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

ANGELI DIRECTOR

Brooke Durborow’s love for singing and music started the day she was born. She grew up singing and playing piano with her grandmother and attending shows at ASU Gammage with her mom – it is the ongoing joke in the family that she was singing before she could even talk. From elementary school through high school, she was active in several youth theaters in the valley, studied piano with her grandmother, and took private lessons for both flute and voice. In high school, she was on the leadership team in both band and choir, which is what sparked her love for education.

Brooke received her Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education from Arizona State University, where she graduated in May of 2021 Summa Cum Laude and received the Outstanding Resident Achievement Award. While at ASU, Brooke also served as the President of ASU’s American Choral Directors Association Student Chapter, was on the leadership team with both Gospel Choir and Concert Choir, and worked as the Choral Librarian in the School of Music. Brooke is in her third year of teaching in the Peoria Unified School District where she teaches 5 th -8 th grade choir at both Apache and Frontier Elementary. She is currently on the District’s Leadership Team as both an Advisory Member and a Mentor to the other choir teachers in the district.

She is excited to be joining the Arizona Girlchoir team and to share her love of music with young girls throughout the community.

ALLEGRIA DIRECTOR

ARIA COLLOBORATIVE PIANST

Heather Pryse is an internationally performed young American composer and recent graduate of Music Composition from the University of North Texas. Her most notable achievements include a 3rd prize in the Pure Classic Vienna International Composition Competition in 2024, a fellowship with No Divide KC for the “Come as You Are” initiative in partnership with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, performances at SEAMUS National Conferences in 2024, an Honorable Mention Finalist placing in the 2023 Flute New Music Consortium Flute and Electronics Category, a Semi- Finalist placing in the Instrumental Chamber Music category of the American Prize 2018, being featured on National Public Radio for the premiere of her first symphony by the Crozet Community Orchestra, and receiving performances on the Italian radio station Gingiana RadioArte.

Her music focuses on exploring improvisation and other forms of collaboration as well as theatrical multimedia productions which utilize live and fixed electronics, poetry recitations, cake decoration, and other performance elements that create narrative impact. Pryse recently accepted a teaching position with Great Hearts as the 3-5th grade music teacher at Archway Lincoln and is excited to become an educator and mentor for young artists.

ANGELI COLLOBORATIVE PIANIST

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.

Jean-Luc 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 Jean-Luc 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.

PRIMA INSTRUCTOR

Ashlie Lauren Smith is a dedicated and accomplished mezzo-soprano based in Phoenix, AZ.

She holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Stetson University and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Throughout her academic career, she has consistently excelled, earning numerous scholarships and competition awards, including the William E. Dukwitz Talent Scholarship and multiple first-place wins in the NATS Competition.

Ashlie's extensive performance experience spans various roles and soloist appearances in renowned operas and concert works, such as Handel’s “Messiah”, Rossini's “L'Italiana in Algeri”, and Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd”. Her recent engagements include performances at the Arizona Bach Festival and as a soloist for the Arizona Piano Institute. In the spring of 2025 she looks forward in joining the Arizona Opera Chorus’s production of “Aida” and Seattle’s Skagit Symphony Orchestra presentation of Elgar’s Sea Pictures.

In addition to her performance career, Ashlie has a strong background in music education. She has maintained a private voice and piano studio since 2004 and has taught Music Together in Phoenix since 2019. She currently teaches voice and piano at Prestige Music Academy, and is the music and theater director at Desert Marigold School. She also has been a soloist and section leader for the All Saints Choir Episcopal Church in Phoenix since 2021.

Fluent in German and proficient in several other languages, Ashlie brings a diverse skill set to her roles. Her professional memberships include Sigma Alpha Iota, Kaleidoscope Club, and Pi Kappa Lambda. Ashlie is passionate about sharing her love for music with others and is excited about the opportunity to inspire and instruct the Prima Class at Arizona Girlchoir.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Prior to accepting the position of Executive Director, Charlene 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, Charlene 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, she facilitates a monthly support group for mothers at her church. Charlene 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.

CHOIR PHOTOGRAPHER

Gary’s passion for photography started at a young age. In high school, he was promoted to chief artist and photographer for the newspaper, cutting his teeth covering chess club championships, volleyball games, etc.

After college, Gary was ready to see the world through the lens of his Canon. He joined the Navy, of all things, and after graduating from the esteemed US Navy Schools of Photography, worked his craft aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln for five years, then was chosen for a prestigious position with the White House Communications Agency in Washington, DC, where he served four more years, traveling twice overseas with the President. After his stint in Washington, he continued his career stateside—shooting creative campaigns for some of the top agencies in the Southwest.

Gary lives in Avondale with his wife Kimberly and 7 wonderful children. He recently retired as a Senior Chief in the Navy Reserve. His youngest daughter has been singing with the choir for 3 years.

Many thanks to G Man Studios for creating nearly all of the beautiful photographs on our site! Gary volunteers to photograph many of our concerts and events so we have amazing pictures of our choir and singers.