Rachel Cox, section leader, is both an active performer and voice teacher. She holds a master’s degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Brigham Young University with a minor in Choral Conducting. Following graduation she completed post-graduate opera studies at the AIMS Institute in Austria. Rachel has been a member and soloist with fine choral chamber ensembles including the BYU Singers, the Lexington Chamber Chorale, and the da Pacem singers. Rachel has toured and performed throughout the US and abroad, including performances in Canada, South Africa, and throughout Western Europe. She is currently the conductor of the St. George Children’s Choir, is an active classical soloist and musical theater performer, and maintains a private voice studio.
Ashley Fawson grew up singing and has played the violin since the fourth grade. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education with a Choral Emphasis from Southern Utah University, along with a Master of Arts in Teaching/Fine Arts from the University of Utah. She won many singing awards as a college student, including SUU’s “Performer of the Year,” the “Rhondthaler Prize for Academic and Musical Diligence and Excellence,” and being named the “Outstanding Music Graduate” for her graduating class of 2020. She has been ranked nationally for both classical and musical theatrical singing through the NATS Student Audition Competition. She now teaches choir and is married to a wonderful man who also sings and her favorite thing is to make music with him.
Suzanne Wood Lewis holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music and Elementary Education, with an emphasis in Vocal Performance and French Horn. She went on to teach in a wide variety of capacities and to diverse populations, which included directing the band and choirs of Hurricane High School. Although now a proud mother of four amazing children, she has never left music behind. She was the musical director of SGMT’s production of Freaky Friday in 2018, sang with Lieto Voices!, and joined St. George Chamber Singers in 2023. Most recently, Suzanne started a children’s performance group called St. George TaVaci, and she finds great joy in teaching music again.
Shannon Rae, Professor of Voice at both Utah Tech University and Southern Utah University, received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. She is an authorized Vocology in Practice International Voice Teacher, full member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, artist with the St. George Chamber Singers, and resident artist with St. George Opera. Shannon is the creator and host of The Artist Showcase with Shannon Rae, a TV show presented on social media that features the best local, regional, national, and international vocal artists. Shannon resides in St. George, Utah, and maintains her international voice studio of thirty-four years, Shannon Rae Vocal Studio.
Laura Snow has a master’s degree in vocal performance and pedagogy from BYU where she was the 2011 Singer of the Year and the 2012 Concerto Competition Winner in voice. While there, she appeared in various roles including The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute and Josephine in HMS Pinafore. At the Atlantic Music Festival her roles included Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Gilda in Rigoletto. Laura teaches voice at Utah Tech and has appeared in many shows and performances locally, including The Southwest Symphony’s Messiah, The Impressario with St. George Opera, and as Mabel in St. George Musical Theater’s The Pirates of Penzance.