St. Joseph Valley Camerata

David A. Seitz, music director, was born into a singing family in 1943. He showed early interest in leading hymns and conducting choirs in the Mennonite churches of his youth. After graduating from Eastern Mennonite College (now University) at Harrisonburg, Virginia, he earned a master's degree in choral conducting at Indiana University. At Bloomington he studied conducting and choral literature under Charles Webb, Fiora Contino, and Julius Herford, one of Robert Shaw's primary mentors.

In 1968 David joined the faculty of Eastern Mennonite College teaching voice and conducting the touring choir. At this time he was also active singing, arranging, conducting, and recording for Mennonite Broadcasts (now Mennonite Media). He was closely involved with the production of three LPs that have since been reissued as CDs. He also wrote, directed, and performed music for the summer stage productions of Good Enterprises in Lancaster County, PA.

Since moving to Indiana in 1971, David has served as music director at Prairie Street Mennonite and Trinity United Methodist Churches in Elkhart. In 1999 he began his current position as music director at First United Methodist Church in Mishawaka where he shares the music leadership with his wife, organist/pianist Christine Larson Seitz.

In 1975 David, with the help of singing friends, started the community chamber choir Camerata Singers based in Elkhart County, Indiana. He and Christine have collaborated in the group's artistic leadership since 1978. In 2003 Camerata Singers reorganized as the current St. Joseph Valley Camerata.

A strong area of David's music activities has been choral composition and arranging. Over 125 titles are offered in his Camerata Press catalogue.

Christine Larson Seitz, piano, has been a sought-after recital accompanist in Michiana for 35 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance and a master’s in studio accompanying from Indiana University South Bend, studying under Robert Hamilton and John Owings. Christine joined Camerata Singers as pianist and assistant director in 1978, and since then no one else has ever accompanied a Camerata performance. Christine has been on the faculty at Bethel College and IUSB, and since 1999 has served as assistant professor of music at Goshen College. At GC, she teaches music theory and humanities, and is staff accompanist for faculty and student recitals. Christine as been the organist at First United Methodist Church in Mishawaka since 1987.

The Singers Soprano
Melissa Fisher Fast studied vocal performance at Goshen College. She has done solo work with the Goshen College Choirs, the Goshen Community Chorale, and the Goshen College Orchestra. In addition to the St. Joseph Valley Camerata, Melissa has sung with Goshen College Chorale and Chamber Choir, the Bach Festival Chamber Choir (Harrisonburg, Virginia), and the Ensemble of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, where she is a student.	Janeen Bertsche Johnson is Campus Pastor at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, and has sung with Camerata for 14 seasons over the last 22 years. She studied voice at Bluffton University (Ohio), and was a charter member of Bluffton's Camerata Singers in 1984. Janeen has also sung with the Wichita Chamber Chorale, and has been a soloist for The Messiah on three occasions. She is a frequent worship leader and song leader at AMBS, Eighth Street Mennonite Church in Goshen, and denominational gatherings. She is a member of the Executive Board of Mennonite Church USA. She lives in Goshen with her husband Barry and their two teenage children.
Ellen Graber Kraybill studied voice and piano at Goshen College. She sang in the Handel Society Choir of Hanover, N.H., the Highgate Choral Society of London, and Camerata Singers. Ellen is a physical therapist at Elkhart General.
Faith Fleming studied voice and flute at St. Olaf College where she performed with the St. Olaf Choir, Band, and Manitou Singers. While pursuing a graduate degree in Library and Information Science at University of Illinois, Urbana, she continued her studies and sang with the Graduate Chorale. She has performed as a soloist and choral member with the Cayuga Vocal Ensemble and Ensemble Sine Nomine (Ithaca, NY), Spectrum Singers (Boston, MA), the South Bend Chamber Singers and the Notre Dame Collegium Musicum. She lives in South Bend with her husband and daughter and works as a real estate broker with Cressy & Everett.	Karen Graber studied voice at Goshen College and will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Music in December. She has sung with the Goshen College chamber choir, chorale and women’s world music choir, in addition to solo work throughout her time there. Karen has participated in multiple Honors and All-State choirs before coming to Goshen College. This is Karen’s second year with the St. Joseph Valley Camerata.
Alto
Jennifer Bechterev is a 2005 graduate of Goshen College with a degree in Music and Fine Arts. She participated in the Chamber Choir during her four years at Goshen and studied voice in order to complete a sophomore and senior recital. After finishing her studies at Goshen, she immediately began her journey into motherhood and is now the parent of two (soon to be three) children. She has enjoyed singing with Camerata since she first joined in the fall of 2006.	Ann Diller earned a bachelor’s degree in theatre and business from Mary Washington College in Virginia. She was chosen by audition for the New York All-State Chorus and sang with the Fredericksburg Singers and with Camerata. Ann works in Elkhart in the RV industry.
Adrienne Nesbitt	Colleen White
Tenor
James Jones	Jeffrey Stuart Martin holds a BA from Goshen College, where he studied voice performance and sang with the Goshen College Chamber Choir. He has also sung with the Georgian Bay Concert Choir in Owen Sound, Ontario and the Soli Deo Gloria choir in Leamington, Ontario and is a founding member of the a cappella male quartet mennosong. Jeff works at the Middlebury Community Library and is married to fellow St. Joseph Valley Camerata member Lisa Rose Martin.
Sean Martin	Tom Rockhill did his college work at Western Michigan University, where he majored in voice and was in various select choirs. He was active in both musical theatre and opera, and sang principal roles in Gianni Schicchi, the Marriage of Figaro, Falstaff, L’Ormindo, and Sweeney Todd. He also toured and performed in Europe. Tom joined Camerata in 2001 and serves as tenor section leader for the chancel choir at First United Methodist Church in Mishawaka.
Bass
Lee Dengler received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in vocal performance from West Chester University School of Music in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He studied choral composition and arranging with Alice Parker at Westminster Choir College. He and his wife, Susan, are Ministers of Music at College Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana. Lee teaches voice and composition at Goshen College and directs the Goshen Community Chorale. Lee has nearly 200 choral and piano works published by many of the major sacred music publishers in the United States. As a bass/baritone soloist, Lee has sung in recitals and in numerous oratorio and operatic productions. Lee and Susan have two young adult children and two grandchildren.	Michael S. Wade received his bachelors and masters degrees in music education from Indiana State University. He is active as a choral clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor. Michael taught vocal music for thirty four years at the high school level in Crown Point and Elkhart. He has taught undergraduate method at Saint Marys College and graduate level choral methods and organization courses at Valparaiso University. Wade is a past president of the Central Division of the American Choral Directors Association and the Indiana Choral Directors Association and served as chairperson of the ICDA All State Choir for five years. Currently he is Music Director at First Congregational Church in Elkhart.
Tom Birdsell	Joseph Krueger
Daniel K. Stutzman graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Goshen College, where he studied piano and sang in the Goshen College Chamber Choir and the a capella men’s ensemble Stabat. While studying music at Goshen College, he sang with the choruses of Carmen and Die Fledermaus. He also sang Verdi’s Requiem and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with the Toledo Symphony. He played the role of the Mayor in the 2008 Goshen College Theater Department production of Pirandello’s “Absolutely! {perhaps}”. Dan lives in Goshen with his wife Gina and works as the IT/AV Systems Specialist at Goshen College, where he is pursuing a second major in Business Information Systems.

Special Guests from Previous Years
Christopher Cock, tenor
Maura Janton Cock, soprano
Amy Cofield, soprano
Jeffrey Mann, countertenor
Gail Gillispie, lute
Rebecca Hovan, flute
Wendell Miller, cello

Meet the core ensemble