Dr. Alexandra Grabarchuk is a Ukrainian-born conductor and musicologist. Alex is the Director of Choral Activities at Whittier College, as well as Co-Director of Music & Fine Arts at Claremont United Church of Christ. She has previously served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Choral Direction & Musicology at Earlham College, and has held teaching positions at UCLA, Chapman University, Chaffey College, Mt. SAC, and the Claremont University Consortium. When Alex is not exploring new choral music with C3LA, she is playing toy piano, kazoo, and singing wacky pop-art songs as one-half of duo GuitAria, alongside Los Angeles guitarist Peter Yates. www.alexgrabarchuk.com
Margaret McGlynn studied composition and jazz vocals at university in both London and New York, where she worked with the late Stanley Wolfe. Since university she’s been active in the music scene for the past decade under the moniker MsMMMcG. She’s performed at Coachella, Grand Performances and has held residencies in the underground beat scene at Low End Theory and Beat Cinema. During the peak of quarantine she livestreamed one-woman musical performances, which earned her a place in the Reddit Hall of Fame. She continues to sing musical theatre IRL, and sings with LA choirs Vox Femina and C3LA.
Filipino-Mexican coloratura mezzo-soprano Anastasia Belleza Gastelum (per/pers/they/them) is a versatile vocalist, choral artist, consort musician, and teaching artist based in Los Angeles. They received their Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from CSULB Bob Cole Conservatory of Music. They have previously attended the programs of the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music, Peabody Institute, and Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Emily Stauch. They have musical experience ranging from historically informed performance and chamber music to steel pans and contemporary choral music that has informed the quality of their musicianship. They are currently engaged with Choral Arts Initiative, Long Beach Camerata Singers, and C3LA as a choral artist.
Aria Gittelson is a composer, songwriter, and vocalist based in Southern California. They received a BM in Composition from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music. Aria enjoys writing for chamber ensembles, electronics, and especially the voice. They have written numerous long form works, including their contemporary cycle "purgatory" which was premiered at Cal State Long Beach. They have also been commissioned by multiple SoCal singers, and have written for members of the Four Corners Ensemble through their Operation Opera program. As a performer, Aria has been involved with the Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, scoring films with live electronics. They have also toured with a local rock band, and sung at a variety of locations from Roscoe's Jazz Lounge to Carnegie Hall.
A Los Angeles native, mezzo-soprano Ariana Stultz received her BA in Vocal Performance from Bard College and completed her Masters at University of Southern California in Vocal Arts and Opera. Ms. Stultz has received multiple awards, including the Spotlight Awards at the Aspen Music Festival for composition and for vocal performance, the AEIOU Scholarship and the Opera Buffs Scholarship. Along with performing leading roles at opera companies in New York and Los Angeles, Ms. Stultz has sung in choirs such as Tonality, The Verdi Chorus, and the National Children's Chorus. Along with singing Ms. Stultz is a painter and composer. Find her art at @mint.verbena.
American composer, singer, conductor David Avshalomov composes in a Modern Romantic style; works for solo and chamber instruments, orchestra, band, chorus, from songs and incidental pieces to oratorio and opera, often on commission. Performed across the US, in Europe, Russia, South America, the Far East; recorded on Albany and Naxos. Won numerous competitions; grants. Veteran bass chorister, soloist; recent opera roles. B.A in Music from Harvard, D.M.A. in Conducting at U. Washington; studies at Aspen and Tanglewood (Bernstein, Schuller, Ozawa). Led orchestras and choruses on both coasts, guest conducted widely, toured in Europe and the Far East. www.davidavshalomov.com
David Rentz is Professor of Music at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, where he heads the choral music program, and Adjunct Professor of Music at Claremont Graduate University, where he leads the masters and doctoral programs in choral, orchestral, and band conducting. He is also Music Director of Orchestra Collective of Orange County and Co-Director of Music and Fine Arts at Claremont United Church of Christ. He earned his B.Mus. from Washington University in Saint Louis, his M.M. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his M.M.A. and D.M.A. from Yale University.
David Garcia Saldaña is a Southern-California Chicano composer, writer, and singer (ASCAP, NACUSA-LA, ACF-LA, DG). He collaborates frequently with dance and theater, creating content ranging from incidental music to new musical theater works. He performs throughout the Los Angeles area with different vocal groups and, at times, on live-electronics. davidgarciasaldana.com
Gabbi Coenen is an Australian vocalist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A graduate of The New School for Jazz and the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, she is a staff soprano at All Saints Beverly Hills, and has performed at Walt Disney Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Apollo Theater, with ensembles such as C4 (NY), the National Children’s Chorus, and Khorikos (NY). Her latest EP as RVBY MY DEAR was featured on Bandcamp’s New & Notable and received airplay on Triple J’s Home & Hosed, and her song “Try” was a semi-finalist in the 2019 International Songwriting Competition.
Miriam Adhanom is a vocalist and music educator based in southeast Los Angeles. Miriam studies Vocal Performance and Music Education at Cal State Long Beach. While attending CSULB, she was named a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow and a full-ride Jenkins, Bob Cole, and Pritchard Scholar. She has sung in professional choral groups (Tonality, CAI, Long Beach Camerata Singers), opera scenes, vocal jazz groups, local symphonic orchestras, and churches, both as a soloist and ensemble member.
Kion Heidari is an LA-based vocal artist, composer/musician, and actor. Ensembles he sings with include HEX, C3LA, Tonality, and the Golden Bridge, as well as the LA Master Chorale. He performs in new opera and musical theatre productions and specializes in choral, folk, contemporary, and classical styles. Past credits include Original Vision (2023), Cynosemma (2023), At War With Ourselves (2023, as a soloist with Kronos Quartet), and The Conference of the Birds (2022, music by Fahad Siadat). Kion is also a voice actor for video games and was recently a featured actor in a new production of Alice in Wonderland (2024, music by Brooke DeRosa). He was selected as a composer for the HEAR NOW Music Festival 2024 for his piece In Waves, and he holds a BFA degree in composition from the California Institute of the Arts (2020).
Jill Redding has been active as a soloist and collaborative musician since 1989. She studied piano and harpsichord at the University of Northern Colorado, participated in continuo workshops at Eastman School of Music, and studied jazz piano with Ron Miles. Early in her career she debuted as a solo pianist with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and later served as a collaborative pianist and vocalist for ensembles in Colorado and California. Jill has performed worldwide. Jill has been working with students since 1991. She teaches piano, voice, and collaborative musicianship across the San Gabriel Valley.
Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, John Bergquist migrated to sunny California in 2020 amidst the chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic. A musician of split passions, he feels equally at home conducting choral and chamber ensembles as he does laying down basslines in vocal pop and jazz groups. John is a conductor, composer, baritone, pianist, sound engineer, and avid hobbiest. John holds a BM in Choral Education and an MM in Choral Conducting from the University of Utah. He is currently the Associate Artistic Director of both the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale as well as the San Fernando Valley Chorale. He sings in the Pacific Chorale, Jingle 5, The Other Reindeer, and other vocal ensembles. He is the Music Director and Technical Director at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City.
Julie Hinton is a singer, actor, composer, arranger, producer, conductor, audiobook narrator and professional organizer. Her credits include leading roles in stage musicals, classical soloist performances, film soundtrack recordings, numerous church residencies, dozens of published choral arrangements and many audiobook narrations, including one of her own novel. She has written and composed a stage musical in addition to other film scripts, and co-created The Big American Winter Holiday Musical Spectacular which has been performed live in LA for the past six years and is expanding into digital platforms. More info and demos at www.juliehinton.net.
Kyrstin Ohta is a Los Angeles based mezzo-soprano, studio singer, and music industry professional. Kyrstin received her B.A. in Music Education with an emphasis in Choral Conducting from California State University Fullerton, School of Music. She sings with Choral Arts Initiative and Pacific Chorale. Kyrstin has sung on stages such as the Hollywood Bowl, the Greek Theater, the Honda Center, and the Crypto Center and has been featured on two Billboard Chart topping albums.
Kathleen Moriarty, mezzo-soprano, is a lecturer, teacher, and musician based in Los Angeles, currently performing with the LA Master Chorale, the Choral Arts Initiative, Tonality, and various other groups. She received her Master’s in German Language and Literature, focusing on German Drama and Music, her BM in Vocal Performance with a focus in opera, and BA in German Studies from California State University, Long Beach. She was a Professor of German with the RGRLL Department at CSULB, ranging from basic language courses to medieval-enlightenment era literature as well as teaching and directing German Theatre productions.
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Marcus Carline received a BM in Jazz Studies and Composition in 2015 from Cal State, Long Beach. As such, jazz heavily influences his compositional work, particularly in the use of extended harmony and a desire for more improvisational thinking from performers. In addition to C3LA, he also currently performs new choral works with Choral Arts Initiative, a cappella music with Westbeat, and modern electronic music with the Los Angeles Electroacoustic Ensemble, of which he is a co-founder. His downtime is often filled with mixing recordings and watching anime.
Michael Chwe sings with C3LA, the Nova Vocal Ensemble, and the UCLA Chamber Singers, has played violin with the Vicente Chamber Orchestra and the Santa Monica Symphony, and has built lithophones played by orchestras across Europe. He is professor of political science at UCLA and has written the books “Rational Ritual” and “Jane Austen, Game Theorist” and numerous articles in scholarly journals and the popular press. His work has been featured by media including the New York Times, BBC, Washington Post, Time, NPR, Libération, and Vogue. chwe.net/michael
Morgan Woolsey is a musicologist, performer, and songwriter. She holds a PhD in Musicology from UCLA and her research explores the role film music plays in cultural processes of liberation. Since coming to Los Angeles from New York in 2009, she has performed with Jouyssance, Vox Femina Los Angeles, and the UCLA Early Music Ensemble. She has also worked on a smattering of projects for film and television as a singer and composer. Morgan is currently a lecturer in Musicology and LGBTQ Studies at UCLA, and teaches music appreciation at Chaffey College.
Richard An (b.1995) is a composer and performer, born and raised in Los Angeles. Richard likes playing new music, and has performed Christopher Cerrone, Tristan Perich, Andrew McIntosh, Natacha Diels, Du Yun and Raven Chacon, Caroline Shaw, Oyvind Torvund, Julius Eastman, Steve Reich, Jurg Frey, and more. Richard performs with house on fire, stickytack and quartet friends, and has performed with Monday Evening Concerts' Echoi Ensemble and The Industry. Richard plays piano and percussion, and has been known to sing, conduct, and teach. Richard's music has been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Calder Quartet, members of Yarn/Wire, HOCKET, Resound Duo, Great Noise Ensemble, and more.
Saunder Choi is a Filipino composer and choral artist from Los Angeles. His works have been performed globally by groups like Conspirare and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. As an arranger, he has written for Lea Salonga, SF Gay Men's Chorus, and orchestras like the San Francisco Symphony. Saunder sings with Pacific Chorale, L.A. Choral Lab, and HEX Vocal Ensemble, and has contributed to film scores such as Disney's The Lion King, Turning Red, and more. He advocates for diversity, equity, and justice through his music, addressing topics like immigration, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Saunder is the Director of Music at Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica and a teaching artist with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. www.saunderchoi.com
Shaye Swanson recently earned her M.M. in Music Composition from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music and her B.M. in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University. Her composition, Les échos, was performed on Vis-à-Vis’ South American tour. She also scored a documentary short, Faith Alone, which won the bronze at the CSU Media Arts Festival. She wrote music to the choreographed dance, Process, which was recently selected to be performed at the American College Dance Association Baja Conference. At Long Beach, she studied composition with Dr. Torres-Santos, Dr. Verdie, and Dr. Shockley. Shaye continues to pursue her dual passions in composition and singing.
Socks Whitmore is a multidisciplinary performer, composer, and storyteller. Whether they're writing a new musical, recording voice over, or testing their four-octave range in song, every aspect of their work is rooted in voice and text. They have performed in prestigious venues such as the Grand Ole Opry, Carnegie Hall, and the Sydney Opera House. Their compositions include aleatoric vocal works (Pink/Blue, It Is Raining), choral music (Testimony, Birdsong), indie pop (Drive, Liquor Lullaby), and music theater (Back to One: A Coming of Self Musical, the developing opera MARROW). Learn more about their adventures in professional overachievement at sockswhitmore.com
Tanner Pfeiffer is a musician and storyteller known for “coaxing energetic and nuanced improvisations and interpretations into being.” With an artistic practice revolving around gameplay, storytelling, and melodrama, Tanner is known to “never settle for anything less than outrageous.” As a conductor, composer, and performer, Tanner brings an air of care and enthusiasm to the work that is supported by a meticulous approach to research and preparation. Tanner is the artistic director of Chordas Collective and co-conductor of Key Change Ensemble™.
Theo Trevisan (b. 1999) is a Los Angeles-based composer and bass-baritone from New Jersey. As a child, Theo sang at the American Boychoir School, performing in over 30 states and South Korea. Theo studied composition and consort singing at Princeton, and he is currently pursuing his Masters in Composition at USC Thornton. Theo’s music has been performed by many ensembles and collaborators, including the International Contemporary Ensemble, Mivos Quartet, Antioch Chamber Ensemble, DJ Sparr, David Friend, Matthew Gold, and Soo Yeon Lyuh. Theo sings with St James in the City LA, USC Chamber Singers, the vocal octet Exilio, and C3LA.
Vera Frances Lugo is a vocal artist from San Juan Capistrano, California. Active in many ensembles throughout Southern California, she works as a professional chorister, session singer, and composer/arranger. She enjoys utilizing her large vocal range in a variety of musical settings and performs with C3LA and a Yes cover band, to name a couple. In her spare time, Vera can be found singing harmonies with The Beatles and arranging songs on a dinky toy piano. www.veralugo.com
William Reeder is a singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Southern California. He has performed with such groups as Cal Voce, Canticum Novum LA, Golden Bridge, and the Jouyssance Early Music Ensemble. He holds a bachelors degree in Choral Music Education from California State University Fullerton. He currently serves as choral director at San Juan Community Presbyterian Church and drummer for the art rock band, Maneaters.
Jeff Greif is a retired computer scientist, tenor, specializing in Lieder and early and baroque music, but enjoying modern music up to the newest, as well. French hornist since childhood, now working hard to learn natural horn.
Rhiannon Lewis is a singer-songwriter, composer, and actor born and raised in the heart of LA. Rhiannon got their start in choir in high school, and has taken that love into their adult life with their own compositional work. Rhiannon currently studies music performance and composition at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). When they’re not busy studying or participating in a bajillion projects at the same time, Rhiannon is a part-time elementary school music instructor with the CalArts Community Arts Partnership (CAP).
Ian Schipper is a bass-baritone who enjoys exploring the full range of emotions by performing a wide variety of art songs, oratorios, and operas. He has featured as the Bass Soloist for a wide variety of Baroque and Classical Oratorios. He sings Bass with a number of choral groups, both in the Portland and Los Angeles areas. Ian earned a Masters Degree in Vocal Performance from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and a Bachelor degree in Music and Economics cum Laude from St. Olaf College. He is also an award-winning composer with Music Teachers National Association and an active researcher in the fields of Economics and Data Science. Ian hails from Portland, Oregon, and enjoys hiking and backpacking around the Pacific Northwest.
Genie Hossain has a Bachelors of Music with a concentration in vocal performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University Long Beach. On stage has covered the role of Nicklausse in Repertory Opera’s production of Les contes d’Hoffmann, and in the chorus for Pacific Opera Project’s Carmen, L’elisir d’amore, and The Mikado. As a professional chorister, she has sung with various Southern California ensembles including Pacific Chorale, Sterling Ensemble, and Choral Arts Initiative, where she has served as Alto Section Leader. Genie can be heard on Choral Arts Initiative’s recent album ‘Tapestry of Becoming’, as well as their 2022 album ‘From Wilderness’ by Jeffrey Derus, available on Spotify and Apple Music.
Drew Corey is a composer, performer, conductor, and performance artist who creates clean, minimalist works while maintaining a sense of warmth. She creates this “warm minimalism” using aleatoric structures, her signature cellular writing, floating melodies and large harmonic textures. Her practice focuses on human connectivity and the visceral nature of certain physical and sonic stimuli. Drew enjoys all things music, whether it’s conducting as the artistic director of SGVCC, composing for dancers, or singing in her ambient duo Other People. drewcorey.com
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This organization is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.
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