STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS
Director: Michele Zuckman
Michele Zuckman joined the Hopewell Valley Chorus as artistic director in June 2010 and led the group through the last months of its 50th anniversary celebration. Michele, a resident of Narberth, PA, brings to the table experience as a teacher/music director at the Downtown Performing Arts Center, with other local conducting and teaching credits at the Lambertville Music School and Bucks County Playhouse.
Michele holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Vocal Performance and Music Education, with a Conducting Minor, from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and Music Education from Westminster Choir College of Rider University. A founding faculty member of the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts in Bethlehem, PA, Michele led choirs that performed at the United Nations and the National Shrine. Michele was a soprano with The Princeton Singers for five seasons. In September 2011, Michele joined the faculty of Friends' Central School in Wynnewood, PA, where she leads four choirs and teaches music theory, music history, and 8th grade music.
Pianist/Accompanist: Drew C. Nielsen
Drew C. Nielsen currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Piano and the Professional Accompanist for Choral Activities at DeSales University in Center Valley, PA. As a widely sought after pianist/accompanist and vocalist, Mr. Nielsen was named Artist of the Year in 1989 as part of a piano competition held by the Friends of Music of Bethlehem, PA., and has performed with numerous productions of musicals throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Nevada. He has performed as Tenor Soloist with the Musikfest Chorus of Bethlehem, PA; Princeton Pro Musica; and Cantus Novus of Yardley, PA; most recently, he has been the featured Accompanist and Tenor Soloist for Trinityfest held at Trinity Cathedral, of Trenton, NJ under the direction of Deborah Ford since 2007. He performed as both Accompanist and Tenor Soloist for Princeton Musical Amateurs' performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in 2008, and was the featured Pianist for Beethoven's Op.80 Choral Fantasia with the combined Bloomfield Symphony (NJ) and Hopewell Valley Chorus in 2009 under the direction of Buzz and Marjorie Herman.
After touring Southern France in 2001 as soloist, accompanist and assistant director with Princeton Pro Musica's "Keepin' the Faith" Tour of Robert Ray's Gospel Mass, he continues to perform regularly as a professional singer and tenor soloist, assistant accompanist, and assistant director for P.P.M. under the direction of Frances Slade. At the present time, he accompanies the Hopewell Valley Chorus of Pennington, NJ under the direction of Michele Zuckman, and is the Organist and Music Director at St. John's Lutheran Church of Farmersville, PA, while teaching private piano to students of all ages in eastern Pennsylvania and central/northern New Jersey. Mr. Nielsen earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano performance and a M.A.T. in Music Education from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and also completed full certification in Orff-Skulwerk from West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
BOARD MEMBERS 2011-2012
President: Gwen Samuel
Gwen, current president of the Hopewell Valley Chorus, has been a happy member of the alto section since the early 1990s. She has been singing in choirs since Sunday School. She has worked, lived and raised a family in the Mercer County area for the last 28 years.
Music is well said to be the speech of angels. --Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881)
Vice President/Membership: Inger Magnusson
Inger is a soprano who joined the chorus in 2009. She is born in Sweden and has been singing in choruses since she was a child. Choral singing is extremely poplar in Sweden, and it has been said that the success of many Swedish choirs can be attributed to the Swedish language, which has a singing quality. Before her move to the US in 2005, she lived in Switzerland, where she enjoyed singing in the Cantus Basel. Inger works in the pharmaceutical industry, and lives in Pennington with her husband and two teenage sons.
Concertmaster: Sarah Schlichter
Sarah joined the Hopewell Valley Chorus in 2004, but has been singing in various choirs since elementary school. She is the editor of IndependentTraveler.com and tries to visit at least one new state or country (preferably both!) every year. In her free time she enjoys reading, hiking, and decorating her new house, one small project at a time.
Secretary: Pat Carr
After high school glee club, Pat took a long hiatus where she mainly sang in the shower and the car before joining the HVC in 1978; she also sang with Voices before rejoining the HVC in 2009. She is retired from the faculty of Mercer County College, is a former member of two rowing clubs and is an avid swimmer. Pat enjoys reading, good movies, good food, good wines and the Jersey Shore. She is presently on the Board of Trenton Psychiatric Hospital and volunteers at the Pennington Library. Pat lives in Pennington with Molly and Megan, her two cats.
Librarian: Carole Woodford
Carole Woodford has been singing with vocal groups most of her adult life. Prior to joining the Hopewell Valley Chorus in 1983, she was part of a madrigal group and has been active with her church choir for more than 20 years. Carole has served as HVC librarian since 2000.
Public Relations: Melissa Paloti
Melissa joined the Hopewell Valley Chorus in 2004 after realizing she missed singing, having belonged to choirs in college (Syracuse University Women's Chorus) and high school. She is a loyal alto despite a short-lived stint as a soprano at SU; her musical tastes run the gamut from classical to classic rock. Melissa enjoys traveling and has worked since 2003 at CruiseCritic.com, writing and editing, managing people and projects, and even cruising. In her spare time, she loves to cook, bake, entertain and relax at home in Hillsborough with her husband and two cats.
Finance Director: Ben Primer
Ben lives in Hopewell and has sung with the chorus since the mid-1990s.
Treasurer: Chuck Denk
