Staff and Board

Our Staff

Blake Nawa’a, Assistant Artistic Director

A quintessential “gigging musician,” Blake has assembled a music career as a music director, conductor, instructor, collaborative pianist, chorister, and soloist. Blake has music directed, pit conducted, and played keyboard for musical theatre productions across the Denver metro area with the Denver Center Theatre Company, the PACE Center, and others, as well as various summer theatre education camps. He can also regularly be heard as a tenor soloist in major works concerts at Augustana Lutheran Church, and he sings professionally with St Martin’s Chamber Choir, the Colorado Bach Ensemble, and The Evans Choir. During the pandemic, he produced SONGspeare!, a YouTube series exploring art song settings of Shakespeare’s words. He’s also been known to leave the pit and appear on stage from time to time.

Blake Nawa’a (he/him/his) teaches applied voice at Regis University. As a singer with diverse interests, he values a strong and flexible vocal technique that allows singers to approach a wide variety of genres. Blake is the Music Director of the Original Dickens Carolers. He holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance and a M.M. in Conducting from the University of Denver.

Dr. Teresa Crane, Pianist (2024-2025 Season)

Teresa Crane is a vocal coach and collaborative pianist at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver in Colorado. She is also the collaborative pianist for the Fine & Performing Arts Music Program at Regis University in Denver. Dr. Crane is a highly experienced collaborative artist and vocal coach with many years of accompanying, coaching, and teaching experience. She has accompanied vocalists, choral groups, and instrumentalists throughout the United States and Europe for concerts, operas, recitals, auditions, musicals, recording sessions and lessons.

She is a pianist with the Central City Opera Education and Touring Program, Colorado Chorale and a freelance coach and accompanist throughout the Denver area.

Dr. Crane completed a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Coaching and Accompanying at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she studied with the internationally known “Dean of Accompanists” Professor John Wustman. She received a Master of Music in Piano Performance/Accompanying and Chamber Music from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She completed a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at Webster University in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Crane has accompanied and taught as a professor for many years at universities in Missouri and Illinois.

Two of her biggest passions are fitness and mountain biking, and she loves cross-country mountain bike racing! She lives in Genesee, Colorado.

Dr. Madoka Asari, Pianist (on sabbatical for 2024-2025 Season)

Japanese pianist Madoka Asari is a highly sought after pianist who has performed in the U.S.A., Japan, France, and the Czech Republic. Madoka has performed with members from the Cleveland Quartet, Tokyo Quartet, Canadian Brass, New York Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Takács Quartet and Colorado Symphony

As a soloist, Madoka has appeared with Littleton Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City, Lamont Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Haruka (Sapporo, Japan), and has performed at Carnegie’s Weil Recital Hall in 2010.

Previous fellowships, assistantships and awards have included Music Academy of the West (2017), Aspen Music Festival and School (2016), Associate Instructor for Music Theory at Indiana University (M.M., 2012-14), the Sarah C. Morrison Award for Excellence in Piano and 1st Prize in Solo Honor’s Competition from University of Denver (B.M.) Her teachers and coaches have included Steven Mayer, Evelyne Brancart, Shigeo Neriki, Rebecca Penneys, Rita Sloan and Jonathan Feldman.

In addition to her collaboration with professional artists, Madoka also enjoys coaching and performing with young musicians ranging from preschool to college students through Colorado American String Teachers Association, Boulder Suzuki Strings, Suzuki Association of Americas, Young Musicians Foundation of Colorado, Colorado State Music Teachers Association, and Colorado Children’s Chorale. Madoka has served as a faculty and a staff member at DU’s Lamont School of Music, Colorado State University, and CU Boulder.

Currently, Madoka maintains a private piano studio with over 40 students at Colorado Academy, and continues to privately collaborates for wide variety of concerts.

Dr. Daniel L. Grace, Artistic Director Emeritus

Dr. Daniel L. Grace led the Colorado Chorale for 35 years; he retired from the Chorale at the end of the 2008-2009 season.

Noted for his innovative programming, Dan said he planned his concert seasons looking for “two factors: cohesion and variety.” He directed the Chorale in the masterworks; in collaborations with gospel singers, Native American musicians, Celtic dancers, a marimba ensemble, and professional storytellers; and in fully staged musicals from the Broadway tradition.

Dan is a highly regarded clinician, adjudicator, and panel moderator throughout Colorado. Active in the Colorado Music Educators’ Association and the American Choral Directors’ Association, Dan was inducted into the CMEA Educators Hall of Fame in 1992 and chosen as the ACDA Conductor of the Year in 1987.

As Dan retired from the Colorado Chorale after its 39th season, he also honored his talented wife, Billie Grace, the Chorale’s First Lady Emerita.

In gratitude, the Colorado Chorale recognizes the dedication, hard work, and devotion to excellence of Dr. Daniel L. Grace, Artistic Director Emeritus!

Board of Directors