Cappella Festiva Chamber Choir

Christine Howlett, Music Director

Christine Howlett, Artistic Director

Christine Howlett is the Director of Choral Activities at Vassar College where she conducts the Vassar College Women’s Chorus and the Choir and teaches music theory and voice. In Bloomington, Indiana, she cofounded Cantabile and Vox Sacra, both small ensembles dedicated to performing music from the Renaissance to the 20th century.
Ms. Howlett has performed as a soloist in many works including Bach’s Magnificat, Mass in A major, and Actus Tragicus, Charpentier’s Les Arts Florissants, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Britten's Ceremony of Carols, and Mass by Stravinsky. Ms. Howlett earned the Bachelor of Vocal Performance from the University of Toronto and the Master of Early Music Voice Performance from Indiana University. She is a candidate for the Doctoral Degree in Choral Conducting at Indiana University. She has studied voice and conducting with Alan Bennett, Jan Harrington, Mary Ann Hart, Paul Hillier, Drew Minter, Helmut Rilling, Stanley Ritchie, John Poole, and Carmen Tellez.

Susan Bialek, Treble Choir Music Director

Susan Bialek holds a B.A in Music from Vassar College and a M.A. in Music Education from Manhattanville College and has taught music for 13 years. Susan’s choruses have sung with the National Children’s Choir at Carnegie Hall in 1998 and 2000 and the Niagara International Choral Festival in Ontario, Canada in 2004. Susan directed the children’s choir for the Hudson Valley Bach Fest in 2002 and 2003 and the children’s choir for Cappella Festiva’s performance of Britten’s Saint Nicolas in December 2002. She was guest conductor for the 2003 Westchester County All County Intermediate Chorus and the 2005 Putnam County All County Jr. High Chorus. Susan currently teaches music and is Director of Choruses at Dutchess Day School in Millbrook, New York.