Artistic Staff

Dori Baunsgard is a Pacific Northwest native who spent many years conducting choirs and teaching music in India and Japan before returning to Seattle in 2011. She has an avid interest in multiple styles and genres of music, and is especially focused on women composers and global repertoire. Dori is active in the Seattle area as a conductor, accompanist, and choral adjudicator.

She co-conducts Wanderlust Women’s Choir of Seattle which toured to Hungary, Slovenia and Italy in 2019. As Interim Cathedral Choir Director at University Presbyterian Church she collaborated with the University of Washington to co-conduct “A Four Choir Celebration of Christmas”.  As an accompanist Ms. Baunsgard has worked extensively with the Northwest Girlchoir, O’Dea High School Men’s Choir, and has performed several times on the Benaroya Hall Ten Grands concert raising funds for music education. Dori holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Seattle Pacific University and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting with a minor in Theater from Western Washington University. She is thrilled to conduct the amazing women of Con Brio!

Jennifer Faul has been making music with Columbia Choirs since 1998. She currently directs Lyrica, and formerly accompanied the Cantabile Vocal Ensemble and Con Brio Women’s Choir for many years. Mrs. Faul earned her bachelors degree in music education in 1998 from the University of Washington, and her masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction shortly thereafter.

She also enjoyed earning her Level 1 Kodaly certification at Seattle Pacific University. Her teaching experience includes elementary general music in the Bellevue School District for five years, Children’s Choir Director of Magnolia Presbyterian Church for nine years, and ongoing private piano and voice instruction.

Aly Henniger has been directing Ragazzi for four years now and Harmonia for the last two. She loves helping young singers develop their vocal skills and confidence. Aly has worked full-time in teaching Middle School Choir for the past five years.

She is a Central Washington University Graduate with a double major in Music Education and Vocal Performance and in 2020 received her Masters in Educational Technology from Western Governers University. She has a passion for creating a safe and fun rehearsal environment where students can learn healthy techniques for using their voice. Aly is very excited to be a part of the Columbia Choirs team and work with talented, young musicians.

Olga Melnik is a seasoned and passionate children’s choir conductor with experience in leading and nurturing young voices. She began studying music at the age of 4 and has carried her love for singing throughout her formative years, spanning school, college, university, and her professional career. She holds a B.A. (Summa Cum Laude) in Music, specializing in choir conducting. Her educational background also includes Master of Education studies at St. Petersburg Pedagogical University.

Olga is known for creating an engaging environment for music enthusiasts that fosters musical growth, self-expression, and a love for singing. Prior to joining Columbia, Olga served as a conductor and music teacher in several music schools and children’s academies in the Seattle area. She founded and served as the artistic conductor of the Confetti choir, which aims to broaden children’s horizons through songs and stories from various countries and continents, presented in their native languages. They also discover the joy of making music as one team. In addition, Olga was a member of the Seattle Symphony Chorale, performing at the Benaroya Hall and contributing to the rendition of monumental music by composers such as Handel, Beethoven, and Orff.

Tiana Shuford currently teaches at East Ridge Elementary, Hollywood Hill Elementary and Sunrise Elementary in Northshore School District. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education with a Choir Specialization from Central Washington University. During her time at Central, she enjoyed participating in their Vocal Jazz Ensembles, Chamber Choir and opera productions.

Tiana has also completed her Level 1 World Music Drumming Series and enjoys participating in Kodaly, Orff, and American Choral Directors Association conferences and workshops.

In her spare time, Tiana sings in Wellspring Ensemble – a local community choir, and teaches community ukulele workshops. When not teaching or making music, Tiana enjoys being outdoors and spending quality time with her family. Tiana is thrilled to share her joy for music with her students and is very excited to be our newest director of Prima Choir!

Rachel Teigen Brackett is the K-5 General Music Teacher and Choir Director at Lakeview Elementary in Kirkland. She also teaches education and arts integration courses at Northwest University and Seattle University.

In addition to these assignments Rachel has instructed private voice, piano, guitar and ukulele.She received her Bachelor of Music Education from Pacific Lutheran University in 2002 and her Master’s in Creative Arts and Learning from Lesley University in 2005.  She received her National Board Certification in Early and Middle Childhood Music in 2009.  She has been singing and performing all her life and has immense passion and enthusiasm for bringing the joy of music to children!  Rachel plays the music teacher “Miss Melody” in the children’s music curriculum “First Note” and frequently performs at preschools and birthday parties as a musical entertainer.  She lives in Seattle with her husband and daughter.

Giselle Wyers is the Donald E. Petersen Endowed Professor of Choral Music at the University of Washington, where she conducts the award-winning University Chorale and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in choral conducting and music education. Choruses under her direction have received numerous American Prize awards for their CD recordings, including the American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music in 2017-18.

As a guest conductor, Wyers has led high school honor choirs and all-state choruses in New York (Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center), Kansas, Nevada, Georgia, Missouri, Louisiana, Connecticut, Nebraska, Texas, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Vancouver, Canada. She has conducted semi-professional ensembles across the United States and in Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, and Sweden.

In addition to her career in conducting, Wyers has over 35 commissioned compositions works in her catalog. She collaborates regularly with community choruses and orchestras as well as educational choirs, with performances across the globe. Wyers is especially dedicated to composing works that explore the beauty, mystery and heartbreak we all experience as modern citizens in a complicated world. Her works are available through her choral series with Santa Barbara Music Publishing, at MusicSpoke and on her website. In 2024, she will premiere “The Open Channel” with text of Martha Graham set for solo soprano and chamber orchestra.