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Karyn Silva, Artistic Director, Concerta and Ensemble Director

Karyn Silva, Peninsula Girls Chorus Artistic Director, PGC Coastside, Concerta and Ensemble Director, has a passion and infectious enthusiasm for the art of choral music. With over twenty-five years of conducting and teaching experience, she is sought after as a master teacher, clinician, and mentor in her field. She has been a featured choral clinician for the California Music Educators Association, the American Choral Directors Association and the Northern California Association of Kodaly Educators. Choirs under her direction have performed in such venues as Canterbury Cathedral and the Sydney Opera House.

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Sarah Cane, Repertoire Director

Sarah Cane, Repertoire Director, earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from CSUEB, a Master of Music at Holy Names University, and was winner of the Sarolta Kodaly Scholarship to study music education and choral conducting for a year at the Kodaly Institute in Kecskemet, Hungary. She has taught music to every level, K-12, at one time or another in her 30 years of teaching, including Peninsula School in Menlo Park, Addison Elementary and Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto. She has also been an English teacher at Menlo-Atherton and Carlmont High Schools.

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Kate Roseman, Brava and PGC Coastside Director

Kate Roseman, Brava and PGC Coastside Director is a graduate of the University of Redlands where she earned her Bachelor Degree in Music Education. Ms. Roseman studied at the Zoltán Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music in Kecskemét, Hungary, where she specialized in pedagogy and methodology, music history, conducting and ear training. She has furthered her study of the Kodály approach by completing her Kodály Certification in pedagogy, musicianship and choral music at Azusa Pacific University in July 2022.

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Isabella Custino, Allegra Director

Isabella Custino, Allegra Director, is a passionate choral conductor and music educator from the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a California state certified K-12 music teacher with degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University (MA Music & Music Education) and the USC Thornton School of Music (BA Choral Music). Isabella is a proud alumna of PGC, where she began in Allegra under the direction of Karyn Silva.

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Alexis Wong Baird, Brava Conducting Intern


Alexis Wong Baird, Brava conducting intern, is a lifelong choir singer, starting at age 7 with the Danville Girls Chorus. She currently sings in the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and teaches music and movement classes with Peninsula Music Together. She studied business and engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and worked in tech. She is excited to reconnect with her first love of choir through Peninsula Girls Chorus.


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Jo Basile, Allegra Conducting Intern

Jo Basile has been singing in choirs since the 7th grade after attending an arts charter school, so music has been in her educational life since the beginning! After attending her first Regional Honor Choir Convention in high school, she knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life participating in and teaching choir. Her further education started at Cabrillo College with an Associates Transfer Degree in music and made her way to San Jose State University where she received her Bachelors in Music Education with Choral Emphasis. On the way, she discovered her love for musical theatre starring in a variety of musical and operas as well as general music earning a certification in Kindermusik and level 1 and 2 Orff general music training. She has had the pleasure of traveling to Spain and Portugal with the San Jose State Choraliers performing masterworks and soloing with a San Jose local community chorus, Resounding Achord, at the 2024 American Choral Directors Association Conference. She is so excited to begin this journey into the world of choral conducting with PGC!

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Dmitriy Cogan, Brava and Ensemble Accompanist


Dmitriy Cogan, Brava and Ensemble Accompanist was born in Moscow in 1963. He began music studies at the age of six and in 1974 immigrated to San Francisco. He studied conducting at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and continued his piano studies with Vladimir Pleshakov and Maria Cisyc. In 1979, he moved to New York to study with Martin Canin at the Juillard School, where he received Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. Since 1980 he has appeared in numerous solo and chamber music concerts in the New York area. In 1981, he was a prizewinner at the Kosciuszko Chopin Competition in New York; in 1982 he won first prize at the American Music Scholarship Association International Piano Competition in Cincinnati; in 1983 he was Laureate of the Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition in Cleveland. Mr. Cogan has performed at Carnegie Hall and has appeared in recitals throughout the United States, Europe, Russia and Central America.


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Yongyu Gao, Concerta Accompanist


Yongyu earned her Bachelor’s degree from South China University majoring
in Music Education (with an emphasis in piano) and Master’s degree from San
Jose State University majoring in Piano Performance as a Walker Scholar.

As an active performer, Yongyu accompanies local choral groups such as
Ragazzi, Junípero Serra High School, and a number of schools from Burlingame
School District. She also serves as an organist and pianist at Burlingame United
Methodist Church. In addition, she tours with different groups domestically and
internationally for concerts and music festivals, the highlights including
International Music Festival at Sydney Opera House, Chorus America, ACDA
Western, and Aloha State Music Festival. Some of the other projects that Yongyu
has been involved in were Ina’s Opera Group and Hillbarn Theater (musical). She
looks forward to joining PGC and shares her love of music.


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Xiyan Wang, Repertoire and Allegra Accompanist


Xiyan Wang, Concerta accompanist, is a native of Guangzhou China who started her piano studies at the age of five. At the age of 12 she was admitted to the Xing Hai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou as a student of Mei Li. After receiving several local and regional competition awards, she was granted a scholarship at Interlochen Arts Academy Michigan in 2001, where she began studying piano under Thomas J. Lymenstull, Dr. Stephen Perry and chamber music under Yoshikazu Nagai. Ms. Wang graduated with honors in Piano Achievement and was awarded the Fine Arts Award in Music. She received awards from the PianoArts of Wisconsin National Concerto Competition in 2002, and performed at Northwestern University of Chicago's "From Vienna to Harlem" Piano Festival in 2003. In 2004, Ms. Wang was chosen to give a performance for the Chinese Government Delegation in Washington DC on behalf of the Emerson global manufacturing and technology company. Ms. Wang was a recipient of the Phyllis Wattis Scholarship while studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she earned her BM and MM under the tutelage of Mack McCray.

Ms. Wang graduated with her Professional Studies Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in May 2011. She has been active as a soloist as well as collaborating pianist with other instrumentalists including members of the SF symphony. She continues to teach today in music schools and privately throughout the bay area.


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Pat McNutt , PGC Coastside Accompanist


Ms. McNutt taught piano for 30 years before retiring in 2019, also retiring from organist/music director after 17 years at Community United Methodist Church in Half Moon Bay. She has accompanied school musicals, musical theatre, instrumentalists, bay area choirs, and community college choir classes for more than 40 years. Ms. McNutt studied music at two California State Universities, Long Beach and Northridge, and earned a B.S. degree in Business from San Francisco University in 1985. She earned a Teaching Certificate from the Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC) in 1994 and chaired MTAC’s Certificate of Merit Program, and served as president of the board for MTAC San Mateo Branch. Ms. McNutt studied piano under Nancy Bachmann, and at Notre Dame College under Tom La Ratta.

1443 Howard Avenue
Burlingame, CA 94010-4258
(650) 347-6351

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