What is the Huntsville Master Chorale?
The Huntsville Master Chorale is a chamber ensemble dedicated to providing choral excellence for the Tennessee Valley. This group, originally the Eugene Brasher Chorale, was founded in 1998 by Dr. Eugene Brasher, who served as the director until his retirement in December of 2005. Handy Avery then served as Interim Director for the remainder of that year and the name was changed to Huntsville Master Chorale. Tom Dooling was appointed to lead the Chorale in the summer of 2006. Tom served as music director through the spring season of 2009. In June of 2009, Dr. Erin Colwitz became conductor of the ensemble and directed the Chorale for two seasons. HMC will be guided by three guest conductors in the 2011-12 season.
About Our Guest Conductors
Friday, November 4, 7:00 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, 307 Gates Ave SE, Huntsville
Saturday, November 5, 4:00 p.m., Monte Sano Methodist Church, Monte Sano Boulevard, Huntsville
Patricia Hacker, Conductor
Patricia Ramírez Hacker is native of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Since September 2010 she has work as Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, AL. For the past three years she served as Adjunct Professor of Voice at the University of Mobile where she taught diction, vocal literature, and choral conducting.
Patricia has served as conductor and assistant conductor of the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Southern Chorale, University Singers, Chamber Singers and Gulf Coast Civic Chorale. With USM Southern Chorale she had the opportunity to perform at National ACDA, Regional ACDA, and sing world premiere compositions of renowned American composers.
At USM she also taught voice and conducted operas for the outreach program. She has conducted Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) Concert Choir and served as Assistant Conductor for the University Singers and Women’s Ensemble. Alongside of her work in the academic field, she has been a successful church choral conductor.
As a singer she has appeared as a soloist of major choral works, professional opera companies, and as a recitalist in Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, Washington D.C., México, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. In 2010 she appeared as soloist in Carnegie Hall for the world premiere of “An American Requiem” by Edwin Penhorwood. For five consecutive years Patricia won first place on state and regional NATS. She is also winner of the William T. Gower concerto competition.
Patricia is a DMA candidate in Choral Conducting (ABD) from USM. She attained a double Master’s degree in Choral Conducting and Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. Additionally, she received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from SLU.
The November concerts will feature a Haydn Mass in addition to other exciting anthems.
Friday, February 10 and Sunday, February 12 – Time and location To Be Announced
Ian Loeppky, Conductor
Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Ian Loeppky is an Associate Professor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of North Alabama since the fall of 2003. Mr. Loeppky studied at the University of Manitoba, the University of Minnesota, and the College – Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.
He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the Music Educators National Convention, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, the Alabama Vocal Association, the International Federation for Choral Music, Phi Mu Alpha, and Pi Kappa Lambda. Currently he is the Repertoire and Standards Chair for Multicultural Choral Music for the Alabama chapter of ACDA.
Mr. Loeppky directs all four choral ensembles at UNA and teaches undergraduate and graduate choral conducting, choral techniques, and graduate choral literature. In addition, he directs the choir at Trinity Episcopal Church and is founder and artistic director of Florence Camerata.
Ian has also worked as a singer, scholar, conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and arranger in Canada, the United States, and Portugal. He conducted the premiere performance of Haydn’s The Creation in Varna, Bulgaria, and led the World Voices Festival in Costa Rica with Kingsway International in the spring of 2011. He is a frequent contributor to the Choral Journal and the Alabama Reprise.
Friday, April 27 and Sunday, April 29 – Time and locations To Be Announced
Shane Kennedy, Conductor
Shane Kennedy is the Worship & Fine Arts Associate as Trinity United Methodist Church in Huntsville since August 2002. A native of Folly Beach, South Carolina, he has a Masters of Music degree from Belmont University in Nashville in vocal performance and church music.
Mr. Kennedy directs the handbell and youth music ministries at Trinity. He leads two adult bell choirs, one youth bell choir, the Trinity Handbell quartet, the Trinity Singers youth choir, and the Trinity Youth Praise Band. He has served as an officer with the Tennessee Valley Handbell Association, and is the current president and associate artistic director of the Heritage Ringers, Huntsville’s community handbell choir.
Previously, Mr. Kennedy sang in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus from 1997—2002 under Robert Shaw and Norman Mackenzie. As an accomplished tenor, he has sung lead tenor roles in Mozart’s Magic Flute and Lehar’s The Merry Widow with Belmont Opera Theater, Mozart’s Requiem with the Huntsville Symphony in 2005, and numerous performances of Handel’s Messiah for local churches. Most recently Mr. Kennedy sang the role of Max Detweiller in Theater Huntsville’s 2010 production of The Sound of Music.
About Our Accompanists
Sharon Keffer is the Minister of Music at Huntsville First Church of the Nazarene, where she has served for over thirteen years. She is actively involved in the community as an accompanist and is in her fourth season of accompanying the Huntsville Master Chorale. Several schools in the area including Mountain Gap Middle School, The Academy for Academics and Arts, Stone Middle School and Hazel Green High School have engaged Sharon as an accompanist for various concerts, district and state festivals and solo and ensemble competitions. In addition, she works in the band room at Mountain Gap Middle School where she provides administrative support for a program of over two hundred students. In her spare time Sharon enjoys being a band mom at Grissom High School where her youngest child plays in the Symphonic I and Marching Tiger Bands. She also likes biking, cooking and volunteering in the soccer and basketball programs at her church.
Dr. Frank Contreras is a member of the music faculty at Oakwood University and is the organist at both Temple B’Nai Sholom and First Presbyterian Church here in Huntsville. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from West Virginia University, his Master of Music degree from East Carolina University, and his Bachelor of Music degree from Millikin University. He has also studied at The Royal School of Church Music and the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He holds the Artist’s Diploma from the American College of Musicians. As a soloist, Frank has performed with the Huntsville Symphony on several occasions.