Accompanied by Justin Maxey, piano
Emily Rebecca Halbert
Emily Rebecca Halbert, a native of Nashville, TN, is a music educator, conductor, and mezzo-soprano currently pursuing a Master of Music in Choral Conducting at Georgia State University. At GSU, she teaches Aural Skills I and is the graduate assistant at North Decatur Presbyterian Church where she directs the children's choir and has conducted the Atlanta Philharmonic Orchestra. Recently, she was selected as a Choral Scholar for the Chorus America Choral-Orchestral Conducting Academy and, along with her two of her lovely graduate school colleagues, their collaborative lecture recital, Defiant Divas, was selected for various local and international conferences, such as the University of Toronto Graduate Music Conference. Prior to her graduate studies, she was the Director of Music Education and Performing Arts at St. Peter’s Episcopal School and was the Associate Conductor for the Chattanooga Girls Choir and directed the ensemble, Cantilena.
Caitlin Norton
Caitlin Norton is the 2023-2024 Artist Certificate student in Choral Conducting. Originally from Chicago, IL, her intended career path was not in music, but she got involved in choir while completing her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Caitlin sang with the UIUC Chorale, Oratorio Society, the Allerton Bach Festival Choir, sat on the board of the Illini Flash Orchestra, co-founded the Erstenblick Quartet, and was bitten by the conducting bug during a stint in the orchestra of a summer theatre project. She often jokes that "I chose math, but music chose me."
After undergrad, Caitlin moved to Tulsa, where she maintained parallel careers in math and music. While in Tulsa, Caitlin was the Artistic Drector of the Hyechka Women's Chorus, part of the oldest music society west of the Mississippi River, and is the founding director of Tulsa's WISE (Women In Song Ensemble). She completed her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Tulsa, where she was Assistant Director for both the Cappella Chamber Choir and TU Chorale, served as the primary accompanist for the conducting studio, and was a winner of the 2020 Concerto/Aria competition. She also held a number of church and community conducting positions, and remains a sought-after guest conductor, choral clinician, and soloist. Although she works mostly out of Tulsa and Chicago, Caitlin has conducted as far afield as Hainan, China!
Here in Atlanta, Caitlin serves as Associate Director of Music at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and for the Atlanta Archdiocesan Choir, sings soprano with the Atlanta Master Chorale, and works with the Atlanta Homeward Choir. At Georgia State, where she also received her Master's degree in 2023, she teaches Music Appreciation courses, co-conducts Repertory Singers, and has served as a collaborative pianist for Tenor-Bass Choir and Choral Union. She is also a founding member, co-conductor, and accompanist for Voces Amicis, a cooperative ensemble of graduate and undergraduate music students at GSU.
Trevor Kytola
Trevor Kytola is a music educator, conductor, and tenor from Walla Walla, WA who received his Bachelor of Music Education with a secondary choral emphasis from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. While there, he was a member of The Choir of the West, Choral Union, and University Chorale and was the recipient of the James D. Holloway Music Scholarship. With these ensembles, Trevor appeared at the 2022 NWACDA Conference and with Pacific Northwest Ballet as a chorus member at McCaw Hall. He also holds a K-12 Teaching Certificate from the State of Washington. Previous leadership appointments include conducting the Pacific Lutheran University Knights Chorus (T/B) and Ringers (handbell ensemble) while also assisting with 5 choirs at Graham-Kapowsin High School in Graham, WA. This year, he is assisting with the Georgia State Tenor-Bass Choir and Choral Union as well as leading the St. Cecilia Children’s Choir at St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church in addition to his staff singer duties.
Rebecca Simantov
Rebecca Simantov is a first-year master's student in choral conducting at Georgia State University from New York City. Rebecca sang and toured with the Kenyon College Chamber Singers for four years before moving back to New York to teach music and theater. Most recently, Rebecca has been living in Los Angeles, where she sang with the Angeles Chorale and performed with the LA Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Rebecca is passionate about telling stories and building communities through choral music, and is so excited to be learning from her mentors and peers here at GSU.
Allessandra Harms Roberson
Allessandra Harms Roberson moved from Portland, OR to Peachtree City, GA with her family in 2012, where she started her choral career singing with a women’s choir and select high school chorus. After finding her passion for choral music, she studied Choral and General Music Education at Georgia State University. During her time at Georgia State, she was a member of the school’s internationally renowned ensemble, University Singers, where she toured Austria and Southern Germany in the summer of 2017 with her colleagues. When she wasn’t singing, people would find her playing flute or piccolo for the marching band, Wind Orchestra, or University Concert Band. After graduating GSU, she taught elementary music in Rockdale County. She joined Morningside Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir, where she performed Brahms’ Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Dan Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living,” and Dan Forrest’s “LUX: From the Dawn on High.” Allessandra is excited to begin working toward her masters in Choral Conducting at Georgia State this fall while interning at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Stone Mountain. Allessandra resides in Atlanta with her husband, Ty, and two kitties, Jumble and Yvette
Jacob Thatch McDonald
Jacob Thatch McDonald is a Georgia native, Atlanta-based musician currently enrolled in a Dual-Track Master of Music program at Georgia State, concentrating in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting. He has been a member of Voces Amicis since its inception in the fall of 2021 and looks forward to the future and evolution of the group. Born in Macon, GA, Jacob began his performing career in choirs and community theatres in middle Georgia before pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. There, he developed a fondness for performing dramatic music, whether that music is choral, operatic, musical theatre, or even particularly rousing art songs. Outside of his musical pursuits, Jacob loves playing tabletop games, storytelling, and spending time with his wife Sara and their adorable cat, Percy.
Elizabeth Daly
Elizabeth Daly is a second-year graduate student in choral conducting at Georgia State University. Originally hailing from Syracuse, NY, Elizabeth recently graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Music Education with Performance honors. At SU, Elizabeth was a Research Assistant with Chorosynthesis, collaborating on their ESV (Empowering Silenced Voices) Database for music on topics of social consciousness, was the recipient of the Frances and William Buecheler Scholarship, and was a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national music honor’s society. Here in Atlanta, Elizabeth teaches fundamentals of aural skills at GSU, is a music intern with Central Presbyterian Church, Assistant conducts the Georgia Festival Chorus, works for the choral area as a graduate assistant, and sings/conducts with Voces Amicis. During her first year, she also presented her research on Italian nun composers of the Italian Renaissance at the University of Toronto Graduate Music Conference and the Georgia State University Graduate Conference for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity. Elizabeth lives with her Husband in Decatur, GA.