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.

Taylor Iverson is excited to be joining Columbia Choirs as one of the directors of Melodia. She has a passion for working with young singers and helping them find the joy in making music together. Taylor grew up singing in the Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir, which sparked her passion for music. Taylor has been teaching high school and middle school choir in the Northshore School District for 5 years.

She attended Western Washington University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education, certified in K-12 choral and general music. Taylor sings in various ensembles throughout the Seattle area. She currently sings with Choral Arts Northwest and the Wellspring Ensemble. Outside of teaching and making music, Taylor enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends, cooking, reading, traveling, and being outdoors.

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. Rachel is in her 17th year of teaching and has been with Lake Washington School District for the past 13 years, previously she taught in Bethel and Seattle School Districts.  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 five-year-old daughter.  She is thrilled to be joining the staff at Columbia Choirs this year!

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 May 2022, she will conduct her 30-minute choral composition And All Shall Be Well in Carnegie Hall with a combination of NW choruses.

Wyers’ choral works are published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing Company as part of the “Giselle Wyers Choral Series,” and have been performed across the United States, South America, Canada, Australia, Cuba, and numerous European cities. Choral works in 2020-21 included social justice pieces focusing on climate change, gun violence, water quality issues and houselessness and can be listened to on her SoundCloud page.  In 2022, she will be composer-in-residence for the Seattle Sings Festival, sponsored by GSCC and Consortio.