Music Leadership
Andrew is an Ohio native who relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a DMA in Choral Music at the USC Thornton School of Music. Prior to his move to Southern California, Andrew spent seven years as Director of Music Programs for Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio. While in Defiance, Andrew also served as Director of Music at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Performance Series Director for the Defiance Community Cultural Council, and was an active OMEA adjudicator and area clinician.
.
Since graduating from USC, Andrew has been teaching in the Los Angeles area including courses at the Colburn Academy and Pepperdine University and working as a consultant with the USC Brain and Music Institute. In addition to his degrees in music, Andrew received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and an MBA from Ohio Northern University and Bowling Green State University respectively. Andrew has used his varied education working for non-profits including Early Music America, and most recently, as the Financial Manager for the Cal-Pac United Methodist Foundation in Pasadena, California.
Peter Fennema studied piano from a young age with notable teachers including concert pianist Michel Block (Indiana University), Antoinette Perry (privately), and most recently Dr. Kirill Gliadkovsky (Saddleback College). He began organ lessons at the age of twelve and, as a student of Cherry Rhodes and Ladd Thomas, he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in organ performance from the University of Southern California. He was twice named Outstanding Graduate by the faculty of the USC School of Music.
.
Peter is the recipient of numerous organ playing awards and scholarships, including the Martha Farr and Hunter Mead competitions (Pasadena AGO), the Wanda Edmiston Competition (San Diego), the Young Artist Award (LA AGO), the David Lennox Smith Memorial Award, a Los Angeles Rotary scholarship, and several USC scholarships. Peter was one of nine national finalists at the American Guild of Organists (“AGO”) National Competition in Washington, D.C. His recording there of the formidable Octaves etude by Jeanne Demessieux has been broadcast on American Public Media’s PIPEDREAMS program several times. He has presented numerous solo concerts and has been a featured organist for the William Hall Chorale and the Carmel Bach Festival. Peter has held positions at several churches in the Los Angeles area, including First Lutheran Church (Glendale), All Saints Episcopal Church (Pasadena), Pasadena Presbyterian Church, St. James Episcopal Church (South Pasadena), and St. Matthias Episcopal Church (Whittier). Most recently, Peter has played regularly at Glendale First United Methodist Church where he has been the exclusive substitute for Dr. Ladd Thomas. Peter was previously organist at Westwood United Methodist Church, a position he held for seven years and has gratefully returned to in 2024.
.
For many years, Peter maintained a parallel career in information technology, focusing primarily on systems for human resources, benefits, and payroll. He has recently transitioned back to full-time music endeavors which include organ playing and piano studies. He also designs and maintains websites and communication materials for non-profit organizations.
Taylor Jacobs
Tenor
Taylor Jacobs recently finished his undergraduate studies in Vocal Arts at the University of Southern California. A frequent soloist for the USC Choral Music department, Taylor’s highlights include Dr. Nick Strimple’s birthday concert with the Los Angeles Zimriyah Chorale and the USC Visions & Voices performance of Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard (“In Need of Breath” and “I Am Like You”). He has coached French for multiple USC productions, including Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie for The Chamber Opera, Chamber Singers’ National ACDA performance of Henk Bading’s Trois Chansons Bretonnes and Concert Choir’s performances of Morten Lauridsen’s Les Chansons des Roses.
Carmen Edano
Mezzo Soprano
Carmen Edano is a young mezzo soprano from Vallejo, California. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music with an emphasis in both Applied Voice and Music Education from Pepperdine University, and is currently pursuing her Masters in Classical Voice at the University of California Los Angeles. Ms. Edano has studied with many distinguished instructors such as Ida Nicolosi, Melanie Emelio, Vladimir Chernov, and Julianna Gondek. Throughout her studies at Pepperdine, she has appeared in many productions including Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance” (ensemble), Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus (ensemble), Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” (Sorceress cover, ensemble), and Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon (Dorothee). She has performed internationally with scenes from Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina) and Cosi fan tutte (Dorabella) during Pepperdine’s Heidelberg Summer Music Program. .
\Ms. Edano has co-directed the children’s choir for Pepperdine University’s performance of Rutter’s “Mass of the Children”. As she continues her studies at UCLA, she also teaches private voice lessons to young singers.