Meet our Directors

Chris Dobson, the director of The Oregon Young Men's Ensemble, holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Oregon. Growing up in Eugene, he was a member of the OCC for 10 years, an intern for two years, and has directed choirs in the organization since 2005. Chris was the 2005 recipient of the Max D. Risinger Award for Excellence in Choral Music Education. As an active local musician, he conducts and sings with various choirs throughout the performance season. He has performed and directed ensembles on stages around the world, including the Choirs of America Festival for Top Choirs at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2015. He has also served as clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor for various Oregon choral festivals such as the 2017 Varsity Vocals A Cappella Open, the 2017 International Championship of Collegiate Acappella Northwest Semifinals, and the 2013 Oregon Children’s Choir Festival. Chris currently teaches choirs at South Eugene High School and sings with the nationally-recognized contemporary acappella group, Rezonate. He is also an active composer and arranger, having won the best original arrangement award at the Northwest Harmony Sweepstakes competition in March of 2009.
Jennifer Searl, conductor for the Oregon Treble Ensemble, received her Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Oregon. She and her husband, Bruce, are local composers and have a music publishing company, Aardvark Hill. They have been commissioned to compose over 10 works for the Oregon Children’s Choral Festival and became directors of the Festival from 2009-2017. Jennifer is an award winning composer, receiving Malecki Music’s coveted Merit Series award for Our World, as well as receiving numerous Festival Favorite awards. She and her husband have written and composed two children’s musicals, one of which, A Mouse Christmas, has sold to schools and churches all over the world. She also is a frequent piano accompanist for local school choirs and voice students and has a private piano studio. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family, bicycling, baking and cooking! Jennifer has been a part of the Oregon Children’s Choir since 1983 and was also our Executive Music Director from 2009-2013.
Jacob Steinberger, the director of Counterpoint, received both a bachelor and master of music education from the University of Oregon. Throughout his career, Jacob has taught students of all ages from all over the state of Oregon, directed and performed in many vocal and instrumental ensembles, including jazz, classical, musical theater and contemporary genres. Most notably was his appearance with On the Rocks on NBC’s a’cappella competition, The Sing-Off Season 2. Jacob’s ensembles have received much notoriety including top finishes at jazz and a’cappella festivals across the state and multiple top-five finishes at the OSAA State Choral Championships. Jacob is a conductor, guest clinician and in 2019, Jacob was asked to present at the American Choral Director’s Association’ NW Regional Conference in Spokane Washington. Currently, Jacob is the Director of Choirs at Springfield High School. He also holds positions as Music Director of the Emerald Valley Honor Choir, and is on the teaching staff with the Oregon Ambassadors of Music, which tours 7 European countries every other summer. Because music making and consuming have the potential to be such transformative experiences, Jacob looks to compel his singers to communicate the message of the music by singing with their whole body and soul, not just their voice.
​Lauren Kahn, the director of Synergy, has an extensive background directing, arranging, and singing a cappella music. She grew up singing a cappella four-part harmony (known as “barbershop”), and has been directing the Greater Eugene Chorus, an award-winning local barbershop chorus, since 2013. She also directed the University of Oregon’s gender inclusive a cappella group, Mind the Gap, from 2013 to 2015. Lauren is a prolific arranger in both the barbershop and contemporary a cappella genres, and she especially loves to arrange music for the groups she directs, so she is looking forward to arranging new music for Synergy! Lauren also grew up playing classical piano and accompanied her school choirs in middle and high school. In her “real life,” Lauren is a research scientist at the University of Oregon. She graduated from UO with a Ph.D. in Psychology in 2018, studying the science of motivation, choice, identity, and behavior change. Importantly, she believes that topics like these can also be explored through music, and she encourages singers to learn about themselves and the world through their musical stories.
Katie Coleman, the director of the Junior Choir, teaches music at Gilham Elementary in Eugene. She received her Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Oregon and is currently earning her Masters in Music Education at Eastern Washington University. Katie was the 2016 Max Risinger Choral Music Education Award recipient and winner of the Whitfield Music Education Award. Katie is passionate about choral music. She started singing on stage at age 5, and became her church’s children’s choir director at only 15 years old, co-writing and directing three musicals with the drama director during her high school years. Katie is a professional pianist and has collaborated with over twenty choirs in Washington and Oregon throughout her career, such as the Metropolitan Choral Festival Mass Choir in Eugene, and the touring choir Northwest Choralons in Kirkland, WA. She has directed several adult and children’s choirs, most recently for First Baptist Church of Eugene. Katie has been a part of the Oregon Children’s Choir family for over 17 years as a parent, board member, and accompanist. Katie values the community and friendships that come from singing together both for students and for choir families and is committed to creating a positive, fun, and educative musical experience for choristers. 
​Mary Poppen, the director of the Prelude Choir, is a certified music specialist at Willagillespie Elementary school in Eugene. Mary grew up in Eugene and returned six years ago after living in Sun Valley, Idaho, where she taught music K-12, directed numerous musical theater productions, acted as musical director for her church and directed adult and youth choirs. In addition to her work in schools and with OCC, Mary is a music director for Rose Children's Theater. Mary loves working with children of all ages and enjoys using dance, movement, instruments, and sign language to enhance the singing experience.