Board of Directors
Jesse Antin, President
Natalie L. Bridgeman, Esq.
Jim Meehan, Vice President
Justin Montigne, Secretary
Jess Perry, Treasurer
Clerestory at the Inaugural Concert: (left to right) Clifton Massey, Kevin Baum, Mark Mueller, Jesse Antin, Mark Sullivan, John Bischoff, Justin Montigne, Tom Hart
Jesse Antin is the founder of Clerestory. He has performed with many of the finest groups in the Bay Area since moving to California in 2000, including five years with the esteemed men's ensemble Chanticleer. He appears on seven Chanticleer recordings, including one Grammy winner. Other recent local performances have been as a soloist and chorus member with the American Bach Soloists and Philharmonia Baroque.
Jesse is a native of Princeton, New Jersey, where he grew up singing countertenor in a cathedral men-and-boys choir, and is a graduate of Brown University, where he majored in music and philosophy. During Jesse's early career in church music he was also an organist, choir director, and composer, and a number of his pieces continue to be performed and recorded by choirs throughout New England. During his studies Jesse was also student conductor of the Brown University Chorus, a member of the Schola Cantorum of Boston, and the subject of a full-page article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Addicted to life in a college town, Jesse has proudly lived in Berkeley since 2001. He is a bicycle racer for the Berkeley Bicycle Club team, a Sierra backpacker as often as possible, and a tennis player trying to recapture his former glory. Jesse and his wife, Lindsey, live on a steep hill in North Berkeley with their cats Camper, Nike, and Sprite, and maintain the pace of life with a steady diet of vegetarian carb-loading and home-brewed ales. Jesse is a development officer for the non-profit environmental law firm Earthjustice, and can often be seen commuting to downtown Oakland on his Vespa. If you still haven't found Jesse in any of these places, he is probably at a Cal football game or an Oakland A's baseball game, losing his voice.
Originally from Cherokee, Iowa, Kevin Baum has lived in San Francisco for the past nineteen years. Kevin is currently tenor section leader at the Episcopal Church of the Advent of Christ the King and is a cantor at St. Ignatius Catholic Church. He is a member of Schola Adventus, an eight-voice mixed ensemble which toured England in December of 2005, and of Schola Cantorum San Francisco, an ensemble of fourteen mixed voices. He sings regularly with the ensembles AVE (Artists' Vocal Ensemble), San Francisco Lyric Chorus, and has sung with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Chorus. He performs solo recitals in many local venues.
Kevin is a sixteen-year veteran of the ensemble Chanticleer. Just a few of the highlights from those years include the role of the Madwoman in performances of Benjamin Britten's Curlew River, the role of Joseph of Aramathea in the world premier of Sir John Tavener's Lamentations and Praises, the role of John Q. Public in the west coast premiere of Go For Broke, a madrigal comedy by Peter Schickele, and over twenty recordings, including two that received the Grammy award.
John Bischoff is proud to be participating in the launch of the Bay Area's newest vocal ensemble, Clerestory. John has sung with a wide variety of vocal groups including Chanticleer, the Dale Warland Singers, the New York vocal jazz quartet Vox Bop and the award-winning-but-short-lived barbershop quartet The Grand Experiment. He recently performed as a soloist and chorus member at the Oregon Bach Festival, and is singing this year with the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale and the Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys. John has also appeared with opera companies in Sarasota, Des Moines, and Dayton, and sung in the apprentice program at the Santa Fe Opera.
John received his Masters in Voice from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor's degree with honors from Princeton University. There, he sang with the a cappella group the Tigertones, serving as President, music arranger, and organizing tours of Europe and the US. He also composed music, toured and appeared as a kick-dancing nun with the musical theater troupe The Triangle Club. John remains active as an arranger, and recently had his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner performed before a Red Sox game at Fenway Park by the women's vocal group Broadband.
Before assuming reckless pursuit of a performing career in music, John taught English in Guangzhou, China, and worked as a journalist for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul, using his voice in a different capacity — as newscaster, reporter and host of regional and national broadcasts. John lives in San Francisco with his wife Laurel and his bass-baritone shepherd, Lucy, where he teaches voice, cooks and is attempting to master that very baroque instrument, the electric guitar.
Countertenor Dan Cromeenes hails from sunny southern California where he studied piano and voice at Biola University and sang with the William Hall Master Chorale. He went on to achieve a master's degree in Accompanying at East Carolina University, where he studied voice and vocal repertoire in conjunction with his performance on piano. In North Carolina he sang with Capella Antiqua and made his alto solo debut in Purcell's Te Deum Laudamus and Jubilate Deo. After spending three years at Biola as Staff Accompanist, he joined Chanticleer for their 2005-06 season, singing concerts throughout Europe, Japan, and the United States. Recently, Dan has performed throughout the Bay area, both as an accompanist and singer. He currently plays for the Santa Clara Chorale, the music and theater departments at Santa Clara University, and as a freelance accompanist and coach. As a singer he has performed with various ensembles, including American Bach Soloists, Artists' Vocal Ensemble (AVE), Bay Area Classical Harmonies, Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys, and the Chancel Choir at St. Paul's in Burlingame. When not onstage or behind a piano, Dan can usually be found either on a hike in the mountains or at home baking gourmet goodies.
Chris Fritzsche is a native of Santa Rosa CA where he currently lives. He has been a "performer" since the tender age of two, when he was first dragged (literally) across the stage, playing the part of young Michael's teddy bear in the play, Peter Pan. Flush with such early success he took up the guitar at age seven and immersed himself in music of the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, and John Denver among others. He discovered the joys of choral singing in high school and went on to study voice in college as a tenor. Several leading musical theatre and opera roles later he graduated with a degree in music, and was about to get a real estate license (in order to satisfy his Capricorn need for money) when someone informed him that the falsetto voice he had only ever used in jest could actually be put to use on the concert stage. This led him to join the men's ensemble Chanticleer as a soprano for the next 11 years, performing in many of the world's greatest concert halls, and singing on well over a dozen recordings, two of which won Grammy Awards. Since retiring from life on the road in 2003 he has begun the next phase of his career as a soloist, appearing with various groups and artists in the SF Bay Area and beyond, and as a teacher of singing, on the faculty at his alma mater, Sonoma State University. He is also a member of the Redwood Empire Chapter of NATS and is Education Coordinator for the Sonoma County Choral Society.
Bass-baritone Tom Hart has enjoyed a lengthy presence in the West Coast musical scene, having performed with many notable musical organizations since moving to the Bay Area. From ensemble positions with the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Opera Choruses to ensemble positions and soloist engagements with American Bach Soloists, AVE, Carmel Bach Festival, Chanticleer, Pacific Collegium and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, to name a few, he has consistently strived to strike a balance between dedication to art and the enjoyment of it. Although for the past 10 years he has largely concentrated on music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, he is happiest when he is able to encompass a variety of music and performing opportunities. During his 10 years with Chanticleer and later, he has managed to visit and perform in all 50 states as well as several countries abroad, a fact for which he will be eternally thankful and one that continues to enrich his understanding and appreciation of people.
Tom was instrumental in organizing the business operations of Chanticleer and served as General Manager of the company in the early years as well as being a member of the ensemble. After leaving, he managed four hugely successful tours of Les Mysteres de Voix Bulgares in the United States before "settling down in a real job" with the City and County of San Francisco. He continues to work part-time for the Recreation and Park Department while singing as much as possible. He also holds professional positions with Trinity Episcopal Church and Temple Emanu-El, both in San Francisco.
When not singing or working, even though barely coordinated enough to walk across the room, he can be found at AT&T Park or parked in front of the television watching a Giants game or pulling for any other Bay Area professional or college team. (One of his proudest moments was once talking a concert association into moving a Sunday afternoon concert so as not to interfere with the Super Bowl!)
Tom lives in a great place in the hills of Sausalito with a very self-entitled cat named Mika, puttering in the garden and the kitchen and living a relaxed Marin County life.
Clifton Massey, alto, happily joins Clerestory for his second season. A native of Dallas, Clifton is in frequent demand for both solo and choral repertoire, having performed to critical acclaim with ensembles in the Bay Area and beyond, including American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Chanticleer, Pacific Collegium, Schola Cantorum SF, Dallas Bach Society, Orpheus Chamber Singers, Theater of Voices, Concert Royal NYC, and the New York Philharmonic with Skitch Henderson. A rather eclectic taste in music has also led to projects including the role of Skzyp in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Bloomington, IN), numerous collaborations with electronica composers, and the soundtrack of the recent video game ERAGON. Clifton has a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Texas Christian University, and recently completed coursework for a Master's in Early Music from Indiana University. Upcoming projects include solo recitals, numerous Bay Area concerts, and New World Symphony, Miami with Michael Tilson Thomas in the spring.
Justin Montigne, countertenor, divides his time among many musical endeavors — ensemble, concert, recital, opera … top 40 singalong. Justin is originally from Des Moines, Iowa, where he was forced from the piano bench after a dismal accompanying stint into the middle school choir. Never again to take a piano lesson (and much to the chagrin of generations of students to come), he went on to receive his Bachelor in Music from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and his Masters and DMA in vocal performance from the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. An active teacher, as well as performer, Justin taught voice for the University of Minnesota and toured Minnesota and the upper Midwest with the select Ted Mann Vocal Quartet, the University of Minnesota's "Opera on the Farm" Tour, and as a soloist with many area ensembles in a variety of concert appearances.
Justin moved to San Francisco and sang alto for three years with the acclaimed male vocal ensemble, Chanticleer, performing a wide variety of works with the group in venues around the United States and the world. He has sung with the Minnesota Opera, the Oregon Bach Festival, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Des Moines Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, City Concert Opera, Seraphic Fire, and more.
Justin is the artistic director of the Bay Area a cappella men's ensemble Musaic, teaches voice at UC Davis, and is a registered yoga teacher. After his many weekly classes at Crunch fitness, he is known to head home to his husband Joe and their fearsome pup Jasmine for his final pose, ice creamasana.
Fernando Tarango began his professional singing career travelling the world as a chorister for the American Boychoir School in Princeton, NJ. He then continued his musical studies at the University of Michigan, where he received his B.M. in Vocal Performance before moving to the the Bay Area in 2006. Since arriving, he has performed with esteemed groups such as San Francisco Concert Chorale, Bella Musica, Pacific Boychoir Academy, Pacific Collegium, Voices of Lakeshore, Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys, Volti, and San Francisco Pocket Opera. His solo roles have included the Bach B Minor Mass, the Mozart Coronation Mass, the Rachmaninoff Vespers in Grace Cathedral, and the premier of Kirke Mecham's Pride and Prejudice as Mr. Bingley in Davies Symphony Hall. Fernando is currently the Consultant of Student Affairs for the Pacific Boychoir Academy and is an AGMA member of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus.
Board Members
Natalie Bridgeman is an independent consulting attorney, based in San Francisco, California. Ms. Bridgeman's work emphasizes litigating international environmental and human rights violations, and work toward accountability in international finance and development (www.ihrlaw.com). Ms. Bridgeman is also an alto in the a cappella trio, Mayim, based in Santa Cruz, California. Since 1992, Mayim has released three albums and has received wide acclaim for the trio's unique performances of original folk and soul, classical and sacred music from around the world (www.mayimtrio.com). Ms. Bridgeman comes from a family of musicians with a deep appreciation of choral music; her parents sang with the Berlin Philharmonic and currently sing with the Santa Cruz Chorale. Ms. Bridgeman received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law's Program in Public Interest Law and Policy in 2002 and her B.A. from Cornell University in 1999 where she sang in the a cappella group The Touchtones and the Cornell University Chamber Singers.
Paul Crabtree is a composer of choral, orchestral and instrumental music which is performed throughout the United States and around the world. He is also a sought-after adviser on liturgical and musical renewal and a private musical educator in San Francisco.
Rodney Gehrke is Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, San Francisco, Clerestory's San Francisco home. He is also Organist and Choir Director at San FranciscoÕs Temple Emanu-El, where Clerestory member Tom Hart is a professional singer. Mr. Gehrke is also Professor of Organ at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and teaches undergraduate organ students at the University of California, Berkeley.
Jim Meehan is a regular at choral concerts, symphony, and the opera. A software engineer by day, he currently sings with Cantabile Chorale and the Sanford Dole Ensemble. He has a Bachelor's degree in Math and Music Theory and a PhD in Computer Science from Yale.
Jess Perry is currently the Senior Budget Manager for the San Francisco Opera, after having sung in the Opera Chorus for nine seasons. Previously, Jess was the Business Manager of Chanticleer for well over a decade. As an avid fan of excellent choral music, Jess is thrilled to be on the founding Board of Directors of Clerestory.
