ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ARIA DIRECTOR
MUSIC LITERACY DIRECTOR

Ms. Pyper received her Bachelors and Masters of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and her Kodály Certification from Brigham Young University. She spent time performing professionally at various theatres in Northern California, Arizona, and as part of Maximum Entertainments touring cast. For the last 14 years, Ms. Pyper has served as music teacher, administrator, and Headmaster in various school settings in California, Arizona, and Texas. She is currently the Assistant Headmaster for Great Hearts Online Texas, and continues to fill her spare time performing at local theatres in the valley. In addition to her great love of music, Ms. Pyper enjoys spending time with her family and aussiedoodle, Maverick.

AMABILE DIRECTOR

Melissa Iglesias is a passionate musician and music educator with an extensive background performing pop, sacred, theater, and opera genres as a soloist and ensemble musician. She sings at various venues ranging from church soloist to recitalist, is an active member of the Chandler Opera, and performs with the Euphony ensemble directed by Prof. Emeritus at ASU, Dr. David Schildkrit.

Originally a Floridian, Ms. Iglesias graduated with her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the opera program at Florida International University in Miami, FL in 2017. She continues to take lessons to maintain her abilities and frequently auditions for music festivals locally and abroad. Most recent festivals include performing the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Magic Flute with Trentino Music Festival in Italy, Proserpina from Monterverdi’s L’Orfeo with Miami Music Festival, and a variety of soprano solo repertoire in concert with Opera Maya in Cancun, Mexico.

Ms. Iglesias is also excited to invest in the next generation daily as she serves as a K-6 music educator at Shaw Butte Elementary School. In the role of music educator, she is skilled with curriculum development, choral directing, music theory, ear training, percussion ensemble, and performance preparation and planning. With over 9 years of experience as a music teacher, her teaching practices are motivated by the desire to enrich student’s lives with valuable music skills, performing experiences and exploration. This also translates into her practices as a voice teacher with 8 years of experience as a voice instructor both in studios and at her home.

ANGELI DIRECTOR

Jean-Luc Villamor was born in the Philippines but was raised here in the Valley. He started piano lessons in the 2nd grade and started accompanying ensembles in the 6th grade. He furthered his musicianship in piano, voice, and band at Arizona Conservatory for Arts and Academics and graduated in 2017 with an Arts diploma for completing 23 extra music credits, student directing the honors choir, marching band, and orchestra. During this time, Jean-Luc also joined the Phoenix Children’s Chorus, Class of 2017, and has continued to be involved with the organization ever since.

Mr. Villamor attended Arizona State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy and a focus in Jazz Piano. He’s had the honor of performing around the world including The Nash Jazz Club, Carnegie Hall in New York, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Vatican City. He’s worked with the ASU Gospel Choir as both a vocalist and pianist under directions of Dr. Jason Thompson and Prof. Nathan Myers, Grammy award-winning artist Myron Butler, the York University Gospel Choir under direction of Karen Burke, and has led workshops with the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM).

Currently, Mr. Villamor is the choir director of a children’s choir for homeschool kids, the assistant music director at his church, a worship leader for numerous churches around the valley, and a private piano and voice instructor.

ALLEGRIA DIRECTOR

Tanya Boehme is an accomplished music educator, conductor, vocalist, and accompanist who serves as the Choral and Orchestra Director at Sunrise Mountain High School. Ms. Boehme directs choral concerts and also frequently directs and handles production elements for the school’s theatrical and musical productions, including acclaimed stagings of Les Misérables, Once on This Island, and The Secret Garden. Ms. Boehme frequently collaborates with local musicians to perform sacred music and classical pieces.

ARIA COLLABORATIVE PIANIST

Heather Enke started accompanying at the age of 13 and brings more than 30 years of collaborative piano experience to a variety of musical groups, including church, school and university choirs, chamber ensembles, soloists and other community performances.

Over the past two decades, she has periodically organized, accompanied and/or directed small summer children's choirs.

Originally from Colorado, Mrs. Enke studied piano and vocal performance at Colorado State University and has continued her musical education through composition study with Dr. Douglas Pew, James C. Kasen, and Dr. Joseph Sowa. She has also attended composition workshops, including one with Dan Forrest and Anna Lapwood. Some of her music has been recognized and performed by choirs.

AMABILE COLLABORATIVE PIANIST

Julie Tuttle has an extensive background in piano accompanying including choirs, soloists, musical theater, and more.

Mrs. Tuttle is a classically trained pianist, but enjoys playing all genres of repertoire. She earned her Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from Arizona State University. She currently teaches piano classes at the Phoenix Center for the Arts, and is also a private piano teacher. Mrs. Tuttle was an adjunct instructor at Phoenix College for about 15 years. She resides in Phoenix with her husband, and two (very spoiled) cats.

ANGELI COLLABORATIVE PIANIST

Jeannette Winters has been playing and loving the piano since she was in the 2nd grade. She currently teaches piano lessons out of her home and is a domestic goddess. ;). Mrs. Winters has accompanied for The Church of Jesus Christ, Glendale Community College, Heritage Academy, and multiple private voice students. This is her first year accompanying Arizona Girlchoir and she is excited for this opportunity! She is married to her wonderful husband, Anthony, and they are the proud parents of six children and one son-in-law.

ALLEGRIA COLLABORATIVE PIANIST

Ashlee Gomez holds an Associate of Arts in Music from Riverside Community College, where she also served as a piano accompanist. She continued her music performance studies at Mt. San Antonio College, participating in the Chamber Singers and the award-winning vocal jazz ensemble, Singcopation. 

Mrs. Gomez has taught private piano and voice lessons, performed with the prestigious Schola Cantorum of Texas, and currently leads the children’s music program at her church. Mrs. Gomez also holds a degree in Exercise Science and Wellness from ASU and is a Licensed Massage Therapist. 

Outside of her professional work, Ashlee finds joy in exploring global cuisine, baking, weightlifting, and hiking. At home, she enjoys building intricate Lego sets and spending time playing games—board, card, and video—with her husband and three children (though occasionally she lets them win!) 

PRIMA INSTRUCTOR

Mallory Hinton is a vocalist, pianist, and homeschool mom of four children. She grew up in Colorado and earned her degree in education and music at a seminary in Oklahoma. She started singing with her grandparents in church at age 4, and fell in love with choir and choral music in middle school and high school. She began competing in vocal competitions and was accepted into the Colorado All-State Choir at age 16. She currently volunteers in the children's and music ministries at her church in Scottsdale, and has 3 years of experience as the lead teacher of the children's music program.

Outside of music, Mallory's hobbies include Brazilian jiu jitsu, gardening, and raising chickens. She loves slow mornings at home with her kids, listening to praise music, and homeschooling. She is excited to join the Arizona Girlchoir staff and share her love of music with the little ones in the Prima class.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Prior to accepting the position of Executive Director in 2019, Mrs. Shenk spent six years on the Board of Directors of Arizona Girlchoir, with one year as secretary and three years as treasurer. She is a graduate of the University of the Pacific with a BA in English.

Her 10-year career in technical writing for Silicon Valley tech companies included designing templates for manuals (remember those?), working with software engineers on user interface design, testing products, developing online help strategies, and forays into web design and databases. She also co-edited and wrote articles for the journal for the Silicon Valley Chapter of Society for Technical Writers.

After the birth of her first child, Mrs. Shenk stayed at home and eventually homeschooled her four children. She was the Children’s Ministry Director for her church in San Jose for nine years, managing all aspects of children’s programming, including planning and executing yearly Vacation Bible School. Her passion for supporting mothers and babies led to volunteer work with La Leche League International and Breastfeeding USA, where she led meetings, managed over 200 breastfeeding counselors nationally, and assisted with branding, marketing strategies, and organizational development, including redesign, testing, and editing of the website and education modules for Breastfeeding USA. She has also served on leadership teams for her churches in California and Arizona.

In her spare time, Mrs. Shenk facilitates a monthly support group for mothers at her church. She knows firsthand the important role that choir can play in development and growth of young women (and men) as her children have been in choir since they could talk. Her two older daughters are choir alumnae and now sing with Allegria.

SOCIAL MEDIA/MARKETING MANAGER

Annemarie Dawson has 19 years of experience performing and teaching as a professional cellist. During that time, she has taught cello, played in numerous string quartets, orchestras, taught general music courses, and served in worship bands.

While earning her Bachelor of Arts degree at Arizona State University, she studied with Thomas Landschoot, performed in the ASU Symphony Orchestra, and guest-performed with the ASU Concert Jazz Band. After graduating, Mrs. Dawson moved to Colorado Springs where she served as the Assistant Principal cellist for the Colorado Springs Chamber Orchestra and coached for the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony. After moving to Germany in 2015, Mrs. Dawson performed with the Rheinland-Pfalz International Choir, the folk band “Flying Froschies,” as well as several string ensembles.

In 2020, Mrs. Dawson moved back to Colorado Springs where she earned her master degree in Cello Performance from the University of Northern Colorado. While earning her masters, Mrs. Dawson began performing regularly with The Colorado Springs Philharmonic and appeared as a guest musician with The United States Air Force Academy Band. Having recently returned to the Phoenix Valley, Mrs. Dawson continues to teach privately, perform, and is now working as the Social Media/Marketing Director for Arizona Girlchoir.

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT MANAGER

Selena Fludd's background includes teaching students in private, public, and charter schools and classes of all sizes from one-on-one to small and large groups of students. Selena was born and raised in Sumter, SC. She attended Columbia International University for a Bachelor of Science in Teaching and a Master of Arts in Teaching; and Northcentral University for a Ph.D. in Education. She is married to her wonderful husband, Wesley and they have four children, two boys and two girls. She enjoys traveling, reading, and experiencing different cultures. Selena and her family are very active in their community and church. Their goal as a family is to serve others by giving of their time and resources.

CHOIR PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEOGRAPHER

Mr. Lamca is the principal photographer and videographer for Lamca Media. He brings over 7 years of experience as a wedding, graduation, and family photographer.

MUSIC LIBRARIAN