About us
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| FLAGSTAFF LIGHT OPERA COMPANY |
Kathryn
Poen (Director & Choral Director) was
born in
Decorah, Iowa and has over forty years of public school
choral music teaching experience. She received her Master
of Music Degree from the University of Arizona, and began
her doctoral studies there as well. In her professional
career, Kay has directed and produced numerous major
musicals including "Amahl and the Night Visitors", "You’re a
Good Man, Charlie Brown", "Fiddler on the Roof", "Mary
Sunshine", "My Fair Lady", "The Pirates of Penzance",
"H.M.S. Pinafore", "The King and I", "South Pacific",
"Trial by Jury", and "The Mikado". She has also directed
community choruses for Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Handel’s
Messiah as well as appearing in and directing productions for
Theatrikos. Currently, Kay teaches private studio lessons,
composes, and in her free time keeps track of her numerous
children & grandchildren and entertains frequently.
Sean Paul Mills, D.M.A. (Music Director & Conductor) is a
native of northern California, and attended the University
of Oregon for both his Bachelor of Music and Master of
Music degrees and the University of Iowa for his Doctor of
Musical Arts Degree in Cello Performance and Pedagogy.
Sean has performed as cellist with the Humboldt String
Quartet, Sequoia Piano Trio, Humboldt Chamber Players,
Oregon Mozart Players, Oregon Bach Festival, the Quad
City Symphony, and the Manzanita Piano Trio, among others.
He has performed as cellist and conductor in California,
Oregon, Iowa, Arizona, Germany, France, and Switzerland.
He has also taught on the faculties of Kirkwood Community
College, Grinnell College, and Coconino Community College.
Sean has served as Music Director and Conductor for many
of the FLOC’s productions, and is currently employed as
Music Director at Sedona's Church of the Red Rocks, as an
associate faculty member in the Music Department at
Coconino Community College, as Artistic Director & Conductor
of the Coconino Community Orchestra, and as Chief
Instructor of the Northern Arizona Karate Association
(www.japankarate.org).
Michael Casey (Producing Director) was born and raised in
Wales in the United Kingdom before relocating to Flagstaff
in 1988. An accountant by profession, Mike also teaches
accounting at Coconino Community College when not involved
with the FLOC, Master Chorale, and the Celtic Heritage
Society. Mike's family consists of his wife, Ilean (the
FLOC's Treasurer) and daughters Rachel and Sarah.
No stranger to the stage, Mike has appeared in and
directed shows as diverse as "Carousel", "Oklahoma!",
"The King and I", "West Side Story", "The Merry Widow",
and "The Pirates of Penzance", to name but a few.
Charles Spining (Rehearsal Accompanist & Program Notes)
holds the distinction of being the only native Arizonan on
the FLOC Founding Board! His community theater experience
includes roles as musical director, actor, and accompanist
for theater groups in Taiwan (while stationed there in the
U.S. Navy) and Arizona. Charly’s informative and
interesting program notes are well know to audiences of the
Sedona Chamber Music Festival, Flagstaff Symphony,
Flagstaff Festival of the Arts, and FLOC. Charly, like
Mike, is an accountant by trade as well as the organist at
Flagstaff's Church of the Epiphany.
Susana Rivera-Mills, Ph.D. (Founding Board Member) is a
native of El Salvador, and currently is an Assistant
Professor of Spanish & Linguistics in the Modern Languages
Department at NAU. Her no-nonsense, tell-it-as-it-is
approach coupled with her theatrical experience (beginning
during her High School education and continuing to the
present) made her the obvious choice for the FLOC’s first
Company Manager. Susana made her directorial debut with
the FLOC in its 1997 production of Gilbert & Sullivan's
"Mikado" and is directing this summer's production of
Sherman Edwards' "1776". Her skills as an efficiency
expert and at putting out the raging fires that occur during
productions (not to mention keeping the Music Director’s
feet out of his mouth) are priceless. In her copious spare
time, Susana serves as the Co-Chief Instructor of the
Northern Arizona Karate Association as well as on the
boards of several community organizations and at the
First Congregational Church of Flagstaff.
Decorah, Iowa and has over forty years of public school
choral music teaching experience. She received her Master
of Music Degree from the University of Arizona, and began
her doctoral studies there as well. In her professional
career, Kay has directed and produced numerous major
musicals including "Amahl and the Night Visitors", "You’re a
Good Man, Charlie Brown", "Fiddler on the Roof", "Mary
Sunshine", "My Fair Lady", "The Pirates of Penzance",
"H.M.S. Pinafore", "The King and I", "South Pacific",
"Trial by Jury", and "The Mikado". She has also directed
community choruses for Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Handel’s
Messiah as well as appearing in and directing productions for
Theatrikos. Currently, Kay teaches private studio lessons,
composes, and in her free time keeps track of her numerous
children & grandchildren and entertains frequently.
Sean Paul Mills, D.M.A. (Music Director & Conductor) is a
native of northern California, and attended the University
of Oregon for both his Bachelor of Music and Master of
Music degrees and the University of Iowa for his Doctor of
Musical Arts Degree in Cello Performance and Pedagogy.
Sean has performed as cellist with the Humboldt String
Quartet, Sequoia Piano Trio, Humboldt Chamber Players,
Oregon Mozart Players, Oregon Bach Festival, the Quad
City Symphony, and the Manzanita Piano Trio, among others.
He has performed as cellist and conductor in California,
Oregon, Iowa, Arizona, Germany, France, and Switzerland.
He has also taught on the faculties of Kirkwood Community
College, Grinnell College, and Coconino Community College.
Sean has served as Music Director and Conductor for many
of the FLOC’s productions, and is currently employed as
Music Director at Sedona's Church of the Red Rocks, as an
associate faculty member in the Music Department at
Coconino Community College, as Artistic Director & Conductor
of the Coconino Community Orchestra, and as Chief
Instructor of the Northern Arizona Karate Association
(www.japankarate.org).
Michael Casey (Producing Director) was born and raised in
Wales in the United Kingdom before relocating to Flagstaff
in 1988. An accountant by profession, Mike also teaches
accounting at Coconino Community College when not involved
with the FLOC, Master Chorale, and the Celtic Heritage
Society. Mike's family consists of his wife, Ilean (the
FLOC's Treasurer) and daughters Rachel and Sarah.
No stranger to the stage, Mike has appeared in and
directed shows as diverse as "Carousel", "Oklahoma!",
"The King and I", "West Side Story", "The Merry Widow",
and "The Pirates of Penzance", to name but a few.
Charles Spining (Rehearsal Accompanist & Program Notes)
holds the distinction of being the only native Arizonan on
the FLOC Founding Board! His community theater experience
includes roles as musical director, actor, and accompanist
for theater groups in Taiwan (while stationed there in the
U.S. Navy) and Arizona. Charly’s informative and
interesting program notes are well know to audiences of the
Sedona Chamber Music Festival, Flagstaff Symphony,
Flagstaff Festival of the Arts, and FLOC. Charly, like
Mike, is an accountant by trade as well as the organist at
Flagstaff's Church of the Epiphany.
Susana Rivera-Mills, Ph.D. (Founding Board Member) is a
native of El Salvador, and currently is an Assistant
Professor of Spanish & Linguistics in the Modern Languages
Department at NAU. Her no-nonsense, tell-it-as-it-is
approach coupled with her theatrical experience (beginning
during her High School education and continuing to the
present) made her the obvious choice for the FLOC’s first
Company Manager. Susana made her directorial debut with
the FLOC in its 1997 production of Gilbert & Sullivan's
"Mikado" and is directing this summer's production of
Sherman Edwards' "1776". Her skills as an efficiency
expert and at putting out the raging fires that occur during
productions (not to mention keeping the Music Director’s
feet out of his mouth) are priceless. In her copious spare
time, Susana serves as the Co-Chief Instructor of the
Northern Arizona Karate Association as well as on the
boards of several community organizations and at the
First Congregational Church of Flagstaff.
| Great leadership is at the core
of putting on a fun and exciting theatrical production. This page lists our Founding Board members with a bio for each. We'd like to thank these people for all their hard work. |
BIOGRAPHIES OF THE FOUNDING BOARD
| Please contact us if you have any questions regarding the FLOC randolbeaumo@cs.com Or you can postal-mail us at: The FLOC PO BOX 23587 Flagstaff, AZ 86002 |