vivace-youth-chorus-of-san-jos-142346

Marina Box

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 19:23:14 GMT

Marina Box

Artistic Staff

Marina Box

Associate Conductor

Choir: Primo

Marina joined Vivace in fall 2025, and has a wealth of experience working with young musicians. In addition to her work with Vivace, she serves in several roles at My Little Conservatory in Willow Glen. She is a piano and voice instructor, Kindermusik teacher, and serves as a Mentor Teacher for their private lesson teaching team.

Marina completed a dual degree from San José State University in both Music Education and Vocal Performance. While at SJSU, she was very involved in the choirs where she served as Soprano Section Leader for several years. Marina has traveled internationally to Ireland and the Baltic states with the Choraliers, the top chamber ensemble at SJSU. Her most recent engagements have been singing with Josh Groban on his Bridges tour, performing in the chorus for the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, and touring Spain and Portugal with her community chorus. She is also the Soprano Section Leader for Peninsula Cantare Community Chorus.

Rachael Ostrowski

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 20:18:25 GMT

Rachael Ostrowski

Board Members

Rachael Ostrowski

Member

Rachael is a passionate advocate for the arts and youth development, bringing a wealth of experience in supporting the well-being of young people. As a professional working in the mental health field, she has dedicated her career to helping middle school students and teens navigate their mental health journeys and build resilience. This experience has given her a profound understanding of the distinct challenges and needs of young community members.

For the past four years, Rachael has seen the transformative power of Vivace firsthand as a proud parent of two children who have been active members. She has witnessed the profound impact the program has had on their growth and development, fostering not only their musical talents but also their confidence, collaboration skills, and sense of belonging.

She is honored to serve on the Vivace board to help the organization continue to play such a vital role in the lives of so many young people.

Noëlle Rábago

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 20:15:31 GMT

Noëlle Rábago

Board Members

Noëlle Rábago

Member

Noëlle Rábago is an immigrant and lifelong San José resident, and a proud graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School and the University of San Francisco. She also attended San José State University, where she performed internationally with the renowned SJSU Choraliers.

She currently serves as the Corporate Outreach Officer for the City of San José’s Office of Economic Development, where she focuses on developing and advancing the City’s initiatives around semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and AI—working closely with partners to attract and retain innovative businesses.

Community service has always been central to her life. In addition to Vivace Youth Chorus, Noëlle serves on the boards of the SJSU Filipino Alumni Network, Abraham Lincoln High School Foundation, and Health Connected. She also chairs the Larry Itliong Way Project and serves on the San José Advisory Board of Juma Ventures.

Outside of work and volunteering, Noëlle enjoys being a parent to two young adults, reading books across most genres, and cooking, baking, and entertaining friends.

Karen Eshoff

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 20:11:53 GMT

Karen Eshoff

Board Members

Karen Eshoff

Member

Karen is a new addition to the Vivace Board. She is a retired elementary school office assistant from Campbell Union School District. Karen plays the clarinet in the Saratoga Community Band and in the past was a member of the Ohlone College Wind Orchestra and the San José Wind Symphony. Karen worked for the San José Symphony many years ago where one of her jobs was managing the Youth Orchestra, so she brings a passion for music and kids to the Vivace Community. She also is the proud grandmother of a current Vivace singer!

Kyle Ball

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 17:39:17 GMT

Kyle Ball

Artistic Staff

Kyle Ball

Associate Conductor

Choirs: Adagio, Andante

Email: KYLE@VIVACEYOUTHCHORUS.ORG

Kyle Ball (he/him) is a life-long singer, having grown up singing in choir and performing in musicals. After high school, he continued his studies at Western Michigan University where he earned a Bachelor's in Music Education. While at Western he performed in a number of choral ensembles and operas. After his undergraduate work, he taught choir at Frontier High School in Bakersfield, California. There his ensembles consistently earned Excellent and Superior ratings, including multiple Command Performances at the Fresno State Choral Festival. Later, Kyle earned his Master's degree in Choral Conducting at San Jose State University, and then taught 7th-12th grade at Pacific Collegiate School in Santa Cruz. He is excited to work with the amazing students of Vivace.

Alan Spool

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:45:23 GMT

Alan Spool

Board Emeriti

Alan Spool

Emeriti, founding board member

Alan, a PhD chemist, applies his more than 35 years' experience in the disk drive industry to solve problems in disk drive technology using analytical techniques (research, development, and manufacturing). He is the husband of Peggy Spool, Artistic Director Emerita of Vivace and a co-founder of the organization. When a group of parents joined forces in 2003 to create a children's chorus for San José and asked Peggy to be its director, Alan joined the initial board and took on the herculean task of incorporating Vivace and obtaining our 501(c)(3) non-profit status. Alan continues to be a dedicated and active supporter of Vivace, on and off the board. He most recently served as Treasurer, a role he held from time to time since the chorus was formed.

Susan Peterson

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:43:31 GMT

SUSAN PETERSON

Board Emeriti

SUSAN PETERSON

Emeriti

Susan is an environmental health and safety professional and the parent of a Vivace singer. She joined the Vivace board in 2014 with the desire to help establish the chorus program in East San José, which successfully ran from 2011 to 2020. During that time, she served as a liaison with the evolving East Side parent community and advised the board on marketing, recruitment, and other facets of building Vivace's presence there.

Teresa Meyer-Calvert

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:40:11 GMT

Teresa Meyer-Calvert

Board Emeriti

Teresa Meyer-Calvert

Board Emeriti

Email: president@vivaceyouthchorus.org

Teresa is an analyst with over 20 years experience in local government and in the areas of boards and commissions management, budget development, recruitment, and professional development training. She joined the board in 2017 and started serving as board president in 2019. Teresa loved to sing in her youth but only spent one year in choir with most of her time dedicated to ballet. She has three singers who are in their 10th year with Vivace, all participating in our performing choirs.

Emma Eaton

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:37:05 GMT

Emma Eaton

Board Members

Emma Eaton

Member

Emma Eaton was a member of Vivace from 2008–2014. After graduating from teen choir, she went on to Cornell University where she sang with The Key Elements co-ed a cappella group for four years. She believes that there is a unique joy that comes from being part of a singing community. As alumni representative, Emma is dedicated to making sure that Vivace continues to represent the spirit that makes this organization so much fun to be a part of. When she is not singing or cooking, Emma can be found hard at work studying to be a clinical psychologist.

Babette McKay

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:34:26 GMT

Babette McKay

Board Members

Babette McKay

Member

Babette is a human resources and volunteer management professional with expertise in local government and non-profit organizations. She was an active Vivace parent for 10 years and plays oboe with several ensembles and chamber groups, including Nova Vista Symphony. Babette joined the Vivace board in 2019.

Jackson Baker

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:32:06 GMT

Jackson Baker

Board Members

Jackson Baker

Member

A student in the Instrumental Music Education Program at San José State University, Jackson is a freelance trombone player and educator. Having worked with student organizations and non-profit startups in the past, combining that with music education makes him excited to be on the Vivace team!

Lou De La Rosa

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:30:13 GMT

Lou De La Rosa

Board Members

Lou De La Rosa

Member

Lou De La Rosa is the Director of Choral and Vocal Studies and Chairman of the Performing Arts Department in the Cilker School of Art & Design at West Valley College. His choirs have performed in the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, as well as historic venues in Europe and throughout the United States.

Lou has taught music in San Jose for nearly 40 years, thirteen of which were at Abraham Lincoln High School, where his choirs regularly received first-place awards at national music festivals and competitions. He has actively served his profession on the boards of numerous organizations. As President of the California chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, ACDA, he led the founding of the California Choral Directors Association, a 501c3 corporation. As President of the ACDA Western Region (2020-2022) he led the five-state region through the uncertainty of the pandemic, first by establishing a 90-member COVID-19 Task Force for Innovation that provided resources to countless directors, and then leading the organization of the first post-pandemic regional conference in Long Beach.

He was twice named Teacher of the Year at his schools and was awarded the Outstanding Choral Music Educator Award in 2016 from CMEA (California Music Educators Assn) Bay Section, and the CMEA Choral Educator Award in 2017 from the statewide professional organization. In 2021, he was honored with the Medal of Honor from the California All-State Music Education Conference for “dedicated service to music education in the State of California.”

Brian Kroneman

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:25:24 GMT

Brian Kroneman

Board Officers

Brian Kroneman

Treasurer

Email: treasurer@vivaceyouthchorus.org

Brian is a dedicated professional in the cybersecurity industry focused on developing worldwide channel sales through a wide array of third-party consultants, resellers, and distributors. He joined the Board in 2021, after years of performance experience with theatrical groups, playing trumpet in bands, and singing with church community choirs, most recently with Resounding Achord and St. Francis Episcopal Church in San José. He has two young musicians in the ranks as well, one of which plays clarinet, while the other sings with Vivace Youth Chorus.

Munni Krishna

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:25:23 GMT

Munni Krishna

Board Officers

Munni Krishna

secretary

Email: SECRETARY@vivaceyouthchorus.org

Munni Krishna is the Head of Business Development at Veloz. She works closely with partners across the public and private sectors to grow Veloz’s national presence and advance our mission to accelerate electric vehicle adoption through member engagement, innovative collaboration, and strategic investment.

Munni brings nearly 20 years of experience at the intersection of clean transportation, policy, and public-private partnership. She has led teams that have secured and administered more than $80 million in federal, state, utility, and foundation funding. Her career includes early work at ChargePoint on fast charging infrastructure, leading policy and incentive strategy at women-founded Gage Zero, and previously working with Veloz to expand its powerhouse membership and national reach.

Munni lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she has proudly driven electric for over a decade. When she’s not championing EVs, she’s cheering on the Warriors, 49ers, and Giants—or supporting youth music education as the Board Secretary of the Vivace Youth Chorus.

Elie Haddad

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:20:48 GMT

Elie Haddad

Board Officers

Elie Haddad

Former Officer

Elie has been managing large environmental projects for the private and public sector for more than 25 years. He is a Principal/Market Segment Leader for Aerospace at Haley & Aldrich where he also served on their Board of Directors for three years. In addition, Elie is a faculty member of the Northwestern Environmental Training Center and is a member of Sustainable Remediation Forum, the International Environmental Aerospace Group, and the Groundwater Resources Association of California. Elie served on the board from 2021-2025 and is also the proud parent of two Vivace alumni.

Maria Oberg

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:18:42 GMT

Maria Oberg

Board Officers

Maria Oberg

President

Maria is the Controller-Treasurer for the County of Santa Clara, and has worked in public services in our community for more than 20 years.

She is originally from Sweden, and is a proud Vivace alumni parent.

Andrea White

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:08:40 GMT

Andrea White

Administrative Staff

Andrea White

Director of Advancement

Email: andrea@vivaceyouthchorus.org

Andrea White joined Vivace in December 2020 as the organization’s Communication & Development Coordinator, and now serves as the Director of Advancement, overseeing all marketing, communications, recruitment, and development efforts for both Vivace’s internal and external community. With a background in non-profit organizations and education, Andrea enjoys bringing her experience in communications, project management, and organizational leadership to support performing arts opportunities for youth.

Before joining Vivace, Andrea was recruited to work at The Tech Interactive (formerly the Tech Museum of Innovation), where she served in multiple roles from 2015 to 2020. After successfully helping implement a new education partnership grant program, Andrea joined the Volunteer Services Department, coordinating volunteers, training, and recruitment. Following a department merge with Human Resources, Andrea became an HR Administration and Recruitment Supervisor.

Andrea’s professional experience also includes providing administrative support for the Visual and Performing Arts Academy at La Mirada High School and nearly a decade working in training, development, project coordination, and accreditation management at Chapman University in Orange, CA.

Andrea earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Public Relations from California State University, Sacramento in 2001. In 2008, she received a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership and a Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership from Chapman University.

In addition to being a vocalist herself, Andrea and her husband Brian are the proud parents of two Vivace singers. She enjoys the outdoors, reading, and making music with her friends and family.

Lou Sullivan

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 23:57:55 GMT

Lou Sullivan

Administrative Staff

Lou Sullivan

Executive Assistant

Email: lou@vivaceyouthchorus.org

Lou Sullivan joined Vivace as an executive assistant in October 2021. They are attending San José State University (SJSU), working towards a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. They sing in the chamber ensemble, Choraliers, under Dr. Jeffrey Benson and in Concert Choir under Dr. Corey Brown. In addition to their classes, they volunteer for different choir events and serve on the board of the student American Choral Directors Association chapter.

In addition to their work with Vivace, Lou currently works as a private music teacher, teaching piano and voice students from the ages of 4 to 70. They grew up with two sisters who danced competitively, and they currently live with their two younger brothers, 13 and 3, who are also being raised as proud musicians.

Danielle Imai

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 23:54:51 GMT

Danielle Imai

Administrative Staff

Danielle Imai

Executive Assistant

Email: danielle@vivaceyouthchorus.org

Danielle has been with Vivace since 2021. She is both Executive Assistant and one of our outreach educators, teaching general music to Kindergarten classes in San Jose. Danielle holds a Bachelor in Music Education with a focus in choral music from San José State University (SJSU), where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. While at University she was involved in a number of performing ensembles including the SJSU Choraliers, Collegium Musicum, and the SJSU Saxophone Orchestra; where she was the mezzo-soprano soloist for the West Coast premiere of Lisa Neher’s “When My Daughter Asked Why There Are Stars, I Said” (2018).

When not with Vivace she also teaches piano lessons and is a certified Kindermusik educator, specializing in early childhood music classes.

Danielle performs as a vocalist around the Bay area, most frequently with local community chorus Resounding Achord, and in the chorus of Opera San Jose.

Kevin Schoenfeld

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 23:36:25 GMT

Kevin Schoenfeld

Artistic Staff

Kevin Schoenfeld

Associate Conductor

Choir: Presto, Adagio

Email: kevin@vivaceyouthchorus.org

Kevin Schoenfeld (He/Him/His) has had a deep passion for music since before he can remember. In fact, his mom says that he would sing before he could speak! This love began with singing in choir as a youngster and expanded into a love for guitar, ukulele and piano as his musical journey progressed.

Kevin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from San José State University (SJSU). There, he was heavily involved in the choir community. Kevin has traveled internationally to Ireland and the Baltic states with the Choraliers, the top chamber ensemble at SJSU. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and sang for Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, and performed for the Game Of Thrones Live Concert Experience. In addition, he contributed countless hours to the a cappella and jazz communities at SJSU. He was president and later musical director for the Tenor and Bass ensemble, a long time singer for the all-gender ensemble and participated in the vocal jazz ensembles for multiple years.

Outside of college, Kevin has stayed true to his choral background. He currently serves as the Bass section leader for Resounding Achord and is a chorus member for both Chromatic Convergence and Pariter, premier ensembles under the umbrella of Resounding Achord Productions. Every week, Kevin gets the privilege to teach private ukulele and guitar to kids at My Little Conservatory. In addition, he is the Lead Trainer for Voyager Craft Coffee.

Kristina Nakagawa

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 23:21:08 GMT

Kristina Nakagawa

Executive Leadership

Kristina Nakagawa

executive Artistic Director

Choirs: Allegro

Email: kristina@vivaceyouthchorus.org

Kristina Nakagawa joined Vivace Youth Chorus as its second artistic director in December 2020, and assumed the role of Executive Artistic Director in June 2023. She is also the founding artistic director of Resounding Achord, an adult mixed-voice auditioned community choir in San José. Previously, Kristina directed the choirs at Saratoga High School and St. Francis Episcopal Church in Willow Glen, served as the Interim Director of Choral Activities at San José State University in Spring 2019, and taught 7th–12th grade music at Pinewood School in Los Altos Hills. Her choirs consistently received superior rankings at California Music Educator Association festivals and Gold awards at Heritage Festivals. She has prepared choirs for the Fauré Requiem, John Rutter's Gloria, Orff's Carmina Burana, the Mozart Requiem, Hadyn's Lord Nelson Mass, and the Bernstein Mass.

Ms. Nakagawa sang and served as the Assistant Conductor for The Choral Project from 2005 to 2012. During this time, The Choral Project won First Prize at the 2007 California International Choral Festival in San Luis Obispo and was invited to participate in the 2011 International Concorso Corale in Tolosa, Spain. She can be heard on their recordings Winter, One is the All, Tell the World, and Yuletide.

As a soloist, Ms. Nakagawa has performed cabaret shows at Society Cabaret in San Francisco and San José, Theatre on San Pedro Square in San José, and also at Limelight Theatre in Gilroy. She was featured in the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus production of Enchantingly Wicked with Stephen Schwartz at Davies Symphony Hall and has performed with Tabard Theatre, Foothill Musical Theatre, South Bay Musical Theatre, and the Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus.

Ms. Nakagawa graduated in 2001 with a degree in vocal performance from UC Irvine, studying with Mahlon Schanzenbach and Joséph Husti. She received her master’s degree in choral conducting from San José State University in 2005 with Dr. Charlene Archibeque, and has additional training in the Kodály method from Holy Names University. She is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, California Music Educators Association, Organization of American Kodály Educators, and Chorus America and has served in various roles on the California Choral Directors Association board since 2015. Kristina and her husband Ryan are the proud parents of a Vivace Youth Chorus student.

vivace-youth-chorus-of-san-jos-142346

Marina Box

Marina Box

Marina Box

Associate Conductor

Rachael Ostrowski

Rachael Ostrowski

Rachael Ostrowski

Member

Noëlle Rábago

Noëlle Rábago

Noëlle Rábago

Member

Karen Eshoff

Karen Eshoff

Karen Eshoff

Member

Kyle Ball

Kyle Ball

Kyle Ball

Associate Conductor

Alan Spool

Alan Spool

Alan Spool

Emeriti, founding board member

Susan Peterson

SUSAN PETERSON

SUSAN PETERSON

Emeriti

Teresa Meyer-Calvert

Teresa Meyer-Calvert

Teresa Meyer-Calvert

Board Emeriti

Emma Eaton

Emma Eaton ﻿

Emma Eaton

Member

Babette McKay

Babette McKay ﻿

Babette McKay

Member

Jackson Baker

Jackson Baker

Jackson Baker

Member

Lou De La Rosa

Lou De La Rosa

Lou De La Rosa

Member

Brian Kroneman

Brian Kroneman

Brian Kroneman

Treasurer

Munni Krishna

Munni Krishna

Munni Krishna

secretary

Elie Haddad

Elie Haddad

Elie Haddad

Former Officer

Maria Oberg

Maria Oberg

Maria Oberg

President

Andrea White

Andrea White

Andrea White

Director of Advancement

Lou Sullivan

Lou Sullivan

Lou Sullivan

Executive Assistant

Email: lou@vivaceyouthchorus.org

Danielle Imai

Danielle Imai

Danielle Imai

Executive Assistant

Kevin Schoenfeld

Kevin Schoenfeld

Emma Eaton

Babette McKay