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2019 Active Roster |
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Anaís Azul, Alto
"I believe music is a tool for communication, empowerment, and finding common ground amidst war and hate." Peruvian-born, California-grown, Boston-based composer, collaborator, and educator, Anaís Azul (she/they) writes music that is in conversation with jazz harmony, classical melodies, and Latin American singer songwriter traditions. Their songs are bilingual (Spanish and English) and about mental health, queerness, facing the harsh reality in the world we live in and finding inner peace in spite of the chaos. Azul has been commissioned by the Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Berkeley High School Band and Orchestra, Oakland Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Awesome Orchestra, Serenbe Playhouse, Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Hip-hop artists Billy Dean Thomas and STL GLD. Notably, they are the recipient of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival award for Outstanding Composition and Sound Design for Displaced: A response to Qurban (Boston Conservatory at Berklee). Currently, Azul is researching the connection between music and care through the Arts|Lab Fellowship (2018-19) at Boston Medical Center. She is also collaborating and composing music for Danse Theatre Surreality in Lauren Hlubny’s new work 7 Gorges. |
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Nick Beary, Tenor "I love music, I love people, I love my partner, I love to travel, I love the spark of creativity that lives within each of us and drives the whole absurd universe forward." From funk bands to symphony choirs, to experimental sound installations to rubbing Meredith Monk's head, I've never worked primarily as a musician but have never let it go very far from my life. In addition to Voices21C, I sing with Quorum Boston, an LGBTQ+ vocal ensemble centering the work of historical as well as living, local queer composers, and holding space for people of all identities to explore their voice and expression. |
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Chris Clark, Bass I love... "Coffee in its many and varied forms, whisky in its many and varied forms, and cooking. So, in a word, nutrition." Chris is the director of Vocal Music in the Southern Berkshire Regional School District, and a Doctoral Student at the Hartt School of Music. He also serves as the Treasurer of Massachusetts ACDA. As a qualitative researcher, Chris is currently researching choral director atheism and choral improvisation. |
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Jesse Colford, Bass
"Musically, I like to use genre as a way of expression. To me the boundaries of classical, jazz, rock, etc. don't matter so much as your ability to connect with the listener, and I strive for that with my voice and saxophone playing." Jesse is from North Andover, MA, and in 2018 finished a Bachelor of Music degree in Saxophone and Composition at Boston University. He has performed in wind ensembles, marching bands, jazz and chamber groups, and has been a part of Voices 21C since 2017. Jesse currently does administrative work for BU's Tanglewood Institute and the New Philharmonia Orchestra, along with outside gigs. |
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Eugenia Siegel Conte, Alto "At most, [I am] a balance of opposing forces." -PW Eugenia is currently working on a PhD in Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She loves gardening and cooking, traveling, axe throwing, needlework, film photography, and her cats. Other passions include: Red eyes and rehearsals—citrus and canning—photos and (ph)itness—edits and emails—students and "scare quotes"—stunning, punning, sunning, thinking, pinking, pleaching, and snoozing. |
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Mary DiRoberts, Soprano I love... "music, laughter, love, adventure, fitness, coffee, wine, whiskey (neat), good food, good friends" Mary DiRoberts is the choral/music technology teacher at Suffield High School. She has a B.M. Music Education/M.A. Teaching from Westminster Choir College. Mary has also performed with Diamonds from the Dust Professional Vocal ensemble, Zelda Symphony Tour, and The Music of Danny Elfman with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and is the soprano section leader at First Church of Christ-UCC in Suffield, CT. |
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Brad Dumont, Tenor
"I am a passionate arts advocate working to create and support unique projects that contribute to cultural improvement and community-based arts education." Brad currently serves as the artistic administrator for the New Hampshire Music Festival, assistant conductor of the Salisbury Singers in Worcester, MA; Vice President of the New Hampshire Master Chorale; and on the artistic planning team for the Boston-based choir VOICES 21C who toured Israel and Palestine in 2017. He is an active singer with each of these organizations as well as with the newly formed Analog Chorale and the Brookline Consort. Additionally, he is the operations manager for Emmanuel Music in Boston, an orchestra contractor for ensembles throughout New England, and a board member for the Greater Boston Choral Consortium. Brad has studied conducting at Boston University with Dr. James Sparks and Dr. Miguel Ángel Felipe and is currently pursuing a Master of Music to be completed in 2019. While at BU, Brad taught with Dr. André de Quadros at the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center utilizing music and wellness practices with students from across the city dealing with mental illness as well as at institutions in the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. |
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Lauren Extrom, Soprano
"I value kindness, compassion, and patience, and do my best to support her friends and family with these values in mind." Lauren Extrom is an interdisciplinary vocalist, aspiring teaching artist, and storyteller of all sorts. She enjoys expressing herself creatively through songwriting/arranging, playing the piano, physical theater, and poetry, and often enjoys working collaboratively with others through these mediums. Lauren is very passionate about social justice in arts education, which is why she is very excited to begin her new position as Education Assistant at The Town Hall in NYC, where she will be working with teaching artists to facilitate social justice programming in NYC public schools, senior centers, and on Rikers Island. She also is a Masters student in NYU’s Performing Arts Administration program, and is currently researching ways in which arts organizations can create more equitable hiring practices to have more people of color in leadership positions. In her downtime, Lauren enjoys practicing yoga, running, composting, and FaceTiming with her sister’s puppy, Luna. Lauren received her B.A. in Music and American Studies from Boston University in 2016. |
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Ashley Frezza, Alto "I am watercolor and acrylic painter, Ted talk enthusiast, and take astrological signs and personality tests very seriously. …(Aquarius/Myers-Briggs: ENFJ)" Ashley graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and a minor in Vocal Performance, and received her Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in Hospitality from Johnson & Wales University. Ashley is on the Board of Directors and performs with the new Rhode Island music nonprofit, Encore Opera Company. This company's goal is to not only to perform opera and American music theatre in our communities and classrooms, but also provide Rhode Island based singers with more performance opportunities. She is a sister of the Chi Omega Fraternity. |
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Michael Genese, Tenor Things I love - "voicing chords, pulling espresso, teaching small humans about the avant-garde, being present, living between several instruments, Joanna Newsom narratives, and speaking music better than English." Michael is a composer, music educator, and sings as a founding member of VOICES 21C. He facilitates communications and fundraising for the group, and has spent 56% of his life on the phone with André de Quadros. He is also an active Choral Scholar at the historic Trinity Church, Newport, and tenor in The Brookline Consort. He is currently located in Rhode Island, and teaches elementary music on the South Coast of Massachusetts. Michael's current composition projects include Bird Mansion for String Quartet and Electronics, and Xochicalco (In the House of the Flowers) for SATB Choir. |
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Olivia de Geofroy, Soprano "I love French mélodie, (especially Fauré but also Hahn, Chausson, and Debussy) Baroque music of all sorts, learning languages, cooking delicious things." Soprano, violinist, and music educator Olivia de Geofroy holds a bachelor of music in education and a master of arts in teaching from Westminster Choir College. She currently teaches K-5 general, choral, and instrumental music in Newton, MA. Aside from teaching, Olivia performs frequently. Her recent projects include a lecture-recital on "La chanson d'Ève" by Gabriel Fauré, a recital titled "Clair de lune: music of Fauré, Hahn, and Debussy", and various symphonic choir performances with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus such as Mahler's Second Symphony and Dvorak's "Stabat Mater". |
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Nicholas Hebert, Tenor I love... "proudly repping Hufflepuff House, knitting, baking, speculative fiction and fantasy novels, board games, one on one conversations, finding ways to reduce my carbon footprint, oh, and singing, of course!" Nick is a community and school-based social worker who has the pleasure of working with and advocating for young people all day. A former member of the professional choir at First Church in Boston and the Boston Opera Collaborative, Nick is excited to be marrying his love of singing and commitment to social justice as a member of Voices 21C! Nick's current projects include knitting a back log of lacy shawls and cozy sweaters as gifts for friends and family members, and baking his way through several cookbooks. |
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Jana Hieber, Alto "I have never been in or seen an ensemble quite like [VOICES 21c] before." Jana grew up in Goffstown, NH and has been singing her whole life. Jana earned her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Music from Tufts University. After graduation, she lived and worked in Madrid, Spain teaching English to a group of adorable first and second grade students. Now living in Boston, she works for the Boston Children's Chorus. She is one of the few members of Voices21C who is not an arts educator, but rather an arts administrator. She feels inspired by the groups' collective passion for the work, trust in one another, and collaborative spirit and says she "has never been in or seen an ensemble quite like this one before". |
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Mallory Leonard, Soprano "I love helping people. And I love spreading joy and love through music." Mallory Leonard currently works as a transitional specialist for a mental health agency. She is busy working towards applying to graduate school programs. Mallory holds two bachelors degrees; one in music and one in psychology. She enjoys playing bassoon in URI’s woodwind quintet, learning languages, singing (of course), drinking iced coffee, and working out. |
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Eric Miller, Bass I love... "early music, tasty coffee, history, strategy games, and cooking!" Eric's current projects include finding a job, designing a board game and starting an early music ensemble. He is a self-described "big ol' nerd" with a thirst for life and also Gregorian chant. |
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Nicolette Mingels, Alto
It would be my dream to visit every country in the world. Before singing with VOICES, I never used to travel. But in so many ways, this group has encouraged me to leave my comfort zone and I am so grateful for that. One of my favorite experiences from our travels was when we had the humbling opportunity to tour Israel and Palestine in 2017. Nicolette Mingels is the music teacher and choral director at Blackstone Valley Prep High School. She has a B.M. in Music Education from the University of Rhode Island. She is on the VOICES Operations Team, and also currently serves as alto section leader. Nicolette enjoys practicing yoga, is very passionate about sustainability, and loves an Oxford comma. In addition to being a founding member of VOICES21C, Nicolette also sings with Diamonds from the Dust in Worcester, Massachusetts. As an educator she loves creating new courses at her school and building up the music program. Most recently she started a keyboard program as well as a chorus which drew twenty singers in its first year. She and her students also enjoy Artist of the Week, where student- and staff-recommended artists across all musical genres are featured each week. |
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Nora Maynard, Soprano Nora Maynard, MM, is a musician building a creative life in the Boston area and abroad. They are currently seeking a certification as a YogaVoice instructor under Mark Moliterno. They are the director of the WholeTone Music Academy Teaching Collective, a group of teachers dedicated to blending mind-body modalities and mindfulness into music lessons. Besides wrangling other musical cats they also teach voice and violin lessons at WTMA. They are known as a singer-songwriter in the band Petting Kazoo, and have also been known to produce and perform in strange small operas with WholeTone Opera. They are quite enmeshed in a love affair with vocal harmony, slightly unexpected chord progressions, and channeling artistic drive towards social causes, which results in Voices21C being a tremendously satisfying project for them. |
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Krystal Morin, Soprano "I love tea, cooking, trying new foods, musical theatre, and collecting books that I never have any time to read. I'm REALLY into learning about anatomy, body mapping, yoga, alexander technique, and mindfulness and how all of these contribute to beautiful singing and great music making." Krystal Morin is a music educator, private voice instructor, conductor and singer. She currently works at ConVal Regional High School in Peterborough, NH, Manchester Community Music School, and NH Music Festival. Krystal also sings with New Hampshire Master Chorale, the New Hampshire Friendship Chorus and serves as the assistant music director for the Manchester Choral Society. |
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Chad Putka, Tenor
"I'm committed to the idea that anybody can make music, and that music education should be about creating actively inclusive opportunities for lifelong amateur music-making. Although it may look different from person to person and community to community, when people open themselves up to artistic experience, it enriches their lives in countless ways." Chad teaches music to students in pre-K through 5th grade at Moses Brown School in Providence, RI. He is also the assistant director of the Narragansett Bay Chorus and the lead singer of Daily Special, an internationally ranked barbershop quartet. Chad's newest project is being a co-director and co-founder of an all-gender barbershop chorus called Voices United, whose mission and philosophy are directly influenced by my work with Voices 21C. Aside from making music, Chad loves to cook and listen to podcasts, and has recently enjoyed a little exploration of painting. |
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André de Quadros, artistic director André de Quadros, conductor, ethnomusicologist, music educator, writer, and human rights activist has conducted and undertaken research in over forty countries around the globe. A sought after conductor and clinician, André de Quadros is Music Director and Conductor of the Manado State University Choir (Indonesia) with which he toured France, Sweden, Sri Lanka, and Poland in 2010 winning a first prize at the Warsaw International Competition, and in summer 2012 took the US by storm at the Yale International Choral Festival, New York City's River to River Festival, and engagements in Boston, Cincinnati, and Los Angeles. An ardent human rights and social change activist, André de Quadros believes that consensus music-making can bring people and cultures together. To that end, he has been at the forefront of efforts for music and social change. André de Quadros is at the forefront of conducting pedagogy and has pioneered a process of music-making that stretches the boundaries of traditional choral music-making by developing new cross-cultural experimental repertoire with influences of Arab, Indian, Latin American, and Indonesian music. As author and editor, André de Quadros has edited the prestigious Cambridge Companion to Choral Music for Cambridge University Press; is co-editor and co-author of Tanglewood II: Summoning the Future of Music Education published by GIA Press; and author of Choral Music in Global Perspective to be published by Routledge. André de Quadros is a Professor of Music at Boston University. He has held a number of leadership positions at Boston University, including Director of the School of Music, Chair of the Music Education Department, Chair of the Department of Music in the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and Artistic Director of the Tanglewood Institute. |
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Eric Ritter, Bass Eric Ritter is a singer, arranger, and music educator from Baltimore, Maryland, currently teaching K-5 music in Newton Public Schools. Eric also works as a Teaching Fellow for Boston Children's Chorus, and Teaching Artist for Boston Lyric Opera. He holds a bachelor's degree in Voice Performance, and a master's degree in Music Education from Boston University. Eric’s mission as an educator is to empower music learners of all ages to express themselves and build compassionate communities through music. |
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Dalton Weaner, Bass Creating, Supporting, Balancing Creating - Making music, writing code, and designing a board game are a few of the ways I find joy in the process of creating. Supporting - I find a lot of fulfillment in enabling others to be successful. Balancing - Something that is often elusive but constantly striving for both when organizing my responsibilities and practicing yoga My main gig is working for Dell as a software developer in the IoT space (Internet of Things). Musically, apart from being an active member of Voices21C, I also sing in the Worcester, MA based chamber choir Diamonds from the Dust. Additionally, I am on a four person team that is in the early stages of founding a indie board game company. Sports have also been a big part of my life. While my competitive playing career has ended in college, I still enjoy playing pick up of whatever sport people are willing to play. |
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Judy Zuckerman, Alto
"I love being a member of Voices 21C for so many reasons! It's both nourishing and challenging in the best way to be a part of this group of sensitive, creative, dedicated individuals. Judy enjoys teaching elementary music in the Waltham Public Schools where she has been on staff since 2000. She has conducted the Harvard Summer School Orchestra since she founded the group in 1985 and has directed or guest conducted several other ensembles in the greater-Boston area. In addition to singing with Voices 21C, her other musical pursuits include studying Japanese taiko drumming at Odaiko New England, West African djembe drumming and singing with the Boston Cecilia and CircleSinging Boston. For the past six summers, she has attended the Circle Singing and Vocal Improvisation workshop at the Omega Institute where she studies with Bobby McFerrin and the members of his Voicestra Ensemble, which has been a life-changing experience. When she's not singing, Judy is probably teaching, drumming, running (albeit slowly!), volunteering for Boston Children's Hospital's Miles for Miracles Team, walking in the woods, or watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel! |
VOICES 21C Leadership Team-André de Quadros
-Ruth Debrot -Bradford Dumont -Cheryl Engelhardt -Michael Genese -Nicolette Mingels -Krystal Morin -Judy Zuckerman |
Board of Directors
-André de Quadros
-Ruth Debrot -Beth Morrison -Emily Howe |
"Thank you so much for your inspiring and deeply moving concert. I honor your intention to create a new space and place for choral singing that motivates and empowers the community towards social justice!!! Your work is not only meaningful but grounded in a clear purposes. Having such a clear purpose is not only needed in our current climate, but welcome in our rapidly changing world. I wish you well as you evolve and transform in and through your purpose."
With gratitude,
Tawnya D. Smith, PhD
Lecturer in Music, Music Education
Boston University College of Fine Arts
With gratitude,
Tawnya D. Smith, PhD
Lecturer in Music, Music Education
Boston University College of Fine Arts
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