert W. Pound and the University of South Carolina (Masters of Music in Choral Conducting) where he studied under the tutelage of Dr. Larry D. Wyatt and Dr. Alicia W. Walker. Cochrane also studied choral conducting in Moscow, Russia, at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Moscow under Professor Alexander Solovyev. While in Moscow he guest conducted the Moscow Conservatory Chamber Choir in concert, and participated in a number of performances and master classes led by conductors of the Moscow Conservatory, including People’s Artist of the USSR and recipient of the State Prize, Vladimir Minin. Additionally, Cochrane directed Voces concordiae, a 10-voice early-music ensemble in sacred music concerts. Cochrane returns to Moscow often to guest conduct the professional chamber choir, Ex oriente Lux in concerts. With Ex oriente Lux he strives to bring solid early music performance practices and the music of American contemporary composers to the Russian audiences.

Cardinal Chorale is the premier choral ensemble at Cardinal Newman School in Columbia, SC. The group is held to the highest standards of choral literature and performance. Cardinal Chorale is an auditioned choir that is made up of a maximum of 32 singers. The repertoire of the ensemble covers all genres from the Renaissance era through contemporary compositions by living composers. The ensemble performs at various concerts/events in the Columbia Community, and is also the primary liturgical choir for all Cardinal Newman Liturgies. In April of 2017, Cardinal Chorale performed in the ensemble's first DCINY concert at Carnegie Hall under Maestro James Meaders. Recent composers performed are Gjeilo, Powell, Palestrina, Mozart, Carter, Haydn, Whitacre, Farrant, Handel, Tavener, Pitoni, and Ticheli. The members of Cardinal Chorale are excited and grateful for the opportunity to return to the DCINY stage.

Joseph Osowski is the Director of Choral Activities at St. Michael – Albertville High School. He holds degrees in Music Education from North Dakota State University. At STMA High School, Osowski directs four curricular ensembles, two co-curricular ensembles, and serves as the vocal director for the annual high school musical. Mr. Osowski is also the conductor of Bring the Sing, a community singing initiative sponsored by Classical Minnesota Public Radio and President of the Board of Directors for The Singers - Minnesota Choral Artists. Joseph Osowski received a nomination as a Minnesota Teacher of the Year Candidate in 2016 by Education Minnesota and was selected as a conducting delegate representing the United States for the 2017 International Conductors Exchange Program sponsored by the American Choral Directors Association.

As the flagship organization for the school district, the STMA High School Music Program prides itself on excellence and inclusion for the over 500 students that it serves. The STMA Concert Choir is one of fourteen performing ensembles offered at STMA High School. The eighty one member auditioned ensembles rehearses daily for 62 minutes. Recent performance highlights include invitational performances with American Public Media, the American Choral Directors Association and the Minnesota Music Educators Association. STMA has enjoyed collaborative performances with numerous high schools, collegiate ensembles and professional ensembles, including the Twin Cities based professional men’s ensemble Cantus, The Singers - Minnesota Choral Artists and the internationally celebrated vocal ensembles VOCES8, the Aeolians and Chanticleer.

Tisa Lawrence-Krekel, director of the 2020, 2021, and 2022 DC Singers, holds a masters of music in Choral Conducting from University of Nebraska - Lincoln and uses her experience to develop young peoples passion for Music Education. Recently she has been chosen to represent excellent music educators in The Who’s Who of America publication by Marquis Who’s Who. Tisa is honored to sing alongside her high school students as a classically trained Soprano, both for DCINY and the St Martins Chamber Choir in Denver Colorado.

The DC Singers are the premier auditioned ensemble for Denver Christian School in Lakewood, Colorado. The repertoire of DC Singers includes some of the most difficult works performed at Denver Christian School, recently including Faure’s Requiem, arrangements by Philip Stopford, and debut works for local composers including Tisa Krekel (their director), Clark Roush of York University, and Lauren Bydalek.

Tina Bernard has just completed 30 years in choral directing/teaching. She directed many exemplary programs throughout her teaching career, but for the past 9 years she has led her ensembles at Lumberton High School to sweepstakes awards and profound performances, including the sold out DCINY 10th Anniversary Carnegie Hall concert with Eric Whitacre. Her choirs sing the National Anthem for the Houston Astros and Houston Rockets several times a year. Tina resides in Bridge City, Texas with her husband, Mike.

The Lumberton High School Choir is located in Lumberton, Texas. The choir has earned Sweepstakes ratings at state level competitions and has set records for individual competitions throughout the state. The choir has performed for professional MLB and NBA teams annually and continues to provide exemplary community events for the Texas Music Educators Association.

Jennifer Oncken has been Director of Vocal Music for Francis Howell North High School since 2017. Graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2016 from Lindenwood University with a BA Music with K-12 Vocal Certification, she was awarded the Supero Asperum Award, and served as Assistant Director for the Lindenwood Concert Choir and "Legally Blonde" directed by Nikki Snelson. Ms. Oncken serves as the St. Louis Metro Representative for Missouri Choral Directors Association, Co-Vice President for St. Louis Metro District of Missouri Music Educators Association, and co-coordinator for St. Louis Metro All-District Honor Choir. She has performed as a soloist with Saint Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, Alton Symphony Orchestra, and Southwest American Choral Directors Collegiate Honor Choir; various choral groups include the Houston Symphony Chorus. Ms. Oncken is five time North Teacher of the Year nominee, and is five time recipient of The Student's Choice Award. She resides in Saint Charles, Missouri with her three children.

Francis Howell North High School Knight Choir is thrilled to be returning for its second residency with DCINY. North has four performing ensembles including two chamber choirs (Knight Sound and Bella Voces), as well as Knight Concert Choir and Aurora Treble Choir. Since director Jennifer Oncken's arrival in 2017, each of the four ensembles at Francis Howell North have received straight Exemplary ratings at the Missouri State Large Ensemble Contest, over 65 students have been selected for the All-District Honor Ensembles, and twelve have been selected for the Missouri All-State Choir.

Brenna Fitzgerald holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Penn State University and a Master of Music in Music Education from the University of Memphis. Ms. Fitzgerald is currently in her tenth year of teaching and fourth year at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, TN. The choir program at Lebanon currently consists of four choirs and three a cappella groups. In addition to teaching, she regularly performs at public and corporate events in the greater Nashville area.

The Lebanon High School Chamber Choir is a 28 member ensemble, committed to performing at a high level. This choir regularly earns superior ratings at regional and state choral festivals. This year, six students qualified for the Tennessee All-State Choir, with an additional six alternates. This group is so excited to be performing at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Eric Whitacre!

Michelle Uhler is in her fifth year as Director of Choral Activities for the Morris Hills High School Music Department and is in her eighteenth year teaching choir. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences from Seton Hall University with a double major in Psychology and Music Performance - Voice and Piano. Additionally, she holds a Masters in teaching from New Jersey City University, as well as her Administrative Supervisor and Principal Certifications from the University of Scranton. She has also been teaching piano lessons privately for the past 25 years. She enjoys spending time with her husband and three children.

The Scarlet Singers are a group of sixteen singers from Rockaway, New Jersey and surrounding towns. They feature students ranging in ages 15-18. These elite singers participate in various choirs around the State of New Jersey including the Morris Area Honor Choir, North Jersey Region Choir, New Jersey All State Choir, ACDA All-Eastern Honor Choir, NAfME All National Honor Ensemble, and the Morris Hills High School concert choir, Madrigal choir, and Knights Templar.

This is Matthew Hanson's 10th year teaching choral music and guitar at Northwood High School. He graduated in 2012 from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he received both his Bachelor of Music Performance and Bachelor of Music Education degrees. Hanson is an active member of the National Association for Music Education as well as the American Choral Director’s Association. He serves as the faculty advisor for the Tri-M Music Honor Society and music director/ arranger for Northwood’s award-winning a cappella group, "Pitch Please." His Northwood ensembles have performed with DCINY on three previous occasions with Eric Whitacre and Deke Sharon at both Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.

The Northwood High School Chamber Singers is an auditioned group of accomplished singers that came to exist in the spring of 2017 with the continued growth of the Northwood choral program. The ensemble participates annually in their Music Performance Assessments held at Meredith College and regularly receives superior ratings in both performance and sight reading. Northwood Chamber Singers have performed under Eric Whitacre first in 2018 at Lincoln Center and then in the fall of 2019 at Carnegie Hall.

Derek Galvicius has been a music teacher for 22 years and has been blessed to perform at Carnegie Hall 3 times before. It has been a lifelong goal to have his students perform with Mr. Whitacre and that dream has finally been realized. He is extremely proud of his students and know that this will be one of those "once in a lifetime" experiences that none of us will ever forget. He also wishes to thank all of his past students, colleagues and especially his family for all of the support they ave shown him during his career.

This ensemble is a combination of our Concert Choir and our Chamber Choir (named Surround Sound) members. This group just finished performing the Faure Requiem with Dr. Eric Johnson of Northern Illinois University and his professional choir Cor Cantiamo. They are extremely excited to be here and look forward to bringing this music to life.

As a child of the Wallace Presbyterian Church in Wallace, NC, Karla Casteen began serving as the church organist in 1981. In 1989 she became the Music Director and has provided musical leadership at WPC since. She directs the adult chancel choir, the handbell choir and works with children's music. With a Masters degree in Music Education, Karla taught K-12 choral and band music for 25 years before moving into the world of teacher professional development, all while continuing her work with WPC choirs. Karla lives in Wallace, NC with her husband of 40 years, Wayne. She is especially proud of her 2 musical sons, 2 beautiful daughters-in-law, and 4 young grandchildren.

Wallace Presbyterian Church sits on a corner on Main Street in the small town of Wallace in southeastern North Carolina. The WPC Chancel Choir has been a part of worship there since the church's beginnings in 1884. The small but dedicated and talented group of volunteer singers leads the weekly traditional worship service as well as special services throughout the church year. Working together for 31 years, our accompanist and director guide a music program that is a vital part of WPC worship. Our WPC Choir prayer is that we open hearts, minds, and souls for worship and praise to God.

Lauren graduated with a BM from Bowling Green State University. Lauren currently serves as the Director of Music and Worship, Chancel, Handbell and Cherub Bell Choirs. Lauren is a member of the AGO, ACDA, OMEA and the ALCM. Lauren is also an adjudicator for OMEA events and teaches preschool music. Lauren sings with the Columbus Symphony Chorus and serves as Vice-Chair for the board. Lauren has played trumpet with the Heisey Wind Ensemble since 2005 under the direction of Dr. Russell Mikkelson, and serves as board member and Librarian. Lauren is married to Andy and they have one daughter, Penny.

The All Saints Lutheran Church Chancel Choir, from Worthington, Ohio, is comprised of singers who prepare classical choral works for Traditional Sunday worship services. The group presents Masterworks in worship during the seasons of Advent and Lent. During a stay-at-home order, the choir members continued to share the Gospel through virtual choir. The choir comes together with their shared purpose of strengthening their own relationship with God and deepening the worship experience. The Chancel Choir strives to welcome and inspire people to share their musical gifts to the glory of God and to motivate all to spread the Good News.

Susan Davis currently serves as Associate Minister of First Baptist Church in South Boston, VA, where she has directed the music program since 1996. She is a graduate of Meredith College, where she earned a Bachelor of Music with a concentration in piano, and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where she earned a Master of Divinity. She is honored to served the church and work with it's wonderful choirs. She is also the director of the Summer Community Choir in South Boston. As a minister, she is passionate about being involved in people's lives and ministering to them in all phases of life situations. She has two grown daughters, Emily Davis and Erin Davis Flowe and is the proud grandmother of one grandson, Mason. Our choir is honored and proud to be a part of this remarkable event and to work with Pepper Choplin, one of our favorite composers.

The Chancel Choir of First Baptist Church in South Boston, VA is made up of a variety of very talented individuals, who are dedicated to sharing in worship leading through music and enjoy making music together. They enjoy singing a variety of musical styles and are known in their small town for their excellence in music. While all choir members who had planned to be a part of this great experience pre-pandemic are unable to be with us, many are still here and are looking forward to singing under the direction of Pepper Choplin.

Linda Smith McKeague has been the Director of Music at St Elizabeth Seton since 1989. Linda received her Bachelor of Music Education at De Paul University in Chicago and her Master’s of Education at National Louis University in Chicago. Being the Director of Music at St. Elizabeth and praising God through music with the people of Seton has brought her great joy.

The St. Elizabeth Seton Choir is a spirit-filled ensemble comprised of the Adult and Teen Choirs. They are a talented, versatile group of singers who complement the worship at our parish each weekend, special events and at various concerts throughout the year. Their music brings great joy to the parish and the community.

David Collins is a retired music educator who has taught choir, band, elementary music, and voice at the elementary, junior high, high school and college levels. He has sung in a production of "I am the Way" with Jerome Hines, sung the role of King Caspar in "Amahl and the Night Visitors", and has performed with Dave Brubeck in Brubeck's mass "To Hope". David has been the tenor soloist in many performances of Handel's "Messiah" throughout the United States and Canada. He has also been a member of the Portland Opera Chorus. David is currently the director of the Aiea Seventh-day Adventist Church Choir, a position he has held for 5 years.

The Aiea Seventh-day Adventist Church Choir from Oahu, Hawaii, was started in the late 1960's by Dr. Bennett Lau, an organist and music minister of the church. Under his expert leadership it grew into a 30-40 member group that performed service music and cantatas at Christmas and Easter. The choir also toured the neighbor islands of Hawaii as well as other Adventist churches on their home island of Oahu. After Dr. Lau left the state in the 1990's, the choir continued under the leadership of Kenneth Fujimoto and Leinaala Wong. Stephen Severin become the leader in the early 2000's until David Collins took over the leadership role in 2017. The choir is currently a 28 member group that performs cantatas at Christmas and Easter.

Pepper Choplin, Cary Community Choir’s conductor, is a renowned composer and conductor of church music. Pepper received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master of Music degree in composition from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His published works include over 300 anthems for church and school choir with 20 church cantatas and two books of piano arrangements. Over 150 groups have commissioned him to write original works for them. In 2013, Pepper made his Carnegie Hall debut in a joint concert with Joseph Martin and since then, he has conducted seven concerts of his music at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. He has also performed his cantatas in Raleigh’s Meymandi Auditorium with area church choirs that combined to make up a 250-voice choir accompanied by an orchestra. Pepper is the third director of the Cary Community Choir in its 51-year history.

The Cary Community Choir of Cary, North Carolina, is an all-volunteer, 100+ voice choir that assembles annually to present the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah. The singers gather for four rehearsals in preparation for the December concert which is presented at various Cary churches. An orchestra and soloists are selected to accompany the choir. The annual concert is Cary's longest-running tradition with the choir celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2021.

Adjunct Music Professor H. Joyce Kim-Rohrer has been teaching woodwind classes at Vincennes University since the fall of 2019. She received her BS degree in music education from the University of Illinois. While earning her Masters degree, Professor Kim-Rohrer soloed with the Montana State University orchestra as the school concerto winner. After teaching music in the public schools for 31 years, she retired to babysit her two grandsons. Mrs. Kim-Rohrer assists at many area school band programs, teaches private lessons, and directs the Westminster Presbyterian Church choir and the Southwest Indiana Cantata Choir.

The Southwest Indiana Cantata Choir (SWICC) began when our city turned 200 years old, and we were commissioned to sing at the July 2016 community gathering. Singers from this choir performed two Pepper Choplin Christmas cantatas in December 2018 and 2019. The choir is made up of youths and adults from more than seventeen churches in five surrounding counties. The choir for the most recent cantata had 26 members with a 12-member orchestral ensemble accompanying the group. It is our hope that each year SWICC will grow and involve many more in our community and surrounding counties.

Linda was born and raised in New York. At the age of ten, she began singing in her church choir and also playing clarinet all through school. High school/college musical leads added to her joy of music. After moving to southern California with her family at the age of 21, different careers along with being a church choral director for the past 40 years, have kept her busy. In addition, Linda has been married for 34 years and raised her music loving daughter, Renaye.

Renaye La Jeunesse was brought up with music in her every day life. (her mother's strong influence. Piano lessons, singing in the Jr. Choir and Adult Choir, accompanying the children's choir and currently ringing Handbells for the past 16 years . Presently, she also work's as an Administrative Assistant in the management of Deckers Corp. in Goleta CA. Renaye lives 3 blocks from the ocean and loves to run on the beach with her two adorable Morkies named, Joey Tribbiani and Brigitte Bardot.

Dr. Michael Martin is in his 11th year as the Artistic Director for Cumberland Choral Arts. He completed his Ph.D. at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, following 18 years of public school teaching in the capacity of orchestral, choral, and instrumental positions in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Dr. Martin serves on the state board of the American Choral Directors Association, NC Music Educators Association, and is currently in his 15th year as a Full Professor at Methodist University, Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he is the Director of Choral Activities and Music Education, and Coordinator for Fine Arts Management.

Cumberland Choral Arts is celebrating 30 years of serenading Fayetteville and the Sandhills Region of North Carolina. The community chorus began as the Cumberland Oratorio Singers after its founder, Alan Porter, combined local singers with his Methodist University choir to pay tribute to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the bicentennial of his death. Dedicated to bringing classical choral works to the greater Cumberland County area, the group has expanded its repertoire to include jazz, opera, spirituals, standards, and music from the stage and screen. A virtual choir video from CCA’s interrupted “The Road Home” season led right to Carnegie Hall!

Anastasia Rege is a New York based soprano and music director with over 10 years of experience on stage and in the classroom. Anastasia is currently an active music educator at Fontbonne Hall Academy in Brooklyn, NY where she directs two choirs, a rock band, a drumline, and teaches three levels of piano and music history. An advocate for new music, she has sung premiere performances internationally and throughout the United States. Notable performances include a world premiere operatic trio in Milan, Italy; a modern premiere of newly discovered Renaissance villancicos in Quito, Ecuador; art song premieres at The National Opera Center; and choral composition premieres at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Brooklyn Academy of Music. An experienced church musician, Anastasia is currently the Director of Music Ministry at St. Columba Church in Brooklyn, NY where she acts as cantor, choir director, and organist. Additionally, she acts as artistic director for JACOPERA, a company she cofounded in 2014 with the mission to make opera relevant, tangible, and accessible to younger generations through The Opera Dolls, a line of interactive musical toys that expose children to classical music. Anastasia received her Bachelor’s of Music at the University of Connecticut and a Master’s of Music in Vocal Performance and Advanced Certificate in Music Education from the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music.

The Fontbonne Hall Chamber Choir is the premiere vocal ensemble at Fontbonne Hall Academy, an all girls Catholic school in Brooklyn, NY sponsored by the Sisters of Saint Joseph. The choir performs extensively in the community and at school events and liturgies. The choir is composed of singers of all grade levels who perform a diverse repertoire with a concentration on sacred music. Last year, the Fontbonne Chamber Choir was a featured ensemble in the American Federation Pueri Cantores “Choirs In Quarantine” article series. The ensemble is performing at Carnegie Hall for the second time and is grateful to be collaborating with DCINY.

Lauri has been the Coordinator of Music Ministries at Shenendehowa United Methodist Church and director of this group for 42 years. A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University. She is a retired music teacher having taught for 34 years in Saratoga Springs, NY. She had travelled with Joseph Martin and the American Tapestry Choir over a dozen times, singing in churches around Europe and the United States. She also sang for 16 years at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the batons of numerous famous conductors including Eugene Ormandy, Robert Shaw and Aaron Copland

The Chancel Choir of Shenendehowa United Methodist Church has been in existence for over 60 years. We have a long history of combining with other church choirs to present concerts for missional purposes, helping those less fortunate in our area. The group here includes singers from our choir as well as those larger groups.