Conference Choir Concert
SSA Conductor: Karyn Silva
SATB Conductor: Corey Miller
Karyn Silva has spent over thirty years teaching music to children and young adults, working with singers from their first rehearsals through the transition into more advanced ensemble singing. Known for her close working relationships with students, Karyn is a master teacher, clinician, and mentor who is regularly invited to guide honor choirs and festival choruses like this one, often working with singers she has just met to build a cohesive sound in a matter of hours. Since 2011, she has served as Artistic Director of the Peninsula Girls Chorus, where she leads the Concerta and Ensemble choirs.
Karyn has become known for creative, thoughtful programming: building concerts that connect choral repertoire to other fields, from science to storytelling, and pairing familiar and unfamiliar pieces so audiences hear both in a new light. She is a featured choral clinician for the California Music Educators Association, the American Choral Directors Association, and the Northern California Association of Kodály Educators, work that has taken her to classrooms and honor choirs across Northern California. She has also performed periodically with the San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir since 1988, keeping her own singing active alongside her teaching and conducting.
A graduate of Holy Names University with a Master’s degree in Music Education and a Kodály emphasis, Karyn’s teaching has earned her recognition including “Teacher of the Year” from the Lincoln Unified School District in 1996 and “Classroom Music Teacher of the Year” from the California Music Educators Association in 2007. Under her leadership, the Peninsula Girls Chorus has toured domestically and internationally, performing in venues such as Canterbury Cathedral, the Sydney Opera House, and the Abbey at Montserrat, and has commissioned new works from composers including Sarah Quartel, Kevin Memley & Dr. Andrea Ramsey.
We are delighted to welcome Karyn to this honor choir today, and grateful for the artistry and musicianship she inspires in every singer she teaches.
Corey Miller is the Choir Director and Musical Theatre teacher at Fisher Middle School in the Los Gatos Union School District, as well as the Artistic Director of the Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus (SVGMC). Now in his 12th year as a public school educator and 5th year leading SVGMC, Mr. Miller is passionate about building community through music and performance.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from California State University, Fresno, and a Master of Arts in Music from San José State University. Throughout his teaching career, Mr. Miller has specialized in working with middle school students, guiding them in both classroom and performance settings. Before entering public education, he collaborated with arts non-profits, teaching daytime music classes and directing after-school musicals.
Outside of teaching and conducting, Mr. Miller enjoys attending live theatre, whether professional or community productions, and loves immersing himself in a good video game or board game.