About The Huntsville Master Chorale
Leadership
Patricia Ramirez Hacker, Artistic Director
Dr. Hacker was appointed Artistic Director of the Huntsville Master Chorale in 2012. In 2010, she moved to Huntsville to serve as Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church. She also serves as Adjunct Professor of Voice at Oakwood University. Dr. Hacker has gained recognition not only as a conductor, but also as a clinician, adjudicator, vocal coach and singer.
With the Huntsville Master Chorale, as part of the new commissioned choral works series, she has conducted world premieres of pieces from renowned composers such Michael John Trotta, Evelyn Pursley-Kopitske, Andrew Marshall, Hal H. Hopson, J.D. Frizzell, Emma Lou Diemer, Holland Hopson, Bryan Page, Susan Calvin Fletcher, Adriana Perera, and Dennis Clements, among others.
In 2019, her choirs performed in Rome, Florence and at the St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. In 2017, HMC singers along with FPC Chancel Choir performed at the magnificent St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. In 2015, the HMC, under Dr. Hacker’s direction, performed at the Alabama American Choral Director’s Association summer conference. As clinician, she has worked with several Madison County choirs (middle and high school) including Madison County and Huntsville All City Choral Festivals. She has served as clinician and presented master classes at the National School of Music and Victoriano Lopez School of Music in her native country, Honduras.
Sharon Keffer, Accompanist
Rev. Sharon Keffer has been accompanist for the Huntsville Master Chorale since 2002. As an ordained minister, she served as a worship pastor for over twenty-five years and is presently the Assistant District Superintendent for the Alabama North District Church of the Nazarene. Sharon also has undergraduate degrees in Biology, Chemistry, and Secondary Education, but her career as an accompanist began in the eighth grade when she played for her middle school choir concert.
Sharon has accompanied school choirs in the area, including Mountain Gap Middle School, The Academy for Academics and Arts, Hazel Green High School, Buckhorn High School, Sparkman Ninth, Sparkman High School, and Randolph School. She has served as an accompanist for the Madison County Honor Choir Festival for over ten years. She has also been part of the pit orchestra for several musicals at Grissom and Huntsville High Schools and a summer musical with Huntsville Community Chorus Association. Her involvement in music has included working as an administrative assistant for a middle school band program and announcing for The Brass Band of Huntsville.
Sharon is married to Dr. Charles Keffer, a senior research scientist, and they have three married children. Though Sharon appreciates all opportunities to contribute to the community through music and ministry, being “Grammy” to her six grands is her most delightful calling.
Board of Directors
Linda McAllister, President
Betty Augsburger, Past President
Rebecca Caine, Vice President/ PR/Fundraising
Karen Madison, Treasurer
Elaine Hamner, Secretary
Members at Large
Elsie Peterson, Library
Donna De Franco Clark, Education
Sherry Boyer, PR/Mosaic/Festival
Jeanne McKenzie, Development
Peter Allen, Development
Bill Love, Development
Jodie Clements, Mosaic/Fundraising
Jennifer Post, Mosaic/Fundraising