Shawn Westbrook, Lead Singer
Shawn is a large person; large-in-stature, large-in-heart, large-in-love, and large-in-talent. Shawn not only is a lead singer in CHORDS - he is also, in many ways, our inspiration. Life has thrown Shawn a lot of curveballs, but he always comes back
around to home base - our Lord, Jesus Christ. Shawn lives in Battle Creek, Michigan, where he works as a Food Quality Engineer for Kellogg's. He and his wife, Pam, make the trip down to Fort Wayne to participate in our monthly concerts. CHORDS
especially appreciates the many sacrifices Shawn and Pam make to be a part of our ensemble!
Auline Nyberg, Lead Singer
Auline is no longer singing with the CHORDS Vocal Ensemble, but she will absolutely always be a member of CHORDS. Auline is the only female who has sung with CHORDS, and we will greatly miss having her as part of the ensemble. Not only does she possess a beautiful voice (she is featured as 'soloist' on each of our three CDs), she is also special to us because she always very confidently held her own with all the fellas! Auline is a charter member of CHORDS and sang with us through August 2011. Throughout the years, she has also directed several highly-successful choral ensembles. Auline is a devoted wife to Allan, mother of Rich, Roger and Rachelle, doting grandmother, and retired after many dedicated years of nursing from Towne House Retirement Center in Fort Wayne. We thank you, Auline, for all you brought to CHORDS over your many years of singing with us!
Nick Westerhausen, Baritone Singer
One of the newer members of CHORDS is Nick Westerhausen and his joining our ensemble has really been a blessing. Not only is Nick a fine singer, he has a wonderful, dry sense of humor. Never one to miss out on an opportunity to "zing" the director, his quips have really been appreciated by all the other members. Nick is also the youngest member of CHORDS by at least a couple decades! The son of one of our tenor singers, Mark Westerhausen, Nick is now a student at Indiana University where he is active in the Indiana Marching Band playing Tuba! Being in college has put his CHORDS singing career on hiatus, but perhaps time and life experiences will somehow land Nick back in his hometown area where we might, once again, look forward to having his youthfulness and enthusiasm in our ensemble!
Bill Anders, Baritone Singer
Bill Anders joined CHORDS as part of our 'rebirth' in 2004, but it feels as though he's been around since the beginning because we have all known Bill for over 20 years. He sang in the choir with many of us at Saint Joseph UMC, and it seems we just can't get away from him! Bill is an enormously-talented musician, singer, professional trombonist, bass guitarist, English Horn soloist and conductor. As impressive as all this is, it pales in comparison to the fact he is the father of five girls. Five girls. That's right, five girls, plus he is married to a girl. He has no retirement savings, but he does have ten grandchildren! All kidding aside, Bill works as Band Director at West Noble High School and is certainly the comedian of CHORDS. A devout Harley Davidson motorcycle enthusiast,
along with his lovely bride, Sharon, Bill brings great joy and fun to our ensemble.
Bruce Frederick, Baritone Singer
Bruce Frederick is the hottie in CHORDS. Seriously. Every group needs a hottie, and Bruce fulfills that capacity well! Plus he is a pretty good singer. Bruce and his wife, Joy, are the proud parents of two sons, David and Michael, and also enjoy spoiling their beautiful grandchildren. While now retired, and loving it, Bruce was formerly employed as a Tire Design Engineer at BF Goodrich Tire Company in Woodburn, which he used to tell us stood for "Bruce Frederick's Goodrich Tire Company." He is really smart. And, he is a magnificent ping-pong player. Most-importantly, Bruce is a passionate follower of Jesus Christ, and it is easy to see this in him as he lives his life. The members of CHORDS are proud to call Bruce Frederick a friend and brother-in-Christ.
Mark Westerhausen, Tenor Singer
Every organized group seems to attract one slacker. Someone who seems to lag behind, miss rehearsals, not pay attention, etc etc etc. Mark Westerhausen definitely is NOT that person! He is quite possibly our most-disciplined and devoted member.
Perhaps that is a trait of being a CPA and a partner at DWD Accounting Services in Fort Wayne. Mark is also a charter member of CHORDS, and currently a member of leadership at Leo United Methodist Church where he sings in the choir, sits on several committees and serves as substitute organist. Wow. And he also finds time to be a devoted husband to wife, Karen, and father to their children, Katie and Nick. Oh - he also plays softball fairly well, or at least he likes to believe he does.
Bruce Haines, Tenor Singer
Bruce Haines is no stranger to fine-music lovers in the greater Fort Wayne area. After serving over 21 years as on-air personality and General Manager of Northeast Indiana Public Radio, Bruce has recently been named General Manager of Fort Wayne's Public Television Station, WFWA, PBS39. Additionally, he holds about a hundred other board directorships and positions of responsibility on local, regional and national organizations, so having him shove CHORDS rehearsals and performances into his enormously-busy schedule is a real blessing. Bruce and his wife, Melinda, along with their two girls, Hannah and Rachel, do get away each summer to the 'shore,' as they put it, in Ocean City, NJ where Bruce's family enjoys a beautiful ocean-side condo. Come to think of it, CHORDS should visit and sing a few concerts ocean-side!
Gary Border, Bass Singer
CHORDS is proud to have Gary Border singing bass with us. Well, most of the time. You see, Gary has a tendency to misbehave. And when Gary misbehaves, his fellow bass singer, Carl Reuter, begins to laugh. And then Gary begins to giggle. And then pretty much he and Carl totally lose it. Most-often, this occurs about one minute before we are being introduced to perform! It makes for some interesting moments. Not only is Gary a talented bass singer, he is also a great friend of CHORDS, always ready to pitch in at a moment's notice to help out in any way possible. Gary and his wonderful wife, Lana, are parents of not only two lovely daughters, Angi & Amanda, but also to their rescued greyhound dogs, Carol & Loretta. When not working as a Field Representative for The Hillman Group or entertaining his many grandchildren, Gary can be found riding the back roads on his mammoth Honda VTX 1800 motorcycle, a definite love of his!
Carl Reuter, Bass Singer
Carl is a beautiful human being. Seriously. We don't know what he is talking about or is doing most of the time, but we are sure he is a wonderful person. If every group needs a cut-up, there is no doubt that Carl is that for CHORDS. Sit him beside Gary, and rehearsals often become little more than a silly-fest. But we wouldn't want it any other way! Carl recently retired after a long career as a Senior Systems Engineer at Raytheon in Fort Wayne. And he was really good at it, or so he tells us. Just kidding. In all honesty, one of Carl's greatest attributes is his humbleness. We have never heard him brag about anything except his lovely bride, Jaci, their two girls, Amanda and Nicole, and their several grandchildren. He is an exceptionally-talented singer both with CHORDS and with his church's adult choir at Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church in Fort Wayne. Thanks, Carl, for keeping us laughing!
Alexander Klepach, Keyboard Accompanist
The CHORDS Vocal Ensemble is very pleased and proud to welcome Mr. Alexander Klepach as our accompanist. He joined the ensemble in September 2011. Alexander has enjoyed an incredible career as a keyboard artist - he first hit the professional stage at age 12 and has been performing ever since. He received his Doctor of Music in Piano Performance degree in 1986 from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and performed as a concert artist throughout Russia, Asia and Europe until relocating to the United States in 1998. Alex and his wife, Olga Yurkova - Principal Second Violin - both play in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic as well as present recitals and concerts throughout the USA. Although only with us a short time, he has already thrilled us with his virtuosity, his phenomenal 'chops' in every genre of music and his passion-filled accompaniment. CHORDS is so fortunate and proud to welcome Alexander to our ensemble!
James Zanker, Singer and Director
James Zanker has been known as a dedicated, enthusiastic and talented choral director in the Fort Wayne area since moving here from his home state of Iowa in 1986. His choral, instrumental and handbell ensembles were recognized as having been some of the finest in our area. Currently, James plays trumpet in the Blue River Big Band and is Flugelhorn Soloist for the Old Crown Brass Band. CHORDS is his #1 passion, and he enjoys immensely the rigors of directing, scheduling, booking and organizing the ensemble. By day he is a Long-Term Care Insurance/Investment Advisor as part of Veterans Financial, Inc. His delightful wife, Kyle, and their boys, Joshua and Paul, enjoy a blessed family life along with Kyle's parents and brother's family who also live in the area. James' second passion is toy collecting, and his and Kyle's pressed-steel toy collection is considered one of the finest in the entire United States.
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