Patricia Thel, Artistic Director, earned her BM in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her MM from East Carolina University where she also taught undergraduate courses. Ms. Thel conducts the Westminster Conservatory Children’s Choir, a position she has held for over 20 years. She is conductor of Westminster Choir College’s Middle School Vocal Camp and has also served as an adjunct in the music education department. Before coming to Westminster, she was a choral conductor and teacher in the suburban school districts of Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, assistant conductor at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, and a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus under the direction of Robert Shaw. Prior to her appointment as Artistic Director of the Trenton Children’s Chorus, she was the middle school choral conductor and teacher for Princeton Day School.

Maureen Llort, Program Manager, has served the Chorus since 1997 as a volunteer administrator, founding board member, grant writer, and since 2010 as Program Manager. She received the 2003 Governor's Volunteer Award in the Arts for her work with the Chorus. Mrs. Llort is a retired professional double bassist whose career included performances with the Dallas Symphony, Dallas Opera, New Jersey Symphony, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Philadelphia Opera Company, Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia and the Richardson Chamber Players of Princeton University. For more than thirty years she maintained a private studio and was for ten years adjunct faculty at Princeton University. A product of excellent public school music education and scholarship assistance for private lessons, she knows the transformative power of the arts and firmly believes that music education is the birthright of every child.

Gloria Bethea, Choir Manager and Learning Academy Director, is a retired Nurse Clinician with undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She credits patient education training for equipping her to homeschool her nine children. A sought-after tutor, her tutoring and nursing philosophies are the same: always consider the whole person when serving someone- their attitude, informational processes strengths and weaknesses, learning style, nutritional health, organizational skills and personality. Gloria enthusiastically looks forward to teaching Learning Coaches and students to apply these principles in TCC's newly formed Learning Academy. She is a founding member of the TCC advisory board and has served on the board of MentorPOWER, as a volunteer writing coach for Trenton Central High School, and as a member of the Action Team that researched, evaluated and planned the reorganization of Trenton Central High School into career focused, small learning communities. Mrs. Bethea is appreciative of the depth of personal growth opportunities the Chorus afforded her sons and daughters and is convinced that choral experience provides youth with ideal opportunities for development of self-discipline, collaborative skills and appreciation of cultural diversity.

Desiree Melegrito, Preparatory I Choir Director, holds a BM in Music Education and Piano Performance from Ithaca College. She also holds an MM in Music Education and an MM in Piano Performance from Westminster Choir College of Rider University. A former faculty member at Westminster Conservatory, she currently teaches choral and general music at Chapin School in Princeton. She is a certified Orff-Schulwerk specialist and has received training in Kodaly methodology. Ms. Melegrito is on a leave of absence for 2011-12.

Lucy Salome Strauli, Preparatory II Choir Director, received her MM from Manhattan School of Music, her BM from San Jose State University, and is a former Tanglewood Vocal Fellow. She is a music teacher in the New Brunswick Public Schools where she was named Teacher of the Year in 2007-08. Ms. Strauli is a frequent guest soloist on the music stage, performing a diverse range of opera, concert and musical theater repertoire.

Eric Thomas, Drumming Instructor, has taught elementary school in Trenton, New Brunswick and Ewing for 13 years. He attended Howard University and later transferred to Rider University where he received his Bachelor’s degree, and is currently seeking his Master’s in Education Leadership from the College of New Jersey. In addition to drumming, his interests include jazz, music, poetry, art, dance, storytelling and writing stories for children. Mr. Thomas was named Teacher of the Year by the Trenton Board of Education in 2002 and 2008. He is the recipient of the 2010 Community Care Award given by the Three Doctors Foundation and the 2010 Ray Broach Award for the Arts given by the Ewing Public Education Foundation.

Ashley Dugas, Assistant Conductor and 2011-12 Director of Preparatory Choir I, is currently a candidate for a BM in Music Education with an emphasis on vocal music at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. She holds certification in the O Passo technique, Level 1 certification in Critical Pedagogy, and is pursuing certification in Kodaly methodology. Mrs. Dugas has performed in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center with New York Philharmonic, Berlin Staatskapelle Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the San Francisco Symphony. She has taught music and performing arts at The Bridge Academy of Lawrenceville, NJ and is the former Assistant Choir Director at the Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility in Bordentown, NJ.

Jo-Ann Rubay Sciarrotta, Staff Accompanist, holds a BA and Supervisory Certification in Music Education from The College of New Jersey and a MM in Piano Performance from Boston University. Her post-graduate studies continued in Europe and at Westminster Choir College. Jo-Ann currently serves as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Art, Media and Music of The College of New Jersey. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Ms. Sciarrotta performs with the Boheme Opera Company, Greater Trenton Choral Society, St. Bartholomew Evangelical Lutheran Church in Trenton, Wedded Bliss, The Academy Theatre in Bordentown, St. Vincent DePaul Church in Yardville, and Trenton Civic Opera Company, and is also a freelance accompanist.

Meagan Lee Johnson, Staff Accompanist, is a recent graduate of Westminster Choir College’s Masters Program where she studied Voice Pedagogy and Performance. Meagan received her Bachelor of Music in Classical Voice Performance at WCSU. Meagan has been teaching private voice and piano lessons since 2007 while assisting at numerous studios and schools with accompanying and vocal instruction. Currently she teaches voice and piano at the Chapin School, Destiny Arts and Cornerstone Music Studios. She has also worked as music director for high school and community productions such as High School Musical, Beauty and the Beast, Hello Dolly, and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. In addition to teaching, Meagan has gained valuable performing experience in university opera productions and choral works on the prestigious stages of Carnegie Hall, Avery Fischer Hall at Lincoln Center and the Kimmel Center.