Valerie Montaño, Founder + Artistic Director
Valerie is the very proud Founder and Artistic Director of the Denver Chorale. The Chorale is the realization of a dream she’s held for many years. Her dream began in the fall of 2008. While enjoying her time as assistant director of the Evergreen Chorale, she found herself wondering why there wasn’t a similar small choral ensemble in the Denver area, a community of talented singers who come together to share the joy of singing and creating beautiful music. Not being at all business-oriented, a retired lawyer and a judge helped Valerie to incorporate the Denver Chorale as a nonprofit organization.
By Christmas that year she was recruiting singers by posting flyers on and around the University of Denver campus, in music stores, bookstores, barbershops and restaurants, and posting ads on Craigslist and in the various county newspapers. Surprisingly, her most recent success in getting the word out has been talking with people and putting up flyers in piano and karoke bars. The response has been phenomenal and Valerie constantly amazed and thrilled with the quality and talent of the people who have joined the Chorale.
If you enjoy performing choral music and want to share the enthusiasm and friendship of fellow singers, please contact Valerie to schedule your audition!
Lori Hermanson, Principal Accompanist
Lori Hermanson received her degree in Piano Performance from the University of Denver and has been performing and teaching in the Denver area for many years. She has performed as soloist with the Denver Symphony Orchestra and the Lamont Symphony, and in a variety of chamber ensembles. An active collaborator for many local singers and musicians, she also served as rehearsal pianist and musical assistant for Opera Colorado for more than 25 years. She specializes in collaborative work, and performs regularly with area choral ensembles, school groups, voice and instrumental teaching studios and churches. She is an experienced style and diction coach for singers with expertise in many languages, and also maintains an active studio of piano students.
Board of Directors
The Denver Chorale board is made up of volunteer members, both singers and non-singers, who meet at least monthly to assist in the management of the organization, including fundraising, marketing, grantwriting and more.
Sara Knudsen, vice-president and print and digital marketing/webmaster
Sara is the owner of Gold Stripe Consulting, LLC, a graphic and web design marketing firm located in Littleton, Colorado. Sara has been a member of the Chorale since 2014 and active on the board since joining, in various positions. In addition to singing with the Chorale, she loves to spend time with her husband and two young daughters.
Ron Winsor, treasurer
Ron is a retired corporate manager for aviation operations in Europe as well as the United States. He brings organizational and financial management skills to the board, as well as a love of choral singing! Ron has enjoyed performing in choral groups in high school, college and the Navy, and has served on the board since May 2016.
Mike Lewis, secretary
Mike Lewis has been a member of the Denver Chorale since the fall 2022 season and joined the board in spring 2023. He is a software engineer and entrepreneur, founding a venture-backed tech company in Denver. Mike has been involved in music since he was seven, singing in various community and high school/university choirs, as well as playing percussion in orchestras and marching bands.
Andrea Batson, volunteer coordinator
Andrea Batson joined the Denver Chorale in the fall of 2019 and began serving on the board in 2022. Her musical experience includes singing in church, school and community choirs as well as serving as church instrumentalist and youth choir director for many years. She currently teaches piano and voice at her home studio in Castle Pines and is very happy to have found the warm and welcoming Denver Chorale!
Lindsay Dvorak, fundraising/grant writing
Lindsay Dvorak joined the Denver Chorale in fall 2022 and began serving on the board the following year. She is a marketing professional and entrepreneur, founding Personal Account, a mental wellness brand, and Copious Content, a boutique content marketing agency based in Englewood, Colorado. Lindsay’s musical experience began at age six, with both band and choir becoming a key facet in her life all the way through high school and beyond.
Rachel Schaefer, president
Rachel Schaefer has been a member of the Denver Chorale for three years and has been singing in various capacities for 30 years. She loves working with people and the community. As president and fundraising chair of the board, she enjoys managing the annual silent auction.
Katie Busser
Jamie Brandess
Jamie Brandess joined the Chorale in 2019 and the board in 2022. Music was always a big part of her life from childhood on, learning piano at age six, violin and clarinet at age 10 and saxophone at age 14, all the while singing in various choirs throughout the years. She continued her musical endeavors all the way through college where she continued to participate in a band, an orchestra and two choir groups. After nearly 10 years away from music, she joined the Denver Chorale to rekindle this passion. As her career, Jamie has worked with various nonprofits and her current position is as a program director for the Boulder Small Business Development Center.