Sons of Orpheus Members

The Director and Accompanist

Grayson Hirst, Artistic Director

Grayson Hirst, professor of voice at the University of Arizona, has devoted himself to the evolution of Sons of Orpheus since founding the organization in the fall of 1991. His full biography can be found here.

Brent Burmeister, Accompanist

Our pianist since 1998, Brent is one who not only can play the accompaniments to perfection, but also carefully checks all arrangements. We appreciate the valuable advice and error checking of the “Orpheus Philharmonic,” and also the occasional tidbits from Adler, Schopenhauer, and Nietsche that he throws at us.

The Singers

* Indicates a founding member of the choir

First Tenors

Eugene Friesen—Eugene has had two careers, first as an army chaplain, and second as a psychologist in private practice in Tucson. In retirement, he gives psychology lectures on cruise ships.
Christopher Hutchinson
John F. Kamper—John, while in the seminary for 11 years, was in the Schola (choir) as a member and also as Choir Conductor, both for Gregorian Chant and polyphony. He played the clarinet, the Tenor Sax in a Dixieland Jazz quintet and strummed the guitar to folk songs in the 60’s. After the seminary, music slipped by. He was busy raising a family, working for various banks as a Manager of the Real Estate Department. John is now an Adjunct Faculty Member for both Pima Community College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, teaching Finance (he has an MBA) and Microsoft Office courses. After a chance meeting with Tom McGorray, John joined Sons and has since realized how much he missed and enjoys singing.
Tom McGorray—Section Leader; Listserv Manager
A native of Buffalo, NY, Tom is a former Naval Aviator and a retired FBI agent. Tom has sung with the Barbershopers (SPEBSQSA) in quartets and choruses for 39 years. Tom also sings with the Diocesan Chorale, and St Elizabeth’s Parish Choir here in Tucson. He is a private investigator, FBI BICS investigator, Desk Top Publisher, writer, an Apple Macintosh computer consultant and maintains some 30 web sites on the Internet. He also runs seven listservs, including the Sons of Orpheus (sonsofo), the Knights of Columbus (KC8077), and one for 2500 retired FBI agents (xgboys).
Bruce Mortensen—Born in Clinton Iowa, Bruce has lived in Tucson since 1978. His partner Vicki Franz works at the American Board of Radiology. “We have two live-in domestic terrierests which keep us on border patrol of our back yard. They think of themselves as great white bush hunters in their little pith helmets, but we have their numbers!”
James Naughton—Born in 1941 in Pittsburgh, James moved to Tucson in 1951. He went to High School, and college at a seminary in California and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1963. Married to Lesa, James has two children and owned and operated Naughton Plumbing until his retirement on January 1, 2000.
Jim Tomlinson—Jim was program manager for a $1.5 billion joint military services program to computerize the development of weapons systems.
Jerry J. Villano—Jerry graduated from the University of Colorado in 1956, and has been a Tucson resident for forty seven years. He retired from private practice as a Physical Therapist after forty one years. He has five wonderful children and five wonderful grandchildren, and has sung with Sons of Orpheus for twelve years. His dear deceased wife Betty of fifty one years will spiritually reinforce us always in song and performance.
Dick Wroldsen—Dick moved to Tucson in 1993 from the Bay Area, and is currently associate manager of Long Realty’s Foothills office. Dick is a member of the Catalina Foothills Church and sings in the choir. Dick and his wife Kay enjoy desert living in the Old Foothills and have two married children in Portland and Denver, and two grandchildren.

Second Tenors

Kenneth Bosma—Ken has fallen in love with the Sonoran Desert. He enjoys photography--especially when the desert is in bloom. Often on weekends you can find him hiking in the mountains around Tucson. With his wife of 37 years, Jenni, they have one daughter and two young grandsons. He is now addicted to his iPhone.
Dave Burns—A Montana native, Dave has lived in Tucson since 1985. He works as an architect and Design Principal for BWS Architects. His wife nancy is a fantastic cook and native of Lima, Peru.
Jim Hogan—A native of Brooklyn, NY, Jim is the owner of the Hogan School of Real Estate. He received his B.S. degree in Geology from the City College of New York, plays the guitar and is a singer-songwriter. He has published two CDs of his music: Home in Arizona and When I Pick Up My Guitar.
Van G. Honeman—Van is an eleven-year veteran of Sons of Orpheus. He is an official court reporter in Pima County Superior Court. He has two adult children, Grant and Michelle, and is single. His hobbies are international travel, history, and whitewater rafting. He is looking forward to retirement in April 2011 and hitting the road in a 5th-wheel trailer.
Bob Kurtz—A graduate of Michigan State University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, and having served 8 years, active and inactive, in the U.S. Army Reserves, Bob is now retired from his family sand, gravel, and ready-mixed concrete business. He and his wifesplit their year between Michigan and Green Valley. Since high school, Bob has been actively involved in church and community choirs, and has performed in a number of operettas.
Richard Miller—Section Leader
Richard grew up in Upstate New York and attended the University of Rochester and Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He worked at Westminster School in Simsbury, Conn., for 33 years, eventually becoming Assistant Headmaster. He retired to Tucson in June, 2000. Since that time he has become involved as a community volunteer for several organizations. At present he serves on several United Way Committees, as well as on the Advisory Board. He is also a Literacy Volunteer tutor. Richard and his wife Linda have two children, both of whom live in California.
Mike Negrete—Mike works as a mail carrier for the US Postal Service, and has been a resident of Tucson for 30 years. He was a founding member of Sons of Orpheus, and has recently returned to the choir after a long hiatus. He was born and raised an Ohio Buckeye, and loves major sports. Mike was delighted to find on our recent trip to German and Austria that buckeye trees are ubiquitous there, where they’re called “kastanie” trees!
Larry Ross—Larry is a retired physician-cardiologist who moved to Tucson in 1998. He graduated from Brown University and the NYU School of Medicine, served as Captain in the U.S. Army from 1961 to 1965, and then conducted private medical practice in New York City from 1965 to 1996. He has had faculty appointments at the NYU School of Medicine and the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. He has been singing in choral groups since entering college. He has studied choral conducting, and was an organizer and conductor of a male octet.
Larry Sayre—Larry has lived in Tucson since 1992. He is a psychologist in private practice. Before moving to Tucson, he served on active duty with the U.S. Air Force for over 26 years. He has sung in church and school choirs since childhood and currently sings with the Foothills PCA Choir and Arts Express Chorale.
Roger Scheltens, DC—Originally from Minnesota, Dr. Scheltens is an avid lover of golf, hiking, roller blading and singing.
Tabor Tollefson

Baritones

Mike Bradley—Mike is from the Bay Area and has been an apprentice boat-builder, a Marine, a Sierra Club staffer, a “junior executive” in the transportation industry, a graduate student at Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, a post-doctoral fellow at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla and a professor of Hydrology and Water Resources and Urban Planning at the U of A since 1972. He specializes in water rights and policy in the Southwest (California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas). He and “team Bradley” (wife Dorotha and her sister Kathleen) were on the Germany-Austria tour, enjoying it greatly. Mike also paints watercolor landscapes and is in the Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild.
Chuck Dickson—Chuck moved to Tucson after taking early retirement from teaching history at a small college in Ohio. He is thoroughly enjoying Tucson. In addition to singing with Sons of Orpheus and Arizona Repertory Singers, he is an active member of Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. His hobbies include reading, weight-lifting, and swimming.
Leo DiCurti
Pete DiCurti—After spending his early years in South Jersey, Pete joined the Marine Corps in 1941 and served in the Pacific during WWII. After his discharge, he became a court reporter and became a reporter for the War Crimes Trials in Germany. Following the trials, he spent 17 years in Oregon before moving to Arizona as a free lance court reporter. Now retired, he lives happily with his wife Mary Pat and is glad to be singing with Orpheus again. Pete has a son, Leo, who is also a baritone with Sons of Orpheus, and also a grandson, Christopher, who sings with the Tucson Boys Chorus as a second tenor.
Jim Filipek—Jim has been singing in choruses for over 40 years, and has some conducting experience as well. He is married to Candice.
Cameron Fordyce—Cameron retired in 1994 from a career with the Federal Reserve Bank, and worked thereafter for five years at Northeastern University Graduate School of Business running a Master of Science in Finance program. He has been involved, off and on for the past 40 years, in singing choral, church and folk music. He and his wife moved from Massachusetts to Tucson in 2003. They have four children and five grandchildren. They have a summer home in Marion, Massachusetts.
Michael Fraser—Originally from British Columbia, Canada, Mike is a metallurgical engineer with a career in the international mining and metals business. His current business card says he specializes in smelling the roses (planted by others), singing the old songs, and spoiling the grandchildren.
David Harrington—David is a 20 year radio veteran at KUAT-FM and stations in Indiana and Texas. He has been a news reporter and copy editor at various Texas newspapers, 1984–1996, a past president of the Southeast Texas Youth Symphony, 1994–1995, and a board member of the Beaumont Symphony Orchestra, 1988–1989. He received a BS in Communication from Lamar University in 1982 and pursued graduate studies for a year at the University of Notre Dame. Hobbies include reading books, especially on Media and Sports. David sang for six years with the Beaumont Interfaith Choir, one year with Southeast Texas Kantorei, several years with the Tucson Masterworks Chorale, and four years with the University Community Chorus. In 1987, he sang in a select choir for Pope John Paul’s visit to San Antonio. He has been a member of Sons of Orpheus since 1996.
Jim Kitchack—Jim was raised in northern Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Superior, near the Apostle Islands. He attended the University of Wisconsin, Superior, graduating with double majors of English and German languages, and earned a Master of Education in Computer Studies from Carthage college in Kenosha, WI. Jim taught Junior High and Middle school languages in Racine, WI, for 32 years, retiring in 1999. Among many endeavors, he has set up and managed a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, known in Arizona as Habistore. He also started a local men’s chorus (DeKoven Men’s Chorus) in November of 2007 and has performed with them regularly. His interest in music goes back to Junior High and High School band, where he played trumpet and baritone horn. His singing “career” began with a church choir about 25 years ago. Jim also plays some piano. Jim is married to a Wisconsin gal, Lorna, and together they have two married daughters, one an attorney in Minneapolis, and the other a Clinical Laboratory Scientist at University Hospital, in Madison. Jim also enjoys driving and pampering his latest money pit, a vintage Corvette. Jim and Lorna have visited Green Valley several times from 2004 to 2008, and finally purchased a home in June 2008. They will be typical snowbirds, at least for 2009.
Ned Mackey—Section leader
Ned taught English and Humanities at Rincon, University, and Tucson high schools. He sang with the University of Oregon Singers in his college days and with the Bean Alley Boys during folk-craze days. He is a member of the Society of Southwestern Authors and writes/edits Voice of Orpheus, our periodic newsletter. He rides a bicycle with a group three or four days a week. He and his wife, Pat, have three children and five grandchildren.
Rick Sack—A native Chicagoan, Rick is a Realtor specializing in land and lot sales with Long Realty. With a diverse music and theater background, he is currently an occasional cantorial soloist and choir member at a local synagogue. He and his wife Holly enjoy hiking, reading, tennis, and their Australian Shepherd, “SHAY.”
Raymond Tess—Ray studied organ with Camil Van Hulse, Andrew Buchhauser and Dr. Wilber Held and has been a church organist since 1946. His grand uncle, Leo Sowerby, an internationally acclaimed organist/composer, was Dean of the American College of Organists at the National Cathedral, Washington, DC. Since 1994, Ray has been organist at First Christian Church, Tucson. A member of Orpheus member for 13 years, he has done arrangements for male choir for Orpheus. He operates Ray’s Word Works, a document preparation service, music arranging, transposition and printing for music majors, Orpheus and his church. He taught himself touch typing at a young age. His parents started him at piano early on. He states whenever he took a typing class, the instructor sat him “in a corner” during timed writings as he frustrated the rest of the class with his speed—thus earning him the nickname “Dexterous Digits.”
Vern Williamsen*—Vern is a retired Professor of Spanish Literature whose B.A. was in music theory. He taught public school music and Spanish for 17 years before changing careers. He has sung in choral groups consistently since elementary school days. Verne has arranged over thirty compositions for Sons of Orpheus.

Basses

Ron Bailey—Ron is a retired engineer for Bendix Commercial Vehicle systems in Elyria, Ohio. He spent 38 years with various divisions of Bendix in South Bend, Indiana, Troy, New York, Elyria, Ohio and Seoul, Korea. Ron and his wife are snowbirds from October through April and both enjoy playing golf in the beautiful Tucson weather. Ron spent the past 16 years singing with The Singers’ Club of Cleveland. He also enjoys woodworking and motorcycles.
Iván Berger—Iván is a native of Colombia, South America from Hungarian parents who were both in theater in Hungary. Since his teen age years, Iván has been in various choirs, in a traveling quartet, was a member of the “Company of Young Canadians,” has been an actor both on stage and in movies, and has been a member of our choir since February of 1999. He also is the group’s percussionist. Iván has a Masters degree in Spanish from the University of Arizona. Iván is staff interpreter at Juvenile Court-Superior Court of Maricopa County. He has helped coordinate our trips to Europe, Ireland, the UK and Mexico and acted as our interpreter in Hungary and in Mexico.
John Fountain—John is a retired astronomer from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona. He is currently doing research in archaeoastronomy. He was a member of the Tucson Boys Chorus very long ago. Do not even think about calling him in the morning.
Jeffrey Handt—Jeffrey is a Commissioner on the Tucson Commission on Disability Issues. He is medically retired and collects business cards. In addition to Sons of Orpheus, he sings with Holy Cross Lutheran Church Choir, Sonoran Desert Singers, and Reach the World.
Frank Hartline—A new member of the Orpheus Bass Section, Frank recently retired from Raytheon Missile Systems, where he was a senior business development manager for precision-guided and directed energy weapon systems. He and wife Cherie moved to Tucson nine years ago from Dallas, where he worked for Texas Instruments after a 30 year Army career. Degrees include a BS in Engineering from the US Military Academy and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School, UPA. Frank sings with the Catalina Foothills Church choir and for the Arts Express Christmas and Fourth of July Concerts, and performed at the Tucson Folk Festival with the 3 Wheel Buggy Gospel Trio. He has sung with barbershop choruses in Tampa (Sunshine Chorus) and New Jersey (Morris Music Men).
Thomas Kane—Tom began his dedication to choral singing with the Bowdoin College Glee Club in Maine. During the Cold War, he was active in government service abroad, returning stateside in the 1970s. Retiring from Frazee Paint in San Diego, he returned to Maine and resumed his singing connection with the Choral Art Society in Portland. A confirmed snowbird, Tom now summers in Alaska and winters in Tucson.
Jess Koehn
George Ledbetter—George is in his third year as an Orphean where he sings bass. A native of Seattle Washington, George received his BA degree from The University of Puget Sound and his MBA from Seattle University. George moved to Tucson about 9 years ago and became a member of the Unity Chorus, The Southside Presbyterian Choir. He currently sings with the Tucson Arizona Mass Chorus (TAMC) and the Eckankar chorus. He retired from Thermal Efficiency Inc. an alternative energy company. His friends accused him of working to support his physical fitness habits; running, bicycling, mountaineering and playing racquet sports.
Adam Searcy
Gary Smyth—Section leader
Steve Wafler—Steve taught elementary education for thirty years in inner city Minneapolis after attending the Univ. of Minnesota where he sang in the chorus. He has sung in various Episcopal church choirs for 50 years. His wife Anna and he are snowbirds for five months and love the Tuscon weather and atmosphere. Steve is an avid gardener, specializing in hostas.
Thomas Wentzel—Webmaster. Tom grew up in Maine, where he sang in the Bates College Choir for four years. In Tucson in the late 80s, he sang motets, madrigals, carols, and shape-note music with the eight-member Furry Day Singers. He joined the Sons of Orpheus in January 2002 and enjoys their varied repertoire. With a Ph.D. in Physics, Tom works as a scientific programmer for the National Solar Observatory. He has been married to Cindy Meier since 1987. He currently divides his free time between Sons of Orpheus, for which he is Webmaster, newsletter caricaturist, and arranger, and The Rogue Theatre (co-founded by Cindy Meier), for which he is Webmaster, layout artist, treasurer, and business manager.
Woon-Yin Wong
David Yetman—David Yetman is a research social scientist at the Southwest Center, University of Arizona. He is also host of the PBS program, The Desert Speaks and is a former Pima County Supervisor. He has sung in choirs and choruses for many years and is reputed to be obnoxiously tuneful around his office.

Our others

Sue Lane—Accompanist. Sue Lane accompanies Orpheus at various venues around town, and occasionally plays duets with Brent during concerts and tours. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, and always involved with music, she was a church organist at age 12 and throughout her teen years. Serious piano study did not begin, however, until later in life, after marriage (husband Ken) and children (two sons, now grown). She graduated from the U of A with a degree in Piano Performance, and spent several years accompanying at the U of A, and for Ballet Arizona, as well as for Orpheus and others.
Art Dumes—Art is a native Tucsonan with interests in computers, magic, flying, and music. Art can often be found handling CD sales at our concerts.

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visitors since February 10, 2007