Staff & Board of Trustees

Daniel Price

Artistic Director & Conductor, Board Chair
An accomplished and award-winning conductor and music director, Daniel Price has led a wide variety of choral and instrumental groups all over the world.  He began by earning a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Cedarville University.  After singing for one season with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, he led vocal and instrumental programs at the High School, Community, and Collegiate levels for 6 years.  Upon receiving both a Master and Doctorate in Choral Conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Daniel was selected to be the conductor of The United States Air Force Singing Sergeants, a 24-voice professional choir based in Washington, D.C.  During his 25-year career in the Air Force he led numerous musical organizations of up to 60 professional musicians with budgets in excess of $1M to present more than 500 performances a year.

He not only was honored by being appointed Air Force Chief of Music, he also led numerous professional ensembles in acclaimed performances at home and abroad.  These included notable performances in the White House and the Naval Observatory for 5 Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States, a command performance for King Rama IX of Thailand, and numerous Independence Day performances at the Mt Rushmore National Memorial.  After commanding The USAF Academy Band in Colorado Springs for 6 years and then serving as the Assistant Conductor of the Colorado Springs Chorale, he recently became co-founder and Artistic Director of Colorado’s newest performing arts organization, ChoralSong of Colorado Springs.

An accomplished recording artist, Daniel has led professional musicians in over 15 recording projects, the most recent of which were music videos of Norman Dello Joio’s “Jubilant Song” and Dan Forrest’s “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” with The USAF Academy Band and the Colorado Springs Chorale.  In addition to his formal education, Daniel Price has studied with world-renowned conductors Craig Kirchoff, H. Robert Reynolds, and Robert Shaw.

Steven Harter

Assistant Conductor & Executive Director, Vice Chair
Steve Harter holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from McMurry University and a Master of Church Music in Conducting from Scarritt Graduate School. His 42-year career as a church musician was primarily divided between Central United Protestant Church in Richland, Washington, and First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs. Besides touring and presenting choral concerts at several major cathedrals and abbeys in England, Scotland and Wales, one of his choirs also sang in a combined performance at Carnegie Hall. While in Washington, Steve also conducted The Oratorio Chorus in performances of major classical works with orchestra, and The Mid-Columbia Symphony Chorus, which he not only founded, but also conducted in two performances with the Mid-Columbia Symphony Orchestra.

In Colorado, Steve led the adult choir from First United Methodist Church to present 2-3 major concerts each year with orchestra. Most notable were highly successful performances of Handel’s “Messiah” and annual Patriotic Celebration concerts. He also led the choir in several European tours, for one of which they were the Featured American Choir at the International Church Music Festival in Bern, Switzerland. Currently, in addition to maintaining a private voice studio and working with the Colorado Springs Chorale as a singer and Board member, Steve is excited to serve as co-founder and Assistant Conductor of ChoralSong of Colorado Springs.

Jeanna Wearing

Director of Development
Jeanna Wearing is accomplished in the fields of vocal performance, radio broadcasting, and management.  In her career as a singer, she was a winner in the regional Metropolitan Opera auditions while a student at the University of Denver, but changed career goals to become an award-winning radio broadcaster in Denver. Her program “Masters of Music” was awarded the “Best Classical Radio Program in Denver” by Westword News and Arts Weekly.  She moved to Colorado Springs to serve as General Manager of 88.7 KCME-FM for 18 years. She now works in the Music and Arts Office at First United Methodist Church where she serves as Copyright and Permissions Coordinator and Executive Assistant to the Director of Music and Worship Arts.

Sandra Tiemens

Secretary
Sandra Tiemens is a Flutist/Piccoloist with the Fort Collins Symphony, and has performed with numerous ensembles including the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, Colorado Chamber Orchestra, the Denver Municipal Band, and the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra.

She is a member of the Advisory Board for the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, a member of the Board of Directors for the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Guild, and previously served on boards for the Texas Flute Society, Colorado Flute Association, and the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association.  Sandy served in the United States Air Force for 20 years as a professional flutist where she filled a number of musical and administrative roles.  She is experienced with human resources, resource management, leadership, advising leadership, event coordination, and project management.

In addition to her career as a musician, Sandy is now a Financial Consultant and holds the CFP® designation.  Sandy holds a Master of Music degree in flute performance from the University of North Texas and holds both a Bachelor of Music in flute performance and a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Lawrence University.

Gary Whittaker

Treasurer
Gary Whittaker grew up in southeastern Colorado, participating in high school choir, marching band and church choirs during adolescence. He also performed as a member of the Koshare Indian Dancers, which involved extensive travel around the country. Gary holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from University of Denver and a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Seattle Pacific University.

His early work experience was spent doing accounting and credit analysis for subsidiaries of Gulf Oil and Citicorp. After receiving his master’s degree, Gary transitioned to counseling and case management work for several social service agencies, Washington state Department of Social and Health Services and then the Navy. Most notable accomplishments included an Employee of the Year award at Naval Base Kitsap and a Public Service Recognition award from Seattle Federal Executive Board. Gary retired from federal government service in October 2022. After completing Quickbooks Online Certified User training, Gary has utilized Quickbooks software for rental property accounting. He also enjoys managing investments for himself and extended family members.

Gary is honored to be supporting ChoralSong of Colorado Springs as their Treasurer.

Jamal Sarikoki

Trustee

Jamal Sarikoki, an accomplished baritone soloist and conductor, serves as Sanctuary Worship Lead at First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs. Known for his vocal agility and beautiful legato line (Herald Tribune), Jamal has sung the operatic roles of Papageno in Mozart’s Magic Flute, Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, and Gianni Schicchi in Gianni Schicchi. As an oratorio singer, Jamal has sung the baritone roles in Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Bruckner’s Te Deum, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and many other larger works. As a conductor, Jamal received his first conducting position at age 16 and has been conducting choirs and orchestras ever since. During his 7 years in New York, Jamal studied conducting at Nyack College and was in the graduate conducting program at Bard Conservatory. Jamal spent 4 years serving as a Music Associate and assistant organist at West Point Cadet Chapel USMA and Senior Organist and Director of Instrumental Music at Calvary Baptist Church in Midtown Manhattan. While in New York, and to this day, Jamal is a regular choral singer and soloist with the nationally recognized, and Grammy nominated St. Tikhons Choir in Pennsylvania. Jamal, has been featured on several recordings of original music by Benedict Sheehan, a recently published composer through Oxford Publishing.

Sharon Skidgel

Pianist
Sharon Skidgel, pianist, earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Southern California, where she studied with Gwendolyn Koldofsky and Lawrence Wong, and was chosen as most outstanding doctoral student. Sharon has enjoyed many different roles as a musician in Colorado Springs, including music director and pianist for many musical theatre productions, solo pianist, college professor, piano teacher, and collaborative pianist with many wonderful vocalists and instrumentalists! In 2019 she was honored to be chosen as one of the Best of Colorado Springs as pianist. Sharon is deeply grateful to each of you for supporting live music!