Coro: Quia fecit mihi magna

Prior to his appointment at UGA, Dr. Bara was the Director of Choral Activities at East Carolina University, where he received the UNC Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award andthe Robert L. Jones Award for Outstanding Teaching, and released two internationally distributed choral recordings, Greater Love (2007) and Eternal Light (2010) with Gothic Records. In 2001 he won the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize given at the Eastman School of Music, andtheACDA National Student Conducting Competition(Graduate Division) awarded at the National Convention in San Antonio, TX.

Dr. Bara holds the DMA degree in conducting from theEastman School of Music, organ and conducting degrees from theUniversity of Michigan, and is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy. At UGA, Dr. Bara conducts the UGA Hodgson Singers, and oversees the graduate conducting student recital choir, The Repertory Singers.

Originally from Savannah, GA, Erin Barksdale is the Director of Choral Activities at Northgate High School in Newnan, GA and soprano 2 in the Choral Octet here at First Pres. Prior to her position at FPCA, Erinserved as the Assistant Music Director at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville, GA from 2015-2020. Shegraduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Music degree in Choral Music Education.

Ana Baida resides in Atlanta, Georgia, where she serves as the Executive Director of Transition Support and Career Development at Kennesaw State University. When not fulfilling her fulltime responsibilities at Kennesaw State, she is delighted to sing with Conspirare and the Kinnara Ensemble. She is also a staff singer at the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta and sings intermittently with various other groups. Ana holds a Bachelors from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, a Masters from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and a Doctorate from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Brendan Callahan-Fitzgerald is an Atlanta-based musician and teacher. In 2013 he spent the summer participating as an apprentice artist for the Des Moines Metro Opera. In 2013 he won the Georgia District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and received the Encouragement Award at the Regional level. He has performed the roles of Rodolfo in La bohe me, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Don Jose in Carmen, The Duke in Rigoletto, Le Chevelier de la Force, in the Dialogues of the Carmelites, King Kaspar in Amahl in the Night Visitors, and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, the title role in Werther, and Giles Corey in The Crucible, and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Alfredo in La Traviata. He has also performed as an oratorio soloist in countless performances throughout the Atlanta area and beyond. Brendan holds a position as a staff musician at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, and maintains a voice and piano studio in Atlanta.

Taylor Hoyt took singing lessons in high school and joined choir during undergraduate at Trinity University. Since then, he served as a chorister at First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio & First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. He has also volunteered for several musical excursions including Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 2.0 and weeklong choral residencies at Ripon Cathedral & Washington National Cathedral.