Charles Ashou is a professional with experience in various healthcare organizations, including Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center and Foundation and Oregon Primary Care Association.

Holding titles such as Senior Manager and Project Manager, Charles has expertise in performance and culture management.

With a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and bachelor's degrees in Business Administration and Piano Performance from the University of Portland, Charles brings a well-rounded skill set to their work.

Dr. Samuel Barbara is the Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus, where he conducts the chamber and concert choirs, teaches applied lessons and class voice.

Before relocating home to Oregon, Samuel served as Director of Choral Activities and assistant professor of music at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.

He completed his doctorate in choral music at the University of Southern California, where he was a senior teaching assistant in the Department of Choral and Sacred Music and assistant conductor of the USC Thornton Chamber Singers.

Karen Bohart is the Director of Choirs at Wilsonville High School just south of Portland, Oregon where she directs the Chamber Choir, Symphonic Choir, Bella Forte and Soul’d Out, and teaches AP Music Theory and Class Voice.

Karen is past-President of the Oregon ACDA (American Choral Director Association) and was previously ORACDA/OMEA Choral Liaison Chair. She has served on the OMEA (Oregon Music Educators Association) Board as manager for several All-state choirs and previously served on the Oregon ACDA Board as the Treble Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair.

Clinch graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a bachelors degree in Biology. After college, he had the rare opportunity to work with a company developing lifesaving proteins for unmet medical needs. He worked at Genentech for over 20 years with positions in Manufacturing, Project Management, Portfolio Management, Systems Integration, Enterprise Resource Planning, Supply Chain and Maintenance. He worked in some capacity to bring over 15 molecules to market and worked on countless research and clinical products. The products ranged from cystic fibrosis to lung and breast cancers.

In 2016, he founded a non-profit called Chance to Excel. This organization works to ensure that our youth have access to Arts, Sports and support for youth with learning differences to provide a pathway to early successes in life.

He is thrilled to join North West Vocal Arts to help achieve its mission in utilizing the universal language of music to inspire youth who may otherwise have no exposure to professional mentorship and teachings.

Joseph Kemper is an Assistant Professor of Choral Music at Concordia College. He has worked with collegiate, secondary, prison-outreach, neuro-atypical, youth, community, and church ensembles. Prior appointments including serving as Director of Choirs at Whitman College and as Associate Director of Choral Activities at Winter Park High School. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan D.M.A., Yale University M.M. where he received the inaugural Robert Shaw Prize, and St. Olaf College B.M where he graduated with departmental distinction.

Kemper is an in-demand conductor, clinician, and composer. Recent engagements include Florida ACDA, Montana State University, and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Kemper is passionate about programing music that cultivates understanding, learning, and seeking common ground across time, belief, and culture.

He is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of servant-leaders, choral artists, and life-long musicians who will use their gifts for positive societal change.

Joe has worked in non-profit marketing and fundraising for nearly 20 years, specializing in video production and digital communications. Clients have included Providence Foundations of Oregon, Providence Health and Services, University of Portland, La Salle Catholic College Prep, De La Salle North Catholic HS, Warner Pacific University, Portland Japanese Garden, and more.

His first documentary film, Within Reach: The Fight to Finish Cancer, was nominated for a 2023 regional Emmy. He is currently producing and directing the feature documentary Unmatched: The Team that Changed the Beautiful Game.

He graduated from University of Portland and has a master’s in multimedia journalism from University of Oregon. He lives in Portland with his wife and two children.

Kevin O’Brien is a Managing Director of Middle Market M&A for BMO Capital Markets. He is part of the Consumer, Food and Retail vertical of the group.

Prior to his firm integrating with BMO Capital Markets, Kevin was a Principal with Zepponi & Company, a leading beverage alcohol focused M&A firm.

He has extensive experience advising businesses in the beverage, consumer packaged goods and manufacturing sectors. His beverage experience has been focused in the wine, beer and distilled spirits industries.

Kevin has presented on various accounting and finance related topics at the Wine & Spirits Daily Summit, American Craft Spirits Association Convention, Craft Brewers Conference, and Oregon Wine Symposium. He is also a lecturer for Sonoma State University’s Global Executive MBA in Wine Business. Kevin earned his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Portland and holds a certified public accountant (CPA) license.

Dr. Scott Tuomi is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at Pacific University where he served as Director of Choral and Vocal activities and Chair of the Music Department for 36 years.

He has directed choirs throughout Portland including St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Tsunami, the choir for high school-aged tenors and basses which is part of the Pacific Youth Choir group of choirs. He currently directs the Balladeers at the Multnomah Athletic Club.

He has served as President of the American Choral Directors Association in Oregon and also as Governor for the Cascade Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Scott has also been featured as a tenor soloist throughout North America. He appears as an artist on the Narada, Freshwater and Koch International recording labels. In 2023, Scott was recognized by the Oregon Music Educator’s Association with the John McManus Lifetime Achievement Award in Music Education. He maintains and active vocal studio in Portland.

Pam has been playing the guitar since she was a kid, and has been teaching guitar for over two decades. After seeing the great Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia on TV, she completely changed course and became obsessed with classical guitar. She earned two degrees in guitar performance: a bachelor’s from Chicago Musical College and a master’s degree and the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

Since that time, Pam has started a new obsession, the music of Brazil (samba, choro, and especially bossa nova and the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim). Pam has studied this music with virtuoso musicians and teachers including the members of Trio Brasileiro, and the great guitarist Allesandro Penezzi, among others. She also loves to travel to Brazil to study the language and the culture.

This obsession with Brazilian music has led to a new duo with well-known Portland guitarist Peter Zisa. They like to play Brazilian music but have been known to dip into some Bach from time to time.

Pam has played and taught many other styles on guitar—that’s one of the things she likes so much about the instrument: bluegrass, rock, folk, jazz—whatever people want to hear or learn how to play.