STAFF
Dr. Thomas Bookhout — Chorus Master
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Dr. Thomas Bookhout has been Chorus Master of The Phoenix Symphony since 2012 and brings to his craft a vast experience in the choral art, preparing and conducting symphony, opera, university, community, school, and church choruses. He prepares the Symphony Chorus on its widely varied and challenging masterworks repertoire, such as Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, Mozart’s and Verdi’s Requiems, Poulenc’s Gloria, Kodaly’s Psalmus Hungaricus, Estévez’s Cantata Criolla, Pärt’s In Principio, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and Handel’s Messiah; as well as exciting pops performances on the music of the season, movies, and video games. The Symphony Chorus has grown during his tenure, and enjoys a reputation for stunning performances, engaging rehearsals, and inspiring camaraderie.
Bookhout conducts The Phoenix Symphony Chorus in performances of its own in Phoenix, and in recent years at Carnegie Hall, in Vienna and Salzburg, Austria, and in Poland. His work preparing and conducting the Chorus on Poulenc’s Gloria in Vienna was hailed as “stimulating and … breathtaking.” He led the Chorus in the world-premiere of Dan Forrest’s Psalm of Ascension for chorus and orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Previously, Bookhout was Chorus Master for the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, where he prepared its chorus for symphonic performances including Britten’s War Requiem and Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony; and for fully staged operas including Carmen, Il Trovatore, and Die Fledermaus, earning notable reviews in the American Record Guide and Opera News. Bookhout currently also is the Director of Classical Worship at Camelback Bible Church. He has held positions at Ottawa University and several of the finest private and charter schools in Phoenix. He has been Music Director of New York’s Taghkanic Chorale, Director of Choral Activities at the University of Charleston, WV, and Director of Music at the elite Stony Brook School in New York. Bookhout is a native of New York state and earned his MM at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester and his DMA at 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. Tom and his wife Jeanne’s family includes three adult children and their families, and an ever-increasing number of perfect grandchildren. |
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LAWRENCE Loeber — 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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THE CHORUS
Soprano
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Maria Bartoli
Mary Brockmeier Melanie Brown Vanessa Caramberis Gail Chandler Tia Coates Sara Cooper Ashlee Davis Erin Entringer |
Susan Ernst
Kaylynne Fox Jennifer Franz Katie Gonzalez Wendy Gould Inice Hahnke Midge Holley Gina Hupton Katie Jones |
Lorna Kertész
Lindsay Killian Allison Lambert Anna Martinez Caroline Orson Marjorie Reiter Lexie Rice Jenn Schaeffer Samantha Steward |
Robin Stinnett
Norma-Jean Strickland Anastasia Swing Coleen Van Slyke Diane VanDyke Kirsten Wolpert Diane Woodyard |
Alto
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Cami Anglemyer
Lisa Autrey Marilou Baxter Janeen Bonine Jeanne Bookhout Jane Calhoun Kristi Christian Debra Congram Anne Coryell |
Annette Economides
Isabel Evans Angel Falkner Abigail Fouts Amy Friesen Maria Garcia Payton Gunderson Julie Hale Emily Heckle |
Elaine Hock
Jane Kniffen Susan Kujawski Emily Langowitz Erica Lewis Karen Matas Mindy Nolls Karissa Noonan Mary Beth Orson |
Susie Phillips
Tiffany Regal Lisa Rolland-Keith Jennifer Schwarz Mary Segall Shelby Smith Lynne Traverse Varlarie Vousden Kari Weldon |
Tenor
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Taylor Anderson
Joel Auernheimer Roger Chandler Jerry Cook Rodale Cooley Matt Denison |
Ben Ebel
Erik Ellsworth Joshua Greer Stephen Hwang Tim Kellar Chad Merrell |
Michael Millis
Tracey Monroe Gerald Palmer Brian Puskarczyk Josiah Sanchez Andrew Saylor |
Jesse Schwarz
David Schwarz Jason St. Claire James Stirling Rob Swanson Dennis Zhang |
Bass
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Wayne Baxter
Darrin Bergstad Tim Brunty Samuel Conner Tom Cunningham Raymond Cusick Russ Ernst Joel Garcia |
David Getts
Dana Graybeal Gary Hubartt David Kahrs Brian Matas Casey Mickelson Ben Piburn James Rhodenhiser |
Peter Roe
Dan Rue Matthew Siebert Mark Sims John Smith Logan Smith William Stinnett Mark Thomas |
Bill Trejbal
Aaron Villalobos John Vousden Robert Wilkinson Rick Williams Gordon Zaft |