Meet the Director
JACOBSEN WOOLLEN
Jacobsen Woollen is a conductor, cellist, and tenor residing in Springfield, Illinois, where he serves as Resident Conductor of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Springfield Choral Society, Conductor of the Illinois Symphony Youth Orchestra, and Director of the UIS Orchestra.
Jacobsen is also active in the opera world, having served as Assistant Conductor at Atlanta Opera, Detroit Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where he led several workshops for new works, including Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones.
An Indiana native, Jacobsen returned to the Midwest after spending six years in Vienna, Austria, where he completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in orchestral conducting under the tutelage of Prof. Mark Stringer at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, conducted professional ensembles including the Polska Filharmonia Baltycka and Ensemble Ultreia, served as assistant conductor of the Vienna Opera Festival, and led the Schlosschor Hadersfeld.
Jacobsen also maintains an active career as a tenor: as a member of the Grammy-winning Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Jacobsen participated in opera productions at Theater an der Wien, as well as concerts in Europe’s most renowned venues, including Vienna’s Musikverein and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie.
Prior to his European sojourn, Jacobsen completed a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan under the guidance of Kenneth Kiesler. During this time, he was active in the Ann Arbor musical community as well, serving as founder and director of Paradigm Shift Chamber Orchestra, music director of the Ann Arbor Camerata, and assistant conductor of the Michigan Life Sciences Orchestra.
Board of Directors
PASSIONATE & COMMITTED COMMUNITY LEADERS
Jim Kontio
PRESIDENT
Before moving to Springfield, in 2008, Jim was a co-founder and charter member of the Summit Choral Society in Akron, OH. He served 6 years as president of the board of directors and continued as a board member until 2002. Jim is the IVF Laboratory Coordinator at Springfield's SIU Medicine Fertility and IVF Center. He became involved in the Springfield music scene in 2008 when he was invited to join the Springfield Choral Society, becoming a board of directors member a year later. He has served as past president and Vice President for Marketing and Promotions. He is a proud member of the tenor section of the chorus.
Jim has been singing most of his life and enjoys the challenge of management of the choral society, but he mostly loves the music and the joy it brings to his life and the community. He and his wife, Meganne, reside in Springfield and are active members of Westminster Presbyterian Church. They have two adult children and two wonderful granddaughters.
Claire Ribelin
VICE PRESIDENT
Claire Ribelin is the current president of the board of directors of the Springfield Choral Society. She started singing with SCS in 2006. Joining the board in 2018, she has been involved in operational adjustment pre and post-COVID-19 and the search for music directors. Claire’s degree is in Music Education, but she also has a CPA certificate. Claire taught in public schools and then joined the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, from which she retired in 2022. She is married and has two adult children. She and her husband are avid cooks and enjoy hosting traveling musicians and tour golfers when they are in Springfield. Claire is dedicated to growing the chorus and our audience and developing long-term funding mechanisms so we can continue serving our community for many years.
Linda Younkin
VICE PRESIDENT & CHORUS MANAGER
Linda (Carvalho) Younkin is the music director at Christ the King Catholic Church in Springfield and an active member of the Springfield music community. She also teaches private piano and private voice. She is a member of the Alto section of the Springfield Choral Society and serves as the Chorus Manager. Mrs. Younkin has taught K-12 vocal and general music in the Springfield public and parochial school systems for over 30 years. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Education from St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana. She also has certification in Kodaly music education.
She and her husband, Dr. Casey Younkin, have four adult children and are proud grandparents to a three-year-old grandson.
Kendra Kornack
TREASURER
Kendra joined the Springfield Choral Society’s Board of Directors as Treasurer in 2019. She has 15+ years of accounting and budgeting experience. She has lent her accounting abilities by serving as President of the Lincoln Magnet School PTO. Kendra is a Senior Internal Auditor at the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois. She and her family have been ardent supporters of the choral society with their time and talents. While completing her duties related to onsite ticket sales for the Springfield Choral Society events, Kendra enjoys hearing the remarks and praises from concert attendees after each SCS performance.
Adam Miller
SECRETARY
Adam holds a Bachelor’s of Music degree in vocal performance from Millikin University. He has been a member of the chorus since 2012 and on the board since 2013 and current serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors. Until recently, he worked for 11 years at Wells Fargo Funding/Home Mortgage in underwriting. He is an avid choral singer, and in addition to being a member of the tenor section with SCS, he sings with the Spero Chamber Chorale, and The Capital City Men’s Chorus. Adam enjoys performing in community theater and has numerous credits to his name around the area.
Claire Gordon
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CHAIR
Dr. Claire Gordon is thrilled to be one of the newest members of SCS, where she enjoys singing alongside so many wonderful friends. Claire has been singing all her life, beginning private voice lessons at age 14. She sang with the Choraliers women’s group during her sophomore year as a vocal music education major at Miami University (Ohio). While working on her Ph.D. in communication at Ohio State University, she sang with the regional champion Columbus Chapter of Sweet Adelines. Her first college teaching job was at the University of Cincinnati. Over the next six years, she sang with the Cincinnati May Festival Chorus and vocal jazz sextet Close Company. She also enjoyed performing lead roles in musicals, including Marian in The Music Man and Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. While playing Patty in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, she met her future husband, Gus Gordon. Shortly after their wedding and her move to Springfield, Claire played Rapunzel in Into the Woods and the title role in Sugar at the Muni, as well as Frenchy in Grease and Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors (again!) at Springfield Theatre Center. Claire has sung with the Laurel United Methodist Church Chorale for many years and continued private voice lessons. She especially enjoyed singing with the 16-voice a cappella group Kapello under the direction of Damien Kaplan and Steve Rotello.
After teaching public speaking and interpersonal communication for 29 years at Lincoln Land Community College, Claire is now a full-time faculty member in the School of Communication & Media at the University of Illinois Springfield. Gus and Claire are the proud parents of Amy, a third-year law student at Northwestern, and John, a senior computer science major at UIS.
Susan Raaum
MUSIC LIBRARIAN
Susan Raaum has been involved with the Choral Society since 1997. She feels blessed to be a part of this organization and to have the opportunity to work with fabulous people. Growing up in a small town of 500 people in East Central Illinois, she had no chance to sing with a chorus. There are many SCS special memories of trips overseas with the choir to England, Scotland, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France, and the Netherlands—particularly Sunday morning mass at Notre Dame and at the National Cemetery in Normandy. Susan retired in 2020 after 42 years in banking, including 25 years as Executive Vice President of Operations at Marine Bank. Having not had formal music training, being part of the choir has allowed her to learn much and have such vast and varied experiences.
Marcy Dutton
BOARD MEMBER
Marcy Dutton joined the Springfield Choral Society Board in 2018 to add a new dimension to her community service. Marcy graduated from Millikin University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree & the LSU Law School in 1990. She enjoys the challenge of the management of the choral society and the enhancement the organization brings to our community. She and her husband, Wally reside in Chatham. When not enjoying yardwork, she spends her free time with family and lifelong friends. Marcy is excited by the growth and vibrant development planned for SCS!
Julie Finnell
BOARD MEMBER
Julie Finnell has been involved in music from a young age, and is thankful her parents shared their love of music with their family. Her mother was a talented pianist, and always made sure her children were exposed to the arts while growing up in Evanston, Illinois. Julie learned how to play piano and a little guitar, but singing has been her main musical passion, from high school, to college, and beyond.
Julie attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and then earned her degree in Physical Therapy at Northwestern University, Chicago. She has been a practicing Physical Therapist for over 30 years, and has worked in many areas, including inpatient rehab, home health, weight loss and wellness, and outpatient orthopedics and neuro.
While attending the University of Illinois, she was fortunate to meet her husband Roger, who shared her love of singing, as well as the outdoors, canoeing, hiking, biking and traveling. They have 3 adult children, and travel to see them as often as they can.
Julie has been seen in local theater productions in Springfield since 2005, and served as a member of the Springfield Muni Board of Directors for six years. She and her husband are song leaders and choir members at their local parish of St. Agnes, and also sing at weddings together. In her spare time, Julie is also an avid gardener, and a fan of Chicago sports, especially the Chicago Cubs.
Julie joined the Springfield Choral Society in January 2024, and enjoys the challenge of singing such a diverse repertoire with a wonderful group of people, including her husband Roger.
Mawa Iqbal
BOARD MEMBER
Mawa has been a Springfield resident for a year-and-a-half, and a gung-ho Choral Society Soprano since January 2023. After signing in her high school's all-girl choir for three years, she had a bit of a singing hiatus, until the Choral Society’s welcoming environment and eclectic repertoire tempted her to get back in the game. When not singing, she works as a news reporter covering the Illinois state capitol for Chicago's NPR station, WBEZ FM. And she is happy to be bringing her media experience and expertise to the Choral Society, serving on their marketing and social media teams. Mawa is an avid runner, likes to read, and enjoys watching reality TV and going to antique stores in her free time.
Victoria Nichols Johnson
BOARD MEMBER
Victoria Nichols Johnson, MD, MS, FACOG, FABM, is Professor Emerita of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She founded the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, an international physician organization devoted to physician education and breastfeeding promotion and advocacy. She is a singer with the Springfield Choral Society and serves on the Education and Community Engagement Committee of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She is an organist and singer with the Praise Team at St. Paul AME Church. She is the manager of the faithbased Imperial Credit Union. Music is in her DNA, as she was born into a family who loved and performed music. Dr. Johnson and her late husband Louis extended this to their children. Performing and listening to performances adds value to your life, but Dr. Johnson feels that supporting music programs and the performing arts, in general, is just as important.
Lauren Williams
BOARD MEMBER
Lauren Williams has been a member of the Springfield Choral Society since 2022, singing in the Soprano section, and joined the Board of Directors in 2023. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, she has been immersed in music since childhood, studying piano and violin and performing in choir and show choir. Lauren currently serves as a data analyst with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and is also a board member of the Springfield Municipal Opera (Muni). Outside of her professional and volunteer commitments, she enjoys performing in community theater, baking, running, and spending time with her husband, Jake Friefeld.
Clare Cavanagh Hart
BOARD MEMBER
Clare Cavanagh Hart has been a member of the Springfield Choral Society since January 2023, singing with the Alto section. She brings more than two decades of choral experience and remains dedicated to refining her craft and contributing to the ensemble’s artistic excellence. Now retired from careers with the State of Illinois and Springfield Public Schools District 186, Clare has also been active in community theater, serving as a hair and makeup designer and occasionally performing on stage. She and her husband, Ed, enjoy time with their children, Megan and Kevin, and two grandchildren.
