Staff
Thomas Bookhout,
Chorus Master
Chorus Master
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Thomas Bookhout brings to The Phoenix Symphony over three decades of experience in the choral art, preparing and conducting symphony, opera, university, community, school, and church choruses. Now in his fifth year with the Phoenix Symphony, he has prepared the Symphony Chorus on its widely-varied and challenging masterworks repertoire, including Verdi’s Requiem, Poulenc’s Gloria, Kodaly’s Psalmus Hungaricus, Estévez’s Cantata Criolla, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and Handel’s Messiah, among others; as well as exciting performances in the Symphony’s Pops Series. During his tenure, the Symphony Chorus has grown over 40%, and enjoys a reputation for its stunning performances, engaging rehearsals, and its camaraderie.
Bookhout’s Carnegie Hall debut was in 2015, where he led The Phoenix Symphony Chorus in a world-premiere of Dan Forrest’s Psalm of Ascension for chorus and orchestra, and the Manhattan Concert Productions Masterworks Chorus and NY Chamber Orchestra in a performance of Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. Previously, Bookhout was Chorus Master for the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, where he prepared the chorus for symphonic performances including Britten’s War Requiem, Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony, and Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast; and for fully staged operas including Carmen, Il Trovatore, and Die Fledermaus, earning notable reviews in the American Record Guide and Opera News. In 2017 Bookhout plans to conduct again at Carnegie Hall, as well as in Vienna and Salzburg, with MidAmerica Productions. Bookhout currently serves as a guest conductor and clinician around the country, and has taken choirs on performance tours to Poland, in Eastern Europe. He is founder and musical director of the Arizona Sacred Chorale, an independent chorus dedicated to the exceptional performance of fine sacred choral music. Additionally, he is Director of Fine Arts at Scottsdale Christian Academy. Previously, he was the choir director at Camelback Bible Church, which was featured in performance at the annual conference of the AZ American Choral Directors Association and regularly performed major choral-orchestral works in the Camelback Performance Series. Bookhout also has been Music Director of the Taghkanic Chorale (succeeding two internationally-known conductors, Johannes Somary and Dennis Keene, in that position), Director of Choral Activities at the University of Charleston, WV, and Director of Music at The Stony Brook School in New York. Dr. Bookhout earned his advanced degrees at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester and Arizona State University. His teachers and coaches have included Donald Neuen, Donald Bailey, Alfred Mann, Samuel Adler, David Stocker, Eric Nelson, Joseph Flummerfelt, Frauke Haaseman, and Dale Warland. He is a member of the Council for the Von Promnitz Palace Center for the Arts in Zary, Poland;has served on the executive board of the AZ ACDA; and is a member of numerous professional organizations, including NATS, ACDA, NAfME, Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Southwest Liederkranz. Tom’s wife is an educational administrator in Phoenix, and their growing family includes three adult children, two sons-in-law, and two perfect granddaughters. |
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Larry Loeber,
Collaborative Pianist
Collaborative Pianist
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A native of Ohio, Lawrence is currently in his 16th season as freelance principal pianist for The Phoenix Symphony, and has also been a member of the Arizona Musicfest orchestra for the past six seasons. He has appeared as soloist in Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with both of these orchestras. He has been heard frequently in Ballet Arizona collaborations with The Phoenix Symphony, most notably as featured soloist for Mozart’s “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” variations and Stravinsky’s “Movements for Piano and Orchestra”. He also fondly recalls his stint as kazoo soloist in The Phoenix Symphony’s performances of Michael Daugherty’s “March of the Metro”.
Lawrence’s CD recordings include “Grace Notes”, featuring a variety of solo piano concert music; and “Someone to Watch” with soprano Jenn Raithel Newman. Lawrence’s love of language study led him to an undergraduate degree in German from Case Western Reserve University and a master’s degree in Chinese Linguistics from The Ohio State University. He has been the rehearsal pianist for The Phoenix Symphony Chorus for the past fourteen seasons. He maintains a private piano studio in Scottsdale. |
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Chorus Members
Soprano
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Soprano 1
Paula Barr
Melanie Bristol Mary Brockmeier Tia Coates Leslie Ellingson Erin Entringer Jennifer Franz Wendy Gould Cayleigh Hill |
Carolyn Hofmeister
Gina Hupton Adriana Martinez Amanda Niemann Olivia Raiff Rachel Schroeder Erin Smith Susan Starbuck |
Soprano 2
Pam Banning
Maria Bartoli Marilyn Cage Sara Cooper Susan Weil Ernst Inice Hahnke Midge Holley Katie Jones Lorna Kertész Joanne Lawson Sarah Maul Matz Candice Navarro Marjorie Reiter |
Jennifer Schaeffer
Stephanie Seigla Ruth Sikorski Ryann Spade Robin Stinnett Paula Strano Isobe Norma Jean Strickland Diane VanDyke Petra Wasilkoff Barbara Welsh Kirsten Wolpert Diane Woodyard |
Alto
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Alto 1
Rebecca Barry
Marilou Baxter Melanie Brown Jane Calhoun Annette Economides Laura Encinas Elizabeth (Betty) Erickson Kay Hanson Melinda Iyer Kathryn James Bonnie Kasten Stephanie Kaye Claudia Kennedy Susan Kujawski |
Hyunmi Lee
Mindy Nolls Suzannah Parks Susie Phillips Amanda Poppe Lisa Rolland-Keith Elizabeth Rosensteel Jennifer Schwarz Katrina Turner Laura Valenzuela Shannon Wampler Kari Weldon Christine Young |
Alto 2
Jeanne Bookhout
Maria Fernanda Cepeda Jean Cutler Amy Friesen Maria Garcia Emily Hosner Jane Kniffen Marilyn Kredel Sherry Kriegshauser Kari Litteer |
Karen Martin
Karissa Noonan Ivylyn Scott Grace Sherman Jan Snesrud Kelly Sorkin Laurel Tippe Lynne Traverse Valerie Voigt |
Tenor
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Tenor 1
Gerald M. (Jerry) Cook
Rodael Cooleigh Steve Donohue Michael Hegeman Lynn Jech Bruce Little |
Joshua McCarthy
Dan Morson Gerald W. Palmer Dan Russ Josiah Sanchez Craig Spaulding |
Tenor 2
Joel Auernheimer
William (Bill) Cooper Dennis Dahlen Joseph David Ryan Gill David Grove Steve Hwang Rodney Jee Tim Kellar |
Ralph Klingensmith
Taylor McMurray Michael Millis Jesse Schwarz Aaron Trembath Richard Turasky Andy Vaught Travis Watkins |
Bass
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Bass 1
Michael Capra
Thomas Clark Denny Coiro Darren Croft Tom Cunningham Ellwood Cushman Ben Ebel Dana Graybeal Richard Guerra Maxwell Harrison Chris Johnsten David Kahrs |
Huntington Keith
Peter Kyhn Brian Matas Craig Petty Vic Quiros Warren Riggers Mark Sims John Smith William Stinnett Daniel Torres John Vousden |
Bass 2
Wayne Baxter
Tim Brunty Hayes Conner Peter Decker Russ Ernst Sean Gardner Jim Grab |
John Halliburton
Gary Hubartt Peter Roe Daniel Rue Arlin Snesrud Bill Trejbal David White |
