Doreen Kelly Alsen is the proud owner of a varied and extremely checkered musical past. She graduated magna cum laude from Barrington College with a Bachelor's degree in Music Education, and followed that up with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Ithaca College. She studied conducting with Alfred Smith, Frank Marinaccio and Larry Doebler. Her voice teachers include Rosamund Wadsworth, Ed Doucette, Carol McAmis, Gary Race and Peter Sicilian, as well as master classes in Vienna, Austria with Kammersängerin Sena Jurinac. In addition to leading the Finger Lakes Women's Chorale, Doreen teaches singing at the Community School of Music and Arts in Ithaca, NY. She's been an active member of the CSMA faculty since 1985. She has sung featured roles for the Ithaca Opera, the Cabot Street Light Opera (Providence, RI) and the Rhode Island Gilbert and Sullivan Society. While living in Trier, Germany, Doreen taught American musical theater at the Universität Trier, as well as giving a series of lectures and recitals on the connections between American composers and poets.

As the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for the Finger Lakes Women's Chorale, Doreen is devoted to the cause of excellence in performance of the rich and varied catalog of treble choral literature. Check out the Chorale's website at www.flwcithaca.org. The chorale is changing its name to Bella Voce, a chamber vocal group. Look for our December concert, Happy Holidays with Bella Voce!

Doreen is the Music Director for All Saints Church in Lansing, NY as well as St. Anthony Church in Groton. Between the two churches, she conducts four choirs!

Doreen is a member of the Romance Writers of America, the Southern Tier Authors of Romance and the ESPAN online chapter of RWA. Her first book, MIKE'S BEST BET was released on March 26, 2010, and her second, WHAT IAN WANTS, was released on June 24, 2010from The Wild Rose Press, www.thewildrosepress.com. She's waiting for a publishing date for the third book in the At the End Zone series, Charming Dave. She's busy researching and writing her next book, NO HOPE IN HELL, about two chefs in love! Check out her blog, www.doreenalsen.blogspot.com and her brand new website www.doreenalsen.com for more info on her books, booksignings and musings about being a romance writer!

Every summer, Doreen writes the scripts for the very successful CSMA teen musical theater program, Star Search, and serves as its musical director. She is a faculty representative to the CSMA Board of Directors.

Dr. Janet Galván, Professor of Music at Ithaca College, conducts the Ithaca College Women’s Chorale, the Ithaca College Chorus, and is Artistic Director of the Ithaca Children’s Choir. Her New York colleagues recognized Dr. Galván’s contribution to choral music in 1995 when she received the ACDA New York Outstanding Choral Director Award. In 2011, she founded the adult ensemble, UNYC (pronounced “unique”). The ensemble made its debut with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra in a performance of Handel’s Messiah.

Galván has conducted national, regional, and all-state choruses throughout the United States in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Washington's Constitution Hall, Minneapolis’s Symphony Hall, Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall, and Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. She has conducted her own choral ensembles in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall as well as in concert halls in Ireland, Italy, and Spain. She has conducted the chamber orchestra, Virtuosi Pragneses the State Philharmonic of Bialystok, Poland, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Madrid Chamber Orchestra, and the New England Symphonic Ensemble in choral/orchestral performances. Galván was the sixth national honor choir conductor for ACDA, and was the conductor of the North American Children's Choir which performed annually in Carnegie Hall from 1995-2007. She was also a guest conductor for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Dr. Galván has been a guest conductor and clinician in the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, and Brazil as well as national and regional choral and music education conferences and the World Symposium on Choral Music.

She has two choral music series with the Roger Dean Publishing Company and is the author of chapters in two books, Teaching Music through Performance in Choir, Volume 2 and The School Choral Program: Philosophy, Planning, Organizing and Teaching. She is also the series advisor to Latin Accents, a series with Boosey & Hawkes. Her article on the changing voice was published in the International Federation of Choral Music Journal in August of 2007 and was reprinted in La Circulare del Secretariat de Corals Infantils de Catalunga.

Galván has been recognized as one of the country’s leading conducting teachers, and her students have received first place awards and have been finalists in both the graduate and undergraduate divisions of the American Choral Directors biennial National Choral Conducting Competition. Dr. Galván was a member of the Grammy Award-winning Robert Shaw Festival Singers (Telarc Recordings).

Mason is the director of the Senior Choir and Choraliers in the Ithaca Children's Choir program. Dr. Mason is also an Assistant Professor in Music Education at Ithaca College and currently teaches courses in vocal music education and supervises junior and senior student teachers. She holds degrees from Florida State University (Ph.D., Music Education), Ohio State University (M.M., Vocal Performance) and Capital University (B.M., Music Education). Dr. Mason has also received certification and training in the Kodály Method, Orff-Schulwerk Approach, and Dalcroze-Eurhythmics. Before arriving at Ithaca College, Dr. Mason was a member of the music faculty at Millikin University and Ohio Dominican University. In addition to her work with the Ithaca Children's Choir program, she has also directed Children's Choirs at Millikin University and Florida State University.

Dr. Mason has presented research at state and national conferences including the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE), and the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA). Her research interests include pre-service teachers, current teaching methodologies, the child singing voice, and students with special needs. Dr. Mason was recently published in Update: Applications of Research in Music Education and received the 2009 Outstanding Researcher Award for a Doctoral Dissertation, from the Organization of American Kodály Educators. She has served as adjudicator/clinician for state and regional vocal competitions, choral festivals, and frequently presents workshops on Music in Early Childhood and the Kodály method. In the summer of 2010 Dr. Mason served as Assistant Conductor with the Chorale and Young Men's Chorus as they toured Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague, and in the spring of 2011 was conductor for the Broome County Music Educators Association All-County Elementary Chorus.

Neal Massa is a professional musician with over 35 years of experience and a personal passion for Jazz. Hi main instrument is piano but he also plays bass guitar and sings rock & roll, blues, and jazz. He is the leader of the Neal Massa Jazz Piano Trio and a member of many local bands. Neal has traveled the world as a musician: to Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, California, St. Louis, and most of the Eastern United States. Neal has performed with some rock & roll stars of the past and some Jazz greats including Cab Calloway, David Sanborn, Chuck Berry, Paul Butterfield, Harvey Brooks, Eric Parker, Bo Didley, Martha Reeves, Robbie Dupree, Steve Brown and Walter White, to name a short list. Neal has settled in Ithaca and loves to work with young musicians on jazz and rock & roll.

see Private Instruction, Guitar

Emily Richards is currently in her final year of study for the Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Music Education at Ithaca College. She has teaching experience with pre-K through 6th grade general music and chorus. She is a former long-time member of the Ithaca Children’s Choir as well as the Ithaca Community Choruses and was a frequent soloist in both groups. She served on the board as the VP of the VOICES Chorus. She studies voice with Patrice Pastore, has performed with the Chorus and Women’s Chorale at Ithaca College and has also performed a solo recital. In addition to her musical background, Ms. Richards has extensive management, promotional and marketing experience.

Troy Robertson is assistant professor of music education at Ithaca College. He conducts the Campus Choral Ensemble and teaches conducting. Before coming to Ithaca, Robertson served as choral director at East Gaston High School in Mount Holly, North Carolina, co-conductor of the Gaston County Choral Ensemble, and associate conductor of the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte. Robertson holds degrees from Florida State University (Ph.D.), the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (M.M.), and Furman University (B.M.Ed.). He has served as clinician and adjudicator in festivals in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.

A tenor, Robertson has performed as soloist with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and Charlotte Chamber Singers, the Tallahassee Ecumenical Chorus, the Prague Choral Festival, and the Festival Singers of Florida. Robertson also composes and arranges for choruses. Ensembles including the Festival Singers of Florida, the Tennessee Tech Chorale, the University of Miami Men’s Glee Club, and the Florida State Singers, Choral Union, and Men’s Glee Club have performed his works. A native of Lawrenceville, Georgia, he is married to Stephanie Robertson, who is completing her psychology degree (Ph.D.), also at Florida State University.

Judy Stock has been a performing musician for over thirty years. Born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin Judy lived in New Orleans for thirteen years, in Texas for one year and now makes her home in Ithaca, New York. Starting with the clarinet as her first instrument she now plays over 20 different instruments from around the world. In all her performances with children she shares many of these instruments along with her love of reading. Judy is committed to keeping folk music and folk instruments in the hearts and minds of children so they can pass it on to their children. Judy shares her talents with educators and students in her workshop “Anyone Can Make Music”. She offers artist residencies to children in songwriting, instrument making and folk music through America's history.

Judy performs for libraries, schools, festivals, churches, organizations, preschools and many other events in Texas, Wisconsin, New York and New Orleans. She has been a regular performer at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival for over ten years. A video of Judy was also featured on a 1998 episode of “Oprah” where she played her nose whistle and spoons. She has released 2 CDs and a DVD that are well loved by children and adults. While living in Sheboygan, Wisconsin she produced and directed a cable television show for preschoolers, “Miss Judy presents: Music and Motion”. This show was awarded the “Award of Excellence” by the 2007 WAPC Video Festival in Madison, Wisconsin.

For more information about Judy please visit her website. www.judystock.com

Amanda Saperstein is a Senior Music Education major at Ithaca College. She has been a member of the Ithaca College Chorus for the past two years and studies voice with Marc Webster. Ms. Saperstein's previous student teaching experience includes teaching music for third and fourth grades at Beverly J. Martin, as well as kindergarten and first grade at Belle Sherman. Amanda also had the pleasure of student teaching Pre- kindergarten at the Immaculate Conception School. She is an active member of the Intergenerational Choir, which is an ensemble comprised of Ithaca College Students and Longview Community residents. Amanda is looking forward to continuing to work in a kindergarten classroom at South Hill Elementary School this year.

ON LEAVE

Lisa Winans began her work with the Ithaca Children’s Choir in 2002 as a pianist collaborator and has been the conductor of Training Choir since 2006. Mrs. Winans earned both her Bachelor and Master Degrees in Vocal Music Education from Ithaca College. She has completed three Choral Music Experience workshops under the direction of Dr. Janet Galván. Mrs. Winans taught middle school and high school vocal music in the Owego Apalachin School District from 2004-2009, where she directed the Concert Choir, Women’s Chorus, and Chamber Singers, as well as taught music theory class and voice lessons. In July of 2008, Mrs. Winans conducted the Concert Choir, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and Chamber Singers at the Eastern U.S. Summer Music Camp at Colgate University. She has prepared students for NYSSMA solo and ensemble festivals, Area All-State Festivals, and ACDA Honor Choirs. She has accompanied many All-County and Area All-State Festivals throughout New York State and teaches private piano lessons in Ithaca. Most recently, Mrs. Winans’ choral students participated in a “Sing With Us!” singing workshop and concert with renowned song leader and Ithaca College graduate, Nick Page.