A small group of artistic and administrative team members help make YPCC sing, and a committed and diverse group of board members make up the YPCC backbone that is crucial to our success.
Cy (he/him) is proud to serve as the Executive Director of YPCC and be a part of the thriving arts and music scene in Cincinnati. Prior to taking on this leadership role, he spent seven years educating students in music and theatre at Butler Tech School of the Arts in Hamilton, Ohio. Cy’s professional journey began in New York City, where he accumulated nearly a decade of experience as a successful actor, producer, special events coordinator, and creative director. Having made his mark on Broadway and in Disney Productions globally, Cy has demonstrated his artistic skills as a professional actor. He is also a respected member, coach, and educator of the Barbershop Harmony Society, and sings baritone in the quartet MixTape. Furthermore, he holds certification as a judge in the Performance Category for the BHS, often collaborating with ensembles on an international level. Cy earned his BFA from Brigham Young University, specializing in Music, Dance, and Theater with an emphasis in Music Education. During his free time, he appreciates the tranquility of lakeside living with his husband, Dustin, and their two cats, Teddi and Cleo.
Katie Personke (she/her) holds degrees in vocal music education from Ohio Wesleyan University and the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. She has been teaching music in public schools for fifteen years in Illinois and Ohio, working with students and adults of all ages and abilities. Katie has been a member of YPCC since 2012, helping in many different capacities and is currently the Associate Choral Director, providing artistic leadership and conducting ensembles for On Call, Caroling, and the Holiday Cycle. She teaches elementary school music for Mt. Healthy City Schools and also is the music director for several local theater groups. Katie lives in Cincinnati with her partner Jonathan and their two cats, and in her free time loves to read, knit, travel, and be the best aunt ever.
Conductor and tenor Alberto de la Paz has enjoyed a career performing and conducting in many different genres. For four seasons, Alberto served as an Artistic Co-Director and tenor with Cantus, a professional vocal ensemble that Fanfare magazine describes as the “premier men’s vocal ensemble in the United States.” During his tenure with Cantus he performed in venues including The Kennedy Center, The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, The Barns at Wolf Trap, the Boston Celebrity Series, and Tanglewood Music Festival. He has collaborated with other artists like pianist Emanuel Ax, Lorelei Ensemble, and The Bach Society of Minnesota. He has also appeared on local and national media outlets in programs with SiriusXM Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, and American Public Media. He released three albums with Cantus , the most recent titled “Into the Light” demonstrates diversity of repertoire with works by a broad range of composers and arrangers.
Alberto’s interest in the creation of new music is reflected in the commissions written for and premiered by Cantus from composers like Melissa Dunphy, Mari Esabel Valverde, Griffin Candey, Yosvany Estepe, and Mariana Sadovska. He also had the opportunity to tour around the United States giving masterclasses and clinics to choirs of all levels.
A native of Guadalajara, Mexico, Alberto’s passion and commitment to Latin American music are highlighted in a recent concert collaboration with two-time Grammy Award winner and Cuban jazz pianist Nachito Herrera. This program combined art songs, choral arrangements, and piano solo pieces from four different countries (Mexico, Cuba, Brazil and Argentina) in a celebration of the diverse and rich musical styles that exist in Latin American music.
Alberto obtained his Bachelors in Music Education from the University of Illinois, and he is currently pursuing his Masters in Choral Conducting at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music under the instruction of Dr. Joe Miller and Dr. Brett Scott.
Alberto’s position as the Assistant Artistic Director is an internship funded through the William J. Baude - Maurice E. Oshry Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.
Sara Gibson (she/her) is currently pursuing a master’s in arts administration and a master’s in business administration at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. A recent vocal music education graduate of the Conservatory of Music at Capital University in Columbus, she has only recently moved to Cincinnati. During her four years of intense singing overlapped with three years of choral management in the Capital University Chapel Choir, Sara has worked directly with choral giants such as Joel Thompson, Andre Thomas, and Jake Runestad. Sara had initially decided to take a semester away from choral music to adjust to the rigor of graduate school - but she clearly couldn’t stay away! When she isn’t at school, work, or “second work," Sara enjoys playing tabletop games with her friends, live music of all sorts, and theater.
Jaclyn Threadgill is a multidisciplinary creative with a professional background that includes magazine design, branding, marketing, web design, illustration, and mural design. She grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico (the answer is always “green”) and went to college in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2009 Jaclyn and her husband moved to Himeji, Japan. Over the following seven years in Japan they had lots of adventures, including a baby. The three of them repatriated to Cincinnati in 2016. Jaclyn only sings in the car, but she has a passion for very loud traditional Japanese instruments. She is part of Wadaiko Gouken, a performing taiko (Japanese drum) group out of Dayton, and also studies tsugaru shamisen (a 3-stringed instrument played in a fast, percussive style with a plectrum that resembles an ice scraper).