David Acres
Countertenor and Musical Director David Acres joined the choir of Exeter Cathedral, England in September 1960 as a probationer, where he was instructed in music theory, piano and voice by Lionel Dakers, Director of Music at Exeter Cathedral and, then after, Director of the Royal School of Church Music at Addington Palace, Greater London. David was appointed Head Chorister of the Cathedral choir in 1965, and during his tenure became the primary soloist, taking part in multiple recordings and broadcasts (one of which, “Christmas Music”, is still available today!). He sat and gained his musical theory examinations up to grade 4 and piano up to grade 5.
From Exeter, David went on to Bethany in Kent and began acting as well as singing: he formed Kent Consort, a quartet of singers performing Renaissance and Early Music in chapels and churches in the region. In 1970, David began singing in London and the Home Counties for several different ensembles: St Clement Dane's in London, St Mark's and St Mary's in Reigate and St Paul's in Dorking. He became a . . . Full Biography
Judith Acres
Praised for her "excellence of style and ease of expression," soprano and Executive Director Judith Acres is at home with a repertoire ranging from medieval song to Baroque opera and oratorio to American musical theater. Her performances have taken her across North America and the UK, appearing as featured soloist with a number of leading period and modern ensembles and orchestras and as presenter, guest artist and faculty at a variety of international workshops and festivals.
As a concert soloist, Judith has established a reputation performing large oratorio and dramatic works, early opera, masses, and requiem settings from the Baroque through the 20th century, and has often been noted for bringing an "unexpected and interesting lightness" to such traditionally imposing pieces. She is, however, perhaps most well-known for her performances of Medieval compositions and more intimate and florid Early Music and chamber works, where her "lovely, clear-as-a-bell voice," paired with a style hailed as "wonderfully tasteful, understated and expressive," . . . Full Biography
Wayne French
Tenor and Assistant Musical Director Wayne French began singing with The King's Counterpoint during the group's 2016 Wells Cathedral Residency and is also a founding member of Cantores Charleston, the group's high voice ensemble. Wayne has served as President of the Charleston Symphony Chorus, Director of Music at St. Mark's Episcopal, Choir Director at Kahol Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue, and currently as a member of the St. Gregory's Choir at Grace Church Cathedral. He regularly performs with local ensembles in need of tenors as time permits. Wayne is also a Hair Stylist and Educator at Bohemia Salon on Shem Creek, where he strives to make his musician friends look as good as they sound.
Emily Reeves Bohl
Emily Reeves Bohl is the Director of Choral Activities at Goose Creek High School & Berkeley Center for the Arts (BCA), where she directs the school's choral ensembles, and teaches elective music courses and BCA Musicianship (theory, history, piano, and aural skills). Bohl holds the Bachelor of Arts in Music Education, cum laude, from Charleston Southern University (2015). Upon graduation, Emily was named the Horton School of Music Outstanding Student in Music Education, and was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society. She also holds the Master of Education in Administration and Curricular Supervision from the University of Oklahoma (2019), and the Master of Music in Music Education - Kodály from Holy Names University (2020); where she was the recipient of the R.H. and Jane Logan Fellowship in Education, and was made member of Kappa Gamma Pi Graduate Honor Society.
Bohl is in her seventh year of teaching music and choir in public, private ... Full Biography
Quinton Busch
Mr. Busch graduated from Winthrop University with a Bachelors Degree in Music Education, certification K-12. During his time there, he taught private voice lessons and sent students to the national level of the National Association for Teachers of Singing competitions. He also served as Assistant Choir Director at Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in Charlotte, NC where he led rehearsals and sectionals, and was featured soloist for their pilgrimage as the choir-in-residence at the Bristol Cathedral in Bristol, England. He has also served as an interim Choir Director at Covenant Presbyterian Church, also in Charlotte, and section leader at Bethany United Methodist Church, in Summerville, SC.
Upon graduation, he taught at the middle and high school levels, continuing to teach private voice lessons and taking his ensembles to festivals and competitions where they earned superior rankings. He is presently the Membership & Communications Director for Charleston Home Builders Association and operates his own private Voice and Piano Studio in North Charleston, SC.
Ian Crane
Ian Crane, Bass, has been a professional vocalist and bagpiper for decades. He is a founding member of Quire Cleveland and performs with Apollo’s Fire (OH), as well as
The King’s Counterpoint and Vox Regis. In 2018 he toured Britain and Ireland with Apollo’s Fire, and in 2019, participated in Amherst Early Music’s Ensemble Singing Intensive. Ian holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Cleveland State University and a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from Kent State University.
Ian co-founded the Cleveland Celtic Ensemble in the summer of 2021
and regularly performs with them as a piper/vocalist.
For more information on Ian visit Choirpiper.com
Jessie Barnett
A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Jessie Barnett holds her Bachelor’s of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Furman University (2016), and her Master’s from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (2018). She’s had the privilege of performing various repertoire from art song to oratorio to opera; however, since completing her studies and settling in the Charleston area, Jessie has focused her attention on the beauty industry. She now works as a licensed cosmetologist at 843 Beauty Collective in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Jessie still loves performing and has been able to participate in The Kings Counterpoint and Cantores Charleston as a mezzo soprano section leader and soloist. You can also hear her in the choir at Old Saint Andrew’s Parish Church and in upcoming engagements with Servire, a professional vocal ensemble and service organization comprised of 12 members primarily based in the South East. In her free time, Jessie’s hobbies include crafting, traveling, and spending quality time with friends and family.
Kristina Hill-Spanik
A native of Greensboro, NC, Kristina received a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Environmental Science and Policy at Duke University. While at Duke, she was a section leader and cantor in the Duke University Chapel Choir. She also participated in musical theater as an undergraduate as music director for shows A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Caberet, and she performed the role of Rapunzel in Into the Woods. She continued to study voice, perform in opera workshop recitals, and participate in master classes while in graduate school obtaining a Masters in Marine Science at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. She was also section leader for the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir and soloist for the Williamsburg Bach Ensemble, which performed at the Georgetown Bach Festival in Washington, DC in 2011. She currently is a section leader at The Church of the Holy Communion. She is grateful to be part of Charleston's exceptional musical community.
Hannah Marcell
Hannah Marcell is a native of South Carolina, who grew up in Columbia and studied Music Performance at Winthrop University. She has sung in many ensembles including the Winthrop Chorale and Chamber Singers, York County Choral Society, Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and the Caritas Chamber Ensemble in Charlotte, NC. During her time at Winthrop, Hannah participated in many of the operas under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey McEvoy. Her favorite roles include Sister Constance in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Amy in Little Women. Hannah is so excited to finally become part of the Charleston Music Community,
and is eager for more opportunities to sing!
Kevin Peters
Kevin Peters is a graduate of The College of New Jersey with a BM in Vocal performance. He has performed opera and choral music throughout the New York and Philadelphia metro area as well as performing in California and Venice, Italy. Kevin performs not just opera but also choral masterworks from: Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelsohn and Brahms to name a few. Kevin also enjoys performing new works and has been actively working with modern composers and working to present their works in concert.
Kevin sings at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul in Charleston.
Joseph Schlesinger
Joe Schlesinger, countertenor, began his musical education playing principal trumpet
in the Augustana College Symphony where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in Finance and Asian Studies. After receiving his Masters in Music from DePaul University,
Mr. Schlesinger received a Netherlands America-Fulbright Fellowship to study
Baroque Music at the Royal Conservatory, The Hague. Mr. Schlesinger’s Baroque repertoire includes J.S. Bach’s Magnificat, Weihnachts Oratorium, B-minor Mass,
St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, and other cantatas and oratorio composed by Telemann, Schütz, Zelenka, Handel, and John Adams. On the operatic stage
Mr. Schlesinger sang roles ranging from Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky to
Judith Weir’s A Night at the Chinese Opera. In contemporary music Mr. Schlesinger debuted various Dutch contemporary operas, notably Snow White by Micha Hamel. Upon returning to the United States, Mr. Schlesinger is delighted to have joined
Apollo’s Fire, Quire Cleveland, Chicago’s Music of the Baroque,
Seattle Pro Musica, and the Madison Bach Musicians.
Paul Thompson
Paul Thompson is Director of Choral Activities at Ripon College in Ripon, WI. He previously lived in Moscow, ID, where he served as Director of Choral Activities at the University of Idaho, Director of Music at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse, and Artistic Director and Conductor of the Palouse Choral Society. Thompson has also been a member of the choral faculty at Francis Marion University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc, and spent four years directing the choirs at St. Mary’s Springs High School in Fond du Lac, WI.
In 2016, Thompson completed his DMA in Choral Conducting and Literature at CU-Boulder, where his TA duties included directing two vocal jazz ensembles, working with several choirs, and assisting in the teaching of undergraduate conducting. During this time, he won first place in the 2016 SWACDA Graduate Conducting Competition. Thompson also holds a MM in Choral Conducting . . . . . Full Biography
Joshua Wald
Joshua Wald is a native of Anderson, South Carolina, and currently resides in Johns Island, South Carolina. He is a graduate of Winthrop University where he received both a Bachelor of Music Education with a Vocal Performance Certificate and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting. Joshua is active as a voice teacher, director, and singer throughout the Carolinas.
Joshua is the Choral Director at West Ashley High School, and is a member of South Carolina Music Educators Association (SCMEA), National Association of Teacher of Singing (NATS), Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Joshua is currently the Province 30 Music Director of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity and the Secretary for the SC chapter of NATS. In his free time, Joshua enjoys traveling with his wife, Necie, and their son, Sullivan.
Heather Wilcox
Heather Wilcox holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Music in Conducting from Winthrop University. While in both her degree programs, she studied voice under Professor Jerry Helton. She has performed solos in Mozart’s Vespers; Fauré’s Requiem; and Rutter’s Requiem and Gloria, the latter conducted by the composer. She played La Ciesca in Winthrop University’s production of Puccini’s opera Gianni Schicchi and has played several musical theatre roles, such as Celia in To Whom It May Concern and Woman #2 in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. She was a longtime featured soloist in Winthrop’s award-winning and critically-acclaimed Jazz Voices under the direction of Dr. Robert Edgerton and Chamber Singers under the direction ofDr. Katherine Kinsey. As a younger choral singer, she performed with esteemed conductors and clinicians such as John Rutter, Moses Hogan, Simon Carrington, Robert Ray,
and Eric Whitacre. . . . Full Biography
