Choir and Music
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Sheryl Wood
Soprano Section Leader
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Grant Edward
Music Director
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Elizabeth Winship
Alto Section Leader
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Avesta Mirashrafi
Tenor Section Leader
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Laurent Nickel
Leader of Park Avenue Jazz Ensemble
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Greg McMahon
Bass Section Leader
Listen!
Sheryl Wood is the soprano section leader for First Congregational United Church of Christ and the alto section leader for Bach Cantata Choir. She has performed full-time with The Dickens Carolers for 13 years and is a frequent national anthem soloist at events in the Portland area, including for the Portland Trailblazers, Portland Timbers, Hillsboro Hops and the Portland Marathon. She is a long-time member of Light Opera of Portland (LOoP), appearing as Mad Margaret (Ruddigore), Pitti Sing (Outer Space Mikado), Tessa (Gondoliers) the Fairy Queen (Iolanthe) and Leila (Iolanthe). Sheryl also works at OHSU as a simulated patient. She delights in wordplay and cheap humor and is an avid knitter and crocheter. She lives in Portland with her husband Ben, cats Yzma and Olly and enough yarn to be-sweater a small village.
Liz Winship is a Mezzo-Soprano living and working primarily in Oregon. After years of thriving as a choir nerd, she got her introduction to the opera world as a teenage chorus member of “Orpheus in the Underworld” and has been nerding out in both art forms ever since. After obtaining a Bachelor's of Music from Portland State University in 2014, Liz graduated from the Schwob School of Music (Columbus, GA) with a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance in 2019.
When she is not busy being a music nerd, Liz teaches music lessons to others so that they can also be music nerds. Liz also enjoys reading, hiking, and videogames.
Avesta Mirashrafi is a first generation tenor from the Portland area. Avesta graduated from Portland State University with a bachelors of science in computer science and a music minor.
Avesta has performed in numerous concerts around the world and currently sings with a multitude of musical groups in the Northwest region.
Aside from programming and singing, Avesta enjoys lifting weights, bouldering, strategy games, and spending time with his cats.
Gregory McMahon is a dramatic tenor, which means he yells “beautifully” in Italian, French, English, German and Czech(!) while being paid in “exposure” and the occasional cookie. His dream role is Canio in Pagliacci, because nothing says “fun night out” like makeup, murder, and a mental breakdowns capped with a high B♭.
He performs about once a month—more if someone’s piano is lonely and less if real life intervenes. When not singing, he’s probably explaining to his kids why Daddy keeps dramatically sobbing in languages they don’t understand.