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GALLERY AND MEDIA
GALLERY AND MEDIA
Originally from San Diego, Therese Pallares lives and breathes the Southern California lifestyle. Working as a REALTOR®, Therese brings the values that make living in San Diego so great into the heart of her business, warmth with a sunny disposition.
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ABOUT MUSICA VITALE
Musica Vitale is a professional ensemble presenting a cappella chamber works of Western European and Slavic origin from the last 300 years. The ensemble’s mission is to revive and rediscover neglected repertoire of the Classical, Romantic, and post-Romantic eras, maintaining the highest artistic standards, preserving the heritage of vocal chamber music, and bringing enrichment to the community through public performances.
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Vitale--or vital, of life--translates into the choices of the ensemble’s repertoire, emphasizing the works of Romantic and Contemporary periods of Music History, emotionally open and charged with expression.
An ensemble of some of San Diego's finest singers offers an audible feast of choral colors and timbres, equally successful in singing with delicacy and finesse as in Robert Schumann’s ‘Romanzen und Balladen’, and with the richness and warmth of Sergey Rachmaninov’s Vespers.
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Musica Vitale has been bringing music to life since 2005, when a group of professional singers from the San Diego Opera Chorus and Sacred Heart Church came together to perform a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. At this concert, the group revealed its unique potential and Musica Vitale was born.
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During these years of exceptional music making, the group became one of the premier ensembles in the county and won the hearts of a larger San Diego following.
OUR BOARD AND OFFICERS
Elena Vizuet
Artistic Director and Board Chair
Mrs. Vizuet is an International Music Educator and Performer with more than 30 years of experience. Mrs. Vizuet has an MA degree in Choral Conducting and an MA in Music Education from the prestigious Ural Conservatory, Russia. She also has a BA, Cum Laude, in Choral Conducting and Music Education from Chelyabinsk Music College, Russia. Mrs. Vizuet has worked as a professional singer, pianist, music instructor, conductor, and impresario for decades.
She performed internationally in venues such as Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Rachmaninov Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Chelyabinsk Opera Theater, Vidago Concert Hall in Budapest, Casa de Kultura in Mexico, and in more than 100 productions with San Diego Opera, USA. She is a Founder an Artistic Director of Vocal Ensemble Musica Vitale, a non -profit art organization. Please visit www.Musicavitale.com
Mrs. Vizuet held position of a Teaching Artist with the San Diego Opera company in the program "Opera for Kids by Kids"; taught voice and conducting classes to undergraduate students of Chelyabinsk Music College, Russia; and Mesa City College, USA. Through her mentorship and guidance Mrs. Vizuet opened doors to professional music world to many opera singers who now sing with leading Opera Theaters in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as professional Choral Groups, Music Colleges and Schools.
Lisa Parente
Artistic Manager and Board Member
Ms. Parente has an MM degree in Vocal Performance from the Peabody Conservatory, and a BM in Vocal Performance from San Diego State University. She has been seen in many operas, such as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Amore in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Dew Fairy in Hänsel und Gretel. Lisa has also been an artist with San Diego Opera’s Opera Exposed! She has been featured as the soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria, the soprano soloist in Faure’s Requiem, and many more. Lisa has experience in graphic design and digital marketing.
Llisa Hiebert
Treasurer
Llisa is a member of Crown City Chorale who previously worked in management teams for many years in various departments within the State of California as a governmental program analyst and retired in 2007 as Regional Administrative Officer with 38 years of state service. She has also served as the Treasurer for the San Diego Women’s Chorus (SDWC) where her duties included dues collection, bank balancing, bill payment, annual balance sheets, and support for annual reports and grant applications. At that time, the Chorus grew to well over 100 singers because we received a grant from the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation and performed at Balboa Theater for three consecutive seasons with notable guest performers— the Indigo Girls, Frenchie Davis, and Janis Ian.
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Raffi Mikaelian
Assistant Conductor
Mr. Mikaelian has both an MA and a Post Graduate degree in Choral Conducting, as well as a BA in Orchestra Conducting from Yerevan State Conservatory. He was the recipient of an Artist Diploma in Orchestra Conducting from SDSU and has participated in international master classes with: Colin Metters and Alexander Polyanichko in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Kenneth Kiesler in San Diego.
William Propp
Secretary and Board Member
Dr. William Propp was a professor of Ancient History and Jewish Studies at UCSD for 34 years, where he held the Harriet and Louis Bookheim Chair in Biblical Hebrew and Related Languages. His primary expertise is the ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible, and his two-volume commentary on the Book of Exodus (Anchor Bible Series) is considered the standard reference work on the subject.
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Propp has been an active freelance bassoonist (San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Nova, Lyric Opera San Diego, San Diego City Ballet, La Jolla Symphony Orchestra) and baritone singer (Musica Vitale, San Diego Pro Arte Voices), as well as a former choral conductor (La Jolla Renaissance Singers). He is a current board member of the San Diego Early Music Society, for which he composes program notes, and often delivers pre-concert lectures for Musica Vitale and other ensembles.
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Nicole Baller
Education and Outreach Officer
Nicole Baller has a BM in Music Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has taught general music, conducted adult and children's choirs, and beginning band. Moving frequently as a military spouse, she has been privileged to sing across the country and internationally. Her varied performance experiences include choirs, musical theater, opera, jazz, and praise bands. She currently teaches elementary band at Silver Strand and Village Elementary Schools in Coronado.
Rachel Fields
Graphic design
Rachel Fields, who holds the position of Librarian in the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is a freelance soprano vocalist and trumpet player. A graduate of the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA, Rachel has performed alongside the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras as a member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. She was a professional singer at Boston's Trinity Church throughout her undergrad, and has appeared as a guest soloist with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. Locally, she is a member of Musica Vitale, Crown City Chorale, and the St. Paul's United Methodist Church choir in Coronado.
Sharon Hall
Marketing
Sharon is a recent member of the Coronado City Chorale. Although not a trained musician, she savors all genres of music and actively seeks and attends concerts and performances. She earned an Ed.D at The George Washington University in Washington, DC and served in the field of education at the local, state, and federal levels. She is an avid international traveler. Sharon recently moved to California from Maryland to be closer to her sons and their families. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Coronado Public Library and for the Friends of the Coronado Public Library.
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Donna Dixon
Board Member
Martin Green
Associate Director
Casey Kurpinsky
Administrative Assistant
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY:
