AMANDA ANKERMAN (soprano) is a New Englander who moved to St. Mary’s County three years ago. She has a BA in Modern Languages & International Affairs & is currently a graduate student in International Management. Amanda has studied piano & voice & sung with several church choirs, including the American Church in Paris. When she’s not hitting the books, she grows African Violets, writes poetry & travels.
HALI CAVEN (soprano) sang in church choirs & in musical theatre in high school, instilling in her a love of music. Hali has a BS in Elementary Education & has taught in public schools in Florida & North Carolina. She currently teaches marine biology at the Academy of Natural Sciences. She is an avid boater, interior decorator & gardener.
DAWN DECICCO (soprano section leader) started performing with school & community musical theater groups in Cincinnati, Ohio at age 7. She sang with various choral groups nearly everywhere she has lived. Dawn earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Michigan & then joined the Navy to see the world! After 7 years of naval service she rejoined the civilian ranks & now lives in Lexington Park. She currently works at the Naval Medical Clinic at Patuxent River as a women's health nurse.
KARL GARLAND (bass section leader), a native Marylander, started singing in church choir, then with high school & college musical groups, including the Davis & Elkins College Concert Choir & the vocal ensemble "And All That Jazz." He’s spent the last twenty years working in agencies providing supports to people with developmental disabilities. After a musical hiatus, he suffered a stroke in 1997 & thought that singing in the Middleham & St. Peter's Episcopal Church choir would be good speech therapy. Since this was successful, he joined C3 & finds that memorizing music & choreography drills are even better “work-outs” & more fun!
DAN GROSS (bass) was born in Washington DC but grew up in Nebraska. Dan graduated Magna Cum Laude from Doane College with a BA in physics & math, followed by grad school in physics at Kansas State University. Dan spent 32 years as a Weapons Systems Engineer (AKA “rocket scientist”) & is now an avid gardener, woodworker, writer of silly heroic ballads & an expert Webmaster, creating C3’s Web Page, among others. He plays piano, clarinet, & guitar but claims no talent in any of them. He now sings in the Middleham & St. Peter’s Church choir & C3 where he works to eliminate his Nebraska accent.
BRENDA HOLLWEGER (alto) first sang at age 9 later studying voice in the UK & US. She has sung with the Bel Canto, & Univ. of MO Community Choruses, & The Kindred Spirits at Calvert MM & Sotterley Manor. Currently she sings at Trinity, St. Mary's City. A Computer Science graduate in England, she later ran a computer business in St. Louis. In MD since ’96, she serves on United Way's board. For fun she writes poetry, paints watercolor, square dances, shares story-time with kindergartners, & performs in amateur theater. To unwind she sings jazz & dances with a broom in her living room.
MARTHA “Moo” HORTON (alto) can’t remember a time when she wasn’t singing in a chorus – in school & church choirs in Arkansas, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, & Maryland. A native of Little Rock, AR, from a musical family, she studied piano & organ. She received a BA in mathematics from Hendrix College in Conway AR & a masters degree in computer science from American University in Washington DC. Retired from the National Institutes of Health, she now lives at Asbury-Solomons retirement community & is an active volunteer with many civic & church organizations locally & nationally.
RUSS HORTON (tenor section leader) studied music his first year in college (about 1000 years ago) but continued his education at Chicago’s Northwestern University where he obtained a Masters in Hospital Administration. Russ has sung with church choirs, also likes jazz & blues, & is singing popular music for the first time with C3. Russ is an active volunteer with the United Way & Compassionate Friends & as a drug counselor. He is a charter member of The Moo Group (Married Only Once), created when he married Martha 50 years ago.
RUTH MARSHALL (soprano) studied voice & piano at the Washington College of Music & privately in Washington D.C. where she was a soloist at the Capitol Hill & Epworth Methodist Churches. She studied theory & conducting at Prince George’s Community College. Relocating to Calvert County in 1976, she sang with the county chorus & Trinity Methodist Church choir. Ruth directed the handbell choir at the Friendship Methodist Church for 12 years & now directs the Golden Overtones, a community handbell ensemble, & sings with the Middleham & St. Peter's Church choir. Ruth had a long career as a Budget Analyst for the Bureau of the Census, was a realtor, & now devotes her time to oil & water color painting when she isn’t practicing her choreography for C3.
KAT POFF (alto section leader) hails from Houston, Texas & has lived in Calvert County since 1993. She has sung with various choral groups & church choirs, including the Seacoast Community Chorus in New Hampshire & Maine, & the Mather Community Chorus in Sacramento, CA. Kat also plays the piano, cello & the radio. She has been quoted as saying "Altos rule!!!" Professionally she is a Network Administrator for Calvert County. Her hobbies include camping, antiquing & the pursuit of a 10-second Mustang.
MARY POSEY (soprano) is originally from Virginia & has lived in Southern Maryland for 17 years. While she loved to sing as a child, she wasn’t chosen for her third grade chorus, so took band instead & learned to read music. Mary performed in college theatre & during the 9 years she lived in Australia. She started singing in church choirs a few years ago & sang in the Solomons Alumni Players production of Godspell. Professionally, Mary is a medical technologist, but prefers to show Southern Maryland visitors our historical sights & scenery. Her other major activities are traveling & walking with her dog, Puddles, the unofficial C3 mascot.
DAVID SHOWERS (tenor) comes from a family where singing is essential to family gatherings. He studied voice in college & had to chose between music or theatre: he chose theatre. He sang with the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Choir, touring England in 1996, & was the choir in residence for a week at Lichfield Cathedral. A 2nd generation ordained minister, David is full-time Chaplain at Asbury Solomons Island where he feels honored to work among people with such collective wisdom. In his spare time he gardens, growing six varieties of tomatoes, which he’ll distribute to his neighbors. An on-going landscaping project is creating a seven circuit Greek labyrinth.
BARBARA SPOERL (soprano) was born in Washington & has always enjoyed singing & acting. She has performed dozens of roles, many of them leads, in DC area musicals, including many Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. Since moving to S. MD she performed in “The Beggar’s Opera” for the benefit of the Calvert Marine Museum & in “Robin Hood – The Next Generation” with the Alumni Players. Barbara worked as an administrative officer at the US Naval Oceanographic Office in Suitland Maryland before retiring. Barbara has studied voice privately & plays piano. Hobbies are oil painting & square dancing.
DURWARD WOMACK (tenor) is a Native New Yorker born to two music loving parents, which explains why he really enjoys the American classics sung by C3. Durward grew up in church where he started singing at age 9 & hasn’t stopped since. He loves all kinds of music & plays jazz trombone. He joined the Navy, serving honorably and with distinction for 13 years. He currently works as a Management Information Systems Coordinator for the tri-county Workforce Investment Board.
Our inspiration is the men and women who came of age during the 1930s and 40s, who survived the Depression and went to war or waited at home, listened and danced to Big Bands and "crooners and canaries" on the radio.
Southern Maryland has a rich history before, during, and after World War II and the Chesapeake Community Chorus honors it with contemporary arrangements of the music of that era. There are many new-comers to our growing, developing area. Our neighborhoods are increasingly diverse in ethnicity, age, cultural identity, and religious affiliation. Our neighbors are in business, the trades, the military, non-profits, and retired, who seek entertainment and meaning through varied arts experiences. C3 plans to attract and introduce young people, teens, and young adults, to this classic American music, that they may keep it alive for yet another generation.
By actively supporting non-profit organizations that serve needy Southern Maryland citizens, we strive to strengthen these agencies while entertaining their clients and supporters.
Susan Zierman attended Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, studying piano and choral conducting. In 1971 she co-founded and directed Philomela, a women's ensemble, which specialized in Medieval, Renaissance, and traditional early American songs. In 1981, she created Oasis, a vocal jazz octet, which specialized in the Great American Songbook and performed an eclectic mix from Orlando di Lasso to Dolly Parton. Both groups performed extensively in the Washington DC area. For almost 30 years, Ms. Zierman was a lobbyist and executive in non-profits working for disability rights and services. After being a 20-year weekend and summer resident in a home in Lusby she and her husband built, she now spends most of the year in Southern Maryland, creating the Chesapeake Community Chorus in 2002 and is currently an independent consultant to non-profits, businesses, and government as president of her company, Results Focused Consulting.
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