Allen Matthews

Artistic Director, Cantate Choir Director
Allen Matthews is Artistic Director of Cache Children’s Choir and also serves as director of the Cantate choir. He is a positive and passionate music educator, choral conductor, arranger, and singer with a varied conducting and teaching experience ranging from elementary to collegiate levels.

Prior to this appointment with Cache Children’s Choir, Allen taught classes and directed choirs at the Logan Institute of Religion at Utah State University. He has also directed choirs at the Orem Institute of Religion at Utah Valley University, served as the Artistic Director of the BYU Jazz Voices in Provo, Utah and as an assistant director of the Utah Valley Children’s Choir.

Allen holds degrees from the University of Northern Colorado in Choral Music Education (B.M.E), K-12 Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (M.A.), and an Educational Specialist Degree (ED.S) in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Arts Administration.

When not directing choirs, he enjoys learning and teaching, playing the piano, listening to music, and playing basketball and golf! He delights in spending time with his wife, Tara, and children Miles, Quincy, Porter, and Ella. They and their wonder-puppy named Roxie are residents of North Logan, Utah.

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 holds a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in piano from Utah State University and is pursuing a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Westminster University. She has completed Dalcroze levels 1, 2, and 3 at The Dalcroze School of Music and Movement, as well as the Orff-Schulwerk Teacher Training level 1 at Utah State University. Erika teaches music at Providence Elementary and has been teaching private piano lessons for 11 years. She is passionate about helping kids build self-esteem, camaraderie, and creativity through music.

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 master’s 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 in 2014 at Carl Orff Institute in Salzburg, Austria. In 2017, Ewa completed the Early Childhood Music Professional Development Course Level 1 at the Gordon Institute for Music Learning at Temple University.

Ewa is an experienced preschool music teacher and has also taught flute, piano, and music theory for over thirty years in Poland, New Jersey and Utah. She is currently on the faculty of the USU Youth Conservatory, Cache Children’s Choir and teaches music at the Stokes Nature Center Preschool. She also offers private lessons in her studio. Ewa has presented at the Utah Early Childhood Conference, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, and the Utah Chapter of American Orff-Schulwerk Association. She was a founder of the program "Music for the Small and Tall" where she taught early childhood music and movement classes, 2008-2023. In March 2016, along with Leslie Timmons, Ewa co-founded the Music Box Concert Series, providing free concerts for children and accompanying adults.

Ewa is a member of the Music Teachers National Association. She serves on the boards of the Utah Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association and the Chamber Music Society of Logan. She also served on the board of the Utah Flute Association, 2005-2008.

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 has served as clinician 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.

Grace Weaver

Horrigan Scholar

Mitchell Kukura

Masters Student Intern
Originally from Ontario, Canada, Mitchell Kukura is a passionate choral conductor dedicated to inspiring and nurturing through the choral arts. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Western Ontario, where he was co-founder and conductor of the Student Choral Initiative during the 2021-22 academic year. The Student Choral Initiative is dedicated to fostering a vibrant community for emerging vocalists. He further developed his conducting skills as a choral intern with the King's University College Chamber Choir and Chor Amica in London, Canada, where he gained invaluable experience leading diverse choral ensembles. Mitchell has also expanded his vocal performance experience by participating in multiple operas while at the University of Western Ontario.

Mitchell is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Conducting at Utah State University. He serves as the primary conductor of the Utah State University Sapphire Singers and occasionally conducts other choirs at USU. Mitchell cultivates a love for choral music in his students and audiences alike.

In addition to his conducting work, Mitchell has been a church organist for over four years and serves as the music coordinator for his church area. With a deep belief in the power of music to bring people together, Mitchell is committed to fostering artistic growth and community connection through choral music.

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 and 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.