Voices of Solaris

AJ Banach is currently a choral and instrumental music educator at Enosburg Falls Middle and High School. AJ graduated from the University of Vermont in 2018 with Bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics and Music Education. When he is not teaching, he can be found playing woodwinds and trumpet in various pit orchestras around Vermont including the Enosburg Opera House, Stowe Theatre Guild, Lamoille County Players, and many surrounding high schools. AJ has been singing with Solaris since 2019 and looks forward to many more years.

Gary is a retired children’s librarian and educator. He spends his spare time reading new books and favorite classics. Gary enjoys long walks and short runs. He lives in Thetford and really doesn’t mind the long ride.

Myriam Bouti earned her Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Music degrees from Queen’s University and recently completed her MA in Music and Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Myriam is the Choir Director at Burlington High School as well as the Music Director for their drama program. She also works at the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association as the Operations Assistant & Lesson/Community Programs Manager. You can catch her jazz(ish) band Bouti and the Beasts around town. One of Myriam’s favorite places in the world is Camp Exclamation Point where she volunteers every August to help provide a week-long residential camp experience to under-served rural Vermont kids. She joined Solaris in 2024.

Solaris Assistant Conductor

Cameron is excited to be in his fifth season as Solaris’ Assistant Conductor. He is the Chorus Teacher at Champlain Valley Union High School, teaches 3rd-4th grade General Music at Shelburne Community School, serves as Music Director at Charlotte Congregational Church, teaches voice lessons at UVM, and is in his second year as Artistic Director of Aurora Chamber Singers. Cameron has a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and Vocal Performance from SUNY Potsdam,The Crane School of Music, and a Master’s Degree in Sacred Music from the University of Notre Dame. He lives in Williston with his husband, Chance T. Hicks.

John is a graduate of the University of Vermont and spent his career as a Wildlife Biologist for the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife. He has been involved in music since his elementary school days and sang with the Vermont All-State Chorus during his high school years. He is a member of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus and a longtime member of the Waterbury Congregational Church choir. John is a charter member of Solaris. When he isn’t singing, John manages his family maple sugaring operation in Washington, Vermont.

Mike joined Solaris in January of 2026. He graduated from Vermont State University in Castleton with a Music degree in Voice with a Viola secondary. He is very excited to be a part of Solaris with all of these lovely singers and wonderful people. Mike has been singing for as long as he can remember. He grew up going to the Lake Champlain Waldorf School where he learned to love the art of creating music with his teachers and peers and knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life sharing that art with the world.

Karen Chickering is a Vermonter by choice, having arrived here in 1987. A charter member of Maple Jam (close harmony a cappella jazz), she has sung with many groups over the years including the VSO Chorus, Aurora (Oriana) Singers, Vermont Choral Union, Melisma, Bella Voce, Counterpoint & Friends, Musica Propria, and the Bluegrass Turkeys. After earning a degree from Northwestern University in church music and organ, she promptly applied her skills in multiple restaurants in the Chicago area and Vermont, including five years of owning her own restaurant in Chicago. Having been raised in the restaurant biz, she can say that “resistance is futile!”

Aimee is incredibly excited to join Solaris! She received her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of New Hampshire, and then continued on in their accelerated Master’s program to receive her Master’s of Secondary Education in 2022. While at UNH, she was an avid member of the school’s choral ensembles, and was also the music director of the New Hampshire Notables A Capella group. She is currently the Choral Director at Spaulding High School in Barre where she also teaches general music courses. Aimee has loved all things singing for as long as she can remember, and she is so excited to be a choir member again!

Matt is a graduate of Allegheny College (PA) with degrees in Computer Science and Music. Prior to joining Solaris in 2015, he sang with the Master Chorale of Washington DC, the Vermont Choral Union, and the Burlington Choral Society. Matt is a software engineer for Fluency, Inc., a Burlington-based startup. He lives in Williston with his wife, Kristin, and two daughters, Maris and Selene.

Molly is thrilled to be joining Solaris this year! She has been performing in choirs her whole life. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education with a Voice concentration from the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College. Molly teaches vocal music at Harwood Union Middle/High School where she is also Music Director for the middle and high school theater productions. Since returning to VT, Molly has performed with the VT Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Counterpoint, and has been a soloist for the Green Mountain Monteverdi Ensemble of VT. She lives in Waterbury, VT with her husband and daughter. When she’s not teaching and performing, Molly loves to be outdoors hiking, camping, skiing, and gardening.

Jasper (he/him) is excited to join Solaris this year. Born and raised in California, Jasper moved 3,000 miles across the country three years ago to attend UVM. Now a Junior, he studies Music Education and Psychology, and once finished, hopes to pursue a postgrad degree in choral conducting. Jasper has been in choral groups since the age of eight – most notably, iSing Silicon Valley, an award-winning children’s choir, which he sang in for 11 years, during which he had the privilege of recording multiple albums and travelling to compete in some of the world’s biggest choral competitions alongside his peers. Outside of music, Jasper enjoys hanging out with his cats, hiking, and basking in the sunshine.

Sadie Jones (she/her) is thrilled to be a part of Solaris Vocal Ensemble! She received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education with a minor in Education for Linguistic Diversity from the University of Vermont. While at UVM, she sang with the Catamount Singers, Concert Choir, and UVM Cat’s Meow A Cappella group. Currently, she directs the Choirs at Montpelier High School. She enjoys performing onstage with Lyric Theater, and Music Directing productions at MHS. In addition to all things music, she loves to read fiction and tend to her many house plants.

Brianne has been involved in choral ensembles for the majority of her childhood, resulting in her pursuit of a Music degree along with her studies in Chemistry from Saint Michael’s College in 2014. Described as effervescent and stunning in her vocal performances at Saint Michael’s College, Saint Mary’s Catholic Church of Saint Albans, VT, and the Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, VT, Brianne has a vast, 3-octave voice range that she loves sharing with an audience. She has been a member of Solaris since 2016, and when she’s not singing, you can find her experimenting with new recipes in her kitchen or curled up with a book and a cat.

Dean joined Solaris in 2016. He is a long-time member of the Waterbury Congregational Church choir. Dean is retired after a long career as an actuary with National Life Insurance Company. He and his wife reside in downtown Burlington enjoying all that Vermont has to offer.

Meg is thrilled to be singing with Solaris, as she has always been enamored with the profound intersection of music and community. A singer from her youngest years, Meg was involved in numerous choruses, church choirs, musical theater productions, and solo recitals as a child growing up in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire. She graduated with a degree in Music Education and a minor in Special Education from the University of Vermont in 2018 and spent the next couple of years singing with Cantabile Women’s Chorus and working as Assistant Music Director of the Norwich Congregational Church in Norwich, Vermont (as well as working in the Special Education program at Westshire Elementary School in West Fairlee, Vermont). After returning to Burlington in 2021, Meg has been employed by her alma mater ever since, and she’s so excited to have joined the musical communities of both Solaris and Bella Voce in 2025!

Kathleen grew up loving Classical music and studied organ and piano in middle school and high school. She graduated from college with a BS in biochemistry and a minor concentration in mathematics. While in college she pursued her interest in singing as a member of the St. Michael’s College Chorale and Madrigal Singers. Since then, Kathleen has studied voice with Jill Hallett Levis and sung with the Colchester Community Chorus, Green Mountain Mahler Festival, Burlington Choral Society, Oriana Singers, and Vermont Choral Union. Kathleen has been a member of Solaris since January 2020. Her favorite periods of music to study (and sing!) are the early to late Renaissance and Baroque. Kathleen holds an MLIS from Simmons University School of Library and Information Science with a concentration in archives management and is the archivist at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. She lives in Essex Junction. In addition to singing, she enjoys baking, cooking, graphic design, and gardening.

Molly was born into a musical family, her mother a bassoonist for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, her father a pianist and vocalist for a number of choral groups over his lifetime. Exposed to a wide background of music, she developed a love for vocals across all genres. Most recently she has been singing with Aurora Chamber Singers and the Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington’s Community Choir. Many of her adult years were dedicated to the study of dance, drum, and the vocals of Guinea, West Africa as a student and member of Jeh Kulu Dance and Drum Theater of Burlington, Vermont. The fall of 2023 was Molly’s first season with Solaris Vocal Ensemble and she is thrilled to be part of this dynamic and talented group of artists.

Lily joins Solaris as a Vermonter and University of Vermont junior, studying music education. Lily has sung in choral festivals across New England and at multiple ACDA Regional and National festivals. Previously, she has sung with the University of Vermont Catamount Singers, Concert Choir and Jazz Vocal Ensemble. She enjoys substitute teaching and being outside in her time off, as well as performing in a band with her friends on campus. Lily hopes to become a high school choral director when she completes her studies in May of 2028.

Nan was introduced to many musical genres at an early age instilling in her the desire to continue singing in choruses throughout her life. Nan joined Solaris in 2014, was one of the founding members of Bella Voce and Cantiamo and sang with the VSO Chorus for 16 years. Choral music continues to keep her active while gardening at her home in Essex, Vermont fulfills her love of nature’s beauty during our now ‘too-hot’ summers. Nan loves spending time with her family and their two Cockapoos, Brydie & Binx, and always looks forward to the Fall season!

Steve Olson is the Director of Music at the Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Shelburne, VT where he teaches Music Theory and Music History. He also directs choral and orchestral ensembles in grades 3 through 12. In addition, Steve runs a full-time private Violin, Viola, and Cello studio, and he is a freelance cellist who performs in various ensembles in the Burlington area.

Becky loves singing, especially in choral ensembles. She has sung with Solaris since its beginning, as well as with Bella Voce (since 2004), Cantiamo (since 2009), and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus (since 1996). She retired from a long career at Champlain College, and now works part time as a substitute teaching in South Burlington schools. When she is not working or singing, she can be found reading, hiking, biking, boating on Lake Champlain, and spending time with her family.

Toby is a native Vermonter and vocal enthusiast. She has sung with a variety of choral ensembles over the years including All State chorus, church choirs, South Burlington Community Chorus and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra chorus. She is a current member of Bella Voce, Cantiamo and Solaris. She works at UVM Medical Center as a nurse on the trauma team. In her free time, she loves to cook, read, golf, snowshoe and spend quality time with her family.

Caleb Roman joined Solaris Fall 2017 and has served on the board since Spring 2022. As a graduate of Saint Michael’s College (class of 2020) with concentrated studies in theater and vocal performance, Caleb is often actively engaged with musical projects and local theatre productions. In his spare time, Caleb enjoys crafting, reading sci-fi novels, and adding movies to his ever-growing Letterboxd watchlist.

Sean is a classically trained tenor who joined Solaris in the fall of 2025. He sang for several years with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the official chorus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, performing at Symphony Hall, Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, and London’s Royal Albert Hall, and on tour throughout Europe under conductors including James Levine and Sir Colin Davis. He has also appeared with opera companies in Boston and New York in productions of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and La Bohème. He is an alumnus of Boston College and its University Chorale, where he studied Philosophy and Computer Science. Sean is Chief Technology Officer at OhMD in Burlington and lives in Essex with his wife and two children.

Geoffrey joined Solaris in the Fall of 2024. A Virginia native, Geoffrey grew up singing in choirs at church and school before later performing as part of the Virginia Glee Club at the University of Virginia. Post-college, he sang with the Charlottesville-based Virginia Consort for many years. In his day job, Geoffrey analyzes and writes about U.S. elections and politics. He lives with his wife and son in the Burlington area.

Julia earned her B.S. in Music Education with a voice concentration from Plymouth State University and a M.A. in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Julia recently moved to her home state of Vermont after living in NYC where she taught music in the New York City Public Schools for nine years. While in NYC, she sang with the Teachers College Community Choir and the Cecilia Chorus of New York, performing biannual concerts at Carnegie Hall. Julia teaches music and directs the chorus program at Edmunds Middle School in Burlington, VT.

Jake, who joined Solaris in 2018, was active in several choral and instrumental ensembles while at Saint Michael’s College, including the College’s Chorale, Liturgical Choir, and Jazz Band; he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Classic Languages there. He is currently absorbed in translating texts in classical Latin, Greek, and French, and has an avid interest in Medieval and Renaissance music.

Katherine received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Vassar College and an M.Phil in Musicology from the University of Cambridge, studying voice and 16th century music. A native Washingtonian, her love of choral music was fostered in the Gospel and Madrigal choirs of the DC public schools she attended. She sang with the Choral Arts Society of Washington before going to medical school at the University of Virginia. She is a Neurologist with the University of Vermont Medical Center. She joined Solaris in 2018.

Linda has been active in choral singing since her school days and has studied vocal technique with several teachers. In addition to being a charter member of Solaris, Linda also sings with Bella Voce (since 2004), and Bella Voce’s small group, Cantiamo (2009), and has sung with the Vermont Symphony Chorus..

Gail began singing at an early age, performing in church and select choirs throughout her school years. She earned a BA in Music from Mercyhurst University, where she developed a particular love of opera and oratorio. During college, she performed the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica and the role of Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, as well as soloing in Handel’s Messiah and other works. In Vermont, Gail has been a member and soloist with the Oriana Singers, Aurora Singers, and Vermont Choral Union. She has also performed with Vermont Virtuosi and in recitals in the Burlington area. She continues to enjoy sharing her love of singing through performances in her community.

Stuart has enjoyed singing in school, church, and community choruses since middle school. His Vermont experiences have included Onion River Chorus, VT Philharmonic Chorus, Bethany UCC Church choir in Montpelier, College Street Congregational Church Choir, Aurora, and Unadilla Theater Gilbert & Sullivan productions. He has retired from family medicine and lives in Burlington, VT.

Solaris Artistic Director

Dawn Willis is the Artistic Director and founder of the Solaris Vocal Ensemble. Under her leadership, Solaris has produced four CDs and performed throughout the region including a guest performance at the American Choral Directors’ Association “Gather at the River” conference in New Hampshire and tours to Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and the Portland, Maine area.

Dawn is also the Artistic Director of Bella Voce Women’s Chorus of Vermont and she has served as the Assistant Director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Chorus Director for the Green Mountain Opera Festival, and as Music Director at First Baptist Church, Burlington.

Dawn holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Music from Arizona State University and Master’s degrees in Sacred Music and Choral Conducting from Southern Methodist University. Dr. Willis has served as the Director of Choral Activities at McMurry University and Iowa Wesleyan College and conducted choral ensembles at the University of Vermont, Arizona State University, and Iowa State University. She has conducted performances of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the New England Symphonic Ensemble, and the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra. She has also prepared choruses for regional orchestras in Iowa and Texas, in addition to conducting numerous festivals, clinics, workshops, musicals, operas, and madrigal dinners throughout the Midwest, Texas, and New England.