Santa Fe Desert Chorale • Members

	LINDA MACK was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale in September 2003. During her tenure, the Desert Chorale has performed more than 60 concerts, commissioned five new works, collaborated with the Santa Fe Symphony and Santa Fe New Music, and recorded seven CDs. Under her leadership the Desert Chorale has garnered critical acclaim both for its concerts and recordings, and was the recipient of the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2006. A native of Chicago, she received her doctoral degree from the University of Illinois. Dr. Mack currently holds the position of Director of Choral Arts and Professor of Music at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado and serves as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Durango Choral Society. Dr. Mack has had many conducting and performing engagements nationally and internationally, including world premieres. A music educator, she presents clinics and publishes articles on the topics of repertoire selection, vocal health and contest preparation. Dr. Mack recently participated in the January 2007 Carnegie Hall Choral Workshop and performance of Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion.
	NORMA BEKOWIES, alto (ninth winter season) has performed as a chorister and soloist with several Santa Fe area ensembles, including Canticum Novum, Santa Fe Women’s Ensemble and Pro Musica. She sang at the Aspen and Blossom music festivals with Robert Shaw, and appeared as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the New Mexico Symphony. She holds a Master’s degree in music education from the University of New Mexico, and has taught elementary grades and vocal music in Santa Fe Public Schools. Recently she spent an extended time in Mongolia teaching English as a second language to university students, and studied the traditional Mongolian “long song.”
	KIM CHILDS, tenor (debut winter season) is Assistant Professor of Choral Conducting and Voice at the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Recent solo concerts include the roles of “Evangelist” with the Dallas Bach Society in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and “Jupiter” with the Staunton Music Festival performance of Handel’s Semele in Staunton, Virginia. His debut with the Dallas Opera in 2004 in de Falla’s La Vida Breve was well received and he has sung with professional choirs both as soloist and chorister, including the American Bach Soloists, Orpheus Chamber Singers, Carmel Bach Festival, Texas Choral Artists and the Dallas Bach Society. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas.
	CAROLINE COGGESHILL soprano (debut winter season) is a 2004 graduate of Los Alamos High School and is currently studying vocal performance with Sandra Bauman and mathematics at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Caroline sang in the Masterworks Chorus at New Mexico State University, and she currently sings in the Concert Choir and Madrigal Singers at SIUE, and the St. Louis Cathedral Choir. She has assisted directing the Children’s Choir and Mid-Choir at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos, and has performed with the Los Alamos Choral Society and Coro de Cámara.
	THERESA COGGESHALL, soprano (fourth winter season) has performed as a soloist with Santa Fe Pro Musica and as a member of many choral ensembles in the Santa Fe and Los Alamos area for the past eighteen years, including the Los Alamos Choral Society. She is the female vocalist for the Los Alamos Big Band, and often performs with the vocal quartet Fouté. Theresa has sung and directed at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos. Her undergraduate studies in music education and music therapy were at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville University. Her graduate studies in vocal performance were at the University of Illinois
	MONIKA COSSON-SHEPPARD, soprano (second winter season) attended Loyola University in New Orleans where she studied with Ellen Frohnmayer and performed numerous operatic roles. She has appeared as a featured artist and soloist with the Superior Music Festival in Marquette, Michigan; the University of Southern Mississippi; the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra; Loyola University; the Okaloosa-Walton Community Orchestra; and the Pensacola Chorale Society. She performed and recorded with The Gregg Smith Singers in New York City from 1994-95, during their 40th year anniversary. Since arriving in Santa Fe, concert appearances include mezzo soloist in Verdi’s Requiem; Ralph Vaughan William’s Dona Nobis Pacem and Felix Mendelssohn’s Psalm XLII (As The Hart Pants) and Hör mein Bitten. In addition to performing, Mrs. Cosson maintains a private voice studio.
	KIMBERLY FARRELL soprano (fourth winter season) holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting degree from the University of Oregon, where she conducted the Women’s Choir. She received her Bachelor of Music Education degree with distinction from the University of Maine. Kim is a member and section leader of the Durango Choral Society and is a frequent soloist around the Four Corners area, including the Showcase concert series, the San Juan Symphony, and Animas Music Festival. Other choral singing experiences include the Robert Shaw Carnegie Hall Choral Workshop and the Oregon Bach Festival. She is in high demand as a vocal and choral adjudicator and guest conductor and is listed in Who’s Who of American Women. She has taught choral music and voice in New Hampshire and North Dakota and currently teaches middle school choir and high school orchestra in Durango.
	PHILLIP HAYNIE, bass (fifth winter season) holds both a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Lee University. While at Lee, Phillip served as assistant conductor to the University Chorale and was a featured soloist in such works as Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and David R. Holsinger’s Easter Symphony. Phillip has been a member of the Chattanooga Choral Arts Society in Chattanooga, TN for the past three seasons. Phillip also currently serves as organist at the North Cleveland Baptist Church in Cleveland, TN. Mr. Haynie’s operatic roles include the role of “Papageno” in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, “Dr. Falke” in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, “Pooh-Bah” in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, and “Don Madiqua/El Capitan” in Souza’s El Capitan.
	JAY HILL, tenor (sixth winter season) holds an undergraduate degree in voice performance from Baylor University, where he graduated from the Honors Program with Distinction. He also holds a law degree from Duke University and maintains a private practice with the Albuquerque firm of Vogel Campbell & Blueher, P.C. He first appeared with the Desert Chorale in 1990 and has sung a number of Christmas programs, several summer seasons, and as a featured performer for special fundraising events. Other performance credits include engagements with Santa Fe Pro Musica, The Cathedral Church of St. John, Albuquerque, Música Antigua de Albuquerque and the Santa Fe Opera. Future performance plans include a variety of events ranging from cabaret performances to singing the title role in Benjamin Britten’s St. Nicholas Cantata in Chicago.
	CHRISTOHER IHLEFELD, bass (third winter season) received his undergraduate degree in vocal performance from Rollins College. He began his professional singing career early with the Orlando Opera Company in the soprano role of “Shem” in Benjamin Britten’s oratorio Noye’s Fludde. Christopher has performed several major choral works with Santa Fe Pro Musica, Canticum Novum, Coro de Cámara, Sangre de Cristo Chorale, Cara Musica, and New Mexico Pro Coro. This is his twelfth year as cantor and bass section leader at Holy Faith Episcopal Church in Santa Fe. When Christopher is not singing, you’ll find him managing municipal bond portfolios at Thornburg Investment Management Company.
	JON LEE KEENAN, tenor (fourth winter season) holds undergraduate degrees in vocal music education, vocal performance and jazz studies from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is pursuing a Master of Music degree in choral conducting at California State University, Los Angeles and a Masters of Vocal Arts degree at the University of Southern California. Jon sings in the Pacific Chorale and the John Alexander Singers, a select professional ensemble based in Orange County. Jon also performs frequently with the Donald Brinegar Singers and the California Philharmonic Chorus. Recent operatic roles include “Camille” in The Merry Widow and “Tamino” in The Magic Flute. Jon is also a jazz bassist active in the LA jazz scene.
	KENNETH KNIGHT, bass (second winter season) is a native of Texas who received his Bachelor of Arts degree in music theory from Yale University, where he sang with the Yale Glee Club and the Whiffenpoofs. After graduate study at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, Kenneth toured for several seasons with the Norman Luboff Choir. He has performed as chorister and soloist with the Roger Wagner Chorale, the Gregg Smith Singers, the Don Ellis Band, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, American Bach Soloists, and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and also as a cantor for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for ten years. Kenneth currently directs the Santa Fe Men’s Camerata and the Zia Singers and is the co-founder and artistic director of Canticum Novum Chamber Orchestra and Chorus of Santa Fe.
	NATHAN KRUEGER, baritone (third winter season) holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, the University of New Mexico, and is currently finishing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Arizona. Prior to beginning work at the University of Arizona, he was on the voice faculty at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. A extremely active performer, Nathan is a member of the Arizona Opera Chorus and the Tucson Chamber Artists; and has performed roles with L’opera Piccola in Chicago, Opera Southwest, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Chicago Chamber Opera and performed in two productions with the Santa Fe Opera Showcase. In addition to his busy performance schedule, he is active as an Opera Artist in Tucson United School District’s Opening Minds Through the Arts (OMA) program, a nationally recognized arts integration program.
no photo available	JOHN PICCOLINI, tenor (debut winter season) recently moved to Santa Fe from Philadelphia. He was educated as a chemist and massage therapist, but has performed vocally since the mid-1980’s with organizations on the east coast. John has performed with the Westminster Choir under the direction of Kurt Masur, with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchester, and with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Riccardo Muti. He has sung for many years with John Beralot and Steven Sametz of the Princeton Singers, and appears on six of their nine recordings, and with Peter Conte in Philadelphia’s St. Clement’s Church Choir. John also works with the students at St. John’s College in Santa Fe in the performance of Medieval and Renaissance choral music.
	DREA PRESSLEY, alto (third winter season) received her degree in vocal performance from Loyola University New Orleans. She has performed operatic roles with the Opera Festival di Roma, Loyola Opera Theatre, and the New Orleans Opera. She commissioned and performed the world premiere of the cycle Songs of Journey’s End, music by Dr. Christopher Palestrant. She is a staff singer with All Saints’ Church in Beverly Hills. In March, she was a soloist in the Los Angeles premiere of John Tavener’s Lamentations and Praises. Drea also performs with the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
	CATHERINE ROBINSON, alto (fifth winter season) received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Idaho and did graduate study at the University of Washington in choral conducting, voice performance and English/Language Arts. She is currently a candidate for a Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting from California State University, Los Angeles. Catherine has performed leading and supporting roles in opera productions and musical theatre and has sung in solo recitals. In New Mexico, Catherine has performed with Santa Fe Pro Musica, Canticum Novum and the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Chorus. She is the music director and conductor of Coro de Cámara, Director of Choral Ministries at the United Church of Santa Fe, teaches music classes at Desert Academy in Santa Fe, maintains a private voice studio, and was recently hired to teach Applied Voice in the Performing Arts Department at the College of Santa Fe.
	KAY SHERRILL, soprano (debut winter season) has taught choral music for 26 years in the Texas public schools and has been the head choral director at Judson High School since 1998. She received her Bachelor of Music Education from Abilene Christian University and her Masters of Music from Southwest Texas State University where she was the choral assistant for Dr. Kenneth Fulton. Kay is active as a choral conductor, clinician and adjudicator. She has sung professionally with Conspirare and the San Antonio Chamber Choir.
	ROBERT C. SMITH, bass (fifth winter season) currently teaches at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, having formerly served on the faculties of the University of Vermont and the University of New Mexico. Recent performances have included the American premiere of Dame Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald, the American premiere of Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’s Canticum Calimatis Maritimae, and the world premiere of Libby Larsen’s Barnum’s Bird at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. He performed with VocalEssence in 1999 and 2002 at the World Symposium of Music on Choral Music, and has appeared live on Belgium Radio, Radio France, NPR, and the BBC.
	RACHEL TAULBEE, soprano (debut winter season) holds a degree in music education with a minor in psychology from Fort Lewis College. She has been a member of and a soloist with the Fort Lewis Concert and Chamber Choirs, the Durango Women’s Choir, and the Durango Choral Society. Rachel has performed with the Fort Lewis Jazz Ensemble and the Durango Youth Symphony. She made her professional debut with the Desert Chorale during this summer’s 25th Anniversary Season. The Four Corners native recently performed excerpts of Lou Harrison’s La Koro Sutro with the FLC Mallet Ensemble at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention this year.
	ANDREAS TISCHHAUSER, tenor (fifth winter season) received his education at Wichita State University, University of Colorado-Boulder, Florida State University, and the Cincinnati Conservatory. He enjoys an active performance career as an orchestral flutist and soloist as well as an actor and singer in music theater and opera. Andreas has held positions as the principal flutist with the Cincinnati Civic Orchestra and the Santa Fe Symphony and most recently was a finalist in the Myrna Brown Competition in 2005. As a singer, he has performed with the Santa Fe Opera and the Central City Opera Company. Andreas is currently a professor of music at Fort Lewis College in Durango where he teaches music technology in conjunction with a music business degree.
	KAY WILEY, alto (second winter season) is a soloist/section leader at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church and Temple Emanu-El in Tucson. She also performs with Tucson Chamber Artists and the American Bach Series at All Saints Episcopal Church, Phoenix. Kay performed and recorded with the Phoenix Bach Choir from 1994-2006 and has sung many years with the Carnegie Hall Festival Chorus. She has performed with professional chamber choirs and symphony choruses in Albuquerque, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Norfolk, VA. Kay is a speech-language pathologist in private practice and publishes and presents frequently to international conferences on rehabilitation of the performance voice.