Rhonda Muckerman – Spring 2010 to Winter 2021
Rhonda Muckerman’s musical training began in New Jersey, with an old harmonica, an electric organ, and her babysitter’s guitar. After many years studying the flute, she went on to earn a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from Michigan State University. She then earned her Master of Music degree in conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. Muckerman is an accomplished flutist. She has extensive teaching experience, in both the instrumental and choral music disciplines, ranging from young children to adults, and covering Michigan, Ohio, Washington. From 2003-2018, Muckerman taught instrumental music in the Norwood and Telluride, Colorado school districts. She began her long-affiliation with the Telluride Choral Society as first a singer in the Chorale and Chamber Singers in its first eight years of existence, and now as its Artistic Director. She truly enjoys working with singers of all ages, and presenting and performing quality choral repertoire here in the Telluride region- and most of all, appreciates the process by which music making brings people together.
Rhonda’s last concert with us was WinterSing 2021, and she now resides in beautiful Durango, Colorado where she is the Artistic Director of the Southwest Civic Winds, and also serves as the Assistant Conductor of the Durango Choral Society.
Dr. David Lingle – Fall 2002 to Winter 2009
Dr. Lingle was a native of Northern Wisconsin. He received his Master’s in Music Theory and Composition from the University of Tulsa and a Doctoral Degree in Conducting from the University of Oklahoma. He has composed and conducted music for a national broadcast entitled “A Service of Light” which aired on the ABC Television Network, worked with Broadway and Television personalities including Kristin Chenoweth, and prepared choruses for the Tulsa Philharmonic, Oklahoma Sinfonia and Tulsa Ballet. In addition to his love of choral music in nearly every style, Lingle worked extensively in both musical theater and church music. Over the years, he has conducted everything from “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”, to festival settings of the Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” and Mozart’s “Solemne Vespers”.
While in Telluride from 2002 through 2009, Dr. Lingle expanded Telluride Choral Society’s programming with the addition of “KidSing” performances and the “MasterWorks” series. Lingle was also the Music Director for many of the Telluride Repertory Theater productions, including “Godspell”, “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”, “Chicago”, and “Guys and Dolls”, as was involved with theater productions with the Sheridan Arts Foundation and Telluride Public Schools.
In February 2013, David Lingle passed away in Massachusetts. He is lovingly remembered by all who knew and worked with him in choirs ranging from Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Texas to here in Telluride. The Telluride Choral Society is grateful for the gifts he brought to the Telluride community and the organization.
See the ‘Requiem for Eagles’ tab to read about Lingle’s posthumous major work
John P. Yankee – Fall 1995 to Spring 2002
Our ‘Founding Father’, John Yankee, galvanized the burgeoning singing community of Telluride in the nineties into a cohesive organization. The Telluride Choral Society owes its existence to Yankee’s influence and inspiration. Yankee is currently the Artistic Director of the Falmouth Chorale in Massachusetts. He was Director of the San Diego Choral Union and the San Diego Children’s Choir, served as Guest Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra South Shore Chorus, and Chicago Civic Orchestra.
Yankee earned a Bachelor of Music Degree at Peabody Conservatory and Master’s degrees at the University of Pittsburgh and at Yale School of Music. His extensive teaching experience includes a long affiliation with the Walden School for Young Composers. He is a trumpeter, a folk singer (the trio, Cross Country), and performs on the hammered dulcimer and keyboards.
