Choir Members

Born and raised in Vancouver BC, Nick is delighted to be returning to Laudate Singers for his fourth season after a brief hiatus. He has been singing and performing music since elementary school. During his undergraduate studies at McGill University, he sang with the a capella ensemble New Earth Voices and with the light opera company McGill Savoy Society. He trained for several years under Matthew Chittick (M.Mus; Calgary Opera) as a classical baritone.

Nick returned to Vancouver in 2011 to study medicine at the University of British Columbia, during which he served for three years as Artistic Director of the UBC Medicine Choir and sang for three seasons with the Vancouver Peace Choir. Personal favourite repertoire since joining Laudate has included Charpentier’s Te Deum, Vivaldi’s Magnificat, and the Romancero Gitano suite by Carlos Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

When not singing, Nick works as a geriatric psychiatrist and researcher based in Vancouver and at the University of British Columbia.

Originally from Marseille, France, Lou received a Master’s degree in Music Therapy from Paris-Descartes University. She also holds a Master’s degree in Teaching and Education from ESPE Paris. Following an opportunity to move to Canada, she obtained her MT-BC and MTA status, her Teaching Certificate and joined ET Music Therapy as well as VSO School of Music as Music Therapist and Faculty member. Trained percussionist, pianist and singer in the Music Conservatory of Marseille, she has been a member of various orchestras, bands and choirs in Paris, France and Calgary, Canada. Singing being essential in her life, she is thrilled to join Laudate Singers this year to pursue her passion. When not practicing music, Lou is enjoying her new life in Vancouver, hiking, climbing, swimming, exploring as much as she can. 

Maureen is very pleased to return to Laudate Singers after nearly 10 years off pursuing other adventures.  A North Vancouver native, she’s been singing in choirs since early childhood.  Life-changing  experiences with BCMEA Honour Choirs and post-secondary ensembles such as the University of Victoria Chamber Singers and UBC’s University Singers cemented choral music as being central to her life and identity.  More recently, Maureen has had the pleasure of experimenting further with vocal jazz, another genre close to her heart, and exploring a wide variety of musical styles with the former vocal ensemble Sound Eclectic.  A lover of nature, she spends a good deal of time hiking, running, gardening, paddleboarding, and doing yoga in this beautiful corner of the world.  In addition, Maureen is a Secondary Teacher of English and Social Studies and the mother of two high-energy boys.  

Andrew has been studying music from a very young age, starting with the piano when he was 5 years old. He began singing and taking voice lessons when he was 12 and has since been singing in churches and choirs. Moving from the Okanagan in 2011 to study the drums, Andrew has been singing bass in various choirs on the North Shore. After recently graduating from Capilano University with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz, Andrew is excited to be returning to Laudate Singers this season as he hopes to continue to spread the joy of music as he moves to the next chapter in his life.

Originally from Calgary, Caroline has been singing since childhood, along with studying piano and, briefly, flute. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics at the University of British Columbia, and her PhD from the University of Waterloo. She balances her love of choral singing with her career as an infectious disease researcher. She has sung with the Vancouver Bach Choir, the Grand Philharmonic Choir in Kitchener with Howard Dyck, Montreal’s Orpheus Singers and the Collegium Musicum of London Chamber Choir. She is excited to have joined Laudate Singers, and particularly enjoys Laudate’s diversity of repertoire. 

Born and raised in Stuttgart, Germany, Nathan Kaleta began developing his love for music at the age of 7 with piano lessons. Inspired by his father’s musical career at the Stuttgart State Opera Chorus, he joined his first choir at age 11 and has been a passionate choir singer ever since. During his studies, he was part of Stuttgart’s Academic Choir and performed many concerts, including Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Orff’s “Carmina Burana”, Brahms’ “Deutsches Requiem” and Mendelssohn’s “Elijah”.

After moving to Canada, he contacted Lars Kaario for an opportunity to continue his musical journey on a new continent. Nathan is very excited and honored to be a part of Laudate Singers this season and is looking forward to creating beautiful music together with all these wonderful and talented singers.

Having graduated from Capilano University with a Classical Music Diploma in trumpet, piano and voice, Preston currently studies at the University of British Columbia and is actively working towards finishing his Bachelor of Education in Music; sharing his enthusiasm for music with other unanimous individuals.

Passionately ambitious and driven about anything he does, Preston first started his musical training on piano at around age 5, setting off his continued involvement in the music community at a very young age. Throughout his high school years, he attended the Sarah McLachlan School of Music; while there, he took part in the choirs, studied piano, music theory and began taking voice lessons. Upon graduating high school Preston began his studies at Capilano University, deciding to further expand his musical knowledge and pursue trumpet as his main instrument, which he began learning at age 8. While continuing his education with the trumpet, piano, and singing, he loves being active in the music community, taking part in various groups, churches, and semi-pro choirs.

Eager to have joined Laudate near the end of the 2015/16 season, he looks forward to singing with other like-minded musicians under the direction of Lars Kaario once again.

This is Amy’s first year with the Laudate Singers and she is looking forward to singing with Lars and the wonderful singers in the choir.

Choral music is an important part of Amy’s life. Amy has sung in many choirs, including the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Mendelssohn Singers, the Vancouver Bach Choir, Pandora’s Vox and Espiritu. Amy is also a church musician and has been choir director, cantor, organist at various Catholic parishes. She was a Board member at Choral Canada and is currently a Board member of the BC Choral Federation.

Amy is an actuary by profession and is a pension consultant who works with organizations to help them manage their pension arrangements for employees.

As long as she can remember, Sophia has been an enthusiastic chorister, beginning at the impressionable age of 7, when she performed with a local children’s choir at the annual Nutcracker ballet in Kelowna, BC. From then on, she knew that the incomparable feeling of singing together would be an essential part of her life. She has found great joy in singing and learning with various choirs in the years since, including Les Muses Chorale in Montreal, QC, a McGill University choir which she sang with for four years during her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering. When she is not making music, Sophia works as a water/wastewater process engineer, designing sewage treatment plants here in Vancouver, BC. She is thrilled to be joining the Laudate Singers this year.