Magnolia Chorale Board of Directors — 2024 – 2025
Kate Criss (President) grew up on the North Fork of Long Island, where she played piano and flute and performed in her tiny high school’s annual musicals. She has lovely memories of singing Christmas Eve hymns with friends and neighbors at the Orient Congregational Church and was delighted to rediscover that joyful feeling with the Magnolia Chorale. Kate worked in libraries around the country before becoming a full-time parent, and has lived in Magnolia with her husband and two sons since 2011. She is grateful for the opportunity to serve the Chorale as a member of the board.
Cindy Johnson (Vice President) I am an Oregon native, blessed to grow up with an opera singer father and music loving family who encouraged me in choir, musicals, drama, and art. I have a BS in Fine Arts and an MA in Psychology and retired November 2020 after 30 + years as a behavioral health therapist and case manager with a variety of populations. I have lived in Magnolia with my artist husband and a wonderful assortment of dogs and cats since 1985. I joined the Magnolia Chorale in 2019.
Allison Hill (Secretary) got her musical start singing with the San Francisco Girls Chorus and playing cello in her elementary school orchestra. As a teen, she joined her high school’s a cappella group and performed in all of the year-end musicals. She took a break from organized singing for a while after high school, but was often still called upon to sing duets with her cousin at family functions. When Allison moved to Seattle in 2021, that same cousin suggested they join a choir together, and the rest is history. She is delighted to once again have a place to make music on a regular basis, and grateful to do so with such a talented and welcoming community.
Carla Fraga (Treasurer) is an arts and design educator and author who loves to bring a burst of song to her classes. She holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, and currently teaches at Luminous Works in Seattle. She’s grateful to have found in Magnolia Chorale a group of amicable, merry folks with whom to share the transporting joy of singing.
Neil Jackson (Director) was born in Seattle, and spent his childhood in Bellevue and Woodinville singing with the Columbia Choirs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Duke University, where he sang with the Duke Chorale and with the early music group Collegium Musicum. Today, Neil lives in Magnolia and works at an architectural drafting and mechanical engineering firm in Ballard. In his spare time he enjoys CNC woodworking and singing in the Chorale.
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Sabine Endrigkeit (Director) I grew up in Germany, playing flute, recorder and piano in a house filled with music. My parents (a music teacher, an orchestra musician) fostered my siblings' and my love for music through chamber music, opera, and caroling. Even when working as a surgeon, the desire for making music never left me, leading me to sing with the Frankfurter Singakademie. Having to reinvent my life after moving to Seattle in 2001, raising two lively children on Queen Anne, I am glad to have recently found Magnolia Chorale which gives me the perfect outlet for my musical soul. I enjoy making great music with like-minded peers. I am honored to have been given the opportunity to serve on the board of the Chorale during its exciting journey of growth.
Amanda Pardee (Director) is a Seattle transplant who joined the Chorale in Spring 2024. She’s always loved music and singing along with the radio. As a member of the board, she’s looking forward to helping the Magnolia Chorale community grow and flourish.
Julie Hooven (Director) grew up in the Chicago suburbs. Some of her fondest childhood memories were making music at Lyons Township High School, where chorus was not simply a class but a family. Her childhood chorus shared a passion for challenging music and was fortunate to experience guest conducting by John Rutter himself. Although music took a back seat to practicing insurance law and raising two daughters, it steadfastly remained Julie’s first love. In 2021, Julie and husband Greg moved to Seattle. Julie’s childhood piano made the 2,100-mile journey! And as Magnolia Chorale took the stage in December to sing Rutter’s arrangement of Faure’s Requiem, Julie realized she had found a new musical family. She is honored to serve on the Board of the Chorale, which has made Seattle feel like home.
Kelsey Cavanaugh (Director)
(Photo and bio to come) |