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The Artistic Staff:
Walter Boyer, Artistic Advisor. Walter Boyer is a well-known and respected music educator who in 2006 was honored by Civic Music Association of Milwaukee as an "Outstanding Music Educator." He is a music specialist for the Shorewood school system and teaches at Atwater Elementary. Boyer also has a long-standing relationship with Milwaukee Children's Choir. He was one of MCC's original board members, served as president of the board, and retired from board duties only when term limits required it. He has also been a vocal coach, guest soloist and guest conductor at Milwaukee Children's Choir concerts. Boyer is an active baritone vocalist. For more than 26 years he sang with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus as a member of its professional core, and has been a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony under the direction of Doc Severinsen, Margaret Hawkins, Lee Erickson and Jack Everly.
Jason Clark, Milwaukee Youth Chorale. Since Mr. Clark made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1990 (Carmina Burana, Brooklyn Philharmonic, JoAnn Falletta conducting), he has had an active performance career. Mr. Clark returned to the stage of Carnegie Hall to perform Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem (Helmuth Rilling conducting), and served on the performing and administrative staff of the Berkshire Choral Festival (Santa Fe, NM and Sheffield, MA), where he was the recipient of the Charles Dodsley Walker Award in 1997.
Mr. Clark has taught in Shorewood schools since 1997, and currently serves as the school district's Director of Choral Activities. Prior to that he taught K-12 vocal music in Glidden, Iowa, where he received the Exemplary Music Program Award in 1995. Mr. Clark works closely with the Wisconsin School Music Association, for which he developed the 2003 class "A" madrigal list and served a three-year term as tenor coach for the Middle Level Honors Choir. His Shorewood choirs have been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall (John Rutter conducting), sang the National Anthem at the 2002 Olympic Torch Ceremony in Milwaukee, performed with the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee as part of their 2004 Young Choral Artists Festival, were featured artists on the Milwaukee Choristers 75th Anniversary Concert, sang at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's inaugural honors choir festival, and were featured guests on the Knox College choir tour at the Basilica of St. Josephat. Mr. Clark's choirs have represented Wisconsin at the "American Musical Salute to Liberation" in Paris and Normandy, France and as part of the 50th Anniversary of Hawaii's Statehood in 2009.
An Iowa native, Mr. Clark holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal and instrumental music education from Coe College and a Master of Music degree in conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In addition to his work in Shorewood schools, Mr. Clark keeps a busy performance schedule as Founder and Artistic Director of the Shorewood Choral Arts Society, and as a freelance tenor soloist and private voice instructor. Mr. Clark is married and has two children.
Kristin Dillahunt, Songbirds and Prelude North. Ms. Dillahunt has been teaching elementary general and choral music in Grafton, WI since 1994. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a vocal emphasis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Master of Music Education with Kodály emphasis, as well as a Kodály certificate, from Silver Lake College in Manitowoc. She has served as the senior choir director at Advent Lutheran Church in Cedarburg, prepared workshops on the topics of Technology in Music Education and Planning the Kodály Way, and co-produced the DVD Favorite Singing Games, featuring real teachers teaching students singing games and including an accompanying teaching guide. Ms. Dillahunt is active on many district wide committees, including committees relating to technology integration and curriculum development. Ms. Dillahunt recently completed her term as president of the Association of Wisconsin Area Kodly Educators (AWAKE), where she organized and implemented several educational workshops for teachers and choral festivals for students throughout the state. Ms. Dillahunt lives in Grafton with her husband and their three daughters.
Elizabeth Egger, Jubilate. Ms. Egger earned a Bachelor of Music summa cum laude in Vocal Performance and Music Education from the University of Minnesota. She has a passion for choral music and music education. In 2005, Elizabeth joined the music faculty at Franklin Public Schools as the middle school and high school choral director. In recent seasons, Elizabeth has also been seen performing with Milwaukee Choral Artists, Skylight Opera, Florentine Opera, and Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. She is also an adjudicator for the Wisconsin School Music Association district solo and ensemble festivals.
Emily Fazio, Harmony Choir; Prelude West; Cantabile East, West and Central; Cantabile Coordinator. Ms. Fazio graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with degrees in choral and general music education. Musical highlights from her college career include directing and touring with the UW-La Crosse concert choir, playing in the Korean Drum Ensemble, and singing in the American Choral Directors Association All-State Collegiate Choir. Specializing in vocal and early childhood music, Ms. Fazio is also a certified Music Together® teacher. From 2008-2010 Ms. Fazio worked as a music specialist with the School District of New Berlin, where she taught general music, directed co-curricular choirs and drama club, and established a revised K-6 curriculum for the district. A proponent for the use of technology in music education, Ms. Fazio was the first music teacher in the district to use SMART board technology, and served on the district Technology Leadership Team. Ms. Fazio is currently in the professional core of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and teaches private voice and piano (along with other instruments) in New Berlin, where she lives with her husband.
Penny Fichtner, Artistic Administrator. Ms. Fichtner joined Milwaukee Children's Choir in 2011. She assists both the artistic staff and the office staff with administrative tasks, hiring and training rehearsal assistants, large printing and mailing projects, music filing, and researching and organizing local and national tours. Ms. Fichtner also works at The Dieringer Research Group in Brookfield, assisting with administrative and reporting tasks, large scale mailings, and focus groups. Ms. Fichtner lives with her husband and daughter, who joined Milwaukee Children's Choir in 2005 and currently sings with Jubilate.
Annemarie Travia, Songbirds and Prelude East and Prelude Coordinator. Miss Travia earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a Master of Music degree with Kodály emphasis, as well as a Kodály certificate, from Silver Lake College. Miss Travia has taught general music and middle school choir in the Edgerton School District. She currently teaches K-5 general music at Salem Grade School in Kenosha County, where she also taught early childhood music classes as part of Silver Lake College's Music for Tots program. Miss Travia is past president of the Association of Wisconsin Area Kodály Educators. She is an adjudicator for the Wisconsin School Music Association district and state solo and ensemble festivals and choir clinician. Ms. Travia is an active church musician with experience as a cantor, as director of church choirs, and as accompanist on both piano and organ.
Theresa Witt, Cantabile North. Mrs. Witt has taught elementary school music in the Milwaukee area since 1996. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from Lawrence Conservatory of Music and her Master of Music in Music Education with a Kodály Emphasis from Silver Lake College. She is certified in both Kodály and Orff Schulwerk methodologies. She has served on the boards of state, regional and national Kodály organizations and has worked as presenter and choral clinician.
Mrs. Witt works as an elementary school music specialist for the Menomonee Falls School District at Shady Lane Elementary School, where she teaches kindergarten through fifth grade music and directs the fifth grade chorus. Prior to that, Mrs. Witt worked at Shorewood's Atwater School, where she implemented the Arts in Community Education (ACE) partnership with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and at the Donges Bay Elementary School in Mequon, where she co-wrote the K-5 music curriculum guide. She has also accompanied and coached singers for various community recreation department musicals.
Mrs. Witt worked for MCC from 2000-2003, during which time she and Carol Storck (see above) took a fledgling Prelude program and turned it into a strong program for children grades 1-3. She returned in the summer of 2009. Mrs. Witt lives in Brown Deer with her husband and daughter.
Amanda McFall, Accompanist. Ms. McFall graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. She has served as an accompanist at that university, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, school districts throughout southeast and southwest Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Middle Level Honors Choir, Singing in Wisconsin, and Heartland Festival Productions. Ms. McFall joined Milwaukee Children's Choir in 2004, and currently accompanies MCC's Prelude choirs, Cantabile, and Jubilate. Ms.McFall is an active freelance accompanist and private piano teacher in the Milwaukee area.
Maria Koester, Accompanist. Ms. Koester received her Bachelor and Master's degrees in piano performance from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. She has taught piano at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and performed with the Blair Chamber Players. She is the organist at Kingo Lutheran Church in Shorewood, Wisconsin, and has been an accompanist with Milwaukee Children's Choir since 2005. Ms. Koester accompanies the Milwaukee Youth Chorale. She also maintains a private piano studio and works as a health aide at Lake Bluff Elementary School in Shorewood. She is married and lives in Shorewood with her family, including a daughter who has been an MCC member since 2000.
The Administrative Team:
Paula Bell, Executive Director. Ms. Bell joined Milwaukee Children's Choir in 2004 in order to work with staff dedicated to child-centered music education. She began as an assistant to the General Manager and was soon promoted to Operations Director and then General Manager. As of November 1, 2010, Ms. Bell assumed the position of Executive Director. For several years, Ms. Bell has been in charge of day-to-day chorus operations, production planning and national and international tours. She has supervised key MCC employees, managed both front- and back-of-house operations at MCC concerts, had profit and loss responsibility, and worked directly with MCC's performance peers. Ms. Bell is excited for another MCC adventure and the challenges she will face in her new role as Executive Director.
Ms. Bell graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in marketing. Before joining Milwaukee Children's Choir, she was office manager and then director of parent relations at Milwaukee Montessori School, and was a teaching assistant at Elmwood Elementary School in New Berlin. As a trained musician on both piano and violin, she has performed with the Waukesha Symphony Orchestra (now known as the Wisconsin Philharmonic). Ms. Bell lives with her husband and two daughters. Both her daughters joined Milwaukee Children's Choir in 1999. One is a senior in Youth Chorale and one attends Beloit College.
Lorinda Liongson, Office and Volunteer Manager. Ms. Liongson was born in the Philippines and moved to Door County, WI as a child in 1978. She graduated from Carroll College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and earned a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of California-Santa Barbara. She practiced as a child and family therapist in Decatur, IL for three years, until she and her husband moved back to Wisconsin in 1994.She found a "temporary" job with The Mark Travel Corporation and stayed for nine years, during which time she was promoted from reservationist to contracting coordinator to destination product contracting/buyer manager. Her career at The Mark Travel Corporation allowed her to travel to many different destinations in Europe, China, and the Caribbean. Ms. Liongson joined Milwaukee Children's Choir in 2007 and manages office operations and the organization's many volunteers. Ms. Liongson is married and has two daughters, both of whom sing in MCC.
Bethany Wichman, Development Assistant. Bethany was hired in December 2011 as MCC's Development Assistant. She graduated magna cum laude from Luther College in May 2011 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in vocal music and Spanish. Bethany joined MCC in September 2011 as an artistic intern. During this time, she assisted with Cantabile Central and Prelude East rehearsals. She also worked with the students in our Harmony program at Dover Street School. As she transitioned into Development, Bethany chose to continue working with these choir sites as a form of gaining better and more hands-on knowledge of the Harmony and regular MCC programs. Bethany is a native of Appleton, WI and now lives in the Milwaukee area.
