Capital City Choir Camp | Austin, TX

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Dr. Natalie Cummings, is a teacher and performer based in the Austin area. A two-time Houston District winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Awards and National Semi-Finalist of that same competition, Dr. Cummings is an active performer and recitalist. Her students are frequently named to the TMEA All-State Choir and admitted to universities and conservatories across the country to study vocal performance, music education, and musical theater. Dr. Cummings has served as a Section Leader for the TMEA All-State Treble Chorus, presenter at the National Convention of the American Choral Director's Association. She is Lecturer of Voice on the faculty at Texas State University and teaches part time on faculty at Vandergrift High School. 

Chris Vineis, an Austin native, is the Assistant Director of Choirs at Westlake High School. Ms. Vineis recently completed the Master of Music degree at the University of Texas in Choral Conducting where she served the Butler School of Music Choral Area as Assistant Conductor of the University Treble Chorus and the University Tenor/Bass Chorus. Chris is Director of Music at The Church at Highland Park and is a proud alumnus of the TMEA All-State Mixed Choir, Oklahoma State University, AND Westwood High School in Round Rock ISD!

Brandon Baker is Director of Choirs at Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville ISD where he leads a program of four choirs and teaches AP Music Theory. Previously he led the choral program at Discovery High School outside Atlanta, Georgia and Horn Lake Middle School in suburban Memphis, Tennessee. Brandon serves as a staff singer and rehearsal assistant at University Presbyterian Church in Austin. As a professional level choral singer, Brandon has been a member of the rosters of Orpheus Chamber Singers, Kinnara Ensemble, the Atlanta Master Chorale, and Orpheus Men’s Ensemble. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master's degree in Music Education from Florida State University. While at Southern Miss, Brandon earned the rare conferral of membership in the USM Student Hall of Fame.

Spencer Wiley is in his sixth year as Director of Choirs at Harker Heights High School in Killeen ISD. As a TMEA All-State musician himself, Mr. Wiley has guided many students through the TMEA All-State process during his teaching career, and is honored to be presenting a group of his students as a TMEA Honor Choir at the 2024 Convention. He holds a Master of Music Education from Texas State University and a Bachelor of Music in Choral Music Education from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Choirs under his direction have enjoyed outstanding success at the Texas UIL Concert & Sight-Reading evaluations as well as many other festivals throughout the state. Most recently the a cappella ensemble at Harker Heights HS, Pitch Black, won the First Place Grand Prize at the AcaTex Acapella Competition.

Susan Neff is a retired choir director and Austin native. Her long career included positions at Pflugerville High School, Georgetown High School, and Hyde Park Baptist High School. During her tenure at Pflugerville High School, the Varsity Treble Choir was selected as a performing choir at the 2012 Texas Music Educators Convention, and her influence as a secondary choir director has included countless TMEA All-State students, Outstanding Performers, and  a wide array of her students entering the teaching field! Ms. Neff holds a Bachelor of Music in Choral Music Education from the University of Texas, and enjoys accompanying choirs all over the Austin area including the Austin Masterworks Singers under the direction of Morris Stevens, and she is the collaborative pianist at St. Theresa's Catholic Church. 

Lee Ashlee Fletcher is a graduate of Baylor University where she earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree. At Baylor, she was a Walker Harman Scholar and remained active in dual roles as a vocalist and flutist - performing with the acclaimed  Baylor Symphony Orchestra and at significant national conferences with the Baylor Wind Ensemble and Baylor Bella Voce. In addition, Lee Ashlee began studying piano privately at eight years old and maintained a rigorous routine throughout her schooling. A native of Austin, Lee Ashlee is a graduate of Westlake High School in Eanes ISD. When not teaching, she enjoys writing and performing music with her best friends, exploring the nature that Texas has to offer, and dissecting every new song Taylor Swift writes.