Director Bios

Patricia Joyce, Founder and Artistic Director
Advanced and Intermediate Chorus

Patricia Joyce, Founder and Artistic Director of the New Jersey Youth Chorus, received her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Marywood College in Scranton, PA, and her Master of Music degree from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. Ms. Joyce has completed certification in Kodaly Methodology from the Kodaly Musical Training Institute.

She has been a guest conductor for the Vermont Children’s Choir Festival. In the spring of 2004, Ms. Joyce was the conductor of the Central New Jersey Elementary Honors Choir, and in the spring of 2005, she conducted the North Jersey Junior High Women’s Honor Choir. She is the Repertoire and Standards Chair for the NJ Division of the American Choral Directors Association. In addition, Ms. Joyce is a free-lance organist.

Elizabeth Tavit
Intermediate Chorus

Director of the Intermediate Chorus, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Westminster Choir College with a B.M. in Church Music and Music Education. She received a Master of Science in Education from The University of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Tavit has completed two levels of Orff-Schulwerk training and studied at the Orff Institute in Salzburg, Austria

While living in New York she taught Elementary and Middle School general music at the Chapin School and in Brooklyn Heights at Saint Ann’s School, and is now teaching in Westfield. She is currently the Organist at the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, NJ. Mrs. Tavit maintains a private piano studio in the Summit area. She lives in Summit with her husband David and their two children

Catherine Flynn
Musicianship Class

Ms. Flynn has a B.M.Ed. in Music Education from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University,  Kodaly Certification from the University of Hartford and has recently completed two levels of Orff-Schulwerk at Anderson University.

Catherine has taught Elementary and Middle School general music in New York and New Jersey and is currently teaching in New Providence, NJ. In addition to teaching public school, she teaches piano and voice lessons, and has taught preschool music classes in her community. She is an active church soloist and has also appeared in various Opera and Musical theater productions. Last May, she sang Maria in "The Sound of Music", her dream role! Originally from Pennsylvania, Ms. Flynn currently resides in Englewood, NJ.

Mr. Burnett has  enjoyed a varied career as a conductor, singer, and educator. He served as the Interim Director of Choral Activities at San Jose State University, where he conducted the Concert Choir and Women’s Chorus, and taught courses in fundamentals of music, conducting, voice, and choral techniques and literature. Prior to arriving in San Jose, Burnett was Artistic Director of the New Jersey Chamber Singers. He was also Music Director of the Houston Masterworks Chorus, Houston’s largest independent choral society. He founded Men’s Consort Houston, a burgeoning ensemble of some of Houston’s finest choral professionals, and was a member of the choral music faculty at Kingwood High School, where he worked with a choral music program of four hundred students, ten choirs, and three full time choral faculty.

A native of the Hudson Valley of New York, Burnett did undergraduate study at Stanford University and completed a Bachelor of Music in Music Education at Oklahoma State University. While at OSU, he was recipient of the L.N. Perkins Award for Excellence in Music Education, and the Stillwater Chamber Singers Award for exceptional promise in choral music. He holds a Masters Degree in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, America’s premier training institution for choral music. While at Westminster, Burnett sang in the Westminster Symphonic Choir and Westminster Kantorei, and served as assistant conductor of the renowned Westminster Choir.

As a professional singer, Burnett has performed concerts and recordings with the Stillwater Chamber Singers, Cantare Houston, The Santa Fe Desert Chorale, The Robert Shaw Festival Singers, and Conspirare.

Phillip Steffani
Accompanist

Phillip Steffani, a native of Cleveland, graduated magna cum laude from Westminster Choir College with a B.M. in Theory and Composition. Phillip has sung under Joseph Flumerfelt, Kurt Masur, Wolfgang Sawallisch, John Rutter, Robert Shaw and Simon Rattle in performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, NY Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, NJ Symphony, and the London and Berlin Philharmonic.

He is currently the Director of Choral Music at Saint Peter the Apostle Schools in New Brunswick, and the Organist and Choirmaster at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Spotswood, NJ. As a composer, Phillip receives commissions from numerous schools, churches, and other organizations. He serves as accompanist for several choral groups and has accompanied numerous choral festival and competitions. In addition to accompanying, Phillip is also a conductor, violinist and singer.