Theodore L. Hine • Music Director
Mr. Hine studied composition with Bernard Rands at Harvard College before graduating cum laude with a degree in music. After acquiring his teaching certification, he taught general music and chorus to elementary and middle school students in the Connecticut public school system. In 2005, Mr. Hine was chosen to participate in the European American Musical Alliance summer music program held at l’École Normale de Musique in Paris. He received his M.Mus. in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in May of 2006. His bassoon quartet entitled “Bup Bop Bup” is currently published by Phylloscopus Publicaions. Mr. Hine is an accomplished singer and saxophonist, having performed as a member of the San Francisco Choral Artists under Magen Solomon for their 2006-2007 season. Mr. Hine is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Nothingset Ensemble – a San Francisco-based ensemble dedicated to the performance of new music. In addition to his role as Director of Music at the Universalist church of West Hartford, Mr. Hine also directs the South Windsor Community Chorus, serves as Second Vice President of the Hartford Chapter, Connecticut State Music Teachers Association, works as a freelance recording engineer and music engraver, and teaches music privately. Please visit his personal website for more details: www.tlhine.com
Mari Centola • Organist
Michelle Fenton Begley • Children's Choir Director and Soprano Soloist/Section Leader
Michelle Fenton Begley is a well-rounded vocalist and children’s musician. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Afro-American Vocal Jazz Performance from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. While at UMass, Michelle had the great fortune of studying with gospel aficionado Horace Boyer and recording Meditations while studying composition with the legendary jazz composer and saxaphonist Yusef Lateef. At the Hartt School of Music, Michelle has furthered her graduate studies in music education, vocal pedagogy and the Kodaly sight reading method.
Michelle has been singing with acclaimed chamber choir, Gaudeamus, since 1997, fulfilling a deep enthusiasm for choral music with the great master works and contemporary compositions. She is currently the Director of the Children's Choir and the Soprano Soloist/Section Leader of the Universalist Choir at The Universalist Church, West Hartford, CT. She also conducts the Girls Choir at the Hebrew High School of New England. Michelle is also a founding member of the children’s duo, Starr & Shello, for whom she creates original songs influenced by jazz, blues, and the traditional American folk repertoire. Her love for both children’s music and improvisation led her to write and instruct songwriting worshops at the Hartford, Connecticut based Bushnell Theater’s arts outreach program as well as University of Hartford’s popular Summer Place.
Michelle's life is completed by her husband, their two children and community in Collinsville, Connecticut.
Cynthia Wolcott • Soprano Soloist/Section Leader
Cynthia Wolcott had her solo debut at age 5 in the Free Methodist Cherub Choir in Peoria, Illinois—she has been singing ever since: in Concora, Concora To Go, the Woodland Scholars, under the direction of Robert Shaw and in the living rooms of many friends. Cynthia particularly enjoys singing in the popular idiom; spirituals and jazz are among her favorite styles. She has been the alto section leader ( with a brief hiatus) at the Fern Street Universalist Unitarian Church since September, 2005. When she is not singing, Cynthia fills her life as a mother of 4 interesting boys, yogi, librarian and voice over specialist. Occasionally she gets to read.
Raymond A. Giolitto • Tenor Soloist/Section Leader
Raymond A. Giolitto began his singing at the age of 8 as a member of the Boys Choir at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, under the direction of the renowned organist Charles Marie Courboin. Since that time, Mr. Giolitto has sung in many choral organizations, including the University of Hartford Civic Chorus, and the Brooklyn Community Chorus, where he also served as Assistant Music Director. He was the tenor section leader / soloist at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hartford from 1979 through 1982 and is currently in that same position at The Universalist Church of West Hartford. He was member of CONCORA from 1992 until 2006 and was on the Board of Directors from 1986 through 1992, serving as President for the 1990/91 and 1991/92 seasons. Mr. Giolitto has studied organ performance both in New York and Hartford and has studied voice with Joanne Scattergood.
Besides music, Ray’s other lives include his wife and family, horse riding, gardening, cooking and his Architectural business in Middletown.