Artistic Staff

Gary D. Cannon, Artistic Director

Gary D. Cannon is one of the Northwest's most dynamic choral personalities, active as a conductor, singer, composer, musicologist, and educator. In January 2008, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Cascadian Chorale. He has also been chorusmaster of the Northwest Mahler Festival since 2001 and choir director at Bethel Lutheran Church in Shoreline since 2007. Cannon has recently appeared as a guest conductor with the Vashon Island Chorale and Kirkland Choral Society. He conducted the Annas Bay Chamber Choir, a professional 16-voice ensemble, in its acclaimed inaugural season in the summer of 2006. He has also directed various choral ensembles at the University of Washington.

As a tenor, Cannon has appeared as a soloist with the Seattle Philharmonic, and the Auburn, Rainier, and Eastside Symphony Orchestras, in major works such as Mozart's Requiem, Gounod's St. Cecilia Mass, and P.D.Q. Bach's Iphigenia in Brooklyn. Cannon's recital repertoire ranges from Schubert songs to Puccini arias. Cannon also sings with The Tudor Choir and the Seattle Opera Chorus.

Cannon taught for two years at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, where he received the 2006 Faculty Excellence Award, the college's highest faculty honor. His musicological research emphasizes twentieth-century British music; particularly noteworthy is his work as founder and webmaster of WilliamWalton.net. Cannon holds degrees from the University of California–Davis and the University of Washington, where he is currently researching a doctoral dissertation on the early life and works of William Walton. He has studied and sung with some of the world's leading choral conductors, including Paul Hillier, Abraham Kaplan, Peter Phillips, Jeffrey Thomas, and Dale Warland.

Ingrid Verhulsdonk, Accompanist

Very active as a freelance accompanist in the area, Ingrid is also principal organist at Sacred Heart Church in Bellevue and accompanist for The Market Street Singers of Ballard. She holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Washington and the University of Hawaii. She is on staff at the University of Washington drama department, and has been a regular accompanist with Northwest Opera In Schools, Etcetera (NOISE) and Cornish College of the Arts.

Christopher Lee Fraley, Composer-in-residence

Christopher Lee Fraley, raised in a musical family, played the cello for ten years before switching to the more portable guitar. He studied at Carnegie Mellon University, receiving a BS in Computer Engineering. While in school, Chris pursued additional studies in music and poetry. His major influences include not only Beethoven and Schubert, but also popular artists such as Sting, Peter Gabriel, and King Crimson.

Chris continues to write works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, and chorus, and his credits include a symphony, eight tone poems, two operettas, string quartets, and pieces for piano and various chamber ensembles. When Chris is not busy sharpening his compositional skills under the tutelage of Dr. Peter F. Wolf, he relaxes by pursuing woodworking, gardening, programming, and eating his favorite dessert, pumpkin pie.