John K. Russell, Music Director

Conductor, educator, and tenor, Dr. John K. Russell has served as Music Director of the San Diego Master Chorale since 2014. As Music Director, John programs and conducts the Chorale’s concert season and prepares the Chorale for performances with the San Diego Symphony, La Jolla Symphony, and the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra.

As an educator, he is currently the Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Palomar College where he conducts the Chamber Singers, the Palomar Chorale, and oversees the vocal music program. Previously, he was the principal choral conductor of the LaGuardia School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City. He also conducted over twenty performances of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, was a clinician for the New York Philharmonic’s Education Department, and appeared as a guest conductor with the New York City National Chorale. He has also served on the summer conducting faculty at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.

In demand as a tenor soloist and noted for his ‘heart-melting legato,’ John has appeared with the Westminster Summer Choral Festival in Princeton, NJ, Bach Collegium San Diego, Piffaro: The Renaissance Band of Philadelphia, San Diego Symphony, Pepperdine University, and Lisbon Summer Choral Festival in Lisbon, Portugal.

A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, John holds degrees from Western Michigan University, Columbia University, and received his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Music from the University of Southern California. He resides in San Diego with his wife, Jill, and son, Parker.

Martin Green, Associate Music Director

San Diego native Martin Green enjoys a multi-faceted career as organist, singer, and conductor. He has played as both as solo recitalist and accompanist throughout the US, Mexico, Canada, and abroad. Martin has made guest appearances with the San Diego Symphony and has also appeared on NPR’s “Pipedreams Live.”

He has prepared choirs and accompanied for such notable conductors as Sir David Willcocks, John Rutter, Marvin Hamlisch, Jahja Ling, Martin Neary, and Duaine Wolfe. Martin is the Organist and Choirmaster of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral near Balboa Park, San Diego.

As a singer, he has enjoyed being a member of many of the San Diego region’s professional chorale ensembles. He has appeared as a baritone, tenor, and counter-tenor soloist in a wide range of venues in Southern California and Mexico from small churches to symphony orchestras.

With a passion for teaching, he is active as a clinician both for choral and organ events, and serves on the faculty of the San Diego Summer Choral Festival. He has conducted three recordings with the St. Paul’s Cathedral boy and girl choristers and appears on a number of other recordings as organist or singer.

Bryan Verhoye, Accompanist

Bryan Verhoye is a concert pianist who trained at the USC School of Music, the Aspen Music School, and the Peabody Conservatory. He has won first-prize awards from the International Piano Recording Competition and the Carmel Music Society, as well as multiple awards from the Musical Merit Foundation of San Diego. His performance in Carmel of Stravinsky’s “Three Movements From Petrouchka” was broadcast on National Public Radio’s syndicated Performance Today program.

In addition to being featured numerous times with the San Diego Symphony in both classical and jazz settings, he has appeared every December since 2001 in the Carols By Candlelight concert alongside performers such as Kenny Loggins, America, The Little River Band, Stephen Bishop, Billy Ray Cyrus and Kim Carnes; he has also appeared in concert with Grammy-award winning violinist/composer Mark O’Connor.

Mr. Verhoye has appeared frequently as a solo recitalist, accompanist, and chamber music performer in San Diego and throughout the West Coast. He has performed for the educational outreach programs of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, the La Jolla Music Society and the Mainly Mozart Festival.

Along with teaching piano, being a published composer and arranger, and being the accompanist for the San Diego Master Chorale since 1998, he is also Music Associate at Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church, and Adjunct Professor of Music at Grossmont College.