Kelly Rocchi, Director of The Bel Canto Youth Chorus

Kelly S. Rocchi, Director of the Bel Canto Youth Chorus, is an experienced and sought-after choral conductor, clinician, and music educator. She began her career in the Nazareth Area School District and has been the Choral Director at Nazareth Area High School since 2006. Her curricular choirs: Concert Choir, Nightingales, Cantus, and two student-directed a cappella groups, consistently receive invitations to perform at state and regional conferences. Most recently, the Nightingales, Nazareth’s select treble choir, was invited to sing at the American Choral Director’s Association All-Eastern Conference and the Crescendudes, Nazareth’s men’s a cappella ensemble, was invited to perform at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association State Conference. Nazareth Area School District is consistently recognized as one of the best in the nation for music education by the NAMM Foundation. A graduate of Penn State University, Rocchi was selected as the Penn State School of Music Outstanding Music Education Alumni Award winner for the 2020–2021 school year. She earned a M.M. in Vocal Performance from West Chester University. Rocchi frequently serves as guest conductor and clinician for regional choral festivals. She was named as a Semi-Finalist in the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Program for the 2021 school year. In 2023, Rocchi was appointed as Director of the Bel Canto Youth Chorus.

Alaina Swartz, Bel Canto Youth Chorale Conductor

Alaina Swartz, Bel Canto Youth Chorale Conductor, Director of Education and Community Engagement for the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, is a dynamic educator, vocalist, and choral conductor who has dedicated her career to music education and outreach. Swartz earned a B.M in Music Education from Susquehanna University, Magna Cum Laude, and a M.M in Music Education from Ithaca College. As a public school music teacher in the Parkland School District, Swartz oversaw programs at both the elementary and secondary level, managing exponential program growth, strengthening choral ensembles, and increasing family and student engagement. Swartz brings a depth of experience in instructing students of all ages. Working extensively with the Preparatory Program at Susquehanna University, she instructed early childhood music classes as well as child and adult lessons. In recognition of innovative use of technology in an educational setting, she was named a 2023 Keystone Technology Innovator. In June 2023, Swartz joined the Bach Choir organization as the Bel Canto Youth Chorus Youth Chorale Conductor. She believes strongly in the Bach Choir’s mission of building, strengthening, and sustaining diverse communities through the choral arts. Swartz has performed with several Lehigh Valley choral ensembles, including the Allentown Symphony Orchestra Chorus and the Lehigh University Choral Union. She is passionate about developing an appreciation of the choral arts while fostering healthy vocal development and cultivating a love of music in young singers.

Erica Silver, Da Capo Treble Choir Conductor

Erica Silver, Da Capo Treble Choir Conductor, began her career in public music education in 2008. A native of the Lehigh Valley, Silver has brought her expertise to Pennsylvania and New Jersey schools. Her current post is at Springhouse Middle School in the Parkland School District, where she directs more than 500 students annually in the choral program, teaches general music classes and serves as the director and music director for the spring musical. Silver holds a B.M. in Piano Pedagogy and Accompanying from Westminster Choir College and an M.A. in Music and Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. During her time in New Jersey, she served for 15 years on the piano faculty of Westminster Conservatory of Music and worked with numerous music and theater organizations, including the Princeton Girl Choir, CJMEA Intermediate Chorus, Westminster Vocal Institute, Princton Summer Theater, Recreational Arts, Inc., and Rooftop Theater Collaborative. She joined the Bel Canto team in 2024 as Da Capo Treble Choir Conductor.

Andrea Berntsen, collaborative pianist

Andrea Berntsen, Collaborative Pianist, started playing piano at age of three and became a professional accompanist at the age of 13. She earned a B.M. in Piano Performance from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and an M.M. in Piano and Organ Performance from the Yale University School of Music, New Haven, Connecticut. Berntsen has been an active church organist and choir director for close to 50 years and currently resides in Allentown, Pennsylvania where she continues working as a church musician in addition to freelancing as a keyboard accompanist.

Tina Lebrecht, collaborative pianist

Tina Lebrecht, Collaborative Pianist, holds a B.S. in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a major concentration in piano and minor concentrations in flute, voice, and organ. She is a graduate of Kutztown University with a M.Ed. as a Reading Specialist. She has been singing with the Bach Choir since 1988 and is a retired music teacher from the Southern Lehigh School District. Active as a children’s choir director for more than 30 years both in church and school, Lebrecht brings a depth of expertise in working with singers of all ages to her work with the Bel Canto Youth Chorus.