Our Board

BOARD OFFICERS:

Juline Christofferson, President

Juline brings her stellar music experiences singing with the Jackson Hole Chorale for the past 27 years, the Presbyterian Church Choir, Cathedral Voices Chamber Choir and playing the piano and accordion.  She grew up singing in church and has a love of music and the arts, which, as an art major in college, she hopes to resume where she left off someday.  Juline also brings her management skills to the Chorale Board – being the owner of various bars/restaurants/hotels, including the Stagecoach Bar, and currently the Bull Moose Lodge in Alpine, Wyoming, which she has owned and managed for the last 17 years.  Her personal interests include skiing, golfing, swimming, dancing and hiking (especially in Southern Utah).  Juline has lived in Missouri, Canada, and Montana.  She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Montana, a teaching certificate from Hamline University and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Utah.  Her work experiences are vast and impressive and include:  Social Studies Teacher at Henry Sibley High School in South St. Paul, Minnesota; Editor of the University of Utah Computer Science Newsletter; Attorney in private practice in Utah and Wyoming; and a Natural Resources Coordinator on the staff of Utah Governor Scott Matheson.  The Jackson Hole Chorale Board of Directors is fortunate to have Juline’s vast experience and love of music to contribute to their goals.

Karen O’Connor, Vice-President

Karen’s mother’s love of music influenced her from an early age.  She entered Karen in piano lessons starting in the 1st grade and scrimped and saved to purchase her a flute in the 4th grade, hoping she would continue interest in music.  Karen began playing in the band and continued instrumental music until they moved to Wyoming.  As a young teen, Karen would sing harmony around campfires and people would ask, “How do you do that”? – to which she would reply, “I don’t even hear the melody most of the time”.  At home she could be heard singing at the top of her lungs to the radio with Karen Carpenter.   Karen joined the church choir and did a few singing performances in her hometown of Laramie.  By high school she was playing flute, piccolo and baritone saxophone in concert, marching and jazz bands.  It was a talent show in high school where the choir director first heard Karen sing and invited her to join the advanced choir.  This was Karen’s first exposure to  “serious vocal music” and she fell in love with the challenge of reading vocal scores and mixing voices in a full group ensemble both in concert and jazz choirs.  It was exhilarating!  Her senior year, she auditioned and was accepted for the All Northwest choir, which was comprised of 400 of the top singers in the Northwest US, held in Billings, MT.  Growing up in a college town, the natural progression was to attend the university.  Karen auditioned again, this time gaining a full scholarship for vocal performance at University of Wyoming.  She continued instrumental music when schedules allowed, but held to required courses for voice including joining the Collegiate Chorale.  While in Laramie, Karen met her future husband over a sheet of music while helping a mutual friend with the music for a Christmas Eve midnight mass.  They now continue making music together in beautiful Jackson Hole, where they’ve both sung in the Jackson Hole Chorale for three decades.

Nancy Bohne, Secretary/Treasurer

Nancy grew up in a musical family and has always been singing.  She grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and was involved with her large High School Honors Choir, ensembles and competetions.  She lived in Laramie, Wyoming for 10 years and was part of the University of Wyoming Collegiate Choir during that time.  She spent her professional career in business management and brings skills to the Chorale for her role.  Nancy is retired now and spends her time with her hobbies.

DIRECTOR:

Artistic & Music Director Ron Fabry, Board Member

Ron received his Master’s in organ performance and church music from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.  Along with an extensive background in choral conducting and performances under prestigious conductors, he did post-graduate studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.  In 2013 he moved to Jackson, WY to become the director of music at Our Lady of the Mountains Church and became the Director of the Chorale.  He currently serves as Music Director for Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church in Jackson.  Ron oversees our projects including rehearsals and performances.  He acts a liaison and music coordinator for the different musical groups who participate in the concerts.

BOARD MEMBERS:

Annette Osnos

Annette is originally from Manhasset, Long Island and New York City. She graduated from Syracuse University in 1980 earning a BFA in Advertising. Noah, her husband,and she made a big life change and moved to Jackson, Wyoming from New York City in November 2014. After a 32-year career in advertising sales with publications like BusinessWeek, PCWEEK and Macworld, Annette retired in 2012, after spending the last seven years working the dream job at National Geographic. Her love of animals and the planet are the biggest passions in her life. She served on several boards (YMCA, Wildlife Alliance) and volunteered at the ASPCA, North Shore Animal League and additionally brought puppies to Assisted Living facilities. She is bone marrow donor and big advocate of blood donation. Annette’s other interests include pickleball, biking, skiing, knitting, volunteer work and travel to Africa, as much as possible. She grew up going to an Episcopalian church where she sang as a child. It has been 50 years since she was able to sing again; but she is very inspired and grateful to be able to renew her love of music with the Jackson Hole Chorale.

Joe Graig-Tiso

Joe Graig-Tiso’s professional life is varied: In the winter you will find him on the slopes of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort where is an instructor; during the summer, he is a professional Snake River Angler float trip guide; and the rest of his profile business profession is his work as a project manager, network engineer and consultant in IT business and administration.  Joe graduated from SUNY College at Oneonta, New York where he had dual major – Economics and Business Economics.  He shares his singing voice with the Jackson Hole Chorale and Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church choir.

Patti Robertson

Patti Robertson is originally from Vermont and has lived in Jackson since 2000.  She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Keen State College in New Hampshire and worked in a first-grade classroom right out of college.  Her work experience includes being the Head Teacher in multi-aged classrooms at the Montessori School of the Tetons in Jackson, Wyoming and on the front desk staff of The Lexington at Jackson Hole.  She looks forward to spring and summer in our valley, when she and her daughter take advantage of our beautiful area by hiking, biking and attending outdoor concerts and other community activities.

Our Staff

Artistic & Music Director Ron Fabry

Ron received his Master’s in organ performance and church music from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.  Along with an extensive background in choral conducting and performances under prestigious conductors, he did post-graduate studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.  In 2013 he moved to Jackson, WY to become the director of music at Our Lady of the Mountains Church and became the Director of the Chorale.  He currently serves as Music Director for Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church in Jackson.  Ron oversees our projects including rehearsals and performances.  He acts a liaison and music coordinator for the different musical groups who participate in the concerts.

Arla Burbank, Accompanist & Co-Conductor

Arla Burbank was born Arla Rae Bach to a Royal Canadian Mounty and his wife in the little town of Dauphin, Manitoba. The family moved all over Manitoba, including the Canadian Arctic.  Arla began taking piano lessons in Winnipeg at age 10 and continued lessons when the family moved to Ottawa, the Canadian capital in Ontario.  She was lucky to attend a fine art high school and play oboe and then attended the University of Western Ontario where she received an Honors B.A.  in music and English.  She received her teaching degree from BYU and then went to Alberta to teach school: choir, drama and English, and was also the music director for many community musicals.  She married Lee Burbank and had four children while in Alberta.  The Burbank family moved to Victoria, British Columbia where Arla taught Orff classes at the conservatory there.  Since immigrating to the United States and becoming an American citizen, Arla has taught piano lessons and plays a little harp, finished raising the four kids, worked with Bob Berkey putting on children’s musicals at the Pink Garter, played for the Jackson Hole Play House and currently teaches at Colter Elementary.  She loves to accompany and is thrilled to be working with Ron Fabry and the wonderful singers in the Jackson Hole Chorale.