Choral Club of San Diego
Governance Roster as of September 26, 2020
Board of Directors & Corporate Officers
Maggie Taylor,
Director and Chair of the Board
Human Services and Organizational Development, City of San Diego
A former singer with Choral Club of San Diego for nearly 15 years, Maggie brings invaluable experience to the organization as Chair of the Board. She also contributes her professional expertise in organizational management and training.
Leslie Ocampo, Director,
Secretary & Chief Financial Officer
Paralegal at Duane Morris LLP
Leslie (Non-singing), a native of San Diego, attended Grossmont College and holds a Paralegal Certificate from University of San Diego. Well-known as a “fashionista,” Leslie keeps Choral Club stylish and sharp with her spot-on style acumen and business sense. Leslie is a legal assistant at Duane Morris LLP where she has worked for 16 years.
Barbara Bass
Director, Co-Music Chair
Executive Director,
American Language Institute
Barbara Bass (Alto 2) is the Executive Director of the American Language Institute at San Diego State University.
Barbara Pryor
Director
Real Estate Appraiser
Barbara Pryor (Soprano 1) is the CEO of Pryor Appraisal Company, Inc. and an active Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser. She brings over 25 years of management, leadership, and training experience to the Board. Barbara previously served several years on the Board of Directors of Adult Day Services in Northern California.
Kristina Dacus
Director, Membership Chair
Management Analyst, US Department of Defense
Kristina (Soprano 2) currently supports the War-Fighter as a Management Analyst for the Department of Defense for the last 12 years. She recently graduated from the DOD Defense Civilian Emerging Leadership Program in September, 2019. Kristina brings 15+ years of Leadership experience to the Board. Kristina previously held positions on two Boards of Directors: American Cancer Society – Cancer Survivor Director, Relay for Life (3 years); and Women’s Leadership Network, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest – Operations Director (3 years).
Administration
Caron Andregg,
Executive Director
Independent Consultant / Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Cider Press Review
As Executive Director, Caron (Alto 2) brings more than 30 years of experience in media development and marketing to the organization. Prior to founding SeaCliff Media Marketing, Caron taught writing and literature at several institutions, including Penn State, San Diego State University, and Syracuse University. Previously, she worked extensively in television and radio advertising, promotions, and news monitoring. In 1999, Ms. Andregg founded Cider Press Review, a literary press specializing in contemporary poetry. Ms. Andregg received her BA from the University of Alaska, her MS from the Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications, and her MFA from San Diego State University. She is a member of MENSA and a past member of the Academy of American Poets.
Lisa C. Merrill,
General Counsel
Special Counsel, Duane Morris LLP.
Lisa (Alto), a taxation attorney with Duane Morris, brings more than 25 years of experience in counseling nonprofit organizations to Choral Club. Prior to becoming Special Counsel at Duane Morris LLP in 2012, Lisa was a partner at DLA Piper LLP (the successor law firm to Gray Cary Ames & Frye), where she worked from 1986 to 2012. In addition to her service to Choral Club, Lisa dedicates many pro bono hours each year to assisting nonprofit organizations. She previously served on the Board of Directors of San Diego Master Chorale. Lisa has been recognized in 2013, 2014 and 2015 by San Diego Magazine as a “Top Lawyer in San Diego.” Lisa received her BS from Wagner College, her MS from University of Oregon and her JD (Order of the Coif) from the University of Oregon.
Music Programming
Dr. Kyle Adam Blair
Kyle Adam Blair, DMA, Music Director
Pianist/Musical Collaborator
Dr. Kyle Adam Blair is an active pianist, musical director, and vocal coach in the San Diego area who specializes in the performance of American contemporary music. As a pianist, Kyle not only performs works from established 20th century American composers such as Copland, Ruggles, Crumb, and Carter, but also champions music by living composers, with whom he often collaborates.
Among Blair’s notable collaborations are numerous appearances with the La Jolla Symphony under the direction of Steven Schick, performances with Bang-On-A-Can All-Stars in Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Diego, and appearances with redfishbluefish at the Ojai Music Festival, sharing the stage with the likes of eighthblackbird’s Lisa Kaplan, The Bad Plus, and members of the Mark Morris Dance Group.
His debut album “Palm Sunday” consists of a collection of solo piano works composed by New England-based composer Stuart Saunders Smith, a frequent collaborator with Blair.
Laura Morrell, Artistic Director
Independent Music Teacher
Laura (Soprano) was born and raised in England. Classically trained in voice, piano, and music theory, she can also ‘busk’ all manner of instruments including saxophone and drums. Before finding CCSD, she sang soprano with the La Jolla Symphony Chorus, and internationally renowned Hallé choir. Her passion is pop music and she has sung with many groups in genres from original moody Rock, to acoustic Latin and Jazz standards. Her favorite-and most memorable-singing job (mainly due to the costumes) was with the 70’s Disco band Wonderboogie.
She has wide ranging experience in directing and arranging for school ensembles including choirs, orchestra, big band, Samba, steel pans, recorders, and school ‘record labels.’ She Taught classroom Music in secondary schools (11-18 years) in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, followed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. she holds Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) after completing the Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) in Secondary Music from Edge Hill University with an ‘Outstanding’ grading for her teaching practice. She received a First Class Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Music from the University of Salford specializing in composition and recording.
Her most notable composition is ‘Mechanics of Love’, a film score accepted into the CMMR 2012 conference shown at Queen Mary University’s Centre for Digital Music. After graduating, she gained work experience in music and media studios such as the BBC Philharmonic, Granada Television, and Channel 4 Music, as well as assisting her former tutor on location recordings at the Royal Northern College of Music. She gained a cult following in her hometown after writing and recording a parody song in honour of a comical campaign to bring a film premiere of a fictional local hero to that city.