HOLY NAMES MUSIC CENTER - Key Persons
Abe Kenney has been performing in public since 1996. His first instrument was a baritone ukulele. He has been teaching for the last ten years, gaining more experience and more students. Teaching both retired adults and children as young as 4. His primary background of study has been classical guitar, but in lessons he incorporates jazz, blues, and singing as well. He has placed and competed in competitions in the Northwest and in Boston. He has studied in masterclasses with many of todays most prominent classical guitarists, and is currently studying with Dr. Paul Grove. He has composed and recorded classical, flamenco, electronic, experimental, punk, metal, video game, and movie music. He was born in Spokane and has lived here since, but has performed in Mexico, New York, and even recorded in Japan.
Job Titles:
- Immediate past President
- Member of the Officers Team
Andrea Olsen has lived in Spokane since 1992, and holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in music from Eastern Washington University. She has been a member of the Spokane Symphony Chorale (1992-2005) and performs with the Bach Festival Chorus, Connoisseur Concerts, Cathedral and the Arts, Allegro Royal Fireworks Festival, and is the soprano soloist at the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist. She has performed with the Calgary Opera Chorus, the Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show, the Spokane Symphony and Spokane Opera. Her notable musical theater roles include Marta in "The Sound of Music", Lily in "The Secret Garden", Christine in "Phantom", Miss Sarah Brown in "Guys & Dolls", Rapunzel in "Into the Woods", Cathy in "The Last Five Years", Johanna in "Sweeney Todd", Florence in "CHESS", Mabel in "Pirates of Penzance", Maria in "West Side Story", Betty in "White Christmas", Fantine in "Les Misérables", and Narrator in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".
Andrea served on the music faculty at Gonzaga University from 2002-2009 and has served as the music specialist at Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute since 2005. She has been on the music faculty at North Idaho College since 2009 and joined the music faculty at Spokane Falls Community College in Fall 2014.
Andrea has worked with Spokane Children's theatre as both music director and choreographer, and taught ballet, tap and jazz at Spokane's The Dance Center. She has served as music director for the nationally acclaimed Central Valley High School Theatre Department (her alma mater!) since 2014.
Andrea sings lead in her back-to-back regional champion Sweet Adeline's Quartet, Pepper, and serves as the managing director (and member) of Spokane Choral Artists.
Andrea has been on the faculty at Holy Names Music Center since 2005.
Bee Reynolds has been teaching cello at Holy Names Music Center since 2012. She enjoys teaching all ages and has taught beginners between the ages of 4 and 85.
She has a diverse music background, which includes playing a variety of instruments before she fell, head over heels, in love with the cello. Her cello instruction started here at Holy Names with Karen Bart in the New Horizons Orchestra, then continued with Louise Butler as a private instructor, and eventually she had the opportunity and privilege to be mentored by Sr. Karen Conlin in teaching the Suzuki Method for cello. Bee has taken extensive Suzuki training courses and workshops including: Teacher training for Suzuki cello: pre-twinkle, Books 1-5, Every Child Can, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Creative Ability Development, Engaging Group Activities, and a Reading Activities Workshop.
Bee graduated from Whitworth College with a BA degree in Recreation in Physical and Psycho-social development. Before teaching cello, she taught developmentally disabled individuals self-help and recreational skills. This has influenced her cello teaching in that she is continually looking for creative ways to break down complex skills into smaller steps, adapting them to each student by incorporating their differing learning styles and strengths.
Trained as a classical violinist, musicologist, and a Suzuki violin teacher, Mariana Dimitrova has developed a teaching method that begins with Dr. Suzuki's early childhood education and gradually introduces the elements of traditional violin schooling along with the basics of music theory. Her goal is to help students to pursue excellence in music and to bring each of them to their maximum potential.
Mariana Dimitrova has been a member of the Holy Names Music Center faculty since 2008. During this time, her students were among the medalists at the Classics Alive Young Artists Auditions and Musicfest Northwest as well as the winners of Holy Names Music Center's Talent Grant.
A native of Bulgaria, Mariana Dimitrova graduated from Sofia School of Music as a violinist and then went on to obtain her Master's Degree in Musicology from the famed St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia. She holds a Doctoral Degree in Music History from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Staff Member
- Instrument Manager
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers Team
- Secretary
Heather Johnson is an active performer and educator throughout the Pacific Northwest. She is currently Second Flutist with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra and recently completed a one year Piccolo/Third Flute position with the Eugene Symphony. Since 2014, Heather has also served as Piccolo/Third Flute of the Artosphere Festival Orchestra in Fayetteville, AR, under the direction of Corrado Rovaris. She has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as on Chicago Symphony Orchestra's new music series, MusicNOW, and is currently a regular substitute of the Oregon Symphony, the Spokane Symphony, and the Eugene Symphony. She is also a past member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the prestigious training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Heather has had the privilege of working under the batons of many renowned conductors, including Riccardo Muti, Bernard Haitink, Sir Andrew Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Robertson, Sir Mark Elder, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Cliff Colnot, among others. She has also shared the stage with world class musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma.
In addition to previous engagements, Heather recently returned for her fourth UK tour performing Principal Flute with Chamber Opera Chicago. She played Principal Flute/Piccolo for the 2014-2015 season of the Skylight Music Theatre in Milwaukee, WI, as well as Acting Third Flute & Piccolo for the 2014-2015 season of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. She also held the Acting Principal Flute position for the 2013-2014 season of the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra.
As an educator, Heather maintains an active private flute studio and is on flute
Joey began studying violin at the age of 8 with Garnik Goukasian at Holy Names Music Center. He currently holds a degree in viola performance from Central Washington University, studying violin under Carrie Rehkopf before switching focus to viola and studying under Dr. Michelle Rahn. Joey was the principal violist of the CWU Symphony for two and a half years and qualified for nationals in the Music Teachers National Association chamber ensemble division with the Hiraeth string quartet. Joey was the winner of the 2017 Spokane Youth Symphony concerto competition and received an honorable mention in the 2019 CWU concerto competition. He has also performed with different symphonies and chamber ensembles in famous venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Benaroya Hall in Seattle, and several locations in Croatia and Bosnia.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Staff Member
- Office Manager
Margaret Francik is a graduate of Eastern Washington University, where she received her Bachelor of Music in composition under Jonathan Middleton, and studied piano with Kendall Feeney. She has been an accompanist for the Freeman and Wilbur School District Choirs, as well as for North Hill Christian Church and Manito Presbyterian Church, where she has also served as substitute choir director. Her original compositions have been premiered with several groups in the area, including the Evnika Trio and Vytal Movement Dance Company. As a teacher, Margaret focuses on encouraging her students to have a foundation in music theory, fluency in reading sheet music as well as chord charts, and learning standard repertoire alongside modern music that they may enjoy. She is able to work with beginners as well as advanced pupils, and focuses on helping her students achieve their specific musical goals. She is a firm believer that anyone can learn to play the piano, whatever their age or experience.
Mary Ella Van Voorhis studied voice with Tom Tavener, Dorothy Barnes and Nina Hinson. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from Whitworth University. Master of Music from the University of Idaho and her Levels I II and III Certification in Orff-Schulwerk from University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Mary Ella is a Northwest Regional Metropolitan Opera Finalist. She has been a Professional Singer with Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Music Theatre, Opera Associates of Los Angeles, LA Vocal and Instrumental Ensemble, The Long Beach Bach Festival, and San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, along with LA area churches and synagogues.
Mary Ella has been a private and class voice teacher at both Whitworth and UC Irvine and private voice teacher in Spokane, Santa Monica and Santa Clarita.
Mary Ella has served as Choral conductor of church and school choirs in Spokane and Los Angeles and as an Elementary general music teacher from 1998 to 2018 in the Sulphur Springs and Acton/Agua Dulce School Districts.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers Team
- President
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Faculty Representative, EX Officio
Nancy Klingman is an experienced and enthusiastic teacher with lifelong performance background in Opera, Concert and Recital. She has performed widely in Chicago and New York and has appeared in England and Italy, and in regional opera productions in the Midwest, in such roles as the Countess in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni, The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Frasquita in Carmen, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring and Second Lady in The Magic Flute. She has been featured at the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy. Some of her oratorio and choral appearances are Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Haydn's Creation, Brahms' German Requiem, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, and Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music. Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts Degrees in Voice from University of Denver's Lamont School of Music. Voice studios in Chicago, Music Institute of Lake Forest, Princeton, Princeton Adult School, The Lawrenceville School, Holy Names Music Center.
Ms. Klingman holds 6 studio recitals each year as well as bi-monthly Performance Workshops for building performance skills. Ms. Klingman is also known for her lighthearted, educational articles on Singing and for her Lectures on Opera and great vocal works in the classical repertoire. At Holy Names Music Center, Ms. Klingman has also developed two Workshops for singers - Singer's Performance Week and Aria Boot Camp. Past conducting credits include: Cantor/Music Director at Divine Word International, Techny, IL, Soloist - Niles (IL)Township Jewish Congregation, Director of Music at Westminster UCC, Spokane. Member: National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers Team
- Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Instructor for Digital Recording, Songwriting and Composition
- Instructor for over 10 Years
Stanton Cobbs is the Instructor for Digital Recording, Songwriting and Composition. Mr. Cobbs has been a private music instructor for over 10 years at Holy Names Music Center. He specializes in teaching all styles of guitar and voice. He is also the owner and operator of Summit Sound Studio, a state-of-the-art digital recording studio located in Tum Tum, Washington.
Mr. Cobbs has composed and produced a wide variety of original musical compositions. He has also composed music and designed the sound for the 2001-2002 season at Interplayers Theatre. His compositions include pieces for acoustic guitar, vocals and band. He has been teaching music for over thirty years and has performed in Spokane since 1981. Mr. Cobbs graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 1972.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Staff Member
- Custodian
- Custodian / Accounting
Job Titles:
- Administrative Staff Member
- Executive Director
- Trustee
- Administration
- Executive Director, EX Officio
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers Team
- Honorary Chair