TOCCATA-The Orchestra and Community Choral Artists of the Tahoe Area - was founded in 2005 by James and Nancy Rawie as a 501-C-3 non-profit musical arts organization based at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. TOCCATA presents concerts of “classical” symphonic and choral masterpieces, and provides performance opportunities for young artists and local musicians and singers to participate in a high quality musical experience. We are also developing plans to present educational concerts in local schools. The January 6, 2006 presentation of Messiah marked Maestro James Rawie’s first performance in the continental USA with chorus and orchestra, after 25 years as conductor of Coro Sinfónico in Puerto Rico. TOCCATA is appreciative of the support from the Carol F. Buck Foundation, TransAd-Puerto Rico, St. Patrick’s, St Theresa’s and Trinity Churches, and our new Donors. We are especially grateful for the collaborative support of singers from Sierra Nevada College and their Director, Donna Axton and participants from the Tahoe Choir and their director, Linda Mitchell. TOCCATA presented its 2007 MayormenteMozart Festival joining the world’s celebration of the 251st anniversary of the birth of Mozart with seventeen concerts culminating in its first September “Requiem” series dedicated to the victims of 9/11 We seek corporate sponsorship to fund our Messiah presentations. TOCCATA has received a grant to begin a recording cycle of the Händel organ concertos with David Brock as soloist. The first recording of concerti from Opus 4 will be available in 2009, and will include madrigals. motets and selections from our 2008 season with Chamber Singers, chorus and orchestra. TOCCATA enjoys an artistic partnership with the Symphonic Chorus of Puerto Rico.
In the fall of 2007, TOCCATA formalized its organization by establishing the following Board of Directors:
Board of Directors
Diane McCall
MaryEllen Vogt
Eileen Angelucci
Wesley King
Toni Healy
MaryAnn Helman
John McCall
Nancy Rawie
EILEEN ANGELUCCI, Secretary
Eileen Angelucci lived in the Minneapolis, MN area all her life before moving to Carson City in the fall of 2003. She was raised in a very musical family. Her father, grandfather, great uncle, brother-in-law and first husband were all members of the Minnesota Orchestra and numerous other relatives were members of other major symphony orchestras. Eileen studied piano and performed extensively in the Twin Cities area beginning at the age of 13. Music was not her only interest, however. Univac was a major presence in the Twin Cities area at that time, and Eileen was attracted to the computer business. In 1967, she was hired by Univac – which eventually became Unisys – and worked as a programmer and IT manager until eventually becoming a marketing executive. She retired in 2000. Eileen has a BA in philosophy and business and an MBA, both from the University of Minnesota, and completed doctoral course work in organizational behavior through California Coast University. After retirement, Eileen began singing in a church choir in Minnesota and upon moving to Carson City, joined the Carson Chamber Singers. She is also a choral member of TOCCATA and the Reno Philharmonic Chorus.
TONI HEALY
Toni Tweedle Healy retired from her career as a Public Defender in 2004, after having served as The Public Defender of Lassen County and Assistant Public Defender in Riverside County. An experienced trial attorney and manager, Toni shifted gears in retirement and will earn her Masters Degree in Flute Performance at UNR in May 2008. Before joining TOCCATA in 2007, Toni incorporated The Susanville Symphony, where she served as President of the Board of Directors and Principal Flutist. She was honored in March of 2005 as one of California Magazine’s Attorneys of the Year for making a significant impact in the criminal justice system of the state.
MARY ANN HELMAN
Mary Ann Helman has been a member and alto soloist for community and church choirs from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay area. She received her training while attending Nursing School in the San Francisco Bay area. Like many, music has been a creative and relaxing outlet from the stresses of Medicine. She has resided in South Lake Tahoe since 1979 along with her husband, Jon, and Wheaten Terrier, LuLu. She has been a member of Lake Tahoe Community Choir for over 20 years where she has performed as soloist for Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi Gloria, Beethoven's Mass in C, Mozart Requiem, Bach Magnificat, and Christmas Oratorio, Britten Ceremony of Carols, and the Brahams Liebeslieder Walzes. She is a frequent guest and soloist for St. Theresa's Catholic Church in South Lake Tahoe, and member and soloist for St. John's Episcopal Church, Glenbrook, Nevada.
WESLEY KING, Treasurer
Wesley King is a licensed architect by profession having received a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo in 1999 and a Masters in Business Administration Degree from the same institution the following year. His work includes educational, commercial, and residential facilities, with an emphasis on green architecture and sustainability. He is a LEED Accredited Professional, member of the Sierra Green Building Association (SiGBA), and a Senior Associate with the design firm Nichols Melburg & Rossetto. In addition he operates an energy auditing and sustainability consulting business – Green Endeavors. He has a deep appreciation for the arts in part due to his wife Elizabeth who teaches music and performs with TOCCATA as a vocalist and instrumentalist. He recently relocated to South Lake Tahoe from Redding with his wife and toy fox terriers Libby and Sherman where they enjoy the recreational opportunities the area offers including hiking, biking, kayaking, and climbing.
DIANE McCALL, President
Diane McCall received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Brooklyn College in 1968. Fascinated by computers at a time when colleges offered very little computer education, she learned computer programming on the job in New York City. In 1973, as a software instructor and marketing technical representative for a Florida-based manufacturer of computers for military and industrial applications, she conducted training classes and assisted with computer sales worldwide. She started an independent computer consulting business in California in 1981. In 1987, she and her husband John formed TEXCEL Computer Systems, Inc. Diane is currently retired and lives with her husband John in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.
JOHN McCALL
John McCall received a Physics Degree from MIT in 1959 and started his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL) as a physicist. Through an LLNL program, he subsequently earned his Master's Degree at UC Berkeley. Finding more of a calling in the computer arena, he organized and led a group whose mission was to evaluate the “new inventions” personal computers and networks, for use at LLNL. He subsequently became a project leader with the computer development group of the Human Resources Department. In 1978 he earned an MBA, with honors, from St. Mary's College in Moraga, California. After retiring from LLNL in 1987, he and his wife Diane created a computer consulting business, TEXCEL Computer Systems, Inc. Since moving to Nevada in 1999, John served on the Douglas County Grand Jury, participated in the Leadership Douglas County program, and became a trustee of the Lakeridge GID (Zephyr Cove, Nevada). He is now the president of the Board of Trustees of that GID. He represents Douglas County on the Pathway 2007 Forum and is a Director of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association.
NANCY RAWIE
Nancy Rawie is an educational therapist by profession, teaching reading, math, and writing skills to children who have learning disabilities, attention deficit, or are functioning below grade level, but music has been her lifetime hobby. She has sung with Coro Sinfónico and the Chamber Singers since 1992 and is the alto section leader. She directed the Llorens Torres Children's Choir project from 1997 to 2002. She is also the manager of the Chamber Orchestra. As her old hobby has now become part of her work life, triathlon now fills the void in her leisure time.
MARYELLEN VOGT, Vice President
MaryEllen Vogt is Professor Emerita of Education at California State University, Long Beach. A reading specialist and special education teacher prior to her university service, she received her doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. A co-author of eight books, including Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches in the Real World (2nd Ed.; 2007)and Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model (3rd Ed.; 2008), her research interests include improving comprehension in the content areas, teacher change and development, and content literacy and language acquisition for English learners. She was inducted into the California Reading Hall of Fame and received her university’s Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award.Dr. Vogt served as President of the International Reading Association in 2004-2005. She currently lives in the Truckee area.