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GALLERY AND MEDIA
GALLERY AND MEDIA
Originally from San Diego, Therese Pallares lives and breathes the Southern California lifestyle. Working as a REALTOR®, Therese brings the values that make living in San Diego so great into the heart of her business, warmth with a sunny disposition.
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ABOUT MUSICA VITALE
Musica Vitale is a professional ensemble presenting a cappella chamber works of Western European and Slavic origin from the last 300 years. The ensemble’s mission is to revive and rediscover neglected repertoire of the Classical, Romantic and post-Romantic eras, maintaining the highest artistic standards, preserving the heritage of vocal chamber music, and bringing enrichment to the community through public performances.
Vitale--or vital, of life--translates into the choices of the ensemble’s repertoire, emphasizing the works of Romantic and Contemporary periods of Music History, emotionally open and charged with expression.
An ensemble of some of San Diego's finest singers offers an audible feast of choral colors and timbres, equally successful in singing with delicacy and finesse as in Robert Schumann’s ‘Romanzen und Balladen’, and with the richness and warmth of Sergey Rachmaninov’s Vespers.
Musica Vitale has been bringing music to life since 2005, when a group of professional singers from the San Diego Opera Chorus and Sacred Heart Church came together to perform a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. At this concert, the group revealed its unique potential and Musica Vitale was born.
During these years of exceptional music making, the group became one of the premier ensembles in the county and won the hearts of a larger San Diego following.
OUR BOARD
Elena Vizuet
Artistic Director and Board Chair
Mrs. Vizuet is an International Music Educator and Performer with more than 30 years of experience. Mrs. Vizuet has an MA degree in Choral Conducting and an MA in Music Education from the prestigious Ural Conservatory, Russia. She also has a BA, Cum Laude, in Choral Conducting and Music Education from Chelyabinsk Music College, Russia. Mrs. Vizuet has worked as a professional singer, pianist, music instructor, conductor, and impresario for decades.
She performed internationally in venues such as Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Rachmaninov Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Chelyabinsk Opera Theater, Vidago Concert Hall in Budapest, Casa de Kultura in Mexico, and in more than 100 productions with San Diego Opera, USA. She is a Founder an Artistic Director of Vocal Ensemble Musica Vitale, a non -profit art organization. Please visit www.Musicavitale.com
Mrs. Vizuet held position of a Teaching Artist with the San Diego Opera company in the program "Opera for Kids by Kids"; taught voice and conducting classes to undergraduate students of Chelyabinsk Music College, Russia; and Mesa City College, USA. Through her mentorship and guidance Mrs. Vizuet opened doors to professional music world to many opera singers who now sing with leading Opera Theaters in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as professional Choral Groups, Music Colleges and Schools.
Lisa Parente
Artistic Manager and Board Member
Ms. Parente has an MM degree in Vocal Performance from the Peabody Conservatory, and a BM in Vocal Performance from San Diego State University. She has been seen in many operas, such as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Amore in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Dew Fairy in Hänsel und Gretel. Lisa has also been an artist with San Diego Opera’s Opera Exposed! She has been featured as the soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria, the soprano soloist in Faure’s Requiem, and many more. Lisa has experience in graphic design and digital marketing.
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Jantina Perry
Board Member
Dr. Perry directed the Women's Chorus at her alma mater, Calvin University. She received her MA from Point Loma Nazarene University and her doctorate from Alliant International University. Dr. Perry served as coordinator of the music education program at Newport-Mesa Unified School District for many years and was honored as Music Teacher of the Year by the Orange County Music Teachers Association. She is a soloist and ensemble singer with local churches and is an active member of the San Diego Master Chorale.
Angela Witucki
Board Treasurer
Angela has a BS Occupational Therapy from the University of North Dakota and MS in Exercise Physiology. She was a small business owner and director of a private outpatient therapy clinic in San Diego for 15 years. Her work as a Certified Hand Therapist has allowed her to collaborate with many instrumentalists in their return to performance after injury. She has been a resident of Coronado since 1998. She is a proud member of the Crown City Chorale.
William Propp
Board Member
Dr. William Propp was a professor of Ancient History and Jewish Studies at UCSD for 34 years, where he held the Harriet and Louis Bookheim Chair in Biblical Hebrew and Related Languages. His primary expertise is the ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible, and his two-volume commentary on the Book of Exodus (Anchor Bible Series) is considered the standard reference work on the subject.
Propp has been an active freelance bassoonist (San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Nova, Lyric Opera San Diego, San Diego City Ballet, La Jolla Symphony Orchestra) and baritone singer (Musica Vitale, San Diego Pro Arte Voices), as well as a former choral conductor (La Jolla Renaissance Singers). He is a current board member of the San Diego Early Music Society, for which he composes program notes, and often delivers pre-concert lectures for Musica Vitale and other ensembles.
Nicole Baller
Education and Outreach Officer
Ms. Baller has a BM in Music Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has taught elementary school and conducted adult and children's choirs. Moving frequently as a military spouse, she has been privileged to sing across the country and internationally. Her varied music experiences include choirs, musical theater, opera, jazz, and praise bands.
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY:
Raffi Mikaelian
Board Member & Assistant Conductor.
Mr. Mikaelian has both an MA and a Post Graduate degree in Choral Conducting, as well as a BA in Orchestra Conducting from Yerevan State Conservatory. He was the recipient of an Artist Diploma in Orchestra Conducting from SDSU and has participated in international master classes with: Colin Metters and Alexander Polyanichko in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Kenneth Kiesler in San Diego.
Mr. and Mrs. Kearney
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we can all be stewards of the future of serious music.