Quintessence: A Community of Singers

Quintessence: A Community of Singers Matthew Greer, Artistic Director
Abby Greenwald, Executive Director

OUR VISION
* To provide audiences with opportunities to hear a wide array of traditional and eclectic choral music delivered with professionalism and a dose of quirkiness throughout the year;
* To be a destination in greater Albuquerque for enjoying unique programs with exceptional musicianship;
* To be supported by a sustaining, effective, accountable board resulting in fiscal stability; and
* T

o seek new ways to bring choral music to an ever growing audience. Quintessence is an ensemble-in-residence of St John's United Methodist Church and a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

☀️ The longest day of the year is almost here, and so is our 24-hour fundraiser, Solstice for Song! True confession: we ...
06/18/2026

☀️ The longest day of the year is almost here, and so is our 24-hour fundraiser, Solstice for Song!

True confession: we usually hold our 24-hour fundraiser ON the actual solstice, but this year June 21st falls on Father's Day. We just can't compete with all your cool dads, so we're starting a little early. 😎

Join us on JUNE 19th for a full day of music, meaning, and giving. We'll be raising $100/hour to support Quintessence and all our programs that keep Albuquerque singing!

Mark your calendars! 🎶

We're thrilled to welcome Teaching Artists from the VOCES8 Scholars program to our Summer Choral Festival! Since 2018, T...
06/14/2026

We're thrilled to welcome Teaching Artists from the VOCES8 Scholars program to our Summer Choral Festival! Since 2018, The VOCES8 Foundation has partnered with Quintessence to bring talented young professional singers to Albuquerque. Throughout the festival, these artists will perform with the Scholars Chorus while also sharing their expertise through coaching and educational sessions with festival participants.

✨MEET TEACHING ARTIST ELIZABETH TAIT✨
Elizabeth Tait is a Houston-based vocalist with roots in choral music. She is a founding member of Lyyra, a 6 member all female vocal ensemble established by the Voces8 Foundation in 2023. She is currently a staff soprano at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church and soprano with the Houston early music ensemble Harmonia Stellarum. Elizabeth has sung previously with the Houston Chamber Choir, and performed on their Grammy award-winning album, “Duruflé: Complete Choral Works”. Her performance experience ranges from female a ca****la, to jazz, to musical theatre. She enjoys training and caring for her cat, and hanging with her niece and nephew.

The Summer Choral Festival wouldn't be the same without our incredible Teaching Artists from the VOCES8 Scholars program...
06/13/2026

The Summer Choral Festival wouldn't be the same without our incredible Teaching Artists from the VOCES8 Scholars program! Thanks to our partnership with The VOCES8 Foundation , which began in 2018, festival participants have the opportunity to learn from outstanding young professional singers who perform, teach, and mentor throughout the week.

✨MEET TEACHING ARTIST JACK WILLIAMS III✨
Jack Williams III, a versatile teaching artist and vocalist from Detroit, MI, holds a degree in Choral Music Education from the University of Michigan. He has appeared as a soloist and chorus member across the United States and internationally with ensembles such as Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club and Chamber Choir. Some notable appearances have been the Detroit Jazz Festival, the Apollo Theater, Joe’s Pub, Carnegie Hall, World Choir Games and collaborations with Foreigner, Josh Groban, and VOCES8, and Pentatonix. Currently, he is the Upper School Music Director at Gill St. Bernard’s in Peapack, NJ and sings with the Young New Yorkers Chorus.

😎We had such a wonderful week at Quintessence Music Camp!Thank you to all the teaching artists and volunteers who sang, ...
06/12/2026

😎We had such a wonderful week at Quintessence Music Camp!

Thank you to all the teaching artists and volunteers who sang, danced, played and made this week a whole lot of fun.

Since 2018, The VOCES8 Foundation has partnered with Quintessence to bring remarkable Teaching Artists from the VOCES8 ...
06/12/2026

Since 2018, The VOCES8 Foundation has partnered with Quintessence to bring remarkable Teaching Artists from the VOCES8 Scholars program to our Summer Choral Festival. These talented young professionals sing with the Scholars Chorus, while coaching and teaching festival registrants.

✨MEET TEACHING ARTIST MAXWELL TROMBLEY✨
Maxwell Trombley is a Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) student in Choral Conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he studies with Joe Miller and Brett Scott. He serves as the 2025–2026 Choral Conducting Fellow with the Cincinnati May Festival. As a vocalist, Trombley performs internationally and with major American orchestras,
including the New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and New World Symphony. He is a 2025–2026 VOCES8 US Scholar and has performed with Seraphic Fire as a member of its Early Artist Program. Additional appearances include the Spoleto Festival USA and the Bay View Music Festival. Trombley’s research centers on the revival and performance of music by 19th-century Puerto Rican composer Felipe Gutiérrez y Espinosa. In support of this work, he was awarded a 2024 Field Research Grant from the University of Miami’s Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas and is a recipient of the Presser Foundation Graduate Music Award. He was also named a semi-finalist for the 2025–2026 Fulbright U.S. Student Program. He holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Western Michigan University and a
Bachelor of Music Education from Eastern Michigan University.

A special part of our Summer Choral Festival each year is the opportunity to work with Teaching Artists from the VOCES8 ...
06/11/2026

A special part of our Summer Choral Festival each year is the opportunity to work with Teaching Artists from the VOCES8 Scholars program. Since 2018, The VOCES8 Foundation has partnered with Quintessence to enrich the festival experience with exceptional young professional singers who perform, teach, and inspire our festival registrants.

✨MEET TEACHING ARTIST LEAH ROSENMAN✨
Leah Rosenman, a mezzo-soprano based in Rochester, NY, is an avid performer of vocal repertoire spanning from Hildegard to Howells. Praised for her musical sensitivity and passion for collaboration, Leah believes that creative expression is a necessary act in a world that promotes the devaluation of humanity. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, the Eastman Bach Cantata Series, the Eastman Collegium, the Berkshire Symphony, the Northern Berkshire Chorale, the I/O New Music Festival, the Williams Opera Workshop, and the Mediterranean Opera Studio and Festival. As a chorister, she has sung with the 2025-2026 VOCES8 US Scholars, the Spoleto Festival USA Chorus, the Northwestern Bach Academy, the Amherst Early Music Festival, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Leah received her BA in music from Williams College. She is currently pursuing her MA in music leadership from the Eastman School of Music, where she is also a voice student of Katherine Ciesinski. When not singing, Leah enjoys reading poetry, taking photos, and spending time with her cat, Jojo.

We're thrilled to welcome Teaching Artists from the VOCES8 Scholars program to our Summer Festival! Since 2018, The VOCE...
06/10/2026

We're thrilled to welcome Teaching Artists from the VOCES8 Scholars program to our Summer Festival! Since 2018, The VOCES8 Foundation has partnered with Quintessence to provide young professional singers who offer their talents to the Summer Choral Festival. VOCES8 Teaching artists will sing with the Scholars Chorus, as well as teaching and coaching festival registrants.

✨MEET TEACHING ARTIST SHELBY GRIFFIN✨
Shelby Griffin is a composer, conductor, and soprano based in Houston, Texas. She is finishing up her Bachelors in Music Education at the University of Houston. She is currently the director of Ardore, an a ca****la chamber choir at UH. Throughout her schooling, she has had multiple original arrangements and compositions premiered, and enjoys composing choral and solo vocal works. She has traveled internationally to compete in choral competitions with UH’s Concert Chorale, bringing home 3rd place and Grand Prize awards. She is passionate about performing works by living composers, and premiered Nansi Carroll’s “Chembe Cha Moyo,” a Swahili song cycle set to poetry by Alamin Marzui. Alongside her love for current composers like Ivo Antognini, Paul Mealor, Nansi Carroll, and many more, she has a special place in her heart for the Romantic era, favoring Olivier Messiaen and Sergei Rachmaninoff. In her free time outside of music, she enjoys lifting weights, perfecting her matcha latté recipe, and snacking on mandarin oranges.

✨Announcing our 2026 Summer Festival Choral Scholars! ✨These student singers were selected by audition and teacher recom...
06/04/2026

✨Announcing our 2026 Summer Festival Choral Scholars! ✨

These student singers were selected by audition and teacher recommendation, and will form our Summer Festival Scholars Chorus. You can hear them perform at our Festival Concert on Sunday, July 19 at 3pm at V. Sue Cleveland High School.
Congratulations, Choral Scholars! 👏👏👏

Zane Begay - Del Norte High School
Olivia Chavez - New Mexico State University
Emily Christopher - The Public Academy of the Performing Arts
Jaxsen Cordova - Moriarty High School
Amy Elliott - Baylor University
Aiden Gilbert - The University of New Mexico
Hamilton Gillis - Eastern New Mexico University
Jude Harb - The University of Missouri - Kansas City
Leah Jones - La Cueva High School
Kimberly Jurgens - The University of New Mexico
Phangea Manyseng-Gutierrez - New Mexico State University
Eden Miller - The Public Academy of the Performing Arts
Sam Moreno - The University of New Mexico
Emma Rodriguez - Moriarty High School
Sophia Rodriguez - The University of New Mexico
Nikolai Searcy - Rio Rancho High School
Nina Serna - Sandia High School
Michael Steplowski - Sandia High School
Angeline Vredenburg - Rio Rancho High School
Brock Willard - The University of New Mexico

Okay, last clue before the answer drops tomorrow 🎵Can you name that tune? This will be one of the songs we perform at ou...
05/16/2026

Okay, last clue before the answer drops tomorrow 🎵

Can you name that tune? This will be one of the songs we perform at our 5/17 concert, Pop Tarts 2!

👇 One more shot—tell us your guess below!

Address

8210 Louisiana Boulevard NE #B
Albuquerque, NM
87113

Telephone

+15055735122

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