21V | Choir | San Francisco Bay Area

About 21V

San Francisco Bay Area's 21V is an innovative ensemble of soprano and alto voices, all genders united, singing the stories of the 21st century Americas. Founded by Martín Benvenuto, we weave modern melodies from North, South, and Central America.

Mission

A catalyst for change through a new choral sound, 21V is a select ensemble of soprano and alto voices of all gender identities that performs 21st-century music of the Americas.

Vision
21V aims to be a 'house of ideas' that opens up unexplored spaces of artistic expression and a 'house of belonging' that expands interconnectedness.

Values

Vitality: fosters deep engagement with its singers and community through socially engaged programming
Vibrancy: brings to the forefront art music from North, Central, and South America written after the year 2000
Vanguard: stretches artistic boundaries and ignites innovation
Vocal: advances and advocates for gender inclusivity and racial justice in all its endeavors

About the Artists

Martín Benvenuto

Founder & Artistic Director

Martín Benvenuto (he/him) is one of the leading choir conductors in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Benvenuto is the Founder and Artistic Director of 21V. He has served as Artistic Director of the Peninsula Women's Chorus (PWC), WomenSing (WS), the Contra Costa Children's Chorus, and the Young Women's Choral Projects of San Francisco, and has been on the faculty of the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir. Dr. Benvenuto is active as a clinician, panelist, and guest conductor at home and abroad.

Recognized for his exacting technique, and a passion for drawing the finest choral tone, Benvenuto's repertoire is extensive. He holds a D.M.A. in choral conducting from Boston University, master's degrees from Westminster Choir College, and undergraduate degrees from the Universidad Católica Argentina.

Margaret Halbig

Piano

Margaret Halbig is in high demand as a collaborative pianist in both the instrumental and vocal fields. She is currently Principal Vocal Coach at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she also frequently collaborates with faculty and student instrumentalists. In 2023, Margaret was appointed Collaborative Piano Coordinator of Interlochen Arts Camp. An advocate of new and contemporary music, Margaret is the pianist for Ninth Planet, Ensemble For These Times, and a member of Frequency 49, a wind and piano sextet.

Margaret earned her DMA from the University of California Santa Barbara under the tutelage of Robert Koenig and also holds performance degrees from the University of Missouri, Kansas City Conservatory and University of Evansville, Indiana.

Megan Chartier

Cello

Cellist Megan Chartier is “unafraid to display gutsy abandon,” as described by the South Florida Classical Review. She has performed throughout North America and Europe as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral cellist. She currently holds positions as principal cellist of Opera San Luis Obispo and section cello in the Vallejo Symphony, following her positions as core cellist of the Astralis Chamber Ensemble, principal cellist of the Miami Symphony Orchestra, and extra cello of San Antonio Symphony. Chartier holds a Bachelor of Music degree in performance from Eastern Michigan University, and a Master of Music in performance from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She teaches cello at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley

Guest Chorus

Founded in 1994, Cantabile is an internationally renowned choral program providing world-class music education, vocal training, and leadership opportunities for the youth of the greater Silicon Valley communities in Northern California. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Elena Sharkova since 2004, Cantabile has grown to over 180 singers ages 6 to 18 in six performing choirs and three preparatory choirs.

In addition to multiple local concerts each season and regular collaborations with professional groups such as Symphony San José and Opera San José, Cantabile’s performing choirs tour each year, most recently to New York, Chicago, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, Germany and Austria, and Sweden, winning gold medals at the 5th European Choir Games.

Since 2014, Cantabile has commissioned over twenty new choral compositions from Jocelyn Hagen, Sarah Quartel, Will Todd, Tim Sharp, Andrea Ramsey, Stephen Hatfield, Eric Tuan, and Tom Shelton (among others), winning the Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming in 2020.

About the Singers

Christine Abraham (she/her) has appeared as soloist with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Dallas, and St. Louis, as well as Boston Baroque and Chicago’s Music of the Baroque. She has performed roles with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera and Spoleto USA. She maintains a private teaching studio and serves on the faculties of California State University East Bay and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Sara Asher (she/her), soprano, is in her third season with 21V. She is a second soprano section leader for the Peninsula Women's Chorus and an accomplished pianist who has accompanied choral concerts and musicals for various local schools. When not singing, Sara is Head of Product for Faros AI, a data platform startup focusing on engineering operations.

Dylan Benander (they/them/theirs) is an emerging countertenor and music educator in the Bay Area. They teach K-5 music in Pacifica School District, teach choir with the San Francisco Girls Chorus, and work as the Alto soloist and section leader for St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. They also made their recital debut in 2023 with SF Salon Music, and are thrilled to be singing with 21V. Dylan specializes in early music and has a passion for studying gender norms and presentation in Baroque opera, and for performing early music in a historically-informed way. They earned a M.M in vocal performance from San Francisco State University and a B.A. in music from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Julie Boehler (she/her), soprano, is delighted to be a part of 21V. Julie is the Director of Choral Activities at Canyon Middle School in Castro Valley and loves working with middle school students! When she’s not teaching, she enjoys spending time with her daughters Lily and Maggie and her husband Jordan. Teaching and being the parent of two little ladies keeps her rather busy and she is so grateful to have found 21V to pursue her love of singing in an ensemble. Previously, she sang with choirs such as Cappella SF and San Francisco Symphony Chorus both under the direction of Ragnar Bohlin as well as other freelance choir work and solo engagements. Julie holds a B.M. in Music Education and a B.M. in Vocal Performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University Long Beach.

Jodie Bourdet (she/her), mezzo- soprano, feels fortunate to be working with such a talented group of musicians. A pianist in her youth, Jodie has sung with WomenSing. When she is not singing, Jodie works as a partner at Cooley, an international law firm, in the areas of corporate and securities law.

Sara Couden (she/her), alto, enjoys performing all kinds of music, from Handel oratorios to Stravinsky opera roles to Elvis impersonation. She trained at the San Francisco Conservatory, Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music, and the Metropolitan Opera. Sara will make her San Francisco Opera debut as Rita in The Handmaid’s Tale this fall (for a full list of engagements, please visit www.saracouden.net). When not singing, she enjoys napping, reading, and looking at the sea.

Asher Davison (he/him), alto countertenor, is graduate of Santa Monica High School, has performed clarinet concertos and studied under David Shifrin while at Yale. A copyeditor and former education developer and science teacher, Asher is bass section leader for Steve Main at Piedmont Community Church, sings bass with Magen Solomon's San Francisco Choral Artists, has sung alto with Vox Humana SF under Don Scott Carpenter, and teaches voice in the Forte program at Marin Country Day School.

Tristana Ferreyra-Rantalaiho (she/her) is thrilled to be part of 21V. She holds a master of music in vocal performance from San Francisco State University and an undergraduate degree in choral conducting from Universidad Católica Argentina. She loves to premiere vocal works by new composers as a soloist and with choirs. Apart from her early music and classical music repertoire, she has sung Argentinian tango, bossa nova, and Kurt Weill’s music and has worked as a singer, voice teacher, and choral conductor in Argentina and Finland. She has her private voice studio and teaches voice in the Bay Area at Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, Community Music Center of San Francisco, Spindrift School of Music and Arts, and New Mozart School of Music.

Julia Grizzell (she/her), soprano, recently performed the title role in Verdi’s Luisa Miller with Verismo Opera, Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare with the Handel Opera Academy in Poland, and Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale. She also teaches voice and piano at the New Mozart School of Music in Palo Alto.

Winona Hendrick (she/her) is a contralto, instrumentalist, and educator. A graduate of SF State’s Music Education department, she currently teaches band at Marina Middle School. She has also performed with local opera companies such as Teatro Mistral and Phénix Opera. Winona has also sung chorally with groups like The San Francisco Renaissance Voices, and the newly formed Vox Humana. In her free time, she enjoys performing with her husband in their band, The Letterboxers.

Anne Hepburn Smith (she/her) is a Bay Area-based lyric coloratura soprano with an MM in Voice from San Francisco Conservatory and a BM from Boston Conservatory. She freelances around the Bay Area, performing with various chamber groups and opera companies. Her favorite roles include Susanna (Figaro), Pamina (Magic Flute), and Nella (Gianni Schicchi). Anne also tours with Ensemble Mik Nawooj, a hip-hop orchestra and manages in-school elementary music programs in San Jose and the East Bay.

Amy Hiestand (she/her), soprano, is thrilled to be singing with 21V. A pianist, she has previously sung with WomenSing, and co-managed WomenSing’s Treble Voices Now Festival over three seasons. She loves reuniting and singing with her Yale College senior women’s a cappella group, Whim 'n Rhythm of 1989! Amy consults to Bay Area municipalities on affordable housing policy, housing preservation strategies, and project finance and development.

Yiting Jin (she/her), alto, took her first musical steps at the age of four on the piano, and sang with the Peninsula Women's Chorus, where she was also a Board member. In addition to 21V, she also sings with San Francisco Choral Artists and Masterworks Serenade chamber ensemble, and serves on the Board of Volti. Yiting is grateful to be part of 21V’s journey of creating 21st century music and its advocacy for the underrepresented. She has a B.A. from Princeton University and works in product management.

Peter Kenton is a professional singer (countertenor and tenor), sound technician, and DJ. He is a member of the Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys, and performs regularly with 21V, American Bach, Clerestory, and Vox Humana SF. He has appeared as a featured soloist with Marin Oratorio, and has performed with the Berkeley Symphony, Oakland Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony. Along with an active performance schedule, Peter owns and operates his own business, Kenton Live Sound, providing sound reinforcement and DJ services for concerts, weddings, parties, and other events.

Becky Lau (she/her), soprano from Hong Kong, is thrilled about her first season with 21V. Becky is a section leader and soloist at Christ Church Los Altos. She has sung with the SF Symphony Chorus, Convivium, and Volti. Most recently, Becky has been offering gifts of song to museum visitors as part of Sonic Blossom, a participatory performance at the de Young. Outside of singing, Becky is a published author in psychology research journals.

Nancy Munn (she/her) began her singing career with D'Oyly Carte and Welsh National Opera companies while living in the UK and has sung with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra Chorale, Sanford Dole Ensemble, San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Pocket Opera, Napa Festival Volti and as guest soloist with San Francisco Choral Society and UC Alumni Chorus. Nancy has a private voice studio in San Francisco and lives in the City with her husband and son.

Kate Offer (she/her), soprano, is the Music & Movement Specialist for the Pacific Primary School, a preschool in San Francisco. As her alter ego, Kate Offer, Very Melodramatic Soprano, Kate performs a comic recital titled "Aria Kidding," at venues throughout the Bay Area. She also runs Songs from the Sandbox, a YouTube channel of sing-along songs for children and families. Check it out at www.YouTube.com/songsfromthesandbox

Akane Ota (she/her), is a mezzo-soprano from Japan. Akane holds a BA in Vocal Performance from Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture, and an artistic diploma from Shobi Gakuen Tokyo. She is a member of the SF Symphony Chorus, Convivium and Volti, and an alto section leader at the Universalist Unitarian Church in SF. She served as the conductor for the Choir of Saniku School in Santa Clara. Akane has a private piano and voice studio in Burlingame.

Ben Rudiak-Gould (he/him) has been singing since the age of 3, when he was a soprano. He now sings alto, tenor and bass in several Bay Area groups, including San Francisco Choral Artists, Schola Cetorum, and formerly the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. He has degrees in physics and mathematics.

Judith Ward (she/her), soprano, has had a lifelong passion for choral music and has maintained an active singing life alongside an international career and raising three children. She spent 15 years in Europe where she sang with the Paris Choral Society and The Bach Choir in London. Since moving to the Bay Area, she has been a member of several choirs and currently sings with Marin Symphony Chorus, St. Stephen’s Choir and Consort Chorale.

Reuben Zellman (he/they) is a countertenor, rabbi and teacher. Most recently he has been fortunate to perform with Festival Opera, Exploratorium Arts, the UC Berkeley Baroque Ensemble, the Handel Opera Project, and Opera Parallèle's Showcase of Transgender Classical Artists. Reuben is the co-director of New Voices Trans, Intersex and Genderqueer Chorus at the Community Music Center, and also serves on the staff of Congregation Sha'ar Zahav in San Francisco. He holds master’s degrees in choral conducting and in Hebrew literature.