Our Home: MYArts
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Administrative Staff
Ian Disjardin, Operations Manager
Operations Manager
Born and raised in the understated metropolis of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Ian learned how to avoid whittling down his interests so that he could stay busy all the time. In between reading books, writing stories, theater acting, TA-ing for a History Teacher and being in too many music classes, Ian’s band teacher made him apply to UW-Madison’s percussion studio and still owes that band teacher because Ian was lucky enough to be accepted.
After moving to Madison for school and realizing he would prefer not to leave, Ian has done a wide variety of things for fun and for employment. Getting very lucky once more, he was hired part time with MYC setting up chairs and relished the opportunity so he could one day contribute to more than just the furniture arrangement. When not seen around the MYC studios you will likely find him reading, trying to learn something new, or giving attention to one of his five pets.
Lynn Hembel, Executive Director
Executive Director
Taking her cue from the Handbook of How to Succeed in Business with a Liberal Arts Degree (English and Art History from UW-Madison), Lynn paid attention in class and learned how to type. This led to myriad opportunities, mostly beginning with the word “temporary”. Knowing that temporary is never permanent, she persevered and landed a career directing human resources for a global investment management firm in San Francisco. This she loved very much, almost as much as art history.
When MYC succeeded in teaching her whistling boys how to sing, she became a devoted volunteer and their biggest fan, eventually joining the full-time staff in 2010. As Executive Director and co-leader of MYC with Mike Ross, she considers it a privilege to contribute to the vibrant youth arts landscape in Madison. As part of the leadership team that created and built MYArts (MYC’s permanent home) she will forever be grateful to the supporters who caught the vision for this essential community asset and made it happen. Outside the office, when she’s not on her bike, she’s playing with Bean Sabine the MagnifiCAT, her adorable Tabby.
Katie Paape, Operations Assistant
Welcome, Katie!
Michael Ross, Artistic Director
Artistic Director and Conductor of Cantabile and Ragazzi
Michael (Mike) Ross has worked for Madison Youth Choirs in some capacity since 1997 – as an accompanist, as an instructor, as a clinician, as a guest coach, as a conductor, and as Artistic Director since 2003. While he holds both BMus and MMus degrees in Music Education from UW-Madison, he first became excited about teaching from his parents (both teachers), through his many music teachers and mentors, and as a counselor and song-leader at Rainbow Day camp late in the 20th century.
Mike has done all sorts of music-related stuff: has played piano since he was 6 years old, led honor choirs throughout the US, music directed many shows, has written incidental music for plays (highlight: Anne Frank with CTM) and tons of choral arrangements, and has accompanied countless rehearsals. Special skills include children’s birthday parties (with his colleagues at 3 Fun Guys), playing the guitar while standing on a moving bus, and ridiculous jokes.
He loves Ella Fitzgerald, Motown music from the 60’s, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Bach (OK, he loves more than this, but it’s a start!). His wife and two grown-up children are his primary focus and he has been committed throughout his life to finding ways to connect young singers to music.
Nicole Sparacino, Development Director
Development Director
Nicole Sparacino, Development Director, joined the MYC team in 2013 and is thrilled to support the mission of such a thoughtful and creative performing arts organization. Nicole is a graduate of UW-Madison and the Cooperstown Graduate Program in upstate New York. She has worked with Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, Wisconsin Historical Museum, Milwaukee Public Museum, and The Theatre Museum in New York City. Outside of MYC, Nicole stays busy chasing after her sweet rascal son, hunting down great new restaurants with her husband, and cooking to the sounds of obscure Broadway cast recordings.
Artistic Staff
Rebecca Batis, artistic associate
Artistic Associate, Cantabile choir
Kevin Blakeslee, introductory choir instructor
Avery Brutosky, choir intern
Choir intern, Cantilena choir
Vincent Fuh, collaborative pianist
Vincent Fuh has performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Bach Dancing Dynamite Society, Oakwood Chamber Players, Con Vivo, Sound Ensemble Wisconsin, Madison Chamber Choir, Madison Choral Project, Isthmus Vocal Ensemble, LunART Festival, and Fresco Opera. He was writer/arranger for salsa band Madisalsa for twenty years and Afro-Cuban quintet El Clan Destino for ten.He joined University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music professors on five CDs, one each with Marc Vallon (bassoon) and Tom Curry (tuba), and three with Mark Hetzler (trombone), including his electro-acoustic ensemble Sinister Resonance, which ventures from classical through jazz, dub, and heavy metal. Other CD collaborations include Laura Medisky (oboe), Patrick Hines (horn), Matthew Onstad (trumpet), Thomas Pfotenhauer (trumpet), Charles Tibbets (horn), and Cole Bartels (trombone).
Vincent is committed to both arts education through Madison Youth Choirs and arts outreach through Opera for the Young, touring with them throughout the Midwest since 1997.
Dr. Susan Gaeddert, collaborative pianist
Dr. Susan Gaeddert (she/her) is active in the Madison area as a collaborative pianist, working with professional musicians and students of all ages coaching singers and instrumentalists for auditions and performances. She has toured the state with Opera for The Young, taught at Edgewood College, taught private and group lessons, and performed with a number of local musicians at festivals and recitals in the Madison area. Susan holds degrees in Piano Performance, Pedagogy, and Collaborative piano, and recently obtained a degree in Urban/Regional Planning from UW-Madison. She now works full time as Community Programs Director for 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, an organization specializing in land use and transportation planning.
If she’s not at work or the piano, Susan can usually be found outside in her garden or exploring local trails. She is a long-time advocate for outdoor education and advanced learning opportunities in schools. Susan is also an avid knitter, and she keeps her hands busy making socks, hats, mittens, and sweaters to keep herself and her loved ones warm all year long.
Scott Gendel, DMA, collaborative pianist
Scott Gendel is a composer, vocal coach, pianist, rock musician, singer, composition teacher, and musical generalist from Monona, Wisconsin. As a composer, he writes all kinds of music, and is an expert at “I have this weird musical idea but no idea how to make it work, help!” But Scott is particularly obsessed and experienced with vocal music, and has been commissioned by singers including Karen Slack, Stephanie Blythe, and Julia Faulkner, along with ensembles like the Madison Symphony Orchestra, C4: The Choral Composer-Conductor Collective, and Sparks & Wiry Cries. Scott’s music has been recorded by Yo-Yo Ma, the Santa Clara Chorale, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and others. He received his DMA from UW-Madison in 2005, and designed & taught an undergraduate composition curriculum there just after graduating. Scott was the first ever winner of the ASCAP/LLF Song Cycle Competition, and his vocal music is published by Classical Vocal Reprints and North Star Music. His new full-length opera “Everlasting Faint” with librettist Sandra Flores-Strand is being workshopped by the University of Wisconsin-Madison in December 2023. As a performer, Scott is official pianist and principal vocal coach for Madison Opera, Music Director for Opera For The Young, and has been coach & pianist for Atlanta Opera and Opera North. He was a founding member of the Zappa ensemble The Furious Bongos, he sings tenor with the Madison Choral Project, and plays & sings regularly with the Red Hot Horn Dawgs. Please visit https://www.scottgendel.com for more info.
Eliav Goldman, conductor
Eliav Goldman, Holst and Con Gioia Conductor
Eliav Goldman joined the MYC family as a boychoir member in 2013 and instantly found a home. When he graduated a year later, he was determined to keep MYC in his life, one way or another. Throughout his time studying Music Education at UW-Madison, Eliav remained connected to the MYC community as a choral intern, assisting a variety of choirs and eagerly accepting any and all opportunities to learn and grow with MYC students and staff. Eliav is eternally grateful for those opportunities, particularly all the guidance and wisdom that he has soaked up from the truly world-class MYC conductors and staff, whom he is so honored to call his colleagues.
Outside of MYC, Eliav works as the Choir, General Music, and Theater teacher at Toki Middle School in Madison. He is a Herb Kohl Fellowship Award winning educator and an MMSD LGBTQIA+ Ally Award recipient. He is fiercely interested in the frameworks of Hip Hop Pedagogy and Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP). Other topics of interest include baking and cooking, soccer and tennis, and floral fashion, but there are few things that Eliav loves more than a good story and a good question.
Grace Greene, artistic associate
Artistic Associate, Purcell choir
Calli Ingebritsen, introductory choir instructor
Colla Voce Instructor
Calli Ingebritsen is a member of the intro choir staff of MYC. Calli graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater in 2008 with a Bachelor of Music degree in choral and general music education. Since 2009, she has taught choir and general music at Mount Horeb Area Middle School. Calli met and worked with Margaret and Randy at the CMP workshops, and is thrilled to be a part of the MYC team with such amazing educators. She currently lives in Mount Horeb with her husband, Jeff, and their children. She is an active musician in area community ensembles and theaters. She enjoys reading anything she can get her hands on and crocheting.
Andrew Johnson, collaborative pianist
Margaret Jenks, conductor; project leader - community and education programs
Introductory choir instructor, Purcell & Cantilena conductor, Programs Project Leader – Community and Education Programs
Margaret currently teaches choral, general music and theater at Velma Hamilton Middle School in Madison Metropolitan School District. Since 2012, Margaret has been a regular presenter for Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, working with the Music Educator Workshops, Link Up, Play USA and most recently, Musical Explorers. Margaret is a frequent guest conductor for state and regional honor choirs and has directed choirs and led teacher workshops across the US, in Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Margaret is the chair of the Wisconsin Comprehensive Musicianship (CMP) Project and is committed to raising the bar for music education, both in her teaching of K-12 students and in her work mentoring and training teachers. Using strategies that promote critical thinking and self-reflection, and empowering students to see themselves as capable learners, listeners and creators are some of the ways Margaret strives to use her role as a music educator to create a more equitable society.
Madison Symphony Orchestra named Margaret its first “Music Educator of the Year” in 2014 and in 2019 and 2021 she participated in the Yale Music Symposium, where she received the Yale University “Distinguished Music Educator” award.
When not teaching she loves to visit with her (MYC Alum) sons, who go to college in places that are fun to hike, bike and explore. Tallis, her Great Pyrenees that is named after the first MYC choir she conducted, is a huge choral music lover and unofficial MYC mascot.
Lisa Kjentvet, conductor emerita
Conductor Emerita
Lisa Kjentvet has worked with the Madison Youth Choirs and the former Madison Children’s Choir since 2000. Her history with the organization began as the conductor of Capriccio for the Madison Children’s Choir where she subsequently served as Artistic Director for two years. She served as Co-Artistic Director of the Madison Youth Choirs during its inaugural season and later as Education and Outreach Coordinator. A member of the VoiceCare Network, Lisa conducted Choraliers and Capriccio for many years.
During her tenure, her choirs have appeared at regional and international festivals and the North Central American Choral Directors Association Convention. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in General and Choral Music Education, she has previously taught in the Kettle Moraine School District, Madison Metropolitan School District and the Catholic Diocese of Madison while maintaining an active schedule as a clinician, performer and private piano and voice instructor. In 2017, Lisa joined the administrative staff of the Madison Symphony Orchestra where she currently serves as the Director of Education and Community Engagement. In 2025, Lisa became MYC’s first Conductor Emerita.
El McCool, artistic associate
Artistic Associate, Britten choir
Marie McManama, coordinator of vocal coaching
Coordinator of Vocal Coaching
Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, soprano Marie McManama has performed with the Union Avenue Opera, Cincinnati Opera, St. Louis Symphony, St. Louis Muny, Opera Theatre St. Louis, Grant Park Music Festival, SongFest, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. She is a founding member of the Madison Choral Project and has sung locally as a soloist with Madison Opera, Opera for the Young, Isthmus Vocal Ensemble, Four Seasons Theatre, Middleton Players Theater, and the Peninsula Music Festival in Door County. While completing her Masters at CCM in Cincinnati she also earned her second Bachelors in music education and recently won a scholarship from the Wisconsin Music Educators Association for excellence in teaching. She teaches choir and general music at O’Keeffe Middle School in addition to her private voice studio and is thrilled to be part of the MYC team!
David Olson, introductory choir instructor
Introductory choir instructor
David Olson is thrilled to be an intro choir teacher at MYC. In 2013 he graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a Bachelor’s degree in Choral and General Music Education. Since then he has taught grades K-12 in rural and urban areas across the state of Wisconsin. David is the choir teacher at Spring Harbor Middle School as well as the K-1 general music teacher at Van Hise Elementary School, and works as the assistant director of residential life and student engagement at Summer Music Clinic through UW Madison. He is also a member of the Chant Claire Chamber Choir based out of Milwaukee, and enjoys performing in weddings, pop up orchestras, and impromptu barbershop quartets.
Chris Powers, introductory choir instructor
Introductory Choir instructor
Email Chris
Chris Powers is excited to be part of the MYC family as an introductory choir instructor. Making music with students in the public schools since 2005 as well as the private studio since 2001, he holds a master’s degree from VanderCook College of Music (Chicago) and a bachelor’s degree from St. Norbert College (DePere, WI), both in Music Education. Chris is an Orff Schulwerk certified music teacher that is also trained in Feierabend’s Conversational Solfege & First Steps in Music. Currently, he teaches K-5 general music in the Madison Metropolitan School District, is an active master adjudicator with Wisconsin School Music Association, serves as a board member with the Greater Milwaukee Orff Dimensions and Wisconsin Music Educators Association and enjoys opportunities to share his piano skills with others. Chris lives in Madison with his wife and two children and can often be found section hiking the Ice Age Trail or kayaking local waterways as a family when not engaged in making music.
Steve Radtke, collaborative pianist
Michael Ross, artistic director & conductor
Artistic Director and Conductor of Cantabile and Ragazzi
Email Michael • (608) 238-7464
Michael (Mike) Ross has worked for Madison Youth Choirs in some capacity since 1997 – as an accompanist, as an instructor, as a clinician, as a guest coach, as a conductor, and as Artistic Director since 2003. While he holds both BMus and MMus degrees in Music Education from UW-Madison, he first became excited about teaching from his parents (both teachers), through his many music teachers and mentors, and as a counselor and song-leader at Rainbow Day camp late in the 20th century.
Mike has done all sorts of music-related stuff: has played piano since he was 6 years old, led honor choirs throughout the US, music directed many shows, has written incidental music for plays (highlight: Anne Frank with CTM) and tons of choral arrangements, and has accompanied countless rehearsals. Special skills include children’s birthday parties (with his colleagues at 3 Fun Guys), playing the guitar while standing on a moving bus, and ridiculous jokes.
He loves Ella Fitzgerald, Motown music from the 60’s, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Bach (OK, he loves more than this, but it’s a start!). His wife and two grown-up children are his primary focus and he has been committed throughout his life to finding ways to connect young singers to music.
Margaret Stansfield, introductory choir instructor
Colla Voce and Tallis Instructor
Margaret (Maggie) Stansfield has been a Tallis and Colla Voce instructor for MYC since 2012. She is a graduate of Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and German Studies. She has been teaching voice privately and in the schools since 2006. Maggie believes in each child’s ability to have an authentic and meaningful artistic response and is a proponent of the Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance teaching model. She currently teaches choir, private voice, music theory and history to 5-12th grade students at Madison Country Day School. She lives in Madison with her husband, two sons, and Freddie Mercury the cat.
Randal Swiggum, conductor
Britten Conductor
Besides conducting Britten, Randal Swiggum is the Arts Teacher Leader for the Madison Metropolitan School District, where he works with all K-12 music, art, theatre, and dance teachers as a coach and support. Randy was Artistic Director of the award-winning Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra (Chicago) for over twenty years. He has also served as education conductor for a number of professional orchestras including The Florida Orchestra, Elgin Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, and Boise Philharmonic. With the Madison Symphony he has conducted concerts for young people, including Symphony Soup, the Fall Youth Concerts, and the Carnegie Hall Link-Up concerts. Each February, he had conducted the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in a concert for young audiences, which over the years has featured masterworks such as the Faure Requiem, Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem, Poulenc Gloria, Bernstein Chichester Psalms, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah.
Randy was Artistic Director of the Madison Children’s Choir from 1996-2000 and led the first international tour for Ragazzi and Cantabile to Brazil in 1998. He has also taught at Whitefish Bay High School, Verona High School, UW-Milwaukee, and Lawrence University. A frequent guest conductor of orchestral and choral festivals, he conducted the first ever Pennsylvania All-State Junior High Choir, as well as the MENC All-Northwest Honor Choir in Portland, New York City Interschool Choral Festival, Mansfield (PA) University Choral Festival, American Mennonite Schools Orchestra Festival, Northern Arizona Honors Orchestra, and both the Wisconsin Middle Level Honors Choir and Orchestra. Recently he has conducted orchestra or choral festivals in Aberdeen, Scotland; Seoul, Korea, and Singapore as well as the All-State Orchestras in Georgia and Illinois. He has conducted the Scottish National Youth Symphony, and the APAC Choral Festival in Seoul, Korea, co-conducted with colleague Margaret Jenks. He and Margaret also were invited to co-conduct ACDA Young Men’s Honor Choirs in Cincinnati (2010) and Madison (2012).
A passionate advocate for a richer learning experience in the rehearsal, Randy serves on the Wisconsin CMP (Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance) Project. He has addressed the Pennsylvania MENC and ACDA, Minnesota ACDA, Iowa ACDA, Illinois ACDA and IMEA, Maryland MENC, the ACDA North Central Division and Eastern Division, the Texas Orchestra Directors Association, and MENC National Conventions in Phoenix and Kansas City. He often works with music teachers in workshops and in-services across the U.S. With colleague Margaret Jenks, he recently taught a CMP workshop in Hong Kong for teachers across southeast Asia. They both also continue to serve as faculty for the Carnegie Hall Music Educators Workshop in New York City.
Randy has led concert tours throughout Europe, Canada, and South America. He has music directed over thirty stage works including the 1991 premiere of the Theatre X opera, Liberace. He created the music for celebrated director Eric Simonsen’s new production of Moby Dick for the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, named by TIME magazine as one of the 10 Best Theatrical Productions of 2002, and was Music Director for the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre’s beloved annual “A Christmas Carol” for thirteen years. He is author of Strategies for Teaching High School Chorus (MENC 1998), and co-author of Shaping Sound Musicians (GIA 2003). He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in musicology at UW-Madison.
Alex Taylor, Vocal Coach
Alex Taylor is thrilled to be joining MYC as a vocal coach! As a teen, Alex loved to sing but struggled mightily with his turbulent and changing voice. After two degrees and over a decade of investigating why the voice does what it does, Alex is thrilled to use his knowledge and experience to help young singers in Madison navigate the turbulent vocal adventure that comes with singing in a choir with a changing voice.
As a performer, Alex was a member of the Houston Chamber Choir when they won their first GRAMMY® award and currently sings with the Madison Choral Project. He has experience in a wide array of genres including opera, musical theatre, pop, folk, and jazz. He recently made his debut with Madison Opera as The Mother in Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins and premiered the role of Green Shirt Guy in Mel Rides the Bus Alone at Pittsburgh Opera. Additionally, Alex worked two tours as actor and music director with Express Children’s Theatre. Alex hails from Beloit, WI and received his MM in Vocal Performance from Carnegie Mellon University and BAs in Music Theatre and Music Theory from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Additionally, Alex offers voice training & coaching online to curious and emerging singers, mostly in pop, rock, folk, and musical theatre genres. Visit www.alextaylorvoice.com to learn more!
Board of Directors
Madison Youth Choirs is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors that meets monthly. These volunteers are parents of choir members, alumni, and/or representatives of the community at large. The Board of Directors is responsible for developing and implementing a strategic plan, developing policies for the organization, and assisting with fundraising activities.
Board Members
2024-2025 Board Members:
- Jennifer Lattis, president
- Eva Marley, secretary
- Matthew Clayton, treasurer
- Michelle Kruse, secretary
- Teague Mawer, past president
- Chet Agni
- Evan Heath
- Arvina Martin
- Melissa McNeal Adams
MYC also has representatives on the Madison Youth Arts Center board:
- Laurie Fellenz
- Dan Sinclair
- David Schmiedicke