ORS Youth Choir Artistic Staff
Aubrey Patterson, Artistic Director
Aubrey Patterson (she/her) taught for twelve years as a director of choirs in Oregon public high schools, currently conducts the auditioned treble ensemble at Lewis and Clark, is a University Supervisor for choral teacher candidates for Portland State University, and is the Artistic Director for the Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with honors in music education and vocal performance, as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching with an emphasis in secondary choral music education from Oregon State University. Patterson is currently the Northwest American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Regional Resource and Repertoire Coordinator for kindergarten through twelfth grade, and the Oregon ACDA Resource and Repertoire Area Chair.
Patterson taught for six years as director of choirs at West Linn High School, growing the program to create a full-time, comprehensive choral curriculum at a 6A high school. Her program earned its first state title in 2019 (pre-Covid) and its second “consecutive” state title in 2022. Internationally, Ms. Patterson has served as director of choirs at the Sichuan, China Conservatory of Music summer camp, and as the assistant choir director of the Oregon Ambassadors of Music Europe tour.
Patterson spent seven years at Corvallis High School, restructuring and cultivating a choral program that won the choir state championship in 2015, 2016, and 2017, and was invited to perform at the American Choral Directors Association Northwest Conference.
Patterson is the youngest ever Oregon-certified choral adjudicator and enjoys adjudicating, clinician work, and premiering new and commissioned works with her ensembles. She was the associate director of Corvallis Repertory Singers with Dr. Steven Zielke during her time in Corvallis and is the inaugural recipient of the Young Conductor Award from Oregon ACDA. Her passions include developing strong music literacy skills, working with singers of all ages, selecting innovative repertoire that builds empathy and understanding, establishing a choir culture that fosters leadership and collaboration, and using music to build strong communities. She enjoys the outdoors, being in water in any capacity, and adventures with her partner Nathan, new family addition Silas William, and goldendoodle Zoey Jane.
Stevie Baker, Kinder - 2nd Grade Conductor — Central
Stevie Baker graduated in 2020 with a choral music education degree from Northern Arizona University and sang for three years in the Shrine of the Ages choir under the direction of Dr. Edith Copley. Post graduation, Stevie came back to the Pacific Northwest and is in her fourth year of teaching general music at Milwaukie El Puente Elementary. In 2022–2023 she was a part of a committee of three music teachers in the North Clackamas school district that created a district-wide elementary music scope & sequence. Stevie has gigged by singing, playing piano, and conducting at churches in the Portland area and currently sings in Portland Symphonic choir. Stevie is thrilled to be a part of the Oregon Repertory Singers community and strives to empower young singers by providing a safe space for young musicians to be themselves. In her free time Stevie runs half marathons, rock climbs, bird watches, and spends time with her three cats Olive, Autumn, and Phoenix.
Koren Russ, 3rd–8th Grade Conductor — Central
Koren Russ graduated from Oregon State University in 1998. She is a music educator in the Beaverton School District and has 25 years of experience working with students from kindergarten through eighth grade. With her vibrant personality and humor, Koren connects to students using her knowledge of choral techniques and musicianship to educate each student based on their current skills. Her passion is creating joyful musical experiences with all singers.
Katey Simmons, Associate Director and Like Voice Conductor – Central
Katey Simmons (they/them) is the current choral director at Franklin High School in the Portland Public School District and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Oregon State University. They are passionate about healthy and versatile vocal development, literacy skills, and student empowerment through music making. Teacher Simmons is a treble music enthusiast, the 6-12 Like-Voice Treble Conductor for ORS Youth Choirs, and a proud alto one in the adult Oregon Repertory Singers choir. Katey enjoys exploring many genres of music, reading, being outside, and spending time with their cat Midnight.
Jimmy Brown, Like Voice Conductor – Central
Jimmy Brown (he/him) is a 5th-year music educator. He currently teaches elementary music in the Gresham-Barlow school district. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2019 with a Bachelors of Music in Music Education. While studying in Eugene, Jimmy sang in the UO Chamber choir for four years under the direction of Dr. Sharon Paul, participated in the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, held a section leader role in the chorale of the Central Lutheran Church of Eugene, and sang for the academic early music ensemble, Vox Resonat. He currently sings with the local Portland choir, In Medio.
Before attending university, Jimmy attended Reynolds High School and was part of youth ensembles in Portland. His formative experiences with youth ensembles propelled him to pursue music education. He believes that making music within an ensemble is one of the most rewarding and humbling experiences a person can have. With music being his foremost passion, Jimmy also enjoys spending time exploring the Portland food scene and book stores with his wife, Christina, and their two dogs, Luna and Nova.
Amberlynn Lane, Elementary Conductor – North
Amberlynn Lane (she/her/they) has been teaching elementary general and choral music for twelve years. She taught for two years in Oregon after receiving a Masters of Arts in Teaching at Oregon State University and has since been teaching in the Evergreen School District in Vancouver, Washington. A National Board-Certified Teacher in Early Childhood Music, Lane has presented sessions at Washington Music Educators Association and the national Modern Band Summit hosted by MusicWill. She currently serves as the Northwest Modern Band Association vice-president and previously served as an elementary representative and equity committee member for the Washington Music Educators Association. Amberlynn holds certifications in World Music Pedagogy and Modern Band levels 101 and 102. Additionally, she studied composition with Robert Dickow, Dan Buckvich, and Charles Argersinger, at Washington State and the University of Idaho.
Amberlynn vividly remembers begging her parents to sign her up for choir when she was in elementary school and is thrilled to be bringing that opportunity to young singers in Southwest Washington. She is quite sure that “musicking” with children is the most fun, and loves to teach literacy and musicianship in creative, student-centered ways.
Cindy Mair, Collaborative Pianist
Cindy Mair (she/her) joined ORS Youth Choir as a collaborative pianist in the Fall of 2022. She retired from a 36-year Kindergarten–12th grade music teaching career in 2016. Cindy's specialties included elementary classroom music in addition to middle and high school choral instruction. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Oregon State University and later her master's in administrative leadership from Concordia University. Cindy has accompanied many ensembles and soloists at both the local and state level. She feels she has come full circle in her musical journey as she was a proud alto in the Oregon Repertory Singers in the mid-1980s!
Gary Skye, Elementary Accompanist – West
Gary Skye M.Mus. studied piano at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY and earned a B.A. in psychology at Stanford University and a master's degree in piano performance at Portland State University, studying with Lisa Marsh. An active collaborative pianist, Gary regularly accompanies vocalists and instrumentalists in the area. Equally comfortable with contemporary and classical genres, Gary has collaborated with national and international touring artists and has recorded albums of original music. He has also been a frequent guest singer-songwriter/pianist for numerous church congregations across the country. Gary serves as Music Director for Lake Oswego United Church of Christ.
Stacey Philipps, Composer-in-Residence
Stacey Philipps writes music to share the thrill of creation, collaboration, and performance influenced by modal harmonies, folk songs, hymns, shape note music, and the melodic and rhythmic elements of the world around her. This “rising star,” (Oregon Arts Watch) is one of “Portland’s most forward-thinking composers,” (Willamette Week) who is “establishing a new normal of what will someday be called early 21st-century classical music” (Oregon Arts Watch). An early- and new-music devotee, Philipps is a multi-instrumentalist and lifelong singer currently in the alto section of the Oregon Repertory Singers, as well as the Composer-in-Residence for the Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir.
Her music for choirs, chamber ensembles, soloists, and orchestras has been performed across North America, and she holds degrees in composition from Portland State University and in philosophy from St. John’s College, Santa Fe. Philipps is a member of the American Composers Forum, the American Choral Directors Association, and ASCAP, as well as the proprietor of Sirensong Publishing, the primary distributor of her work. Find more information about Stacey Philipps, and see and hear her music at www.staceyphilipps.com.
Learn more about our Composer-in-Residence program.
Photos by Richard Poppino