Sounds of a New Generation

Ms. Stefanini has been a music educator and conductor for over 23 years and serves as the K-8 General Music/Choral teacher and Director of Fine Arts at Charlotte Preparatory School and in 2020, was named North Carolina State Teacher of the Year by the Veterans of Foreign War. In addition to teaching at Charlotte Prep, her diverse experiences range from teaching general music and chorus at private schools in NYC, NY and Trieste, Italy, as well as public schools in Massapequa, Long Island and Charlotte, NC. Ms. Stefanini is a National Board Certified Teacher who holds a post-master’s degree in Education Administration from UNC Charlotte, and a master’s degree in music education from New York University with certifications in Orff and Kodály methods. Her awards and honors include the New York State Parent Teacher Association lifetime achievement award (2006), Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District Teacher of the Year (2011), Top 5 Music and Arts Music Teacher of the Year (2016), and Veterans of Foreign War District Teacher of the Year (2015). As a vocalist, Ms. Stefanini has performed with the Charlotte Oratorio Singers, Carolina Voices, and continues to adjudicate vocalists for NYSSMA’s (NY State School Music Association) School Music Festival. Her choruses have performed at the Peninsula Yacht Club, Biltmore House, Carnegie Hall (2016 and 2020), and in Italian cities such as Trieste, Sorrento, and Venice. She has been a presenter at numerous state education conferences, and mentored teachers from universities such as Hofstra, Adelphi, SUNY Binghamton, and UNC Charlotte. “I teach because I had great teachers. Their passion to devote their time and talent to ensure I had access to a variety of experiences and opportunities ignited my passion to pay it forward to future generations.”

The Charlotte Preparatory School chorus is excited to be back at DCINY Carnegie Hall. Our 26 students are in grades 6-8 and have performed at The Biltmore House in Asheville, NC, Peninsula Yacht Club in Lake Norman, NC, sporting events including the Charlotte Hornets, Charlotte Knights, and Charlotte Checkers, and twice at Carnegie Hall with DCINY (2016, 2020).

Kimberly Moorman attended Ball State University were she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Music Education and Vocal Performance in 2002. She received a Masters Degree in Choral Music Education and a Performers Certificate from Northern Illinois University in 2007. Currently Mrs. Moorman is continuing her education with course work from Vandercook College of Music in the areas of Vocal Pedagogy and the Vocal Mechanism, Music Technology and Playing and Teaching Ukulele. Mrs. Moorman currently serves as the director of choirs at Traughber Junior High in Oswego, IL. Before beginning at Traughber, Mrs. Moorman directed the choirs at Huntley Middle School in DeKalb, IL from 2004-2014.Since beginning her tenure at Traughber, her choirs have been selected to perform at the Illinois Music Educators Conference and have consistently received superior ratings at the SD308 Fine Arts Festival, Music in the Parks Festival and Dixie Classic Competitions. Mrs. Moorman is a member of the National Association for Music Educators and the Illinois Music Educators Association and American Choral Directors Association.

The Traughber Eighth Grade Choir consists of 40 non-auditioned singers with a wide range of ability. Students are held to a high standard of vocal production, technique, repertoire and interpretation of music. Students attend class daily and perform four curricular concerts, participate in several district festivals and our annual solo/ensemble contest. The majority of the students are involved in theater both in and outside of the school, as well as many other extra curricular activities.

Paul William Stewart teaches vocal music at the Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts, previously teaching in the West Geauga Schools. He is a professional singer with Singers Companye, Cleveland Chamber Choir, and at the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Akron. He has an M.M. in Choral Conducting and a B.M. in Music Education from The University of Akron where he helped to found the award-winning a cappella group Nuance, was a soloist for the Mozart Festival in Salzburg, Austria, earned two scholarships from the Tuesday Musical Association, and sang with the Cleveland Orchestra Blossom Festival Chorus.

The Miller South Symphonic Choir is comprised of 7th and 8th grade students from our vocal music program. The group has performed in European tours, at the Walt Disney World Resort and Hershey Park, and has earned superior ratings at Ohio Music Education Association Large Group Adjudicated Events and Music in the Parks Competitions. They perform several concerts each year both at the school and all around northeast Ohio. They are one of five choirs at Miller South; the 4th and 5th Grade Rising Stars, the 6th Grade Concert Choir, and our auditioned Show Choir and Chamber Choir.

Christina Breidinger has been the choral director at Twin Valley Middle School since 2016. She happily directs four grade level ensembles and two extra-curricular, auditioned ensembles at TVMS and serves as the vocal director for the high school musical.

The representatives on stage today are some of the best and brightest from the Twin Valley choral program. We are fortunate to have a very large choral program, so these students applied and auditioned to be a part of this wonderful opportunity. Our students represent 7th through 9th grades, and choral singing is a huge part of each of their lives

Kristen Luedecke has been the Secondary Choir Director at Northland Christian School since 2017. Mrs. Luedecke has taught choir since 2003 in the Spring/Klein area, teaching choir also at Klein High School and Doerre Intermediate in Klein ISD. She has also taught several years of private voice lessons as well as directing vocals and choir at her church, Northside Christian Church, in the interim years. Mrs. Luedecke graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Howard Payne University and is an active member of TMEA, TCDA and TPSMEA. She and her husband Gary have two beautiful children, Andrew and Sophia.

Northland Christian School Middle School Choir has been in existence since the chartering of the school in 1974. The choirs are one of the finest aspects of the school, boasting forty percent of the current enrollment of grades 6-8. The brilliant choir members are multi-talented, participating in numerous activities on and off campus, such as year-round athletics, robotics, orchestra, dance, gymnastics. In recent years, the choir has sent multiple students to the TCDA Elementary and Junior High All-State Choirs and the TPSMEA Middle School Region Choir.

Mrs. Kimberley Blair is one of two choir directors at Benton Middle School in Manassas, Virginia. She attended Brigham Young University-Provo where she earned a piano scholarship and a Bachelor of Music Degree in Choral Music Education, studying under world-renowned choral director, Mack Wilberg. Mrs. Blair is very involved with choirs of all ages in her community, both as a director and accompanist. She married her high school sweetheart, Chris, in 1994. They have four children.

Benton Middle School is a public school located in Manassas, Virginia, and is part of the Prince William County school system. Of the approximately 1400 6th-8th grade students who attend Benton Middle School, more than 1200 participate in the choir, orchestra and band programs. The choral program boasts over 500 members and consistently ranks as one of the top middle school choral programs in Virginia. This concert marks our second choral Carnegie Hall engagement. Choir directors, Mrs. Blair and Mr. Fitch, along with the Benton Middle School staff, send their congratulations and best wishes to our amazing singers participating in this Carnegie Hall/DCINY choral event!

Lindsey Strauss has been a Choral Director at Pennsbury High School since 2014. At PHS, Lindsey directs the 9th Grade Women’s Choir, Chorale, Women’s Ensemble, and Falconairs and is Music Director for the annual Musical Production. She is also the Artistic Director for the Pennsbury Community Chorus. Previously, Lindsey was the Choral Director at North Stafford High School in Stafford, Virginia from 2005-2014. Lindsey has served as ACDA Vocal Jazz R&S Chair for VA and PA and was awarded Teacher of the Year at North Stafford HS in 2011. Lindsey is an active choral adjudicator and clinician and recently presented sessions on Vocal Jazz and Performing Masterworks with High School Choirs at the PA ACDA Summer Conferences.

Pennsbury High School is located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The Choral Department, located at the West Campus, is composed of seven choirs spanning grades nine through twelve. The department also offers a Music Theory and Music Technology program and presents a Musical Theatre production each year. Recent performance venues include the Thomaskirche (Leipzig), Smetana Hall (Prague), and an annual concert at the Princeton University Chapel. The Women’s Ensemble is an auditioned treble ensemble that meets during the school day. The fifty member ensemble is comprised of 10th, 11th, and 12th graders.

Edie Elkjer earned her BS in Elementary Education from the University of Texas and her Master’s Degree in Applied Voice from the University of South Dakota. In 2007, Edie formed Women of Heartsong, a women’s choir whose mission is to provide music to Austin retirement communities. In 2016, she and Susie Higley formed Music Memories Austin, a nonprofit organization, which provides musical workshops at Alzheimer’s facilities, nursing homes, and respite care programs. In 2019, Edie and Susie started Love Notes Chorus, the first choir in Austin for persons with early memory loss, their care partners, and volunteers

In 2007, Edie Elkjer began teaching at Heartsong Music which offers Music Together, a program designed to introduce the joy of music to parents and young children. She was approached by many mothers in this program who wanted to sing in an adult group. Edie was inspired to form a new group, the Women of Heartsong, celebrating women’s voices. Women of Heartsong has evolved into an intimate a cappella choir singing contemporary folk, gospel, pop, and some classics. The group’s mission is to lift up the hearts of the elderly who are confined to retirement residences and Alzheimer’s facilities.

Richard Bristow read music at Jesus College, Oxford, before completing his PGCE at the University of Southampton. Richard is currently Director of Music at Wimbledon High School in London where he oversees the music curriculum and the extensive co-curricular programme. He has significant experience as a senior examiner at A Level, specialising in composition, as well as working for various teacher training agencies to deliver student conferences and teacher courses across the UK. Richard has worked extensively with Rhinegold Education, Faber and the Philharmonia Orchestra to produce teaching resources.

A Cappella are the Senior Chamber Choir of Wimbledon High School based in London, UK. We are made up of pupils aged 15-19 and regularly sing complex music in prestigious venues including St John’s Smith Square and Cadogan Hall, London. The choir toured New York in 2015 and Barcelona in 2018, performing in the fantastic Sagrada Familia, and have produced several CDs of their performances, including Mozart’s ‘Requiem’. We are delighted to be here in NYC to be a part of this exciting international concert.