Staff & Board

Dr. Stan Hill, Artistic Director

Dr. Stan Hill became the Chorus' fourth Artistic Director on August 1, 2000 after serving eleven years as the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. He received his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His doctoral dissertation on the voice has been adapted for use by the music faculty at California State University, Fullerton. Portions of his thesis have also been published in the Journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and have been used in two NATS symposia. A native of Southern California, Stan earned his BM and MM in conducting degrees from CSU-Fullerton, where he studied with David Thorsen and Harold Decker.

Stan, in his third decade as a choral director, has conducted in the public schools for eleven years, the University of Illinois for two years, CSU-Fullerton for five years, was previously on the voice faculty at CSU-Fullerton where he conducted all the choirs offered and has maintained a private voice studio in his home.

A dynamic conductor, arranger, clinician and vocal coach, Stan's career spans the elementary, secondary, university, church and community choral spectrums at which he has conducted every configuration of vocal ensemble and chorus in concert with every combination of instrumentation from small ensembles to full symphony orchestra. Stan is a member of NATS, ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) and is well known in choral circles for his witty, humanist and iconoclastic approach to conducting.

Hill has commissioned some of GALA's (Gay and Lesbian Choruses Association) most successful repertoire including NakedMan, Exile, ExtrABBAganza, Misbehavin'! and Metamorphosis. He has produced thirteen CDs, two videos and countless arrangements for men's choruses.

Stan can be reached at: shill@tcgmc.org and 612-339-7664

Jeff Heine, Executive Director

Jeff Heine joins TCGMC in his new role after two seasons on the Board of Directors as chair of Resource Development. He has recently completed a twenty year career with Carlson Companies, a global leader in the marketing, hospitality and travel industries. He was most recently director of customer strategy within the Hotel group and served as a trustee of the Marketing Science Institute. Jeff is also a relationship management and targeted marketing consultant.

Jeff traveled with the Chorus for their entire historic “Great Southern Sing Out Tour” in the summer of 2006, as part of the Chorus’s 25th anniversary season. After seeing the positive impact that the Chorus made on the audiences in the cities they visited in the deep South, Jeff decided that he needed to have a more active role in this organization. He started as a volunteer and then moved in to a board position in 2007.

A native of the Twin Cities, Jeff is a graduate of Macalester College. He resides in the North Loop district of downtown Minneapolis.

Jeff can be reached at jheine@tcgmc.org and 612-339-7664.

Christopher Taykalo, Marketing and Development Manager

Christopher Taykalo (pronounced Ty-kuh-low) has been working in marketing and communications for 12 years in the Minneapolis/St. Paul community. He has worked in Marketing and Communications at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in downtown St. Paul, as the Education Manager for the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, and as the Community Relations Director for Disney/ABC Radio (KQRS, 93X, Drive 105, and Radio Disney) in Minneapolis. For the past 3 years, Taykalo has volunteered his time to lead the PR efforts for the Twin Cities Pride festival and served 4 years on the Board of Directors for Pangea World Theater.

He is an active member of the Minneapolis University Rotary Club and is a 2007 graduate of the Leadership Twin Cities program and served on the steering committee as a day planner for the 2007-08 Leadership Twin Cities class through the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. Christopher also enjoys acting and serving as a freelance voice over talent. He is a graduate of St. Olaf College with a BA in Speech-Theater and English. He and his partner, Michael-jon Pease, live in the Crocus Hill neighborhood in St. Paul with their two cats, Toast and Stanford

Christopher can be reached at: ctaykalo@tcgmc.org and 612-339-7664

Stephanie Gaw, Office Manager

Stephanie can be reached at: sgaw@tcgmc.org and 612-339-7664

Timothy De Prey, Principal Accompanist

The holiday concert begins Timothy’s 19th season as Principal Accompanist for the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus. Throughout his career with the Chorus, he has been in demand as an accompanist for GALA (Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses). In the summer of 1998, he was chosen to be the accompanist for the Festival Chorus at the Gay Games in Amsterdam and in the summer of 2000 was chosen to be the accompanist for the Festival Men’s Chorus at Festival 2000 in San Jose, under the direction of Grammy winning director, Vance George.

De Prey can be heard on 7 of the TCGMC’s CDs, on Proud and Peaceful, a CD of solo piano music from pianists with GALA and on his own solo CD, In the Evening Air, a collection of nocturnes, lullabies and night songs.

Timothy is the Director of Individual Instruction and Music Therapy at the MacPhail Center for Music. De Prey has a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Music Therapy from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, is a board certified - music therapist and has a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Minnesota. His many credits include the role of the accompanist in Park Square Theatre’s production of Master Class, the Minnesota Opera, Opera 101, the College of St. Catherine’s, The Calhoun Beach Club, Bryant Lake Bowl and the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire’s Statesmen Men’s Chorus under the direction of Morris Hayes.

TCGMC Board of Directors

Jeffrey D. Bores, Board Chair
Jason Schuck, Board Vice Chair
Joyce Bengtson, Treasurer
Paul Blom, Secretary
John Salisbury, Membership President
Scott Azbill, Membership Vice President
Larry Bussey
Don Carlson
Martyn Crook
Steve Dahl
Shawn Frank
David Hoang
Nancy Kluver
Scot MacDonald
Stephanie Meredith
Mary Schwind
Kerry Severson
Eric Strack
Kelly Weber Schultz