Meet the Conductors
Heather Adelsberger became artistic director during the 2014-15 season, expanding the scope of the Concert Series performances, initiatives, and education programs. Working with colleagues, she built a program, professional orchestra, and concert choir and expanded the Concert Series to use all the unique venues on the St. Louis Parish campus. Under Heather’s direction, audiences were entertained with evenings of jazz and tango in the Social Hall, candlelight chamber music in the 1889 Chapel, and Christmas and spring concerts performed in the acoustical splendor of the church. As the primary and unparalleled inspirational force behind the selection of program repertoires, Ms. Adelsberger broadened audience reach and further cemented the Concert Series reputation as a prominent, valued arts organization in Howard County and beyond.
With the 2006 dedication of the new church, noted for its excellent acoustical properties, the stage was set for the inauguration of the Concert Series. The first three programs (2006-2007) were programmed and produced by a small parish team, under the guidance of choir director Fred Beaudoin (1985-2007), and featured performances by local, regional, and international artists. With the advent of Paul Carroll as the first artistic director in mid-2007, the Concert Series began to present outstanding musical programs, featuring the parish's own Orchestra of St. Louis, as well as the St. Louis Choir.
A versatile conductor, opera soloist, and educator, Terry N. Eberhardt brings these experiences and unmistakable charisma to bear on providing artistic vision and leadership to Concert Series programs. Passionate about developing and encouraging young musicians, Mr. Eberhardt currently serves as the Music Coordinator in Howard County Public Schools. In this role, Mr. Eberhardt oversees 230 music educators and is responsible for music curriculum for students pre-K through grade twelve. Mr. Eberhardt also served as the President of the Maryland Choral Educators Association. Mr. Eberhardt has served as a guest conductor for many county-level honor choirs in the state, and is also an active adjudicator and clinician.
Meet Atlantic Reed Consort
Since its formation in 2010, the Atlantic Reed Consort (ARC) has gained recognition for its unique take on chamber music. ARC is a reed quintet comprised of oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bass clarinet, and bassoon, combines classical and contemporary elements offering audiences an engaging and dynamic performance experience through their captivating and homogeneous sound. Their repertoire includes reimagined works by renowned composers, such as J.S. Bach, Edward Elgar, and Florence Price, as well as the contemporary works by Philip Glass, Jessie Montgomery, Andy Akiho, and Louis Andriessen. By embracing a wide range of musical styles and genres, the Atlantic Reed Consort appeals to a broad audience and continues to push the boundaries of chamber music.
One of the Mid-Atlantic region’s most sought-after chamber music groups, the Atlantic Reed Consort has performed at renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Smithsonian National Gallery of Art, and the Music Center at Strathmore. They have been featured guest artists at international conferences including the International Double Reed Society, International Saxophone Symposium, National Association for Music Education, The Midwest Clinic, Baltimore Composer’s Forum, and DC’s Intersections Festival. ARC has also collaborated with notable organizations to include: Boulangie Initiative, Dal’Ouna Ensemble, Dissonance Dance Theatre, Moveius Contemporary Ballet, Alexandria Choral Society and numerous professional and community choral ensembles.
The Atlantic Reed Consort is passionate about music education and have developed and led clinics and masterclasses across the country to primary, secondary, and collegiate students and have recently completed residencies at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tennessee.
The ensemble's commitment to growing the reed quintet canon is reflected in its commissioning and premiere of works by living composers, to include: Jessie Montgomery, John Elmquist, Jack Herscowitz, John Morrison, Ben Robichaux, Nathan Lincoln-DeCusatis, and Steve Gorbos. The Atlantic Reed Consort's recordings are available on all digital platforms, including Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, and YouTube. Stay updated on the Atlantic Reed Consort's latest news and upcoming performances by visiting their website at www.arconsort.org or following them on social media.
Meet the Artists
Erin Wegner Brooks is a seasoned storyteller who enjoys bringing stories to life on stage, on camera, and on the mic. Erin performed in the 1st National Tour of Young Frankenstein and Cirque Dreams, Off-Broadway in Pinkalicious, Wuthering Heights, and A Stoop on Orchard Street, in Las Vegas as a principal singer for Jubilee!, with Disney both nationally and internationally.
Erin owns Allegro Productions and works as a full time Voice-Over artist, telling stories and bringing characters to life. Happy clients include: Microsoft, Clinique, Amazon, Nationwide Insurance, Walmart Family Mobile, Facebook/META, 3M, Frigidaire, Baby Einstein, Chase, Benjamin Moore, NFCU, and VISA.
Erin’s solo cabaret show “Dare to Dream: Inspiration from the Broadway Songbook” played to sold-out audiences in NYC and Maryland. She loves singing at St. Louis and is excited to collaborate on this 20th anniversary celebration.
Soprano Karla Rivera Curtis enjoys a career as a soloist, ensemble vocalist, recording artist, and educator. Ms. Rivera’s operatic and concert engagements have featured her on stages throughout the world, including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, The U.S. State Department, The Supreme Court, Leopoldskron Palace, Austria, St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Ely Cathedral, London. Ms. Rivera was particularly honored to play the role of Older Mary in the 2010 Carnegie Hall premier of “Oh My Son,” an operatic tableau about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. She has traveled the world performing with Washington Adventist University’s New England Youth Ensemble, ProMusica, and The Columbia Collegiate Chorale.
Away from the mainstage, Ms. Rivera is actively involved in charitable organizations that use music as a platform for community outreach and engagement, such as LiveFor1 and Voices of Inspiration. She is the Music Director at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda and often sings at The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., and right here at St. Louis Parish. Karla also teaches voice for multiple area studios and is the Annual Fund Manager for Archbishop Carroll High School. Previous appointments include a nine-year tenure as director of the Georgetown Presbyterian Choir in Washington, D.C.
Despite her demanding schedule, Ms. Rivera has found time to record. Her Christmas album, Born To Set Us Free, was released in December 2019.
Ms. Rivera holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University), and a master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Joe Ciani-Dausch made his stage debut in 1999 as a member of Georgetown University Law Center’s Gilbert & Sullivan Society, performing in their productions of West Side Story (A-Rab), The Mikado (Nanki-Poo), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Demetrius). Joe also performed with GULC’s a cappella group - Moral Hazard. For almost 20 years Joe was the lead vocalist for his DC-based band Stella Mira, which performed at the storied 9:30 Club and entertained our men and women in uniform as part of a USO tour. Joe has been a frequent contributor to the St. Louis Church Concert Series Christmas Concert, including as a soloist, and is thrilled to be returning to the series for this 20th anniversary celebration.
A luminary on St. Louis stages and in opera houses nationwide, Colleen Daly Eberhardt brings her soprano voice to roles that showcase her artistry and velvety tone. Apart from opera roles, Ms. Daly has delivered compelling performances in major concert venues and with symphony orchestras, performing in oratorios and other sacred music works, musical theater roles, and interpreting art songs. Ms. Daly is also an in-demand music educator and voice coach. In July 2020, Ms. Daly became the Concert Series’ third artistic director, developing programs that celebrate connection and community through music.
Ms. Daly holds a Bachelor of Music degree from DePaul University and a Master of Music from the University of Maryland, as well as an Artist Diploma from the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.
Charles Higgs is a native of Clarksville, Maryland. He holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Organ Performance from Westminster Choir College in Princeton and a Master of Sacred Music from Mercer University in Macon. His major professors were Ken Cowan, Diane Meredith Belcher, and Robert Parris. Upon graduation he was appointed Associate Organist at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Atlanta where he served nine years.
He then served nine years as Director of Music and Organist at St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, Milton GA. Charles is currently Director of Music and Organist at First United Methodist Church, LaGrange, GA and as Vigil Mass organist at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Peachtree City, GA.
Originally from Chicago, Liz Mulligan is a versatile, seasoned performer and educator in the DMV. As a proud graduate of Northwestern University’s Theater and Music Theater Certificate programs, Liz has performed with The Chicago Humanities Festival, the Cathedral Choral Society, as soloist with the Clementi Choir, and of course, as a soloist with the St. Louis Church Concert Series. Classically trained with the heart of an actor, Liz loves singing everything from Handel, Bach and Copeland to Jason Robert Brown, Cole Porter, and Sondheim, and firmly believes there should be no barriers or limitations to the genre or style through which we choose to express ourselves through the art of music making. As an active member of the local theater community, Liz has performed with the British Players, Colonial Players of Annapolis, Howard County Summer Theater, Greenbelt Arts Center, Maryland Theater Collective, and, most recently, with Annapolis Summer Garden Theater. Offstage, Liz spends her time teaching Music Together classes in Howard County, volunteering with the PTA, and supporting her family in their many endeavors. Liz has also served as a cantor and choral member with St. Louis Church since 2013.
Christopher Douglas Rhodovi, baritone, has been praised as “sophisticated” (Baltimore Sun) and “rich and delightful” (Capital Gazette) for his interpretations of the American Songbook and operatic repertoire. A graduate of the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, Mr. Rhodovi currently studies with Dr. John Van Cura. He has performed extensively throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and is happy to be back at his “home” parish for this concert.
Mr. Rhodovi has appeared with Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera Baltimore, Baltimore Concert Opera, Live Arts Maryland, Washington Concert Opera, Peabody Opera Theatre, Opera AACC, the former Baltimore Opera Company, and Washington Summer Opera Theatre.
When not performing on the operatic stage or in concert, he is a frequent cantor at Immaculate Conception Church in Towson.
Larissa Sanders is a native of Baltimore, MD. In her youth, she studied piano and chamber music at the Peabody Preparatory in Baltimore. She then attended Towson University, where she studied with the late Reynaldo Reyes and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance. Mrs. Sanders taught piano and early childhood music, served as a church organist and choir director, and remained active as an accompanist and chamber musician throughout the Baltimore-DC area for many years. She has been featured as a soloist and accompanist in concert series throughout the Baltimore-DC area, including the US Air Force Chamber Series, US Naval Academy Chamber Series, St Louis Church Concert Series, and the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Guild of Organists. She served as organist at St. Louis Church from 2010-2022. Mrs. Sanders is currently an elementary school music teacher in the Howard County Public School System and Music Director at Christ Episcopal Church in Columbia, MD.