THE ENSEMBLE

The chronological, geographical, and vocational makeup of MUSICA is as multifaceted as its repertoire. Age has no limit for these singers from late twenties to . . . well we stopped asking. With more than half of the group over thirty, the sound is full, rich and mature. As Mark Munson, Associate Professor of Music and former President of Ohio Choral Directors Association (OCDA) put it “Such high quality is not necessarily the norm for adult ensembles of this sort.”

Day jobs of the singers include: teachers, business owners, grant and technical writers, an information technology specialist, a painting contractor, and a few domestic goddesses.  The group members are just like the people you see at the office  or pass on the street, coming together every Tuesday night at Westminster Presbyterian Church in the heart of Dayton, OH to become They come from all across the Miami Valley to rehearse and polish their vocal skills for their next performance.

MUSICA concerts are as multifaceted as their personalities.  Repertoires includes music from all genres, and venues can be as elaborate as the Gothic Cloisters at the Dayton Art Institute or as intimate as a private party in the home of a faithful patron.

“It was a varied program. There is something for everybody…..They are so well-trained-it’s just a joy to listen to them. They produce some fantastic sounds!”

Bruce George, the President & Founder of the Troy Mayors’ Concert, Inc.

Put our next concert date on your calendar and plan to join us!

Soprano

Andrea Kline Boothe

Andrea Kline Boothe

Andrea Boothe is a magna cum laude graduate of Radford University (Radford, VA) with a degree in Voice Performance. She is a certified music educator and has enjoyed teaching middle and high school choir. Locally, Andrea has been a member of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus and has performed for the Dayton Philharmonic Volunteer Association’s annual Designers’ Show House and Gardens. This season she will be featured singing the National Anthem for the Dayton Dragons. Andrea has sung with the Roanoke Opera and Roanoke Symphony Orchestra in Virginia and in 2004 participated in an international choir festival in Yekaterinburg Russia. As a soprano soloist she has been featured in Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Francis Poulenc’s Gloria, and John Rutter’s Gloria. Andrea currently lives in Dayton with her husband and daughter. The 2011-2012 season is her first season with MUSICA.

Marly Coldiron

MarlyC

Marly Coldiron is a 2011 graduate of Hanover College (Hanover, IN) with a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology and English. A Dayton native, she has returned home seeking a career in museums and non-profit organizations with plans to earn a Master’s degree in museum studies in the future. At Hanover, she was a member of both college choral ensembles and took private voice lessons, presenting several recitals, numerous solos, and performing as the featured vocal soloist at the annual event, President Honors the Arts. Prior to college, she was a member of the Kettering Children’s Choir and participated in various other musical and theatrical performances in the Dayton area. The 2011-2012 season is Marly’s first with MUSICA.

Elyse Fenstermacher

Elyse Adjusted

Soprano/Alto Elyse grew up in the Miami Valley and graduated from Oakwood High School. She went on to pursue a degree in Art History from St. Olaf College in Minnesota and was a member of the famed St. Olaf choir for 3 years, touring all over the United States as well as in the UK and Ireland. Elyse loves poetry, art and music and has a passion for art provenance, the research of the history of ownership of works of art– especially of art that was looted during World War II. Elyse currently sings in the choir of Lutheran Church of Our Savior with several other Musica! members. She also speaks French and can make a sound exactly like a trumpet. 2010-2011 is Elyse’s first season singing with MUSICA.

Diane Gentner
Diane received a Bachelor of Music Education from Mary Hardin Baylor college in Belton, Texas
and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
She has been married to Frank for 40 years and they have two grown daughters as
well as a son and daughter-in-law who are the parents of their beautiful granddaughter, Maddie.
Diane has sung with the San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers and Opera Chorus, and with
Dayton Bach Society. The Gentners have lived in the Dayton area for over 30 years.
Diane loves reading, and other hobbies include; sewing, needle crafts and quilting. Diane is
an active volunteer and sings in the choir at St. George’s Episcopal Church.  She’s been a
teacher, church choir director, business manager, office manager and retail store manger.
One of the founding members of Musica! She says, “I feel incredibly blessed to have been a part of
Musica! It has been a wonderful musical experience to grow with this group. All the people who
have sung with Musica! over the years have enriched my life – even Dean.”

Megan Rehberg


Megan Rehberg joinedMusica! at the start 2010-2011 season. A cum laude graduate of Knox College (Galesburg, Illinois), she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, and was a member and frequent soloist with the Knox College Choir and Knox College Chamber Singers. While at Knox, she also sang with Nova Singers, the region’s professional choir, and was a soloist for the Galesburg Community Chorus. Law school brought her to Ohio; she is a 2009 graduate of the University of Dayton. In addition to Musica! , she sings with the Dayton Opera Chorus, and studies with Dr. David Sievers. She works at UD as the Faculty Research Administrator. In her free time, she volunteers with the law school, and is the Vice President of the Musica! Board of Trustees.

Alto

Sheila Hart Brown

Originally from New York, Sheila graduated from Bard College with a degree in English Literature, then moved to Ohio when husband Cliff accepted a teaching position at Wittenberg University. She took several music classes at Wittenberg and began singing with some of the University vocal ensembles, including: Kalliope, a small Early Music group which also performed Renaissance dances; Chamber Singers, an SATB group which toured in Seoul, South Korea and Kyoto, Japan; and The Wittenberg Singers, an advanced women’s ensemble which is planning a trip to Germany in Spring 2012 with the Wittenberg Choir. Sheila has also sung with the Springfield Symphony Chorale since it was formed, performing such major works as the Vivaldi Gloria, the Haydn Lord Nelson Mass, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.

Aside from the performing and visual arts, Sheila’s other main passion is working with animals. She bred, raised and showed Egyptian Arabian horses for many years, and now works with Therapy and Service dogs. She is the proud mother of daughter Jessalyn.

Sheila is new to Musica! for the 2011-2012 season, and is really looking forward to singing with such a talented and accomplished group.

 

Susan Daly

Susan Daly and her family moved to the Dayton area in 2003 courtesy of the
United States Air Force. She heard her first Musica! concert in 2005 and,
enchanted with the style and variety of the group, decided to audition (with
a little encouragement from her good friend Diane Gentner). The 2009-10
season will be her fifth season with the group. She has been a trustee on
the Musica! board since 2007 and is the president of the board for the
2010-11 season. She has sung as a chorus member with the Dayton Opera and
is a member of the choir of St. George’s Episcopal Church (Dayton, Ohio).

Akiko started singing at an early age growing up in a house that sang karaoke all the time, but her interest in music really began while she lived in Japan for 3 years. That’s where she found her love for piano music and singing. Moving back to the United States at age 11 she began taking piano and voice lessons to become a better musician. After high school, she studied theater at OSU and took voice and speech classes at Clark State. During the past 10 years Akiko has served on the board of the Springfield Civic Theater and performed in a number of musical productions such as: My Fair Lady, Godspell, Little Shop of Horrors, and Into The Woods.Currently, Akiko can be found singing with the Wittenberg Singers, an all-female choir directed by Dr. Adam Con, and the Springfield Symphony Chorale directed by Basil Fett. Akiko works as a Late fee Specialist at Assurant and enjoys her free time dining out, traveling, taking pictures, hiking and playing with her cat, Caellum.

Harriet is one of several teachers in the ensemble. She teaches High School German
in Monroe, Ohio and is currently pursuing an Ohio Teaching Endorsement for
Teaching English as a Second Language. She enjoys traveling to Europe every
other summer with her German students. Harriet earned a Bachelor of Music
degree from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and a Masters in Education from
Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio). She has sung with Bach Society of
Dayton and the Dayton Philharmonic Chorus. And in her spare time Harriet
enjoys gardening, working on house projects, reading, and keeping up with
the activities of her 20-something twins Janet and Daniel.

Loraine Simard

Loraine grew up in Beecher Falls, Vermont, on the Canadian border, speaking French. In the first grade, she started singing solos in church. She then sang at weddings to earn money for college. Her sophomore year, she studied at the University of Nice, France. While there, she received a scholarship in voice from the Conservatory of Nice. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont in French Studies, with a voice background. After her commission in the United States Air Force, Loraine became an aircraft maintenance officer. She earned a Master’s of Science Degree in International Logistics from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the Air War College at Air University in Montgomery AL. She retired as a Colonel, after 30 years in the Air Force. Loraine has sung the National Anthem at various national, state, civic and sports functions. She has sung jazz professionally in numerous venues. Most recently, Loraine has sung the National Anthem for the Dayton Gems. Loraine currently works at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. In her free time, she enjoys flying with Civil Air Patrol and traveling with her beloved spouse, Archie. She has two lovely cats, Simone and Bob.

Tenor

Frank Gentner

photo coming soon From an Episcopal boy’s choir soprano soloist, then teenage alto, to a tenor in the University of Florida Choir that opened the Florida Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair, Frank has always enjoyed singing classical music. In his first military assignment, he joined the San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers, where he met his wife Diane. They sang operas with Beverly Sills, Richard Tucker, and other opera greats. A most unique Mastersinger performance was singing the opera Carmen in the Monterrey, Mexico Bull Rink with a real bull fight during the fourth act! When the Air Force brought Frank and his family to Dayton in 1986, he sang with the Dayton Bach Society, then Dayton Philharmonic Chorus. In the mid 1990s, he and Diane sang across Europe with the Cincinnati International Chorale, under director John Lehman. Since its inception he’s been a strong Musica! supporter and now retired, has more time to devote to the Musica! literature.During his 23-year Air Force career, Frank was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, serving as a Behavior Scientist and Scientific Manager who specialized in training, acquisition, and human systems integration. Next he worked 15 years for the University of Dayton Research Institute as a principal investigator, managing human systems and training research projects. Most recently, for Virtual Simulation and Training, he assisted the Air Force Simulators Division in developing requirements for the Aircrew and Maintainer Training Systems of the new aerial tanker aircraft, the KC-46.

This is Sean Hurley’s first season singing tenor with Musica! Sean Hurley is currently the Choir Director for Brookville Local Schools. This is his forth year teaching choir in Brookville with a program of over 400 students. Sean attended Miami University for Music Education with a focus in choir and studied voice with Alison Acord. While attending Miami University, Sean was part of the Miami University Men’s Glee Club and was also student conductor of this group for 2 years. Sean was also a member and the director of an a capella group named The Cheezies while at Miami. Sean is no stranger to the stage and has played roles such as: Jekyll and Hyde in “Jekyll and Hyde”, Father in “Children of Edan”, Professor Callahan in “Legally Blonde”, Tony in “Westside Story”, Joe Hardy in “Damn Yankees”, Thenardier in “Les Miserables” and has directed and vocally directed musicals such as “Chicago”, “Grease”, “Annie”, and “Footloose”.

bio coming soon

 

 

 

 

 

Tim Magill

Tim began his involvement in choral singing at the age four, while pretending to sing
in Beethoven’s Ninth symphony with the Pittsburgh Mendelssohn Choir (his parents
actually did). Following a move to Cincinnati, he grew up with the May Festival, and
joined the chorus, this time for real, upon graduation from college. He sang with the
May Festival for several years, acquiring many wonderful memories and a greatly
deepened love for music. He joined Musica! in 2000, and feels that this has been
a delightful journey with many more memories and friends acquired along with way.
Tim straddles baritone and tenor for Musica!, and serves on the board. He is the proud
parent of four children. Tim’s current day job is a data warehouse architect and developer.

Jerry has been an elementary general music teacher with Troy City Schools (Ohio) for 22 years. He has directed more than 20 musicals at both the elementary and the high school levels, the latest of which were Tom Sawyer, Dreams, and Bye,Bye Birdie. He has a great passion for the musical theater, whether as a director, a cast member (Godspell, The Wiz, 1776), or being in the audience. Jerry has directed and has sung with several church choirs in the region: Zion Lutheran (Tipp City, Ohio), Oakland Presbyterian (Springfield, Ohio), and St. John’s Lutheran (Vandalia, Ohio). He currently sings at Lutheran Church of Our Savior (Dayton, Ohio). Jerry earned his BME from Newberry College in South Carolina, and attended the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati for a year of graduate studies. He earned his masters degree from Vandercook College of Music in Chicago. Jerry also has 4 mischievous cats (Glinda, Rocky, Smidget, & Julius), loves to play games and has definite affinity for traveling, cooking, and eating out. He has been a tenor with Musica! since 2000.

Bass

Gary Brooks

Gary earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Arts in Art Education,
Master of Arts in Educational Administration, a Doctorate in
Educational Leadership at the University of Cincinnati, and completed
post-doctoral work with the Harvard Change Institute. A former
art teacher, Gary once worked as a studio artist for John A. Ruthven,
one of the world’s leading wildlife artists. He is currently employed as a
public school superintendent in Southwest Ohio. A lifelong Buckeye,
Gary is married to his high school sweetheart, Margaret.

Dan joined Musica! at the end of the 2008-2009 season.
A life long Daytonian, he attended Dayton Public Schools
and graduated from Colonel White H.S. Dan has had numerous
engagements with the Dayton Philharmonic Chorus during
Clark Haines era and with The Dayton Opera Chorus from
1997-2003. He now sings at The Lutheran Church of
Our Savior under the direction of his wife, Ginger.
He’s the other tall guy in the back row.

Kurt, an original member of Musica! , has a varied singing history on the concert and
theater stage and as a church soloist. He has sung with Miami University Men’s Glee
Club, Dayton Philharmonic Chorus, and Dayton Bach Society. Performances include
productions with Opera Funatics, Wright State Opera Workshop and Dayton
Playhouse. Kurt is a retired Dayton School teacher and currently self-employed
interior and exterior painter. In addition to volunteering at Dayton Children’s and
Miami Valley Hospitals he enjoys biking, hiking and gardening.

 

 

Joe Young

Photo coming soon ~ Joe Young graduated in 2011 from Sinclair Community College with a degree in Biotechnology, but realizing that music is cooler than science, is currently studying Vocal Performance at Sinclair. He is active in the college’s choirs, having performed as a soloist for various choral works. He is also singing with the Dayton Opera Chorus and Schubert Choral Society, and enjoys the opportunity to perform as a guest soloist at various churches in the Dayton area. Joe is still relatively new to the world of voice, having started his first voice lessons at Sinclair in 2009, but finds himself enjoying the experience greatly. When he is not drowning in sheet music, he finds himself listening to Schubert, hiking, reading and wishing that he was a true bass.