When Words Fail, Music SpeaksCantate is lead by a distinguished group of professionals dedicated to the youth of Central Virginia. ----------------------- Peggy Haas-Howell
Conductor
Peggy Haas Howell is the Organist and Choirmaster at St. John’s Episcopal Church (Lynchburg, Virginia). Ms. Howell is an internationally known organ recitalist who has won top prizes in many organ playing competitions, including the National Organ Playing Competition of the American Guild of Organists, and St. Alban’s International Organ Interpretation Competition in England. She has recorded for the BBC, for Sender Freies Berlin, for the Finnish Broadcasting Service, and for Raven Recordings. Peggy Howell taught organ for ten years at Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University before moving to Lynchburg in 1996. After conducting the concert choir of Sweet Briar College for one semester, she was appointed as the conductor of Chorale, the concert choir of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, a position she held from 1997-2001. She served as the Music Director for Glass Theatre from 2002-2008.
She graduated from Susquehanna University with a Bachelor of Arts in Church Music degree (magna cum laude), and from Union Theological Seminary with a Master of Sacred Music degree. She also attended the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Hamburg, Germany. Her organ teachers have included Harald Vogel, Cherry Rhodes, Heinz Wunderlich, and James Boeringer.
Throughout her career, Ms. Howell has frequently worked with young voices. In her church positions, she has always directed choirs of children and youth. Her first community children's choir experience was preparing and conducting the Gallery Chorus of children for a Susquehanna Valley Chorale performance of Britten's "St Nicolas while she was a college student. Early in her career, she was a guest conductor at the Kennedy Center in a choral festival sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington. Over the years, she has directed several church operas featuring children including "Noye's Fludde" and "Amahl and the Night Visitors". She has also conducted many major works for choir and orchestra. Mrs. Howell was appointed as the conductor of Cantate, The Children's and Youth Choir of Central Virginia in August 2008.
----------------------- Miriam TaylorAccompanist
Miriam Taylor is a graduate of Wittenberg University (Springfield, Ohio) with a BS in Education and Music. She moved to Lynchburg in 1956. Mrs. Taylor has taught piano for many years - she is the Retired Organist at Holy Trinity Lutheran. She served as Staff Accompanist in Music Departments at Randolph-Macon and Lynchburg College, retiring in 1997. Since retiring, Mrs. Taylor has served as substitute accompanist at various Lynchburg churches while continuing to accompany a variety of musical organizations. She is married to James Taylor and has 4 children and 6 grandchildren. Mrs. Taylor was appointed as the accompanist for Cantate in August 2010. ----------------------- ----------------------- Keith ThienemannManager
Keith Thienemann is the founding Manager of Cantate, The Children's and Youth Choir of Central Virginia. Thienemann is a member of tenor section at St. John's Episcopal Church (Lynchburg,
Virginia). As a singer, he has toured throughout North America and
Europe and was the guest soloist of the Norwegian government and the Sons of Norway during the 50th Anniversary celebration of the liberation of Europe in Dombas (Norway) in 1995. He has sung with the Loyola Chorale (New
Orleans, Louisiana), the Camerata de Monteverdi (New Orleans), the New
Orleans Opera Chorus, the Jefferson Choral Society (Lynchburg,
Virginia), the Lynchburg College Choral Union (Lynchburg, Virginia) and the Berkshire Choral Festival
(Canterbury, England). Thienemann has appeared on ABC as a tenor
vocalist during the Sugar Bowl halftime show. He was the founding
Manager and President of the Jefferson Choral Society (Lynchburg,
Virginia). Thienemann holds a degree in film from Loyola of the South
(New Orleans, Louisiana). His work follows in the style of photographic
masters P. H. Emerson and Robert Frank. He was twice named the National
Photo Apprentice for the Spoleto Arts Festival (Charleston, South Carolina), His clients have included The New Orleans Symphony,The Opera on the James and Virginia Episcopal School. His work may be found at ImageArtWork.com He is represented by Artifacts Gallery (Lynchburg, Virginia.)
----------------------- Debora TrentAssistant Manager/Clothing Coordinator |
