Missoula Community Chorus

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Close-up of a smiling woman with long brown hair, wearing a black top.

  • Ellen McKenzie has served as conductor of the Missoula Community Chorus since 2024 and has proudly taught at Hellgate High School since 2014. Her experience in choir direction and music instruction dates back to 2002, with previous positions in Frenchtown, Manteca (CA), and Kalispell.

    McKenzie holds both a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and a Master’s Degree in Integrated Arts and Education from the University of Montana. She is recognized as a National Board-Certified Teacher in Music/Early Adolescence Through Young Adulthood.

    Throughout her career, McKenzie has actively contributed to her schools and local communities, coordinating choir trips to destinations including Hawaii, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Banff, Alberta.

    In addition to her teaching duties, she frequently performs with the Missoula Community Theater and enjoys pursuits such as running, reading, camping, and spending time with her husband, Peter, and their two sons, Ben and Jack.

  • Sylvia Wood accompanies the Missoula Community Chorus. She is a composer, pianist, and flutist based in Missoula, Montana.

    Wood holds Bachelor of Music degrees in Composition and Flute Performance and a minor in Climate Change Studies from the University of Montana. She is currently working towards a master’s degree in composition at UM, where she maintains a graduate teaching assistantship.

    Wood plays piano collaboratively with 'Aiga Singers, and for solo vocalists and instrumentalists at UM. She is church pianist at Missoula First Christian Church and maintains a studio of private students in both piano and flute.

    ​ She loves to use music to turn her emotions and impressions of the world into works that resonate with others, and possibly even compel them to see their surroundings in a new light.​

    When not making music, you can find her hiking, painting, skiing, or baking excessive amounts of sourdough.

MPower Voices

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A middle-aged man with glasses and dark hair, smiling, in a setting with a wooden background.

  • For over two decades, Malcolm Lowe has been fortunate to have directed MPower Voices, previously known as the VSA Arts choir.

    Malcolm earned a bachelor’s degree in voice performance from Western Washington University and a master’s degree in composition for theater from San Diego State University. His professional experience includes working on the West Coast as a composer, performer, and sound designer in theater.

    Since relocating to Missoula in 1993, he founded The Loose Caboose, which continues to keep Missoula caffeinated, and remains active in the arts community through performances at the Missoula Community Theater and as a long-standing member of Dolce Canto.

  • Linda Stratton moved to Missoula in 1990 and has since collaborated with many musicians from Masters in Performance candidates at the University of Montana to preschool.

    She has worked extensively with the Missoula Children’s Theater on community productions and accompanied for many public schools throughout the region.

    One of the organizations that is close to her heart is the MPower Voices choir where she has collaborated with Malcolm for 17 of the 20 years it has been in existence. It is a privilege to work with him as he encourages and enables these special individuals to both expand their abilities and realize their love of performing music.

Missoula Forte Children’s Choirs

A smiling man with dark, slightly tousled hair in a white button-up shirt leaning on a grand piano with the lid open, revealing the strings and hammers, in a dimly lit room.

  • Brenda Griggs began leading the Forte Children’s Choirs in 2025 and teaches music at Hawthorne Elementary School.

    With over 20 years of experience in Missoula, she holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Brigham Young University and a Master of Music Education from University of Northern Colorado.

    She has taught at various Missoula schools, including directing the All-City 6th & 7th Grade Girls Chorus for seven years, and holding various leadership roles with children’s choirs in the Five Valleys.

  • Jack Desmul accompanies the Missoula Forte Children’s Choirs. He is a graduate student studying piano performance at the University of Montana. Through his work as a graduate teaching assistant, Desmul teaches a piano class and tutors theory students in addition to maintaining a studio of private and undergraduate piano students.

    Before attending the University of Montana, Desmul received degrees in music and business from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

    When he is not in Missoula, he is in his hometown of Kalispell assisting in the operation of his family's business, Big Mountain Ciderworks.