Get to know some of our Outstanding chorus members.
These remarkable choristers have seen the chorus change and adapt through the years and we celebrate their commitment to musical excellence!
kEN mOORE
Member since 2000
BASS
Dedicate a gift in honor of kEN
Ken Moore has carried a lifetime work in music and a love of musical instruments through his entire life and career. Raised on a tobacco farm in Southern Maryland, Ken ventured on to earn a B.S. in Music Ed from Concord College, then a Masters of Music in Ethnomusicology from Hunter College and further PhD studies with CUNY. He’s always had a world vision of music – from his Master’s field work with a Pentecostal group of snake handlers in West Virginia to overseeing the complete revamping of the entire collection of musical instruments at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Aside from his first NYC job as a Score Librarian with G. Schirmer, Ken spent the remainder of his long career with the Met, starting as a Night Watchman in 1970, then the Coordinator for Photography and finally a long and lauded stay with the Musical Instruments department as the Frederick P. Rose Curator in Charge…a position he has held for over 20 years. He was recently awarded the ‘Anthony Baines Lifetime Award’ at a ceremony in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Ken has traveled and performed with MasterVoices on several tours to the Verbier Music Festival in Switzerland. His favorite performances have been Dido and Aeneas and the Brahms Requiem. He has mentored many Side-by-Side students – and says he is always amazed at their high level of musicianship. He feels that “MasterVoices is a joy and a collegial and disciplined community.”
JACKIE BERLIANT
Member since 2018
ALTO
Dedicate a gift in honor of JACKIE
Jackie is a woman of many talents. Originally from California’s Bay Area, she began singing and playing piano at age five and continued her musical education through college at UC Davis where she was a music minor. She majored in – and currently works in — graphic design, with dreams of working on production design for film and television. As comfortable in front of the camera as she is behind it, Jackie has worked as an extra in several films and television shows, including In the Heights and the recent remake of West Side Story.
Jackie relishes her experience with MasterVoices, performing exciting repertoire in iconic venues such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Radio City Music Hall, as well as getting to perform in productions like Anyone Can Whistle, where she was a member of the semichorus – one of her favorite musical experiences. She describes her time with MasterVoices as “a fun and educational journey” and stresses that “It’s one thing to have studied music and performance history formally in college, but it’s another thing to hear Ted share stories and anecdotes as someone who was there, giving me new ways to connect to the music. “
Carlos Hidalgo
Member Since 2015
TENOR
Dedicate a gift in honor of CaRLOS
Carlos joined MasterVoices thru the Side-by-Side program when he was a student at Life Sciences Secondary School. He went on to get his bachelor’s degree from City College where he studied classical voice performance, and is currently finishing his master’s degree in music education at Hunter College.
Becoming a high school vocal teacher is one of his goals, but Carlos also wants to continue performing. Not only does he perform with the Bronx Opera Company, he also writes his own music, is in a band, plays guitar, and sings, mostly in the rock and indie alternative genres. He feels fortunate to have had the unique opportunity to perform in Lady in the Dark at two different venues: with MasterVoices at Carnegie Hall and later with the Bronx Opera Company at Lehman College.
One of his best MasterVoices memories is performing in Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27, since it was his first time being on stage at New York City Center while singing with a large chorus and a full orchestra, magnificent soloists, costumes, and sets. He describes his MasterVoices experience as thrilling, eventful, eye-opening, and exciting.
sUSAN sHINE
member since 1985
SOPRANO
Dedicate a gift in honor of SUSAN
Susan has been key to the development and success of The Collegiate Chorale/MasterVoices for over three decades, in her roles as singer, Singers Council President, and officer on the Board of Directors. Although the trajectory came as a surprise to Susan, it has proven to be fulfilling to both the organization and herself.
Growing up in Pittsburgh, Susan learned piano and sang in her high school chorus. In her early career Susan held various positions with New Jersey state agencies and Rutgers University and sang in a community choir. But when she joined The Collegiate Chorale in 1985, Music Director Robert Bass saw something special in Susan, and thus began a close partnership that enabled Mr. Bass’s vision to grow the organization from a financially pressed member-run chorus trying to mount performances of choral classics to the robust, multifaceted organization that is MasterVoices today. Susan recalls that “Bob was a brilliant, creative, and visionary talent.”
Professionally, Susan has had a successful career as a fundraiser for not-for-profit arts organizations including Carnegie Hall and Caramoor, and she has applied those skills and experience on behalf of MasterVoices as both a member of the Board of Directors and as President of the singing membership.
Susan has participated in all but one of MasterVoices’ travel programs. She especially remembers the thrill of performing numerous times in Verbier, Switzerland with conductor James Levine. Her vision for the future of MasterVoices is “to continue its creativity in programming that distinguishes it from other choral organizations in the City.” Susan says that her time with MasterVoices has been “the most meaningful thing in my life.”