SINGERS

Bass

Mark S. Bledsoe has sung bass-baritone in the Alaska Chamber Singers' bass section for 16 years. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Willamette University College of Music, where he majored in organ performance. Mark sang and played with many of the musical ensembles there. He has become a familiar face in the Alaska choral music scene, having performed over the years with not only the Alaska Chamber Singers, but also with the New Madrigal Singers, Basically Bach Chorus, the Anchorage Opera Chorus and the Anchorage Concert Chorus.
   When asked recently what he likes best about singing with the Alaska Chamber Singers, Mark looked up from his bowl of soup and chuckled, saying that with a vocal range of nearly a full octave, there were lots of choices, but that he likes best the B-flats and sometimes the A-flats. He then returned to his soup. We're not sure that he understood the question.

Wendell Bruckner was born in Fairbanks and has lived in Eagle River most of his life. During college he sang with a student-run acappella group of 16 members called Mixed Company. He also sang in two university groups including the Memorial Church Choir and the Stanford Chamber Singers. Following college he lived in San Francisco and sang in a local acappella group known as "Flying Without Instruments" whose repertoire ranged from Bach to the B-52s. Wendell also sang in the San Francisco Symphony Chorus for six years.

Shawn Campbell discovered the joys of singing in a small church in Killeen, Texas. After graduating from North Texas State University, he taught public school band students for 10 years in Temple, Texas. At the same time he sang with the Central Texas Chorus and the University of Texas Austin Choral Union learning many large-scale choral works. As a trombonist he has performed with several regional symphony orchestras and opera companies in Texas, Virginia and Anchorage. His love of the trombone led him to organize and conduct the Anchorage Trombone Choir in 2000. After retiring from the military in 2006, he returned to teaching band music, this time to Alaska's children.

Chip Cox joined ACS in its second season, 1987. He was born and raised in Hawaii where he sang at Hanahauoli (means happy work) school in Honolulu and later with the Hui Lea Nani (heavenly singers) at Punahou (the new spring) School. He sang with the Western Washington State College Concert Choir, the Hawaii Opera Theater, the Honolulu Symphony Chorus, the Don Alton Singers, Anchorage Community Chorus and the Anchorage Opera Theater. Chip is a civil engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers.

Gleo Huyck has been a member of the Alaska Chamber Singers since 1998. Originally from Mitchell, South Dakota, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ball State University with a music specialist diploma in voice and trumpet, and studied for his masters at the Vandercook College of Music. Gleo has toured internationally with The Voices of Baha and performed with that group in Carnegie Hall in 2002. He has also sung locally with the Mat-Su College Chorus, and the Anchorage Concert Chorus. Retired from the education field, he has a private music studio in Palmer. Gleo is also director of the Mat-Su Concert Band. He enjoys the beauty of Alaska through his love of photography, biking and camping.

Bob Mitchell began singing in church, school and community choirs in Pennsylvania in the early 1940s. He continued singing through his college and navy years, conducted a barbershop chorus in Montana in the 1960s, and joined the Anchorage Community Chorus when he arrived in 1975. He joined ACS at its beginning in fall of 1986, left town for 10 years, and rejoined in 1998. He also sings in the Anchorage Opera Chorus, and plays hand bells and sings in Anchor Park Methodist Church choir. He is a semi-retired architect and enjoys reading, fishing and skiing. His most memorable musical experiences are singing in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and singing Brahms' Ein Deutches Requiem under Helmut Rilling's baton in Carnegie Hall.

Glenn Petersen sings bass with the Chamber Singers and tenor with the church choir, so he refers to himself as "bi-sectional". Before coming to Anchorage to serve as pastor at Central Lutheran, he sang 16 years with the Idaho-Washington Concert Chorale and also its Chamber Choir. Besides singing with church choirs, Glenn sang two years with the California Bach Society, and has taken part in several community musical productions. He plays guitar and sometimes writes a song.

Kyle Vander Schrier received his bachelor's degree in Music Education from Baldwin-Wallace College and is currently the music and movement teacher at Winterberry Charter School. He has served as choral conductor in several different settings: North Ridgeville Middle School, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, North Eaton Christian Church, Ashland Symphonic Youth Chorus, and with Baldwin-Wallace College where he served as the assistant choral conductor as well as helping to prepare the Focus Festival Chorus for composer Krzysztof Penderecki. In addition to his conducting experience, he has also been a soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra and chorus member of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.

Christopher Hall started singing in choir in middle school and has since carried with him a passion for choral music and singing. A recent graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, Christopher received his undergraduate degree in biology while studying voice and receiving a minor in music. Many of his most memorable moments in life have been made while performing music and he is honored to have the opportunity to make beautiful music with the Alaska Chamber Singers this season.

Joseph Perron is excited for his first season in the Alaska Chamber Singers. A native of Denver, Colorado, Joseph recently graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, with a degree in Music Education. While at Concordia he toured nationally and internationally with the Concordia Choir under the direction of Dr. Rene Clausen. Throughout the last several years Joseph has appeared as a chorus member with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Fort Collins Opera, and, most recently, this summer at the Pine Mountain Music Festival in Houghton, MI. Joseph is new to Alaska and will be appearing this season with Anchorage Opera. He teaches choir and classroom music here at Clark Middle School and Nunaka Valley Elementary.

Tom Burkel

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