Artistic Staff
- William W. Snelling—Director of MasterSingers, click here for biography.
- Peter P. Sunderman—Interim Director of Chorale, click here for biography.
- Jeffrey Brunner—Director of Choristers, click here for biography.
- Michelle Metz—Director of Training Chorus, click here for biography.
- Mary Bishop—Accompanist, click here for biography.
- Linda Ebersole—Accompanist, click here for biography.
Administrative Staff
- Dail Richie—Executive Director, click here for biography.
- Susan Coughlin—Business Manager, click here for biography.
- Lynne Reddington—Membership Recruiter, click here for biography.
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Mary Bishop
Accompanist
Mary Bishop served as a substitute accompanist for Berks Classical Children’s Chorus during the BCCC Music in the Schools in April 2004. She joined the staff in July 2004. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education and a Master of Music degree in Piano Accompanying from West Chester University where she studied with Benjamin Whitten. Mrs. Bishop has taught vocal and instrumental music in Reading School District and Rose Tree Media School District. Currently, she is taking time off from public music education to raise her son and is teaching private piano, saxophone, and clarinet from her home and accompanying various groups and recitals. She also plays piano in an eighteen-piece big band.
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Jeffrey Brunner
Director of Choristers
Jeffrey Brunner joined Berks Classical Children’s Chorus in May 2008, when he was appointed Director of Choristers. Since June 2009, he has been one of three staff directors at BC3 Summer Sing, a BCCC camp in downtown Reading open to non-members. He is the director of the seventh, eighth and ninth grade choir program at Boyertown Junior High West in the Boyertown Area School District. At West, he directs five choirs, teaches general music, and directs the musical productions. Prior to his current position, he directed the fifth and sixth grade choirs and taught K-6 general music at Earl and Pine Forge elementary schools within the Boyertown School District.
Mr. Brunner earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education, cum laude, from Mansfield University in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, and earned a Master of Art in Music Education from Teacher’s College at Columbia University in New York City He has studied conducting with Peggy Dettwiler at Mansfield University and William Weinert at the Eastman School of Music. He studied voice with Dorothy Stone in New York City and Tammy Black in Bally, Pennsylvania. He is an active member of PMEA and ACDA where he has presented repertoire sessions. Mr. Brunner has been a guest conductor of the middle school honor choirs in Dauphin and Tioga counties. This spring, he will direct the District 11 Elementary Songfest in Bucks County.
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Susan Coughlin
Business Manager
Susan Coughlin joined the staff of Berks Classical Children’s Chorus in 2000 and was appointed Business Manager in 2008. She first served as a volunteer, and in 2001 was hired as BCCC Bookkeeper, working directly with the Board Treasurer. Mrs. Coughlin has been a part of BCCC since 1993 when her daughter joined BCCC as a member of the Chorale. She brings to the chorus a diverse set of educational, organizational and financial skills. As the Business Manager, Mrs. Coughlin is responsible for the daily business and financial aspects of BCCC. She also is in charge of the music library, heads the uniform committee and assists behind the scenes with rehearsals and performances. Mrs. Coughlin also serves as the Treasurer on the Parents’ Auxiliary Board. Through an alliance between Berks Classical Children’s Chorus and Reading Choral Society, Mrs. Coughlin fills the role of RCS Business Manager, providing financial, development, marketing, and public relations services and expertise.
Mrs. Coughlin earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. She previously taught grades 2-7 in the elementary and middle schools in Ohio and Wisconsin, where she lived before moving to Pennsylvania. Prior to joining BCCC, Mrs. Coughlin worked in the office and classrooms at Schuylkill Valley Middle School. Her primary job in the office was working with finances and budget. Mrs. Coughlin attended the Chorus Management Institute in January 2011 in Washington, DC. While at the conference, she was able to work and meet with management from thirty other choral groups. She also has been a member of the Association for Fundraising Professionals since 2007. Her family of four children and nine grandchildren keep her actively involved with young people in activities in school, scouting and church.
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Linda Ebersole
Accompanist
Linda Ebersole joined the staff of Berks Classical Children’s Chorus in June 2009. She is a cum laude graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She maintains a private piano studio in in the Reading-Berks area and serves as the choir director at Reading Area Community College. Mrs. Ebersole has served as the accompanist for the Berks Camerata, Berks Grand Opera, Berks Summer Theater, and Erwin Chandler Chamber Ensemble. For many years, she served with her husband, Charles, in the music ministry of Grace Bible Fellowship Church. Currently, Mrs. Ebersole is a graduate student in Counseling Psychology at Pillsbury College and Seminary. She resides in Mohnton with her husband and children.
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Michelle Metz
Director of Training Chorus
Michelle Metz joined Berks Classical Children’s Chorus in June 2009, when she was appointed Director of Training Chorus. Since June 2009, she has been one of three staff directors at BC3 Summer Sing, a BCCC camp in downtown Reading open to non-members. She is a general music teacher and chorus director at Lauer’s Park Elementary School in the Reading School District. She also serves as the Music Director for the Olivet Boys and Girls Club Summer Theatre Camp and teaches beginning piano at the Olivet Boys and Girls Club Center for the Arts. She previously served as the Director of the Olivet Youth Chorus. Miss Metz earned her Bachelor in Science degree in Music Education at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She is pursuing her post graduate studies through the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
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Dail Mahood Richie
Interim Artistic Director and Executive Director
Dail Richie was appointed Executive Director in November 1997 and served an Interim Artistic Director during 2009-2010. She brings professional experience in vocal performance, education, and arts management, including fundraising, staff and volunteer development, communications, leadership, and community relations.
Ms. Richie is responsible for the organizational planning, management, financial development, and public relations of the chorus. She runs the day-to-day operations, carrying out the chorus’s physical, logistical, and business needs and coordinating volunteer help. She has initiated several strategic planning processes and leads the board, staff, and constituents in the implementation of the plans. She steered the chorus during the transition of Artistic Director and Founder Donald Hinkle’s retirement in 2005, and the subsequent search for new artistic leadership.
Prior to joining the BCCC staff, she served as Choir Director at Christ Episcopal Church, Reading, Pennsylvania, for thirteen years. As Choir Director, she served as Chair of the Fall Festival of the Arts, a four-day multi-disciplinary arts festival presented annually in September by Christ Church and Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading, Pennsylvania. Ms. Richie served on the Board of Directors of the Reading Symphony Orchestra, Reading, Pennsylvania, from 1988 to 1997. During part of that time, she served as President of the Friends of the (Reading) Symphony, founded the award-winning Kinderkonzert, and supervised volunteer activities including the Symphony Ball and Silent Auction. She has been a singing member of the Reading Choral Society since 1984 and served on its Board from 1985 to 2005. In February 2008 and February 2011, she served on the music application review panel for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
Ms. Richie holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Salem College, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a Master of Music degree in Voice Performance from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. Additional course work includes study at The Blossom Festival [of the Cleveland Orchestra], Salem [College] in Italy, and the University of Maryland. In June 1998, she was one of fourteen professional chorus managers who attended the Chorus America Summer Management Institute at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Ms. Richie has appeared as soloist for numerous organizations, including the Reading Symphony Orchestra, Reading Symphony Orchestra League, Reading Choral Society, Albright College, Fall Festival of the Arts, Berks Classical Children’s Chorus, and Christ Episcopal Church. A member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Ms. Richie has served as an Adjunct Professor of Voice at Albright College and West Chester University. She currently is head of the voice department of the Community School of Music and the Arts, Reading, Pennsylvania, and serves on the Board of Directors for the school.
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Lynne Reddington
Membership Recruiter
Lynne Reddington joined the BCCC staff as Membership Recruiter, a newly created position, in May 2011. Ms. Reddington is a dynamic communicator with extensive writing, training and public speaking experience. Her commanding presence and ability to formulate and execute strategic plans will enable BCCC to significantly increase its membership over the next few years.
Ms. Reddington has recently served as Marketing Director at Superior Health, Inc., Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, where she created and executed marketing strategies and PR campaigns. Prior to working at Superior Health, she served as an e-commerce manager at Higley Enterprises, Robesonia, Pennsylvania, where she managed five Yahoo stores, maintaining website content, balancing inventory and overseeing daily operations.
Ms. Reddington taught English in the Conrad Weiser School District and the Pottsville Area School District. She was named to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers consecutively from 1994 through 2001 and was a Time Warner Excellence in Education Grant winner in 1995, 1996 and 1997.
Ms. Reddington earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary English Education from Shippensburg University. She is an active member of First Church of the Brethren, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. She has a daughter, Mamie Covell, age 11, who is a member of Berks Classical Children’s Chorus, and two sons, Nick Covell, age 13, and CJ Covell, a television and film student at Columbia College, Chicago.
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William W. Snelling
Director of MasterSingers
William W. Snelling joined the staff of Berks Classical Children’s Chorus when he was appointed Director of MasterSingers in May 2011. He is the choral director and teaches music history, world music and music theory at Muhlenberg High School, Laureldale, Pennsylvania. He is an active church musician and recitalist; has served as a soloist for the Fall Festival of the Arts; was a member of the Spoleto Festival Choir in Spoleto, Italy; and has performed in numerous church and community ensembles. Prior to teaching at Muhlenberg, he was a choral director and general music teacher in the Antietam School District and the Southeast Delco School District. Mr. Snelling earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Lebanon Valley College and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from West Chester University.
In addition to his musical endeavors, he participates in community service and has volunteered more than 3,000 hours to the American Red Cross. He also works with Spark the Wave and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In his spare time, Mr. Snelling is an avid cyclist, averaging 2,500 miles a year. Mr. Snelling lives with his wife, Deanne, and their three children in Exeter Township.
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Peter J. Sunderman
Interim Director of Chorale
Peter P. Sunderman joined the staff of Berks Classical Children’s Chorus in May 2011 when he was appointed Interim Director of Chorale. He retired from public school teaching in 2010, having served in the Wilson School District at the elementary and high school levels in vocal and choral music for 34 years. While at Wilson, he was the Secondary Music Department Chair, and was Director of the Wilson High School annual musical for 27 years.
Prior to teaching in the Wilson School District, he taught in the Camden Central School District in Camden, New York, in one of the last one-roomed schools in New York State. He is the Vocal Chairman for District 10 of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association and accompanist of the Reading Area Community College Concert Choir. He maintains a private voice and piano studio in his home.
Mr. Sunderman is a former president, assistant conductor and accompanist of the Reading Choral Society. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Mansfield University and a Master of Education in Music Education from West Chester University.
