“Singing gives me a natural high. And it is cheaper than therapy! Charlie is a brilliant director; she brings fun and positivity to every session, plus cool song choices. I have met fantastic people and made lifelong friends.” 

– MATILDA BROOKER, RETAIL ASSISTANT 

CHARLIE ADAMS
Founding Director

Charlie is on a mission to bring choir to the world—one laugh, one voice, one song at a time. (Emphasis on the laugh.) A vivacious (British) choir leader, musical arranger, certified voice teacher and creative entrepreneur, she began her journey with a degree from the Liverpool Institute of Performing arts (where she graduated with 1st-class honors, which, as Brits know, is a big deal). She has crisscrossed the pond and conquered musical challenges up and down the scale, from producing grassroots community arts projects to large-scale singing events. Over a 20-year career, she has performed at the Glastonbury Festival, sung alongside Brian Eno, Ringo Starr and the Zombies, conducted a 50-person choir at Madison Square Garden, and partnered with NYC’s Center for Arts Education.

Her proudest achievement, though, was the 2012 founding of New York Choir Project, where her passion for music continues to be a force for community connection, well-being and joy—and a chance to harmonize her way through life.

MEGAN ALLEN
Programs Director

Megan is a musical chameleon, from a cappella to musical theater to piano and guitar—but don’t ask her to brag. (We’ll do that for her.) With a B.S. in Contemporary Music Studies and M.S. in Music Therapy from SUNY New Paltz, she moved on to local music director gigs (the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, for one) and stage roles in Pippin, Into the Woods, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

JEAN SOPHIE KIM
Choir Leader

Pianist, singer, choral conductor and educator Jean Sophie Kim is an accomplished and versatile artist whose performances span North America, Europe, and North Africa. She has performed at venues including Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Alcázar Palace in Seville, Seoul Arts Center, and the Banff Centre.

A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Western Ontario, Jean has served as assistant director and conductor for David Lang’s Mile Long Opera at the Highline and spent over a decade with the Grammy Award–winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus, facilitated singers in performances at BAM, Zankel Hall, and the Park Avenue Armory.

Recent highlights include singing with the Acrobat Ensemble and Lutosławski String Quartet at Jazz at Lincoln Center and performing her cabaret show So… Is This a Date? across the U.S. A Bespoken Fellow and artist-in-residence at the Curiosibot Lab in Valencia, Spain. Jean is delighted to join the New York Choir Project as a Choir Leader, bringing her passion for innovative and community-driven choral music to the ensemble.

Shane Dittmar
Choir Leader

Shane Dittmar (they/them) is a blind musician, writer, composer, and advocate. Their award-winning choral compositions have been performed by school, community, and professional choirs across three continents, and their musical theatre work has been featured at Joe's Pub, 54 Below, and Roundabout Theatre. Their ten-minute musical "The Velociraptor's Very Good Day" was a winner of the 48th annual Samuel French Off Off Broadway Play festival, and they are a member of the BMI advanced musical theatre writers workshop. They also direct a chorus of neurodivergent and disabled singers with a non-profit called ActionPlay and work frequently as a music director and orchestrator for new theatre in NYC. Shane works during the day as an accessibility specialist, lives in Washington Heights, and has a semi-retired guide dog named Chevelle. Feel free to check out their website or instagram to learn more.

CHRISTIN MARKS
Creative Director

Christin is one of the pillars of NYCP (and not simply because the only thing sweeter than her demeanor is her voice). She came to NYC as a lifelong singer—in musical theater, alt rock bands, etc.—looking for an outlet, and found it in NYCP, where she’s now a creative director, choral arranger, minority partner, and sometime guitar accompanist. 

It sprang from years of honing her voice (in multiple senses of the word). First, via education: classical training throughout high school; a music minor at the University of New Hampshire, where she got her B.A. in Communications; and a post-grad certificate in Media Production from Emerson College. Later came years of experience: as a DJ and promotions coordinator for alt-rock station WFNX in Boston, helping promote artists like The Strokes, Modest Mouse and Bloc Party; and, currently, in her role as a news anchor, writer and producer for iHeart Media/NBC News Radio. (A music-engineer boyfriend doesn’t hurt either.)

SARAH MUCHO
Musical Consultant

The newest member of our dream team, Sarah genuinely is a dream. (No kidding, we couldn’t make her up.) She’s an award-winning vocalist, songwriter and cabaret artist who has fronted multiple NYC rock bands, released eight studio albums, performed hundreds of shows in the tri-states, plus Europe, and…well, we’re exhausted just trying to keep up with her. If that weren’t enough, she also plays several percussion instruments, harmonica, and guitar, although until NYCP, she never really considered herself a guitarist. (She says we’ve created a monster, but the only thing really fierce about her is her talent.)

After just three cycles with Sarah, we were thrilled to perform one of her originals, Summer Solstice, with her lyrical voice leading the way. And if we make her sound too good to be believed, go hear her for yourself. Her latest band is an alt-folk-rock project called…well…“Mucho.”

JACLYN GREEN-STOCK
Events & Marketing Manager

New York Choir Project’s media go-to and guru, Jaclyn has her finger on the pulse of music and marketing opportunities alike. Boundlessly energetic and engaging, she’s also the driving force behind our artistic collaborations with musicians and bands like Bandits on the Run, Elizabeth and the Catapult, and Julia Easterlin.

It’s a role she was made for, combining her extensive development training with an intense passion for music. (Seriously, Mercury Lounge should give her an attendance award.) It was at Clark University—where she got her undergrad degree in International Development and Social Change and her Master’s in Community Development and Planning—that she first embraced her own love of singing, in a campus a cappella group. Later, as a freelance PR consultant, she worked with independent musicians including Small Dream Ada and Katie Mullins. NYCP was a logical next step—and a complete labor of love.

GAYLE GADDIS
Associate Brand & Copy Director

Gayle is by no means a professional singer. But she is a professional writer, so in addition to lending her sometimes-first-soprano to NYCP harmonies, she has figuratively helped the choirs find their voice. (And loved every minute of it.)

A copywriter and branding specialist for the last 25+ years (yes, a quarter of a century, but she holds up well), she began with a B.A. in English from Williams College and parlayed it into positions at McGraw-Hill, the VIA Group design agency and Aveda, all the while honing her writing, conceptual, analysis, and playing-well-with-others skills. Since 2006, she has been freelancing full-time for clients of every size and virtually every stripe—web and digital, print, creative strategy, naming, you name it for the likes of UnitedHealth Group, Martha Stewart Omnimedia, BBC World News, Johnson & Johnson and Erno Laszlo. (Just to name-drop a few.)