Director:

Michelle Gehrz is the conductor of Cantabile and also teaches Angelica’s Prelude and Prep Choir. Michelle is a passionate and joyful choral conductor, church musician, organist, music educator, and accompanist in the Minneapolis, MN area. Michelle holds degrees in music education, sacred music, and organ performance from St. Olaf College, University of Notre Dame, and University of St. Thomas (ABT) and has her Orff Certification from UST. 

 

In addition to conducting with Angelica, she is Artistic Director of Bella Lumina – an adult treble choir based in Hopkins, and she directs the Senior Chorale (55+) with the Music Association of Minnetonka, MN. She is active as a collaborative accompanist for ACDA-MN and MN-MEA All-State Choirs and serves as the R&R Chair for Children’s/Youth Choirs for ACDA-MN. Michelle will be the conductor of the ACDA-MN 4-5-6 Girls State Honor Choir in May 2023.  Her school music teaching career has spanned all grade levels K-12 and has included teaching at Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul, St. Croix Preparatory Academy in Stillwater, and the Wayzata School District. She has served as Organist/Choir Director at many churches in MN including the Cathedral of St. Paul, Lake of the Isles Lutheran, Mount Calvary Lutheran in Excelsior, and Hennepin Avenue UMC. She is currently co-organist at St. Anthony Park UCC.

 

Michelle’s greatest calling and wish for her time on this earth is simply to be a “bringer together of singers. -- I hope to be a catalyst for others to spread light, to find hope, and to feel immense joy through song!”

 

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Philosophy:

PREP Choir is ACYC’s first experience for young singers to learn to read a singer’s score (sheet music) and to function like a choir. There are many building blocks to these skills including holding music, note reading, visual recognition, pitch matching, physical and mental focus, acquisition of music language, and understanding a director’s gestures. 

Focus will be on “working as a team” and singing beautifully with confidence.  Music repertoire will include canons/rounds, partner songs, songs with ostinato, and unison melodies.