Alumni Newsletter Issue #2
Ushered in on the wings of a glorious holiday concert, 2022 has arrived and our Red Rose 25th season is well underway. As alumni, you all serve as an essential connection of the past to the present, so we look forward to sharing updates about you with each other. We also delight in introducing you to the hands and hearts of those who are taking the joy of exploring music forward into the next 25 years. They are carrying on the spirit and excellence that sparked the creation of this incredible organization. It is under their watchful eyes that the current generation of singers will flourish and learn to appreciate the sheer exhilaration choral music brings and the profound, long-lasting impact of Red Rose on their lives.
Through these Red Rose Alumni newsletters, we seek to rekindle memories, reassert our commitment to this organization and its enduring culture and remind you that we thrive because you all remain a vital piece of Red Rose and its history, both of which are “Still Blooming after 25 years.” We would love to capture the special stories of what Red Rose has meant to you. As we continue our journey through this 25th season providing the gift of song to young people and seeing them blossom, recall those Red Rose memories and consider sharing as part of our milestone celebration.
Who Inspires Today’s Red Rose Singers?
Cory Thompson is the Artistic Director of RRCCLC for the Master Singers and Bella Rosa choirs. She is a graduate of Northwestern University with a B.M. in Vocal Performance and a Masters in Music Education. To best understand her personal journey with Red Rose and why she is honored to carry on the traditions and choral excellence of Red Rose, her words seemed best. Below is the letter she wrote to Red Rose Families in 2019 when she assumed the Artistic Director position. Reading it today, it provides insights into why she has been an excellent choice to take the organization into its next chapter leading it gracefully through the leadership transition.
My name is Cory Thompson, and I am extremely excited to be the next artistic director of the Red Rose Children’s Choir of Lake County! In the Fall of 2007, I gave birth to our oldest daughter, Emma. When I needed a babysitter to watch Emma while I went to a doctor’s appointment, a student’s mom came to watch Emma. Mrs. O’Kelly had a daughter in Red Rose, and she stood in our foyer holding our little girl who was less than two weeks old, and said “Wait until you see her onstage in that sweet little red dress when she is in Red Rose…” Fast forward to 2013, when Emma joined Concertina as a Kindergartener, and a couple of short years later, she was up onstage in that sweet little red dress!
RRCCLC has been an especially important part of my life since 2006, first as a choral educator with amazing singers coming from Red Rose, and then as a mom who has cherished watching her daughters blossom and grow under the wisdom and guidance of the Red Rose directors. I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to keep up the incredible choral education that Red Rose has offered for 22 years and find some ways for us to grow as an organization.
Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I was lucky enough to grow up in a family that highly valued music. There isn’t a time in my life that I don’t remember music being the most important thing to me. I started intensively studying piano at the age of seven and continued my piano studies through my high school career, eventually winning a state competition for a performance of Chopin’s Nocturne in e minor. When I was ten years old, I became actively involved in our community theatre offerings, as a way to perform onstage with my idol – my mom. Between community theatre and school productions, I performed in over 30 shows before leaving Cedar Rapids for college.
In high school, I seized every opportunity to sing! From our concert choir, which performed at the Music Educators National Conference in Kansas City in 1996, to a Madrigal group that performed all over the community at least 20 times during the holidays, to a jazz choir and incredibly competitive show choir program, I dove into singing at every chance I could get. I took voice lessons starting at the age of 16, and competed annually in the NATS auditions, as well as preparing for college auditions and a combined piano and voice senior recital.
I was lucky enough to gain entrance to Northwestern University’s Vocal Performance program and studied under Sunny Joy Langton during my time there. While at Northwestern, I sang with their University Chorus, Chapel Choir, and Chorale vocal ensembles, as well as directed the premiere acapella group on campus, Melodious Thunk. Although I loved performing, I knew from my sophomore year that I longed to be an educator. A double major at that point was not an option, so I happily finished my Vocal Performance degree, and soaked up all the vocal pedagogy that I could, knowing it would help my future as a choral educator.
After my undergraduate degree, I spent one year as an Internal Auditor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, just to have a salary while my husband and I were planning our wedding. I learned a lot of administrative skills at that position, but my heart was clearly not in it. During my time at the Fed, I taught voice lessons at Barrington High School in the evening, putting my vocal studies into practice. In the Fall of 2003, I went back to Northwestern and pursued my Masters in Music Education and teaching certificate, keeping up with 22 private voice students at Barrington.
After graduation, I was very excited to get a job at Highcrest Middle School in Wilmette. I absolutely loved teaching 5th and 6th grade music there and grew quite a bit as an educator. I still kept up with my students at Barrington, hoping to secure a position closer to our home in Libertyville.
In 2006, I was extremely blessed to get a Choral Director position at Mundelein High School. During my 12 years at MHS, I have focused on balancing out the program to strengthen the concert choir side of the program. I did this by initiating and strengthening our sight-singing and theory curriculum, originating, and building our AP Music Theory curriculum, developing honors level upper-level choir classes, creating an annual off-site concert for our upper-level choirs, and building up a comprehensive, streamlined concert choir curriculum, so our students leave MHS fully prepared to continue their musical studies, if they so choose. In addition, I co-vocal direct the annual Spring Musical and I manage the administrative side of our program. During my tenure at MHS, the singers from Red Rose have consistently been in the top musicians of our program. Their musicality, sight-reading and theory knowledge, and beautiful voices, have strengthened and greatly added to the quality of our choral program. As a mom of Red Rose singers, I have had the gift of watching my daughters’ love and knowledge of quality choral literature deepen and grow over their time in Red Rose. I know firsthand how important the experiences are for our singers in Red Rose, and how beautiful and deep their traditions are. When I first talked to Sharon, Amy, and Jacque about the opportunity of being the Artistic Director of Red Rose, I expressed to them how important it was to me to keep up the high-quality choral education that your children have been receiving, while also maintaining the lovely traditions that have made Red Rose a family.
Nicole Drake succeeded Amy Younts as the Executive Director of RRCCLC & LCBC choirs in 2019, giving her heart and soul to ensuring all aspects of both choirs’ administration. This is no small task which she has embraced whole-heartedly like our first Executive Director. We are grateful for her working tirelessly with all the musical directors, accompanists, parents, and young people to ensure that all the necessities of practice and performance can happen. It took an even more incredible effort when choir forged ahead during COVID in the parking garage behind Mickey Finns in Libertyville. Nicole has a B.S. in Sociology from Northern Illinois University and an MBA in Human Resources from Loyola University Chicago. Outside of Red Rose, Nicole works as a Compensation, Benefits and Human Resources Consultant. Nicole’s “unofficial” tenure with the choir began in 2014 when her daughter, Sarah, began singing in the RRCCLC Concertina Choir.
Jonathan Weppler holds the distinction of directing the Concert Choir for Red Rose and serving as the Artistic Director of the Lake County Boys Choir. For alumni who “graduated” prior to 2013, you may not be aware of this choir, but the boys choir debuted under Jonathan’s leadership in spring of that year. The LCBC, as they are known, is committed to creating a “warm and welcoming environment for boys who love to sing” and focuses on the “fundamentals of vocal and ensemble performance.” Jonathan’s introduction to RRCCLC also came as a singer. He went on to earn a B.A. in Music Education from Hope College and a M.A. in General Music from Vandercook College of Music. Jonathan currently teaches K-5 General Music at Butterfield Elementary School in Libertyville School District 70. He also has works professionally as a voice teacher, musical theater vocal director, and sings with the Lakeside Singers of Evanston, Illinois.
Pat Cole is the longest tenured staff member of RRCCLC beginning with the choir as a conductor of the Prelude Choir in 1998. She has a B.A. in Vocal Performance from DePaul University. As you may remember, the Prelude singers are Red Rose’s youngest ranging in age from seven to nine, so Pat plays a critical role in their exposure to a beginning choral experience. She takes those who love to sing, works with them to focus on the ability to match pitch and make music in a group setting, preparing them for the rest of their Red Rose journey. Outside of Red Rose, Pat continues to teach K-5 music at St. Francis de Sales School in Lake Zurich and shares her musical gifts as a cantor at St. Mary of the Annunciation in Mundelein. Pat’s introduction to Red Rose began when her oldest daughter, Emily (now 34) had a friend who joined Red Rose. Emily loved to sing, so they signed her up. As her daughter made friends and traveled with the choir, Pat was volunteering and in the perfect place to help when Prelude Choir and Concert choir expanded and Sharon sought out her assistance. She remains forever grateful for Sharon’s mentoring and says that watching the singers grow musically brings her complete joy!
What are some Red Rose Alumni doing now?
Brenna Faber
Red Rose Singer – 2019 Graduate
I was a member of the choir for nine years and I graduated with the founding directors in 2019. My sisters, Kylie and Lauren, are a part of Bella Rosa, so I still attend every concert! I am currently a junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying Industrial-Organizational Psychology with a minor in Information Technology. At the start of my freshman year, alumna Elizabeth Hamlin invited me to join the University’s Black Chorus, a group that specializes in performing the music of Black Americans. I fell in love with the group and have had the privilege to perform with them for five semesters, including several online performances due to Covid. This year I also joined a club called the inline insomniacs, a group of bikers, skateboarders, rollerbladers, and any other wheeled riders, who gather in the evening to ride around campus and socialize. I am looking forward to reconnecting with some of the other alumni that I haven’t seen since I left the choir, so I invite everyone to show up at the spring concert! I am excited for the opportunity to sing with everyone again!
Elizabeth Hamlin
Red Rose Singer – 2017 Graduate
Time does fly as it is already 5 years since I sang with Red Rose. In this time, I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, earned a B.A. in Economics and am now a Financial Analyst with Moebs $ervices in Lake Forest, Illinois. One of the highlights from time at U of I was singing with the University’s Black Chorus and eventually having the honor to serve as its Vice President. I was lucky to enjoy another amazing musical experience and genre under the direction of Dr. Ollie Watts Davis. An added bonus was singing with fellow Red Rose alum, Brenna Faber. Life has come full circle as I returned to Red Rose this past fall as a helper with the Prelude Choir. Spending time with Pat Cole and the adorable little ones just learning to sing makes my week.
Gracie Meier
Red Rose Singer – 2013 Graduate
After losing her job in Arts Administration in 2020 due to pandemic cuts, Gracie Meier moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. With 10 former DePaul classmates, they founded the Exodus Ensemble, a performance ensemble that creates immersive theatrical events and mind-bending experiences in houses, on trains, and in other non-traditional spaces. When she’s not acting and producing with the ensemble, Gracie makes her living as a professional portrait and events photographer in both Chicago and Santa Fe, www.graciemeier.com. While she’s mostly singing solo these days, Gracie is grateful for the training and discipline Red Rose instilled in her musicality, and it’s a gift to be able to share that with others.
Caroline Kerswill
Red Rose Singer – 2005 Graduate
Caroline Kerswill (Younts) sang in her last Red Rose concert as a member in 2005. Since then, her time in the choir has reverberated through her 13-year career as a teacher in Denver Public Schools. She has been a theater teacher for a 6th-12th grade school in inner city Denver. As such Caroline has produced many plays and musicals with students (virtual and in-person now) over the years at her school and through a STEAM-focused summer camp she enjoys each year. She did sing with the Denver Chorale for a few years, but now is the mom of two little girls (Quinn, age 4 and Laine, age 2) and works to balance work life and personal life the best she can. She is hoping to grow a love for music with her kids the way that her experience singing in Red Rose did for her. (They love to sing!)
Our 25th Season – Upcoming Events
As part of the Red Rose Family, know that alumni are ALWAYS welcome at our events. Having you there to support us in spirit and song is a true blessing. The following are upcoming events of the 25th Season:
- Love Notes Concert
February 26, 2022 – 2:00 PM, Libertyville High School, Libertyville, IL
A little mid-winter music to celebrate the love of one another through song.
- 25th Anniversary Celebration
June 4, 2022 – SAVE THE DATE
All the Red Rose family (yes, that includes you) are invited to gather for food and fellowship celebrating 25 years of this amazing organization. Mark your calendars to save the date. Details will be forthcoming.
- Spring Concert: 25th Anniversary
June 5, 2022 – 2:00 PM, Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, IL
The final concert of the season will acknowledge all the wonderful memories of past, the joy of the present and opportunities for the future.
Next Issue
As this newsletter is devoted to all things Red Rose, especially its alumni, we hope you enjoyed the updates on some of your fellow RRCCLC singers. We would love to spotlight you in our next issue, so please feel free to contribute your news or just share the story of where life has taken you. We continue to love to watch you blossom! To submit something for the next newsletter, you can email us at redrosealum@gmail.com.
Staying Connected
We don’t want to lose our Red Rose family members because of old or missing information. If you are receiving this via social media, a friend or even a parent’s email address, please email redrosealum@gmail.com with your current email address so we can update our records.
Also check out Alumni Corner – Red Rose Children’s Choir of Lake County (redrosechoir.org), a part of our ongoing effort to keep the Red Rose family connected. We look forward to enhancing it with your news and developments over time.