Karyn Silva, Artistic Director, Concerta and Ensemble Director has a passion and infectious enthusiasm for the art of choral music. With over twenty years of conducting and teaching experience, she is sought after as a master teacher, clinician, and mentor in her field. She is a graduate of Holy Names University, where she earned her Master of Music Education degree with a Kodaly emphasis. Ms. Silva also received her graduate certification in the Orff-Schulwerk approach from Mills College.

Ms. Silva was awarded the distinction of “Teacher of the Year” for the Lincoln Unified School District in 1996 and in 2007 was honored by the California Music Educators Association (CMEA) as “Classroom Music Teacher of the Year.” With the exception of Repertoire, she has conducted every choir level at the PGC.

Ms. Silva is actively involved in music education and choral conducting organizations. She was the Youth Choir chairperson for the Organization of American Kodaly Educators (OAKE) National Conference in 2004, she served on the board of the California Music Educators National Conference from 2005-2006, and recently she has presented sessions at the American Choral Directors (ACDA) and CMEA annual conferences. She is an active member of Chorus America, American Choral Directors Association, and the Organization of American Kodaly Educators.

Jane Rinard, Allegra Director holds a Bachelors Degree in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley and a Masters Degree in Music Education with a Kodály emphasis from Holy Names University in Oakland.

Ms. Rinard has been teaching music in the schools for the past nine years, and currently teaches at San Francisco Day School. She was the Assistant Conductor of Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir's Concert Choir from 2007 – 2009, has taught private piano and voice lessons throughout the Bay Area, and served on the board of the Northern California Association of Kodály Educators.

Ms. Rinard enjoys singing music of many genres, and has performed with numerous Bay Area choirs, including Volti and the San Francisco Bach Choir. In her spare time she enjoys salsa dancing, hiking, yoga and cooking.

Kate Roseman, Repertoire and Cantate Director is a graduate of the University of Redlands where she received her Bachelor of Music Education. Ms. Roseman also studied at the Zoltan Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music in Kecskemét, Hungary, specializing in Zoltan Kodály’s pedagogy and methodology, music history, conducting and ear training.

In addition to teaching the Cantate and Repertoire groups at the Peninsula Girls Chorus, Ms. Roseman also teaches Choir and Voice at the Spindrift School of the Performing Arts in Pacifica, is the Assistant Choral Director at Carlmont High School, and is the Vocal Coach for the Musical Theater Department at Leigh High School in San Jose.

Ms. Roseman is an active member of both the California American Choral Directors Association, and the Organization of American Kodaly Educators. Ms. Roseman is an alumna of the Peninsula Girls Chorus and a participant in the PGC’s 2008 Sororis program in Northern Italy.

Will Skaff, Brava Director is thrilled to join PGC this year, and excited to be among such talented singers and staff. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Wheaton College in Illinois, and a Master of Choral Conducting from California State University, Los Angeles. He also holds a certificate of Kodaly pedagogy from the summer program at New York University..

Will is in his eighth year of teaching chorus and A.P. music theory at Sacred Heart Preparatory in Atherton, and also serves as cantor and section leader at Most Holy Redeemer in San Francisco. He has enjoyed singing with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus for five years, and has recently joined the a cappella men’s group, Musaic.

Though happily busy with a life of music, he can also be found sitting around watching sports and reality television.

Catherine Doyle, Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus, Director of Alumnae is a graduate of Westminster Choir College; she has performed with the Syracuse Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and New York Philharmonic, and sung with Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Joseph Flummerfelt, and Robert Shaw. She pursued graduate studies at Cambridge University, specializing in treble-voice music. She studied form and analysis with noted San Francisco composer David Sheinfeld.

Ms. Doyle has prepared choruses and soloists for the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Symphony, and Masterworks Chorale. Her choruses have worked with Chanticleer, Bay Area Women's Philharmonic and Meet the Composer. Her choirs have toured the Americas, Europe and Africa. In 1994 she founded the PGC, building the organization over 18 years into a valuable community resource. In 2011, she became Director of Alumnae, allowing her to create programs for PGC graduates.

PGC Alumnae interested in singing with the Alumnae choir, please contact Cathy at: cathy@peninsulagirlschorus.org or via Facebook at: Peninsula Girls Chorus Alumnae.

Dmitriy Cogan was born in Moscow in 1963. He began music studies at the age of six and in 1974 immigrated to San Francisco. He studied conducting at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and continued his piano studies with Vladimir Pleshakov and Maria Cisyc. In 1979, he moved to New York to study with Martin Canin at the Juillard School, where he received Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. Since 1980 he has appeared in numerous solo and chamber music concerts in the New York area. In 1981, he was a prizewinner at the Kosciuszko Chopin Competition in New York; in 1982 he won first prize at the American Music Scholarship Association International Piano Competition in Cincinnati; in 1983 he was Laureate of the Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition in Cleveland. Mr. Cogan has performed at Carnegie Hall and has appeared in recitals throughout the United States, Europe, Russia and Central America.

Aki Amai, originally from Tokyo, began studying music at the age of three. She has an A.A. music degree from Santa Barbara City College, where she studied under Josephine Brummel, and a B.M. degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied under Betty Woo. Since graduating, Aki has rooted herself within the music community as a professional teacher, accompanist, and organist. Aside from working for local schools & churches, Aki also performs as an accordionist in a traditional swing jazz band.

Nicholas J. Carlozzi was raised in a family of musicians and has been playing the piano and composing since he was three. He studied piano until middle school, when he switched to rock guitar and began to write popular songs of his own. He gradually returned to classical piano studies and now works with Thomas LaRatta; a well-known Bay Area teacher who plays a key role in influencing Mr. Carlozzi’s musical personality as a pianist and composer. Alongside accompanying the PGC Concerta group, Nicholas teaches private piano and composition lessons, and has premiered three commissioned choral works with the Masterworks Chorale under Dr. Bryan Baker. His most recent song cycle for tenor voice and piano, “Songs for a Stranger” (Walt Whitman) won the Pacific Musical Society’s 2011 Composition Award. Beginning in April Mr. Carlozzi became the composer-in-residence for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley for the 2011-12 year. His other interests include skateboarding, working out, traditional Chinese medicine, drums, tennis, and sushi.