Christopher Machado

Artistic Director, Cantate Choir Director
Christopher Machado is director of choral ensembles at Logan High School in Logan, Utah. Prior to this appointment, he was the director of choirs at Columbia High School in Nampa, Idaho from 2015-2019. He is the director of the Towne Singers in Logan, as well as the founder and conductor of Soggiorno Camerata, a chamber choir specializing in early music. He is also the artistic director of Cache Children's Choir, where he oversees the instruction of students in five choirs.

He was named graduate student teacher of the year in 2023 for the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University, where he was conductor of the USU Women's Chorus and assistant conductor of the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra. Christopher sings professionally with Brevitas and Sound of Ages. His mentors include Ronald Staheli, Craig Jessop, Rosalind Hall, and Cory Evans.

A native of Boise, Idaho, he holds a bachelor of music degree in music education from Brigham Young University and a master of music degree from Utah State University in choral conducting. Christopher is a member of the American Choral Directors Association and the National Association for Music Educators. He lives in Utah with his wife, alto and pianist Sarah Machado, and their four fabulous children.

Martha Rawlings

Chorale Choir Director (grades 4 and up)
Martha Rawlings was forced to take violin and piano lessons as a child. At the age of 11, her parents informed her that she would have to choose an additional instrument for the family bluegrass band they were organizing. Her siblings picked all the cool instruments. Since she didn’t want to play the spoons or the washboard, she was stuck with guitar. In her youth, the amount of effort Martha spent to get out of practicing was significant. But whenever it came to singing, she was ready and willing. Eventually, singing and bluegrass guitar gave her opportunities to perform and garner the attention she craved as a middle child.

 Martha spent most of college at Utah State University studying music and theater but, as life often does, there were detours along the way and she ended up graduating from Brigham Young University with a BA in History and a minor in Music. However, most of her adult life has been spent learning, teaching, and participating in music, especially vocal music.  Martha sang with Valley Voices, Riversong Chancel Singers, and Theatre West (all in Nebraska). When her youngest child went to kindergarten, she went back to school for her music endorsement and teaching certificate. She was an adjunct voice teacher at Western Nebraska Community College as well as maintaining a private studio. Martha has a master’s degree in Education with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She taught K-12 music in Nebraska before relocating to Utah in 2021. 

 Since moving to Logan, Martha has been singing with the American Festival Chorus, substitute teaching and providing private vocal instruction. She lives with her unicycle-riding and drum-playing husband. They have six children, three of whom have been launched into adulthood but haven’t landed yet. The other three attend Logan City Schools. And just like her parents did to her, she makes them all take piano lessons and play other instruments. And best of all, she makes them sing!

Deandra Harps

Cadet Choir Director (grades 2-3)
Deandra Harps completed Orff-Schulwerk Teacher Training Levels 1, 2, and 3 at Utah State University. She has taught hands-on science and active music making at the elementary level. Helping students progress from being overwhelmed to achieving their objectives brings her great joy. She loves helping students use the creative process to grow and understand that the growth translates across disciplines.

Deandra travels to Grand Teton National Park every year, spends her free time reading and gardening, and recently learned to play ukulele with her children.  

Erika Andrus

Caprice Choir Director (grades K-1)
Erika Andrus received a Bachelors of Arts with an emphasis in piano from Utah State University. She completed Dalcroze levels 1 and 2 at Dalcroze School of the Rockies, as well as the Orff-Schulwerk Teacher Training level 1 at Utah State University. She currently teaches elementary school music and private piano lessons. She has been teaching piano for 9 years and playing the piano since the age of 6. She loves making music and helping others build self-esteem, dedication, and creativity.

Outside of music, she also loves teaching tumbling and going on walks with her dog and husband, Kyle.

Ewa Wilczynski

Cadenza Choir Director (PreK ages 4-5)
Ewa Wilczynski has a Masters degree in Music Education from Marie Curie University in Poland. She has obtained Orff-Schulwerk Teachers Training Certification (Levels 1-3) from Utah State University and completed the International Summer Course 2014 in Carl Orff Institute in Salzburg, Austria. More recently, she completed the 2017 Early Childhood Music Professional Development Course (Level 1) in the Gordon Institute for Music Learning at Temple University. Ewa is an experienced preschool music teacher and has taught flute, piano, and music theory for over 30 years in Poland, New Jersey and Utah. She is currently on the faculty of the USU Youth Conservatory and teaches music at the Stokes Nature Center Preschool, We Friends Preschool, and offers private lessons in her studio. She has presented at Utah Early Childhood Conference, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, and Utah Chapter of American Orff-Schulwerk Association. Ewa is also a founder of the program "Music for the Small and Tall" where she teaches early childhood music and movement classes. She is a member of the Utah Flute Association and serves on the board of the Utah Chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association.

Leslie Timmons

Orff-Schulwerk Specialist
Leslie Timmons is Professor Emeritus, Music Department, Utah State University, where she was responsible for the flute studio and elementary music education. She is flutist with American Festival Chorus Orchestra, Logan Canyon Winds, and duo with clarinetist Nicholas Morrison. She has been the Orff Specialist with Cache Children’s Choir since 1991.

Leslie worked extensively as an Artist-in-Residence with the Utah Arts Council, Utah State Office of Education, and the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program.  She directs national certification courses in Orff Schulwerk at USU each summer and is a clinician for workshops across the country.

Her degrees in music education and flute performance are from Michigan State University. She was awarded a Fulbright grant for post-graduate study at the Orff Institute/Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and was active in establishing the first Utah Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. She has served on the national boards of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and the American Recorder Society. She has been honored as Utah Music Educators Association’s "Outstanding Music Educator” and “Outstanding Elementary Educator” and was inducted into the Utah Music Educators Association (UMEA) Hall of Fame on February 4, 2022.

Meghan Hatfield

Horrigan Scholar
Meghan Hatfield is a senior in the Choral Education program at Utah State University. She has been singing in choirs for the vast majority of her life and has developed a passion for both music and teaching. At USU, Meghan has been in leadership for the chapters of both the American Choral Directors Association and the Utah Music Educators Association. Beyond singing, Meghan is an active undergraduate researcher, presenting at conferences for the Society for Music Theory and the American Choral Directors Association.

 Outside of music, Meghan works as a resident assistant on campus and enjoys playing board games with friends.

Josh Musselman

Masters Student Intern
Josh Musselman, currently in his second year of the USU graduate program in Choral Conducting, is an accomplished composer and musician. During his undergraduate in Piano Performance at USU, he twice won the USU Concerto Competition, received awards in several Utah-based piano competitions and was named the Caine College of the Arts 2018 Talent of the Year in Music. Josh’s education has taken him around the US and Europe, including concerts and tours in California, Washington DC, Great Britain and Italy. Josh has been the Music Director and Composer for Pickleville Playhouse for nearly six years, writing and playing the music for such shows as Juanito Bandito: Love and Death, Shootout at Shadow Mountain, Finding the Fickle Fortune, New Sheriff in Town, and Juandito’s Christmas Carol. He currently writes for the USU choirs and several of his pieces have recently been featured in their fall, Christmas and spring concerts.

Josh married his wonderful wife Beth Anne early last year and they have been adventuring ever since. They love to travel, play board games and cook together, although Josh ends up doing a lot of the cooking lately: Beth Anne is pregnant! They are expecting their first child this fall and look forward to more adventures with the extra travel partner.

Jan Jenkins

Administrative Director
Jan Jenkins grew up in a home filled with music. She has played the piano most of her life and regularly accompanies both vocalists and instrumentalists. She played the flute and piccolo in high school and studied organ with Dr. James Drake while at USU.

Jan holds a B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics and M.S. in Industrial Mathematics from Utah State University. Jan also earned a Chorus Management Certification through Chorus America’s Chorus Management Institute. Jan brings an in-depth knowledge of nonprofits to the choir through more than 15 years serving on local, council, and region PTA boards.

Jan and her husband, Todd, are the parents of four children. She loves to read, gardens extensively, and is always interested in a new project.