Artistic Team
Boston City Singers Artistic Team
Jane Money
Jason Amos
Aisha L. Bowden
Elizabeth Higgins
Alysia Lee
Ruth Ross
Andrew Sheranian
Deejay Robinson
Wendy Silverberg
Tim Whipple
Tal Zilber
Jane Money
Artistic Director
Jane is the Artistic and Education Director of Boston City Singers that she founded in 1995 as a division of Pro Musica. In 2003, Boston City Singers became a separate chorus and youth development program and currently serves over 350 young people throughout Boston and surrounding neighborhoods annually. Ms. Money is also the Founding Artistic Director of Children’s Voices of Ireland. A native of New Zealand, she has been a resident of Dorchester for over 25 years. She is passionate about teaching children to sing. She is a former instructor with the Metropolitan Opera’s Urban Voices program in Boston, and until June 2008, the Director of Youth Choirs at St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Wellesley, MA. She is immediate past president of the American Choral Directors Association R&S Standards Chair for Massachusetts.
Jason Amos
Conductor, Fellas
Jason Amos began his viola studies at age eleven in the public school system of his hometown of Southfield, Michigan. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan and received a Graduate Diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music. He has received honors in several competitions, including 4th place in the 2007 Sphinx Competition and 1st place in the 2006 Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Bradlin Scholarship Concerto Competition. Jason enjoys participating in the Sphinx Organization’s musical outreach programs—all programs aimed toward increasing the presence of minorities in classical music.
Elizabeth Higgins
Conductor, JP Intermediate Training Choir
A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music with a master's degree as well as a degree from the Oberlin College Conservatory, Elizabeth is now in her third year as director of the Boston City Singers Training Chorus program in Jamaica Plain. She has her Kodaly certification from New England Conservatory Kodaly Music Institute, where she has taught in the middle and elementary divisions of Vocal Vacation. She is the former president of Boston Area Kodaly Educators. She currently teaches in the Marshfield Public Schools.
Deejay Robinson
Director of the Mattapan and Hyde Park programs
Deejay joined Boston City Singers in the fall of 2011 as director of the Mattapan and Hyde Park programs. He has a broad performance background in opera, oratorio, music theatre, and recital repertoire. In addition to being a director for Boston City Singers, Mr. Robinson has served as a vocal coach for the North Cambridge Family Opera and has taught master classes in Boston area high schools.
Currently, Mr. Robinson serves as a teaching artist for the Metropolitan Opera Guild's Urban Voices program, where he has taught at the Roland Hayes School of Music in Roxbury and Epiphany School in Dorchester. Mr. Robinson is on faculty of the Community Programs at the Longy School of Music teaching group lessons through the Young Singers Program and studio lessons.
Outside of the classroom, Deejay is actively engaging in research that studies music education curriculum and how students' learning is assessed within the urban classroom. His hope is that the research conduced will provide insight into how students of all ages engage in music academically, cognitively, personally, and socially. Mr. Robinson focuses on using inquiry, discovery, and reflection to develop lessons that are designed to suite each students' needs and learning style.
Mr. Robinson received his Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Millikin University and a Master of Music degree from Longy School of Music.
Wendy Silverberg
A vocalist and pianist, Wendy began teaching Boston City Singers' Kodály Singing Classes in Dorchester and Jamaica Plain in September of 2011. Ms. Silverberg is a master Kodály teacher for grades K – 2 at the Andrew Peabody Elementary Schools in the Cambridge. Wendy has appeared as part of the Boston Cecilia Chorus since 1972. Educated at the University of Rhode Island with a degree in music education, she possesses a Masters Degree in Education from Antioch College and a Certificate from the Kodaly Musical Training Institute of the New England Conservatory of Music, Ms. Silverberg serves on the board of the Boston Area Kodály Educators. She has presented her program at the Eastern Division MENC, the National School Boards Convention in Orlando Florida the MMENC in Boston and this past summer was invited by the Singapore Department of Education to work with students and create a video for their teachers professional development.
Timothy Whipple
Director of Vocal Studies
Timothy Whipple received his Master’s Degree in 2011 from the New England Conservatory student in vocal pedagogy, and was last year’s NEC Fellow with Boston City Singers. Tim works with the Concert Chorus, providing individual and small group coaching. Tim also prepares our young singers for auditions, as they apply to a wide range of performing arts high schools and colleges.
Administrative Team
Boston City Singers Administrative Team
Melissa J. Graham
Ellen McGuire
Elizabeth “Liz” Stefan
Tim Nichols
Gillian Chase
Joseph Penella
Dyan Ruffen-Madrey
Melissa J. Graham
Managing Director
Melissa joined Boston City Singers in February of 2011 as its Managing Director where she focuses on fundraising, financial and staff management, marketing and public relations and is the designated liaison to the Board of Directors. Ms. Graham, a Dorchester transplant of 15 years, comes to Boston City Singers after serving as a Founding Director of The Boston Guys, a Boston-based event planning, fundraising and marketing collaborative that served political, not-for-profit, educational and business clients domestically and abroad. In the past she also hosted Commonwealth Journal, a weekly radio talk show on WUMB, served as Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for the Boston Five Cents Savings Bank FSB, and was a senior advance person for former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton during the Clinton White House years. Previously she had been Vice President and General Manager for Nathan Tyler Productions in Waltham and Director of Local Fundraising for WGBH.
Ellen McGuire
Concert Chorus Manager
Ellen McGuire became interested in Boston City Singers when her daughter joined in 2004. Becoming Concert Chorus Manager in 2008, Ellen has coordinated the summer tours in Philadelphia, New York City, Newfoundland and South Africa as well as the annual retreats. Ellen holds a M.Mus. from New England Conservatory in organ performance, and is a church music director.
Elizabeth “Liz” Stefan
Liz joined Boston City Singers in early Fall of this year and manages the non-musical aspects of the Neighborhood Training Chorus programs, including coordination of classes/rehearsals and performances (Winter Stars and Singing All Together), recruitment, training and management of family volunteers, and developing and nurturing relationships with Boston City Singers children and families. Originally from Bel Air, MD, Elizabeth Stefan is a freelance violist in the Boston area, playing regularly with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Discovery Ensemble. She recently graduated with her master’s degree from the New England Conservatory where she studied with Dimitri Murrath. Previous studies were with George Taylor at the Eastman School of Music, where she earned her BM, and an Arts Leadership Certificate with a focus in contemporary orchestral issues. She also received the Robert L. Oppelt Viola Prize for the class of 2009. She has attended various chamber music and orchestral summer festivals, including the National Repertory Orchestra (Breckenridge CO), the Bowdoin International Music Festival (Brunswick ME), the Chautauqua Institute (Chautauqua NY) and the Quartet Program (Fredonia NY). Elizabeth is drawn to working with children and inspiring them through music. Through the Community Partnerships Program at NEC she was the founder and teacher of the beginning strings program at the Mission Hill School.
Gillian Chase
Gillian is a 2008 graduate of Boston City Singers from Dorchester. She is currently a senior at Harvard College studying psychology with an emphasis on neuroscience. She has interned with the Corrymeela community center in Northern Ireland working with different communities from across the world. She currently mentors freshmen at Harvard, helping them transition academically and socially to their first year of college. Gillian is excited to continue her work in youth development this year with Boston City Singers after accompanying the chorus on their South Africa Goodwill Tour in the summer of 2011.
Board
Boston City Singers Board of Directors
Alumni Members
Elizabeth Bonnice (2003), Chloe Falivene (2007)
Community Members
Dr. Georgiary Bledsoe, Sara Cofrin Walsh, Yves Montima,
Dr. Mehmet Rona, Fr. Noble F. Scheepers, Emily Isaacson Tzuker, Monica Whelan
Parent Members
Daniel Barkowitz, Jocelyn Heywood, Jen Erbe Legget, Charles Tevnan
Daniel Barkowitz
Parent Representative
Daniel Barkowitz has a long-standing interest in finance, developed during a twenty-year work history. He was most recently Dean of Financial Aid / Associate Dean of Student Affairs at Columbia University. From 2002 to 2009, Daniel was the Director of Student Financial Aid and Student Employment at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He now serves as Executive Director of Temple Beth Shalom, a 700-family synagogue in Needham.
Daniel was born in the Panama Canal Zone where he lived until he was fourteen, when his family moved to South Carolina. Daniel received his M.Ed. in Human Resource Education from Boston University and a B.Sc. in History from Northeastern University. He has a passion for singing, reading, and cooking. He and his wife, Rebekah, have two daughters, both of whom are members of the Concert Chorus. (Dedham - parent)
Dr. GeorgIary Bledsoe
Community Representative
Dr. Georgiary Bledsoe is a musicologist who earned B.A. and M.A. degrees at Stanford University and a Ph.D. at Duke, where she was the Mary Lou Williams Instructor of Music. She was awarded a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at Brandeis University with a joint appointment in Music, African & African American Studies, and American Studies. She is a life-long church musician, most recently at Charles St. AME Church. She is the founder and director of BUMP (Boston Urban Music Project) and the founder and CEO of BMC, a consulting firm that specializes in music education solutions. Raised in East St. Louis, IL, she is the youngest of seventeen children. In a city labeled by the national press as the crime capital of the country, community members gave her the precious gifts of time, energy and attention. She strives to pay that investment forward. (Mattapan - community)
Elizabeth Bonnice
Alumni
Elizabeth Bonnice is a founding member of Boston City Singers, and sang with the program through high school. After graduating from Boston Latin School in 2003, she attended the University of Oxford, Christ Church, where she sang evensong weekly in the Cathedral with the College Choir. The choir also sang throughout England, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Salisbury and Lincoln. After completing a Master’s degree in law at BPP Law School in London, she returned to Dorchester, and spends time mentoring local youth. (Dorchester - alumni)
Sara Cofrin Walsh
Fundraising Chair and Community Representative
Sara Cofrin Walsh is currently the Grants Manager at Peace First. Peace First (formerly Peace Games) began as a response to the sky-rocketing youth homicide rates in the early 1990s, as an approach to look at children as problem-solvers, rather than witnesses, or victims of their surroundings. Sara has also worked in the grants management field at the Museum of Fine Arts and The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation in Washington, D.C. She has a particular love and commitment to the arts, especially for young people. A former singer herself, she graduated from Williams College and has a Masters degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she specialized in Arts in Education: policy and practice. (Medford - community)
Chloe Falivene
Alumni
Chloe Falivene joined Boston City Singers in 5th grade, and graduated from the program in 2007. After graduating from Boston Latin School, she attended American University in Washington, D.C. Chloe graduated in 2010 with a degree in Literature. She interned with a Washington publishing company before moving back to Boston. She is currently an editorial assistant with an allied health textbook publisher in Burlington, MA. After hours, Chloe volunteers with Boston City Singers Concert Chorus. (Dorchester – alumni)
Jocelyn Heywood
Parent Representative
Jocelyn Heywood is the Assistant Director of Educational Loan Collections at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In this role, Jocelyn manages the MIT educational loan portfolio for students and employees. She also counsels students on how they can best finance their education at MIT. Jocelyn has also been an MIT Freshman Advisor for 10 years, primarily focusing on class scheduling and environmental adjustment for students of color. Jocelyn believes in supporting access to education and opportunities for minorities. Jocelyn’s daughter Renée has been a member of the chorus since 2007, beginning in the Jamaica Plain division. She is now a member of the Concert Chorus. (Milton - parent)
Emily Isaacson Tzuker
Community Representative
Emily Isaacson Tzuker is a doctoral candidate in Choral Conducting at the University of Illinois. She comes to the podium with a diverse background. Growing up on the campus of Bowdoin College, Emily was immersed in a community where arts and education were focal points. Emily attended Williams College in where she majored in English with studies in Political Science and Art History. Emily was awarded the St.. Andrews Society Fellowship for graduate study in Scotland, where she attended the University of Edinburgh. Her experiences since then have taken her around America: starting a music program at the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., earning a second Master’s degree in conducting from the University of Oregon, teaching in “inner city” Chicago, and helping start a new music ensemble in collaboration with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Emily now resides in Boston where she is writing her dissertation and freelance conducting. (Roxbury - community)
Jen Erbe Leggett
Parent Representative
Jen Erbe Leggett, LICSW, is a clinical social worker in private practice in Boston. She is a graduate of Boston University and the Smith College School for Social Work. Jen lives in Milton with her husband David and two children, both of whom are members of the Jamaica Plain division. Jen serves as the Event Chair for the Board of Directors, and is very active her children’s school PTA. (Milton - parent)
Jane Money, Founder
Founder, Artistic and Education Director
Jane Money is the Artistic and Education Director of Boston City Singers which she founded in 1995 as a division of Pro Musica. In 2003, Boston City Singers became a separate program and currently serves over 350 young people throughout Boston and surrounding neighborhoods annually. Ms. Money is also the Founding Artistic Director of Children’s Voices of Ireland. A native of New Zealand, she has been a resident of Dorchester for over 25 years. She is passionate about teaching children to sing. She is a former instructor with the Metropolitan Opera’s Urban Voices program in Boston, and until June 2008, the Director of Youth Choirs at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Wellesley, MA. She is immediate past president of the American Choral Directors Association R&S Standards Chair for Massachusetts. Ms. Money is married with four children. (Dorchester - founder)
Yves Montima
Community Representative
Yves Montima, a native of Haiti, is a graduate of Boston College and is currently the Controller at Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public Schools. Previously, Yves was the regional accounting manager for Harborside Healthcare, Inc. Yves currently serves on three Boards, including Boston City Singers’ partnering program, YOFES. (Stoughton - community)
Dr. Mehmet Rona
Community Representative
Dr. Mehmet Rona received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Robert College in Istanbul. Winning a Fulbright scholarship, he gained a doctorate in solid-state physics and materials science from Princeton University in 1966. Mehmet taught physics at the Naval School in Turkey from 1966 to 1968, at Robert College until 1969, and Middle East Technical University until 1979. He then returned to the United States to work at Arthur D. Little, where he became Vice President, and developed skills in project management and human resources. Currently, he is the Director of Applied Physics and Modeling at TIAX, Inc. His interests are broad and related to solid-state theory and systems modeling with an applied mathematics emphasis. (Cambridge - community)
Father Noble F. Scheepers
Community Representative
Father Noble F. Scheepers brings a strong interest in youth development, working with organizations including church youth, boy scouts and community organizations in his native South Africa. From his earliest years, Father Noble’s work has been strongly influenced by his awareness of restrictions placed on children due to race and socioeconomic circumstances. In South Africa, as he developed youth choirs and ethical programs designed to give young people a voice in “adult-centered” societies. He is currently the priest in charge at Church of the Good Shepherd, Dedham. (Milton – community)
Charles Tevnan
Parent Representative
Charles Tevnan is an attorney with Tevnan|Tevnan in Boston. He concentrates his practice on municipal zoning and licensing; business law; real estate matters; estate planning; probate administration; and civil litigation matters. Charlie is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Boston and Suffolk University Law School, and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar. Charlie and his wife, Susan, have 3 daughters, all of whom have been members of Boston City Singers for many years. (Dorchester - parent)
Monica Whelan
Community Representative
Monica Whelan is the marketing manager of Chestnut Hill-based accounting firm of Abrams Little-Gill Loberfeld PC. Previously, Monica worked with a small Cambridge-based childbirth education video production company, Vida Health Communications, and Boston Ballet. Monica immigrated to the US in 1993 from Dublin, Ireland, and became a US citizen in 2000. She was raised and educated in Ireland, graduating from University College Dublin (UCD) with a degree in Social Science. Her educational background is in Social Administration and Sociology, with a focus on research and anthropology. Two years ago, Monica joined the Mystic Chorale, where she both sings and serves on their fundraising committee. (Somerville - community)
