UW Sings

Heidi Blythe (she/they) has sung professionally with the Byrd Ensemble, Radiance, SoundCity Singers, and the St. James Cathedral Cantorei. Heidi appeared as alto soloist for Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem, and Considering Matthew Shepard.

An experienced choral director, Heidi is the assistant conductor of Seattle Pro Musica, a nationally recognized ensemble which won the Margaret Hillis award for Choral Excellence and the ASCAP Choral Award for Adventurous Programming. Heidi currently works with SPM's Chroma and Orpheon ensembles. She recently directed the Fauré Requiem for the Music Guild at St. Thomas Episcopal Church with soloists Charles Robert Stephens and Natalie Ingrisano.

Heidi spent thirteen years as the Director of Music at University Congregational United Church of Christ, leading a music program that encompassed seven ensembles and as many as 180 participants a year. A passionate advocate of congregational music-making, Heidi presented a workshop on multi-generational music at the national convention of the United Church of Christ Musicians Association. She twice served as music director for the Pacific Northwest Conference of the UCC.

Heidi provided rehearsal direction for the Seattle Symphony Chorale at the behest of associate conductor Christian Knapp. She was the Gregg Smith Singers’ first choral fellow at the Adirondack Festival of American music, singing with the ensemble under Gregg’s direction, as well as that of Margaret Hillis, Vance George, and Dave Brubeck. She was a research associate at the Smithsonian Institution, working on a joint project on American musicals with the National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of American History.

Heidi received a Masters in Choral Music Education from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance, where she studied voice with John Gillas and John Charles Pierce, and studied conducting with Sandra Snow and Jerry Blackstone. She was the recipient of the Margaret V. Hood prize and appeared on the Classical GRAMMY-winning album “Songs of Innocence and Experience”. While at Smith College, she studied voice with Jane Bryden and organ with Grant Moss, and was the recipient of the Harriet Dey Barnum and Sarah H. Hamilton prizes in music, and the Imogene Mahony Memorial and Constance Kambour Edwards prizes for organ. 

Heidi lives in Seattle with her spouse, Owen, and her children, Felix and Oscar. 

Photo credit: Danielle Barnum Photography

Adam Freemantle (he/him/his) is a graduate student of choral conducting at the University of Washington. Born and raised in the Seattle area, Adam attended Shorewood High School in Shoreline, WA where he spent the majority of his time involved with the performing arts including choir, band and theater. He then completed his undergraduate studies at Western Washington University where he graduated Magna cum laude in Music Education and Vocal Performance. After student teaching with Justin Wisness at Rogers High School, he taught choir at Maple View Middle School in the Tahoma School District.

Currently, Adam currently co-directs the UW Glee Club and sings in Chamber Singers, Recital Choir, and Cohort Ensemble. Outside of his work at UW, Adam also directs the Youth and Children's choirs at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church and is an assistant football coach at Tahoma High School (Go Bears). 

Julianna Grabowski is a conductor, music educator, soprano and pianist from Syracuse, New York. Her passion for teaching and performing has led her to obtain two Bachelor of Music degrees from the State University of New York at Fredonia in Music Education and Vocal Performance, studying both voice and piano. She earned a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Duquesne University, where she also served as the Graduate Assistant to Duquesne’s Choral Department. 

As a professional soprano, Julianna was a Young Artist with Finger Lakes Opera and has performed with professional groups including the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, Lake Junaluska Singers in North Carolina, and The Dukes Music in Pittsburgh. She has also worked as a collaborative pianist at public schools and universities across the states of New York and Pennsylvania. Her recent work includes the positions of Conductor, Private Voice Instructor, and Accompanist with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and the Director of Children’s Music Ministries at Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City. Julianna is currently pursuing a doctorate in choral conducting at the University of Washington. 

Michael McKenzie is an international award-winning conductor and music educator, whose work centers around the power that choral music has to affect social change. They serve as a Managing Director of Voices for Social Justice, a national nonprofit organization whose work combines social activism with justice-centered artistic expression through performance, resources, and community collaboration. Outside of VFSJ, Michael serves as the Director of Music at Magnolia United Church of Christ. Most recently, they served as Director of the Bellevue Chamber Chorus during their gold medal winning performance at the 2024 World Choir Games in Auckland, New Zealand. 

Michael is currently pursuing their DMA in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington School of Music. Prior to this, they graduated with an MM in Choral Conducting, with honors, from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University – Long Beach. There, Michael served as the director of ConChord, a student community chorus, and as a teaching assistant for the University Choir and Bob Cole Chamber Choir. For their Master's Recital, Michael earned honorable mention as a finalist for the American Prize's Dale Warland Award for Collegiate Choral Conductors. 

Michael was the Founder and Director of two Social Justice Choirs at Gustavus Adolphus College, and their performances earned them 2nd place in The American Prize for Choral Conducting - Community Division and an invitation to present a concert at The 2020 Nobel Conference. Michael graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College, summa cum laude, in 2019 with a BA in Music Education and certification in K-12 Vocal, Instrumental, and Classroom music. Michael is a member of the Music Honors Society Pi Kappa Lambda and the Education Honors Society Kappa Delta Pi, and holds professional affiliations with the American Choral Director’s Association, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, and the National Associate for Music Education.

Miami-born Alexandra Rameau is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Florida International University and has built a distinguished career in music education and choral performance. Before relocating to the Pacific Northwest, Rameau worked with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, where she dedicated herself to fostering musical literacy among young learners while creating a nurturing, community-centered environment.

Rameau’s professional experience includes working with the Master Chorale of South Florida, a renowned symphony chorus that has performed a diverse repertoire ranging from Beethoven to Broadway, and Bach to Bernstein.

Guided by a strong teaching philosophy, Rameau believes in the transformative power of music education and performance. Her goal is to instill in her students not only technical proficiency but also the ability to convey a powerful musical message. As one of the co-directors of the University Singers, she brings an infectious passion for musical diversity and a spirit of joy to the ensemble, creating an atmosphere where every voice is heard and celebrated.

Canadian conductor-educator-tenor Nicholas Renaud is passionate about working with others toward musical growth and dynamic performances. Currently, Nicholas is pursuing his DMA in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington under the supervision of Dr. Geoffrey Boers and Dr. Giselle Wyers, where he serves as Assistant Conductor of the award-winning UW Chorale, co-conductor of the UW Recital Choir, the Glee Club Tenor-Bass Choir, and Choral Cohort Ensemble, and as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Music.

Out in the community, Nicholas works frequently as a tenor, guest conductor, clinician and French-language diction coach for local choirs and serves as Artistic Director of La Chorale francophone de Seattle, a multi-generational community choir specializing in the performance of French-language music from around the world. He also serves as Associate Artistic Director of the Magnolia Chorale, a large, auditioned multigenerational concert choir which regularly performs major works. Prior to commencing his studies at UW, Nicholas conducted a variety of community bands and choirs and had a busy career teaching K-12 Music and French classes in public schools and serving his fellow teachers as a union activist in and around Vancouver, Canada.

Nicholas holds degrees and graduate-level diplomas in music, French and education from some of Canada's top universities. While completing his Bachelor of Music at the University of Victoria, he served as Assistant Director of the Vocal Jazz Ensemble and Chamber Singers, and as Conductor of the Massed Men's Choir and Director of the Vocal Jazz Women's Chorus, Ellavation. He has been the recipient of numerous fellowships, scholarships and awards, but his proudest accomplishment throughout his studies was receiving the Outstanding Practicum Award from the University of British Columbia. This was given in recognition of Nicholas' dedication, commitment and diligence while teaching high school students in choir, band and IB French classes during his Bachelor of Education degree. 

An earnest scholar, Nicholas' research interests include inclusive and decolonial approaches to leadership and pedagogy, incorporating voice science in the choral rehearsal process, empathetic choral conducting, and early Canadian choral music. Nicholas is devoted to building community and cooperation through the study of music, engaging in innovative teaching that involves a variety of approaches and activities to foster teamwork. He works hard to empower others––no matter their age or experience level––to develop confidence as they learn to express their creativity through group music-making and engaging musical performances.