Colleen Baade
Colleen Baade holds a PhD in Historical Performance Practice (Duke University) as well as graduate degrees in Musicology, Organ Performance, and Spanish Languages and Literatures. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Spanish at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Colleen owes her love of early music to Quentin Faulkner, who taught her how to play JS Bach, and to Pamela Starr, who introduced her to Claudio Monteverdi. She joined Dulces Voces in 2007.
Jessica Brauer
Jessica Brauer holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, with recent post-baccalaureate study in vocal performance at the Glenn Korff School of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She currently works as a Special Education Paraeducator at Lincoln High School in Lincoln, Nebraska, and performs regularly with several local choral ensembles. She is additionally very involved in the music community of First-Plymouth Church in Lincoln as a member of the Plymouth Choir, Cantorei Chamber Choir, and the Compline Schola Cantorum. She has long been a fan of early music, and thanks her experiences in Doane Choir and the UNL Chamber Singers for further developing that spark. Jessica joined Dulces Voces in 2014.
Joel Brown
Joel Brown, baritone, is a recent graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. He first found his curiosity for early music through choral singing in high school, and his curiosity quickly grew from studying music at the collegiate level. Other musical interests for Joel include organ music, contemporary art songs, and the compositions of Charles Ives. If he isn’t doing something music-related he can be found reading a book, experiencing the outdoors, or enjoying retro video games.
Curt Butler
Curt Butler is a graduate of the University of Nebraska Medical Center where he earned a Doctorate in Pharmacy. His undergraduate studies at Chadron State College included multiple year membership in Concert Choir and the show choir Eagleaires, under the direction of Dr. Alfred Blinde. Employed at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital Department of Pharmacy, Curt moonlights as director of the Madonna Choir and coordinator of the Madonna Concert Series. His fondness for early music has been nurtured through his affiliation with Dulces Voces since October of 1998.
Jon Gathje
Jon Gathje, tenor, is a graduate of Luther Seminary (M.Div.), the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (BME and MM), and is in the dissertation stage of a PhD program in liturgy (Fuller Seminary). His topic is on the formative role of congregational music in lives of faith. Jon has recently relocated from Pasadena, CA (where he sang for five seasons with the Los Angeles Master Chorale) and is serving as the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in North Omaha. Jon owes his loves of early music to his work with Dulces Voces a decade ago, as well as the Pope Marcellus Mass of Palestrina.
Holly Heffelbower
Holly Heffelbower has been singing with Dulces Voces since its inception in May of 1992. She has a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Her love of early music came largely from the influence of her high school choir instructor, but Dulces Voces has done a great deal to round out her early music education.
Roger Hochstetler
Roger Hochstetler miraculously developed some musical ability as he narrowly escaped being raised Amish. Predominately self-taught on piano, he later learned to play trombone in high school and became active in drama, swing choir, and jazz band. Soon after graduation, Roger was offered an opportunity to play keyboards and provide vocals for a top-40 lounge band out of St Louis, MO. He spent the next three years touring; first with them, then joining a show group based in Schenectady, NY and finally with a rock and roll band working out of Lincoln, NE. Roger eventually did some solo gigs in the area and began attending UNL where he obtained his MRS. He is active in St Mark’s on the Campus choir and joined Dulces Voces soon after his wife, Colleen Baade.
Jackie Josten
Jackie Josten, soprano, received her MM in Music Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2015 and her bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University in 2012. She is also a member of the Opera Omaha chorus, with recent productions including A Flowering Tree, Fidelio, and Semele. She is also an experienced flute and piccolo player. Jackie works in Lincoln as a full-time administrative assistant at Nebraska Diamond, and spends most of her free time knitting and serenading her cats.
Jane Mehrens
Jane Mehrens holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, where she was a member of the Wartburg Choir under the direction of Dr. James Fritschel and studied voice under Dr. Irene Weldon. She has been signing since 1994 with the First-Plymouth Choir, Cantorei, and Abendmusik at First-Plymouth Congregational Church UCC in Lincoln Nebraska. She is a licensed Property & Casualty Insurance Agent and is employed by Nebraska Innovative Insurance. Jane joined Dulces Voces in 2012.
John Mills
John Mills is singing in his first season with Dulces Voces. He holds degrees in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting from Coe College and UNL. John enjoys most kinds of choral music but holds a special fondness for music from the Romantic Era. When not singing, John can be heard as a host on NET Radio. He also enjoys cooking and brewing beer.
Jennifer Stevens
Jennifer Stevens is a founding member of Dulces Voces. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Grace University, earning a double major in Bible and in Church Music. She has also done graduate work in vocal music and English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and in English at the University of Iowa. Her love of Renaissance music goes back to early childhood, when she spent much time listening to recordings of the Trapp Family Singers performing works by Arcadelt, Scandelli, Dowland and Hassler.
Martha Tanner
Martha Tanner holds a Ph.D. in English from Tulane University and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois. She is a librarian (and liaison to the music department) at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Music has been her passion and avocation since she joined her first choir at age four, and she has been singing in church, school, and community choirs ever since. Currently a member of the adult choir and Spirit Ringers handbell ensemble at First Lutheran Church in Lincoln, she has also sung with the Ames Choral Society and Good Company women’s choir in Ames, Iowa; Burning Bright in Decorah, Iowa; and the Concert Choir of New Orleans. She joined Dulces Voces in 2016.
Michael Tully
Michael Tully has found success in a wide range of vocal styles in a career that has taken him from the world of opera, oratorio and art song, to jazz, blues, music theatre, and a cappella. Tully relocated from Tempe, AZ to Lincoln in 2005, after earning B.M. and M.M. degrees in Voice from Arizona State University. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from UNL in 2013. Michael currently serves as Director of Music Ministries at Trinity United Methodist Church in Lincoln and maintains a healthy balance or work, family, and performing.
Laura Waldman
Laura Waldman is a founding member of Dulces Voces. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia and works as a software trainer for Nebraska Book Company in Lincoln. She has been singing medieval and renaissance music for most of her life, including performing with Collegium Musicum groups at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She loves the opportunity Dulces Voces gives her to share her passion for early music with others.