Deborah Jenkins Teske has lifelong connections to choral music in the Pikes Peak Region and has built her career based 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 for excellence in performance. She is founder and artistic director of the Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble, a nationally acclaimed chamber choir of 26-30 voices. While primarily focused on a cappella repertoire, CVAE embraces opportunities for exploration of other musical genres and artistic disciplines. Recent collaborators include the Colorado Springs Children’s Chorale, the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, The Denver Brass, Ormao Dance Company, and the Colorado Youth Ballet. Dedicated to educational outreach, CVAE has shared its passion for singing with thousands of community members. Gateways: Opening Doors to the Choral Art, a highly acclaimed residency program, is designed to mentor high school choirs through classroom participation and shared performance. Voice, Verse and Vision, a multimedia arts collaboration involving singers, poets, visual artists, and composers, received Chorus America’s Education Outreach Award for 2003. Other awards have included the Pikes Peak Arts Council’s award for Best Concert by a Small Ensemble on four separate occasions since 2005. A featured performer at the 2002 Chorus America national conference in Denver, CVAE was honored to represent Colorado Springs to the entire North American choral music community.

 

As Director of Choirs at Colorado College, a position she has held since 2003, Ms. Teske conducts the Colorado College Choir and Chamber Chorus and teaches conducting. Recent performances at the College have included Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Israel in Egypt, Bach’s St. John Passion, and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.

 

Most recently, Ms. Teske has accepted the position of Artistic Director for the Colorado Springs Chorale, a 140-voice auditioned choir which functions as the premier symphonic chorus in the Pikes Peak Region.

 

Ms. Teske 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. As a conductor of opera and musical theater in Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs, Ms. Teske’s credits include Madame Butterfly, The Magic Flute, The Turn of the Screw, Semele, The Mikado, Ruddigore, Fiddler on the Roof, and Camelot.She serves regularly as Chorus Master for Opera Theater of the Rockies. Ms. Teske 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.