Dr. Dean Luethi serves as the Director of Choral Activities, Professor, and former Director of the School of Music at Washington State University. He directs the WSU Concert Choir, WSU Chamber Singers, and teaches first year applied theory. Dr. Luethi received degrees from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, University of South Florida in Tampa, and University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign. Before pursuing advanced degrees, Dean was a high/middle school choir and musical theatre director in the Green Bay area.  

Known for his work as a choral pedagogue, Dean has presented research, workshops, or conducted choirs at regional and national festivals, conferences, and competitions in the US, India, China, Cuba, Canada, Austria, Poland, and Germany. He is published in the Choral Journal and Music Educators Journal. Dean has served as the chair of the NAFME Council for Choral Education and held state and regional offices for ACDA. His books, A Quick Start Guide to Choral Singing and Aligning Voices: Exercises to Build Choral Musicianship, are available through GIA Publications. He is also co-host of the Choir Fam Podcast. Dean lives with his wife in Pullman, WA. In his free time Dean enjoys amateur photography, woodworking, and spending time with their dog, Dexter. For information on Dean’s Fellowship project entitled “Washington Sings!” click here.

Dr. Matthew Myers serves as associate director of choral activities and assistant professor of choral music education at WSU. He conducts the University Singers and Treble Choir and teaches courses in music education methods, conducting, and voice. He earned his DMA in choral conducting at Louisiana State University, his master’s degree in choral conducting at Northern Arizona University, and his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance and music education at Luther College. After completing his degree at Luther, he taught grades 6-12 choir at The American International School of Muscat in Oman. For the following five years, he worked as director of choirs and musical theatre at Boylan Catholic High School in Rockford, Illinois. In addition to conducting five choirs, he taught AP music theory, class piano, and critical thinking and coordinated a middle school choral program at four of Boylan’s constituent grade schools. He has served as conductor of the NAU Men’s Chorale and Chamber Singers, the LSU Chamber Singers, the Master Chorale of Flagstaff, and the Flagstaff Youth Chorale and has held church music positions in Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, and Alabama. Prior to his time at WSU, Dr. Myers taught at the University of Alabama, where he conducted two choirs and taught courses in music appreciation, choral literature, vocal pedagogy, and diction. He is a frequent choral clinician, guest conductor, presenter, and adjudicator. He serves as Artistic Director of the Palouse Choral Society and co-host of the Choir Fam Podcast.

Award-winning coloratura soprano, Alisa Toy, hails an impressive thirty-year performing and teaching career.  Internationally, Alisa soloed in Great Britain, Canada, Pakistan, and Italy, including a concert for Pope Benedict XVI with the Rome Symphony Orchestra. Some of her past favorite soloing opportunities include Mozart’s Requiem and Krönungsmesse (Coronation Mass), along with multiple performances of Handel’s Messiah, and Judas Maccabeus. Opera and musical theatre roles include Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Gertrude in Humperdinck’s Hänsel and Gretel, Maria in Bernstein’s West Side Story, and Grace in Strouse’s Annie.

As a choral conductor, Alisa currently serves as the Assistant Conductor of the Palouse Choral Society and served as the Artistic Director for the Columbus Choral Society for seven years.

Alisa holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting from the University of Idaho and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Mississippi University for Women. Alisa enjoyed teaching K-12 music for several years in public and private schools and enjoys teaching voice and piano through her private studio, Singingtoy Studio.

Elena Panchenko is a collaborative pianist, church musician, and private piano teacher born in Kharkiv, Ukraine. She studied music theory, history, and collaborative piano at Moscow Conservatory-College and Kharkiv College of Music, earning her degree in 1986. After relocating to the US with her family in 1994, Elena embarked on a career as a freelance collaborative pianist. She initially worked in Wichita, KS, followed by Delaware, Pennsylvania, and, for the past two decades, in the Palouse area.

Elena holds the position of Music Director at St. James Episcopal Church in Pullman, serves as a pianist for the Palouse Choral Society, and maintains a private piano studio. Her musical journey has intertwined with the WSU School of Music community since 2003, culminating in her appointment as the pianist for all Vocal Ensembles in 2022.

Concert Choir MUS 431 (UCORE-ARTS) is our premier auditioned choral ensemble. This is an SATB choir which meets 4 times each week (Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs at 2:10-3:00 p.m.) and performs approximately 3-5 times each semester. They sing music of all musical periods and styles, and produce challenging, creative, and intriguing experiences.  The ensemble generally tours within the region in the spring and embarks on international performance tours every 4-5 years. Most recently, Concert Choir performed at the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria, in August 2023. Concert Choir has been invited to perform at the Northwest Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in January 2024. Dean Luethi, conductor. Concert Choir meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:10 – 3:00pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:55 – 2:45 pm.

Chamber Singers MUS 433 (UCORE-ARTS) is a new small auditioned vocal ensemble whose repertoire includes jazz, a cappella, popular, folk, and small ensemble vocal music from all eras. This ensemble performs both on and off campus each year and engages an annual recording project in the WSU Recording Studio (4th Floor Studios). Singers in the WSU Chamber Singers are asked to commit to the entire year of singing in the ensemble. Dean Luethi, director. Chamber Singers meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:10 – 1:25.