Board of Directors

Ann Macfarlane (President) Choral music is one of life’s great joys, and singing with the Magnolia Chorale brings me enormous pleasure. In earlier times I directed small choral groups overseas (Germany, the Congo and Tanzania). Then the press of family life took me in a different direction. After 30 years away, I loved the camaraderie, high standards, and musicality offered by the Chorale. Sunday nights are a great contrast to my business life as a professional parliamentarian – and I get to serve on this friendly board too! Looking forward to the exciting year ahead.

Catherine Middleton-Hardie (Revenue Coordinator) After recently moving to Seattle I am thrilled to have joined Magnolia Chorale, reigniting my passion for choral music. My parents encouraged a love of classical music from a young age and my sisters and I were frequently brought along to various performances they were involved in. It was a natural progression for me to join choirs, orchestras, bands and stage musicals at school. Unfortunately, at university and early professional life (in biotech) I lost touch with these creative outlets. Fortunately, the Magnolia Chorale has been extremely welcoming and is presenting approachable, yet sufficiently challenging music this season to be a great re-entry for me into choral singing. I have served on the board on other community organizations and have agreed to serve as treasurer to support the Chorale and to say “thank you” to the members.

Betty Ede (Director) I would like to thank the Magnolia Chorale for giving me this opportunity to serve on the board. My musical life began with the violin when I was in the 3rd grade. In the 4th grade, I added the piano to my repertoire. As a high school student in Olympia, I sang as a member of my church choir (and sang along with the radio too). During college, I sang in a church choir, and now I sing and sometimes play the bells with our church choir here in Seattle. When I am not being musical, I enjoy my retirement benefits...free time, no computer, no phone, no paperwork.

Katie Hampton (Treasurer) played the flute and piano growing up, but ultimately chose choir as her sole musical endeavor. After high school, she strayed from formalized singing, but kept her vocal cords warm with many a night in Karaoke bars and road trip singalongs. She is thrilled to have found a group where she can get back into the musical world with such established, talented, and welcoming singers. Never having served on a board, Katie saw this as a wonderful opportunity to share her love of spreadsheets with a group that has given her so much!

Darrel Ede (Secretary) retired in ’08 after 31 years working in special education, using music in the classroom as a way of calming and connecting with challenging students. His love of music started in the third grade with saxophone and clarinet. He graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 1969. Drafted 2 days before his wedding, he enlisted and spent 3 years playing “airborne clarinet” in the army band program. In 2000 Darrel was recruited for the Seattle Symphony Chorale singing second bass, and joined the Magnolia Chorale 10 years later. “I truly enjoy singing with this wonderful group of people. It is a great, absolutely fun creative outlet, and I am honored to be on the board of directors”.

Peter Helgeson (Director) Born into a musical family, I was exposed to Portland’s arts culture and performed in the Portland Opera Chorus, Civic Theatre Guild, and was a chorister in my local church choir. For the past 32 years, Southeast Alaska has been home where I worked as a public broadcaster, raised 3 kids and have been an ardent supporter of the arts, music and education. Now living in Seattle, I chose membership in the Magnolia Chorale as a way to further my musical interests and offer my experience as a non-profit administrator.

Pam Love (Director) Pam Love is glad to be serving on the board of Magnolia Chorale. Singing in the Chorale is one of her Happy Places, right up there with hiking in Hawaii, eating chocolate, watching classic movies, reading, yoga and soaking in a hot tub. Pam has served on several volunteer boards in the past and though they satisfied her desire to do good work, they weren’t as local and down-home satisfying Magnolia Chorale. The sense of community is what makes this group different, and as a 35-year resident of Magnolia Pam thinks it doesn’t get much better than this.

Barb Olson (Director) The Magnolia Chorale has provided fun, enjoyment, and a sense of community for me, as a long-time member. As part of a large family, I remember my mother leading group singing on car trips, probably to preserve her sanity, but for me singing became fun at an early age. Singing with the Magnolia Chorale is still fun and I hope to give back a little to the Chorale by serving on the Board.

Anne Quinn (Director) Music goes way back in my family, with roots in New York. My grandfather played piano with a big band called “The Clovers.” Some of my earliest musical memories are of visits to my grandparents’ home, where relatives and old friends sang standards with good-natured competitive volume around the piano. I took viola lessons in grade school, and in high school learned to play piano. I enjoyed singing in the high school chorus, and then over the years participated in specialty and church choirs. The Magnolia Chorale distinguishes itself by its sense of community, the commitment of its members, the interesting song choices and themes, and the excellent musical direction.