Our Team

Melody Svennungsen
Artistic Director, Grace Notes

Melody Svennungsen is a “local” and loves her hometown of San Luis Obispo. She has over 40 years of experience in vocal and theatre performance and appears as soloist for local choral groups, most recently the San Luis Obispo Vocal Arts Ensemble. As a member of SLOVAE since 1986, Melody served as Soprano Section Leader and Gary Lamprecht’s Assistant Director. At Gary’s recent passing, Melody accepted the position of A. D. for the Vocal Arts. Melody’s official conducting career began with the CCYC 18 years ago just before receiving her Vocal Performance degree at Cal Poly in 2006. While at university, she served as assistant conductor for Dr. Davies and studied voice with both Katherine Arthur and Jackie Kreitzer. Melody is grateful for the richness and meaning that music brings to her life, and for the opportunity to facilitate the love of music and the deep bonding among the CCYC singers that results from singing together. ​

Inga Swearingen
Associate Director, Cantate

​Inga Swearingen is also a native of SLO county. Pursuing her love of music from a young age, Inga sang in choirs and studied voice at San Luis Obispo High School, Cuesta College, Cal Poly University, and the Musik Hochschule in Lucerne, Switzerland. Eventually she earned her master’s degree in choral conducting from Florida State University. During that time, Inga received her first invitation to appear on Garrison Keillor’s renowned radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, an opportunity that led to over a dozen appearances on the show. Currently, Inga teaches jazz voice, songwriting and musicianship at Cuesta College, performs with her band, and spends time with her family, which includes keeping up with her 13-year-old son and 8-year-old niece, who are both singing with CCYC!

Susannah Fletcher
Associate Director, Aria

Susannah Fletcher has grown up on the Central Coast. She has had a wide variety of musical experience, from musical theater, playing the Arabic accordion at Cal Poly, singing in the San Luis Obispo Vocal Arts Ensemble, and serving as accompanist on organ and piano for St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. The first choir she sang in, however, was the Central Coast Children's Choir, which is now CCYC! She is honored to be able to come back as a Director and teach music to children. Her passion for singing started with this organization, and she hopes she can share that same passion with the children in Brio. Susannah met her husband Westley when they were 7, and is happily married along with being a mom to their 7-year-old son Christian, who is singing with CCYC today!

Sarah Jane Scott
Accompanist

Sarah Jane Scott is a pianist, vocalist, and educator holding degrees in music from both California Polytechnic State University and Northern Virginia Community College. A lifelong musician, Sarah Jane began singing and playing piano at the age of four. With extensive experience as both a soloist and accompanist, she has collaborated with choirs, award-winning musical theater productions, jazz ensembles, and orchestras. In addition to her piano, vocal, and choral expertise, she earned a scholarship to study pipe organ through the Potomac Organ Institute, based in Maryland and Washington, D.C. She has also studied guitar, cello, and flute.  One of her particular strengths is sight-reading and sight-singing music from a wide variety of traditions and genres.

Originally from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Sarah Jane grew up immersed in a vibrant artistic community, performing with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, singing in operas in the Castleton Festival under the direction of the late Maestro Lorin Maazel, and performing with numerous award-winning regional theaters. She has studied under the tutelage of Lori Lind, a descendant of the famed soprano Jenny Lind, and Miloš Repický of the Curtis Institute of Music, among other distinguished instructors. Her performance career has taken her to prestigious venues including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the National Cathedral.

Kaz Pearson
Director, Music Makers

Kaz Pearson is a SLO native living in Grover Beach, after spending a few years in New York. She graduated from Cal Poly with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies and a minor in Music. She has been teaching kindergarten in Santa Maria for over 25 years while also performing in musical theatre productions all over the Central Coast. She is part of Coastal Performing Arts Foundation's Artistic Team and has been involved in directing Coastal Youth Theater productions for over the last 10 years. And she has been a dance teacher on and off since college at Academy of Dance, Coastal Dance and Music Academy, and Flex Performing Arts.

About Music Makers, Kaz says, “we are going to have a lot of fun! I look forward to meeting you all. I'm here to make this a joyful experience for all of us!"

Board of Directors

Mladen Bandov, President

Jordan Garbayo

Tracy Gillson

​​JoAnne Stoddard

Stu Stoddard, Treasurer

Lianne Westberg, Secretary