San Antonio Chamber Choir News

The final spotlight in our Singer Spotlight series is on Edward "Siggy" Hinderer.  Siggy has been singing with SACC for two seasons and we are glad to welcome him back for our The Mystery of Christmas concert this weekend! Tell us about yourself, Siggy! I was born in Albuquerque, NM, was raised in Austin, TX, and currently live in San Antonio. I studied Choral Education at The University of Texas at Austin and while there, performed with the UT Austin Chamber Choir, Concert Chorale, and Men’s Chorus.  I've also sung with Conspirare Symphonic Choir and Amphion Youth Choir and I'm now serving as choir director at Rudder Middle School in Northside ISD. What's your favorite choral piece to sing or the most influential piece to you? Bogoroditse Devo by Rachmaninoff. It was the first piece to really speak to me as a freshman in high school Who is your composer crush? Gerald Finzi because his atypical rhythmic and harmonic structures show just how effecti...

Yay!  Janeene is back!  Janeene Williams has been singing with SACC since 2012 and we are excited to welcome her back for our The Mystery of Christmas concert this weekend on Dec. 16 and 17!   Janeene Williams  has a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Pedagogy from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Boston University, and 40 hours toward a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The University of Texas at Austin. She also completed a two-year acting program at The Acting Studio in New York City. She taught at Angelo State University for three years and now teaches studio voice at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, Texas. She also maintains a private voice studio, the Janeene Williams Voice Studio .  Ms. Williams is also an active professional soprano soloist and sings with Conspirare and Ars Longa Ensemble. In 2014 she shared a Grammy award with Conspirare for their recording, “The Sacred Spirit of ...

We're delighted to be able to share the stage with the very talented Clark High School Chorale this weekend at our The Mystery of Christmas concert on Dec. 16 and 17! Under the direction of Megan Eyden (an SACC singer), t he Clark High School Chorale is an auditioned ensemble of 60 students. Members are involved in many other activities, including football, track, tennis, volleyball, the dance team, the yearbook, the school newspaper, student council, and the national honor society. The chorale regularly performs in New York and Orlando, and two of the students were recently chosen to sing in honor choirs at Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House. Select members of the Chorale are invited to perform in community outreach tours every December at various San Antonio  schools, hospitals, churches, business, and clubs . The tours this year are spread over 8 dates and include 16 separate locations.   Ms. Eyden received her undergraduate degree in Music Marketing ...

We have another new face at SACC: Kristin Burnam!  We're delighted to have her join us this weekend for our The Mystery of Christmas concert on Dec. 16 and 17! Tell us about yourself, Kristin! I was born and raised in San Antonio, TX and I still live here with my two fur babies, Frederickson and Annabelle. I'm an elementary music specialist at Cibolo Valley Elementary School in Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD in Cibolo,TX. I've directed several children’s choirs and am a Music Together instructor with the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio. I got my bachelors of music in music education as well as a master of arts in teaching from Trinity University. What other groups have you sung with? I've performed with the San Antonio Symphony, OPERA San Antonio, and Peking University Academy of Opera in Beijing. What's your favorite musical tradition? My favorite musical tradition is the Christmas Vespers service at Trinity University . Even though I've alrea...

SACC is happy to welcome Mary-Grace Bayer into our roster of singers!  She is joining us for the first time for our The Mystery of Christmas concert this weekend, Dec. 16 and 17!  Let's learn more about Mary-Grace! Tell us about yourself, Mary-Grace! I grew up in Lake Jackson, Texas, which is known as the birthplace of Buc-ees and for Ron Paul riding around the streets on his bicycle.  I grew up singing in church choir and doing community musical theatre at the Center for the Arts and Sciences with my family. I sung in school choir and played flute in the band up through high school. I was also the drum major of the band my senior year, which is the only reason I know anything about football.   I went to school at Trinity University here in San Antonio and studied Medieval History, German, and Geology.  I also sang in two choirs at Trinity under Scott MacPherson and played flute in the wind ensemble.  I have done a myriad of things so far in m...

David Means has sung with SACC for the past four seasons and we're thrilled to welcome him back for our The Mystery of Christmas concert this upcoming weekend, Dec. 16 and 17!  A little bit about David: Dr. David Means is the Director of Choral Studies at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, TX. He is also organist for two area churches, Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in McAllen and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Edinburg. He is also the conductor of the Valley Symphony Orchestra Chorale and has recently formed the Rio Grande Valley’s premier professional choral group, the Valley Choral Artists.   Dr. Means has a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Howard Payne University in Brownwood, TX where he was a double major in voice and piano; a Master of Music degree from Baylor University in Waco, TX in Choral Conducting and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Music from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA. He ha...

Let's shine some light on Kim Denmark, a new alto to SACC!  We're thrilled that Kim is joining us on our The Mystery of Christmas concert on Dec. 16 and 17! Tell us about yourself, Kim! I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, in a city called Plymouth Meeting.   I went to school at Temple University in Philadelphia where I studied Music Education and received a Bachelor in Music in voice and trumpet.  I also got my Master's Degree in Music Education from Stephen F Austin University.  After graduating college, I moved to Houston and taught music in Houston schools for several years and sang opera and with a variety of groups.  I met my husband running a half marathon in 1999 and we got married in 2001. We moved to San Antonio in 2011 where I teach private voice, trumpet and piano for a living.  I teach at St Phillip's College, Jose M Lopez Middle School, Tex Hill Middle School, San Antonio Montessori School, and my home based stud...

David Anthony (Tony) Dehner is next in our Singer Spotlight series!  This is Tony's first season with SACC and we're delighted to have him join us for our The Mystery of Christmas concert on Dec. 16 and 17! Tell us about yourself, Tony! I'm originally from Kentucky where my father pastored churches. I sang in church as a child and in high school choirs, ensembles, and musicals when I attended Holmes High School in Covington, KY and Bradley County High School in Cleveland, TN. I w on the international male vocalist award in Teen Talent 1984 , w on a National Association of Teachers of Singing division, and was in the Kentucky State Honor Choir in 1981 . After graduation in 1982, I attended Lee University in Cleveland, TN for my Bachelor of Art in Music, voice concentration. I then got my MA in Music, Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting from Middle Tennessee State University and my DMA in Voice, Musicology, and Music Theory from Southern Baptist Theological ...

Soprano Heather Cole is our next Singer in the Spotlight!  She's been singing with SACC for 3 years and we're very happy to welcome her back for our The Mystery of Christmas concert  on Dec. 16 and 17! Tell us about yourself, Heather! I was born in a US Air Force facility in Wiesbaden, Germany, and my family moved back to the states when I was 4. I grew up in San Antonio attending Northside ISD and I graduated from Warren HS in 2006.  I then went on to UTSA to graduate with a Bachelor’s in Music Studies with a K-12 music certification in 2011.    I am a 3-year Texas All-State Choir Member and I received second place at TEXOMA NATS Competition in 2010 for my division.  After graduation,  I returned to  Northside ISD to work as a middle school choir director at Dolph Briscoe Middle School where I am currently in my 6th year teaching.  My UIL contest choirs at Briscoe MS have received Sweepstakes trophies for the last 4 years running, w...