​Dr. Ingrid Lestrud

Artistic Director

Dr. Ingrid Lestrud enjoys an active career as a conductor and educator. Drawn to music and singing at an early age, she studied vocal performance as an undergraduate and discovered a passion for conducting choral and orchestral music. She went on to study conducting at the graduate level, eventually completing her Doctor of Music degree at Northwestern University, where she studied with Victor Yampolsky. While living in Chicago, Dr. Lestrud sang with the Chicago Symphony Chorus for several seasons under the baton of Riccardo Muti, performing in the Grammy award-winning recording of Verdi’s Requiem. She spent three years as the Voice Department Chair of the Merit School of Music, a community music school that serves over six thousand students with a focus on underserved communities. Collaborating with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, she worked with Renée Fleming to develop curriculum for Merit’s Solo Voice Program, and her choir performed for and with Ms. Fleming for special events.​
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Dr. Lestrud has served on the faculty of several colleges in the midwest and on the east coast, leading choral and orchestral programs. Formerly the Principal Associate Conductor of the Grammy award-winning National Children’s Chorus, she worked with some of the finest young singers in the nation, preparing them for concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Kennedy Center. In 2019, she performed as a member of the Living Arts Collective at the National Gallery of Art, conducting several movements of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire in an event that showcased both musicians and dancers, highlighting an exhibition of lunar photographs and commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing. Dr. Lestrud is also a conductor with Encore Creativity, a choral organization for older adults that focuses on preparing high quality performances while also fostering a sense of community through singing.

John Nothaft

Pianist

John Nothaft from Vienna, Virginia, serves as the Director of Music Ministries at Lewinsville Presbyterian Church in McLean, VA as organist and choirmaster, created and curates their “Holy Happy Hour” concert series, and oversees a music ministry program of nine music ensembles. During the pandemic he started a weekly “Friday Fortissimo” music video. John graduated with his M.M. 18’ from the studio of David Higgs at The Eastman School of Music. John received his B.M. 16’ from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and Hutton Honors College where he studied with Janette Fishell. Former organ teachers include Colin Andrews, and through the Potomac Organ Institute scholarship, Paul Skevington and Edward Alan Moore. John has studied sacred music with Bruce Neswick, Marilyn Keiser, Douglas Reed, and Robert Nicholls. He has studied piano with Marcia Chaplin and was awarded the Virginia Federation of Music Clubs Scholarship. He has participated in master classes with John Ferguson, Jeremy Filsell, David Higgs, and Ben Hutto. John has attended the McGill Summer Organ Academy, Oundle Organ Festival, and Westminster Choir College Organ Institute. He has served as organ scholar for RSCM courses in Houston, TX, Newport, RI and Washington, DC. In 2017, he was the first prize winner of the National Federation of Music Clubs Collegiate Organ Competition and recipient of the NPM members scholarship. As an Oundle recital winner he performed recitals at Truro Cathedral and Chester Cathedral in the UK. Recent performances include the Noontime Cantata Series with the Washington Bach Consort, Chevy Chase Presbyterian’s Bachathon, Piccolo-Spoleto L’Organo’s music festival, Charleston S.C, and at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle, WA. John is an avid tennis player and USPTA-certified coach. John has written a musical children’s book Old McHandel & His Musical Farm which is on sale in the U.S., Europe, and through Amazon.

Kobe Brown

Joseph and Karen Luquire Conducting Fellow
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Kobe Brown is a multi-talented graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in choral conducting at the University of Maryland. Growing up in Huntsville AL, he has been interested in several contrasting career paths, such as graphic design, nursing, photography, and pharmacy. However, since joining the world-renowned choir “the Aeolians of Oakwood University”, he has fully committed himself to pursuing a career in choral conducting. He has performed in choirs nationally all over the United States, and internationally in many countries including the Dominican Republic, England, and South Africa. Kobe has achieved many high honors both chorally and individually. In 2022, he was awarded the Katherine & Richard Lester Emerging Arts Award for outstanding young musicians that have had a dramatic impact in the community. He strives to continue instilling an appreciation of choral music in youth and young adults.