About Us
Our Choir Groups
Sing with us! We work collaboratively with all singers to foster a vibrant, diverse, and interactive choral community.
Cumberland Choral Arts
Campbellton Youth Chorus
Cross Creek Chorale
Our Story
A 1991 performance of Mozart’s Requiem, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death, brought together a group of local singers under the baton of Mr. Alan M. Porter, the Chair of the Music Department and Director of the Fine Arts Division at Methodist College in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The ensemble enjoyed singing together so much that they became the genesis for the Fayetteville-based mixed adult community choir, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers (COS), now known as Cumberland Choral Arts (CCA). Dedicated to bringing classical choral works to the greater Cumberland County area, the group has expanded its repertoire to include jazz, opera, spirituals, standards, and music from the stage and screen.
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During the first 17 seasons under Mr. Porter, the Cumberland Oratorio Singers performed 50 different complete choral works by 23 major composers and collaborated with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra for ten holiday music performances. The annual “walk-in” Messiah concert was started and welcomed anyone who wanted to sing this most popular of all oratorios as a part of their holiday celebration without auditions or rehearsals. The tradition continues with this concert offered as a gift to the community at no cost to the audience.
Following Mr. Porter’s retirement, Dr. Michael D. Martin took the baton as Conductor and Artistic Director in the Fall of 2008 after completing his first year as Director of Choral Activities and Director of Music Education at Methodist College (now University). Concert locations were expanded as the notoriety of the group grew following each concert, providing the opportunity for more people to enjoy fine classical choral works throughout Cumberland County. The COS also presented concerts in Hoke and Moore counties to further reach audiences in the Sandhills region.
Dr. Martin expanded the repertoire of the COS in 2013 with the addition of the Cross Creek Chorale (CCC), a smaller select-voice ensemble for concerts and community appearances. As the Sandhills’ elite choral society, the COS/CCC was invited to participate in the North Carolina Symphony’s annual 4th of July performance at Festival Park in July 2015. Collaboration continued the next season when COS partnered with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra for a hallmark presentation of Carmina Burana. This concert was the debut of COS’s newest offshoot, the Campbellton Youth Chorus (CYC), comprised of 4th – 8th grade singers from throughout Cumberland County. The CYC was the realization of the COS board’s pledge to provide opportunities for tomorrow’s singers to experience world-class choral music with live orchestral accompaniment. Mrs. Donna Jo Mangus is the Artistic Director of the CYC.
The baton passed to Mr. Jason Britt when he became the Artistic Director in the fall of 2017. During his tenure, COS continued presenting classic choral works by the masters but also branched out to include more concerts featuring jazz and opera as well as music from the stage and screen and America’s greatest composers.
With the addition of Segra Stadium and the Woodpeckers minor league baseball team in downtown Fayetteville in the summer of 2019, Mr. Britt was able to combine two of his loves, music and baseball, when the COS kicked off several games with the National Anthem. The summer of 2019 also brought about a name change when the Cumberland Oratorio Singers officially became Cumberland Choral Arts (CCA), better reflecting the broadened repertoire of the singing group.
Spring of 2020 brought Dr. Michael Martin back to the CCA podium. A formal Assistant Artistic Director position was established, and Mr. Ryan Pagels, Organist and Choirmaster at St. John’s Episcopal Church and staff accompanist on the Performing Arts faculty at Methodist University, brought his highly acclaimed skills as conductor, composer, and pianist to the group. Just two weeks later, the country shut down due to COVID-19. No concerts, no rehearsals, no singing together. Wanting to keep the singers connected during the pandemic, Monday night rehearsals became Monday night socials on Zoom through the spring and summer months. As fall approached, CCA and CCC members began rehearsing at home thanks to the many rehearsal videos provided by Dr. Martin and Mr. Pagels and accompanied by Mrs. Donna Davenport, CCA accompanist. Hours, days, weeks, and months went into producing several virtual choir pieces released in 2020 and 2021. CCA continued its collaboration with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra to virtually present Handel’s “Hallelujah” from Messiah. In February 2021, the second annual “Lift Every Voice and Sing” concert, organized by CCA/CCC member, Miss Brenda Vandervort, was presented live online. The very unique 2020 – 2021 season concluded with a spring concert that brought the CCA and CCC groups together to record at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden’s Orangery.
Our Former Directors
Alan M. Porter, Founder & Artistic Director, 1991-2008
Alan M. Porter is the founder of the Cumberland Oratorio Singers (now Cumberland Choral Arts) and was the Artistic Director of the group from its beginning in 1991 to his retirement in 2008. A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Porter received a Bachelor of Music degree from Mount Union College and a Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois. He holds the title of Professor emeritus of Music from Methodist University where he taught for 35 years and directed the Methodist College Chorus. During part of that time, he served as Head of the Music Department and Director of the Division of Fine Arts. For 41 years he served as Director of Music at Hay Street United Methodist Church. Upon his retirement from the university in 1998, he and his wife, Elaine, moved to Kure Beach, NC, where Mr. Porter served as conductor of the Wilmington Choral Society for several years.
October 2016, Mr. Porter returned to guest conduct “Lacrimosa” from Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor when the Cumberland Oratorio Singers reprised the work to celebrate 25 years since it was first performed in Fayetteville. Mr. Porter was inducted into the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame in 2017 along with the group he founded. When Mr. Porter passed away in 2022, members of CCA were honored to sing at his memorial service.
Other Former Directors
- Jason Britt, Artistic Director, 2017-2020
- Mr. Ryan Pagels, Assistant Director, 2020-2021
- Donna Jo Mangus, CYC Director, 2015-2022
- Sarah Szopinski, CYC Director, 2022-2024
Our Board of Directors
| Sandy Cage | President |
| Greg Beers | Vice President |
| Kathy Thaman | Secretary |
| Michael Good | Treasurer |
| Denise Brown | Volunteer Coordinator |
| Bradley Laub | Fundraising |
| Corey Leak | Membership |
| Alexandra Marth | Marketing |
| Mary Potter | Corresponding Secretary |
| Ceci Suhre | Audience Engagement |
| John Turner | FSO Liaison, House Manager |
| Brenda Vandervort-Miller | Social Media |
| Travis Yeagley | Grant Writer |
| Lisa Packer | CYC Director, Ex Officio |
| MAJ Curtis Kinzey | CCC Director, Ex Officio |
| Dr. Michael Martin | CCA Artistic Director, Ex Officio |
Our Music Directors
Dr. Michael D. Martin
CCA Artistic Director
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Dr. Michael D. Martin hails from the great state of Maine and is returning to Cumberland Choral Arts (CCA) having served as artistic director from 2008-2017 and 2019 to the present. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Maine. He completed his Ph.D. in Music Education with an emphasis in choral education through Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. He has taught in grades 4-12, in the capacity of the choral, band, and orchestral education positions throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. He has received recognition as a teacher and conductor, having been the recipient of several teaching awards, serving as a guest conductor, vocal clinician, and a judge for several New England, Midwestern, and East Coast festivals. His past student performing ensembles (SATB, SSAA, TTBB) have received both regional and national awards for their performances.
Dr. Martin has also enjoyed a rich involvement in conducting community choral groups in New Hampshire and Maine. In 2001, he created a semi-professional chorus, The New Vocal Collective, in central New Hampshire recording one compact disc. He also conducted the Portland Downeasters, a Portland, Maine-based barbershop chorus, which became one of the top four choruses in the Northeastern District in 2002-2004. He received national attention with his championship barbershop quartet The Management (1986-2003) by touring New England schools in support of music programs. For this work promoting youth involvement in music, the quartet shared the National Education Service Award sponsored by MENC and SPEBSQSA (now Barbershop Harmony Society). He also received distinction as the recipient of Distinguished Choral Director of the Year from the Maine Chapter of ACDA. Dr. Martin is also the first recipient of the Methodist University Union-Zukowski Endowed Professor in the Fine Arts. Under Dr. Martin, the CCA was a finalist for the American Prize in Community Chorus Performance, inducted into the Fayetteville Music Hall of Fame with Alan Porter, and invited to form the core of the performance choir at Carnegie Hall to perform the works of Joseph Martin in 2022.
Until recently, he was the Director of Choral Activities and Orchestra, Coordinator of Music Education, and Coordinator of Fine Arts Management at Methodist University. His college groups toured the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, and from Orlando to Boston. Additionally, they recorded two CDs: A Yuletide Keepsake and Legacy. He is now the Director of Choirs at Pinecrest High School where he conducts their Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, and Bella Voce (women’s choir). He also serves on the boards of the NC Music Educators Association and the NC American Choral Director’s Association. He lives in Cameron with his wife, Amanda, his son, David, and his daughter, Merri.
MAJ Curtis Kinzey
CCC Director
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MAJOR CURTIS KINZEY, Director, Cross Creek Chorale, currently serves as the U.S. Army Forces Command Staff Bands Officer. Prior to this appointment, he served as the commander of the 1st Cavalry Division Band where he deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and led music for troop entertainment and international engagement in Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Qatar.
From 2011 to 2016, Kinzey served as the music director of The United States Army Chorus. During this assignment, he led musical performances for five US Presidents to include several White House engagements for President Barack Obama and for the dedication of the George W. Bush Library in Dallas, TX. He has also conducted the Armed Forces Chorus in nationally televised performances for Super Bowl Forty-Eight and Fifty. As a member of the United States Army Chorus, Kinzey had the honor to perform in the interment service for President Ronald Reagan in Simi Valley, CA. He has also marched in support of three inaugural parades for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Kinzey has directed ensembles in other significant events and broadcasts such as White House State Arrivals for several foreign leaders, public and cultural diplomatic events, numerous ceremonies and special events at all levels of military and government, and appearances in the NFL, MLB, and NASCAR.
Kinzey began his military career as an enlisted member of The United States Army Band, “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, DC, serving as a baritone vocalist in the U.S. Army Chorus. After receiving his commission in 2007, he was assigned to The U.S. Army Field Band where he served as music director of the Soldiers’ Chorus from 2007 to 2009. Kinzey has worked extensively in the greater Washington, DC area as a soloist, church musician, and choral conductor. He founded and directed the Baltimore Young Choral Artists. He also served as Music Director for The Choral Scholars in Princeton, New Jersey.
Kinzey holds a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting and a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. His primary conducting teachers include Joseph Flummerfelt, Allen Crowell, James Jordan, Andrew Megill, and Anthony Maiello. He has also worked with the great Robert Shaw as a member of the 1999 Robert Shaw Festival Singers.
Lisa Packer
CYC Director
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Lisa Packer, CYC Director, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is a National Board-Certified teacher serving her 27th year teaching both elementary music and middle school choral music in Cumberland County Schools. She is the recipient of several teaching awards including the North Carolina Music Educators Elementary Music Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Packer has diverse teaching experience, including Kindermusik, K-8 public school music, and church music including K-5 children’s, 6th-12th youth, and adult choirs. Her choral students have received Superior ratings at adjudications and festivals, been selected for both the elementary and middle school NC Honors Chorus, and have performed with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, she was the director of the Cumberland County Elementary All-County Chorus. She and her husband, Michael, live in Hope Mills. They enjoy traveling and family time with their two daughters, Amanda and Megan.