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The Chorale Liz hails from Calgary, Canada, where her love of singing was developed from childhood. She began “officially” singing in her church choir and never stopped. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in Montreal, and moved to New Jersey in 2002 to pursue her other passion, working in human resources, training and organizational development. Liz currently works as part of the Human Resources team at The Conti Group. In addition to singing with the Caritas Chamber Chorale, Liz is an active member of the Ocean County Community Chorus in Toms River and the St. Matthias Church Adult Choir in Somerset. In her spare time, Liz enjoys exploring New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, playing piano, reading, hiking, cooking, and having a good discussion. Rosemary Orsillo, soprano Rosemary Orsillo has grown up and lived most of her life in Warren, NJ. Rosemary began singing in 1993 during her junior year of High School with the school choir. She soon realized her passion for music and her ability to sing. She was chosen to perform in the All State Choir, which led her to sing Beethoven’s Ninth. The following year she began singing in the choir at Our Lady of the Mount Church in Warren with music director Barbara Sanderman. From that point on she began cantoring, singing in a number of different choirs, singing for weddings all across New Jersey, performing in local musicals and performing for special events and parties. Rosemary’s love for singing had to stop for a short while, as she became a wife and mother of 2. She also has a joy for Cosmetology and Personal Fitness, and now she does both professionally. Her hobbies are working out, mountain biking and enjoying her children and family. “I started singing as an Alto II and now know I’m a Soprano I. My love for music will never end, and so…. I will never stop singing.”
Sarah Savva, soprano Sarah Savva received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education, with a major in English, from Kean University in 2003. Since then, she has been working as a kindergarten teacher in the Franklin Township School System. Sarah sang in many choirs throughout her school years. She has sung in the St. Matthias Adult Choir and cantored along side her father. In college, she sang with the Concert Choir and Chorale of Kean University and had the opportunity to travel to, and sing in Montreal. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys bike riding and reading. She is also learning to speak Greek. Sarah lives in Franklin Park with her husband Andreas. Mary C. Walsh, soprano Mary Walsh is a resident of Warren where she volunteers as a cantor and CCD teacher at Our Lady of the Mount R.C. Church. She has recently returned to the corporate work environment, taking a position at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in their Madison headquarters. Much of Mary’s spare time is spent managing her 13-year-old son’s hockey schedule, as well as visiting her 3 stepdaughters, and 3 grandsons with her husband, Jim. Mary received her musical training at Westminster Choir College, earning the degree of Bachelor of Music in Music Education. During her time at Westminster, Mary was appointed by the faculty as Conductor for the 1985 “Messiah Sing,” and sang concerts with the Westminster Choir at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fischer Hall, and the Philadelphia Academy of Music under renowned conductors Ricardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Robert Shaw, and Joseph Flummerfelt. Her most memorable choral experiences were the concert performances of Verdi’s Macbeth and Orff’s Carmina Burana, both under the direction of Maestro Muti. Karen grew up in New Jersey, where she was active in various music programs in school. She plays clarinet, and studied music for a year at St Norbert College in Wisconsin, culminating in a tour of Czech Republic and Austria where she played with her wind ensemble and local bands. Upon return to New Jersey, she attended Rutgers University and received a BA in Linguistics. She currently works at Rutgers as an Instructional Designer. Alison Morrison, alto
Although Alison’s professional career is not related to music, she has sung and played guitar since early childhood. For over 25 years she has served as leader of song at healing masses, retreats and days of renewal on the parish, diocesan, and statewide level. Alison currently cantors at Our Lady of the Mount Church in Warren, and is the founding member and chairperson of the Parish Wellness Ministry. One of Alison’s most rewarding musical experiences has been as a member of the Beloved Daughters, a women’s chorale, under the direction of Barbara Sanderman. Proceeds from the Beloved Daughters’ compact disc recording, Have Courage, My Soul, also benefited the Adorno Fathers’ Mission.
Nancy Paolini, alto Nancy Paolini has been active in Catholic church music for over 25 years during which time she has held the following positions: Guitarist/Song Leader, St. Augustine Church, Franklin Park; Director of Music, St. David the King Church, Princeton Junction; Cantor/Instrumentalist, St. Magdalen de Pazzi Church, Flemington; and, presently, Director of Music, Incarnation-St. James Parish, Trenton.
Christine Spodnick, alto Christine Spodnick originally hails from Shelton, CT. She received a B.A. in Music and a B.S. in biology from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. Four years later, she received her V.M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Christine currently works at the Raritan Animal Hospital in Edison, NJ.
Also active in musical theatre, Tim has worked with many schools, universities and theatre groups throughout the area. Since its inception several years ago, he has performed for the Poquelin Player's popular cabaret series at the Unitarian Church of Princeton. Tim maintains a private piano studio and freelances as a vocal, instrumental and dance accompanist. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Tim is a graduate of Capital University with a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance. He also received a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College.
Tom Gamarello, tenor Tom Gamarello has been singing ever since he joined choir as a freshman in high school to meet girls. Early on he realized his love of music, and hasn’t stopped since. Tom has performed in numerous musicals, operas and concerts, from Sondheim’s A Little Night Music to Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro to premiering Sametz’s Carmina Amoris as the tenor soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic. Tom graduated from Lehigh University in 2002 with dual degrees in Political Science and Music, and in 2003 with an M.A. in Political Science. Somehow Tom has ended up as a paralegal with ADP in Roseland, NJ. He has not yet decided what he wants to be when he grows up (but he is looking for suggestions). It turns out that music did help Tom with the girls, as he met his future wife, Christine, while at Lehigh when both were in Figaro together. Tom is a die-hard New York Yankees and New York Giants fan. He can often be found watching sports on television, cooking, and playing with his beautiful Bernese Mountain Dog, Savannah. Tom, Christine and Savannah reside in Bridgewater. Jim Gunnis, tenor Jim Gunnis is a Director of Finance at Avaya, part of the telecommunications industry. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. Jim has sung in choirs since he was nine years old. He has been a cantor since 1988, beginning at St. Marcelline parish in Schaumburg, Illinois, under the direction of Jerry Gallipeau. Currently, he is a cantor and choir member at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish in Bridgewater, New Jersey, under the direction of Barbara Sanderman. Jim's most memorable musical experience, his high school choir tour throughout Europe in 1972, confirmed his life long interests in history and travel. He continues both pursuits today, both for business, and his other passion, genealogy. Jim lives in Basking Ridge with his wife, Jan. Mike Petillo, tenor Mike Petillo has participated in parish music ministry in Raritan and Warren, New Jersey as a choir member and leader of congregational song for the past 25 years, ten of which were under the direction of Barbara Sanderman. He continues to volunteer at Our Lady of the Mount Roman Catholic Church in Warren. Mike was educated at St. John’s University, New York City, earning a B.S. degree in Mathematics, and at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, where he received an M.S. in Computer Science. Now retired from a career as a software engineer with AT&T Bell Labs and several small consulting firms, Mike includes computer technology among his special interests. In his spare time, Mike enjoys traveling and music of all genres. Motivated by his love of reading, he is a regular volunteer at the Warren Township branch of the Somerset County Library System. Mike resides in Warren with his wife Adrianne, who serves as Caritas Public Relations Coordinator.
Stan Szalewicz was recently promoted to the rank of Associate Professor-Librarian with tenure at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton. He holds an M.A. degree in Organ Performance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Library Science degree with specialization in Music Librarianship from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. Because of his knowledge of choral repertoire and ready access to Westminster’s resources, Stan has advised Barbara Sanderman in the selection of music for Caritas concerts since the group’s inception. Stan’s most memorable experience remains a performance of John Rutter’s Gaelic Blessing during afternoon tea with Great Britain’s Queen Mother Elizabeth at the Royal School of Church Music, Croydon, England, in July 1982. Wayne Dietterick, bass Wayne Dietterick is the marketing and communications coordinator for the UMDNJ-School of Public Health in Piscataway. A native of Mifflinville, PA, and a New Jersey resident for the past 37 years, Wayne is Director of Music at Emanuel Lutheran Church, ELCA, in New Brunswick. His previous organist/choir director positions in New Jersey ELCA Lutheran churches include Advent, Warren; St. John’s, Summit; and Faith, Murray Hill. He also served at St. John’s in Bloomsburg (Espy), PA as well as at his home congregation, St. John’s, Mifflinville, PA. Plainfield resident Bill Amirault is a cantor and
member of the choir at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic
Church in South Plainfield. Bill holds a B.S. degree
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY and
an M.B.A. from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Mike Burke, bass Growing up in Windsor, Ontario along the Canadian shore of the Detroit River, Mike Burke had been influenced constantly by a wide spectrum of music, much of it rooted in Gospel tradition. It was easy for him to gravitate back to those roots when he joined Caritas in 2008. A life-long Catholic from two families of centuries-long Catholics, Mike currently sings at St. Matthias Church with the Folk Group and Ensemble choirs and also plays accompanying guitar and cantors throughout the liturgical calendar. During his day-time life, Mike is the Director of Environment, Occupational Health and Safety at the Global Technology Center for the Colgate-Palmolive Company. Colgate is where he started his “real” professional life in the United States in 1989 after receiving his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Alberta. Caring for people and the Environment and passion for music is leading to his most recent project, Second Childhood, a band focused on the positive potential of original and contemporary rock music. Frank Muñoz, bass A native of Santiago de Cuba, Francisco (Frank) Muñoz studied piano for four years as a child and sang with the children's choir at the parish of San Antonio. He came to the United States in 1971 to attend high school, where he played cello in the orchestra and sang in the choir. After high school, Frank pursued a career in medicine. He has practiced internal medicine in Elizabeth, New Jersey for about twenty years. In 1995 Frank moved to Warren Township with his wife and children. They are members of Our Lady of the Mount Church. Frank joined the choir while Barbara Sanderman was Director of Music. During the past few years Frank has written a number of songs, some which have been played on the radio in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica. He hopes to continue to sing and praise our Lord Jesus Christ, and promote some of his other works, while continuing his successful medical career. Chris Rath, bass Hillsborough resident Chris Rath is a software developer with AT&T Labs Research. Among the most interesting projects he has led at AT&T Labs is the development of one of the first commercially available systems for downloading music over the Internet, a project that combined his love of music with his career in computer science. Classically trained in piano for over 30 years, Chris minored in Piano Performance at St. Mary’s College, Winona, Minnesota, where he received a B.S. degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. He continued his education at the University of Texas at Austin, earning an M.S. degree in Computer Science. St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church in Somerset is Chris’ parish. There he is actively involved in the church’s music program, singing bass/baritone in two choirs, providing piano accompaniment as needed, and leading the congregation in song in the role of cantor. An avid reader, Chris enjoys United States and world history, science fiction, and fantasy.
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Last updated
May 24, 2008 4:15 PM
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