Cathy Lewis, Alto
Alto Cathy Lewis joined The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus for the 2018-2019 Season, having just moved to Santa Fe from the Bay Area with her husband Jon and their two cats. Her choral singing experience began in Portland, Maine, with her temple’s youth choir. After moving to California, Cathy joined the San Francisco Lyric Chorus, and sang with the choirs of Trinity Episcopal Church in San Francisco and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Belvedere. In 2010, she joined the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Her eight seasons there included dozens of performances, led by Michael Tilson Thomas and guest conductors such as Charles Dutoit, James Conlon, Ton Koopman, and Andras Schiff. Cathy has also sung with the San Francisco Festival Chorus at the Grand Teton Music Festival and participated in the Berkshire Choral Festival in Canterbury, U.K. Choral singing is a source of great joy for Cathy, and she is delighted to be a part of The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus.
Carolyn Ives, Soprano
Carolyn Ives began singing at age 5 in the Children’s Church Choir, in Duluth Minnesota, where her father was minister. Her adult years took her away from singing as she pursued a career in psychology. In 1997, she moved to Santa Fe and joined the choir at Santa Fe Community College and soon after, The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus. For Carolyn, singing in performances of Handel’s Messiah are a marvelous experience of shared joy with Santa Fe’s enthusiastic and appreciative audiences. “Being a member of the chorus is extremely rewarding,” she says, “and I was delighted when the opportunity arose to give something back by becoming a Council member and Chorus Librarian.”
Doug Escue, Tenor
Doug has sung with The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus since moving to the city in 1991. He and his wife, Laura, and their two sons, Nathan and Samuel, came to Santa Fe when Doug was called to serve as pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church. He has enjoyed singing all his life. “I consider it a privilege to sing and support The Santa Fe Symphony and Chorus. For me, singing Handel’s Messiah is nothing less than a spiritual experience! God bless the tenors—the backbone of every good chorus!”
Patricia Emerson, Alto
With parents who both played instruments and sang in church choirs, it was natural that Pat began harmonizing with her Mom early in life. Pat played piano and clarinet as a youth, but reports that she began singing “officially” in a bicentennial chorus in Maine, when she became—in her words, “a singing fool.” In Sacramento, California, Pat sang in three choruses, including the Sacramento Choral Society, where she also served as its first board president. Since retiring and moving back to her native New Mexico, she has been active in Santa Fe’s music community, serving a term on the board of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra (plus singing its every-other-year chorus), and singing in Coro Santa Fe, Zia Singers and The Symphony Chorus. Now in her second term on the Chorus Council, Pat is excited to see the chorus grow in size and musical excellence.
Connie Cummins
Connie Cummins has been a choral musician since 1988. In Denver, she sang with the Cherry Creek Chorale and the Colorado Chorale until moving to Durango, Colo., where she sang with the Durango Choral Society and at summer festivals such as Music in the Mountains. Connie moved to Santa Fe in 2014 and has been singing with The Santa Fe Symphony and Chorus ever since. She has performed at Carnegie Hall twice—once perform Brahms’s Requiem with the Cherry Creek Chorale and again in 2009 to perform Mozart’s Requiem under the direction of John Rutter. In 2010 she performed in Europe—in Budapest, Bratislava, and Prague—with the Durango Choral Society, under the direction of Dr. Linda Mack.
Jacqueline Bell
Singing has always been my passion in life. When I am singing, in any setting, I feel like the world is a better place. In addition to being a member of The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, I am a member of the Young Voices of The Santa Fe Opera. The Young Voices has increased my adoration for music, and has been essential in refining my voice and repertoire. I have been in choir every year since fourth grade. I attended the All State mixed choir for two years in a row, and I’ve been to many honor choirs, masterclasses, and clinics. Last summer I attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, where I got to sing with John Williams and the Boston Pops.
David Beatty, Bass-Baritone
David Beatty was born and raised in Albuquerque, where he attended Sandia High School and was first introduced to music theory and composition through an extracurricular class offered by his choir director. He pursued undergraduate studies in music at Indiana University and at Eastern New Mexico University and pursued graduate studies at Oklahoma City University. Throughout his career, he has taught and performed in a number of areas: voice, piano, organ, music theory, composition. Since moving back to New Mexico, David now serves as Associate Musician at First Presbyterian Church, where he also sings in the Chancel Choir and plays in the Handbell Choir. Since 2013, David has been a contract singer with The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus and a member of the Opera Southwest chorus in Albuquerque.
Gabriel Gabaldon, Tenor
Gabriel Gabaldon is the Pastoral Associate of Liturgy at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, where he has served as cantor/soloist for more than 15 years. In addition to having served as tenor section leader in The Santa Fe Symphony Chorus, Mr. Gabaldon has sung in choirs that have performed for his Holiness Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica and he has performed three times at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Elizabeth Baker, Violin
Violinist Elizabeth Baker had a 40 year career performing with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (10 years) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (30 years) before permanently moving to Taos. She has been active performing in New Mexico as part of chamber and orchestral ensembles and has served as the Director of the Taos School of Music.
Laura Chang, Violin
Elizabeth Young, Violin
Violinist & pianist Elizabeth Young has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Radio City Music Hall, and The United Nations, among other notable venues in New York City, as well as the National Gallery of Art and the Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, she has appeared on the BBC, CBS, and CNN, and she has performed concerts throughout the United States and in Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Italy, and Oman. After over a decade working as a full-time musician in New York City, Elizabeth moved to Santa Fe, where she has performed with the Santa Fe Opera, the New Mexico Philharmonic, the Santa Fe Symphony, the New Mexico Performing Arts Society, Chatter Albuquerque, and the Las Palomas Chamber Music Series, among others. She continues to travel nationally for chamber music and solo performances as a violinist and pianist, and in 2018, she was the violin soloist with the Santa Fe Community Orchestra in their performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto. A previous faculty member at the New Mexico School for the Arts and the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association, Elizabeth can be heard regularly at Vanessie’s, improvising everything from Bach to The Devil Went Down to Georgia. In addition to her musical pursuits, Elizabeth is the General Manager of Las Palomas Hotel in downtown Santa Fe.
Cammy Cook, Soprano
Albuquerque native Cammy Cook has recently returned to New Mexico as a soprano in high demand. Last season Ms. Cook sang the role of Nedda as an Alumni Artist with UNM’s Opera Theatre in their production of Pagliacci. She is also a regular performer with Opera Southwest where she has sung the roles of Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Madeline/Isabelle in Mollicone’s Face on the Barroom Floor, the Page in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and two original children’s operas. In April of 2012 Ms. Cook played the role of Marisol in the award winning world premier of Ethan Frederick Greene’s children’s opera, A Way Home, which is already scheduled for more performances in February of 2013. Equally at home as a concert performer, Ms. Cook was the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the New Life Symphony Orchestra Southwest.