Ms. Ketchum has been the conductor of the Verdi Chorus since its beginning in 1983. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Choral Conducting and a Master’s degree in Voice Performance from California State University, Northridge, where she studied choral conducting with John Alexander and served as his assistant conductor. As a singer, she has appeared internationally and is well known for her performances of contemporary art music, vocal chamber music, solo recitals and opera. She has made several recordings of contemporary music (RCM, Orion, North/South Consonance and Raptoria Caam labels) in addition to a CD of vocal chamber music, a collaborative project that she launched with the Los Angeles based Viklarbo Chamber Ensemble with whom she is a permanent guest artist. Her recording of Morten Lauridsen’s Cuatro Canciones was honored with a Grammy nomination. She has premiered numerous works by such composers as Ernst Krenek, Aurelio de la Vega, Schulamit Ran and Hans Werner Henze. A well-known interpreter of twentieth century Latin American art music, Ms. Ketchum has appeared at the Tenth International Forum of New Music in Mexico City, the Monday Evening Concerts series at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella New Music Series, Los Angeles County’s Sundays Live Series, the Santa Fe chamber music series, and the Southwest Chamber Ensemble. Her various performances with Long Beach Opera include the U.S. premiere of John Cage’s Europera 4, which was subsequently released on CD. Ms. Ketchum is an Associate Professor of Music at Pasadena City College where she heads the Opera Program which presents a program of opera scenes each fall and a fully staged opera production with orchestra each spring. For the past five years Ms. Ketchum has been the Stage Director for the Metropolitan Opera National Council – Western Region Showcase Concerts in Palm Springs.