Meet The Singers

Music has always been a safe haven, a place to turn to for comfort and joy for Sam. She started singing way back in third grade, and also played a slew of instruments growing up. She has sung in the Freeform Jazz Choir and DeserTones Chamber Choir with Columbia Basin College, and finished her music education degree at Eastern Washington University. She had the absolute delight of performing in the Grace Cathedral of San Francisco and Carnegie Hall in New York. Now, Sam feels she is one of the lucky souls who gets to profit off her passion and teach the youngest musicians in Sheridan, CO. 

Jessica is a musical omnivore, having sung everything from coloratura arias and madrigals to jug band music and traditional British Isles songs. While Eastern European folk music has been a special passion – she sang for 27 years with Planina Songs of Eastern Europe — she will happily sing just about anything, especially if it’s a capella, and she loves hanging out in the middle of the chord with the other Safonia Alto 1s. She is retired from a career in health information systems, so when she is not singing, she reads, works on her house, and lets Dzumbush, the cat, in and out.

Anne fell in love with singing at an early age and it is a love affair that has never subsided. She studied music at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN, where she was a member of several choirs as well as played various opera roles. Being a native of Chicago, Anne has spent over 20 years in Denver working for Jeffco Public Schools. Currently a school administrator, Anne is thrilled about the opportunity be back engaging in her first passion of singing in an choral ensemble.

This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person’s role and responsibilities, or add a short bio.Sarah thinks singing feels good. Preferably singing loud, barefoot, and with good friends. She knew she had found her dream job when coworkers commented that she was singing while she worked. Sarah is and will always be so grateful for any opportunity to share music with others. “Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy.” -Terry Tempest Williams

Known for her throaty alto and soulful vocal style, Finessa brings more than just sex appeal to Safonia, she lends us panache as well. With choral music experience as diverse as the University of Oklahoma Chorale, the Stoughton Community Players I Stoughton, WI, and the Denver Women’s Chorus, Finessa finds herself pushing the theatrical influenced performance every time we step into the spotlight. Her understanding of the socio-political climate of our times helps us to understand and interpret our music in light of our ever-changing world.

A beautiful mezzo-soprano with a robust mid-alto range and a clear bel canto soprano, Jeanne joined Safonia to challenge herself and experience a different kind of music making. Jeanne has also sung with the Denver Women’s Chorus and in the small ensemble Take Note. Her work with Habitat for Humanity feeds her cat and dog and keeps her construction skills fairly sharp during the summer months.

When Megan walks into a room, you know it! Her contagious energy and laughing smile encourages everyone to enjoy whatever is happening around them. Her parents were singers and performers, which prodded Megan to sing and perform. Megan sang with a women’s ensemble that travelled to Carnegie Hall for a spectacular performance her junior year of high school, trained operatically at the University of Wyoming while singing in the women’s chorus, and finally co-founded a women’s a capella ensemble as a way to enjoy even more genres of musical performance. Safonia is lucky to have her enthusiasm and musical knowledge.

Raised in Aspen, CO, Lee found her voice during the great “folk scare” of the early 70s and began singing professionally with her 8th grade teacher in coffeehouses, pizza joints and hootenannies at the age of 14. After high school, she studied voice and audio recording at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and later, settled down in Nashville as a published singer/ songwriter and 10-year veteran of Nanci Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra. In Denver, Lee has performed with the DWC, Take Note and is always excited to get to “lay down the bottom” as one of Safonia’s Alto 2s.

During the week, Melissa is a Program Manager at Development Pathways, a nonprofit that supports individuals, with intellectual and developmental disabilities, access services and supports. During down time, I love listening to books on tape and podcasts, gardening, and baking. Music has always been part of Melissa’s life. She sang four-part harmony in the Mennonite church, in a community children’s choir, and throughout her school career. Her favorite choral memory was singing in her college women’s choir.

Brooke is a singularly talented composer, singer and all-around musician. As one of the founding members of Safonia, Brooke has enjoyed growth and friendship through the years. She has arranged a number of pieces and composed a few originals for Safonia, including "Oceans" for the Water concert, which was based on a poem her mother wrote as a child. In her spare time, Brooke spends time with her dog and when the weather cooperates, you can find her on the golf course. Her day job is helping individuals obtain work/life balance, which is evident in her ability to be a successful professional and accomplished musician.

Karen has sung her entire life in all kinds of groups from SATB, treble-voice ensembles to small jazz choirs and large community chorales. She has had the opportunity to sing in Carnegie Hall and perform with choirs in other countries including Canada, Venezuela, Spain and Poland. Safonia has been her choral home for over a decade, and you can often rely on her to ask for the memorization schedule way in advance of the concert. In her professional life, Karen advocates for educators and educator preparation programs, and when not singing, she loves spending time (especially in the mountains or in the backyard) with her partner, stepsons, and cats.

As a founding member of The Bettys – the University of Wyoming’s female a capella group – Rebecca is a wealth of talent and knowledge in the Soprano II section. Her musical experiences range from high school all-state choir, University of Wyoming choirs, and the local treble a cappella group Pitch Snapped, to arranging music. She spends her days as a structural engineer and enjoys crafting, reading, traveling, making spreadsheets, and watching movies, that is, when she’s not spending time with her husband and six-year-old son at Grand Lake.

Singing with Safonia provides a much-needed musical outlet for Sky when they aren’t cruising the neighborhood playgrounds with their kids or otherwise living the stay-at-home parent life. When Sky has time to himself, he is usually reading, working out, or, if he’s feeling extra ambitious, writing. Sky has always felt drawn to singing or playing an instrument, but they lacked exposure to challenging, classical training until freshman year of college. He then discovered his love for choral music and joined several university choruses. Sky has since provided a range of vocal parts for various choir and a-cappella ensembles, and their favorite musical instrument is, by far, the human voice.

The best words to describe this talented musician are “well-rounded” and “experienced.” Faith studied Vocal Performance at Rosevelt University and has since sung Baritone in a competitive barbershop group, Christmas Madrigal cast member, Soprano I in the Roosevelt University Choir and Colorado Chorale, Faith is skilled in any number of musical genres. She even managed and sang as the lead singer in the local blues soul band, Velvet Compass. Faith continues to pursue her love of music in all areas of her life.

Caitlin’s musical influences are so many and diverse it’s hard to know where to start. Though now disbanded, she sang in the Matt Nasi Band (find them on itunes or spotify!); she helped create, and sang in the a capella group The Bettys at the University of Wyoming, where she also sang in the women’s chorus Bel Canto and Collegiate Chorale; and claims to have been singing in auditioned choirs since eighth grade in Colorado Springs. Caitlin has sung every voice part in Safonia except Alto2, but thrives and prefers the high notes as a Soprano1. She counts the diverse music of Adele, the Secret Sisters, Maggie Rogers, The Lone Bellow, and Brandi Carlile as favorites in her current playlist. And some Tswift, cause why not?

Music is central to Allison’s life. She’s been involved with music almost without stop since kindergarten – choirs, marching bands, symphonic bands, and singing with friends and family. Allison is a mom to a son and kitty cat and works at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on workforce development and community-based projects. She loves the outdoors and moving as much as she can. A fine instrumentalist as well as vocalist, Allison is a rock in Safonia’s Alto section.

As one of Safonia’s newest members, Gena brings a steady, bright presence to our Alto 2 section. Gena’s musical experience runs the gamut. She has a deep and abiding love for Madrigals and plays the banjo – a true Renaissance woman! She is a talented vocalist, performing in her college’s smaller, eight-person ensemble at McMurry University. She also sang in their concert choir where Gena lived out every choir-nerd’s dream and met her husband! When she isn’t singing, you can find Gena in the classroom or lab as a professor of Microbiology and Virology. She also enjoys trail running, needlepoint, and reading.

A product of the wonderful music program at Centaurus High School, Laura participated in the women’s choir as well as show choir. Selected for the 1999 Colorado All-State Women’s choir and the 2000 Colorado All-State Mixed Choir, Laura brings a powerful mix of skilled sight-reading, enthusiasm and a love of women’s ensemble music to Safonia. Serving as Safonia’s Assistant Artistic Director has enabled Laura to expand her leadership and teaching skills. She brings an entirely different element to the Safonia sound with her abilities.

​Robyn has been singing as long as they can remember. Their parents tell them that around the age of 5, Robyn interrupted a sermon at church to sing "Jesus Loves Me." The first time Robyn was in choir was in the 4th grade and has kept choir a part of their life ever since. Their favorite place where they have sung was the Broadmoor for the Colorado Music Educators Association when their high school was chosen to be a part of it!  The choir even got to stay in a room for a night. Currently, Robyn is a student at MSU Denver and will graduate in Spring 2024. Robyn is pursuing an independent degree program in Victim Advocacy in Nonprofits and minoring in music. After college, they plan to stick with Safonia and find a job helping victims recover from difficult situations - maybe even finding something to do with music!

Andrea literally began her choir experiences when she was four or five ~ in fact, she says there is not a time she can remember when she wasn’t singing in a choir. Traveling and performing with other musicians was a dream come true for Andrea in college, where she sang in Bel Canto, Chamber Choir, and the Women’s World Music choir. A teacher by trade, she currently spends her time caring for her small children, spending time outside, and dreaming of future travel destinations.

We believe that Caroline was one of the original Sirens – the women that Odysseus and his men had the pleasure of listening to on their great voyage – because her musicianship and ethereal range seems so effortless, you could listen to her sing all the time. Youth chorus, high school choirs and the College of William and Mary women’s chorus all have helped Caroline to hone her skills. Some of her fondest memories are singing with the Cleftomaniacs – an a capella ensemble at W&M. Running with her much loved dog Gatsby, reading, and knitting vie for Caroline’s free time when she’s not singing with Safonia or working as a licensed clinical social worker.

Adria’s love of music started as a young child when she and her dad would sing duets to the oldies on road trips with the family. She was classically trained on the violin at 5 and began singing around that age as well. She has performed in a number of settings including musical theater, small chamber choirs, show choirs, acapella groups, large university and community choirs and as a singer/songwriter and guitar player for a number of bands throughout the years. As a licensed clinical social worker working in Aurora Public Schools, she understands that the world needs the healing power that music. She participates in Choral music to put positive, loving energy into the world for herself and others. Adria was welcomed into Safonia in January of 2018 and she feels honored to sing along side such wonderfully talented and inspiring women.