About Us

Mark Purcell, Artistic Director

Mark comes to us as the current music department chair (where he has conducted the choir and music ensemble since 2006) at Santa Catalina School in Monterey.

Mark arranges, composes and commissions works for unique blends of voices and instruments. The school’s choir was awarded highest honors at regional Festivals of Music from 2007-2018. He has served as an adjudicator and clinician for the California Music Educator’s Association, American Choral Director’s Association, National Association for Music Educators, and jazz festivals. Mark has performed many tenor solos and roles, domestically and abroad. Works include Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana in the Masonic Series of San Francisco and Mozart’s Requiem with the Panstwowa Philharmonic in Wroclaw, Poland. Mark is an award-winning performer with the Lyric Opera and American Musical Theater of San Jose. Mark, an active music minister, has also used his musical talent in appearances at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. Camerata Singers is thrilled to have him as part of our Camerata Singers family. We look forward to our first performances with him for this Spring concert series.

Lucy Faridany, Collaborative Pianist

Lucy is enjoying her third season as pianist for Camerata Singers. She was the pianist for the Carmel Bach Festival chorus for several years. Lucy performs regularly with Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra and has played many times in the Monterey Symphony Orchestra. Her concerto performances have included Rhapsody in Blue with both EMCO and Monterey Peninsula College orchestras and the Mozart Rondo in D major K.382 with the Monterey Symphony. She has given recitals for Carmel Music Society and Carmel Bach Festival donors. She has been the accompanist for the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula since 2007. Lucy teaches piano at Santa Catalina School, which has a large private teaching studio. She holds a post-graduate diploma in piano accompaniment, with distinction, from the Royal Academy of Music in London. She lives in Carmel Valley with her husband, Rob, and daughter Giulia.

Our 2025
Board of Directors

The Camerata Singers Board of Directors consists of a core of hard-working individuals committed to bringing choral music to Monterey County. The Board has a number of subcommittees that meet to develop the group’s marketing, development, fundraising and public relations exposure. If you are interested in helping us with any of those tasks or are interested in serving as a board member, please contact our board president or call our office at 831.642.2701

- Executive Officers -

President - Julia Turner

Julia Turner has been a dedicated member of the Camerata Singers of Monterey County for twenty-six years, since 1998, originally under the guidance of founder, Vahé Aslanian. Julia is a celebrated soprano, has soloed often, and is the current Board President. Julia is one of numerous Camerata Singers with twenty-five to forty years in the choir; collectively, this group provides a distinctive base of support for the choir's more recent additions. As a songwriter, Julia has shared her talent as she and fellow-singer and long-time friend, Dana Abbott, composed "In Silent Night," an arrangement of “Silent Night” that Camerata Singers premiered during Christmas Concert in 2010. As Board President, Julia guides the Board of Directors in completing the business, marketing, advertising, and program design for the two annual concerts produced by Camerata. In addition, Julia serves as hospitality ambassador to the Camerata Singers, fostering a sense of community and "family." Throughout these decades, being in Camerata Singers has been a joy for Julia! Vocationally, Julia is a teaching professional and semi-retired, mentoring new and aspiring young educators. Witnessing her students' progress and growth under her guidance fills her with joy. Personally, her greatest joys come from her foundation of faith and her family. She enjoyed nearly thirty-nine years of marriage before becoming a widow, has two loving sons and daughters-in-law, a grandson, and three granddaughters.

Vice-President & Secretary - Robert Stephenson

Robert "Bob" Stephenson, a member of Camerata Singers since the 1998-99 season, is the current Vice-President, Secretary, Archivist, and Historian. Bob refers to Camerata Singers as a "feel good place" of camaraderie, warmth and community, an attribute of the choir initiated by Vahé Aslanian, the choir's founder. Once a shy tenor voice in a Gospel Quartet, Bob received an invitation from a friend to join Camerata Singers, and he has never looked back. "The social life of the choir is an important attraction to its members," says Bob. "We enjoy each other, and we all love to sing." Camerata Singers has offered Bob many experiences. Bob recalls Camerata Singers celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary in the summer of 2006 with approximately thirty members and as many friends and supporters embarking on a three-week concert tour through Europe. He lovingly refers to the non-singing supporters as "Camaroadies." His special memory of the tour was singing Mozart in the Salzburg Cathedral and hearing their voices echoing throughout the cathedral, especially at the ends of songs. Another special memory was singing at a favorite South Monterey County venue, Mission San Antonio de Padua near Jolon in 1998. To close the concert there, Vahé invited the audience to join the choir in singing "Silent Night," which became the signature element of Vahé's Christmas Concerts. As Bob recalls singing his first Christmas concert in Jolon, his face radiates as he also remembers that following the concert, snow fell and covered the grounds. His two young daughters, who had never seen falling snow, were amazed. Bob's heart's desire for Camerata Singers is to reestablish the Camerata Futures, a program for which we invite high school choir students to join the Camerata Singers in January – to rehearse with us and then to perform the Spring concert with us. It was wonderful knowing that we were supporting students to embrace the beauty of choral classical music. It would be wonderful to do that again. When he is not singing, Bob enjoys spending time with his grandchildren and pets, cooking, reading, gardening and volunteering for nonprofits, including Vitalant Blood Services. Robert attends LIFE Church of Salinas, where he is the Board Secretary.

Treasurer - Marilyn Maxner

- Directors -

Brian Jacobson

Kellie D. Morgantini

Michael Russell, D.C.