Ms. Gregoryk has also prepared members of CCW for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame directed by former NSO Music Director Mstislav Rostropovich, and performances with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 conducted by Music Director Leonard Slatkin. She has prepared choristers for three NSO Family Concert Series Concerts, the premiere performance of Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express by Robert Kapilow, and two performances of Hallelujah Handel. Ms. Gregoryk was invited to be guest conductor for the 22nd Annual Interfaith Concert at the Washington National Cathedral. Ms. Gregoryk prepared the Concert Chorus for the Washington premiere of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 5, conducted by Dante Anzolini.
Ms. Gregoryk taught for many years at Chevy Chase Elementary School where her work with the school’s chorus won her considerable acclaim within professional music organizations, as well as invitations to perform within the United States and Europe. She prepared members of the Chevy Chase Chorus for the Grammy Award-nominated compact disc and film soundtrack recording of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov with Mstislav Rostropovich and the National Symphony Orchestra. She also prepared the Chevy Chase Elementary School Chorus for conductors Rafael Fruebeck de Burgos, Erich Leinsdorf, Erich Kunzel, and James Paul.
Ms. Gregoryk is in constant demand as a workshop leader and guest conductor throughout the United States and Canada . At universities, such as Westminster Choir College in Princeton , N.J., she has taught music educator's courses on children's vocal development and the children's chorus for many years. She has also been a seminar leader for numerous Orff-Schulwerk, Kodály, American Choral Directors and Music Educators chapters and is frequently invited to be a guest conductor for children's choral festivals. She has conducted performances in Louisiana, North Carolina, New York, Virginia , North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Texas .
Besides her exceptional work as a teacher, conductor and clinician, Ms. Gregoryk is also an accomplished writer. She was selected as the contributing author on children's vocal development and the children's chorus for the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Music Series, Music and You, as well as their 1994 Share the Music texts. She is one of the authors of the MENC 1990 publication Choral Music for Children, and has written articles for several professional music organization publications.
Because of her achievements, Ms. Gregoryk has been awarded numerous honors including Outstanding Arts Educator in the United States by the Rockefeller Brothers Funds Awards in Arts Education and the Maryland Outstanding Elementary Music Educator. She holds both a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Music Education, and is an Artist-Teacher Associate at the Choral Music Experience Institute. As a Teaching Associate, Ms. Gregoryk has taught conducting in London, and in Canterbury, England .
Donald Cotton, Principal Accompanist, currently teaches music at Queen of Apostles Catholic School in Alexandria, Virginia, where he has established an exemplary music education program. The school’s choir under Mr. Cotton’s direction has become known throughout the Arlington Diocese for its extraordinary performances and has performed at the National Shrine, the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center and the Lincoln Memorial. Mr. Cotton has performed as a vocal soloist in Prague and has served as accompanist for children’s choral festivals throughout Europe and South America. Mr. Cotton received his Bachelor of Music in Piano Accompanying from Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, Virginia. He also serves as Director of Music for Queen of Apostles Parish. Mr. Cotton has been the Chorus’s principal accompanist since its founding in 1996.
Anne Davis Tyler, Accompanist, Bel Canto Chorus, has been a music educator in Washington area independent schools for over 20 years and is currently on the faculty at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School in Washington, DC. She has served as All-State Honors High School Choir accompanist for the state of Maryland, and has presented workshops for Maryland Music Educators Association and the Association of Independent Maryland Schools in music technology and drumming. In November 2006, Ms. Tyler traveled to Japan as a participant of the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program to observe the Japanese educational system. During the summer of 2008, Ms. Tyler was awarded a travel grant from her school to study worship and music in the spiritual community of Taizé, France. Ms. Tyler holds a Master’s of Music in Piano Performance from Catholic University.
Michael Wu, Conductor, Bel Canto Chorus, has conducted the Bel Canto ensemble since its inception in 2006. In its inaugural season, Bel Canto was the featured children’s choir in John Rutter’s Mass of the Children conducted by the composer, and in Spring 2009 performed in Carmina Burana with the Master Chorale of Washington at the Kennedy Center. Mr. Wu is an organist, choral conductor, and composer, and he serves on the faculty at Landon School. His Landon choirs have been invited by audition to participate in the National Youth Choir Festival at Carnegie Hall, and they have worked with notable musicians, including Maestro Leonard Slatkin and the American BoyChoir. Mr. Wu serves as Director of Music at Faith United Methodist Church, Rockville, Maryland. He holds degrees in Organ Performance and Church Music from the Peabody Conservatory, and from Northwestern University.
