Chorale Acadienne

John Frank Reeve, Artistic Co-Director
is also the Minister of Music at First Baptist Church, Lafayette. John Frank is an active performer having been heard on the stages of the New Orleans Opera Theatre, Baton Rouge Opera, Mississippi Opera, and numerous other performing venues. John Frank has performed in Acadiana with the Chorale Acadienne and the Concert Band of Lafayette and appears regularly as a soloist and actor in First Baptist Lafayette productions. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Louisiana College, and Masters of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of New Orleans. He studied voice with world renowned Soprano, Martina Arroyo and Dr. Steven Austin while doing post graduate work at Louisiana State University. He has held vocal teaching positions with the University of New Orleans, Louisiana College, and was the Fine Arts Director at Lake Country Christian School in Ft. Worth, Texas. John Frank is also critically acclaimed for his innovated stage productions and vocal direction having staged and directed numerous musical and theatrical productions. Before returning to South Louisiana, John Frank served as the Minister of Music for churches in New Orleans and Ft. Worth. In 2009, John Frank co-founded Another Child Foundation to support ministry to at-risk and orphaned children in Romania. He serves on the board of directors for ACF and is also on the board of directors for Fundatia Buckner in Romania. ACF and Fundatia Buckner are partners now ministering to over 150 children everyday in central Romania. John Frank and his wife Nancy live in Youngsville with their 14 year old son, Connor, and their dogs, "Duncan" and "Crystal."

Rusty Roden, Artistic Co-Director
is honored to serve as Artistic Co-Director for Chorale Acadienne, sharing the baton with John Frank Reeve. He has been a member of Chorale Acadienne for the past 14 seasons. Rusty has extensive choral, musical theatre, and opera performance experience dating back to his first performance in Benjamin Britten's Noyes' Fludde in 8th grade, in the role of Jaffett, along side Met Opera great Chester Ludgin. Other musical theatre roles include Lt. Cable in South Pacific, Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Lun Thah in The King and I, Sparky in Forever Plaid, and Rolf in Sound of Music (to name a few).

Rusty teaches lower school music, choir, and theatre at Episcopal School of Acadiana. His choirs have performed as a part of the Candlelight by Music concert with Chorale Acadienne in The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. His choirs have also performed with Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Mariusz Smolij, and for the inauguration of the current president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, E. Joseph Savoie.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tennessee, and a Master of Music degree in Chorale Conducting from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette studying under Dr. James Haygood. He is owner of Rodens Piano and Music in Tupelo, Mississippi and serves as an elder at Riverside Church of Christ. He resides in Lafayette with his wife, Dr. Karen Roden (also a Chorale member), and his two children Hallie and John.

Kevin Martin, choral accompanist
has been the organist at St. Pius X Catholic church in Lafayette since 1990. He studied piano and organ at Shenandoah Conservatory, Roanoke College, and LSU. From 1998-2013, he was the choral accompanist at UL-Lafayette, leaving there to become the organist at John Paul the Great academy, where he currently teaches organ and accompanies the school masses.

2015-2016 Chorale Acadienne Officers
and Board of Directors

OFFICERS Stuart Burgess, President Dr. Mary Neiheisel, Vice-President Nanette Rabalais, Secretary Dr. Beth Finch, Treasurer
CLASS OF 2016 Stuart Burgess Dr. Beth Finch Dr. Carllene MacMillan Melanie Martin Dr. Mary Neiheisel Judi Sarver	CLASS OF 2017 Don Blair Dr. Beth Brooks John Kolwe Nanette Rabalais CLASS OF 2018 Parisia Memarian-Liu Sheila Gough


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