Hannah Swanson, Collaborative Pianist, East Central Minnesota Chorale & Unum Vox

Our History

Charles Moe, Artistic Director, East Central Minnesota Chorale

The East Central Minnesota Chorale (ECMC) is a civic choir representing the five county area of East Central Minnesota. The ensemble was founded and led by David Clarke, former director of choirs at Cambridge High School, in 1981. The Chorale has been privileged to have many accomplished directors over the years, Dr. Dennis Port (Bethel University Choir, retired), Dr. Mark Potvin (Luther College), Joseph Osowski (St. Michael-Albertville HS), and most recently, Charles Moe (Princeton HS). In 2010 the Chorale expanded to include Unum Vox, a high school honors choir from the five county area high schools. UV was founded and led by Dr. Mark Potvin and has had only two directors since its inception, Mark and Tonya Barnes. ECMC has performed in a variety of locations across East Central Minnesota, the Twin Cities, and other locations across the state. The Chorale has been selected twice to perform at the Minnesota State Convention of the American Choral Directors Association. A conscious effort is made to include music from a variety of eras, cultures, and genres. The Scholarship Concert raises money to present scholarships to graduating high school seniors who plan to continue singing at the college level.

Unum Vox

In spring of 2010, ECMC applied for and received one of the inaugural Arts and Cultural Heritage ("Legacy") grants to form Unum Vox, a regional honor choir for students in schools that service Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, and Pine counties. Unum Vox (translated as "one Voice" and pronounced "oonoom vocks") is an elite choir designed to enrich the typical high school choir experience by allowing students from various schools to excel in a common pursuit of quality singing. The hope of the East Central Minnesota Chorale is to solicit the participation of serious 10-12 grade choral students from area schools to sing in an ensemble whose artistic capabilities cater to their desire to perform at the highest level possible. Unum Vox engages singers in conversations about choral literature, teaches healthy singing, and introduces students to music from a diverse set of world cultures. Student singers take the skills and experiences from weekly rehearsals home to share with their peers in the hopes of enhancing their leadership in their high school ensembles.

Tonya Barnes, Artistic Director, Unum Vox

A native of East Central Minnesota, Charles Moe has been the conductor of the East Central Minnesota Chorale since 2017. He is also the Vocal Music Instructor at Princeton High School where he conducts the curricular and extra curricular choirs, teaches Intro to Guitar, and teaches individual voice. He is also an assistant director for Princeton High School’s annual fall musical, as well as the artistic director for PHS’s biennial Madrigal Dinner. Prior to his position at Princeton he served on the staffs of Hutchinson High School (MN) and Underwood Middle and High Schools (IA), as well as the staffs of churches in Iowa and Minnesota. Groups under his direction have performed at the MN state music educators conference in 2016 and 2019. He is active as a clinician, guest conductor, composer, and arranger. Charles holds degrees and certifications from Luther College and Bemidji State University. He resides in Princeton with his wife, Abby.

Tonya Barnes taught choral music for 17 years at North-Linn Community School District, Iowa, St. Francis High School, Princeton High School, and North Branch High School. She is a graduate of Cornell College, Iowa, where she received her degree in Vocal Music Education. Tonya received her Master’s Degree in Music Education from North Dakota State University in August of 2020. Mrs. Barnes has been conducting Unum Vox for the last nine years. She enjoys making music with students from other schools and watching them collaborate. For her own musical growth, Mrs. Barnes sings with the Northern Lights Chorale and serves as their soprano section leader, soloist, and substitute conductor. Tonya is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA), and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. In January of 2019, she was elected Choral Vice President for MMEA where she was responsible for the organization of the All-State choir experience. Since December of 2021, she has been serving as President of MMEA helping the organization thrive and grow. When she is not involved in teaching or performing, she works as a Project Manager with an information security firm, FRSecure. She also loves to spend time with her husband, Ben and their two children, Nolan and Elliana.

Hannah Mae Swanson began accompanying the East Central Minnesota Chorale and Unum Vox in January 2024. Hannah is passionate about connecting with people musically, which drew her to collaborative piano. She has performed as a collaborative pianist in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Colorado, playing for choirs, instrumental and vocal soloists, ensembles, and chamber groups. In addition to accompanying, Hannah plays solo classical and jazz piano. She loves to educate musicians of all ages and has been teaching piano since 2015. A recent project for Hannah has been instructing the piano portion of Bemidji MusiCamp since summer 2022. She also enjoys theatre and opera and has experience music directing students from ages five to adult. Hannah is currently based in Saint Paul, MN, where she serves on the Bemidji MusiCamp board of directors, plays organ and piano at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Hopkins, MN, teaches piano privately, and freelance accompanies around the area. Hannah splits her time between her adventures in the realm of music and spending quality time with her cat, Cosmos. To learn more about Hannah, peruse her website: hannahmaeswanson.com

Board of Directors

Michele Skeim, President

Shirley Geib, Vice President

Lowell Becker, Treasurer

Jean Pauly, Secretary

Randy Hatch, Equipment Manager

Jessica Janorschke

Neil Johnson

Ed Larson

Brea Lutterman

Personnel:

Jean Knight, Business Manager

Steve Tou, Bookkeeper