Staff

Board of Directors

Erika Grossman
President

Kirsten Schaney
Vice President

Peter Adels
Secretary

Elizabeth Davenport
Treasurer

Jill Chambers
Member at Large

Jason Joseph
Member at Large

Kelly McFarland
Production Chair

Dean Rishel – Artistic Director

Dean Rishel, a noted conductor, composer, interpretive coach and teacher in the Philadelphia area, holds degrees from the Westminster Choir College and the College of New Jersey. Mr. Rishel has been a prolific composer since the premiere of his first work, Psalm Cycle, in 1985. Mr. Rishel's major work, Requiem for the Children, was written in memory of the children who perished in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and was premiered by the Greater South Jersey Chorus and the Gloucester City Children's Choir in May 1996 at the Blockbuster/Sony Music Entertainment center in Camden, New Jersey. The Requiem was presented in three major performances by the Greeley (Colorado) Chorale, as well as a major performance in Oklahoma City in 1998. The Requiem has also been performed in Pensacola, Florida and Ocean City, New Jersey. Many of Mr. Rishel's compositions have been premiered locally, including Magnificat Leggiero, Some Say, and Take, O Take Those Lips Away. Other commissions include Music, How Can I Keep from Singing, Der Abend, and Twilight at Sea, commissioned by ChildrenSong of NJ. Personent Hodie and The Pillar of Peace were composed for ChildrenSong, and Candlefire for Lauda! Chamber Singers. Mr. Rishel's works have been published by Shawnee Press, Mark Foster Music, Carl Fischer Music and can be obtained from online at www.deanrishelmusic.com.

Mr. Rishel is serving his second season as Artistic Director with the Philadelphia Voices of Pride.

Mr. Rishel has also served for over nine seasons as Artistic Director of the Greater South Jersey Chorus and brought that organization to regional prominence. He has also been a frequent conductor with the Princeton Opera, having conducted productions of The Magic Flute, Hansel and Gretel, Don Giovanni and The Mikado. He has also served as adjunct professor and director of the Choral Union Chorus of Rowan University and as adjunct professor at LaSalle University, where he taught and directed the LaSalle Singers.

Mr. Rishel currently resides in Philadelphia.

Rob Blackwell - Accompanist

As a Musical Director / Pianist, Rob has worked on more than 100 productions in New York, Europe and much of the United States, including two years in Europe with the London company of Grease and the revival of Do I Hear a Waltz?, at the George St. Playhouse, supervised by Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents. Rob's original musical: Before the Rain, features an all African American cast and was workshopped with the Intimann Theatre in Seattle and is slated for production in New York, Off-Broadway in 2011. Local productions include a six month run of Forever Plaid at the Walnut St. Theatre and "Q" a musical about LGBT relationships for the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival.