BACH Board of Directors
Marilyn Marshall
Board President
As Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Illinois System Offices, Dr. Marshall served as the university’s liaison with state education agencies and directed system-wide academic and student programs. Dr. Marshall worked at the university for over 25 years. She holds degrees in music, computer science, public administration, and a PhD in educational policy. Marilyn taught elementary and secondary choral music and directed a church choir. She plays Horn in the Parkland Concert Band and sings in her church choir. She has enjoyed singing with BACH for more than 15 seasons.
John Abelson
Interim Vice President
John Abelson joined BACH in 2019. He has sung in several choral groups since 1980, including the JS Bach Chorale in Paris and the Early Music Singers at Stanford. His singing teachers include William Miller, Jaume Aragall, and Enivia Muré. John recently retired as a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at UI. He looks forward to working with all the wonderful members of BACH!
Jerry Frye
Treasurer
Jerry brings a wealth of financial expertise to the board. Over the last 50 years, Jerry worked for several different CPA firms as well as owning his own firm. Currently he’s a self-employed tax preparer and accountant working from his home office in Urbana. Jerry earned a BA in accountancy from Western Illinois University. Jerry sings bass in the BACH choir and loves to play golf and travel with his wife.
Kara Greer
Kara Greer spent her career teaching mathematics in high schools and community colleges, retiring from Parkland College in 2020. She has been singing all her life in church choirs, high school and college choirs, and was a member of the Augustana College Oratorio Society. Kara joined BACH in January of 2023 to reconnect with her love of singing and choral music. She is excited to be singing with BACH and excited to join the board and get involved with the organization on a deeper level.
Emma Kathleen Lloyd
Emma (they/them) is delighted to serve on the BACH Board. Raised in Champaign-Urbana, Emma sang one season with BACH in high school with their stepfather and music mentor, Dr. Don Armstrong. Growing up, Emma studied with local soprano Audrey Vallance and sang as a chorister with Linda Buzard at the Chapel of St. John the Divine in Urbana, where Emma is still regularly featured in the Canterbury Choir. At the University of Illinois, Emma studied with voice professor Dr. Ollie Watts Davis while completing a BA in History with a focus in medieval studies. After returning to CU in 2023, Emma joined BACH again and has performed as both a soloist and choir member. Emma has broad experience in care work, critical thinking, and administrative organization and is excited to use their skills and creativity to forward BACH's mission in the central Illinois community.
Elizabeth Otto
Beth grew up on a farm near Decatur, where her pianist mother and opera-loving father infected her with a love for music. Marching band, theater, and show choir were favorite activities. Singing has been a continuous thread, with various choirs, Parkland Camerata, and now BACH. After earning a BS in environmental science from Cornell University, Beth studied graphic design at Parkland College. She designed choral music covers at Mark Foster Music Publishers, worked for WILL radio and TV, then spent 17 years as promotions manager for the Champaign Public Library.
David Smith
A Professor at Eastern Illinois University, David is a specialist in Baroque-era French history, focusing on issues of political structure and economic policymaking. Prior to joining BACH, he sang for several years with Capella Orpheus. He enjoys a wide range of choral music and occasionally offers historical commentary on issues or topics raised by specific choral works.
Karin Vermillion
Karin received her bachelor's degree in music education from UIUC and never left the area. After teaching music for six years, she made a career switch, eventually earning a DNP and working for the UIC College of Nursing. Over the years, she has participated in many musical endeavors including playing oboe in local groups, performing with community theater companies, and of course singing with BACH.
Russell Zillman
Russell serves as the Assistant Director of Development & Marketing at Crisis Nursery, where he leads fundraising events and marketing initiatives in support of children and families across Champaign County. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Music Business and Creative Technologies from Illinois State University, where he studied under Justin Vickers, Thomas Studebaker, and Karyl K. Carlson. During his time at ISU, he performed with the Concert Choir, Madrigals, and the Clef Hangers a cappella group. He is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration at the University of Illinois Springfield with a focus on nonprofit management. A passionate advocate for the arts, Russell is also active in the local theatre scene as a performer and supporter.
Bach Founder Chester L. Alwes
Chester L. Alwes (b. 1947) holds degrees in music from Hanover College (BA), Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music (MSM), and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (DMA). Prior to joining the University of Illinois faculty in 1982, he held teaching positions at the College of Wooster (Ohio) and the University of Rochester/Eastman School of Music. At the University of Illinois, Dr. Alwes has taught graduate courses in choral literature (both MM and DMA) and seminars on the works of J. S Bach and Henry Purcell as well as graduate and undergraduate conducting. For twenty-seven years he conducted the Concert Choir (1982-2009), taking over the Women's Glee Club for the final two years of his tenure. In addition, he was a frequent conductor of the University's Oratorio Society and Summer Chorus and the Illinois Summer Youth Music Senior Chorus. Professor Alwes also was the chorus master for a number of productions by the Illinois Opera Theater (including cameos in several operas).
In 1996, he founded the Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana (BACH). As a choral conductor, Dr. Alwes is known for his innovative programming, his sensitivity to tone and musical line, and his dedication to the musical success and growth of his singers. Throughout his career, Alwes has been widely hailed as a teacher/mentor, scholar, editor, and composer.
He is currently awaiting the publication of his long-anticipated text, A History of Western Choral Music by Oxford University Press (Fall, 2011). He also is the author of Handel's Messiah: the Complete Solo Variants (Roger Dean Music, 2009) and has contributed a chapter on nineteenth-century choral music to the forthcoming Cambridge Companion to Choral Music, edited by Andre De Quadros.
Honorary BACH Board Members
We thank these prior board members for their service to BACH!
Jan Bahr
Judi Geistlinger
Kerry Heimann
Mark Penner
Marlys Scarbrough
Sarah Scott
John Setterland
Deborah Townsend
BACH Staff
Jen Anderson
Business Manager
As our business manager, Jen is thrilled to be supporting the great work of BACH. While she only sings in the shower or the car, her love affair with the arts started in elementary school and ultimately led her to an MFA in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College. Outside of work she enjoys traveling, hiking, running, reading, and spending time with her family.
In Memoriam
Nicholas Temperley
Nicholas Temperley was president of BACH from 2002 to 2005 and started the Young Baroque Artists Competition (YBAC). Born in England, he held a Ph.D in music from Cambridge University and was a professor of musicology at UIUC from 1967 to 1996. He specialized in English musical history, publishing The Music of the English Parish Church (1979), The Hymn Tune Index (1998), and many books, articles, and editions of music. He edited Haydn’s Creation for Peters Edition. He led a group that sang carols in CU for decades, starting in 1959, and published his own carol collection, Christmas is Coming (Stainer & Bell).