Dr. Linda Mack Berven Artistic Director, Durango Choral Society Durango Women's Choir

Linda Mack Berven earned her doctoral degree from the University of Illinois, and was a long time Professor of Music at Fort Lewis College. She has served as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Durango Choral Society (DCS) for the past 20 years. Dr. Mack Berven also conducts the Durango Women's Choir, and is a former Music Director of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. Her appearances as a conductor, pianist, singer, and harpsichordist have included the San Juan Symphony, Fort Lewis College faculty recitals, Third Avenue Arts Recital Series, Music in the Mountains Festival, Showcase Concert Series, and the Durango Bach Festival, and she regularly performs as part of the Vivace Piano Duo. Under Dr. Mack Berven's direction, DCS singers have appeared with choral colleagues and orchestras at Carnegie Hall in 2010 and 2018, as well as in in Honolulu, Prague, Greece, Zagreb, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Linz. The Choral Society has twice been awarded the Chorus America Alice Parker/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music. In June 2020, the Choir will join forces with the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina to perform Vivaldi's Gloria in Florence and Venice.

Amy Barrett Artistic Director, Durango Children's Chorale Durango Youth Chorus

Amelia Barrett has been conducting choirs, playing, and teaching piano for over 18 years in the Four Corners area. She received her B.A. in Music Education from Fort Lewis College where she studied piano with Ying Ying Liu and Norman Krieger. She currently maintains a private piano studio in her home and is the Artistic Director of the Durango Children's Chorale, Durango Youth Chorus, Durango Barbershop Chorus, and the Durango Chamber Music Academy. Amy is a frequent clinician for choral and orchestra festivals in Colorado and New Mexico and both her school orchestras and community choirs have performed at the NMMEA and CMEA music festivals as well as at Carnegie Hall. She is currently the music teacher at Sunnyside Elementary School in Durango, Colorado.

Rhonda Muckerman Associate Conductor, Durango Choral Society

The Durango Choral Society is pleased to introduce our new Associate Conductor, Rhonda Muckerman. Rhonda is an accomplished musician, teacher, and conductor. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Michigan State University and a Master of Music degree from the College-Conservatory of Music/University of Cincinnati in Conducting. For over thirty-five years, Rhonda has taught instrumental and choral music to musicians of all ages, programming diverse repertoire designed to uplift the human spirit. She has served as the Artistic Director for the Telluride Choral Society for 11 years, and is currently the Artistic Director for the Southwest Civic Winds. Her book "Of Song and Water" will be published by Morgan James Publishing in April, 2022.

We are proud to welcome Rhonda to the DCS family. You will see her on stage as both a singer and conductor, and behind the scenes as well.