BYC Staff
Nicholas Gorne
Artistic Lead and Director of Intermezzo and Premier Choirs
Nicholas Gorne has taught music in every grade from Kindergarten to 12th. He fell in love with music at age eight when he began taking piano lessons and singing in choir at school. Throughout elementary school, junior high school, and high school, Mr. Gorne was involved in choir, jazz choir, musical theatre, and solo vocal performance in the Mukilteo School District...(read more)
Staci Webb
Managing Director and Director of Coda Choir
Staci Webb is excited to be joining BYC! She has been a teacher for over 25 years specializing in choral education. Mrs. Webb received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from California State University, Sacramento and has taught every grade from K - 12. She earned her National Board Teaching Certification in 2015 and is a member of the National Association of Music Educators and the American Choral Directors Association. In addition to teaching, she also directs the Peninsula Community Choir in Gig Harbor, WA. She and her husband have been married for 28 years and have two children, both in college completing their undergraduate studies in music. In addition to music, Mrs. Webb loves the theatre, traveling, and animals.
Email: [email protected]
Nathan Shiu
Administrator and Lead Accompanist
Beginning piano lessons around age seven, Nathan has continued playing piano to this day. Working as a student accompanist during his years of undergraduate study at Whitman College in Walla Walla introduced him to the pleasure of playing as a collaborative pianist... (read more)
Heidi McIlroy
Director - Prelude and Prima Choirs
Heidi McIlroy has been teaching Prelude (PreK-K) and Prima (1st and 2nd grade) with Bellevue Youth Choirs since 2013. She loves playing with everyone who enters her music space and strives to make learning music as fun as possible. Her favorite thing is teaching choristers the power of their voices and the magic of singing together.
Heidi holds a degree in Music Education from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA and a Masters of Arts in Music Education from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. She studied the Kodály philosophy and uses it to help young musicians develop music literacy and aural skills through joyful musical experiences and play. She has taught 15 years in the Kent School District and will be opening the new Fife Elementary School in the Fife School District this coming fall. Heidi is thrilled her oldest daughter will be singing in Prima choir with her this year and can’t wait for her youngest to join Prelude in a few years. Heidi and her husband, Fred, love going to performances at the Seattle Opera and are always thrilled to see BYC choristers on stage.
Email:
Huiling Liu
Accompanist/Assistant for Prelude & Prima
Huiling Liu came to the United States after graduating from college in Taiwan to study music, receiving her master’s degree in Music history at the University of Florida and later completing her doctoral candidacy in musicology at UCLA. While working on her dissertation, she first fell in love with making music with young children at a Kindermusik studio in L.A. Due to family and health reasons, Ms. Liu put her study and music career on hold for the next decade, focusing on her husband and son, Samuel, and her volunteer work at her church music ministry. She was deeply involved in children’s worship, adult choir, and choir accompanist and later helped establish the children’s choir at her church. Her participation and completion of Kodály Level I and II training rekindled her passion for teaching music to children. Having pursued a Master of Arts in Teaching degree at SPU, she earned her certification as a K-12 teacher with general and choir endorsements. Currently, Ms. Liu teaches in the Northshore School District, working with Grade K - 2 students at Moorlands and Sunrise Elementary, and serves as a piano accompanist for Moorlands choirs. Besides teaching, Ms. Liu loves traveling with her family, visiting her families in Taiwan, walking her dog, Max, singing with her church choir, practicing cello, and reading.
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