Artistic Staff
Conductor and Artistic Director
Jeremy D. Matheis, Bass/Baritone, is equally at home on the stage as a performer, singer, and conductor. He is a dynamic young choral conductor based in Seattle, Washington and his experience in music is broad, embracing conducting, barber shopping, teaching, singing, and church music. He hails originally from Lynden, Washington and received his B.A. in Music from Trinity Christian College while pursuing advanced studies in voice pedagogy and conducting. Jeremy is currently putting the finishing touches on his M.M. in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington. A man of diverse musical interests and talents, Mr. Matheis is currently Director of Music Ministries / Choirmaster at Sandpoint Community United Methodist Church in Seattle, Washington. He is also Director of the Seattle SeaChordsmen, a Barbershop chorus in the Barbershop Harmony Society. He has extensive background in many different areas of music including all aspects of church music, Pre-K music education, and teaching at the Seattle Music Conservatory. Mr. Matheis' work as a conductor has brought him increasing distinction, focusing on building communication through gesture and expressivity. In addition to an expanding conducting and solo singing career, Matheis sings weekly with the St. Marks Compline choir and directs on ocassion.
Accompanist
Jenessa Gonzales was born and raised in Puyallup, WA, the third of six children. From an early age, piano was a part of daily life for her and her siblings – she is thankful to her mother for insisting upon lessons and adequate practice, for it later instilled a love for music that continues to grow even now. Jenessa began to be serious about music during high school, and taught private piano lessons for five years until attending The Master’s College in Southern California to pursue a music degree. Blessed with incredible and gifted faculty and instructors, Jenessa was able to graduate in 2009 with a Bachelor’s in Music (classical piano) with an emphasis in Communication. Since then, she has most recently traveled abroad to Israel, doing volunteer work, and even teaching a little piano on the side, developing a real heart and passion for traveling, and Israel especially. But for now, she is very grateful and eager for the opportunity to gain experience in the field of choral accompaniment, and is excited to be a part of the Cascade Foothills Chorale!
Organization
Board of Directors
President, Bonnie Azzelino
Vice president, Betsy Sunada
Secretary, Sherry Klein
Treasurer, Earl Barker
Member-at-large, Jack Oxford
Our Mission
To be recognized as one of the premier choral groups in the Puget Sound area by:
• Creating an atmosphere of fun and musical fellowship for our members
• Being active in the artistic concerns of our communities
• Providing a rewarding, inspiring and enjoyable music experience for our audiences and our performers!
History
The 50-voice, Cascade Foothills Chorale is a non-audition adult choir
which began as a group of community members who gathered to provide
music at the 1976 Bi-Centennial celebration of local church. The group
began as BECCO (Buckley, Enumclaw Community Choral Organization)and was
later called Northwest ECCO (Enumclaw Community Choral Organization).
Now known as Cascade Foothills Chorale (CFC), the chorus continues a strong sense of tradition and community. CFC performs concerts semi-annually in spring and winter and enjoys bringing our music to the listeners by performing many additional concerts throughout our community.
Membership
Our membership continues to grow and we welcome new singers.
Rehearsals for the Cascade Foothills Chorale follow the typical public school calendar and occur on Thursday evenings from 7:00 - 9:15 in the Enumclaw High School Choir room. New members are welcomed twice yearly for the first three weeks of each concert season (September and January).
Select Ensembles
There are opportunities each concert season to audition for a select
ensemble that performs music in addition to that which the entire
chorale sings for the chosen concert theme.
Special Numbers
Each concert typically has opportunities to audition to perform a solo
or special group presentation that supports the concert's theme.
Dues
Membership dues are currently $40.00 per concert season ($80.00 per year).
Opportunities to Serve
Chorale members are also encouraged to support the good of the
organization by helping with the non-singing tasks of business needs
and concert production. The opportunities provided are (but not limited
to) the following:
Advertising
Publicity
Ticket Sales
Raffles
Catering
Grant Writing
Program creation
Poster creation
Staging
Concert Attire
Program Scripting
