Ben Kromholtz

How long have you lived in Seattle? I have lived in the Seattle area my entire life and currently live in Bothell.

How did you first hear about the Seattle Choral Company? I heard about the Seattle Choral Company the first time in 1991 when I was in the Northwest Boychoir. We performed Rick Vale’s “December” with the SCC.

Do you still like to sing? If so, what voice part are you? I love singing. I’m a second tenor.

What kind of piano do you have? Sadly, I only have a Baldwin upright.

What is your favorite piano piece? I am partial to Chopin’s Fantaisie-Impromptu.

What are your favorite choral works? I would have to say Verdi’s Requiem, the Poulenc Gloria, and Carmina Burana.

What is your favorite Seattle Choral Company piece so far this season? The Eric Barnum piece [“Carol of the Angels” on SCC’s new Joys of Christmas CD]. I love his writing.

What other music do you like? I am a big pop music person, so I’ve been listening to the Fleet Foxes, Fun, and Gotye, as well as listening to the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. That exposed me to the amazing album Ella Sings Gershwin. Incredible!

What you do when you’re not accompanying SCC? When I’m not accompanying, I’m teaching for the Northwest Boychoir, teaching piano, or hanging out with my family—my four kids and my wife. The twin four-year-olds, Gracie and Annabel, keep me jumping. For fun, I love to read and am an avid sports fan.

What is the first piano solo you remember playing? The first piece I played in a recital was “Minuet in G” by J. S. Bach.

What is the most unusual place you’ve ever performed? I wouldn’t say it’s unusual, but unpleasant. I performed with a choir at Wolf Trap in Virginia. It was an outdoor performance, and you couldn’t open your mouth without eating flies. That made for some challenging singing!

If you could meet any composer or musician, who would it be and why? If I could meet any person, I’d meet J. S. Bach. I would love to figure out how his brain worked—and how it worked so fast!

What was your first job of any kind? My first job was as a paperboy.

Do you play any other instruments? I play tuba poorly, but I have mastered the kazoo.

What is something we might be surprised to learn about you? My dream job would be as a sports statistician . . . if only there were jobs in that field.

What do you like most about the Seattle Choral Company? I like the varied repertoire and the wonderful people I’ve met.

What is your role with SCC?

What year did you start singing with the group? 2012.

What is your hometown? Where did you live before you moved to the Seattle area? I was born in Seattle and lived here until age 28, at which time I moved to Washington, DC, to be the tenor soloist with the United States Air Force Band and Singing Sergeants. I then lived for some years in Munich and Paris before returning to the Washington, DC, area. In July of 2011 I moved back to the Seattle area with my life-partner, James Jelasic.

How you were introduced to SCC? I was introduced to Freddie Coleman through our mutual friend Mel Butler, who is canon musician of Saint Mark’s Cathedral.

What are you most looking forward to in our holiday concert? Bringing the joy of live choral music to our audiences.

What do you think audiences will like the most or should listen for? The fresh arrangements of the traditional Christmas carols.

Other than SCC music, what other music do you like to listen to? Lots of classical and lots of jazz and popular music of the 1920s–1950s. Also, my partner’s recording of the complete Chopin Nocturnes. James is a renowned concert pianist and International Steinway Artist.

What do you do when you’re not singing with SCC? I am the minister of music at Peace Lutheran Church in West Seattle. I direct the choirs and play the organ for services. James and I are also doing major renovations to our new home.

What might we be surprised to learn about you? I love hiking, fishing, and camping, and am eager to find a group of campers that organize such trips so that I can experience the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest again.

What was your first solo? “I Am So Glad Each Christmas Eve,” sung in Norwegian when I was 11.

Anything memorable about the experience? The beautiful Norwegian costume I got to wear—but I was a little embarrassed to wear the white jacket with embroidered flowers!

What is the craziest thing that ever happened while you were onstage, or the most production you’ve ever been a part of? It has been my fortune to sing in thousands of locations internationally, including the Seattle Opera House, the Grand Ole Opry, Salle Gaveau in Paris, the White House, the National Cathedral in Washington, DC (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HuVTHEgzaQ), and other major concert halls and arenas throughout the US and Europe. Here are a few of the most unusual moments:

• The time the Singing Sergeants performed at an outdoor concert in a small town in Montana. Instead of sitting in bleachers, the audience was used to staying seated in their cars parked up and down the street, and they would honk their horns instead of clapping their hands.
• Singing a solo of Malotte’s “Lord’s Prayer” in a church on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation in Montana. Right in the midst the song, a cow stuck its head through an open window in the sanctuary and let out a loud “Moooo!”
• Getting ready for a concert with the USAF Band and Singing Sergeants for about 1,000 people somewhere in Missouri. The rodeo had just finished prior to our performance that evening, and we had to sweep cow and horse manure from the stage area before we could perform.
• Being in the Pacific Lutheran cast of Oklahoma in about 1975, and not singing the role of Curly but rather having to be Curly in the dream sequence—dancing ballet. I rather dislike dancing onstage, but yet got the best mention in the review of the production: “Jon Lackey’s performance doing the ballet sequence was well-executed.” Oh—I would much rather have had the singing role!

What was your first job, not necessarily music-related? Selling Fuller Brush products door-to-door when I was about 15.

What foods couldn’t you live without? I love all food except beets and liver.

What musical instruments do you play? Voice, piano, organ, and a little guitar.

What is your dream vacation? James and I love white sandy beaches, traveling to other countries, and scouting around our own new neighborhood in Browns Point, Washington.

What do you like most about SCC? Great and serious music, nice people, and a fun and serious conductor. It seems all of the SCC singers are thrilled to be a part of the organization and take their commitment to the group seriously.

What is your role with SCC?

What year did you start singing with the group? This is my first season. I started in September of 2012!

What is your hometown? Where did you live before you moved to Seattle? Well, that’s complicated. I was born in Iowa City, Iowa, but spent a big chunk of my childhood in suburbs of St. Paul, Minnesota. I lived in Antwerp, Belgium, for five years during my preteen and teen years, and then finished high school and my undergraduate degree in the Midwest. Now, I consider my hometown to be Vashon, Washington, because I adore it, and I don’t think we’ll ever leave. That is where my roots are! Before coming to the Seattle area, I was living in the Hudson Valley of New York, about 75 miles north of Manhattan.

Why did you choose to sing with SCC? How you were introduced to the group? Up until about two years ago, I was mostly singing operatic roles and soloing with orchestras and large choral groups. Then in the summer of 2011, my family moved to England for a year.  While I was there, I was not allowed to work under my visa restrictions, so I did a lot of choral singing with several local groups . . . for fun. I was very lucky to be living in the Canterbury area, and found opportunities to sing in Canterbury Cathedral, among other such hallowed spaces, and with such luminaries as David Flood, the head of choristers and head organist in Canterbury. I had such fun getting reacquainted with wonderful repertoire that I had loved as a teen and in college but hadn’t sung in so many years. And the camaraderie I experienced as a chorister was something I realized I had really missed. I enjoyed it so much that I decided I would continue to seek choral opportunities when I returned home. Because of my teaching position at Pacific Lutheran University, I was on the list of people Freddie Coleman contacted when he was seeking a soprano for the season, and the rest, as they say . . .

What are you most looking forward to in our holiday concert? What do you think audiences will like the most or should listen for? That’s a tough one! There is a lot of great music, and some things that are a little unusual. I am growing particularly fond of Mechem’s “Seven Joys of Christmas,” as there are some beautiful pieces in there that are not exactly  typical for a suite of Christmas music, although it does include versions of such famous carols as “Patapan” and “Fum, fum, fum,” which I always enjoy, and are always audience favorites. I would suggest listening for the beautiful Asian-inspired harmonies in the fifth piece, “The Joy of New Year,” and also paying attention to the last piece, “The Joy of Song,” which is a quodlibet, where several familiar Christmas tunes play against one another, interacting in very interesting ways. 

Other than SCC music, what other music do you like to listen to? What’s on your most recent playlist? I usually listen to one of three categories:  early  music, bluegrass, or traditional Scottish and Irish folk. I’m of Scottish heritage, and  I spent a summer in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, studying Scots Gaelic and traditional Gaelic  songs, as well as Cape Breton–style fiddle. If I had the time, I think I’d start a band that would play early baroque dances and laments, traditional Scottish jigs, reels, and strathspeys, and maybe a little traditional bluegrass. What would we call ourselves?

What do you do when you’re not singing with SCC? I teach part-time in the voice department at Pacific Lutheran University and privately on Vashon Island. I am mom to four-year-old twins, Charlie and Flora, and wife of 13 years to Brad.

What might we be surprised to learn about you? Hmm . . . well, there’s nothing too shocking. People do think I am crazy for traveling the world with my preschooler twins. Between July of 2011 and July of 2012, we lived in England for about 10 months, and traveled to Iceland (twice), Norway, Belgium, and France, and spent six weeks in Scotland, all with three-to-four-year-old twins and no car (with the exception of four weeks in Scotland when we were camping in a classic VW van called “Heidi”).  It was the most amazing year of our lives. 

What was your first solo and how old were you when you sang it? Anything memorable about the experience? I think it was in a choir concert at the Antwerp International School when I was about 13, but I can’t remember the piece! The first truly memorable solo opportunity was playing Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof in eighth grade. I loved every minute of that.

What was the craziest thing that ever happened while you were onstage, or the most unusual place you’ve ever sung or the most unusual production you’ve ever been a part of? Once my costume nearly fell completely off while I was bowing before the king in a production of The King and I. That was pretty crazy! Luckily, I was able to shift to the side and hold it together with one hand. The most unusual production would have to be a Cosi fan tutte several years ago that took place 100 years in the future on an alien planet. The show opened with a spaceship landing on the surface of said planet, and out walked Guglielmo and Ferrando. It kinda sorta worked, but yes, it was unusual!

What was your first job (not necessarily music-related)? I was a cashier at Burger Brothers Sporting Goods during high school. But shortly after that, I started working as a historical interpreter (read “paid actor and history geek”!) at Fort Snelling in St. Paul, Minnesota.

What foods couldn’t you live without? Coconut, chicken broth, and chocolate.

What musical instruments do you play? Piano and violin (although it’s been a long while since I’ve touched my fiddle). I also own a bodhran [a handheld Irish drum] and have dabbled a bit in the past.

What is your dream vacation? That’s a hard one for me, since I want to do so much traveling. I want to tour of all countries and islands associated with Scandinavian culture: Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands, Scotland, Norway (especially northern Norway), Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. But I love camping, sailing, and canoeing, and I adore holing up in a warm cabin with a wood stove somewhere on the Pacific coast or on Vancouver Island and enjoying the woods, beaches,  and wildlife.

What do you like most about SCC? I like so many things about this group! I greatly appreciate Freddie Coleman and his style of leadership. He is funny and kind and jovial, but knows how to get things done in a rehearsal, and he is very good at fostering a healthy, well-rounded sound for this particular choir. I adore my ladies in the soprano and alto sections! What an incredible group of talented musicians and singers, and I don’t think I could ask for a friendlier, more welcoming group of people. I have felt one of the gang since day one, and that has been wonderful! What has impressed me most was the focus, determination, teamwork, high morale, and dedication that I observed during the recording sessions for the forthcoming holiday CD. I was so impressed with this whole organization, from the administration to the artistic leadership, to the camaraderie among the ranks. It was a long and grueling process, but it was fun and I would do it again with this group in a heartbeat! Very glad to be here!

Errin Patton, Soprano I

Prior to joining the SCC,  Errin sang one season with Pacific Lutheran Choral Union. She graduated from University of Idaho in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in applied voice, and sang with the University Chorus and Jazz Choir there. She also had the honor of singing in the Oregon Bach Festival Youth Choral Academy in 2005, under the batons of Anton Armstrong and Helmuth Rilling.

When not singing, by day, Errin works for Northwest Sinfonietta as executive assistant. By night, she is the PR and marketing officer for Seattle Browncoats Charities, a regional all-volunteer nonprofit inspired by the TV show Firefly to help the community and host fun events. She also reads a lot, listens to symphonic metal, watches too much TV, and occasionally finds time to play video games.

She is most looking forward to the SCC’s March program with all the Lenten music.

Alexandra Denby, Soprano II

Prior to singing with the SCC, Alex sang with the Choral Arts Society of Washington, DC.

When she’s not singing, she’s probably working (as a software engineer at Amazon) or doing something outdoors. She enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and any water sport.

She is looking forward to meeting new people and singing great music! In terms of concerts this season, she was most excited about something that already happened—the Beethoven’s Ninth was a lot of fun!

Peymaneh Fuladvand, Alto I

Peymaneh is originally from Iran, and she sang in several choirs in Tehran including the Nouri Choir (Iran Philharmonic Choir). Recognized as one of the best choirs in Iran, the Nouri Choir was named for Mohammad Nouri, a great Iranian singer who passed away in 2010. She performed many concerts with the group, singing a wide repertoire of both Western choral music and Iranian folk music.

When not singing, Peymaneh is a graphic designer, illustrator, and visual artist. She also loves reading, dancing, hiking and spending time with her loving husband, Saeed, who is her best friend.

She is looking forward to making new friends and sing with all the amazing people in the SCC. Music is her passion, and she considers it a great opportunity to do something she enjoys so much.

John Franco, Bass

John recently completed graduate school in computer science at the University of Washington. His prior choral experience includes singing as an auxiliary member with Seattle Pro Musica for performances of Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. He put his musical endeavors on hold while in grad school, and his audition for SCC was his first since finishing his studies. (He obviously did quite well!)

When not singing, John works as a software developer at Amazon, plays classical piano, backpacks in the Cascades and Olympics in the summer, reads books about history and science, and studies foreign languages (currently Italian, partly for voice lessons, and partly in the hope of visiting Italy someday).

He is most looking forward to making new friends, and is wondering whether any singers are interested in getting together to sing some motets just for fun. He plays piano and a bit of cello, too, so any instrumentalists who would like to do the same with chamber music can get in touch with John.

Laura Di Bello, Alto I

Before singing with the Seattle Choral Company, Laura sang with the Master Chorale of South Florida and the Florida Philharmonic Chorus, and also as a church cantor for many years.

When she is not singing, she is promoting and managing visual artists as an artist agent. Her business is called Di Bello Fine Arts Management.

This year she is most looking forward to reconnecting with a musical community. She is very much looking forward to singing “Dark Night of the Soul” by Ola Gjeilo in our June concert, as she especially enjoys contemporary works that have a mystical quality.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in November 2011. Bethany will be joining the SCC again for this year’s “A Cathedral Christmas: Gaudete! Rejoice!”  Her favorite piece in this year’s program is Seven Joys of Christmas by Kirke Mechem. Of it she says, “I love all the different elements they present and the instrumental challenges of the individual pieces.” Bethany also shared with us some exciting news: “We are preparing to welcome a baby boy to our family, which will no doubt keep us even busier!”

You must have played for a lot of weddings. Any idea how many? Quite a few To guess, a couple hundred.

What is something we might be surprised to learn about you? I used to work on the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) cruise liner. I was the harpist, sailing the globe for three years. I met my husband on board; he was a bartender. We just celebrated our five-year anniversary! It’s very special for us that we share the same memories of our adventures around the world.