Conductors
Suzanne Light, Jr. Girlchoir conductor, earned a Bachelor's degree and teaching certificate in music education at the University of Oregon. She is an elementary music teacher at Meadow View. Mrs. Light became involved with the Oregon Children's Choir during our 1991-1992 season.
Tama
Rowan conducts the Junior Boychoir. Tama holds Bachelor and Master degrees
in Music Education from the University of Oregon. She has taught music in
the Eugene area for over 25 years. Currently she is the music specialist
at Mt. Vernon Elementary School in Springfield. Tama is also vocal director
for Rose Children’s Theater. This is her ninth season with the Oregon Children’s
Choir.
Chris Dobson holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Oregon. He grew up in Eugene, participating in the Oregon Children’s Choir throughout his childhood. Chris is an alumnus of the first Oregon Boychoir. He has sung in many other choirs, including On the Rocks (the University of Oregon’s male collegiate a cappella group). He directed the First United Methodist Church youth choir for two years. As an active local musician, he conducts and sings with various local choirs throughout the performance season. He has also served as clinician and guest conductor for choral festivals in Eugene and Albany. Chris currently teaches music at Meadowlark and Buena Vista Elementary Schools, and sings with the contemporary a cappella group, Rezonate. He is also an active composer and arranger, having won the best original arrangement award at the Northwest Harmony Sweepstakes competition in March of 2009.
Jennifer Searl, Director of the Oregon Children's Choir and conductor for Girlchoir, received a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Oregon. She and her husband, Bruce, are local composers and have a music publishing company, Aardvark Hill. Jennifer is Director of Music Ministries at her church, has a private piano studio and teaches music at Ridgeline Montessori and at Village School. Mrs. Searl became involved with the Oregon Children’s Choir during our 1985-1986 Season.
David Fitch is the conductor of the Young Men's Ensemble. He has been the Choral Director at Shasta Middle School for the past ten years. He received his Masters degree in Music Education from the UofO in 1995. David also serves as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest director of numerous honor choirs and choral festivals. He has a well-known piano and voice studio and many of his students have become professionals in the field of music. Besides music, David enjoys spending time with his family, anything to do with the Ducks, and has also been known to play a round or two of golf.
Christopher Olin serves as instructor of choral music education at the University of Oregon. He earned his Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Oregon, and a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Nevada, Reno. Before moving to Oregon, he taught high school choral music in California and received critical acclaim for his choirs at home and on European tours to Italy, Spain, and Greece.