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Kairos Members

Sopranos

	Kathen ("Kit") Cowan hails from Ithaca College and Empire College. Her vocal studies were privately with Beatrice Littau of the Metropoitan Opera. Her instrumental studies in applied violin were with Thomas Michalak, Professor at Ithaca College and Conductor of the Scranton Symphony, Shirley Givens of Manhattanville, Stanley Bednar of Manhattan School of Music and with Gabriel Banat of the NY Philharmonic. For the past 25 years, Kit has performed weddings and private parties, in the tri-state area, as a member of the Reynolds & Cowan Duo. She has sung as a soloist and choir member in the St. Paul’s-on- the-Hill Episcopal Church Choir, Ascension Episcopal Church, Highland’s United Methodist Church, New Paltz Dutch Church, The New Paltz United Methodist Church, and the New Paltz Lutheran Church, to name a few. At present Kit teaches both choral and general music in the Arlington School District.

	Christine Howlett is the Director of Choral Activities at Vassar College, where she conducts the Vassar College Women's Chorus, Vassar College Choir and teaches music theory and voice. She is Artistic Director of Cappella Festiva and was recently appointed Artistic Director of the Poughkeepsie Boys' Choir. In 2006, she co-founded the Summer Choral Festival for treble voices at Vassar College and the Cappella Festiva Treble Choir. As a performer, Christine has sung under Paul Hillier, Lorin Maazel, and Helmut Rilling, both as soloist and choral member. Ms. Howlett earned the Bachelor of Vocal Performance from the University of Toronto and the Master of Early Music Voice Performance from Indiana University. She recently earned a Doctoral Degree in Choral Conducting at Indiana University. She has studied voice and conducting with Alan Bennett, Jan Harrington, Mary Ann Hart, Paul Hillier, Drew Minter, Helmut Rilling, Stanley Ritchie, John Poole and Carmen Tellez.

	Amy Littler earned her B.M. in Music Education and Voice from Westminster Choir College, studying under Sharon Sweet. During that time she sang with the Symphonic Orchestra, which performed regularly with the New York Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Concertgebouw. After graduating she lived in Atlanta, Georgia and performed as a featured soloist with the William Baker Festival Singers. Back in New York, she is teaching choral and general music in the Hyde Park School District, as well as directing her church choir and performing in various shows, including ensemble member in GSMTC's production of Candide and the role of Jenny Lind in Barnum. She is thrilled to be singing with Kairos as well.

	Carol Lundergan holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance and a B.S. in Music Therapy from SUNY-New Paltz. She serves as Secretary and Publicity Director for Kairos, and she is also the creator and webmaster of the Kairos website. She has been a soloist and member of the Brooklyn Philharmonia Chorus, the SUNY-New Paltz Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and College-Community Chorale, the Bach Festival Choirs, the NYC Riverside Choral Society, Ulster Choral Society, Christ Church Choir, and the UU Fellowship of Poughkeepsie Fellowship Singers. She performs regularly on the Hudson Valley Society for Music's Potluck Concert Series and has presented concerts at Mohonk Mountain House's Summer Music Festival for the past several years. Carol's stage credits include Gianetta in GSMTC's production of The Gondoliers, as Mrs. Nordstrom in both GSMTC's and Rhinebeck Theatre's productions of A Little Night Music, and most recently as the Baroness in GSMTC's production of Candide.

Altos

	Tricia Lewis Agar has performed extensively throughout the Hudson Valley as vocalist, soloist, cellist, and music director. She is a founding member and current President of Kairos. Tricia is also a member of the Kartuli Ensemble, a vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of the music of the nation of Georgia, and she is a vocalist for The Big Band Sound. Tricia has performed leading and supporting roles with GSMTC, County Players, Ninety Miles off Broadway, and New Paltz Summer Repertory Theatre, including the title role in Hello, Dolly! and Mama Rose in Gypsy. An accomplished cellist, Tricia plays in various chamber ensembles and pit orchestras in venues throughout the Hudson Valley. She has also performed with the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra. On the other end of the baton, Tricia has served as Music Director for County Players' productions of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Evita, and La Cage aux Folles.

	Judy Handman holds a B.A. from Smith College. She is an accomplished professional flutist, performs regularly with various orchestras and ensembles, and teaches flute and piano privately. Judy is also a member of Cappella Festiva Chorus and the Bach Festival Chorus in Poughkeepsie and serves as Vice President for Kairos.

	Pat Marquez serves as Kairos Treasurer (a thankless job, and she does it extremely well!). Pat holds a degree in French from SUNY-Geneseo and owns her own bookkeeping business. Pat is also a member of the SUNY-New Paltz College-Community Chorale and the Bach Festival Choir in Poughkeepsie and has sung with Halcyon Singers, the Berkshire Choral Festival and the Orange Classic Choral Society.

	Kathryn Stewart is absolutely thrilled to be singing with Kairos. She holds a B.A. in philosophy from Carleton College and a M.A. in math education from Rutgers University. Kathryn began her singing career at the age of 3 as a member of The Stewart Family Troubadours and has loved singing ever since. She has sung with Seattle Pro Musica, the Canby Singers in NYC, the SUNY-New Paltz College Community Chorale, and at Lincoln Center in Bang On A Can’s performance of Brian Eno’s Music for Airports. As a modern dancer, she has toured nationally and internationally with the Pat Graney Company, based in Seattle. Currently, she dances and sings around the classroom as she teaches math at New Paltz High School.

Tenors

	Scott Borden has been singing in various choral ensembles since he was about 5 years old. Scott sang for 10 seasons in New York's Stonewall Chorale and for 10 seasons before that in The Larry Parsons Chorale. He also worked for 20 years in Public Radio, most recently at WNYC in New York. Scott is a member of the Order of the Holy Cross in West Park and is thrilled to be able to sing with Kairos as well.


	Benedikt M. Kellner is a native of Germany who grew up in western New York State. While a graduate student at the State University of New York at Buffalo, he studied voice with Heinz Rehfuss, and, after moving to the mid‑Hudson Valley, with Margaret Clapp. He has performed regularly as a soloist in the area, appearing frequently with Cappella Festiva Chamber Choir & Orchestra, the Gilbert & Sullivan Musical Theater Company, and the annual Hudson Valley Bachfest, as well as practically all the choral groups in the mid‑Hudson Valley. He is a member of the G&S Musical Theater Company and recently retired as a singing member of Cappella Festiva after 25 years. Mr. Kellner is recently retired and worked as an Advisory Engineer in Ceramic Chip-Carrier Development at I.B.M. in East Fishkill.

	Glenn Knickerbocker holds his B.Mus. in vocal performance from Rice University, where he studied with Frances Bible. He is a Systems Integration Professional with IBM Corporation in Poughkeepsie. Glenn is a frequent soloist in the Hudson Valley and appeared as Marco in The Gondoliers, as Strephon in Iolanthe, Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow, as Mr. Erlanson in A Little Night Music, Pooh-Bah in The Mikado and most recently as the Governor in this fall's production of Candide with GSMTC. Glenn is also a member of the Kartuli Ensemble, a vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of the folk songs of the nation of Georgia.

Baritones

	William Ashby holds his B.S. degree in computer science from the University of Maryland and a B.Mus. in Music Theory from Indiana University. He has been a frequent rehearsal pianist for the Gilbert & Sullivan Musical Theater Company and has performed extensively throughout the Hudson Valley. He has appeared as Giuseppe in The Gondoliers and Franz the butler in The Sound of Music with the Gilbert & Sullivan Musical Theater Company, and as Mr. Lindquist in Rhinebeck Theater's production of A Little Night Music. Bill lives with his wife Roseanne and their son, Will, in Poughkeepsie. He has recently returned to Kairos after a long hiatus, and we're thrilled to have him back!

	Donald Boyer is a native of St. Louis, Missouri and moved east in 1982 to work for Educational Music Service, the main supplier of sheet music purchases to major orchestras, opera companies and choirs worldwide. Choral and violin training in high school were followed by violin studies at Washington University and the St. Louis Conservatory. Don played professionally at the Muny Opera and Memphis Symphony before leaving the Midwest. He is currently Music Director of Grace Episcopal Church in Middletown where he directs the Adult Choir. He has sung with the Classic Choral Society, Hudson Valley BachFest and the “King’s Stewards”, a madrigal group which he founded.

	Bryan Michels is a CT technologist with Benedictine Hospital in Kingston, New York. He recently moved to the Hudson Valley from Tyler, Texas, where he was a member of the Tyler Chamber Chorus for 22 years. He was also a member of the East Texas Symphony Chorus and performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Faure's Requiem. He is happy to find a group such as Kairos to continue his love of singing. Brian has also been involved, either onstage or backstage, in over 60 plays and musicals since the age of 12. Some of his roles have included Scrooge in Dicken's A Christmas Carol, Dickenson in 1776, Box in Sullivan's Box and Cox, and Mr. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank. Some of his most recent roles include Pish-Tush in last fall's production of The Mikado and the Baron/Lion/Prefect in this fall's production of Candide with GSMTC.

	James Oppenheimer has been involved in sacred and secular choral music for about fifty years, as a singer and as a choral director, in the United States (including groups in Pittsburgh, PA, Monterey, CA and in Dutchess County, NY) and in Germany, including the Johannischer Chor of Berlin. Jim has also had extensive amateur experience in choral and instrumental aspects of early music. He lives in Hyde Park with his wife Christine in a home owned by four cats.

	Michael Saunders is an avid choral singer who has performed, both as chorus member and soloist, with most of the choral groups of the mid-Hudson valley at one time or another over the last two decades. In addition to Kairos, Mike has sung with the Kartuli Ensemble, Halcyon Singers, Capella Festiva, the Orange County Classic Choral Society, the SUNY New Paltz Chorale, the Warwick Valley Chorale, the Hudson Valley Bach Festival, the Bard Music Festival, and the Berkshire Choral Festival. He is also a veteran of ten light opera productions with the GSMTC. When he isn't singing, Mike is pursuing a graduate degree in Physics at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.