COLORADO VOCAL ARTS ENSEMBLE
2018-2019 CONCERT SEASON
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COLORADO VOCAL ARTS ENSEMBLE
2018-2019 CONCERT SEASON
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About CVAE
About CVAE
Deborah Jenkins Teske
Artistic Director & Conductor
Deborah Jenkins Teske, founder and Artistic Director of the Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble, has built her career on a deep commitment to choral singing as an essential part of any strong and vital arts community. Through her work with choirs of all ages, she has gained a reputation for creative programming and excellence in performance. Colorado College Professor of Music Michael Grace says, “Deborah is one of the finest conductors of chamber choruses I have encountered in years. Her ensemble should be heard around the world.”
Deborah is Director of Choirs at Colorado College, a position she has held since 2003, where she conducts the Colorado College Choir and Chamber Chorus and teaches conducting.
From 2015 to 2022, she served as Artistic Director of the Colorado Springs Chorale, the 130-voice premier symphonic chorus in the Pikes Peak region. Under her direction the Chorale was honored to be chosen as the official choral ensemble for the 2022 D-Day commemorative ceremonies in Normandy and Brittany. While in France, the Chorale performed concerts in St. Mère Église and at Église de la Madeleine in Paris.
Deborah was Associate Director of Music at Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs from 1992-2003. She has served as guest conductor and clinician for high school level honor choirs, and also as an adjudicator with the Heritage Music Festivals.
Before choosing to focus her career on choral music and teaching, Deborah also conducted opera and musical theater in Boulder, Denver, and Colorado Springs. Highlights included Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. She has served regularly as Chorus Master for Opera Theatre of the Rockies.
Deborah holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Pomona College and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Beyond music, Deborah finds joy in her family, hiking, gardening, and dogs. She lives in Monument, CO with her husband Todd, a tenor soloist and founding member of CVAE. They have two grown children and are gradually adjusting to the empty nest.
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