Conchords Chorale

Cheri Emahiser

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:51:45 +0000

Cheri Emahiser was born in Salem, Oregon and currently lives in Tualatin with her husband. Cheri is a College Graduate. Cheri previously sung with Tigard Pops for 2 years and was involved in musical productions with Pentacle Theatre in Salem, Ore. Currently she singing in a trio and has been a member of the Conchords for the past 4 years. Cheri’s other hobbies include sewing, snow skiing, and bicycling.

Don Anderson

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:46:17 +0000

Our director is Don Anderson. Don has a degree in music education and a varied and extensive background as a tenor soloist, including performances with the Portland Opera, Oregon Symphony, and Portland Symphonic Choir. His directorial experiences include the US Army Corp Command Chorus, German Preparatory Chorus, Liedertafel Harmonie, Portland Chorale, and currently Cloud 9 young men’s vocal ensemble, and Stratosphere, a young women’s ensemble. He has been a voice coach in the Portland area for 30 years, and also is a commissioned composer and arranger.

Angela Hughey

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:08:34 +0000

Accompanist Angela Hughey was born in Concord, CA. She and her husband moved to Seattle and then upstate New York with the Navy until her husband finished his service in 2005. They now live in Oregon City, OR. Angela is working on a Bachelors degree in Piano Performance/Pedagogy, and will continue past that accomplishment to work toward a Masters. Having played the piano since she was eight years old, Angela has accompanied instrumental, voice and ballet rehearsals and performances. She and her husband have been married for 10 years. They have two loving kittens and one reclusive cat. (Angela says human children are in their future.) Angela and her husband like to travel, bird-watch, root for the Steelers every Sunday.

Lynn Nutter

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:07:51 +0000

Lyn Nutter was born in Wishek, ND and moved to Vancouver, WA when she was three. There she grew up and attended school, eventually earning her A.A. degree from Clark Community College. Lyn accumulated singing experience in high school and college, and continues to sing in her church choir; she has been a member of the Conchords for the last six or seven years. Lyn has two sons, and is the proud grandmother of three. She played cymbals for 20 years with the One More Time Around Again Marching Band, and now plays percussion with the Westwinds Community Band, the Beaverton Community Band and the Conchords Chorale. As Lyn puts it, “After two years of singing off-key with the choir, it was gently but firmly suggested I play percussion for them.”

Sonja Spencer

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:02:00 +0000

Soprano section leader Sonja Spencer was born in Vernon, TX and moved to Oregon when she was five years old. She did her Post Graduate Studies in Business Administration and Business Education, and also has minors in Economics and Geology. Sonja has been singing since grade school, and belonged to many choral groups in high school. A highlight of Sonja’s choral experience came when a group to which she belonged sang with the Hartford Symphony, directed by Skitch Henderson. She joined the Conchords four years ago. Coming from a musical family, Sonja can claim a great uncle who played with the Lawrence Welk Band, a grandmother who taught voice and was active in the Minneapolis Opera, a sister who has soloed with the Portland Symphonic Choir, and a father who played under John Philip Sousa’s direction. Sonja has grown daughters (“who have great husbands,” she reports). She is a proud grandmother of five — soon to be six – grandchildren. She enjoys golf and tennis, and loves to support the arts, theater, children’s musical education, and other causes. She also plays the piano and dances. “To me,” Sonja says, “music is like breathing. It is the heart and soul of the universe and the soul of humanity.”

Allen Robinson

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:01:18 +0000

Allen Robinson was born in Fort Smith, AR and grew up on the Texas Gulf Coast. He now lives in Lake Oswego. Allen went to college in Houston and started his ESCO career there in 1982, eventually being relocated to Portland in 2005. He earned his B.S. in Engineering Technology in 1982, and his M.S. in Computer Science in 1996. He now works in IT Application Support at the ESCO Corporation as the general manager. Allen has enjoyed church singing from the pews for years. He joined Hayward (California) Community Chorus in 2004, where he stayed for 18 months before moving to Portland. He joined Conchords in the fall of 2007.
Allan has been married for 19 years and has two daughters. When not singing or acting as section leader for the Conchords bass section, Allen enjoys photography, home remodeling and swimming.

Jodi Carlton

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:00:00 +0000

Jodi Carlton, alto section leader, was born in Grinnell, Iowa and moved to Oregon in 1989. Jodi is currently a student at Warner Pacific College. She has enjoyed singing all her life, beginning in church choirs and including 14 years as a member of the Portland Singing Christmas Tree. Jodi has three grown children and is the proud grandmother of three, with another on the way. Her other hobbies include camping, writing, walking and drawing cartoon animals.

Hal Hallmark

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:58:37 +0000

Hal Hallmark was born in Portland, and currently lives in Milwaukie. He attended four different colleges but, as he puts it, “was fortunate enough to not have graduated from any of them.” A veteran of much youthful choral experience, Hal put music back into his life a few years ago after a 25-year break from singing. Hal has four children, and enjoys reading, photography and “being a friend.” Hal is the Conchords’ tenor section leader.

Dave Klosterman

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:56:56 +0000

Dave Klosterman, Conchords Board President, was raised and went through college in South Dakota. He moved to Tualatin, OR in 1979 after serving seven years in the US Navy as an officer/pilot. Dave has a degree in Business Administration, and works in technical sales & consulting. He and his wife Linda have been married since 1972. Their son, Matt, is a recent graduate from OSU. Dave grew up with choral music from middle school through college. Upon retiring from the US Air Force Reserve as an Officer and Helicopter Rescue Pilot in 1995, he renewed his choral interests and sang with the Tigard Pops until 2004. In 2004, Dave joined the Conchords and has served as president since 2005. Dave has steadily planned for and led the chorale’s organizational growth. Dave also sings with an outreach ensemble trio of the Conchords that regularly performs at area retirement centers. Dave’s other interests include golf, fly-fishing, bicycling, and gardening. Conchords members look forward to an abundance of tomatoes from Dave’s garden at the start of every fall season.

Cheryl Hart

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:55:58 +0000

Cheryl Hart was born in Rupert, Idaho. She moved to the Portland area in 2005 to be near her son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons. Cheryl has a B.A. in Psychology from Whitman College; an M.Ed. in Human Services (Counseling) from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in Adult Education from the University of Idaho. Cheryl’s singing background includes church choirs, elementary and junior high school choirs; sorority choral groups; and a stint in the German/American Chorus, while living in Stuttgart. Besides her son, Cheryl helped raise three stepchildren and now has four grandchildren. Along with singing, she loves to travel, read, do needlework, and “get things started.” Cheryl has been the impetus for several Conchords projects, guiding other board members as they plan for the choir’s future. Her Board position is Member-at-Large.