Christine Noel, DMA.   Founder and Artistic Director. Conductor, High School Honor Choir and Lyric Chorus (Lincoln)
Christine Noel co-founded the RI Children's Chorus in August, 2003. High teaching standards, musical excellence, and her love for mentoring youth provided the foundation for its development into an award-winning children's chorus, which now comprises seven performance ensembles, serving children ages 7-18 years. Dr. Noel has conducted RICC at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conventions in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Providence, and at the 2009 conference of the National Association for Music Education.  She will conduct RICC in the opening concert of the 2024 ACDA conference in Providence. In addition to her work with the RI Children's Chorus, Dr. Noel is the Artistic Director of the Providence Singers. She regularly conducts the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Singers in Handel’s Messiah. With extensive experience as a conductor of major choral-orchestral works, she has led the Providence Singers through commissions, world premieres, and a commercial recording (Requiem for the Living by Dan Forrest available on Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify).

Dr. Noel is an active guest conductor, festival clinician and adjudicator. She has served on the music faculty and as Director of Choral Activities at Clark University (MA). She has also served as Musical Director at Trinity Repertory Company. She received a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from Boston University. Fluent in Italian, she completed the superior level of Italian studies at the University of Florence and served as Assistant Conductor and vocal coach for Italian choirs, Animae Voces and Coro Polifonico di Caricentro di Firenze. Dr. Noel holds an undergraduate degree in Music Education from RI College, where she was the recipient of a Ridgway Shinn Fellowship for study at the Kodály Institute of Music in Kecskemét, Hungary.

Joyce Wolfe, Founder and Executive Director

Joyce Wolfe co-founded the Rhode Island Children’s Chorus with Christine Noel in 2003. As Executive Director of RICC, she oversees the  many, varied administrative needs of the organization. Over the past twenty years, Ms. Wolfe has grown the Rhode Island Children’s Chorus to its current enrollment of over 250 students across RI and Massachusetts. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Ms. Wolfe has had a lengthy career in education as a teacher in Cranston and Woonsocket schools. For many years she was a partner/manager of the Village Realtors agency of Chepachet. She is a longtime member of the Providence Singers and the Carillon Women's Chorus. Having impacted the lives of over 2,000 students and their families, the Rhode Island Children’s Chorus is grateful to Ms. Wolfe for all she has given and continues to offer our organization.

Emma Conlon, Conductor (Lincoln); Site Director and Conductor (Smithfield)

Emma Pacheco earned a Bachelor of Music in Education from Rhode Island College in 2019, where she was honored with the John Pellegrino Award for excellence in brass performance and the Louis J. and Verna Pezzullo award for excellence in trombone performance. Emma currently serves as the band and choral director at Webster Middle School in Webster, MA. Emma is a longstanding member of the Providence Singers and was recently featured as the mezzo-soprano soloist in Benjamin Britten’s “Rejoice in the Lamb.” Aside from music, Emma finds joy in paddle boarding, cooking, reading, exploring outdoors, and spending time with her dogs. Teaching and conducting the RICC Training and Lyric Choruses brings immeasurable light and purpose to Emma’s life.

Julianne Fournier, Conductor, Lyric Chorus (East Providence)
A classically-trained soprano and exceptional music educator, Julianne (Miss Jules) currently teaches elementary music in Foxborough Public Schools. She also maintains a private voice studio and teaches through the Berklee Institute for Accessible Arts Education (BIAAE). As a performer, Julianne is currently a member of the Providence Singers and has sung with Westminster Kantorei, the Jubilee Singers, Westminster Symphonic Choir, and the Grammy-nominated Williamson Voices. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education (voice) from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Music Education with an autism concentration from Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Julianne’s story is especially meaningful to us—she began singing with the Rhode Island Children’s Chorus and Dr. Noel at just seven years old and has been immersed in choral music ever since. Now, Miss Jules returns to RICC as a teacher, bringing her journey full circle.

Ilana Joyce Cady, Pianist (High School Honor Choir)
Pianist Ilana Joyce Cady is an accomplished performer, educator, and collaborative musician with extensive experience working with vocal ensembles. She has performed at venues including Seiji Ozawa Hall, the Koussevitzky Music Shed, Sanders Theatre at Harvard, and Mechanics Hall, as well as Austria’s Styriarte Festival.

Ilana holds faculty and collaborative positions with the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, BalletRI, Cambridge Community Chorus, Dean College, Brown University, and the Longy School of Music. Her choral work has included the Worcester Children’s Choir, Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs, New England Advent Youth Choirs, Salisbury Singers, university ensembles, and the 2026 MMEA All-State SSAA Choir.

Ilana holds degrees from Andrews University (B.M., summa cum laude), Longy School of Music (M.M.), and Ohio University (M.M.). She is also the founder and artistic director of the Free Concert Series in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Outside of music, she enjoys growing dahlias and walking her beagle, Ivy Ives, with her husband.

Dawn Chung, Pianist (East Providence)
A native of Taiwan, Ms. Chung Dawn Chung was introduced to classical music at an early age. After receiving a degree in Music Education, she became a music teacher. She taught music classes and directed choirs in public schools, while doing free-lance performing and maintaining her private piano studio. 

In search of self-discovery and expansion, Dawn left her hometown of Taipei, Taiwan, and came to the United States. While studying at the Berklee College of Music, she immersed herself in a completely new and exciting culture and environment. Later, she continued her music education at the University of Rhode Island and received a Master’s Degree in Music Performance. Dawn serves as Music Director at First Baptist Church of North Kingstown, and teaches piano at the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School. Both positions she has held since 2003.  She also works as a free-lance accompanist and pianist, performing with chamber groups, jazz bands, and for dances and theater productions. 

Curiosity and an adventurous mind have brought Dawn many unique life experiences. She devotes herself to self-development as a lifelong journey. She loves to inspire and be inspired. One of her passions is to help people see the divinity and power within themselves. She recently became a certified life coach, which allows her to serve people better, empower them to reach their higher potential, and live a fulfilling life.

Susan Fortin, Pianist (Lincoln)

Susan Fortin joined RICC as staff pianist in 2022. She holds a Bachelors degree in Choral/General Music Education from Iowa State University and a Master’s degree in Piano Performance/ Accompanying and Chamber Music from Northwestern University.

Mrs. Fortin is an active musician as accompanist, teacher, director and performer in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  She is also Music Director at St. Aidan’s Parish in Cumberland, RI.  She and her husband, Phil, have produced three CDs of sacred contemporary and acoustic music. Some of their works are published under Simply Liturgical Music.

Robert Couture, Pianist (Lincoln)

Robert Couture has served as the choral director at North Attleboro High School (MA) for 15 years. He began piano studies in the third grade and now accompanies his daughter’s weekly Rhode Island Children’s Chorus rehearsals. Mr. Couture holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music and education from McGill University in Montreal and Rhode Island College, respectively. He is an esteemed music educator, and the RICC staff and students are grateful for his expertise and collaboration.

Jonathan Audette, Pianist (East Greenwich)

Jonathan Audette is the Choral Director at Wickford Middle School in North Kingstown. Previously, he taught for two years in the Cranston Public School System, and was the Staff Accompanist for five years at the Moses Brown School in Providence. In demand as a collaborative pianist in our region, he holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and a Master of Music in Music Education from the University of Rhode Island. Jonathan has previously music directed for Newport Children's Theater and regularly accompanies school theater productions, concerts, and recitals. In addition, he maintains a private piano studio, and performs regularly as a keyboardist for The Sultans, a wedding and private events band.

Noah Klein, Pianist (Smithfield)
Noah Klein is currently the Associate Director of Music at Grace Episcopal Church in Providence. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and a Masters degree from the Yale School of Music. Noah has been the accompanist for the Mystic River Chorale, the Greater New Haven Community Chorus, as well as for many singers and choirs at the Yale School of Music.

Chika Atkinson, Pianist (East Providence and Smithfield)
Chika started her music training in Japan at age 3 and devoted her whole childhood to becoming a pianist. She was offered and accepted into the advanced professional program of the largest music school in Japan where she studied music theory, composition and many other areas of music under well respected college professors. She has won several youth competitions and has travelled to perform.

Chika is also a violinist. Her passion is making music with other musicians and she regularly performs as an orchestra member throughout RI and MA. She also loves teaching. She was involved with local schools’ string clubs and currently teaches piano and violin/viola at Luca Music in Middletown, RI. Outside music, Chika loves Harry Potter, candles and Chocolates.

Cat Monfette, Instructor, Lyric Chorus (East Greenwich), Senior Staff Teaching Assistant (East Providence)

Cat Monfette has been a part of the RICC family for 24 years—since its very first season. She joined as a 7th grader in 2003. A soprano of highest quality, Cat ranked first in Rhode Island All-State Chorus all four years of high school and was selected to perform as soprano soloist for the All-Eastern Chorus Festival. Cat began serving as an RICC mentor in high school and became a senior staff member in her early 20s. She enjoys working with all age groups and aims to cultivate a positive environment for our students. Cat has performed at ACDA conventions in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Providence with RICC. She joined the Providence Singers in 2014 as a Fassett Fellow, and continues to enjoy many collaborative performances as chorus member and soprano soloist.

Emily Medizza, Instructor, Training Chorus (East Providence and Smithfield)
Born in Rhode Island, Emily began her musical journey at an early age when she joined the Rhode Islands Children’s Chorus. She continued with RICC until her senior year at Barrington High School while additionally participating in musical theater and private voice lessons. Music has always played a prominent role in her life, and she currently maintains her singing as a member of the Providence Singers.

Carolyn Stevenson, Senior Staff Teaching Assistant (Lincoln)

Carolyn Stevenson is currently pursuing degrees in music and psychology at Wheaton College in Norton, MA. Carolyn has been involved in many choral ensembles, beginning in 2014 at age 9. Her early music training included voice and musical theatre, and she is continuing her training to this day. Carolyn attended two high schools, and she was in the honors choir at both schools, which allowed her to audition for both Rhode Island and Massachussets Districts and All-State. In 2023, she was accepted into the All-Eastern Treble Choir in Rochester, NY. Carolyn was also a part of the NAfME Tri-M Music Honor Society. In college, she was a part of the Wheaton College Chamber singers, and an a cappella group where she was the performance director. She has experience running a children’s chorus with her first voice teacher, Rene Whalen. Carolyn is excited to continue gaining experience in the field of music while assisting both the training and lyric choirs of RICC.

Maija Spence, Senior Staff (East Providence)
Maija Spence is currently a student at Rhode Island College, majoring in Music Education. Maija has been involved in the RICC choirs since 2017, starting out in the Lyric Chorus and working her way up through the High School Honor Choir and Chamber Chorus. She was involved in select vocal groups dating back to her middle school years including Chamber Chorus in both middle and high school, ACDA's All-Eastern in 2022, Rhode Island All-State's Mixed and Treble groups between the years of 2017-2022 and RICC's own Chamber Chorus' Carnegie Hall performance. She is proud to be a current member of the Providence Singers as a Soprano and of the Carillon Women's Chorus as an Alto. Maija is elated to continue with RICC as a senior staff member of the Training Chorus. 

Angela Mitsuma, Senior Staff (East Providence)
Angela Mitsuma is a music educator and nonprofit professional based in Rhode Island. She currently serves as Development Manager at the Herreshoff Marine Museum and holds a B.A. in Music Education from Providence College.

Angela has a longstanding connection to the Rhode Island Children’s Chorus, where she sang for three years as a member of the High School Honor Choir and Chamber Chorus. She later returned to RICC as co-conductor of the East Greenwich Training Chorus in 2023 and is delighted to return this season as a member of the senior staff. Her musical experience also includes two seasons with the Providence Singers, as well as ongoing work as a church cantor.

Drawing on her experience as both an educator and performer, Angela is passionate about creating welcoming choral communities where young singers can develop confidence, musicianship, and a sense of belonging.

Alexia Williams, AEI Consultant

Alexia Williams began her journey with the Rhode Island Children’s Chorus 18 years ago as a young member of the chorus. She remained a member through the end of her senior year of high school, participating in all levels of the chorus and mentoring the youngest students. Alexia attended the University of Rhode Island, graduating with a dual degree in Elementary Education and Sociology. Alexia was awarded a Fulbright Grant and relocated to Logroño, Spain to work as an English Language teacher. While there, she conducted research on the efficacy of Special Education services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. Upon return to RI, Alexia completed her graduate degree in Special Education at RI College. For three years she served as a K-2 Special Education teacher at Action Based Enterprises in Woonsocket, RI. She is now pursuing her Ed.S in Educational Administration and Policy at George Washington University while serving on the Board and as AEI consultant for the Rhode Island Children’s Chorus.