About the Choir |
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STAFF |
 | | Robyn Reeves Lana Founder, Managing Artistic Director | CCC’s Founder/Managing Artistic Director and Conductor of Bel Canto and Lyric Choirs, earned both Bachelor and Master degrees in Music Education from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. With a focus in Choral Conducting, Mrs. Lana earned a Cognate in Voice under Miss Jeanine Philippe and studied extensively with Dr. John Leman and Dr. Karen Wolff, as well as Dr. Earl Rivers and Dr. Elmer Thomas. Level III Orff-Schulwerk Certified, she has done post-graduate work with Henry Leck at Butler University.
Mrs. Lana began her training with children’s choirs under Dr. Karen Wolff, Founder of the CCM Children’s Choir, in 1983 and continued her work in the program until 1993 when she founded the Cincinnati Children's Choir. An experienced general music specialist in public and private schools, she has also worked in churches with musicians of all ages and has taught voice privately.
Mrs. Lana has prepared choirs for performance with the Cincinnati Symphony, the Cincinnati Pops, the Vocal Arts Ensemble, the Cincinnati May Festival, a Broadway Touring Company, international festivals and CCM choirs and orchestras. In addition to preparing the choir for three compact disc releases, Mrs. Lana has prepared them for two Telarc label recordings with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Erich Kunzel.
Mrs. Lana is a sought after children’s choir clinician/conductor and has presented techniques for educating and performing chamber music for young children at the Chamber Music America National Convention. Presently, she devotes her professional life to the growth, development, and artistry of CCC, teaches general music at the Montessori Academy of Cincinnati, and is Educational Coordinator/Hostess for the Linton Chamber Music Series’ Peanut Butter and Jam Sessions, a Post Corbett Award winning classical music concert series for preschool age children.
Mrs. Lana is published in the American Choral Director's Association's (ACDA) Choral Journal, Choristers Guild's The Chorister, and Chamber Music America's CMA Matters. She has served the Ohio Choral Director's Association (OCDA) as Children's Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair developing and implementing the first state children's honor choir in Ohio and ACDA's Central Division as the Children's Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair. She continues to serve OCDA as Chair of the Honor Choir and is presently serving ACDA as the National Children's Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair. Mrs. Lana is a member of Chorus America, MENC, AOSA, and IFCM. rrlana@cincinnatichoir.org |
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 | | Lisa Houser Executive Director | Lisa Houser comes to the choir as a Parent Volunteer turned Choir Employee. After four years as a choir parent, she joined the staff. Lisa's work as an Event Coordinator for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and a Convention Coordinator for various hotels in Louisville, Kentucky, gives her the background for what she does with the choir.
As the Executive Director for the choir, she serves as an administrative assistant to the choir directors, handles the day to day communications with families, keeps the rosters current, manages short trips and tours for the choirs, and most recently, she managed WORLDSONG 2005, our international children's choir event with choirs from Taiwan and Venezuela in attendance. lhouser@cincinnatichoir.org |
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 | | Kathleen Maguire Assistant Director | Kathleen Maguire is Associate Director of the Cincinnati Children's Choir and conductor of Jubilate Choir. Miss Maguire is entering her fourth year on the Choral Conducting Faculty of Anderson High School and Nagel Middle
School in the Forest Hills School District where she works with choirs ranging from Seventh Grade Girls' Choruses to the select Anderson High School A Cappella Chamber Choir. Miss Maguire will be serving on the faculty of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan and has taught vocal artistry for several years at the CCC Festival.
Kathleen Maguire remains an active performer in the areas of choral music, solo singing and musical theatre. Miss Maguire proudly serves as a professional singer in the Cathedral Choir and Faburden Choir at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Cincinnati. Most recently, Miss Maguire has performed in community theatre roles including Maria in "The Sound of Music" and Eliza in "My Fair Lady." She has also worked as a music/vocal director for many musical theatre productions both in the Forest Hills School District and with community theatre organizations.
Miss Maguire is an active member of the Ohio Music Educator's Association (OMEA), Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI) music fraternity for women, and the American Choral Director's Association (ACDA) where she has served as Ohio's
Children's Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair. Kathleen is currently the co-chair of the OMEA District 14 High School Honor Choir and is the Southwest Regional Chair for the Ohio All-State Choir in 2008.
A Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2004, Kathleen earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education with a concentration in voice. Miss Maguire earned her Orff-Schulwerk Certification, Levels I and II, under Rene Boyer and currently studies voice with Chrissy Hrivnak. As an undergraduate student, Miss Maguire earned CCM's John Leman Award in 2003 in recognition of choral
excellence. Before joining the CCC conducting staff, Miss Maguire served as an intern under Robyn Lana with the Bel Canto choir. Miss Maguire is also a graduate of the Children's Chorus of Washington under the direction of Joan Gregoryk. kmaguire@cincinnatichoir.org |
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 | | Kelly Ann Westgate Assistant Director | Kelly Ann Westgate is Associate Director of the Cincinnati Children's Choir and Conductor of Girl Choir and Preparatory Choir. Most recently, Kelly Ann served as Associate Director of Choirs at Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Presently, she is a doctoral candidate at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she has been awared a Graduate Assistantship in Music Education and will assist with conducting the UC Women's Chorus. She is also proud to be a member of the Vocal Arts Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Earl Rivers, conductor of children's choirs at Knox Presbyterian Church, and Coordinator of Linton Chamber Music's Peanut Butter and Jam Sessions. Kelly Ann has served as Director of Choirs at Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, Michigan as well as an adjunct faculty member at Western Michigan University where she directed “Gold Company II,” an integral part of WMU’s internationally acclaimed vocal jazz program. In addition, Kelly Ann served as the Co- Manager of the Michigan School Vocal Music Association’s (MSVMA) District 6. She received both her Bachelor of Music degree in Choral Music Education her Master of Music degree in Music Education from Western Michigan University. Kelly Ann is an active member of the American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA), the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE), the Ohio Music Educator’s Association (OMEA) and MENC. She has served as a clinician for the WMU Vocal Jazz Invitational, Lakeland Fine Arts Festival, Lutheran Fine Arts Festival, and the Snider High School Jazz Invitational in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She has presented a session to first year choir directors at the MSVMA Early Careers Conference as well as serving as the chairperson for the Southwest Michigan Vocal Festival. In 2005, Kelly Ann was awarded the Carolyn Leep Scholarship from MSVMA to aid in her continuing education. In that same year, she was selected by her peers from around the state of Michigan to be the 2008 Middle School SA State Honors Choir Director. In 2005, the Lakeshore Chorale was selected as one of three high school choirs in Michigan to perform at the ACDA State Conference, and the women of Lakeshore Choirs were honored with an invitation to perform with Dr. Nancy Menk and Gwyneth Walker at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Kelly Ann is proud to be on the conducting and teaching staffs of Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Interlochen All-State Camp, and Western Michigan University’s Seminar Music Camp. She has previously served as the music director of the summer entertainment group the “Schussycats” at Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire, Michigan. kawestgate@cincinnatichoir.org |
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