GALA CHORUSES - Key Persons

Eve Campbell has worked in the Not- For-Profit industry all of her adult life and loves being involved in mission driven experiences. As an early member of The Women's Chorus of Dallas she found her passion for the gay and lesbian choral movement. She served as the Executive Director of TWCD for over ten years and currently works as a consultant to non-profit arts organizations. Eve has served on numerous non-profit boards including the GALA Choruses board, with a term as president during the Festival Year 2000 in San Jose, CA. During her time with the GALA Choruses board Eve began working with member chorus boards to help with strategic planning, crisis intervention, annual planning, fund development strategies and other board issues. Since her first GALA Choruses consult in 1998, she has had over 100 consults with different choruses and other non-profits, many multiple times, as repeat requests have been frequent. She has also presented at Leadership Conferences, Festival and Artistic Director and Manager's meeting. Recognized as both a community leader and a leader in the gay and lesbian choral movement, Eve has received numerous awards including the Legacy Award from GALA Choruses (the organization's highest honor), the Extra Mile Award for service to the Dallas gay and lesbian community and a lifetime membership award with the Women's Chorus of Dallas. You can reach Eve at boardadvisor@galachoruses.org

Job Titles:

• Artistic Director
• GALA Choruses' Artistic Director

Jane Ramseyer Miller has served as GALA Choruses' Artistic Director since 2010, designing programming for four GALA Festivals in this role. She also served on the GALA Choruses board of directors and has been active in supporting the organization's mission of utilizing music as a tool for social change and promoting equality for LGBTQ+ people. From 1995 to 2023, Jane Ramseyer Miller was the Artistic Director of One Voice Mixed (LGBTQA) Chorus and commissioned more than 40 individual choral works, mostly by queer and BIPOC composers, during her tenure with the chorus. She has also served as Artistic Director for Calliope Women's Chorus, TransVoices, and as Interim Director of the Twin Cities' Gay Men's Chorus. Through her involvement with GALA and One Voice, Jane Ramseyer Miller has played a key role in promoting LGBTQ+ choral music and community engagement both in Minnesota and around the World. She has been recognized for her contributions to the LGBTQ+ community and to the arts, and has received numerous awards and honors for her work.

Award-winning composer Mari Esabel Valverde has been commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association, Boston Choral Ensemble, Cantus, the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses, Los Angeles Master Chorale, One Voice Mixed Chorus, Portland's Resonance Ensemble, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, Seattle Men's and Women's Choruses, and the Texas Music Educators Association. Her music appears on multiple albums: Ensemble Vocapella Limburg's Vom Werden und Vergehen-Songs of Life and Death, Peninsula Women's Chorus's Women Making Waves, Cantus's The Covid-19 Sessions, the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco's Hope in Times of Disquiet, SACRA/PROFANA's A Longing for Christmas, Seattle Pro Musica's Solstice: Music of Light for the Holidays, and Eric Ferring and Madeline Slettedahl's No Choice But Love: Songs of the LGBTQ+ Community.

Job Titles:

• Communications Specialist

Paul works as GALA Choruses' Communications Specialist, maintaining our social media, producing and distributing GALA's own media content, and developing our website. Outside of his work with GALA, Paul tells Queer love stories. As a playwright and media artist from Western Wisconsin, his work flows from his Catholic roots and ever-evolving experience of family. Paul often writes collaboratively, drawing from his years of experience as a videographer and documentarian. He is a 2023-2025 Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis and a cohort member of Audible's third Emerging Playwrights Fund. His audio play Once Removed was an official selection at the 2022 Tribeca Festival. Paul's plays have been produced by Adjusted Realists in Brooklyn, NY; Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA; the Vortex Theater in Austin, TX; and in high schools around the country. Paul has developed work at The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep, Yaddo, the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University, and Middlebury College. Paul completed his MFA at UT Austin in 2020, where he was a fellow with the Michener Center for Writers. From 2012-2022, Paul was resident playwright with Pittsburgh's Hatch Arts Collective, which he co-founded with Adil Mansoor and Nicole Shero.

Job Titles:

• Executive Director

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Praised for his collaborative spirit and eclectic music programming, Ryan LaBoy is a singer, conductor, and educator, currently serving as Artistic Director of Berkshire Children's Chorus and as Choir Director at Bard College at Simon's Rock- the nation's only four-year "early college." He also sings with Twin Cities-based chamber ensemble, Border CrosSing, which recently released their debut album "Un Milagro de Fe" to critical acclaim. Additionally, Ryan serves as a Virtual Music Instructor at the Shanti Bhavan Children's Project (Tamil Nadu, India) and as a Program Committee Member with Broadway for Arts Education (NYC). Before arriving in the Berkshires, Ryan spent three years as Director of Choirs & Voice at North Hennepin Community College where he conducted Concert Choir and Chamber Singers and led the Voice Studio, and served as Founding Music Director of ComMUSICation- an El Sistema-inspired choral youth-development program in St. Paul, Minnesota- leading them to performances with Grammy Award-winners like the Minnesota Orchestra and Leslie Odom, Jr. (Super Bowl LII). Ryan holds degrees in Choral Conducting and Music Education from the University of Minnesota and Westminster Choir College, respectively. Ryan can be reached at youth@galachoruses.org.

Job Titles:

• Membership Services Director

Sue holds a BA degree in English and Women's Studies, and her resume includes working as a Data Analyst and Client Service Manager for a major management science firm, a Medical Records Manager, DJ for a public radio station, and Sound Engineer for a women's performance space. She sees her engagement with GALA as a natural blending of her work experience as an information provider with her life-long passions for music, arts culture, feminism, and LGBTQ community-building. Sue will gladly answer your questions about GALA Choruses, membership and participation in GALA events.

Job Titles:

• Artist

Ysaye Maria Barnwell is an American singer, composer, educator, and scholar. Barnwell was born in Washington, D.C., and began her musical career as a child, singing in church choirs and studying piano. She went on to study music at Howard University and later became a member of Sweet Honey in the Rock, a world-renowned a cappella ensemble known for their political activism and performances of African American spirituals, folk songs, and original compositions. Barnwell was with the group from 1979 to 2014. In addition to her work with Sweet Honey in the Rock, Barnwell has worked as a solo artist and collaborated with a wide range of musicians and artists, including Bobby McFerrin, Odetta, and Sweet Honey in the Rock founder Bernice Johnson Reagon. She is also an accomplished educator and has taught music and vocal workshops throughout the United States and Europe. Barnwell has received numerous awards and accolades for her contributions to the music world, including a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Howard University. She is considered one of the leading voices in the African American a cappella tradition.