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Elizabeth Woodhouse,
Founder and Artistic Director
Elizabeth Woodhouse is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Choral Collective of Newport County (RI), which includes the Newport County Youth Chorus and the Aquidneck Singers (teen and adult women's chorus). She has worked with community choirs for more than 15 years in Denver, CO, Columbus, OH, New Haven, CT and most recently in Brooklyn, NY with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. During her career she has conducted ensembles of varying ages and abilities. Elizabeth has prepared ensembles for performances at Carnegie Hall and Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) as well as for a national PBS Kids Commercial.
A leader in the children's choir community, Elizabeth has been a guest lecturer at Salve Regina University, the University of Colorado - Boulder, The Ohio State University, and Western Connecticut State University. Elizabeth is a frequent adjudicator at choral festivals including WorldStrides, Fantastic Festivals and Music in the Parks as well as the Rhode Island Junior High Choir Festival and the New Hampshire Music Educators Association Large Group Festival. In March 2019 she was the Guest Conductor for the RI All-State Elementary Chorus. In 2022 Elizabeth will serve as the Guest Conductor of the NYACDA Elementary Honor Choirs.
Elizabeth is an adjunct professor at University of Rhode Island where she teaches choral music education classes.
A 2019-2020 Jubilation Foundation Fellow, Elizabeth received a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting at The Ohio State University.
Elizabeth is the President of the RI chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
Christian Black, NCYC accompanist, serves as the accompanist for the RI Children’s Chorus and as the Minister of Music at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, in Kingston, Rhode Island. She is a piano performance major at Rhode Island College.
MaryAnn Lasorsa, Aquidneck Singers accompanist, has called the East Providence public school system home for the past 32 years. She became the Director of Choral Activities at East Providence High School in 1989 and the Fine Arts Department Chair in 2010. Mrs. Lasorsa also co-directs the annual school musical. Her choirs have traveled extensively, both domestically and internationally and have recently performed in London, Paris, Italy, Spain and Portugal. In 2016, she was chosen by her peers, as East Providence High School Teacher of the Year. As an active member of the Rhode Island Music Educators National Conference and the American Choral Directors Association, she has served as the pianist for Junior All-State and Honors Festival. She is an active member of Collegium Ancora and the Grace Church Choir. For the past four years she has participated in the Sarteano Choral Conducting Master Class with Simon Carrington and Brian O’Connell.
Jan Navarro, NCYC accompanist, is CCNC's newest team member. Jan recently moved to Aquidneck Island from Seattle, Washington. She has enjoyed a lifetime love of music that began at age 4. The daughter of generations of musicians and teachers, Jan grew up playing piano, flute, and singing in church and school. She went on to study piano performance and music education at Northern State University in South Dakota. Jan has been teaching for over 35 years. In that time, she has also accompanied countless soloists, choirs, and Musical Theater shows. Last year, she was the Director of Choirs at North Providence High School, where she also taught Piano and Guitar classes. Jan is very much looking forward to working with Elizabeth, and making beautiful music with the students of Newport County Youth Chorus!