Director Rob Griswell-Lowry

Before coming aboard as interim director of Rogue Valley Peace Choir in March 2024, Rob directed the choir from 2012-2020, when the pandemic shut down the choir’s musical activities.

Born and bred in Los Angeles, Rob spent his after-school hours escaping the gangs by running as fast as he could to any church that might let him play the organ, which he’d taught himself to play. By age12, he’d begun to serve as occasional accompanist both at church and at school. Rob took up singing in junior high school and started playing recorder at 17.

Taking a deeper dive into music, Rob studied with vocal jazz arranger and clinician Kirby Shaw at College of the Siskiyous and with Ellison Glattly at Southern Oregon University. He went on to study at Cornish Institute of the Arts as the only jazz recorder scholarship major in their history.

Rob’s particular educational emphases have always been in music theory (he devoured every theory course offered at all three schools), and in the art and science of choral directing, which he has studied throughout his musical career. He has four decades of experience directing choral ensembles and choirs, both big and small. His first directorial gig was with the Briton Ensemble, a 12-member a cappella costumed renaissance and Christmas ensemble in southern California.From there, Rob moved to Southern Oregon and became vocal director of the Harmaniacs, a four-part a cappella comedy/swing quartet which produced and performed over twenty full-length shows throughout Oregon during a four-year period in the 1980s. Rob has also served as choir director, accompanist, and/or organist at several churches in the Rogue Valley.

Accompanist Dr. Mikiko Petrucelli

Mikiko Petrucelli was born in Tokyo, Japan, where she started playing piano at age 4. She attended the Mushashino Academia Musicae and received her undergraduate degree in Piano Performance. She then moved to Germany and earned a Performance Degree from Hochschule für Musik.

After she returned to Japan, Mikiko  played with the string chamber group Uovo as their guest pianist, touring Japan and in Germany, giving chamber and solo concerts as well. She has played on the national public radio station in Japan, and won a special award at the Josef Dichter Competition in Vienna, Austria in 2001.

In 2003, Mikiko moved to the United States and received a Master’s of Music from Baylor University and Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.  Currently, she is the accompanist for the Rogue Valley Peace Choir, the Rogue Valley Chorale, Siskiyou Singers, and Ascension Lutheran Church choir.  She is also a collaborative pianist for the SOU music department and has done many world premiere performances by local composers.

John Lulich (President, Bass)

John is a civil engineer for the Bureau of Land Management in Medford, Oregon.   He has been a professional engineer for more than 25 years and was a high school math and technology teacher for 6 years in the Portland and Bend public schools.  He is also a neighborhood coordinator for the Medford Food Project.

David Teegarden (Treasurer, Tenor)

David has been a member of the choir since its first season in 2003 and served three terms on the Board of Directors,  including board president  from 2010–2011. He is a retired medical doctor, certified by the American Board of Family Practice, and served as medical director of a number of community clinics.

Jim Hartman (Secretary, Bass)

Jim was a biology and environmental science teacher at Ashland High School for 27 years. In his retirement he works on a variety of projects to address climate change. He is developing neighborhood climate clubs with the Ashland Climate Collaborative and creating community solar projects as president of the Ashland Solar Cooperative.

Gregory Scott (Assistant Treasurer, Bass)               

Gregory has worked as a computer journalist, technical writer for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and editor of college-level political science textbooks. Originally from South Dakota and then Michigan, he moved to Oregon in 2000 with his late wife, Barbara Scott Winkler, a professor of Women’s Studies.

Elizabeth Bingham (Alto)

Elizabeth joined the Rogue Valley Peace Choir in its first season in 2003 and has served in many roles since that time including on the board and as a section leader. She is a retired middle school teacher. Elizabeth also currently serves on the board of the Storytelling Guild.

Kim Griswell-Lowry (Soprano)

Kim has spent 20 years editing and developing children’s and educational books for several firms. She has published hundreds of short stories and articles. Her dozen books include three that star Rufus, an intrepid pink pig. In 2011, Kim moved to the Rogue Valley to become an editor of children’s books for Portable Press. She joined the choir that year. Kim has served on the board previously.

Michael Silversher (Tenor)

Michael is a songwriter and composer for film, television, theater, and the concert stage. He and his co-writer, Patty Silversher, have written more than 100 songs for Disney and Jim Henson. They have been nominated three times for the Emmys and have won a Grammy. Michael was founding composer and music director of the Tony-winning TheatreWorks in Silicon Valley.