Current board
Brianne Biastoff, President Choral Director, Nashua High School North Brianne Biastoff is in her tenth year both as Choral Director at Nashua High School North in Nashua, New Hampshire and as a member of the adjunct choral faculty at University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Ms. Biastoff's high school choirs have performed at venues in Montreal, New York City, and Brugges and Gent, Belgium. Choirs led by Ms. Biastoff have participated in several invitational collegiate choral festivals, and have consistently performed alongside choirs and orchestra from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, as well as having been recorded there. Ms. Biastoff’s private studio and public school students have participated in NAfME's All-National and All-Eastern Division Honors Ensemble Festivals, ACDA’s National and Eastern Division Honors Choirs as well as both Massachusetts and New Hampshire All-State festivals; a great number have also now moved on to higher education as music majors and have become music educators themselves. She is the current president of the New Hampshire Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, and was nominated for NH ACDA Choral Director of the Year for 2023. Ms. Biastoff’s recent guest conducting appearances include MMEA Southeastern Jr. District Treble Choir (MA), the Tri-County Choral Festival (MA), and the Nashua All-City Middle School Festival Chorus for the Nashua Sings! Festival. She has upcoming guest conducting appearances scheduled in both NH and MA in the upcoming school year. Ms. Biastoff's educational passions are focused on exploring diversity and inclusion in repertoire, classroom resources, curriculum, and personnel, especially as related to social justice. She is ACDA’s Repertoire and Resources chair for Treble Choirs in New Hampshire. Ms. Biastoff received both her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and has participated in the Sarteano Chamber Choral Conducting Workshop in Sarteano, Tuscany, Italy three times. As a singer, she has most recently performed as the alto soloist for Mozart's Requiem at UMass Lowell, and is currently a staff singer for First Church in Nashua, as well as a member of the alto section of the New Hampshire Master Chorale. She has recently performed with many choral groups including the Berkshire Bach Society, the Cantilena Chamber Choir, Chamber Singers of UMass Lowell, Albany Pro Musica and the Masterworks Chorale of Lexington, Massachusetts. Ms. Biastoff resides in Nashua, NH with her young son, Morgan. |
Emma Forest, President-Elect
Choral Music Director, Moultonborough Academy Emma Forest is the Choral Director at Moultonborough Academy where she teaches Middle Level Chorus, High School Choir, Drama, Studio and Digital Recording, and Middle Level General Music. Forest is the Music Director for the Annual MA Musical and coaches Varsity Cross Country and Varsity Track & Field. She graduated from Keene State College with a Bachelors in Music Education, majoring in voice with a secondary in oboe. Along with serving as the President-Elect for New Hampshire American Choral Directors Association, Emma also holds the position of Large Group Festival Chairperson for New Hampshire Music Educators Association. She actively performs as a soprano with New Hampshire Master Chorale and Pemigewasset Choral Society and has conducted in Quebec City, Germany, and across New Hampshire. |
Will Gunn, Immediate Past-President
Music Teacher, Plymouth Regional High School William Gunn is the director of music at Plymouth Regional HIgh School where he conducts the Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Concert Choir, and Chamber Singers. He is also the music director of the Pemigewasset Choral Society in Plymouth, NH. Mr. Gunn received his bachelor of music in music education from Ithaca College and his masters of music in conducting from Colorado State University. |
Becca Crivello, Secretary
Choral Director, Hudson Memorial School www.beccacrivello.weebly.com Becca Crivello is the Choral Director at Hudson Memorial School in Hudson where she teaches grades 6-8 choir, grades 7-8 general music, as well as an after-school, audition-based choir and the annual musical. She received her B.M. from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in Music Studies (Education) with a concentration in voice and a minor in Italian Studies. While at UMass Lowell, she founded The Hawkettes, a female-identified a cappella group and was their Music Director for 4 years. She received her M.M. in Music Education from Boston University. Upon graduating from Boston University, she received the prestigious Departmental Award in Music Education from the College of Fine Arts. She was an active member in both university's choirs, performing at venues such as Symphony Hall, Tsongas Center, and WGBH studios. Her past leadership experiences include being the Public Relations Chair for UMass Lowell's cNAfME Chapter and the Graduate Representative for Boston University's cNAfME Chapter, and most recently being the Commercial/Contemporary R&R Chair for New Hampshire ACDA. Becca's other musical endeavors include: being the Children's Choir Director at The First Church Nashua, singing in New Hampshire Master Chorale, involvement with the Sarteano Chamber Choral Conducting Workshop, and being an avid a cappella arranger. |
Sandra Howard, Treasurer
Professor of Music - Keene State College Music Education, Choral Methods, Keene State Concert Choir and Chamber Singers B.M.E., M.M., University of Maine; Ph.D., University of Missouri-Kansas City Dr. Howard earned a bachelor degree of music education and master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Maine and a doctoral degree in music education/curriculum and instruction from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She taught choral and general music at Kennett Middle and Senior High Schools in Conway, New Hampshire. Howard also served as adjunct faculty member at Granite State College in New Hampshire, Blue River Community College in Missouri, and at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Dr. Howard has worked with singers of all ages including preschoolers to senior citizens and is an active conductor/clinician for honor choruses across the United States. She has presented research and workshops at SRME Research Symposium, ACDA, and MENC regional and national conferences. Her choirs have performed in throughout the northeaster United States, Canada, and Germany. Research interests include visual biases in vocal performance evaluation, body mapping techniques in the choral rehearsal, music educators’ interpersonal skills, singers’ motivation, and female researcher contributions to music education. Dr. Howard’s scholarship has been published in the Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education and Teaching Music and she is an active member of ACDA, NAfME, and CMS. |
Blake Leister, Membership Chair
Choral Director & Music Educator, Windham High School www.blakeleister.com Blake Leister received his Masters of Music Education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Bachelor of Music from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Since 2022, he has been the Choral Director and Music Educator at Windham High School in Windham, NH where he conducts multiple choirs and teaches various music electives and theatre courses. Prior to this position, Mr. Leister was the Choral Director at West Running Brook Middle School in Derry, NH for 18 years. Blake performs with the BSO's Tanglewood Festival Choir and the New Hampshire Master Chorale. In addition, Blake is a highly active collaborative pianist, freelance musician, and theatre music director. He is a proud member of NHMEA and NHACDA. |