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Julie Haydon
Director of Children's and Youth Choirs
julie@cantareconvivo.org, (510) 529-1770
Julie Haydon began her service with Cantare Con Vivo in 2000, and is currently serving as Director of Cantare Children’s and Youth Choirs, a tuition-free program providing weekly in-school and after-school choral music education for over 2,250 underserved Oakland students. Julie oversees the after-school choir program and is the director of Nova, a citywide choir for 6-12 graders. Under Julie’s leadership, Cantare received Chorus America’s Education and Community Engagement award in 2005 and 2014.
Julie served as Director of Music Ministry at Trinity Lutheran Church in Alameda for nine years, directing choral music from diverse traditions. During her tenure, she directed adult and youth choir singers, and the handbell choir. She also founded “Joyful Noise! Community Children’s Choir” at Trinity.
Julie grew up in Lafayette, CA, benefitting from outstanding music education opportunities. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance at Northwestern University and her Master's degree in Music Education at Holy Names University in Oakland, specializing in Kodály music education. She is past president of the board for the Northern California Association of Kodály Educators.
Conway Tan
Director of Music Education
Conway Tan is Cantare’s Director of Music Education. He teaches classroom music and directs after-school choirs in Oakland elementary schools and oversees Cantare’s in-school program.
Born in Malaysia, Conway earned a Master in Music Education degree with an emphasis on Kodály methodology. He has also received training in Orff-Schulwerk and curriculum that emphasizes the use of Modern Band in styles including rock, pop, reggae, hip-hop, rhythm & blues, and electronic dance music. Conway has been a professional keyboardist and music director since 2007. He currently serves as the Music Director of the Contemporary Worship Team at St. John Vianney Church in Walnut Creek. He is also a founding member of the National Pastoral Musicians, Oakland Chapter, where he currently serves as the Programming Coordinator. He is active in San Francisco Bay Area musical theaters as a music director and keyboardist. He also has presented lectures at regional and national music seminars on Social Emotional Learning through Music Education.
Conway finds the social and moral values in collective music-making especially empowering. Being trilingual, Conway believes that music provides us with a language to speak from the heart and has the ability to bring people closer to one another. Conway has been a Teaching Artist with Cantare since 2014.
Toni Bermudez
Administrative Coordinator
Toni Bermudez joins Cantare Con Vivo as a life-long singer with extensive non-profit experience. While her early career in the Bay Area was in the banking industry, she spent more than 20 years managing a family foundation in San Francisco. A lyrico-spinto soprano, Toni has performed the roles of Turandot, Leonora in Il Trovatore, and Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, along with concert performances around the Bay Area. Her love of vocal music began early in life listening with her mother to the Firestone Opera Hour and her public school music education was the foundational preparation for her avocation.
Treva Obbard
Development Assistant
Treva comes to Cantare Con Vivo with a B.A. in Writing, several years of non-profit experience, and a lifelong affection for choir music. With self-acknowledgedly more enthusiasm than skill at singing, she looks forward to furthering the work of CCV from back-backstage. When not at work, Treva can most often be found with a fantasy novel, either reading or writing.