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Rachel Decker is excited to be singing with Voci! She has sung in various choirs and groups for most of her life, including her high school choir, which sang at Carnegie Hall; the UPS university chorale; Sacra/Profana; Encore Vocal Ensemble; Modern Glee in San Diego; and East Bay Harmony in Oakland. She teaches English and journalism in San Ramon and enjoys reading, exploring the Bay Area, and lots of coffee.
Nicky Deremiah loves being a part of Voci! She sang in an all-women’s choir in college and enjoys the complexity and sound of women’s choral music. In addition to singing with Voci, she loves to trail run and bake desserts of all shapes and sizes.
Jennifer Dix is so happy to be singing in a chorus again, after a many-year hiatus. She was a voice major in college and later performed and toured with the Pro Arte Singers under the direction of the late Arthur Sjögren. She moved into a career as a reporter, reviewing the performing arts among other beats. In more recent years she’s turned her research skills to genealogy. She loves digging into history and helping others uncover their family stories. You can find her most Wednesdays volunteering at the Oakland FamilySearch Center.
Susan Draeger, a lifelong and avid choral singer, is happy to be singing treble music with Voci. She works as a veterinarian, medical director at VCA Albany Animal Hospital, and she devotes as much time as possible to pursuing her singing hobby. She began singing with Voci in 2008, but took a hiatus in order to make time to go back to school, recently earning a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance, with a focus on vocal chamber music, from San Francisco State University. Susan also sings with and is a soloist for San Francisco Bach Choir, Tactus, and the Berkeley Bach Cantata Group. She is Creative Director and soprano for the vocal jazz quartet, The Dulcet Four. She invites anyone reading this to join her in a board game!
Vicky Faulk has been singing, and loving it, since she was a small child. As a young adult, she studied voice, performing with choirs and smaller ensembles almost continuously. Vicky works with Coldwell Banker as a residential real estate agent, assisting with marketing and selling homes in the East Bay area for over 25 years. Says Vicky of singing with Voci, “Nothing is as soul-satisfying as standing in the midst of a glorious choral chord, the vibrations swirling around my head. It is transformative!”
Lezlee Flagg recently moved to Oakland from her home in rural Eastern Oregon to be close to her daughter and her family. She was very active in the musical life of Pendleton over her many years there. She taught private voice lessons and helped to found and serve on the board of the local symphony, which is now 25 years old. She also founded and directed a community children’s choir and later a community women’s choir there. She performed with the symphony there as well in neighboring Kennewick, WA and with the local college/community theater company. Her favorite roles include the Queen in Mozart’s Queen of the Night, Mother Superior in The Sound of Music, and Miss Hannigan in Annie. After no singing opportunities through our pandemic years, Lezlee is thrilled to have the opportunity to sing with this amazing group of women and their wonderful director.
Cassandra Forth is an émigré from East Tennessee and North Carolina, a region of strong oral and roots music traditions. Time spent with her big brother, while he worked as a recording engineer for the President’s Own Marine Band, inspired her classical music enthusiasm. Her musical life had already begun with choral singing, but then continued with piano, French horn and organ. After a multi-year break from organized music making she began to study voice privately and sang for many years with the San Francisco Lyric Chorus, enjoying its varied repertoire. Cassandra feels that choral singing feeds the soul! She is excited to be singing with the talented women of Voci.
Samantha Graff is thrilled to be a member of Voci. She has sung in choirs on and off since her formative years in the San Francisco Girls Chorus. Sam is a co-founder of Onside Partners, a consultancy helping nonprofit and philanthropic leaders wrangle big ideas into concrete action. She is privileged to share a home with three jazz musicians: husband Miguel and teenage sons Avi and Rafael.
Rose Hansen is a Bay Area native who joined Voci in 2016. She’s sung in choirs most of her life and has performed everywhere from a Romanian salt mine to a ski resort in Norway to a cathedral in Mexico City. When Rose isn’t singing, she is communicating with diverse audiences about science (her day job), reading, hiking, running, biking, or traveling somewhere new.
Lena Hymel is excited to be singing again after a break. Her love of music from a young age inspired many years of piano lessons and musical theater programs. In college, she even chose to study music and musical theater performance while also helping run the student-driven music groups to make sure it was always a part of her life. Since the pandemic cut all those programs short, she is grateful for the opportunity to surround herself with musically-minded people again years later.
Pauline Ma-Senturia was born in Guilin, China and grew up singing at her mother’s church in Taiwan. She holds degrees in both Music and Interior Architectural Design. She has sung with various choral groups in the Bay Area, while working as a Design and Construction Project Manager for the U.S. General Services Administration for 18 years. Since her retirement, she is busier than ever enjoying her seven grandchildren, singing, doing craft projects and traveling near and far.
Alissa McLean is so happy to have women to sing with after many years of a hiatus! She grew up singing in the San Francisco Girls Chorus, a group in which her daughters Molly and Emily now sing. When she’s not singing or driving carpools, Alissa is a UX researcher on the Consumer Insights team for the educational toy company LeapFrog.
Terry Meyers grew up in Los Angeles, the youngest child of two musicians. In a former life, she danced, made art, played the violin and performed in musical theater. Terry joined Voci as a founding member in 1991 and has worked behind the scenes for Voci for many years, currently serving as board president. She also sings with The Dulcet Four and Resmiranda Vocal Ensemble. She is a clinical psychologist in private practice and has two grown daughters and a husband who is usually working the box office for Voci.
Hannah Parrilla is honored to be a member of Voci and excited to have recently moved to the beautiful Bay Area. Hannah is a Cleveland native and has had great choral experiences there. She sang with the Cleveland Orchestra’s Youth Chorus, Youth Chorus Chamber Chorus, and Blossom Festival Chorus. Singing with a world renowned orchestra was incredibly humbling and inspiring. Hannah has additionally sung at hospitals and nursing homes as a part of music therapy groups and recently enjoyed learning to play the piano. When Hannah isn’t making music, she can be found working as an applied nuclear physics engineer, spending quality time with her partner and pets, and enjoying the outdoors.
Joanna Powell joined Voci in Fall 2023, and is thrilled to be singing regularly again! Joanna grew up singing in choirs, musicals, and private voice lessons, and attended Interlochen Arts Camp as a voice major for three summers. She was a member of the Yale Glee Club, and served as musical director of various a cappella groups during college and law school. Most recently, she directed a four-woman beauty shop quartet, The Tartines. By day, Joanna works as an education attorney. She lives in Oakland with her husband, toddler son, and 2 dogs.
Rachael Roueche has loved singing since she was a wee thing, and has found much joy being in choirs throughout the years – from Virginia to DC to California. She’s excited to now be a part of Voci and to spread the beauty of music with this wonderful group of women! Outside of Voci, Rachael loves trail running, gardening, playing beach volleyball, and going to live stand up comedy shows.
Karla Sagramoso is very pleased to be part of Voci, having participated in choral singing of all sorts since childhood. She is convinced that if the world’s people all belonged to choirs and ate regular infusions of chocolate, they’d all be happier and healthier, though perhaps not slimmer. She especially enjoys singing in small ensembles and house concerts, and loves learning repertoire from many centuries and countries. When not singing, she works as a clinical psychologist and enjoys her family.
Lisa Sanders loves singing with such a talented group of women. Lisa also sings in The Dulcet Four, an a cappella quartet based in the San Francisco Bay Area, performing repertoire from the Great American Songbook and other classics. She has sung with Festival Opera in Walnut Creek and Livermore Valley Opera. On occasion, Lisa sings jazz with her brother’s group. When not singing, Lisa hangs out with her grand children, takes jazz classes and works part time.
Adina Sara returned to Voci after a 13-year break, during which she pursued other musical interests with Broadway, pop, and folk ensembles. She produced three albums of original music and performed as a singer/songwriter in folk festivals and clubs throughout Northern California. Adina also sings with Mozaik, performing traditional folk music from around the world. She spends much of her free time in southern California visiting her four grandchildren and singing duets with her teen-aged granddaughter.
Sally Shute is pleased to become a Voci member this year. Choral singing started in high school, continuing through college with the first 4 years as an Alto II followed by the next 4 years as a Soprano I. At Cornell University she received a voice scholarship in her senior year. She enjoyed singing in musicals during those early years. After graduating, she sang lead roles with the Fort Lee Symphony and Opera Association in NJ followed by singing for 5 years with ProArte Chorale. Since moving to California she has been recording music (songs and lyrics) from her dreams, performing Mindless Notions live at a juried art show at Skyline College (CA). Last year she performed with Broadway Repertory Theater (Sound of Music) and Kinsella Productions (Christmas at the Biltmore). It’s a pleasure to return to pure choral singing with Voci, blending my voice with quality singers.
Victoria Skerritt enjoys being a member of Voci and loves learning Voci’s diverse repertoire. Victoria’s music background is rooted in musical theater, alternative rock bands, and jazz vocal ensemble work. She thanks her friends and family for encouraging her musical journey.
Kathy Walrath used to play piano semi-professionally, but she abandoned keyboards for her true love, singing. Other loves include writing, knitting, dogs, and her funny, talented family. As a teenager she lived in Napoli and studied music theory in Italian, which she doesn’t really speak, yet she still remembers La musica è l’arte del suono…
Sarah Williams is a big fan of women’s choral music. Her other sport is orienteering. In addition to Voci, she sings in the choir at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Berkeley.
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