Central Illinois Youth Chorus > About > Meet the Staff

Meet the Staff

Andrea Solya

Artistic Director, Chamber Choir and Youth Chorale Conductor

Andrea Solya, DMA is Interim Director of Choral Activities at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she is director of the UI Chamber Singers and Women's Glee Club, UIUC's premier treble choir. She teaches choral conducting and literature to undergraduate and graduate students. Each summer she teaches musicianship, conducting and choral methodology in the Master's program of the Kodály Institute at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Her research interests include the choral music of Andreas Rauch (1592-1656), as well as the art of teaching sight singing to the choral singer and beyond. She has performed and presented on national and international stages and has been working on a critical edition of 25 motets from Andreas Rauch’s 1625 collection "Thymiaterium Musicale". Under her direction, the UI Women's Glee Club has received numerous concert invitations and has undertaken memorable tours to Nashville, New Orleans, Atlanta and to New York City. The UI Women’s Glee Club also appears on renowned composer Augusta Read Thomas's latest CD recording Astral Canticle, released in 2015 by Nimbus Records. Dr. Solya is Treble Choir Repertoire and Standards Committee Chair at ACDA-IL.

Ann Marie Morrissette

Concert Choir Conductor

Ann Marie is the choir director at Central High School in Champaign, IL. She received her teaching certification and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in vocal performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mrs. Morrissette has performed in many musicals and operas with the Illinois Opera Theatre and Parkland College, as well as solo performances with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra. Mrs. Morrissette is a former member of CIYC and sang under its founder, Carolyn Paulin.

Emily Kuchenbrod

Music Makers Conductor and Preschool Program Director

Emily Kuchenbrod teaches music at Kenwood Elementary School in Champaign, IL. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Illinois State University and a Masters of Music Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a teacher and conductor, Emily enjoys blending traditional pedagogies with student-led and exploration-based approaches. She completed her Kodaly certification at Indiana University, and has presented sessions for the Illinois Music Education Association, the Association for Popular Music Education, and Mountain Lake Colloquium. Most recently, her article "Can I Sing You My Song? Songwriting in Elementary Music with Community Artist Mentors," co-authored with Dr. Donna Gallo, was published in the March 2022 issue of Music Educators Journal.

Evan Stoor

Youth Chorale Conductor

A native to the state of New Mexico, Evan began his career directing middle and high school choirs in Albuquerque, earning his Bachelor of Music Education at New Mexico State University. He received his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Western Michigan University in 2022 before moving to Champaign-Urbana for the PhD program in Music Education with a choral conducting cognate. Evan is a regular clinician, guest lecturer and conductor, a UIUC student teacher supervisor, and scholar. His research endeavors include generational studies, covid-impacted learning, Latinx/é representation in higher education, and social development in choir ensembles.

Kathy Kew Lee

Administrative Director

Kathy joined the staff of CIYC in July 2019 and also serves as Music Director at Community United Church of Christ in Champaign.  Since graduating from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Psychology, Kathy has performed as a soloist, member, and/or section leader of more than 20 choirs.  While living in Boston, Kathy worked as Business Director and sectional coach of VOICES Boston (formerly PALS Children's Chorus), as well as conductor of their youngest choir.  Her two sons have been members of CIYC since 2016.  Kathy's favorite musical collaborations are those she shares with her twin sister, husband, and sons.

Ingrid Kammin

Resident Voice Teacher

Ingrid Kammin, DMA, is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Voice at Illinois Wesleyan University where she also serves as the chair of the Voice and Choral area. Dr. Kammin has studied and performed extensively throughout Europe, specifically at Il Corso Estivo per Giovani Cantiti in Urbania, Italy and at La Sorbonne in Paris, France. She is comfortable performing and teaching a variety of styles of music from Early Music/Opera to Contemporary/New Music to Musical Theater to Pop. Dr. Kammin is incredibly passionate about teaching and vocal pedagogy and is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and was recently awarded the NATS Emerging Leaders Award. She is especially passionate about arts advocacy, collaboration, and education throughout the community, region, and beyond. Dr Kammin also serves as the Director of the Ralla Klepak Community Music Scholars and Explorers Programs at Illinois Wesleyan University. These programs provide access to music lessons, instruments, and other musical experiences to students with disabilities and who are traditionally underserved in the Bloomington-Normal Community. She maintains a private studio in the Champaign-Urbana area where she loves working with students of all ages and abilities. She is the mama to Sybil and Theo (wife to Mike) and the human ambassador for Bug Puppy (aka Buggy Balogh), Dottie Dog, and King Kitty. Also… there are some fish.

Simon Tiffin

Collaborative Pianist