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Coaches

version 12 apr 2016

 

KAREN BREIDERT

Karen is a popular coach and teacher within Sweet Adelines Intl.
She has achieved the level of "Master Faculty" (one of only four women in the organization to have achieved this goal) and "Master Director."
Karen has directed 3 choruses, ranking in the finals 6 times. She recently retired from directing Spirit of the Gulf, helping them win the coveted "Most Entertaining Chorus Award" three times.
She has won 9 international quartet medals - including the championship with Jubilation in 1985 and with "the BUZZ" in 2005. Karen was International President of Sweet Adelines from 1998 - 1999.
Karen has a Bachelor's Degree in Education and Foreign Language and a Master's Degree in Guidance and Counseling. She lives in Jacksonville FL on the beautiful St. John's River with her husband Bob - also a barbershop quartet finalist. Since she began singing at age four with her family's professonal singing group, The Drummond Family Singers, music has truly been in Karen's heart and soul for all of her life.

=> The Buzz
 

PATRICK BROWN

Patrick Brown is a member and choreographer for the 2013 International Chorus champion Toronto Northern Lights. In addition to being a barbershop singer, he brings almost 20 years of theatre experience to his coaching abilities.

He has worked with groups in Canada, the U.S. and Germany and is thrilled to be working with members of Holland Harmony again as well as with barbershoppers from Germany, Sweden and Ireland. He visited Holland during the Harmony College / Education Weekend both in 2014 and 2015.

DEBBIE CLEVELAND

Debbie Cleveland, lead, also sang lead in the 1994 International Champion Quartet "Showtime".
She is on the International Faculty for Sweet Adelines, Int'l. and is a Coach and Soloist in her own right.
Debbie has directed Youth Harmony Choruses in six states, and is the first female commentator of the men's Barbershop Harmony Society International contest webcast.
By day, Debbie is the director of the "Superior" rated choral program at Gaither High School in Tampa, Florida, and is wife to Brett, and mom to Josh and Jenny - all three accomplished singers and performers.

=> The Buzz

 

NANCY CLOETER

Nancy sang tenor with the 1992 Champion Quartet City Lights, with whom she traveled and performed extensively.
She was an active member and section leader in the International Champion Ramapo Valley Chorus and in 2002 spent time singing and teaching vocal skills in China.
Nancy makes her home in Malvern, Pennsylvania with her husband Cameron.
She is a sought after coach and vocalist and works for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

=> The Buzz

 

FRED FARRELL

Crossroads Fred Farrell

Fred Farrell sings tenor in Crossroads, and was a member of the 1989 International Quartet Champion Second Edition. Known for their great sound and musical artistry, Second Edition is considered to be one of the most influential Barbershop quartets of the past 25 years. Second Edition produced 2 recordings, performed in 38 states and 6 countries sharing the stage with artists such as Michael Feinstein, Dizzy Gillespie, Rosemary Clooney, Marylin McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., with feature spots on ABC's Nightly News, and Wolf Trap Theatre's 50th anniversary gala concert which was broadcast on PBS. Fred and Kim live in Ft. Myers Florida with their 5 kids: Olivia, Caroline, Quinn, Molly, and Lilly.

=> Crossroads

 

JEANNIE FROELICH

Jeannie also received a gold medal singing bass with the 1992 champs City Lights and chorus gold with three time International Champions The Ramapo Valley Chorus under the direction of Renee Craig.
Currently, Jeannie sings with The Harmony Celebration Chorus where she is an Assistant Director and Bass Section Leader.
Jeannie is a successful chorus and quartet coach. She began singing and performing professionally at the age of 16.
Jeannie and husband Brian are the proud parents of five children and make their home in Spring Lake, NJ.

=> The Buzz
 

LIZ GARNETT

liz headshot

Liz Garnett studied music at the Universities of Bristol (BA Hons, 1st class) and Southampton (PhD, 1995). She then taught at Colchester Institute’s School of Music and Performance Arts for four years, before moving to Birmingham Conservatoire, where she was Head of Postgraduate Studies until 2009. Her teaching experience is varied in subject area, delivery style and level, from lectures in Musical Philosophies to practical workshops on Playing by Ear and one-to-one tutorials in Professional Development for Musicians.

As a student, she studied piano with Christopher Northam (gaining an LRAM in piano teaching) and singing with Glynn Davenport, Duncan Robertson and Molly Petrie. She started conducting as an undergraduate, attending the Choral Conducting course at the Canford Summer School of Music at age 19, then went on to conduct the Southampton University Light Opera Society as a postgraduate.

She became involved in barbershop music after the completion of her PhD, and it became the subject of her first book. She is one of the UK’s most prominent arrangers and performance coaches, having coached and/or arranged for many of the UK's top choruses and quartets, and arranged for groups from the UK, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Germany and Holland. She served as a Music Category judge from 2000-2013, and as LABBS Music Category Director from 2006-2009. She has adjudicated in both barbershop and ‘mainstream’ choral classes at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod and the Sligo International Choral Festival, and is the founder-director of a female close-harmony choir called Magenta.

After the completion of the barbershop book, her research and practical interests focused back on conducting, leading to a five-year project that produced her second major book, Choral Conducting and the Construction of Meaning. The research process involved visits to more than 40 choirs in rehearsal, and these observations provided not only material for the book, but also a deep understanding of the conductor-choir dynamic in a wide variety of contexts and styles. This experience continues to nourish her work as a choral clinician, giving rich and varied insights into the problems that conductors and choirs face, and the relative success of different approaches to solving them.

=> her blog "Helping You Harmonise"

 

SANDER GIELING

Sander has been active as a singer, actor and dancer since childhood. Initially he developed his love for music in comedy, classical music productions, rock bands and musicals. He has sung with the The Heart of Holland Chorus until 1998, and after that in a capella groups Touchdown, NRG, Rave en The Dutchmen. His preference for light vocal music was crowned when he got his directors certification in 2004.

As performing musician he specializes in improvisation (Dutch Organic Choir), rythm work/Vocal Percussion and vocal instrumentation. He works with several singing groups as MD/coach (a.o. Vocal Group KIX from Amersfoort) and he also offers workshops for choirs and vocal groups on the subjects of improvisation & rythm.

Sander is also active on an organizational level as chairman of the Foundation "Vocal Pop & Jazz Days", which organizes an international educational singing week. Sander is one of the driving forces behind foundation Eduvox, which promotes education in vocal music by way of musical productions, recently with "Into The Light" with Merel Martens, and workshops like the "Danish Invasion".

 

BRANDON GUYTON

Crossroads Brandon Guyton

Brandon Guyton sings baritone in Crossroads, and is perhaps best known as a gold medalist with Four Voices, the 2002 Champions of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Four Voices was a highly innovative and exciting college quartet that first got their start as part of the acclaimed Voices of Lee, A premier mixed vocal troupe from Lee University. Four Voices produced two recordings, performed in 44 states and 4 countries and performed in venues such as Lincoln Center and have shared the stage with a long list of artists including Bill Gaither and the Swingle Singers. Brandon now plays a large role in the Ambassadors of Harmony musical leadership team and is a sought after for his expertise in recording, mixing and mastering. He is a certified BHS Singing category judge and is rapidly becoming one of the most in demand vocal coaches throughout the Barbershop world. Brandon and his wife Noemi live in St. Louis and have 4 children: Chandler, Taylor, Isabella and Kadence.

=> Crossroads

 

JIM HENRY

Crossroads Jim Henry

Jim Henry, bass in Crossroads, holds degrees in vocal music education, music theory and music composition, including a Ph.D. in music composition from Washington University. He is currently the Director of Choral Studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where he conducts the University Singers and Vocal Point and teaches choral methods, choral arranging, and choral conducting. In addition to his duties at UM-St. Louis, Jim is the musical and artistic director of the Ambassadors of Harmony, a 160-voice men's a cappella chorus that performs barbershop, jazz, and light classical music. The Ambassadors of Harmony have produced multiple recordings, and have twice been named the best male barbershop chorus in the world, winning the BHS chorus championship in 2004 and 2009.

Jim was also a founding member, arranger, and bass singer with the legendary Gas House Gang, the very popular 1993 International Quartet Champions. The Gas House Gang has entertained audiences in all fifty states and fifteen countries, and in venues from the Grand Ole Opry to Carnegie Hall. They have been featured on NBC's "Today Show," NPR's "At the Creation," and two PBS specials: "Voices in Harmony" and "The Egg." The Gas House Gang has produced five recordings. Jim and his wife Geda live in St. Charles Missouri, with their 2 young children; Gea Rose and Isaiah. Lydia, their oldest daughter is married and resides in Hanover Germany with her husband Martin and her two sons making Jim the group's only grandpa!

=> Crossroads

 

KYLE KITZMILLER

Bio Wide Kyle

Kyle Kitzmiller (Bass in the BHS 2015 International Quartet Champion "Instant Classic")

Kyle Kitzmiller currently lives in Indianapolis, IN, and has been a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society since he was 10 years old. He has been in many quartets and competed many times at international, most recently as part of the 2015 International Champions, Instant Classic.
He has been a certified Music Judge since 2013, and judged the Collegiate International Contest in 2015.
He currently is the Music and Performance Vice President of the Indianapolis Chapter, Circle City Sound, as well as District Representative for Contests and Judging for the Cardinal District.

=> learning tracks from kitztracks.com
=> on Instant Classic

 

GARY PLAAG

Gary is a native of northern Virginia and has been a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society since 1985.
He currently belongs to the Alexandria, Virginia, and Fairfax, Virginia chapters. Gary has sung tenor in numerous quartets, most notably Hijinx, the 1999 Mid-Atlantic District quartet champion and a 5-time International quartet contest quarter finalist.
Gary is currently a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society’s (BHS) Board of Directors, serving his final year of a three-year term. He is currently the Contest and Judging (C&J) Vice President of the BHS Mid-Atlantic District, as well as the District’s Youth In Harmony (YIH) Vice President.
He served in both of these positions in the past (C&J from 2004-2006 and YIH from 1995-2002). Gary was the 2009-2010 President of the Mid-Atlantic District and served as the District’s Executive Vice President in 2007 and 2008, and Immediate Past President in 2011 and 2012. He has been a Certified BHS Presentation Judge since 1998, and is currently a member of the BHS Presentation Category Board of Review. Gary is an active international chorus and quartet coach, working with youth and adult, male and female quartets and choruses in the USA, Canada, and Europe. Professionally, Gary is a self-employed communication, presentation and public speaking skills coach and management consultant, and owner of Couragio Consulting (www.couragio.com), a business he started in the northern Virginia area in 1998, following a 20- year information technology career.

=> Gary @ Linkedin
 

MIKE SLAMKA

Crossroads Mike Slamka

Mike Slamka sings the lead part in Crossroads, and he made his mark as the lead of Power Play, an extremely popular all-family quartet that became International Barbershop Harmony Society Champions in 2003. In addition to Mike on lead, Power Play featured father Jack on bass, brother Mark on baritone, and cousin Don on Tenor. Their genuine love for one another and their family appeal, along with the uncanny ring in their sound made Power Play an audience favorite. Power Play produced 3 recordings, has performed all over the country and has been featured on the Jane Pauley show as well as guest performers on The Grand Ole Opry. Mike and his wife Traci live in Ft. Myers, Florida and are the proud parents of 3 daughters: Michaela-now studying voice and music under Dr. Henry at UMSL, Mackenzi, and Madison. Mike's 3 daughters are featured as a trio in "All People That On Earth Do Dwell" from our second CD, "That Lucky Old Sun".

=> Crossroads

 

CEES WIEGEL

Cees is opgeleid om mensen op te leiden. Dat is zijn passie. Daar is hij goed in. Kenmerkend is zijn persoonlijke, doelgerichte aanpak, waarbij hij de confrontatie niet schroomt. Uiteraard zonder mensen te beschadigen. Hij is pragmatisch, een creatieve denker en resultaatgericht. Zijn humor helpt relativeren en zorgt voor snelle acceptatie. Vertrekpunt bij alles wat hij doet is het vertrouwen in mensen.
Cees is een gedreven prestatiemens; een specialist die snapt hoe het in de praktijk werkt (en waarom het soms niet werkt.)

Cees was eerder te gast bij Holland Harmony op de besturendag in oktober 2015 waar hij een workshop Talenten Genereren verzorgde (zie foto's).

=> http://www.ceeswiegel.nl/
=> https://www.facebook.com/talentgenerator

 

CY WOOD

Cy currently works for The Actors Fund, organizing Special Events and Performances in New York City starring Broadway and Hollywood's most elite performers. He has worked as a Creative Director and Producer for Broadway Merchandising LLC. As a professional actor, Cy has performed across the world in many Broadway and Disney Productions including Annie, Oklahoma!, Cats, She Loves Me, Sunset Boulevard. Cy holds a BFA from Brigham Young University where he graduated with a Music, Dance and Theater degree with an emphasis in Music Education.

Cy grew up as a third-generation barbershopper. He and his three brothers love to sing the old songs whenever they are together. His mother sang barbershop with her sisters, as did her father with his brothers.
Cy finally joined the Idaho Gateway Chorus when he was 15 years old. The barbershop bug had bitten him hard.

Currently, Cy sings baritone with NYC's acclaimed chorus Voices of Gotham. He joined in 2012 and was quickly asked to be the baritone section leader as well as a board member at large. In 2013, Cy was asked to be VoG's Choreographer and Presentation Leader. He has had his work performed on the international stage as well as many stages in North America including Carnegie Hall.

In addition to his active chorus lifestyle, Cy is the baritone of On Tap. This new quartet won the Mid-Atlantic District Northern Division Contest in 2014 and continues to thrill audiences all around the area.

Cy's mantra is honesty. Honesty in creation, honesty in production, and honesty in performance. Barbershop is a wonderfully unique and traditional art form, and Cy believes the more honesty we can bring to our audiences around the world, the more people will connect to the messages each barbershopper has to offer.
Cy also strongly believes that barbershop should be incredibly, totally, and unapologetically fun. He loves to bring in a bit of magical joy with each ensemble he works with. Smiles, laughter, and camaraderie are the reason Cy is a barbershopper!

Cy visited Holland during the Harmony College / Education Weekend in 2015.

=> Cy @ Voices of Gotham
=> Cy @ facebook
 


Links naar informatie

=> startpagina van het HaCo-Eduweekend
=> introductie en registratielinks
=> praktische informatie
=> beschrijvingen van de workshops
=> beschrijvingen van de coaches
=> songs voor het mannen/vrouwenkoor
=> vragen en antwoorden
=> het schema met alle workshops en tijden

Contact
=>   ec@hollandharmony.nl

 

 

 


last update: 19-01-2018