KEVIN RIEHLE Director of Choral Activities KevinRRiehle@KATYISD.ORG
Kevin Riehle is the artistic director and
founder of CANTARE Houston.
His teaching career includes Tyler Junior College (Tyler, TX) and
Houston Baptist University. He has directed music and fine arts programs
in prominent congregations throughout Texas, and has served as
clinician, guest conductor, consultant and vocal instructor throughout
the country. In 1988 he developed the highly-regarded
Marvin Concert
Series of Marvin United Methodist Church, Tyler, Texas. His choirs have
appeared in New York City, Washington DC, Colonial Williamsburg, England
and Europe.
In 2001, he made his Carnegie Hall debut with MidAmerica Productions
conducting Beethoven's Mass in C Major. Following that performance he
was invited to join the staff as associate conductor. He returned to
Carnegie Hall in 2003, conducting Te Deum settings by Haydn and Holst.
On three separate occasions, Kevin was selected to participate in the
Robert Shaw Choral Workshops at Carnegie Hall.
Kevin is a published composer and arranger with Oxford University Press,
Choristers Guild an Abingdon Press. His compositions have found a
regular place in the repertoire of choruses of all ages both in the US
and abroad.
He holds degrees from Southern Methodist University and Ohio Northern
University, has done post-graduate work at Texas Tech University, and is
currently pursuing the Doctor of Music Arts degree at the University of
Houston.
KRISTIN TAYLOR Assistant Director of Choral Activities
kristinltaylor@katyisd.org
Kristin Taylor is excited
about joining the Taylor High School Choir family. As Assistant Director
of Choral Activities, she will direct Concert Choir, Camerata, and teach AP Music Theory. Miss Taylor
recently graduated with high honors from the University of Texas with a
Bachelor’s degree in Music Studies. While at the University, she studied
piano with David Renner and conducting with Dr. Suzanne Pence. Miss
Taylor was also a three-year member of the University of Texas Concert
Chorale, serving as Treasurer during her third year. Her training as a
piano principal combined with secondary vocal instruction and extensive
choral experience allow Miss Taylor to be very versatile in the choral
classroom. During her student teaching apprenticeship under Kay Payton
in Pflugerville ISD, she worked with Park Crest Middle School’s Sixth
Grade Choir and Advanced Treble Choir. Miss Taylor also had the honor of
conducting a portion of the UIL program as a student teacher.
A native Houstonian, Miss Taylor is excited to be a part of Katy ISD,
and is looking forward to continuing the strong choral tradition at
Taylor High School. She is a member of TMEA, TCDA, and MENC.
JOE KEY
is in his fourth year teaching
private voice at Taylor High School. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in
Vocal Performance from Houston Baptist University and a Master's Degree
in Vocal Performance from Rice University. Mr. Key
has been singing in
the Houston Grand Opera
chorus since September of 1991.
He has sung in
50
operas and done over 400 performances. Mr. Key has also sung lead roles with the Houston Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
KATHERINE McDANIEL
is in her seventh year teaching at Taylor High School. She is a member
of the Houston Grand Opera Chorus and will be performing this spring
with “Opera-to-Go ,” an outreach program of Houston Grand Opera, as the
Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and the Winter
Fairy in a new adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty
ballet. She has also sung with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of
Houston and The Society for Modern Music. Roles have included Lucy in
Menotti’s The Telephone, Little Red Riding Hood in Sondheim’s
Into the Woods, the title role in Little Red Riding Hood by Barab,and Kid in
The Roar of the Greasepaint,the Smell of the Crowd by Anthony
Newley and Leslie Bricusse.
HANNAH NELSON, soprano, holds a
Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the Shepherd School of Music
at Rice University and received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal
Performance at Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN in December of 2003.
While still in college, Hannah was named winner of the 2003 Minnesota
District Metropolitan Opera Auditions, was a four-time winner in the
National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition, and was a
two-time second place winner in the Schubert Club Competition. Ms.
Nelson’s operatic roles include Gretel and The Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel, Calisto in Calisto, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Barbarina in
Le Nozze di Figaro, the Jester in Many Moons, and Lucy in
The Telephone. In
March of 2005, Hannah was asked to sing the soprano solos in Vivald’s Gloria, and Bach’s Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen from Cantata 51 with
the South Dakota Symphony. After a successful performance, she was asked
to return to South Dakota the following month to sing the soprano solos
in Handel’s Psalm 112 with the symphony’s Chamber Orchestra. An active
performer and teacher, Hannah is the soprano in the Houston Grand
Opera’s “Opera-to-Go” program and she sings with the Houston Chamber
Choir and the Cantare Houston professional ensemble.
PAUL COUTANT is in his
tenth year as a private vocal coach, having
previously taught in San Antonio, Cuero, and Victoria. Coutant studied
voice at The University of North Texas, Texas Christian University, and
in Austria, with teachers Dr. Edward Baird, Dr. J. Arden Hopkin, Carol
Mayo, and MaryBeth Smith. To his credit, Coutant has produced eight
All-State choir members and two Outstanding Vocalists at Texas UIL State
Solo and Ensemble Contest. Mr. Coutant sang several seasons with the Ft.
Worth Opera Association. Character parts are his
passion, having performed Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Jud Fry in
Oklahoma!, both fathers in The Fantasticks, Max in The Sound of Music,
Charlie in Annie Get Your Gun, the Rabbi in The Fiddler on the Roof, Blore in
10 Little Indians and Tony in Dial M for Murder. Coutant has
directed productions of Little Mary Sunshine, The Fantasticks, and
I Do!
I Do! and was music director for a production of The Fiddler on the
Roof. His oratorio credits include the baritone solos in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Ballet,
Faure Requiem and the Brahms Requiem. Paul’s
professional associations are with Texas Music Educators Association,
American Guild of Musical Artists, and the National Association of
Teachers of Singing.
JANA
ELLSWORTH
Accompanists
After finishing graduate
work at BaylorUniversity, BARBARA BAKER JONESwas
invited to join the Houston Opera Studio as a coach/accompanist. During
her two seasons with the Studio, she had the opportunity of working with
singers from the University of Houston Opera Theater and Houston Grand
Opera. Her other credits include working with Texas Opera Theater
and Des Moines Metro Opera. Mrs. Jones is currently the pianist at
Tallowood BaptistChurch. She has
accompanied the Region XVII High School Varsity Mixed Choir and the
Region XXIII Treble Choir. Of note, Mrs. Jones has accompanied every
Katy I.S.D. convention honor choir, including
TaylorHigh School’s 2000 TMEA
and 2001 ACDA performances.
VICKI DOOMAN,
a mother of
three, has been a supporting member of Taylor Choir for the many
years. Though certified in the field of medical records, the love of
music and of young people keeps her near the Fine Arts Department. She
accompanied for the A Cappella, Madrigal, and Men’s Glee Choirs at
WichitaState
University
and sang in the University Chorale while attending college. She has
also accompanied for various music clinics under university directors
and renowned composer Eugene Butler.
Choir Faculty
KEVIN RIEHLE
JOE KEY
KATHERINE McDANIEL
is in her seventh year teaching at Taylor High School. She is a member
of the Houston Grand Opera Chorus and will be performing this spring
with “Opera-to-Go ,” an outreach program of Houston Grand Opera, as the
Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and the Winter
Fairy in a new adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty
ballet. She has also sung with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of
Houston and The Society for Modern Music. Roles have included Lucy in
Menotti’s The Telephone, Little Red Riding Hood in Sondheim’s
Into the Woods, the title role in Little Red Riding Hood by Barab,and Kid in
The Roar of the Greasepaint,the Smell of the Crowd by Anthony
Newley and Leslie Bricusse. 
HANNAH NELSON, soprano, holds a
Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the Shepherd School of Music
at Rice University and received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal
Performance at Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN in December of 2003.
While still in college, Hannah was named winner of the 2003 Minnesota
District Metropolitan Opera Auditions, was a four-time winner in the
National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition, and was a
two-time second place winner in the Schubert Club Competition. Ms.
Nelson’s operatic roles include Gretel and The Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel, Calisto in Calisto, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Barbarina in
Le Nozze di Figaro, the Jester in Many Moons, and Lucy in
The Telephone. In
March of 2005, Hannah was asked to sing the soprano solos in Vivald’s Gloria, and Bach’s Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen from Cantata 51 with
the South Dakota Symphony. After a successful performance, she was asked
to return to South Dakota the following month to sing the soprano solos
in Handel’s Psalm 112 with the symphony’s Chamber Orchestra. An active
performer and teacher, Hannah is the soprano in the Houston Grand
Opera’s “Opera-to-Go” program and she sings with the Houston Chamber
Choir and the Cantare Houston professional ensemble.
PAUL COUTANT is in his
tenth year as a private vocal coach, having
previously taught in San Antonio, Cuero, and Victoria. Coutant studied
voice at The University of North Texas, Texas Christian University, and
in Austria, with teachers Dr. Edward Baird, Dr. J. Arden Hopkin, Carol
Mayo, and MaryBeth Smith. To his credit, Coutant has produced eight
All-State choir members and two Outstanding Vocalists at Texas UIL State
Solo and Ensemble Contest. Mr. Coutant sang several seasons with the Ft.
Worth Opera Association. Character parts are his
passion, having performed Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Jud Fry in
Oklahoma!, both fathers in The Fantasticks, Max in The Sound of Music,
Charlie in Annie Get Your Gun, the Rabbi in The Fiddler on the Roof, Blore in
10 Little Indians and Tony in Dial M for Murder. Coutant has
directed productions of Little Mary Sunshine, The Fantasticks, and
I Do!
I Do! and was music director for a production of The Fiddler on the
Roof. His oratorio credits include the baritone solos in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Ballet,
Faure Requiem and the Brahms Requiem. Paul’s
professional associations are with Texas Music Educators Association,
American Guild of Musical Artists, and the National Association of
Teachers of Singing.
JANA
ELLSWORTH
