Our Team
Alex Canovas
General & Artistic Director
Alex Canovas is a Brooklyn-based vocal artist, conductor, and teacher committed to exploring and celebrating the human voice through the power of choral music.
He is the General & Artistic Director of the Young New Yorkers' Chorus (YNYC), leading both their Mixed and Treble Ensembles. YNYC’s 2023-2024 season will see the Treble Ensemble appear at the Ensemble Showcase for the Connecticut American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Fall Conference, the Mixed Ensemble perform at the ACDA Eastern Region Conference in February/March 2024, and will also feature numerous performances in the NYC area. YNYC was also recently named the winner of The American Prize in Choral Performance — Community Division, 2023.
Highlights from Alex’s fifth season with YNYC included a performance of Benjamin Britten’s beloved “A Ceremony of Carols” by the Treble Ensemble; “Liminal Spaces”, a performance by the Mixed Ensemble featuring Matthew Lyon Hazzard’s three-movement work, “The Ocean Between Us”; and an appearance at Carnegie Hall with the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra and four German choirs in a premiere of Sean Shepherd’s “On A Clear Day”.
Previous highlights have included a performance by both ensembles of Jonathan Dove’s “The Passing of the Year”; Metropolis, a concert series featuring music by, for, and about New York City which featured seven world premieres; and a pandemic season that featured two virtual cabaret-style performances and the premiere of three virtual choir videos. An ardent supporter of new music, YNYC has premiered 21 works over five years under Alex’s direction. Alex also oversees YNYC’s celebrated Competition for Young Composers, which has led to the commissioning of over 50 new works by young composers, many of whom have gone on to become some of the most influential voices in choral music.
In August of 2018, he made his Lincoln Center debut, serving as a conductor in the world premiere of John Luther Adams’ “In the Name of the Earth”, led by Simon Halsey, which featured over 600 singers at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He also served as an Assistant Conductor for The Gauntlet, a site-specific immersive choral experience by composer Sxip Shirey held at Rockefeller Center in August 2019. Also in 2019, he began a choral collaboration with Creative Mornings, the world’s largest face-to-face creative community.
As a vocalist, Alex has sung in many of New York’s finest venues, including The 92nd Street Y, National Sawdust, and The Town Hall. He most recently performed in a workshop of Gisela Cardenas and Paul Pinto’s “Hybrid Suite No. 2: The Carmen Variations” at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, also serving as Assistant Conductor to David Bloom.
An accomplished church musician with over 20 years of experience, Alex most recently served on the music staff of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brooklyn for nine years, where he was named Director of Music in 2018. He served as choirmaster for all of St. Paul's services, and during the pandemic created over 30 fully produced virtual services.
He previously served as Associate Conductor of the critically-acclaimed vocal ensemble Choral Chameleon, directed by Vince Peterson, which has held residencies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Brooklyn’s National Sawdust. In this role he served as Singer-Faculty at Choral Chameleon’s annual Summer Institute, where he worked with a number of leaders in the choral world such as Matt Oltman, Dale Trumbore, Mark Shapiro, David Conte, and Vance George. Previous projects with Choral Chameleon included a performance of Philip Glass’ “Madrigal Opera” and a collaboration with singer/songwriter Caroline Polachek. Other previous positions included Operations Manager and Assistant Conductor of the Empire City Men’s Chorus, and Assistant Conductor of the Ridgewood, NJ-based Ars Musica Chorale.
Alex is a graduate of Ithaca College, where his teachers included Dr. Brad Hougham, Lawrence Doebler, Dr. Janet Galván, and Brian DeMaris.
Alex lives in Brooklyn with his fiancé, and when he’s not making music you can find him striving to brew the perfect cup of coffee, exploring the outdoors upstate, or hanging out in and around his beloved home city of New York.
Rachel DeVore Fogarty
Associate Artistic Director & Pianist, Treble Ensemble
Rachel DeVore Fogarty is an active composer and collaborative pianist. Her works are regularly performed in the United States and abroad, spanning choral, solo vocal, and chamber literature. Her music has been featured on programs in Russia, Croatia, and the U.K. As a pianist, Rachel has performed with the national Broadway tours of Elf and Anything Goes. She has also performed as a collaborative pianist at Carnegie Hall with conductors Dr. Jeffery Ames, Dr. Lynne Gackle, Greg Gilpin and Dr. Edith Copley. Rachel has played for special guests such as President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She is currently the regular pianist for the Men's Ensemble at the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. (www.racheldevorefogarty.com)
Mike Gaertner
Principal Pianist, Mixed Ensemble
Mike Gaertner is the Principal Pianist for the Mixed Ensemble of the Young New Yorkers' Chorus. Described as “nothing less than remarkable” by Theaterjones.com, Mike works as a freelance musician, vocal coach, and administrator in the New York City area. Past professional affiliations include the Nashville Opera, Knoxville Opera, Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, the Juilliard School, the Mannes School of Music, the Occasional Opera Company, Aspen Music Festival, Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series, the Cabaret at Café Sabarsky series at the Neue Galerie, Titus Art Song Recital Series of the Dallas Opera, Emerging Artist Recital Series of Opera America and Shreveport Opera. Mike was the 2014 Pianist Winner of the Marilyn Horne Song Competition which launched a recital tour across the United States with soprano Michelle Bradley. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Ithaca College.
Justin Duckworth
Associate Conductor, Mixed Ensemble
Justin Duckworth is a burgeoning conductor based in Brooklyn, NY. He is the Associate Conductor of the Young New Yorkers’ Chorus Mixed Ensemble, and previously served as Artistic Assistant and Chair for YNYC’s Competition for Young Composers. Justin began singing with YNYC in the Fall of 2021 and made his conducting debut with the Mixed Ensemble’s “Concord & Time” concert this past December. He began his musical journey working as a freelance musician and singer/songwriter in Nashville, TN while attending Belmont University, where he studied with Dr. Jeffery Ames and Dr. Mark Whatley. Justin holds a degree in Music Theory and under the guidance of Dr. Bruce Dudley presented a “mini-thesis” on the subject of modal jazz, transcribing and analyzing Flamenco Sketches by Miles Davis.
Emily Crowe Sobotko
Associate Conductor, Treble Ensemble
Emily Crowe Sobotko is a Brooklyn based choral conductor, teacher, administrator, and mezzo-soprano. She is the choral teacher at the Brooklyn New School in Carroll Gardens, where she works with three different youth ensembles and an adult chorus. Emily is the Senior Manager of Music Programs for Uncommon Schools, a high-performing charter school organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap in urban schools. Overseeing fourteen K-12 music programs, Emily coaches elementary, middle and high school music teachers, develops general and instrumental curriculum, leads professional development, and manages the strategic growth of music programming for the network.
As a vocalist, Emily has sung on many ambitious artistic projects and with incredible musicians. Her musical career as a teacher and singer has brought her to great stages in Chicago, San Francisco, Canada, South Africa, Qatar, Sierra Leone, and Luxembourg. She joined the Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus at a young age, which sparked her passion for choral singing. Over the last twenty years, she has sung with accomplished ensembles like Choral Chameleon, The NY Oratorio Society, and the New York Chamber Choir.
Emily has been singing with YNYC in the Treble Ensemble since 2019. Reawakening her love of SSAA and treble music has brought her immense joy, and she is grateful to serve the ensemble as associate conductor. Emily holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the Conservatory of Lawrence University, and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education. She is a certified Kodaly and Orff-Schulwerk teacher and is an active ACDA and AOSA member.
Board of Directors & Leadership
Board of Directors
Cory Reeves, President
Cory Reeves' affiliation with YNYC began in 2009; he has served on the board for over 10 years of that time. Prior to his role as Vice President of the board, he served as Treasurer from 2010-2015 and Interim President from 2015-2016. Cory also serves on the Board of Directors for Kinnara, the Atlanta-based professional choir. He is an executive with Lexia Learning, an educational technology firm specializing in Grades K-12 literacy and language education.
Larry Dworkin, Treasurer
Lucy Mayer, Secretary
Lucy Mayer works at a boutique marketing and communications agency in Manhattan. She was a member of the Mixed Ensemble for nearly 10 years and also serves on the board of the New York Choral Consortium.
Richard Berg, Member-at-Large
Richard Berg first joined YNYC in 2008, and has sat on the Board since 2023. Local affiliations have included the acclaimed ensemble Choral Chameleon; the music ministries of St Vincent Ferrer, St Luke in the Fields, and Holy Trinity Episcopal; and new-music champions Cantori New York, where he served as Board President from 2018-2023. Richard is also a jazz instrumentalist, software engineer, and host/trainer for an ever-growing cast of foster dogs.
Abbey Hendrix, Member-at-Large
Abbey Hendrix joined the Board of Directors in 2023. Her YNYC journey began in 2018 when she joined the Treble Ensemble, and in 2019 she filled the role of Soprano I Section Leader. She facilitated multiple projects for the choir such as session singing work for an award winning commercial and a collaboration with Brad Wells of Roomful of Teeth. Though she moved to San Francisco in 2021 for her job as Music Supervisor at Apple, she remains close to YNYC’s members and leadership and holds the organization close to her heart.
Elisa Nikoloulias, Member-at-Large
Elisa Nikoloulias started her career in the finance departments of two top theatrical publishing houses before transitioning her passion for the arts, education, and human rights to Nonprofit Administration. After 10 years serving New York State Health Foundation, she will call The Rauschenberg Foundation home as their Finance Manager in 2021. Elisa currently serves on the Board of the TreasureHouse Chorale and Chamber Orchestra as well as the New York Choral Consortium. Prior to joining the Board of the Young New Yorkers' Chorus, she held multiple leadership roles, most recently being the Managing Director of the Treble Ensemble. Elisa is a freelance singer, serving the music ministry of Union Church of Bay Ridge.
Jessica Shaw, Member-at-Large
Jessica Shaw joined YNYC's mixed ensemble in 2007, has sat on the board since 2010, and was President of the Board from 2018 until 2021. She is the Senior Vice President of Sync Licensing at Sony Music. She met her husband in YNYC and is the proud mom of two young future YNYC members.
Jon Wiener, Member-at-Large
Alex Canovas, General & Artistic Director (ex-officio)
Leadership
Ryann Bieber, Leadership Manager
Ryann Bieber is a founding member of the Treble Ensemble and is currently the longest tenured singing member of the organization, having joined YNYC in 2012. In her time with YNYC she has sung in both ensembles and held a multitude of leadership positions. She graduated from The New School in 2016 with a B.A. in Sociology & Music and has worked in events and education. When she’s not singing, she loves cooking, crafting, and traveling.
Casey Rice, Mixed Ensemble Manager
Casey Rice has been singing with YNYC since 2016 (if you don’t count her high school collab with YNYC in 2010), stepping into the position of Manager of the Mixed Ensemble in 2022. She graduated from Westminster Choir College in 2016 with a B.M. in Music Education, is currently enrolled in the Post Baccalaureate Advanced Certificate program in Music Education at CUNY Queens College, and has been teaching music in NYC independent schools for the past 4 years. When she is not singing with her students or in YNYC, she is likely spending time with her beloved dog Blue, listening to show tunes, traveling, or planning her upcoming wedding.
Sarah Rosenblatt, Treble Ensemble Manager
Sarah Rosenblatt has been singing with YNYC as a low-note-loving alto since 2016. She spends her days on construction scaffolding as a preservation architect and wanders around cities pointing out the quirky details most people don't notice. She moved to Jackson Heights in 2010, and promises to take you to all the good food spots if you visit Queens.