GBCC Board & Staff
Who We Are
Board Members

The Greater Boston Choral Consortium is made up of an all-volunteer board.

If you are interested in joining GBCC’s board and are passionate about growing our region’s choral community, please contact us.

 

Brad Dumont

Brad Dumont

Chair

Brad Dumont is a passionate arts advocate working to create and support unique artistic projects that contribute to cultural improvement and community-based arts education. He believes in the power of choral singing to build empathetic communities — providing a voice for those that may otherwise not be heard. Brad is committed to a process-oriented approach of music-making which allows for singers to explore diverse themes of equity and justice, a process which helps singers more clearly and creatively communicate their stories.

Brad serves as the Director of Choral Activities at Assumption University and as the Music Director of the Salisbury Singers in Worcester, MA. Additionally, Brad serves as the vice president of the New Hampshire Master Chorale and on the artistic planning team for the Boston-based choir VOICES 21C where he helps develop creative staging and narrative driven programs. Brad is also the operations manager for Emmanuel Music in Boston, an orchestra contractor for ensembles throughout New England, and chair of the Greater Boston Choral Consortium.

Brad received a Master of Music in Choral Conducting at Boston University studying with Dr. Miguel Felipe and Bramwell Tovey where he served on the Arts Leadership Council and held teaching assistantships in choral ensembles, conducting, and arts incubation. Originally from Rochester, NH; Brad graduated from Plymouth State University in 2013 as the outstanding Graduating Senior in Music and a Top 20 Senior, earning a B.S. in Music Education K-12 and a B.A. in Music: Vocal Performance and Pedagogy while studying voice with Dr. Kathleen Arecchi, piano with Dr. Carleen Graff, and receiving a choral fellowship from Dr. Dan Perkins.

 

Peter Smith

Peter Smith

Treasurer

Peter Smith has been active in Boston choral circles since the 1980’s.  His singing background ranges from college a capella to church choir section leader.  He is a long-time member of the Back Bay Chorale, and served as Treasurer and board member from 2006 to 2016, helping guide the BBC through a decade of significant artistic and administrative growth.   From 1989 to 2005, Peter worked in IT management at Bain & Company (the international strategy consulting firm); and then made a career shift to arts management.  He serves as General Manager of the Back Bay Chorale, and Business Manager of both Emmanuel Music (professional chorus and orchestra in residence at Emmanuel Church, Boston) and the Boston Camerata (acclaimed professional early music ensemble).

Dr. Yufen Yen

Dr. Yufen Yen

Member-at-Large

Dr. Yufen Yen currently serves as the music director at the Cambridge Chinese Choral Society and the assistant choral instructor at the Windsor School, Boston, MA.

In her professional career of 22 years, Dr. Yen has directed choirs from all ages and types with a variety of repertoire, ranging from K12, collegiate, community, and church choirs. Dr. Yen has also contributed greatly in the choral communities, where she was an invited lecturer at the Massachusetts American Choral Director Association (ACDA) in 2017, as well as the invited faculty at the Taipei International Choral Festival in 2018. Dr. Yen also helped with the organization of opera chorus for the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, and Tunghai University.

Recently, Dr. Yen has been invited as a guest conductor at Carnegie Hall in 2023. As a native from Taiwan, Dr. Yen has been actively advocating Chinese and Taiwanese culture through choral music in the greater Boston area. Dr. Yufen Yen received her D.M.A. in Choral Conducting and Literature from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; M.M. in Choral Conducting from Tunghai University, Taiwan, and B.M. in Voice Performance from National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan.

Jaclyn Dentino

Jaclyn Dentino

Member-at-Large

Jaclyn Dentino is an arts administrator, flutist, and flute teacher active in the Greater Boston Area. She earned her B.A. in Music Performance from Case Western Reserve University in cooperation with the Cleveland Institute of Music in Cleveland, Ohio, and her M.S. in Arts Administration and Graduate Certificate in Fundraising Management from Boston University. She has also studied voice, piano, ballet, and theatre.

As an administrator, Jaclyn has a strong background in fundraising, marketing,and general management. Her specialties include operational management, institutional and programmatic marketing, and the cultivation of relationships, with a particular interest in modernizing arts organizations to embrace digital audiences and adopt anti-racism efforts in all aspects of operations.

Jaclyn currently serves on the Board of Directors for atac: downtown arts + music in Framingham, Massachusetts, and Women in Development of Central Massachusetts. She is the founder and past Committee Chair of the Watertown Arts Market.

Jaclyn lives in Framingham with her husband and their Pitbull mix, Minnie. When not participating in arts-related events, she enjoys horseback riding, reading, biking, and traveling.

Tori (Cook) Needels

Tori (Cook) Needels

Member-At-Large

Tori Cook has been a member of the Boston choral community since 2011 and a board member of the Greater Boston Choral Consortium since July of 2020.

She is the former Director of Sales & Marketing at Chorus Connection, a chorus management software company where she was known for creating a variety of helpful chorus management resources for community choral organizations.

Tori currently sings with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. In a past life, she was the Music Director of the Harborlight Show Chorus and President of Chorus pro Musica. When not making music, she daydreams about adopting a golden retriever puppy and scuba diving to exotic locations around the world.

Kirsten Oberoi

Kirsten Oberoi

Member-At-Large

Kirsten Oberoi (she/her) is the Founder and Artistic Director of the South Shore Children’s Chorus, currently serving over 180 singers from the greater South Shore of Massachusetts, with rehearsal locations in Quincy, Sharon, Hanover, and Bridgewater. Kirsten taught public school music and chorus at the secondary level for eight years in both Massachusetts and California. Regarded as a unique and creative choral artist and arts entrepreneur, Kirsten is known for her strong philosophies based on inclusion and equity in the music education classroom, as well as her engaging teaching style. She has presented professional development sessions for music educators in several local school districts. Additionally, she has presented at conferences sponsored by the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA), the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), and the Rhode Island Chapter of ACDA. Kirsten is frequently invited to guest conduct festival choirs. In 2024, she was awarded the Phyllis Godwin Women in Business award for her work with SSCC.

Kirsten is a podcaster with her show Choral Connectivity: A People-First Approach to Singing, where she interviews choral enthusiasts from around the world about how choral singing creates better people. She has also been a guest on the Choralosphy Podcast, the Music Ed Matters podcast, and the Choir Success youtube channel. Everywhere she speaks, writes, and presents, Kirsten champions the philosophy that singing should be natural, fun, and accessible to all who want to learn. 

STAFF

Alison LaRosa

Alison LaRosa

General Manager

Alison LaRosa served on the GBCC’s Board of Directors from 2012 to 2020 and was delighted to return to GBCC as General Manager in 2024. Alison has devoted her career to nonprofit management and fundraising with experience in the arts and higher education. She has sung with GBCC member ensembles Seraphim Singers, Night Song, Boston Choral Ensemble, and currently, King’s Chapel Choir.

Alison received a Bachelor of Music in flute from The Catholic University of America and a master’s degree in arts administration from Indiana University – Bloomington. With GBCC, she looks forward to helping to grow the Boston area’s vibrant choral music scene.

 

Former Board Members

GBCC gratefully acknowledges our outgoing executive committee members for their service to the choral community: 

Alison LaRosa (past Chair)

Anne Watson Born (past Chair)

Alex Speir (past Treasurer)

Walter Chapin (past Treasurer)

Alan Lawson (past Secretary)

Jamie Hillman

Eric Christopher Perry

Kara Kirby

Claire Shepro

Jennifer Ritvo Hughes

Nick Adams (past Vice Chair)

Nathan Reiff (past Secretary)

 

JOIN OUR BOARD

Interested in joining our team? We’re looking for volunteers with experience serving on a board and a passion for choral music.