St. Maries Choral Arts

James has done chorus in school from 4th grade to 12th grade. He was in all county chorus all 8 of those years, tri county once, junior all state 2 times, senior all state 2 times, and men's all state demonstration chorus 3 times. In 11th grade James was awarded junior vocalist of the year at his school, Calvert high. Last year, in his senior year he was awarded outstanding senior member, and overall outstanding musician. James performed both with a group and alone at the 2016 mid-Atlantic jazz festival, and last year, as part of a quintet, achieved straight 1's at the Maryland state solo and ensemble festival.

Janet is a native of St. Mary’s County and is very proud of her Southern Maryland lineage.  She has been singing with St. Maries Musica since 2007 and enjoys it immensely.  Janet started her musical career when she was 6 years old at The Bunny Bailey Studio of Dance.  Soon after, she began piano and flute lessons.  She was encouraged to continue studying and performing music throughout her elementary, middle and high school years where she had the privilege of performing in multiple competitions/honor bands and choruses.  Janet studied music and education at Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music (now Shenandoah University) and received her B.S. degree in elementary education with a minor in flute performance.  Her greatest musical highlight was being able to perform with Shenandoah’s choir at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.  Janet currently works in the real estate field and enjoys life with her husband Scott, who is the ‘sound guy’ for St. Maries Musica.  She is most proud of her adult daughter, Kristi who is currently working on her doctorate in Astrophysics and who also just happens to be married to the son of Greg & Susan Stachelczyk.

Mike Berkin is a natural baritone who has been singing tenor two/bass one with St. Maries Musica for 6 years.He began his music career in high school in the early 1970s, singing with a large touring group called Sounds of America. Since then, he has sung with several church and community choirs in Maine, Florida, California, Italy, Japan, and Maryland.  In his spare time, Mike likes to compose, sing and record original rock and pop compositions in a local two-man band.  Mike is a retired Naval Aviation Maintenance Officer and is now the Branch Manager for Readiness Analysis working in the Logistics Competency of NAVAIR at NAS Patuxent River. He holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State and a MS in Material Logistics from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.  Mike and his wife, Shirley, reside in Drayden, MD.  They have four adult children.

Jeremy is a new member of Musica, and a relatively new Marylander. A native of south Georgia, Jeremy began performing at an early age, participating in choirs and musicals in church and in school. In high school, he performed with Appling Applause (the school's show choir), several All-State choirs, and the men's quartet. Jeremy attended Mercer University, where he had the opportunity to sing with the Mercer Singers. He was fortunate in his timing, as the group recorded two CDs and toured in both the UK and Italy during his time with them. At Mercer, Jeremy majored in computer science and minored in music, focusing on vocal performance and choral conducting. While pursuing graduate studies in computer science at Clemson University, Jeremy met his lovely wife, Emily. The day after their engagement, they began a “temporary” five-year tenure on staff at Emily's home church, Disciples UMC in Greenville, SC, as joint music and youth program directors. Upon moving to southern Maryland to begin a career in the Navy's Battlespace Modeling and Simulation division, Jeremy decided to take a hiatus from singing, but he is thrilled to jump back in with both feet as a member of St. Maries Musica.

Singing has been her avocation for a long time. Cheryl joined Musica in January, 2009. After moving to Southern Maryland in 2000, she sang with Charles County Consort and Chesapeake Choral Arts Society, and now sings with Two Rivers Harmony and the St. Andrews Church choir. She also sings with St. Maries Musica Minstrels, an ambassador ensemble consisting of 8 members from Musica. Singing has been the impetus for several trips to Europe. As a member of Larimer Chorale in Ft. Collins, CO, Ms Ceriale sang in Notre Dame, San Marco in Venice and the Duomo in Florence. In 2008, she journeyed to Prague, Salzburg and Vienna to participate in Advent Choral Festivals in each city.  She performed the music of Stephen Schwartz and Eric Whitacre at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York in March of 2014,  under the direction of Mr. Whitacre. Cheryl looks forward to continued adventures in singing with Musica.

Wesley is a native of St. Mary's County. He attended Frostburg State University where he received his Bachelors in Science in Music. While at Frostburg, Wesley was a member of the co-ed music fraternity Delta Omicron. He was also a member of Chamber Choir and University Chorale. This is Wesley's first year with the group and he looks forward to making lots of beautiful music.

Jennifer began singing at the age of 4 and piano at 7. She has participated in various choirs and vocal ensembles, both collegiate and professional. Jennifer was employed as a keyboardist and vocalist in a praise band in Salisbury, NC while attending Catawba College. During her time at Catawba, she had the opportunity to tour Europe with the Catawba Singers, perform at the Roosevelt Theater in Chicago in Paradise Lost under the direction of Eric Whitacre, and perform at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Paul E. Oakley. In the spring of 2011 she received a B.A. in Vocal Performance and Sacred Music. Jennifer has been teaching private voice and piano lessons for 5 years. She joined Musica in the Fall of 2015 and has enjoyed singing with Musica immensely. She looks forward to continuing to have fun and make beautiful music with this wonderful group.

Katy Gates was born and raised in St. Mary's County.  She started singing in the church choir in 3rd grade.  Katy continued her music career singing with LMS Singers, Chopticon Peace Pipers, Chopticon Divas, and Infinity (an a cappella group at Chopticon). Katy went on to Frostburg State to earn a BS in Business Administration with a minor in Music. While at Frostburg, Katy was a member of Delta Omicron, a co-ed music fraternity, and she sang with the FSU Chamber Choir, University Chorale, and Vocal Jazz Choir.  After college, Katy was invited to audition with Musica and has been singing with them since Fall 2010.  She earned her MBA in 2013, and now, Katy works for NAVAIR/NAWCAD. 

This is Chris’s first year in Musica, but not his first time under the direction of TC O’Brien. He has loved music and sang all his life. He is the Lead Singer and Guitarist of the Maryland-based band, Changing Scene.

Jackie has been reading music longer than she has words, usually the hymnals at church since she couldn't read words yet. Ever since, she has been passionate in her pursuit of music. At the age of fifteen she fell in love with opera, and made her operatic debut at age seventeen in the Light Opera Company of Southern Maryland's production of Hänsel und Gretel.  She minored in music performance at the Catholic University of America, taking part in each semester's opera, and also joining University Singers, Chamber Choir, and Concert Choir. Jackie is now an enthusiastic member of St. Maries Musica, St. Maries Minstrels, and SMACapella as a soprano. She still sings with her church choir, and has recently branched into secular music and is called on for weddings, funerals, feast days, and holy days of obligation. She hopes one day to perform opera professionally, and travel the world.

Mike was educated at Indiana University, where he was a member of the world famous Singing Hoosiers, with whom he performed and toured extensively. He first joined Musica in 1975, moved to Memphis in 1996 and performed with The Wolf River Singers. He rejoined Musica after moving back to Southern Maryland in 2005. He has performed with the Light Opera Company of Southern Maryland with major roles in "Orpheus in the Underworld" and "The Magic Flute". In the spring of 2014 he traveled to New York City to perform with Distinguished Concerts International New York under the direction of Eric Whitacre. He is now the treasurer and chief fund raiser with Musica. Michael currently serves on the St. Mary'’s County Arts Council. He lives in Lexington Park near his daughter, son-in-law and two beautiful grandchildren.

Samantha grew up in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania where she debuted her singing and acting career as the “donkey” in her church nativity play at the mere age of 7 years old. After her big break, she began singing regularly in church, and went on to perform with multiple select choirs through her middle and high school career. Samantha attended the Pennsylvania State University where she majored in Biology and sang with the African American Spiritual choir, The Essence of Joy, under the direction of Dr. Tony Leach. She went on to physician assistant school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine where she sang with a student-led a cappella group called The PCOM Pulmonics and graduated as Provost. Since then, she has moved to Hollywood, Maryland to work as a physician assistant at Calvert Memorial Hospital. Sam is thrilled to continue her musical journey with St. Maries Musica and she is humbled and grateful for the opportunity to sing with such fine musicians and people.

Bio coming soon!

I currently sing in Two River's Harmony. I sang in the CSM Chamber Choir when they toured Germany and Austria in 2006. I sang with UMBC's Maryland Camarata, and had the pleasure of performing with Kenny Rogers. In grade school I participated in school choir, and All-County, Tri-County, and All-State Honors Choirs.

Bradley is a current student at Leonardtown High School, entering his Senior Year. He is a 4 year member of the Chamber Choir, Potomac Voices. He is under the direction of his choir teacher, Ms. Kylie Oosterink and his vocal teacher Mr.Montel Butler.

Although Kylie is a St. Mary's County native, she is a new member to Musica but is thrilled to be a part of such a talented group. Kylie is a recent graduate of Frostburg State University where she graduated cum Laude with a Bachelor's degree in Music Education. At Frostburg, Kylie participated in Chamber Choir, University Chorale, Vocal Jazz Ensemble and Opera. Upon graduating, Kylie became the choir teacher at Leonardtown High School, where she is the director of five different choir groups. When she's not singing or directing, you can find Kylie coaching her St. Mary's Soccer girls travel team. Kylie played a major role in the Three Notch Theatre production of “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Bye,Bye Birdie”.  Kylie has enjoyed singing with Musica and hopes to continue singing with them!

Cindy is a native of St. Mary's County but new to St. Maries Musica. Cindy has been singing her whole life! Throughout school she sang in choir and also played percussion in band. After high school, Cindy attended Messiah College where she received her B.A. in Church Music. Throughout college Cindy had the privilege of singing in several choirs, and was able to sing Brahms Requiem and Mahler's 2nd Symphony with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. Cindy is currently the worship leader at Lexington Park United Methodist Church and she is so blessed to do something she loves every week! She is especially thankful that she gets to lead music alongside her husband, Collin, who is the lead guitarist for the band!

Heather is a new member of St. Maries Musica, and joined in the winter/spring season of 2018.  She has previously sung with the Annapolis Chorale and Chamber Choir, as well as the Lincoln Cathedral Consort in the UK.

Ashley grew up as the only non-athlete in a family of sports stars.  She quickly discovered her place was in music and not on the field, and traded sports balls for sheet music.

In school and at home, Ashley was heavily involved in music, delighting (I’m sure delighting) her family with nightly concerts from the shower, and joining such ensembles as Leonardtown High School’s Ladyes Fayre, Salisbury University’s Chorale, Louisiana Tech’s Chamber Singers, and many more.  She also took many years of private voice lessons and performed in several Summerstock productions. 

When she’s not chasing her three wild boys around, Ashley spends her time among the maritime history artifacts at the Calvert Marine Museum.

Anna Robinson is a new member of Musica and is honored to join such a talented group. Anna has always been passionate about communicating – whether through song or speech – and was a chorus member from her early years of elementary school through high school. Growing up, Anna participated in several St. Mary’s County Summerstock musical productions as well as high school musicals and choirs, including Leonardtown High School’s Ladyes Fayre. Anna graduated with highest distinction from the Pennsylvania State University College of Communications, earning a BA in Broadcast Journalism. She enjoys a career in media relations.

Daniel Robinson grew up in South Jersey, where he sang in the various childrens, youth, and adult choirs at the Haddonfield United Methodist Church from kindergarten through high school. Along with singing, Dan also grew up playing the trumpet, and is self-taught on piano and guitar. Dan attended Penn State where he earned a BS in Physics. He later attended the Naval Postgraduate School where he earned an MSE in Electrical Engineering. Aside from singing the National Anthem at a graduation ceremony and crashing his church's adult choir to sing the occasional Hallelujah Chorus on Easter, Dan has not sung in a formal fashion since high school and is excited to be a part of St. Maries Musica with his wife Anna.

Temma is currently a sophomore at Leonardtown High School. In addition to Musica, Temma is a member of the Leonardtown chamber choir, Bella Voce. She has been singing in choirs for most of her life and has always found a love for music.