H+H Youth Choruses
Chorus of Sopranos + Altos
"The teachers are amazing and they balance fun with learning very well." — HHYC Singer
Chorus of Sopranos and Altos (grades 9-12) is for singers who are eager to perform challenging and innovative repertoire for treble voices as part of an empowering and joyful community. CSA performs music from the Baroque and Classical periods, along with spirituals, jazz, folk songs, a cappella, and contemporary choral repertoire. The ensemble has sung at Symphony Hall and NEC’s Jordan Hall, most recently in performances of Martini Domine Ad Adjuvandum Me with the Chorus of Tenors and Basses and the H+H Orchestra. CSA has performed with the Back Bay Chorale, New England Philharmonic Orchestra, the Heritage Chorale, the Metropolitan Chorale, Winsor Music, and the NEC Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale and has participated in festivals with the Radcliffe Choral Society and the Wellesley College Choir. In addition to performances throughout New England, CSA has toured in Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, and Ireland with the Chorus of Tenors and Basses. CSA opened the 2021-22 Season with a performance of Beethoven Symphony No. 9 under the direction of Marin Alsop for over 10,000 people at the Hatch Shell. This spring, the ensemble collaborates on a series of performances with Cappella Clausura.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals for the Chorus of Sopranos + Altos are on Saturdays at 9:00am-12:15pm. All CSA singers have a weekly ensemble rehearsal and musicianship class. Four levels of musicianship classes are offered for CSA singers. The HHYC season lasts from September to May. Rehearsals and classes take place at United Parish in Brookline.
Faculty
Alyson Greer Espinosa, conductor
Dr. Devon Russo, assistant conductor
Dr. Pei-yeh Tsai, collaborative pianist
Annina Hsieh, teaching assistant
Tuition
Tuition is $580 for the full year or $290 per semester. Full and partial scholarships are offered for families demonstrating financial need. Families registering more than one singer pay full tuition for one singer and reduced tuition for all additional singers from their household.
Watch + Listen
Faculty
Conductor
Alyson Greer Espinosa
Alyson Greer Espinosa is thrilled to be in her thirteenth season on the H+H education faculty where she is the conductor of the Chorus of Sopranos and Altos and the Chamber Choir. Ms. Greer has prepared CSA for performances with Harry Christophers and the H+H Chorus and Orchestra for Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, Handel’s Messiah and Saul, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Requiem, and Monteverdi’s Vespers. Other ensemble collaborations include the Back Bay Chorale, Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus, Boston Musica Viva, MIT Concert Choir, Metropolitan Chorale, Heritage Chorale, the Eureka Ensemble Women’s Chorus, Mother Caroline Academy, and the NEC Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale. The former Young Women’s Chamber Choir performed on From The Top and CSA was featured in BBC’s Great American Railroad Journeys under her direction in 2017. Such collaborations and performances have afforded Ms. Greer and her singers inspiring musical-educational performances with conductors such as Harry Christophers, Ian Watson, Dr. Scott Allen Jarrett, Dr. Andrew Clark, Dr. Lisa Graham, John Finney, Dr. Lynnel Jenkins, George Steel, and Ismael Sandoval.
In addition to her work with the H+H Youth Choruses, Ms. Greer is the Director of Choral Music at Westborough High School where she conducts four choirs and four contemporary a cappella ensembles. Her ensembles consistently earn gold ratings and medals at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Directors Association (MICCA) and have performed at the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) All- State Convention Concert Hour. Ms. Greer is an active choral clinician, has conducted the Northeastern Massachusetts Sr. District High School Mixed Chorus, the Eastern Massachusetts Junior District Mixed Chorus, All-Cape High School Treble Chorus and the Southeastern Massachusetts, Jr. District Treble Choir, and has presented sessions at the Massachusetts All State Conference and the MICCA Summer Institute. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree (magna cum laude) in Vocal Performance and a Master of Music Education degree, both from The Boston Conservatory. Ms. Greer resides in MetroWest with her husband, son, and daughter.
Assistant Conductor
Dr. Devon Russo
New England based Bass-Baritone, Conductor, Composer and Educator, Devon Russo joined the HHYC as a teaching assistant in 2021 and now serves as the Assistant Conductor for the Chorus of Sopranos & Altos under Alyson Greer Espinosa. Devon Russo performs frequently as a soloist and ensemble member in Opera, Contemporary Music, and Early Music throughout the United States. This season he has rostered with the Sante Fe Desert Chorale, The Crossing, the newly formed New York Philharmonic Chorus, and is a Choral Fellow at Marsh Chapel. Devon serves on the voice faculty at Providence College and is the Director of the Bryant Singers and faculty advisor to the Bottom Line at Bryant University. Devon has written music for stage productions at the Burbage Theatre Company, OUTLOUD theatre, the University of Rhode Island and Providence College, as well as his own contemporary arrangements of Baroque pieces and art songs. Devon has taken part in Young Artist Programs with the Boston Early Music Festival, the Voces8 Choral Scholars, the Académie Orford Musique, the Seraphic Fire at the Aspen School of Music, Tafelmusik, Haymarket Opera Company, Source Song Festival, the Amherst Early Music Festival. Devon earned his Master’s in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music and Bachelors in Vocal Performance from the University of Rhode Island and just graduated with his Doctorate of Musical Arts from Boston University.
Collaborative Pianist
Dr. Peh-yeh Tsai
Born in Taiwan, Pianist Pei-yeh Tsai joined the HHYC faculty this season as the collaborative pianist for the Chorus of Sopranos and Altos and Chamber Choir She has appeared as a substitute pianist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, alongside as principal pianist for the Peoria Symphony and the New Bedford Symphony. Her performance is best described by cellist Yo-Yo Ma: “…a powerhouse of a pianist, and she plays with an incredible depth of soul"; by conductor and harpsichordist Nicolas Kraemer "...her ability to go beyond technique to forge an emotional connection between audience and music is quite noteworthy." Tsai has won prizes and grants in several international piano competitions, including the Aaron Richmond foundation, international New England Chamber Music Ensemble Competition; and the Special Viardo Prize at the Viardo International Piano Competition. Her performances can be heard on the Chicago Symphony website, WFMT, WTVP, WCTV, STV8. Tsai received her master’s degree from The Juilliard School and doctorate degree from Boston University.
Teaching Assistant
Annina Hsieh
Annina Hsieh is a Boston-based soprano and educator. She is excited to join the HHYC staff this fall as the Chorus of Sopranos & Altos Teaching Assistant. Annina completed her Master of Music in Voice Performance at Cleveland Institute of Music, and her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at Ithaca College. Praised for her sensitivity as a performer, Annina strives to connect with audiences in opera and recital settings, and was the 2019 winner of the Handel and Haydn Society’s Barbara E. Maze Award for Musical Excellence.
Annina is a private voice teacher in Brookline and a voice instructor at Lexington Community Education. As a teacher, she works with students to develop and use their natural voice to express themselves through song. Annina believes that, above all, lessons should be tailored to each student’s learning style and musical goals. Her students have been accepted into college programs for Vocal Performance and Musical Theater.