Karen Bruno is excited to join Northwest Girlchoir as the new Artistic Director. Her primary responsibilities include conducting Amabile, Amore, Ensemble, and the combined choirs. Karen was the Artistic Director of the Lawrence Community Girl Choir Program in Appleton, Wisconsin for 25 years. During that time, her choirs performed at state and regional choral conferences. A frequent guest clinician, Ms. Bruno has worked with youth and treble honor choirs throughout the Midwest, including the South Dakota All-State Choir, the AWAKE Choral Festival for Kodaly educators, and the Beyond the Notes Festival created to serve public school ensembles. She taught choral music education classes at Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music after having taught in two public school districts in Wisconsin and at an international school in Dakar, Senegal. She has served the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) in a variety of ways at the state, regional, and national level. Highlights include several terms as the Children’s and Community Youth Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair for the North Central region, being elected president of the Wisconsin CDA, and serving as a founding member of ACDA’s national standing committee for Advocacy and Collaboration. Karen holds a Bachelor of Music and Economics from Smith College and a Master of Music degree in Music Education from Boston University. She has a son who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland and a very opinionated, fluffy, FIV-positive cat named Katya. In addition to teaching, she loves to garden, cook, read, and hike.

Charity Rasmussen is excited to be the new Vivace Conductor having previously led Prep Choir in Northwest Girlchoir's 49th season. She has been teaching elementary music in the Edmonds School District for five years, and spent one year teaching in Lake Washington School District before that. In her current position, she teaches K-6 general music, an elective 4-6 choir, and an auditioned 6th grade handbell choir. She is also an accomplished pianist and vocalist, and sings with the Evensong Choir and Women's Compline Choir at Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle. In 2018, the Evensong Choir spent a two-week residency singing in Ely Cathedral and St. Paul's Cathedral in England, and Charity just enjoyed another two-week residency with the choir in August 2022, singing in Chichester Cathedral and Bristol Cathedral. She holds a Kodaly certification and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education degree from Seattle Pacific University.

Jura Litchfield comes to Northwest Girlchoir with a passion for teaching young people and over thirty years of experience as a music teacher, conductor, and arts administrator. Jura has taught music and choir at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, in Massachusetts, Berlin, Germany, and New York (City and State). She has served as Director of Music at churches in Maine and New York. She has also worked as the chair of a school music department, as a director of a community arts center, and as a development director for a a graduate institute. Jura has Kodály and Orff certification and degrees from Columbia University (Master of Arts) and Barnard College (Bachelor of Arts).

Haley Gabler is thrilled to be joining the Northwest Girlchoir community as the new Prep Choir Conductor/Teacher. She currently teaches K-8 General Music at Villa Academy in the Laurelhurst neighborhood in Seattle. Haley is an active performer in the Seattle area, singing with several professional choral ensembles in addition to serving as a Section Leader for the Cathedral Choir at St. James Cathedral. She is a graduate of St. Olaf College with a B.M. in Music Education, and has completed Kodaly Level I training. Haley is a proud alumni of the Lawrence Community Girl Choir program where she sang for nine years, five of which were spent under the direction of Karen Bruno, the newly appointed Artistic Director of Northwest Girlchoir.

Minju Kim, a native of South Korea, has been active as a soloist, chamber musician and collaborative pianist, currently at Northwest Girlchoir, Shoreline Community College and Seattle University. Minju's avid interest in chamber music led her to play at Bowdoin International Music Festival and Music Academy of the West as a fellow in collaborative piano. Also, she served as a chamber pianist for chamber groups playing piano trios at the Heifetz International Music Institute. Minju holds degrees in piano performance from Seoul National University in Korea (B.M.), Indiana University (M.M. and P.D.), and University of Texas in Austin, (D.M.A.), as well as a M.M. in collaborative piano from New England Conservatory.

Dori Baunsgard is a Pacific Northwest native who returned to Seattle in 2011 after conducting choirs and teaching music for many years in Tokyo, Japan and Mussoorie, India. Dori has an avid interest in multiple styles and genres of music from all parts of the globe. In her accompanying career, she has played for many great conductors, including Henry Leck, Edith Copely and Elena Sharkova. Besides her accompanying work she is the conductor of Con Brio Women's Choir and co-conductor (with Beth Ann Bonnecroy) of Wanderlust Women's Choir of Seattle.  Dori holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Seattle Pacific University and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Western Washington University.

Youngjin Joo is an organist, pianist, and collaborative artist. One of her earliest memories is playing the piano sitting on her mom’s lap. Her mom was her first piano teacher and has been her greatest supporter. She was introduced to the organ by the parish priest during her senior year of high school. These two keyboard instruments have been her passion. She has a great interest in improvisation in various styles, from baroque to jazz. She studied music theory/composition and music education at Seoul National University and holds a Master of Music degree in Organ Performance from the University of Washington. She has held musical posts at churches in Greenwich, CT, Aston and Wayne, PA, and she is the organist at Bellevue Presbyterian Church, where she accompanies the Sanctuary choir and Pneuma ensemble.