KIRBY STALLEY

Conducting Fellow  (2019-2020, 2020-2021 & 2021-2022)

Kirby Stalley grew up in Vernon, CT and is a Rockville High School alum. His love of and involvement in music began at a very young age singing with the Connecticut Children’s Chorus and conducting the choir from the pews of the church he attended. He sang throughout his high school years and attended many Vernon Chorale concerts. Kirby attended Luther College in Decorah, IA, where he studied music and sang in their flagship choir, The Nordic Choir. While there, Kirby worked closely with world-renowned conductors including Dr. Allen Hightower, Dr. Andrew Last, Dr. Jeffrey Douma, Dr. Ann Howard Jones, and Dr. Kenneth Fulton. During his time in the Connecticut Children’s Chorus and at Luther, Kirby toured throughout the United States and Europe. He also led a student-run a cappella chamber choir, Jubilus. In the summer of 2016, he founded and directed the choral ensemble, Vox Popluli, to perform a benefit concert for The Hockanum Valley Community Council. He has directed many choirs in his young career, including choirs in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. Kirby sings baritone with the professional, Boston based vocal ensemble, Nightingale, and serves as their Chair of Audience Development. He also serves as Director of Music at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Westborough, MA. Kirby is excited to work with both The Vernon Chorale and Ehren to hone his skills in the art of conducting, an art form he has loved since a young age, and create great music with and for the community that is close to his heart.

LIZ BOLOGNA

Conducting Fellow  (2017-2018 & 2018-2019)

Liz Bologna is a professional singer in the Greater Hartford and Greater Springfield areas. She earned her B.A. in English from UCONN and M.A. in English Literature from Boston College. While attending UCONN, she sang in a number of ensembles and gained greater appreciation for an interest in vocal technique and choral music, and has been absorbed in the choral experience ever since. She credits her initial passion for choral music to her time spent singing under the direction of Dr. Eric Rice and Dr. Constance DeFotis. Liz became a Choral Fellow with the Vernon Chorale from 2006 – 2009, and continued to sing with the Chorale through 2011. While in Boston she was a member of Musica Sacra and the Boston Chorale Ensemble, where her dedication as a chorister and her interest in conducting grew while working with Dr. Andrew Shenton. In addition to stepping into the Vernon Chorale’s Conducting Fellow program, Liz currently sings locally with Voce Inc., Novi Cantori, and cantors at St. Bernard Church in Rockville. She also had the recent privilege to work with acclaimed composers Ola Gjeilo and Paul Mealor, and currently studies voice with Craig Hart. She is also the Executive Director of Women Composers Festival of Hartford. Liz is grateful for the opportunity to take the next step in her music career with the Vernon Chorale, conducting the genre she so deeply loves.

BRYAN THOMAS NIEDERMAYER

Conducting Fellow  (2015-2016 & 2016-2017)

Bryan Thomas Niedermayer is a multi-faceted musician: an accomplished tenor, a bass player in rock bands, a pianist and organist for several churches, and an emerging composer and conductor. His talents and energy transcends any one genre.

Bryan’s love of music began with singing with his family when he was a young child. He has since earned his bachelor’s degree in music education at Central Connecticut State University and performed across the US and Europe, including a concert tour in France in 2006. Other highlights include performances of Eric Whitacre’s Paradise Lost Shadows and Wings in 2011 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, This Shining Night: The Music of Eric Whitacre and Morten Lauridsen in 2012 at Carnegie Hall, and Defying Gravity: The Music of Eric Whitacre and Stephen Schwartz in 2014 at Avery Fisher Hall. While a student at CCSU, Bryan refined his vocal and conducting skills and fell in love with composing. His choral settings have been performed by choirs all over the country. Bryan is thrilled to be the Vernon Chorale’s Conducting Fellow and to continue learning and growing on his musical journey.