Staff

Vincent Oakes, Artistic Director
Vincent Oakes is in his seventeenth year as Artistic Director of the Chattanooga Boys Choir. He earned the Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Florida and Master of Sacred Music degree in Choral Conducting from Emory University, studying conducting under James Morrow and Eric Nelson. In addition to teaching public school choral music and serving churches in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, he has also served as music director of the Emory University Exodus Singers and the Candler School of Theology Youth Theological Initiative. A frequent choral clinician and guest conductor of honor and festival choirs, recent conducting engagements have included the Vocalizze Choral Festival in Portugal, the ACDA International Conductors Exchange Program in Cuba, and honor choirs throughout the United States. Mr. Oakes has also been a conductor and clinician at the Lake Junaluska, Massenetta Springs, and Montreat worship music conferences. He has published articles and reviews in Choral Journal and authored a chapter on working with children’s voices in the textbook Choral Pedagogy (3rd edition) by Robert Sataloff and Brenda Smith.

Mr. Oakes is an active member of National Association for Music Education, the Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts, and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), of which he served as Southern Division Chair of Boychoir Repertoire and Standards from 2005-2011. He is currently Past-President of the Tennessee chapter of ACDA and President of the Southern Region of ACDA. Mr. Oakes is also the Chair of the Fine Arts Department and Director of Choral Music at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, where he conducts four student ensembles and the faculty choir. He and his wife Dawn are the proud parents of Concert choir member Brandon and Mozart choir member Luke.

Dawn Oakes, Executive Director
Dawn Oakes earned her Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Florida. Following several years as a Purchasing Manager with General Electric, she joined the choir as its Administrative Director in the fall of 2005, managing the choir’s day to day operations. In May 2017, Dawn was appointed Executive Director. In addition to managing the daily operations of the choir, its strong volunteer base, and finances, Dawn currently oversees the choir’s marketing, development, and community outreach efforts. Dawn is a facilitator for ArtsForward, a community led initiative to strengthen the arts community in Chattanooga. She also serves on the Community Arts Team for Any Given Child, an initiative of the Kennedy Center.

Merry Lee Wilson, Collaborative Pianist
Merry Lee Wilson (accompanist) grew up in west Texas where she began playing organ at 14 years old. She earned a Bachelor of Music from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Music from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Merry Lee spent many years as an elementary music teacher and was accompanist for the Chattanooga Boys Choir for 12 years. After retirement from the Hamilton County School system, she worked as a staff accompanist in the vocal department at Lee University. She has been playing for churches of many varied denominations since she began playing the organ. Merry Lee has 3 grown children and one grandson.

Judy Brittingham, Director of Training Choirs
Mrs. Brittingham earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a Master of Administration degree from Lincoln Memorial University. Mrs Brittingham retired from Hamilton County Schools after teaching elementary music for over 25 years. She has been affiliated with the CBC since 1979, and also serves as Children’s Ministry Director and Children’s Choir Director at Hickory Valley Community Church in Chattanooga. Married to Robert Brittingham, they have two children, Taylor (a CBC alum) and Anna.

Kristen Wiram, Associate Director, Handel & Concert Choir.
Mrs. Wiram earned the Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and the Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Emory University. Mrs. Wiram has been a featured soloist with the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, Choral Arts of Chattanooga, and the Atlanta Sacred Chorale. Previously the Director of Choral Activities at Ooltewah High School and Red Bank Middle School, she is currently Choral Director at Signal Mountain Middle-High School.

Gabrielle Haston, Associate Director
Mrs. Haston graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Music Education in 2007 and received her Masters of Education-Secondary: The Arts in 2013 from UTC in 2013. Mrs. Haston is the Fine Arts Department Chair at Dade County High School and is also involved as the Fine Arts / High School Liaison for the Dade Middle Leadership Team. She is currently co-chair for GMEA District VII and served as organizer for the 2016 Middle School District Honor Chorus. Mrs. Hason is a member of the Georgia Music Educators Association, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, and the American Choral Directors Association.

Stephanie R Randall, Collaborative Pianist - Mozart and Schubert
Mrs. Randall earned her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, where she sang with the UTC Chamber Singers and Chattanooga Singers. Mrs. Randall is a frequent accompanist for student recitals and area choral programs. She is married to Chattanooga Boy Choir alumnus, Andrew Randall. Stephanie currently teaches private piano lessons, sings back-up vocals with her church's worship team, and serves in her church's children's ministry.

Stephanie Randall, Music Education Coordinator
Mrs. Randall holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Previously a K-12 music teacher in the Hamilton County Schools, Mrs. Randall currently teaches music to home school students. Mrs. Randall has been the lead CBC Computer Music Theory Lab instructor since its inception. Her musical experiences include membership in the Chattanooga Bach Choir, the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Chorus, the Roueche’ Chorale (Board Member), and in a variety of leadership roles in church music. Married to CBC Alumus George Randall, Jr., they have three sons: Andrew, Matthew, and Christopher (all proudly CBC Alumni).

Christine Hassevoort, Music Theory Lab Instructor
Christine Hassevoort has a Master of Music degree in voice. She is a classical singer who has performed several operatic roles with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Opera Tennessee, and others. Christine also has been a featured soloist twice for the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera’s Holiday Pops concert, as well as several Pops in the Park concerts. She has appeared as a soloist in several oratorio productions, including Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Haydn’s Creation and Lord Nelson Mass, and many others. She teaches voice and music classes at Covenant College, Chattanooga State Community College and Ridgedale Baptist School of Fine Arts. She is married to Darrin and has a 7th grade son, Ian, who sings in the CBC, and a 10th grade daughter, Sophie.