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Founding members of SPS.
JILL - Soprano
Jill has always had a love of singing harmony. Her choral experiences range from church choirs to Sweet Adelines to community choirs to community theatre groups. Her favorite singing gigs have included serving as gospel soloist with the Ohio State University Chorus, leading and singing a jazz vocal group, JazzSong, joining the chorus for an off-off-Broadway production of Belles of the Mill, featured vocal roles in Godspell, Assassins, and The Mikado, and of course, Saint Paul Seven. After a double-major in music and theatre at Interlochen Arts Academy, she studied music at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and earned a music degree from Arizona State University. In addition to singing, she plays handbells, does arranging, is an accomplished marimbist and has professional credits as a composer-lyricist of theatrical songs.
JEAN - Alto
Jean is a lifelong resident of Middlesex
County having been born in St. Peter's Hospital (New Brunswick, NJ) like
her mother before her and her daughter after her.
She has been a church organist
and/or choir director for more than three decades and holds a B.A. degree
in Music Education from Wagner College, an M.B.A. in accounting from Fairleigh
Dickinson University, and a JD in Law from Seton Hall University.
Jean is a full-time professor of paralegal studies and business law at Middlesex County College (N.J.) and is currently the assistant chair to the Department of Accounting and Legal Studies.
She serves as SPS's directress
("I'm in charge!"), sometime pianist/accompanist, and very occasional
arranger. (Jean works on arranging by herself, thereby being known as
SPS's Lone Arranger!)
JOHN - Tenor
John has sung in choirs for most of his
life. He began in church choirs when he was in fourth grade (a few years ago.)
For ten years, he was a member of Rutgers University Choir where he performed
with such conductors as Eugene Ormandy and Erich Leinsdorf. He has also performed
with the Middlesex County Opera.
A graduate of Rutgers University
(twice) and Trenton State University (once), John holds an MA in Musicology
and an MLS from Rutgers. He works as a librarian at the Metuchen Public
Library.
John serves as SPS's librarian,
musicologist and patter-writer.
ROBIN - Bass
When
not singing or rehearsing with SPS, Robin is employed as the Librarian Media Specialist at the
Hillsborough Middle School where he enjoys working with the students.
He became interested in music in
fifth grade when he took up the alto saxophone. He has been active in
choirs and choruses since high school where he participated in the chorus,
concert choir & madrigals. In high school he was involved musically
with the concert band, dance band, pit band for musicals, appeared in a
few musicals (Brigadoon with the kilt was cool!) and was
drum major for two years with the marching band. His senior year he was
student conductor for both the band and concert choir and was the recipient
of the choir and band awards.
Robin holds a B.S. in Music Education
from Lebanon Valley College and an MLS from Rutgers. While in college he
was active in the chapel choir, pit band for musicals, concert band, wind
ensemble, pep band (as conductor), and saxophone choir. Over the years
he has been active in various church choirs and other choral organizations.
Robin serves SPS as bookkeeper,
webmaster and graphics guy.
JEFF - Bass
Jeff has been singing at various places
(he hasn't been able to stay any one place very long) since he was 8 years
old. He started out singing in the church choir at The Presbyterian Church
in New Brunswick (NJ) where he stayed until after high school. While in
high school, he worked in musical theater on such productions as Anything
Goes. And at the same time he performed with the North Brunswick
Adult Drama Group, where he appeared in Guys and Dolls,
South Pacific, Finian's Rainbow, and once again, Anything
Goes.
He returned to singing in churches
at St. Paul's Church in Bound Brook and has sung at numerous churches
ever since. Jeff is a lifelong resident of Central New Jersey and currently
lives in East Brunswick with his wife, Cheryl, and son, David. He works for
IBM, where he is a project manager assigned to Merrill Lynch.
Jeff is SPS's patter guy.
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