POLYPHONY : Voices of New Mexico

Vocal Roster — Women's Voices

Elizabeth Shellabarger Bayne, mezzo-soprano, began singing in an adult choir at the age of eleven and has been singing ever since. Elizabeth graduated from the University of Colorado, College of Music (B.Mus.Ed. 1961, M.Mus.Ed. 1966). She taught vocal music in public schools in Colorado and Connecticut before moving to New Mexico in 1974. Before becoming a member of the Cathedral Choir at the Cathedral of St. John (Albuquerque) in 1978 she was a soloist at The Chapel of Our Savior (Broadmoor, CO), Trinity Church (Hartford, CT), Christ Church – also Choir Director – (Denver CO), St. Mark’s-on-the-Mesa and St. Michael’s and All Angels (Albuquerque, NM). At the cathedral, Elizabeth is a member of the Chamber Choir and has been a soprano/mezzo soprano soloist in works by Bach, Beethoven, Fauré, Handel, Haydn, Honeggar, Mozart and Vivaldi. Elizabeth has performed a wide variety of theatrical works – “Zozo” – Lehar’s Merry Widow (Civic Opera, Colorado Springs, CO),”Mrs. Sem” – Britten’s Noye’s Fludde (Hartford, CT), ”Nettie Fowler” - Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel (Marlborough, CT), “Edith” – Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance (Manchester, CT), “Florence” – Britten’s Albert Herring (Boston MA),”Mother Abbess” – Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Sound of Music (ACLOA/Albuquerque NM) and the “Herald Angel” in The Play of Daniel with Musica Antique de Albuquerque. In 1965, Elizabeth was a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera auditions and has performed as a recitalist. In addition to maintaining a private vocal studio, she has most recently sung with the Santa Fe vocal ensemble “Cantat”, and is proud to be a charter member of Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico and serves as Secretary on its Board of Directors.

Sarah Brauer, mezzo-soprano, received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Arts from the University of Southern California and her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Rice University. Ms. Brauer has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival, the Houston Bach Society and the Salem Chamber Orchestra. Recent operatic roles include Ramiro in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera, Eustazio in Händel’s Rinaldo, and the world premier performance of Margaret Truman in Primiani’s Truman Project for OPERA America 2006. Ms. Brauer currently sings with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Sangre de Cristo Chorale, Canticum Novum, and Holy Faith Episcopal in Santa Fe. Ms. Brauer is a student of Susanne Mentzer. This is Sarah’s debut season with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Mary-Ellin Brooks, mezzo-soprano, has loved music since she was a child and sang show tunes – loudly – in her parents’ basement. She began studying piano at age 7, and later made voice her primary instrument. In high school, Mary-Ellin earned the top audition score for alto voice in her home state of Massachusetts, and was privileged to join other young singers from around the world in a concert at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., under the direction of Ward Swingle. While completing her undergraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mary-Ellin performed and recorded with the a cappella ensemble, The Chorallaries of MIT. In addition, she performed with the MIT Chamber Chorus, under the direction of John Oliver (founder/conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus), and the MIT Chamber Music Society, directed by composer John Harbison. In 2003, she and her fellow members of the California Bach Society joined Kronos Quartet in the San Francisco premiere of Terry Riley’s Sun Rings. Over the years, she has developed a versatile style, and is at home singing classical, jazz, pop, and musical theater repertoire. Mary-Ellin has most recently performed with and currently serves on the board of directors of Quintessence: Choral Artists of the Southwest. She continues to study through the New Mexico Jazz Workshop’s vocal classes. This is her debut season with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Anacelie Verde Claro, alto, began singing as a chorister at the age of four. Since then music has taken her from church choirs in Baltimore, Maryland, to college choir and orchestra in Clinton, New York. Her favorite musical memory is performing Handel's Concerto in G Minor as an oboe soloist her senior year at Hamilton College. She currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, keeping busy as a writer, singer, and teacher. This is Anacelie’s fourth Solstice concert with Polyphony.

Susan Collins, alto, began singing with church and school choirs at age five. Music became a lifelong passion from Madrigal Singers and All-State high school experiences, through college choirs, to present day involvement with the Choir of The Cathedral of St. John and Chamber Choirs, Santa Fe Masterworks Chorale, Cantat. She has enjoyed opportunities to work with John Rutter, Sir David Willcocks, Bruce Neswick, Dr. Mary Badarak and Dr. Maxine Thévenot in such diverse venues as Carnegie Hall, Grace Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral and St. George's Chapel, Windsor. In 2005, she sang with the International Handel Festival Choir broadcast on NPR from Albuquerque and looks forward to participating in the International Haydn Festival in Vienna, summer 2009. A registered nurse by profession, Susan and her husband live in Placitas with two golden retrievers. She enjoys tennis, travel, sailing and spending time with friends and family. This is her second Solstice concert with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Brianne Conner, soprano, holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Baylor University and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance with a minor in Behavioral Science from East Texas Baptist University. Locally, Brianne has sung with the Cathedral of St. John Episcopal Choir and with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Her choral experiences have taken her to England, Italy, South Korea, and China, as well as throughout the United States to participate in choral festivals and performances. She maintains a small private piano studio and adjudicates piano festivals throughout the Southwest. This is Brianne’s fourth Solstice concert with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Monika Cosson-Sheppard, mezzo-soprano, has performed the operatic roles of Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, both at Loyola University; the High Priestess in Aida and Cronie in The Ballad of Baby Doe with New Orleans Opera; and Flora in La Traviata with Jefferson Parish Performing Arts Society. Featured artist and concert appearances include; Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Superior Music Festival in Marquette, Michigan; Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem at the University of Southern Mississippi; Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans; Kodaly's Te Deum conducted by Victor Yampolsky with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra on their Classics Series; Faure's Requiem and Rutter's Requiem with Loyola University; and Britten's A Ceremony of Carols with Pensacola Chorale Society and Santa Fe Desert Chorale. Her Santa Fe appearances include "Lisa" in Nino Rota's I due Timidi with The Santa Fe Opera; Verdi's Requiem and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Santa Fe Community Orchestra; Ralph Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem and Schubert's Mass No. 6 with Sangre De Cristo Chorale; Felix Mendelssohn's Psalm XLII (As the Hart Pants) and Hear My Prayer, both with Canticum Novum; "La Vergine Degli Angeli" from Verdi's La Forza Del Destino with The Santa Fe Men's Camerata. Upcoming engagements include Mendelssohn's Salve Regina with Canticum Novum. A student of Regina Rickless, Ms. Cosson-Sheppard resides in Santa Fe where she teaches voice. This is her third Solstice concert with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico

Jennifer Edwards, soprano, is currently a student at the University of New Mexico where she has studied voice under the direction of Sam Shepperson, as well as pursuing German studies. She has played the violin for six years, three of them being with the Katy High School Orchestra, Texas, under the direction of Mike Wells. Jennifer made the regional mixed choir and the All-State women’s choir in 2006 in New Mexico. In 2007, she sang with the newly premiered UNM chorus, Dolce Suono, which was given the honor of singing with the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, featuring Antonin Dvorak’s Stabat Mater. Currently, she performs with the women’s choir of UNM, Las Cantantes. Jennifer is pleased to be a part of Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico and looks forward to her third Solstice concert.

Rebecca Hellbom, soprano, 19 years old, was born and raised in Västerås, Sweden. Moved to Albuquerque in August 2008, and is currently a freshman at the University of New Mexico, pursuing a major in vocal performance under the direction of Jacqueline Zander-Wall, as well as playing on the UNM Women’s Golf team. She has been singing ever since she was little and done various solos. However, singing got more passionate when she got accepted to Fryxellska School of Music for elementary school, which is one of Sweden’s best music elementary schools. Choir practice was on the schedule about 5 times per week, and the choir even had the honor to sing at the National Government House’s opening: including quests like the King and the Queen, and other nationwide important people. She went to the National High School of Golf after elementary school, and moved to the south of Sweden. She has played for the National team ever since. She studied music outside of high school and sang in different choirs. Besides singing and golf she enjoys the great outdoors, hiking, biking, and other sports. She likes to travel and learn about different cultures and history, socializing with friends, and listening to music – preferably J. S. Bach, Diana Damrau or G. Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. After college she would like to attend Graduate school, and in the future join an opera company. Her dream roles are the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and Konstanze in Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio. Rebecca is excited and looking forward to her first Solstice concert with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Trish Henning, alto, has sung in choirs since middle school. On the faculty at UNM-in the Physics and Astronomy department-she has sung with the University's women's ensemble, Las Cantantes, and more recently with the Concert Choir, under the direction of Honorary Board member of PVNM, Bradley Ellingboe. She performed for several years in the a capella Renaissance group, Quodlibet. Before moving to Albuquerque in 1993, she sang in two ensembles in the Netherlands. Her experience with women's choirs started with her singing in the Wellesley College Choir. She currently studies voice with Jacqueline Zander-Wall. At UNM, she conducts research on galaxies using radio telescopes around the world, and teaches various astronomy courses, as well as the Musical Acoustics physics class. Her doctorate is from the University of Maryland, in astronomy, and she finds music to be the perfect balance for a life in science. This is her debut season with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Felice Lamoreux, alto, has been a member of various choirs since a very young age including the Santa Fe Children’s Choir, which provided the children’s chorus for the Santa Fe Opera summer season. During these seasons she was a paid performer in Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme and Tosca, as well as Emmerich Kálmán’s Countess Maritza, in which she had a small solo part. In high school, Felice was a member of the Capital Academy of the Performing Arts at Capital High School which performed various musicals and plays including her playing the lead role in the musical Alice in Wonderland. She was also chosen for New Mexico’s All-State Choirs from 2000 to 2002. She is now an anthropology student at the University of New Mexico, a member of Las Cantantes, New Mexico’s only collegiate women’s choir and is pleased to be singing her debut season with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Alyssa Landahl, alto, is a recent transplant from the Boston, MA area and is enjoying immersing herself in the New Mexico music scene. In New Mexico she has sung with the UNM Chorus, Las Cantantes, and Polyphony. In Boston she sang with the Back Bay Chorale (inc. conductors Julian Wachner, Scott Jarrett, and Jim Olesen), the Berkshire Choral Festival, the Boston Pops Holiday Chorus (conductor Bruce Hangen), and the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus. In her "free time" she has been a high school history teacher and the operations manager for the Back Bay Chorale. She and her husband, Andrew, are parents of 20-month old son; baby William hasn't started singing yet other than bits and pieces of the alphabet song, but who knows? Alyssa is a founding member of Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Kathie MacDonald-Vargo, alto, began started singing at the age of 8 as a chorister and has sung with various choirs ever since including; Indianapolis Pro Musica, Butler University Alumni Chorus, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and Santa Fe Pro Musica. She has had the pleasure of singing under the batons of such distinguished conductors as Sir David Willcocks, Bruce Neswick, Gerald Hancock and Gerald Near, and several others. She was a member of the select International Handel Festival Chamber Choir, which recorded and broadcast for NPR. For close to 20 years, she sang with St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Indianapolis, during which time she undertook several choir tours to the UK, before moving to the Southwest. Currently, a section leader at the Cathedral of St. John, Albuquerque, Kathie is a charter member of Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Renée Motteler, alto, is a Grammy ® Award winning member of the Los Angeles Chamber Singers & Cappella, who received the award for Best Small Ensemble in 2006 for the album Padilla: Sun of Justice. She recently moved to Albuquerque from Southern California and is a section leader for the Cathedral of St. John Episcopal Choir. Renée received her Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies with a concentration in vocal performance from California State University, Long Beach in 2006. Renée has performed all over the world with jazz choirs and as a soloist at the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Ozone Jazz Festival, Neuchatel Jazz Festival, IAJE, Cuesta College Jazz Festival, and the Berkeley Jazz Festival, among others. In California, she was the cantor, alto section leader, and assistant conductor at St. Cyprian Catholic Church in Long Beach for 15 years. Renée has been a classroom teacher from elementary up through college age students, teaching vocal jazz, beginning music, choir, band, orchestra, and private voice lessons. She was also a lead/back up singer with the rock groups Gregg Young and the 2nd Street Band and the Gypsy Beggars. Renée has appeared in television commercials and has worked in the studio recording demo tapes for composers of classical, show tunes, jazz, and rock music, as well as recording jingles used commercially. This is Renée’s fourth Solstice concert with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Danielle Myers, soprano, has always been singing. Her musical experience began in music/choir classes from elementary school clear into high school when she decided to make music more than a hobby. She started singing in her church’s choir at 13, and was enthusiastically involved in the choir program at Cibola High School for three years. She sang in the All-State Treble Chorus in 2008. Danielle is currently a sophomore at UNM studying for her degree in Music Education. She sings in Las Cantantes, the only collegiate women's choir in the State of New Mexico, and is very excited about singing her first season in Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Ashley Overholt, mezzo-soprano, received her degree in Music Education from Azusa Pacific University in 2007. She recently moved to New Mexico and will be completing her Master’s Degree in Education at the College of Santa Fe this summer. She is in her second year teaching piano and directing choir at Ortiz Middle School in Santa Fe. She also teaches private voice lessons in the Albuquerque area. She has sung with choirs all over the world, including recent trips to Italy with Azusa Pacific Chamber Singers where she sang at St. Peter’s Basilica and to South Korea with Azusa Pacific University Choir and Orchestra. This marks Ashley’s second Solstice concert with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Mika Proctor, soprano, has had a passion for singing since she was a small child. She is a native of eastern New Mexico and has lived in the Albuquerque area since 2001. Mika received her Bachelor's degree in Music with emphasis in Vocal Performance from Eastern New Mexico University in 2000. She received a Master's degree in Education from Wayland Baptist University in 2006. She began her teaching career in Clovis, and currently teaches elementary music at Cielo Azul Elementary in Rio Rancho. She is a member of First Baptist Church in Rio Rancho where she is the Director of the Children's Choir and sings on the praise team. During the summer, she enjoys directing at the Baptist Convention's Music Camp at Inlow camp. Summer 2009, she will be the head clinician for the music camp. Mika is currently the President-Elect of the new NM chapter of Kodály Educators (Enchanted Educators of Kodály-EEK). She is married to Corey and they have two precious daughters. Mika is delighted to be a returning member of Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Elizabeth Rincon, mezzo-soprano, a classical guitarist, has played for private engagements given by The National Science Foundation, various charitable organizations as well as for past and present UNM presidents and various departments at UNM. She had the honor of being picked to play for Governor Richardson’s reception for the first Presidential Democratic debates held at the University of New Mexico in 2004. Miss Rincon is also the Assistant Sound Engineer at the UNM Keller Hall Recording Studio and for UBIK Sound. In addition to the guitar and recording she has sung in the UNM Concert Choir, University Chorus and Las Cantantes. A member of the Cathedral Choirs of St John’s, Miss Rincon has sung under the baton of Sir David Willcocks, Bruce Neswick, Thomas Foster, and most recently the International Handel Festival, which was recorded for and aired on NPR. This past summer she traveled with the choirs to England where they sang week-long residencies at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle and Canterbury Cathedral. She is also an assistant stage manager for Yjastros, the American Flamenco Repertory company, and for Festival Flamenco Internacional de Albuquerque – the largest flamenco festival outside of Spain. This marks Liz’s fourth Solstice concert with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Meredith Wilder, alto, graduated from Eldorado High in 2007 and is currently attending the University of New Mexico. As a member of Faith Lutheran Church, Meredith has spent some time working with the church choir and praise band. Ms. Wilder was in the New Mexico All-State choir three years in a row, which gave her a true appreciation for the inner workings of a choir and the choral sound. At UNM, she sang with the women’s choir, Las Cantantes for two years, and is working toward a degree in music education. Outside of school, Meredith is a singer/songwriter and performs her music around Albuquerque. This marks her fourth Solstice concert with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.

Marni Wilson, alto, first started singing in choirs in High School. Discovering that this created a pleasant balance in her life, she continued to sign up for choir in College. At Fort Lewis College in Durango she sang in both the Concert Choir and Women’s Choir. For the past 9 years, Marni has been singing with the Cathedral Choirs’ of St. John. Marni is happy to be returning for her fourth Solstice concert with Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico.