Cal-Western Region Officers
Jennifer Erickson
NATS Cal-Western Regional Director
calwestern@nats.org
Dr. Jennifer H. Erickson is a passionate educator and singer who enjoys a diverse and unique career. A native of Utah, Jennifer has sung, directed, music directed, conducted, and coached diction with various groups throughout the area, most notably NEXT Ensemble, Utah Opera, Utah Symphony Chorus, Moab Music Festival, Weber State University, and University of Utah, as well as recitals, big band concerts, and other solo and group performance opportunities. Jennifer has a passion for teaching and has enjoyed working at the university level for the past decade – in the classroom and in the voice studio. She currently works at the University of Utah in the Musical Theatre Program. Jennifer has a love for many styles of singing and has worked to be proficient in singing and teaching classical, musical theatre, jazz, and CM techniques. Jennifer has been a guest master clinician for voice studios and choirs at the university level, and for private studios and public schools. Along with her teaching responsibilities at the university level, Jennifer teaches private voice from her home studio in Syracuse, UT. A long-time member of NATS, Jennifer has served at the chapter level as Audition Coordinator, Vice-President, and as Chapter President for the Northern Utah Chapter, and as Treasurer and now Region Governor of the NATS Cal-Western Region. Jennifer holds a DMA and MM in Voice Performance from the University of Utah.
Emily Sinclair
CWR Auditions Chair
evsincla@ucsc.edu
Position Now Open
CWR Treasurer
calwesterntreasurer@nats.org
Serena Kanig Benish
CWR Development Liason
serena.kanig@gmail.com
Allison Houston
CWR Webmaster
allisonhouston@gmail.com
Allison is the NATS CWR Webmaster and also serves as the Valley of the Sun Chapter Treasurer. She is a graduate of Arizona State University's Music Theatre program and currently heads the theatre, voice, and dance department at East Valley High School in Mesa, Arizona. She runs a private studio in Queen Creek and is the founding artistic director of Places! Productions, a non-profit performing arts program. Her performance credits include over 30 productions, with favorite roles including Natalie in Loves Makes the World Go 'Round (World Premiere), Olive (...Spelling Bee), Kate Monster/Lucy (Avenue Q), and Lucy (...Charlie Brown).
Valentine Baron
SNATS Region Coordinator
valentine.baron475@gmail.com
After a Bachelor, and a Master in Musicology obtained in France, she moved to New York in 2014 to continue her studies with a Master of Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from New York University. While at NYU she was an adjunct instructor of Voice for two years. After her graduation in 2016, she stayed in New York and took a non-credit vocology class where she observed the work of speech pathologists at the NYU Voice center.
In 2017, she returned to France and established her private voice studio in Paris. In 2018, she moved back to the United States to complete her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in voice in the studio of the soprano Dr. Linda Lister at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Valentine's dissertation focuses on the use of the neglected French opera comique repertoire to develop vocal agility of light lyric coloratura soprano voices. Valentine is the winner of the 2022 National Opera Association dissertation competition. In 2024, her first article "Vocal Agility: Six Pedagogues' Recommendations for the Practice of an Essential Skill"in collaboration with John Nix was published in the Journal of Singing.
During her journey at UNLV Valentine was the treasurer of the University of Las Vegas, SNATS. As a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, she is currently the Vice President of the NATS Las Vegas Chapter and serves as the SNATS coordinator for the NATS Cal-Western Region.
Katie Tupper
NATS DEI Task Force Committee Chair
katie.tupper@gmail.com
To learn more about MOSAIC, the group created by the DEITF, please click on the link below.
MOSAIC: Music Of all Sectors And Inclusive Composers
Dr. Phillip Harris
CWR DEI Task Force Committee Advisor
CWR DEI Task Force Committee Advisor
Phillip Harris is singer and teacher with a diverse background in vocal music that includes classical, musical theater, gospel, and rhythm and blues. He has performing associations with Carnegie Hall, San Francisco Symphony, Oakland Symphony, San Francisco Opera (Chorus), Aspen Music Festival, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Opera Las Vegas, Mountain Play, Pocket Opera, and San Mateo Masterworks Chorale. Teaching associations include San Francisco Conservatory of Music, San Francisco Girls Chorus, Peabody Conservatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, Alabama State University, Los Medanos College, University of Nevada Las Vegas, San Francisco City College, West Valley College, MoonSchool at 42nd Street Moon, Head-Royce, The Nueva School, Convent & Stuart Hall, and Menlo School. Phillip previously served for four years as Co-VP of Students Auditions in the SFBAC-NATS chapter. Recordings include Phillip Harris in Recital with Damien Sneed, an EP of original music, In My Philz, and a recording of Dr. Deon Nielson Price’s work, “Gallery.” He holds voice degrees from University of California Irvine (B.M.), University of Michigan (M.M.), and University of Nevada Las Vegas (D.M.A.). More information is available at www.philliplnharris.com.
Dr. Darryl Taylor
CWR DEI Task Force Committee Advisor
Darryl Taylor's performances have been noted for their compelling artistry and authority. His is an international career highlighted by performances of art song, opera and oratorio. Opera highlights: title role in Phillip Glass' Akhnaten for Long Beach Opera; L.A. Opera’s Dido and Aeneas; Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and King Arthur for Long Beach Opera; Pergolesi and Vivaldi Stabat Mater with Lyra Baroque Orchestra of St. Paul, Minnesota; performances with the Carmel Bach Festival; the Bach Collegium San Diego under Richard Egarr, Solomon with the City Choir of Washington under Robert Shafer and performances at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Founder of the African American Art Song Alliance <https://artsongalliance.org>, his extensive discography of recordings on Naxos and Albany record labels has received lavish praise. He was recently inducted to the American Academy of Teachers of Singing, and served as a 2022 Master Teacher for the NATS Intern Program. www.darryltaylor.com