Directors
Loren C. Veigel
Adult Chorus Director
Loren Veigel is delighted to be the new director of VOCI. A native of Massillon and graduate of Tuslaw High School, Loren C. Veigel served thirty-one years in secondary choral music education. He received a Bachelor of Music Education degree, summa cum laude, from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, where he studied choral music with Cecil “Pop” Stewart and Bruce Browne. His graduate mentors included Paul Christiansen and Rodney Eichenberger. Veigel received the Master of Music in Choral Conducting, summa cum laude, from the University of Arizona, where he studied with Maurice Skones.
Mr. Veigel began teaching at Waynedale High School in Apple Creek, Ohio, followed by eight years directing at Jackson High School in Massillon, Ohio. After graduate school, Veigel returned to Ohio to teach at Lancaster Senior High School. He subsequently served fifteen years as director of vocal music for the Massillon City Schools and choral director at Massillon Washington High School. During his teaching career, his choirs became known throughout the state of Ohio due to their extensive travel, and their great success at adjudicated events, where they compiled a record of more than twenty-five AA state superior ratings. Mr. Veigel engineered the development of an in-school vocal coaching program, which has been emulated in many major high school choirs across the state. As a result, his choral programs often entered more than 100 soloists annually in solo and ensemble contests. Many of his former students have become college music majors and colleagues.
An interest in travel has pervaded Loren Veigel’s career. His choirs have performed in many states, extending as far as Florida and Arizona, as well as in Ontario and Quebec. As a director of the Ohio Honors Chorale, Veigel conducted in many European tours, culminating in four tours by the Massillon Washington Advanced Choir, taking them to England, Scotland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland. In retirement, Mr. Veigel serves as the Ohio representative for Witte Travel and Tours of Grand Rapids, Michigan, allowing him to work with many performance organizations preparing for tours.
Another important aspect of Mr. Veigel’s life has been church work. As an organ major, he began serving churches during his undergraduate years and continues to play in his retirement life. As choirmaster and organist at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Massillon, Ohio, he led a very active and high-quality church music program for many years. He also founded the Walsh University Chorale, serving there for more than five years, and is presently employed by the University of Akron, where he works with vocal music student teachers and teaches graduate secondary choral methods. He continues actively teaching high school music by serving as clinician for numerous high school events and teaching voice lessons at Massillon Washington High School, serving in the same coaching system he founded many years ago.
Professional memberships have included the American Choral Directors Association, in which he has served in several board positions; the Ohio Music Education Association, of which he was District Eight President; All State Choir Chair as an adjudicator and host for adjudicated events; and the American Guild of Organists.
In his first year as artistic director Mr. Veigel auditioned over thirty new singers to join VOCI. His dedication, professionalism and high standards are continually improving the quality programs for which Voices of Canton is known. Kimono, Where Charity and Love Prevail, 100 Years of Broadway and Songs for the Cause are just the beginning!
Christine Allison
Children's Chorus Director
Christine Allison is delighted to be in her first year as director of the Canton Children’s Choir. She has choral directing in her blood. Christine graduated from Mount Union College with a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance and a Bachelor of Music Education degree. It was during her college years that she discovered her love of choral directing. She has since been directing community and church choirs for 35 years, and has taken several on concert tours to Europe and throughout the United States. She is passionate about singing and worked with beginning children’s choirs in her 28 years as a church choir and bell director, where she directed close to 100 people every week. She teaches private voice lessons to a wide age range of singers, ages 12 to 84, and specializes in vocal problems.
She has sung in symphony choruses under the direction of Robert Page, Robert Shaw and others, studying their techniques as well as performing. Christine’s formal education continued at The University of Akron, as well as in yearly master classes and workshops over the last 20 years with Henry Leck (Indianapolis Children’s Choir), Alice Parker, Tom Trenny, Michael Burkhardt (children’s voices), Helen Kemp (children’s voices), John Rutter, Lloyd Pfautch and others.
Christine says, "you are never too old to stop learning" and as long as she can, she will continue to seek out educational opportunities to study with others and gain new insights into how the voice works.
Christine Allison
Bel' VOCI Director
Christine Allison is pleased to be in her second year as director of Bel’ VOCI, VOCI’s auditioned, community handbell choir. In addition to weekly rehearsals, she plans two bell concerts every year, a holiday and a spring concert. Over the last 18 years she has worked with prominent handbell musicians such as Cynthia Dobrinski, Arnold Sherman, William Payn, Kevin McChesney and Martha Lynn Thompson in master classes. An active local and area musician, she also directs Mount Union College’s handbell group in Alliance, Ohio.
Christine says, "you are never too old to stop learning" and as long as she can, she will continue to seek out educational opportunities to learn new techniques for handbells.
