Founded in 1984 by the late Helen Grubbs, Young Naperville Singers has grown to become a premier community-based children’s choral organization in Chicago’s western suburbs and the Fox River Valley. Mrs. Grubbs, whose own musical roots began as a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, recognized the need for a children’s choir and culturally rich organization in the area. Envisioning a choir that would remove the constraints of school boundaries, religious affiliations, cultural or racial barriers, or socioeconomic status, the dream of this composer, pianist and mother of six continues to grow three decades later, with more than 350 children currently participating in Young Naperville Singers.
In addition to formal concerts in December and May, YNS singers engage in many community outreach programs, such as Boys’ Power Sing and Diva Day. Opportunities like these invite non-members to experience the joy of singing, work with accomplished directors and composers, and participate in the enrichment YNS offers. We also gather with local school choirs and other choral organizations to create meaningful musical experiences for children.
Our choirs give back to the community through performances at local senior citizen residences, Naperville Municipal Band concerts, Naperville’s annual Rib Fest, The Kids Matter Annual Service Awards, Edward Hospital Cancer Center’s fundraiser and the Feed My Starving Children and Our Children’s Homestead’s galas. In addition, YNS supports artists and composers, commissioning pieces from living artists and giving our children the experience of premiering original work.
Young Naperville Singers’ Bella Voce tours nationally and internationally, traveling to choral festivals in Iowa, Florida, Louisiana, New York, Colorado, Hawaii and Vancouver, Costa Rica and Ireland in recent years. This season, Bella Voce will perform on tour in Austria, the Canto Vivo and older Ragazzi will travel to Eugene, Oregon for the Pacific International Choral Festival and the Cantabile will be attending the Queen's City Choral Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Contact us today to learn how your child can join Young Naperville Singers.
Mission Statement
Young Naperville Singers is dedicated to promoting the highest level of artistic excellence in choral music through extraordinary educational and performance experiences that enrich the lives of young people.
Angie Johnson received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in music education with honors from Northern Illinois University in 1991 where she studied piano with Donald Walker. Upon graduating, she taught choral/general music for Circle Center Middle School (Yorkville, IL) and Gregory Middle School (Naperville, IL) for 7 years. Conducting choral programs of up to 350 singers in curricular and honors choirs, her choirs were given superior ratings each year. Upon several occasions, she was named a "Most Influential Educator" by the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation.
Mrs. Johnson is an active clinician, adjudicator, accompanist and festival conductor and loves working with choirs in their own classroom setting. Passionate about sharing her love for teaching, she has led panel discussions, workshops and teacher institutes for both future and current teachers specializing in creative rehearsal techniques for young voices regionally, nationally and internationally. Most recently, Mrs. Johnson was a guest conductor for the Let Freedom Sing GirlChoir festival in Philadelphia, PA.
Now in her 18th season as a director and 10th season as the Artistic Director of Young Naperville Singers, she oversees the music education, artistic programming and visionary leadership of the growing organization. Under her tenure, Young Naperville Singers has grown to 360 singers (7 – 18 years of age) in eight choirs. Mrs. Johnson also directs Bella Voce.
Mr. Chicola is a nonprofit strategist who works with organizations to develop short-term objectives for long-term impact. Having worked in fund/resource development for nearly a decade, he is experienced in building organizational visibility, capacity, and sustainability. Threading together his own passion for creative expression, he believes we grow as a collective community when we inspire each other to live more authentic, vulnerable, selfless, and balanced lives.
Mr. Chicola has lead fundraising efforts for several different missions with a special emphasis on building collaborative partnerships, effective communications, and diversified funding models. Outside of his professional experience, he is a current member of the Naperville Jaycees, and volunteers for causes near and dear to his heart. In his role as Executive Director for Young Naperville Singers, Mr. Chicola will utilize his expertise and interest in artistic integrity to broaden the organization’s reach and benefit more young voices along the way.
Andrea Burck is a kindergarten through fifth grade music educator and chorus director at Georgetown Elementary Schools in Indian Prairie School District #204. Mrs. Burck has over 20 years of experience as a musician and educator including early childhood, elementary and middle school music education, church music director, private piano instructor and accompanist. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York and she spent seven summers as a faculty member of the Sitka Fine Arts Camp in Sitka, Alaska as a piano instructor and accompanist. Mrs. Burck is the director for Primo and accompanist of Cantabile.
Esther Cook began her tenure with Young Naperville Singers as Administrative Assistant to the late Helen Grubbs in 1988. She became Choir Administrator in 1993 and is responsible for many of the non-music functions of the organization. Mrs. Cook graduated from North Central College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education. She taught 3rd grade in Forest Glen Elementary School in Glen Ellyn District 41. A long-time Naperville resident, Mrs. Cook has been an active community and school volunteer and has served on numerous Boards of Directors. Celebrating her 26th year with YNS, Mrs. Cook treasurers the many wonderful singers and parents she has met and worked with during that time.
Matthew Gemmill
Accompanist
Matthew Gemmill enjoys a varied career around Chicago as a pianist, accompanist, and vocal coach. He teaches accompanying, vocal coaching, and opera at Wheaton College, and has also taught at the Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Mr. Gemmill is faculty at the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago and spends his summers teaching at the Up North Vocal Institute in Boyne City, Michigan. For Lyric Opera of Chicago, he supervised music for Jason and the Argonauts (World Premiere) by composer Gregory Spears.
A frequent recitalist, Mr. Gemmill appeared in the 2016 Collaborative Works Festival with soprano Sarah Shafer and mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor at the Poetry Foundation in Chicago. In fall 2015 he was a competitor in the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition at London’s Wigmore Hall. Other recital partners include Michelle Areyzaga, Kristina Bachrach, Emily Fons and Richard Ollarsaba. He has accompanied recitals at the Tanglewood Music Festival, where he was twice a piano fellow, the Chicago Cultural Center and Fourth Presbyterian of Chicago.
Also passionate about choral music, he currently serves as accompanist for the Young Naperville Singers of Naperville, Illinois and the Spirito! Singers of Elmhurst, Illinois. He has performed with choirs throughout the United States, Europe, and Latin America. Mr. Gemmill accompanies our Bella Voce and Ragazzi choirs.
R.
Brett Goad is a native of Galesburg, Illinois. He received his BA and MA
in Choral Music Education from Western Illinois University. He
has taught choral music in six high schools and has also served as the
Director of Student Activities at Hinsdale South High School. At present
he serves as a student teaching supervisor for Illinois State University.
Mr.
Goad is a 2014 recipient of the Mary Hoffman Award of Excellence from the
Illinois Music Education Association, in recognition of teaching excellence in
music education. He has held various leadership positions within the
Illinois Music Educator Association and the Illinois Chapter of the American
Choral Directors Association. He currently serves as the Vice-President-ACDA
Central Division. Mr. Goad also serves on the Western Illinois University
Alumni Council.
Ryan Henry graduated Summa Cum Laude from Millikin University with a degree in Vocal Music Education. He studied conducting under Dr. Brad Holmes and composition under Dr. Jeremy Brunk and John Stafford II. He both composed and conducted literature for ensembles including Millikin’s Rebirth of Cool and Children’s Choir III.
Mr. Henry began his career in District 204 as music teacher at Nancy Young Elementary School. He also directed choral music and taught music theory at Waubonsie Valley High School for four years. Currently, he is the general music, chorus and Orff ensemble director at Fry and Clow Elementary schools. Mr. Henry has been actively leading worship and directing church music for the last nine years.
In his sixth year Directing Boys Choir, he counts himself privileged to work with such amazing students. Mr. Henry and his wife, Marianne are proud parents of five children: Dominic, Madison, Caleb, Reese and Josephine.
Anne Kasprzak received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education with highest honors from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, where she received the top department awards in both Music and Education. Mrs. Kasprzak is also a graduate of VanderCook College of Music with a Master’s Degree in Music Education. Mrs. Kasprzak is currently the director of the Chamber Singers at Neuqua Valley High School. She was the choral director at Crone Middle School for seven years. During that time, she directed a choral program of over 350 students and directed the yearly school musicals.
Mrs. Kasprzak has also taught elementary vocal music in District 204. Mrs. Kasprzak has been named a “Most Influential Teacher” by the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation on numerous occasions. She served as guest conductor for the Elgin Children’s Chorus in 2008 and has been a member of the New Classic Singers at the College of DuPage. Mrs. Kasprzak serves as a piano accompanist at Holy Spirit Catholic Community in Naperville and is an active soloist at churches in the Chicagoland area. This is Mrs. Kasprzak's 13th year as a member of the YNS artistic staff. Outside of her musical endeavors, Mrs. Kasprzak dedicates all of her time to her husband and their three young children.
Mrs. Kasprzak currently directs Cantabile.
Bob Chilcott
Guest Composer
The Sun and Stars are Mine - commissioned for YNS 2014
Bob Chilcott has been involved in choral music for most of his life. He was a chorister and choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and for twelve years was a member of the vocal group The King’s Singers. Since 1997 he has worked as a full-time composer and has written a wide variety of choral music, including a significant amount of music for young choirs. He has over one hundred pieces published by Oxford University Press, and a number of his choral works have been published in German, Swedish, Norwegian, and Slovenian.
As well as being Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers, he has conducted many other leading choirs in their field, including the World Youth Choir, the RIAS Kammerchor, Orphei Drangar from Sweden, Jauna Musika from Lithuania, the Taipei Chamber Singers, and the Tower New Zealand Youth Choir. He has worked in 23 countries on six continents, and at festivals from Festival 500 in Newfoundland to Tallinn, where in 2004, as the first foreign musician to be invited, he conducted a choir of 7000 young singers at the Estonian Song Festival in one of his most popular pieces, “Can you hear me?”.
In our spring concert this year the YNS Choirs are singing “The Sun and Stars are Mine”. This piece was commissioned from Bob Chilcott by the Young Naperville Singers to celebrate our 30th Anniversary!
Paul Carey
Guest Composer
2012 - Alone in Winter, Come Christmas the Morn, The Rainbow Dawn, Bumblebumblebee
Paul Carey studied composition with Alfred Blatter and Ben Johnston at the University of Illinois. Mr. Carey's graduate studies were at Yale University.
Mr. Carey’s compositions have been performed by choirs worldwide and at ACDA, MENC, OAKE, and AGO conventions across America. His Rise Up, Emma Lazarus was the winner of The New York Treble Singers 2003 composition competition Esta Tarde, mi bien (This Evening, my love) was the winner of the Cambridge Madrigal Singers Competition in 2004.
In 2009 Mr. Carey was appointed lead choral teacher and conductor of the famed North Carolina Governor's School, held each summer in Raleigh, NC for 800 of the state's finest students in ten different disciplines. In 2009 and again in 2011 he was a featured guest composer/conductor of choirs in South Korea and Hong Kong.
Mr. Carey's music is published by Oxford University Press, Walton, Roger Dean, Santa Barbara, Colla Voce, and Kjos. His music is also available directly at www.paulcarey.net.
Stephen Paulus
Guest Composer
2009 - Dream of Harmony
Composer Stephen Paulus has been hailed as "...a bright, fluent inventor with a ready lyric gift." (The New Yorker) His prolific output of more than 450 works is represented in many genres, including music for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles, solo voice, keyboard and opera. Commissions have been received from the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Houston Symphony and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, with subsequent performances coming from the orchestras of Los Angeles, Philadelphia, St. Louis, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Radio Orchestra. He has served as Composer in Residence for the orchestras of Atlanta, Minnesota, Tucson and Annapolis, and his works have been championed by such eminent conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Christoph von Dohanyi, Leonard Slatkin, Yoel Levi, the late Robert Shaw, and numerous others.
Paulus has been commissioned to write works for some of the world's great solo artists, including Thomas Hampson, Hakan Hagegard, Doc Severinsen, William Preucil, Cynthia Phelps, Evelyn Lear, Leo Kottke and Robert McDuffie. Chamber music commissions have resulted in works for The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Friends of Music at the Supreme Court, the Cleveland Quartet and Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. He has been a featured guest composer at the festivals of Aspen, Santa Fe, Tanglewood, and, in the U.K., the Aldeburgh and Edinburgh Festivals.
As one of today's pre-eminent composers of opera, Paulus has written twelve works for the dramatic stage. The Postman Always Rings Twice was the first American production to be presented at the Edinburgh Festival, and has received nine productions to date. Commissions and performances have come from such companies as the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Washington Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Berkshire Opera Company, Minnesota Opera, and Fort Worth Opera, among others, as well as many universities and colleges.
His choral works have been performed and recorded by some of the most distinguished choruses in the United States, including the Dale Warland Singers, the New York Concert Singers, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Robert Shaw Festival Singers, New Music Group of Philadelphia, Master Chorale of Washington DC, Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, VocalEssence, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and dozens of other professional, community, church and college choirs. He is one of the most frequently recorded contemporary composers with his music being represented on over fifty recordings.
A recipient of both Guggenheim and NEA Fellowships, Paulus is also a strong advocate for the music of his colleagues. He is co-founder and a past Board Vice-President of the highly esteemed American Composers Forum, the largest composer service organization in the world. Paulus serves on the ASCAP Board of Directors as the Concert Music Representative, a post he has held since 1990.
Paulus' music has been described by critics and program annotators as rugged, angular, lyrical, lean, rhythmically aggressive, original, often gorgeous, moving, and uniquely American. He writes in a musical language that has been characterized as "...irresistible in kinetic energy and haunting in lyrical design." (Cleveland Plain Dealer) "Mr. Paulus often finds melodic patterns that are fresh and familiar at the same time....His scoring is invariably expert and exceptionally imaginative in textures and use of instruments." (The New York Times)
Daniel Brewbaker
Guest Composer
Naperville, My Naperville—commission funded by a grant from the Naperville Sunrise Rotary Fund for the Arts for the 175th Anniversary of Naperville, Spring 2006
Daniel Brewbaker began music lessons at age 5 and formal training in
composition at age 17 with Gordon Binkerd at the University of Illinois,
continuing with Roger Sessions and Elliott Carter at the Juilliard School
in New York where he received the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical
Arts Degrees. Since then his works have been performed by leading
conductors and soloists worldwide. In recent years Dr. Brewbaker has
been commissioned to compose several large choral/orchestral works: The
Poet for Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Chorus and Orchestra in St.
Petersburg, Russia, Cincinnatus Psalm for James Conlon and the
Cincinnati Symphony and Chorus, Fields of Vision for Gerard Schwarz, The
Young People’s Chorus of New York City and The New York Chamber
Symphony, and Out of the Mist, Above the Real for Doreen Rao, The Irish
Chamber Orchestra, Soprano Noirin Ni Riain, Uilleann Pipes and the CME
Festival Chorus in Dublin, Ireland. Other recent commissions include
Piano Concerto No. 2 for Kent Nagano and the Berkeley Symphony, Song of
the Vine, premiered by Chanticleer for the inauguration of Copia in
Napa, CA, The Journey, premiered by Frederica von Stade and Music in The
Vineyards Chamber Music Festival at the Napa Valley Opera House, a
Violin Concerto, Playing and Being Played, for Vadim Repin, Yuri
Temirkanov and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a little innocence for
the Children’s Aid Society Chorus of NYC, String Quartet No. 2, Dance
for my Fathers, for the 100th Anniversary of the Juilliard School, a
number of choral works and two Ballets. Current commissions include a
Viola Concerto for Yuri Bashmet and the Moscow Soloists, a work for
chorus and piano for the 25th Anniversary of The New Classic Singers in
Glen Ellyn, IL, and a work for brass choir for the 30th Anniversary of
the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Brewbaker’s music has been performed in recent seasons by the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Youth Chorus, the Seattle
Symphony and Children’s Chorus, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the
Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, St. Paul
Chamber Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber
Orchestra, Chanticleer, The Macmillan Singers, Belle Voci women’s
chorus, and soloists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Carter Brey, Kristine Jepson and
Richard Goode.
Dr. Brewbaker has been Composer-in-Residence at the Spoleto USA Music
Festival in Charleston, S.C., the Prince Albert Music Festival in
Hawaii, the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France, the Fundación
Valparaíso in Spain, the Ligurian Study Center in Italy, the Helene
Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, New Mexico, Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony
as well as visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome. He has
received awards from, among others, the American Academy of Arts &
Letters, The Nadia Boulanger Foundation, Outstanding Young Men in
America and the International Rotary Foundation, and the Fox Valley Arts
Hall of Fame. He has held teaching positions at Juilliard, Hunter and
Queens Colleges (CUNY), St. Stephen’s School in Rome, and the
Westminster Choir College. Dr. Brewbaker is also active as a guest
conductor and lecturer. He has lived and worked extensively abroad,
working with composers Hans Werner Henze, Luciano Berio and Henri
Dutilleaux. His music is published by Boosey & Hawkes. Dr.
Brewbaker currently lives in New York City.
David L. Brunner
Guest Composer
Daring to Be—for the 20th Anniversary of YNS Spring 2004
David L. Brunner
brings to the podium the dynamic perspective of conductor, music
educator and composer. His wide and varied expertise embraces all ages
in professional, university, public school, community, church and
children's choruses. Dr. Brunner is Professor of Music and Director of
Choral Activities at the University of Central Florida, where he
conducts the University Chorus and Madrigal Singers, teaches courses in
conducting and music education, and coaches private composition
students. In both 1995 and 2000 he received a College of Arts and
Sciences Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and in 1995 the
University Excellence in Teaching Award, UCF's highest teaching honor.
He is also the recipient of a Research Incentive Award (2002) and two
Teaching Incentive Awards (1993 and 1996). In 1996 he received a
National Award for College Teaching from the Center for the Advancement
of Teaching and Learning. He has been Artistic Director and Conductor
of Gloria Musicae, Florida's professional chamber chorus; Guest
Conductor of the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, the Principal Chorus of
the Florida Orchestra; and Music Director of the Florida Ambassadors of
Music, which tours Europe biannually. His European appearances include
performances at the Seminar für Klassiche Musik at the Eisenstädter
Sommerakademie in Eisenstadt and Vienna, Austria, in St. Mark's
Basilica, Venice, at St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Wesley's Chapel,
London, and at the Vatican for Pope John Paul II. His choirs have
appeared at state and divisional conventions of both the American Choral
Directors Association and the Music Educators National Conference.
Brunner is well known for his compelling and imaginative work with
singers of all ages and has conducted All-State and regional honor
choirs throughout the United States at the elementary, middle, and high
school levels. He has appeared in twenty-five states and abroad, as a
clinician for the American Choral Directors Association, the Association
of British Choral Directors, the Kodaly Society of Canada, the
International Cathedral Music Festival at Salisbury and Canterbury, the
International Band and Choir Festival at the Hague, the American Schools
in London and Paris and the International School of Munich, the
Allerton Retreat for Choral Music Education at the University of
Illinois, the Hartt School Summerterm, the National Association of
Pastoral Musicians, the Music Educators National Conference, the
American Guild of Organists, the Choristers Guild, the Perspectives
Choral Workshop in Santa Fe, and the Choral Music Experience
International Institute for Teacher Training, and is a popular clinician
and guest conductor of honor choirs, choral festivals and educational
workshops throughout North America and Europe.
David Brunner's compositions resonate with imagination, lyricism and
vitality. His music has been performed worldwide by children's choirs,
middle and high school singers, college, community and professional
choirs; at state, regional, and national meetings of the American Choral
Directors Association and the national Kodaly Conference; the Choral
Music Experience Institute for Choral Teacher Training in England, the
U.S., Sweden and Scotland; the International Academy of Choral Music in
Parthenay, France; the Voices 500 Festival in Newfoundland, Canada; the
Europa Cantat in Germany; the American Cantat in Venezuela; the
International Cathedral Music Festival at Canterbury Cathedral and Queen
Elizabeth Hall in London, on the Today Show, and at EPCOT and Carnegie
Hall. In October 2000 his Hold Fast Your Dreams was sung by children
from around the world at a pre-Olympics cultural event in Salt Lake
City. The New York Times has regarded him as a notable figure in choral
music, a "prolific choral writer whose name figures prominently on
national repertory lists." (24 April 2003).
Brunner has been Composer-in-Residence at the Summer Arts Institute
of the University of Michigan and the Choral Music Experience Institute
for Teacher Training at Northern Illinois University, the Hartt School
of Music, Queenswood School in England and St. Andrew's, Scotland. He
joined a prestigious list of American composers when he was named the
Raymond W. Brock Commissioned composer for 2000 by the American Choral
Directors Association (The Circles of Our Lives) and that year was also
commissioned by the Copland foundation to contribute new adaptations of
several of the Old American Songs to Boosey & Hawkes' Copland 2000
series. His work can be heard on the compact disc We Are the
Music-Makers: The Choral Music of David L. Brunner and many independent
recordings by choirs around the world. He is the recipient of yearly
ASCAP awards since 1997 and is published exclusively by Boosey &
Hawkes, Inc. He is editorial advisor for Boosey & Hawkes popular
Conductor's Choice series and has served on the editorial board of the
Choral Journal. He is the author of articles in the Choral Journal and
Music Educators Journal.
The past year he conducted choirs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Tennessee,
West Virginia, Florida, New York and Vancouver; appeared as a clinician
for the Tennessee ACDA state conference, Northern Illinois University
School of Music, Cascade 2002 for the Ontario (Canada) Music Educators
Association, and conducted his Ode to the Present and Future Days with
180 singers and orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
This year he conducts choirs in Oklahoma, Illinois, Pennsylvania and
California and the National Mennonite High School Choral Festival in
Virginia; appears as clinician for the Tennessee Arts Academy in
Nashville; and serves on the conducting faculty for the New Millennium
Festival and Choral Music Experience Institute in Cardiff, Wales. In
November his university singers collaborate with the Orlando Opera and
Cirque du Soleil in a new production of Orff's Carmina Burana. New
works premiere in Boston for the Eastern Division ACDA, in Louisville
for the Kentucky Music Educators Association All-State Children's
Chorus, and in Illinois for the 20th anniversary of the Young Naperville
Singers.
Rollo A. Dilworth
Guest Composer
Walk, Children, Walk!—commissioned by Kay Stephens in Spring 2003 for YNS
An award-winning composer and active conductor, educator and
clinician, Dilworth has taught choral music at the elementary, secondary
and university levels. His performing endeavors have taken him to the
continents of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. In addition to
composing music in the choral genre, Dilworth’s research interests are
in the areas of African-American music and music education curriculum
and instruction. He is associate conductor and composer-in-residence
for the Jubilate Children’s Choir of the North Shore, in Northfield, and
he serves as Minister of Music at Martin Temple African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church in Chicago, Illinois. Dilworth was born in 1970
in St. Louis, Missouri.
Betty Bertaux
Guest Composer
The Gift of Song—commissioned for YNS in 2000
Betty Bertaux is the founder of the Children’s Chorus of Maryland
for which she was Artistic Director for its first eleven years.
Regarded as an authority on vocal and music development in children, in
the summer of 2001 she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Music
Education from Vandercook College of Music,
Chicago, for her contribution to the field of choral music education.
Dr. Bertaux also holds the degree of Master of Music with Kodály
Emphasis from Holy Names College, Oakland, the degree of Master of Music
in Composition from the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, Houston, and a Certificate of Study with Dr. Edwin E. Gordon in Music Learning Theory from Temple University, Philadelphia. A former faculty member of Peabody Conservatory
and Holy Names College, she has just completed her twentieth year as a
member of Vandercook College of Music’s summer MECA faculty.
Professionally active for 40 years, Dr. Bertaux has worked with music
students of all ages and, along with her continued interest in working
with young singers, is currently active in teacher training. She is
also internationally established and frequently commissioned as a
composer and arranger of music for treble choirs. Her music is
published by Alliance Music Publishers, Houston, TX and she is editor of
the Betty Bertaux Choral Series published by Boosey & Hawkes, New
York. Having trained and conducted children’s choirs of all skill
levels, she is widely experienced as a guest conductor and choral
adjudicator. Her successful career has been built on the belief that a
children’s choral director can guide young singers toward a life
enriched by music through an instructive, artistic and joyful singing
experience.
James Mulholland
Guest Composer
How Can I Keep From Singing—commissioned for YNS in 1999
Currently a Professor at the Jordan College of Fine Arts at Butler University,
James Quitman Mulholland is a much published and performed composer and
arranger. He started the study of composition, voice, piano and
various musical instruments at the age of twelve. A native of Laurel,
Mississippi, Mr. Mulholland completed his BM and MM Degrees in Voice and
Composition at Louisiana State University, followed by four years as a Graduate Assistant at Indiana University, working toward the degree of DMA in Performance and Literature.
His compositions have been performed at the last four national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association.
Many of his compositions have become standard repertoire for children's
choirs throughout the country, as well as most collegiate and
professional ensembles. In addition, they are performed regularly by
universities and choral associations throughout the United States,
Canada, and Europe. Mr. Mulholland has done commissioned works for many
choirs throughout the world, including the Los Angeles Children's Chorus, and the International Children's Choir Festival, and also for the American Choral Directors Association.
In 1995 he was named as Louisiana State University's School of Music
Alumnus of the Year. In 1996 he was selected by the ACDA to compose the
Raymond W. Brock Memorial Composition which was performed at all of the
Regional Conventions. Outside of his selective writing, he accepts
approximately ten commissions a year. He has received commissions and
performances in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe.
Malcolm Dalglish
Guest Composer
Swift—commissioned for YNS in 1997
Malcolm Dalglish is a choral composer and director, hammer dulcimer,
spoons, bones, and chin music virtuoso who presents programs of original
folk choir and dulcimer music, stories, mime, rhyme, rhythm, and song.
"a metamagical experience" —Austin Chronicle
"The youngest of a large family of artists and educators, I grew up
in a household where more than ideas were bouncing off the walls.
Poetry, painting, music, and theater were intermingled with little
league baseball, raising chickens, and building backyard junkyard
playhouses."
"Two years of (American) Boychoir and a Hail Mary pass through the rest of school landed me on the steps of Oberlin College. There I joined an avant-garde theater group with some amazingly gifted
cohorts who, like me, were dredging up from the depths of their psyches
connections to the resounding mythologies of our time. Too bad the
audience never got it. Somewhere in that mythological morass I found an
empty place that could only be filled by music, something I'd abandoned
way back in my Boychoir days. I was tired of befuddling audiences. I
wanted to entertain them. That's when the dulcimer came on the scene."
Lee R. Kesselman
Guest Composer
There Will Be Stars Forever—commissioned for YNS in 1996
A native of Milwaukee, Lee R. Kesselman now lives in Glen Ellyn, a
suburb of Chicago, where he has been director of choral activities at College of DuPage since 1981. Conductor, pianist, teacher and award-winning composer, he founded and directs the New Classic Singers,
a professional choral ensemble, with a love for the vocal art and
interests in a great breadth of literature. Known for his original
works, folk-song arrangements, editions, and awareness of historical and
international styles, Kesselman's compositions have been published by Boosey & Hawkes, Lawson-Gould, Plymouth Music and Classic Artists Publishing. He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and a member of the faculty of the CME Institute for Teacher Training since its inception in 1986.
"Lee Kesselman's deeply intelligent and heart warming works offer singers of every age a wealth of new ideas." —Doreen Rao
Mary Goetze
Guest Composer
When Children Sing—commissioned for YNS in 1994
Dr. Goetze is recognized for her work as a clinician, composer and
conductor. Her arrangements and compositions for treble voices are
published by Boosey & Hawkes
in the Mary Goetze Choral Series. She has published articles on
children's singing and children's choirs and served as a coordinating
author for Share the Music, a series book for grades K-6 published by
Macmillan McGraw Hill. In addition to degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music (B.M. Voice), Indiana University (M.M.), and certifications in Kodály and Orff Schulwerk, she holds a PhD from the University of Colorado
(1985), where her dissertation entitled "Factors Affecting Accuracy in
Children's Singing" was named Outstanding Dissertation of 1985 by Music Educators National Conference
and Council for Research in Music Education. She has received a
Distinguished Teaching Award from Indiana University, Distinguished
Alumnus Award (1992) from the University of Colorado College of Music, and was named Outstanding Educator of the Year (1993) by the Organization of American Kodály Educators.
In 1996, she was awarded a grant from Indiana University for a project
entitled "Multicultural Music Education" which allowed her to do
research in Zimbabwe and South Africa in 1997 and 1998.
In addition to conducting the International Vocal Ensemble, an Indiana University School of Music chorus specializing in vocal music from the world’s cultural traditions, Dr. Goetze is Professor of Music at the Indiana University School of Music
where she chairs the Music in General Studies department, teaches music
education courses and acts as liaison to the IU Children's Choir, which
she founded and directed it until 1995. Utilizing technology in the
ensemble led to the development of innovative approaches that she shares
in presentations at choral and music education conferences. She and
Jay Fern developed Global Voices in Song,
a series of interactive CD-ROMs for transmitting music from diverse
sources. She is recognized internationally for her work with children's
choirs and is active as composer, clinician and guest conductor. Other
publications include numerous arrangements and compositions for treble
voices. She is co-chair of the bi-annual Mountain Lake Colloquium for Teachers of Music Methods and a member of the Mountain Lake Reader editorial board.
"Mary Goetze offers music and musical situations which delight,
challenge, teach and inspire children 'of all ages', with whom she has
an unmistakable affinity and solidarity." —The Choral Journal
Amanda Morris received a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Music Education with high honors from North Central College in Naperville.
While at North Central, Mrs. Morris was named Outstanding Major in Music
Education. Mrs. Morris worked with the Elmhurst Area Children’s Choir as music
director assistant and enjoys working with beginning singers. Mrs. Morris
is Orff certified and currently teaches music at Cossitt Elementary School in
LaGrange School District 102. Outside of her musical endeavors, Mrs. Morris
enjoys spending time with her husband Daniel, cat Angus, family and friends.
Christa Renello is the newest member of the YNS team, joining in October 2015. Mrs. Renello attended the University of Iowa and received a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and a Masters Degree in Human Resource Management from Keller Graduate School of Management. Most recently she has worked as a Director of Admissions for DeVry University in the graduate admissions division. Through this role she was able to assist students and colleagues to reach their highest potential and truly values the impact that education can make in someone’s life. Mrs. Renello has been extremely impressed at the amazing talent of the young people at YNS. She is looking forward to assisting all those involved at YNS and witnessing music in action!
Janet Murray
Accompanist
Janet Murray graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Music Performance degree in oboe and piano, and from Northwestern University with a Master of Music Performance degree in oboe. She is a former adjunct faculty member at Joliet Junior College, where she taught class piano and Introduction to Music Literature, in addition to accompanying two choirs, musicals, and student performances. Ms. Murray has accompanied several area choirs, including those of Plainfield South, Plainfield East and Plainfield North High Schools in district 202, Still Middle School in district 204 and Lincoln Junior High in district 203. She was an accompanist with YNS from 2005 to 2010 and is currently the organist at St. John Lutheran Church in Joliet. Ms. Murray is accompanist for Canto Vivo and Brillante.
Joe Mitchell
Director of Brio
Mr. Mitchell graduated from North Central College with a degree in Vocal Music Education. During his college career, he learned under Dr. Ramona Wis and Jeordano Martinez as a member of the College Chamber Singers and Concert Choir. Prior to North Central, Joseph spent two seasons singing professionally with the St. Charles Singers.
Joseph began his career as an educator in Geneva, IL teaching second through fifth grade in General Music. For the past two years Joseph has been the Vocal Music teacher at River Woods Elementary in District 203, where voice and singing are core components of his General Music classroom.
Kelly Mielcarz
Director of Brillante
Kelly Mielcarz graduated with honors from North Central College with a BA in Vocal Music Education. Mrs. Mielcarz spent the first nine years of her career teaching Vocal Music at Granger Middle School in Indian Prairie School District 204. She has also worked for North Central College as Adjunct Faculty supervising and evaluating Music Education students in their practicum and student teaching experiences. In 2015 she accepted the full time position of Director of Vocal Music at Naperville Central High School where she still resides.
Mrs. Mielcarz has been recognized as a Most Influential Educator by the Indian Prairie Foundation, and the Naperville Education Foundation, on many occasions. Mrs. Mielcarz has worked as a clinician and judge for festivals throughout Chicago land and the Quad City area. Mrs. Mielcarz is thrilled to join the YNS staff and community where she has the opportunity to work with people who have inspired her over the years.
Kimberly Obert
Accompanist
Kimberly Obert graduated from Valparaiso University with a Bachelor’s degree in music. She has been teaching private lessons in both piano and voice for over 20 years. Mrs. Obert is currently the music director at Kensington School of Naperville and has been a piano accompanist for school district 308 for almost 10 years. She also serves as a worship leader at her church. Mrs. Obert is the accompanist for the Dolce, Aria and Primo.
Michael Ferguson has an undergraduate degree in comprehensive music education, and a masters in choral music education, both from the University of Illinois, Urbana, and is a member of ACDA and ILMEA. He has composed several songs for Big Idea (Veggietales), and still writes and arranges music. He taught choral music at Bloomington High School, Oswego High School (his Alma Mater), and served as a full time music minister and pastor in several churches in Illinois for nearly two decades. Michael has served as director of vocal and instrumental music at Rosary High School in Aurora, IL and is currently the choral director as Scullen Middle School in District 204, Naperville
Rachel Seidel attended Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington and holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance with highest honors. She previously served as Staff Accompanist for the Illinois Wesleyan School of Music and Adjunct Faculty for the Piano Preparatory Department, working with kindergarten through college-age students. Recently, Mrs. Seidel served as Education and Operations Manager at the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra in Frankfort and Orchestra Manager at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado.
Mrs. Seidel is also an avid solo performer and chamber musician, playing with a number of ensembles as well as accompanying privately throughout the Naperville and Downers Grove areas. She’s toured abroad in Italy through Millikin University, and in Bulgaria with the International Chamber Music Festival.
Currently, Mrs. Seidel serves as Collaborative Pianist at Downers Grove North High School and teaches private piano.
J. Ryan Rimington is a National Board Certified Teacher at Neuqua Valley High School where he conducts curricular choirs, teaches AdvancedPlacement Music Theory, directs vocal jazz ensemble, facilitates the music technology computer lab, and serves as co-Auditorium Manager. Mr. Rimington is also founder and conductor of Neuqua World Voices which is dedicated to exploring and experiencing music from around the world. While at Neuqua Valley, the music department has earned numerous national recognitions for its music education such as ten Grammy Signature School Awards, including the National Grammy Signature School award in 2005 and 2013. In his career, multiple students have recognized Mr. Rimington as their "Most Influential Educator." Mr. Rimington is also a published composer and arranger of many choral works, and frequently receives commissions and guest conducting engagements with midwestern choral and vocal jazz ensembles and organizational festivals. Outside of his musical endeavors, Mr. Rimington dedicates his time to his lovely wife and four children while rooting on the Chicago Cubs and hopping around golf courses.
Theresa Tinker joined the administrative staff of Young Naperville Singers at the end of October 2011. She attended Idaho State University and then began a career in banking. She worked for Wells Fargo Bank where she was an Assistant Vice President in General Ledger Operations for Northern California Retail Branches. Mrs. Tinker also served as Administrative Assistant to the Executive Vice President for Peoples Bank and Trust in Tennessee. She has been an active school volunteer and has twice been recognized as a District 203 “Those Who Excel” nominee. Mrs. Tinker loves YNS and has spent time as Rehearsal Assistant for both Concert and Chamber Singers, and has also had the pleasure of chaperoning the YNS tour choir in both Hawaii and Vancouver.