Melissa Albert (She/her) is a music educator and soprano with experience teaching and singing in both Oregon and Washington.  Throughout her 13 years as an educator, Melissa has taught high school and middle school choir, K-5 general music, as well as music therapy. Melissa received her BA and MAT from Oregon State University specializing in music education and vocal performance. Melissa is currently in her eighth year as the choir director at Reynolds High School, the largest high school in the state of Oregon.

Melissa serves as the Vice President of OMEA District 2 and serves on the ACDA Board. Melissa has sung in many ensembles including Oregon Repertory Singers, The Seattle Esoterics, and The Tilikum Community Choir. She is excited to be joining the current season of Northwest Vocal Arts Chamber Choir for the 2024/25 season. Melissa is particularly passionate about student advocacy and building choral communities with people from diverse backgrounds. Throughout her career she works to build up marginalized groups; supporting LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, women's rights, and trans rights. She is a 5 year breast cancer survivor and currently lives cancer free in Portland with her partner Josh and their 1 year old Bo.

Jennifer Davies is honored to join the chamber choir of Northwest Vocal Arts. For the past 15 years, she has been an active performer, teacher, and director throughout the Willamette Valley, specializing in both musical theater and classical repertoire.

She has performed with several local theater companies such as Broadway Rose Theatre, Lakewood Theatre, Third Rail Repertory Theatre, Stumptown Stages, Pixie Dust Productions, Staged, and Portland's Singing Christmas Tree (where she currently serves as the Youth Choir Director). Additionally, she frequently works as a vocal director and coach for productions and musical theatre classes with local theatre companies, high schools, and universities.

Jennifer is also a private voice teacher and member of the Cascade Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She received her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from Portland State University, and her Bachelor of Arts in Music (Vocal Performance; Theater Performance minor) from George Fox University.

With a voice known for its “pure timbre” (Opera News), Portland Composer-Soprano Carolyn Quick’s (she/her) performance credits include Eugene Opera’s production of Britten’s Turn of the Screw, Handel’s Messiah with Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia, Vivaldi’s Gloria, RV 589 with South Puget Sound Community College, and Charpentier’s Messe de minuit Pour Noel with Portland Symphonic Choir. Carolyn has sung with New Wave Opera, Queer Opera, Uzmah-Upbeat Summer Music Program, and Oregon Bach Festival’s Vocal Fellows Program. She is also an avid chorister, singing with Cappella Romana, Resonance Ensemble, and In Medio.

As a composer and singer, Carolyn has a love for contemporary music and has premiered over a dozen contemporary works. Most recently, Carolyn competed in the NATS Classical Student Auditions, advancing to the National Round with a program spanning Margaret Bonds to Charles Gounod.

When she isn’t singing, Carolyn enjoys walking, spotting cute dogs, and spending time with family and friends.

“Tiny powerful soprano”, Madeline Ross recently made her Portland Opera debut as the First Woodspite in Dvorak’s Rusalka and role debuts as Tamiri in Il Re Pastore by Mozart and Lucinda in Dark Sisters by Nico Muhly with OrpheusPDX. Praised for her “brilliant coloratura voice,” “world class” stage presence, and thrilling versatility, Ms. Ross won the Anne Marie Gertz Prize at the National Artist Awards competition (NATS USA) and premiered Qaqnus (Phoenix) by Sahba Aminikia with Music of Remembrance in Seattle, WA, in 2024.

She was hailed for “effortlessly nailing” her performance as Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (Oregon ArtsWatch) and has performed with Portland Opera, The Oregon Symphony, Fear No Music, Resonance Ensemble, 45th Parallel, Opera Theater Oregon, Shaking the Tree Theatre, and Music of Remembrance. She won first prize at the National Association of Teachers of Singing Classical Voice Competition in 2020 and was honored to take part in a performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. premiering An African American Requiem with Resonance Ensemble and NEWorks Philharmonic Orchestra.

She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2019 as a jazz soloist where she “scatt[ed] to beat the band” (NY Concert Review). Ms. Ross is a founder and Executive Director of Renegade Opera, Portland’s unconventional and accessible opera company!

Alicia Garcia is a voice teacher based in Tualatin, Oregon. She graduated in 2015 from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance, and since then has been delighted to teach and perform throughout the Pacific Northwest!

Ms. Garcia enjoys teaching a variety of genres from classical, opera, and musical theater, to pop and folk styles. She seeks to cater to the student's interests and give them the space to grow through their individualized musical journey.

She is a mezzo-soprano and has sung with Portland Opera chorus since spring of 2019. In her free time, she enjoys going on adventures with her two girls and husband!

Annie has been teaching in Oregon schools since 2014. She received her Bachelors of Music in Music Education from Chapman University and her Master of Arts in Teaching Music from Oregon State University.

She is currently choir director at West Linn High School. In her time working with Oregon students, Annie's choirs have competed nationally at the Lincoln Center in New York and have placed in the top 5 in the OSAA State Championships.

Currently, Annie sings as a section leader and cantor at Saint Mary’s Cathedral and can be heard on professional recordings with the Oregon Catholic Press. She also serves as the Treasurer for the Oregon American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).

Haley Maddox, a Portland native, studied opera at Portland State University, where she performed the roles of Suzy in Puccini's La Rondine, Mere Jeanne in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites, Hermia in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Cherubino in Le Nozze Di Figaro. Haley also sang the Alto solo with the Oregon Repertory Singers in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis.

Haley holds two degrees from Portland State University: a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Master of Education. She sang in the award-winning Portland State Chamber Choir for three years under the direction of Ethan Sperry. During her first year, the choir competed in the Seghizzi International Choral Singing Competition in Gorizia, Italy, and won first place.

She has taught middle school choir and elementary music in public schools for five years, teaches voice lessons, and sings in the chorus for Opera in the Park Portland. In her spare time, Haley enjoys singing opera and playing the ukulele.

Magdalena Travis has been performing for over twenty years. As a dual Polish-American citizen raised abroad, they have graced stages across three continents and explored multiple musical genres.

Their operatic journey began at UC Santa Cruz, where they sang in Brian Staufenbiel’s production of Dido and Aeneas. Since then, they’ve taken on roles like Hansel, Third Lady, and Ruth, and in 2024, performed as Lucano and the First Praetorian Soldier in a gender-bent rendition of Incoronazione di Poppea at Chicago’s Studebaker Theater.

Magdalena, an avid researcher, recently presented Five Virtues of the Feminine, a recital showcasing lesser-known women composers, including Luise Greger, Maude Valérie White, and Germaine Tailleferre. They have also performed works by Grażyna Bacewicz at Chicago's Paderewski Music School alongside Michał Drewnowski.

Magdalena is co-founder of the Eleanor Ensemble, a gender-inclusive conductor-less treble choir. They are delighted to be joining Northwest Vocal Arts for their inaugural season.

Andrew Bergh is in his fifth year as the Choir Director at Tualatin High School in the Tigard-Tualatin School District. His directing responsibilities include four choirs and being the on-stage musical director. He spent the previous four years teaching choirs at the junior high and high school in the Tillamook School District while also directing the Tillamook Community Chorus.

He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and Vocal Performance at George Fox University. In addition to teaching, he has performed with multiple professional  ensembles including Male Ensemble Northwest, Portland Phoenix Choir, and the Portland Symphonic Choir. He is serving his third year on the OMEA Board as Membership Chair.

In his spare time, Andrew enjoys spending time with his wife, Bobi, and their three dogs, Zuko, Mai and Bosco, playing games with friends and family, and being a devout fan of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Alec Chase is in his tenth year of teaching as the choir director at Sandy High School in Sandy, OR. His ensembles have performed extensively throughout Sandy and the Portland area, as well as multiple tours out of state. Recently, he started a guitar program at Sandy High School, which to date has supported nearly 300 students by providing free access to instruments and technology. Alec is a graduate of Cleveland High School where he performed with multiple ensembles, including becoming the director of Cloud 9, a professional acapella group for high school students in the PDX area. Alec received his B.A. in Music Education at Willamette University, as well as his M.A.T from Oregon State University, performing in multiple vocal ensembles and opera productions throughout his higher education. In 2019 Alec founded the Portland-based group In The Pocket, who was able to continue making music virtually throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. He is also a composer, arranger, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Shohei Kobayashi is Director of Choral Studies at Reed College and serves as Co-Artistic Advisor and Associate Conductor for Resonance Ensemble. Kobayashi is an active guest conductor and clinician and has recently enjoyed working with Portland Symphonic Choir; University of South Carolina’s University Chorus; Hope College’s Chapel Choir, VERITAS, and College Choir; First Presbyterian Church of Portland; and choirs from Century High School, North Marion High School, La Center High School, Richland High School, and Vancouver School of Arts and Academics. As a conducting pedagogue, Shohei worked with the 2024 SWACDA Undergraduate Conducting Masterclass participants and served as Associate Director for the Choral Conducting Institute at Interlochen College of Creative Arts for four years. Kobayashi is a member of the National Board for the National Collegiate Choral Organization.

Portland native, Aisea Poulivaati is excited to be joining NWVA as tenor section leader. Poulivaati has sung as a soloist and choral musician throughout the Portland-metro area since he was a young boy at Stone Tower Seventh Day Adventist Church. Aisea began his formal musical training at Cleveland High School under the direction of Steve Peter. Aisea took second place at the OSAA State Vocal Competition as a junior and a senior. Aisea also sang with the Pacific Youth Choirs throughout high school and sang with the Oregon Bach Festival every summer.

Following high school, Aisea enrolled at University of Arizona where he studied vocal performance. In 2010, Poulivaati was advanced through the Las Vegas round of America’s Got Talent, where he appeared on episode 511 of Season 5, after two of the three judges advanced him. Although his academic studies were abbreviated due to family circumstances, he has since resumed his pursuit of a vocal performance degree at Portland Community College where he is tenor section leader in the PCC Chamber Choir and studies voice in the studio of Dr. Samuel Barbara.

Miles Thoming-Gale is an elementary music teacher and native Portland human. He sang with the UO Chamber Choir during their 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons and performed at the International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, Germany.

Since graduating University of Oregon in 2016 Miles has been teaching elementary music and loving it. He is very excited to be performing with In Medio this season and looks forward to sharing this powerful program with an audience!

John Gladen is an accomplished musician and educator based in Portland, Oregon. He is the Music Director at Milwaukie Presbyterian Church and has performed with various ensembles including Nexus, In Medio, and the Portland State University (PSU) Chamber Choir and is currently on the roster of the Oregon Repertory Singers and the Northwest Vocal Arts Chamber Choir.

John holds both a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Education from PSU, showcasing his dedication to both musical artistry and teaching. His experience spans a wide range of musical genres and styles, allowing him to bring a dynamic and inclusive approach to his performances and leadership. John's passion for choral music and community engagement is evident in his work, where he continually seeks to inspire both his audiences and fellow musicians.

Through his roles as conductor, performer, and educator, John Gladen contributes meaningfully to the vibrant choral music scene in the Pacific Northwest.

Rick Jones, baritone, has been singing in choirs since 1996. At Willamette University in Salem, he studied voice under Les Green and sang with the Chamber Choir, Master Chorus, Willamette Singers vocal jazz ensemble, and a cappella group Tandem.

He currently also sings with Oregon Repertory Singers and Humanis: Sing For Peace. Rick is pleased to rejoin Willamette colleagues Maddy Ross and Alec Chase, with whom he later sang from 2019 to 2022 in seven-voice ensemble In The Pocket. Post-collegiate solo engagements include the role of Count Almaviva as a Guest Artist in Willamette's 2014 production of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" and baritone soloist in the Pacific Northwest premiere of Mack Wilberg's "Requiem" with the Portland Choir & Orchestra, both while studying under Anton Belov.

Rick further channels his passion for music into his audio business, Get Ricked Productions, specializing in jazz, vocal, and choral recordings.

Nicholas Meyer, baritone, is a Portland-based, multi-faceted classical vocalist and pianist who maintains an active performing and teaching career in Portland, OR. He is the owner of Lydian Music Studios in SE Portland; a versatile and creative space for music lessons, rehearsals, classes, and performances. Nicholas has also taught voice at Willamette University, and currently serves on the board of Renegade Opera, where he made his music director debut in their production of Mozart’s Tito. In addition to professional singing, Nicholas also has credits as a producer, music director, stage director, and accompanist. As a voice/piano instructor and mentor, Nicholas has taught thousands of lessons, working with professional musicians, classical/opera singers, rock singers, hip-hop artists, pianists, public speakers, treble voices and teenagers, hobbyists, karaoke enthusiasts and everyone in between.

Nicholas is the former Co-Artistic Director of Opera Theater Oregon where he produced and performed in critically acclaimed opera productions. Nicholas made his directorial debut with OTO in 2018 in their production of The Little Prince.

Nicholas holds a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from Lawrence University Conservatory of Music. He currently studies with voice teacher David Jones in New York City.

Marcus Peterson, a bass/baritone from West Bloomfield, MI, is completing a double Master's in Voice and Choral Conducting at IU's Jacobs School of Music. Marcus holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance with a Teaching Certification from the University of Michigan.

He has performed throughout the US, Europe, Canada, and South Africa in various choirs, operas, and musical theatre performances. His love of music began in the church and continues to this day.

Marcus has a passion for teaching and performing all types of music from opera to musical theatre to R&B and so much more.