The Chorus Today

Jeremy Edelstein, Artistic Director

Jeremy grew up in central Pennsylvania, surrounded by the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. His journey of singing began in the worlds of pop, jazz, and musical theatre. Before long, he fell in love with choral music: with the joy of community that it lends to artistry and with the maturity of storytelling that it affords through musical and poetic means. Jeremy came to the Northwest by way of Chicago, where he earned a master’s degree in choral conducting at Northwestern University under the mentorship of GRAMMY®-winning conductor Donald Nally. He also holds degrees in English literature and music education from Penn State.

As Artistic Director of the Northwest Chamber Chorus, Jeremy is honored to make art at the intersection of vocal music and poetry. He sees a kindred spirit in the Northwest Chamber Chorus, with its commitment to exploring a wide range of repertoire choices and collaboration with the greater Seattle musical community.

Jeremy’s sensibilities align well with the Northwest Chamber Chorus’s commitment to pursuing excellence without compromising relationships. He aims to foster conversation between musical genres and settings, and between words, sound, emotion, and understanding. He programs concerts that speak to who we are today, and what we think and feel right now. He sees performance as an opportunity—for both musicians and audiences—to be changed through art.

Wendy Martinez-McKee, Executive Director

Wendy is originally from Chicago, Illinois and graduated from DePaul University with a Bachelor of Music degree with an emphasis in Vocal Performance. She was the founder and Artistic Director of Brava!, a professional women’s ensemble from 2001-2009 and also served as the Music Director for St. Paul UCC in Palatine, IL from 2002-2009. McKee was the Artistic Director for the Palatine Children’s Chorus from 2002-2006, where she conducted the top 3 of their 5 choirs.

In 2009, Wendy was promoted to manage the JW Pepper store in Kent, WA, which stalled all of her conducting and singing activities. She worked extensively with Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska ACDA groups and also served on the NW ACDA board. Wendy worked with ACDA National from 2010 to 2016 on their National Convention books. In 2017, Wendy retired from JW Pepper in order to spend more time with family. Since then, she has served on the board of Rainier Youth Choirs and is currently the Board President of the Greater Seattle Choral Consortium. Wendy is excited to serve NWCC as their Executive Director.

Youngjin Joo, Collaborative Piano Accompanist

Youngjin Joo is an organist, pianist, and collaborative artist. One of her earliest memories is playing the piano sitting on her mom’s lap. Her mom was her first piano teacher and has been her greatest supporter. She was introduced to the organ during her senior year of high school. These two keyboard instruments have been her passion. She has a great interest in improvisation in various styles. She studied music theory/composition and music education at Seoul National University and holds a Master of Music in Organ Performance from the University of Washington. She is the organist at Bellevue Presbyterian Church, and she also accompanies at Northwest Girlchoir and PNB school.