Members

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

Alice Dryden is a Los Angeles-based composer and mezzo-soprano. She directs the kindergarten-8th grade music program at Everest Value School in downtown Los Angeles. Active in Los Angeles area choral music, she is also a member of Nova Vocal Ensemble and Vox Femina Los Angeles and is proud to be joining C3LA. She is an alumna of the Lawrence Conservatory of Music (B.M. in Voice Performance and Music Education) and CUNY Brooklyn College (M.M. in Composition), where she studied with Professor Tania León. She is also an alumna of the EAMA-Nadia Boulinger Institute program in Paris.

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.

Katelyn Dietz (she/her) is a versatile vocalist from Rochester, NY with specialties in choral (ANÚNA, B.A. from Fredonia), vocal jazz (Gold Company, M.M. from Western Michigan University), folk (Irish World Academy), musical theatre (Broadway Sessions, B.A. from Fredonia), and contemporary styles (Downbeat award-winning Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist). Katelyn is also a Downbeat award-winning vocal jazz arranger and owner/head copyist & arranger of The Transpository (transpository.com). In LA, she has sung with choral ensembles like Tonality, Laude (FCCLA), and National Children’s Chorus, and is excited for her first season with C3LA! katelyndietz.com

Kion Heidari is a composer, singer, instrumentalist and voice actor from San Diego. Having graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a BFA in composition, Kion has created music for film, the stage, video games, and concerts. He frequently incorporates his background in choral singing and folk music into his own work, combining them with his passion for storytelling and visual media. Kion enjoys the prospect of helping to bring contemporary choral music to the mainstream with ensembles like C3LA. kionheidari.com

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.

Matthew Scherb has always derived great joy and sanity from singing. Before his recent move to Los Angeles from the Bay Area, he sang for years with the San Francisco Choral Artists, International Orange Chorale, and Resound Ensemble, all of which were devoted to fostering and performing new choral music. By day, Matthew is a lawyer and handles appellate litigation for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

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.