WomenSing is composed of a diverse group of women who love to sing. Learn more about our members, what motivates then to sing and how they fit music into their busy lives. Several times a year, we’ll profile a new group of three singers.

Jules Campbell

“After years of being a mother and jumping wholeheartedly into all of my children’s activities, it is wonderful to do something just for me,” says Jules Campbell, a second soprano who joined WomenSing in 1998.

Jules began voice lessons at age seven and has been singing for as long as she can remember. She grew up in Wales, the “Land of Song,” where music permeated her life, and still thinks back to childhood Christmases when family gatherings at her home always included singing and playing instruments.

Since then, Jules has had the opportunity to sing with a number of choral groups, and she above all appreciates her current experience. “I love singing in WomenSing, especially as we have grown so much artistically. I enjoy Martin’s attention to detail and excellence.” She has served as the second soprano musical section leader for several years now, and lends her dramatic abilities and training to the group as well. She states, “Martin and I work hard on the staging and professionalism for every concert so that we look as good as we sound.”

Belonging to WomenSing also has deep personal meaning for Jules. “When I went through a divorce, WomenSing was a lifeline,” she says. “I honestly don’t know how I would have gotten through that devastating time without all the support from my fellow singers. They were wonderful and helped me get through with just the right combination of jokes and compassion. However horrible I felt, I’d go to rehearsal and singing would soothe my soul and take me away from all my worries and tears.”

Versatile Jules has studied painting, printmaking, screen printing, sculpture and figure drawing. Look for her pieces around town in restaurants, salons and bridge clubs. She is also the official piano accompanist for Santa Maria Church in Orinda.

Samantha Infeld

Two years ago Samantha Infeld landed a job as a NASA engineer, moved to the Bay Area, and began her search for a chorus to join. She found one. “WomenSing stood out as a high-quality yet friendly group with enough variety of music to keep exercising my brain and keep me excited about the next season,” she says. In order to attend Wednesday evening rehearsals, she stays up two hours later than on other week nights.

This season Samantha is excited to acquire the exotic skill of throat-singing, the production of overtones on top of a melody by changing the shape of the mouth, in order to sing a work called Past Life Melodies. She also eagerly anticipates WomenSing’s December repeat performance of Magnificat by Christine Donkin, in which groups of singers echo the notes of the soloist’s chant-like melody. “It feels like we are bells being played, and the sound slowly layers and fills my ears,” she says. Her family, she adds, was “mesmerized” by this piece, and she feels happy they will have the chance to hear it again.

Samantha’s full life includes participating in professional engineering organizations that do outreach to children and developing world communities. She plays the piano and African drums and also teaches yoga and meditation. Photography and world travel fascinate her.

Last spring she went to Washington, D.C., where she sang with the chorus in the National Cathedral and the Old Post Office Pavilion. “I felt very alive and aware of our audience, our group’s sound, and my own singing, all at the same time.”

This spring, you’ll again find Samantha in the second soprano section. “There are always a few songs in the season that are just too intriguing to miss learning,” she says. “Being in WomenSing ensures that I keep singing all the time, and singing feels good and keeps me happier. It is really nice to be part of a community that really cares for each other.”

Kristan Torres

A clear, pitch-perfect high C soars out over the chorus into the audience. You scan the faces of the first sopranos to find its origin and discover a vibrant, petite blonde in the second row.

Kristan Torres, often a WomenSing soloist, has been performing with the group since 2005. “I found the audition very personal. Martin is very supportive and approachable, so I felt at ease right away.”

Wife, teacher, and mother of two young children, she finds time in her packed schedule for rehearsals, practice, and performances. “I do a lot of rehearsing in my car (if my kids can stand it),” she says. “It can be a big juggle at times, fitting all the scheduling pieces together, but we make it work because my family knows how important it is to me.”

Her efforts are rewarded. “WomenSing not only fulfills the need for having music in my life, but it has introduced me to a diverse, talented group of women who all have the same interest. We are all in different stages in our lives, and dealing with a variety of challenges… and we check all of this at the door and come together to make music.”

For Kristan, one especially meaningful aspect of WomenSing is the Youth Inspiring Youth program, which gives young composers an opportunity to create new music based on the poetry of children who have won Berkeley’s River of Words competition. She describes as “magical” the times when Grammy-award winning composer Libby Larsen comes in to work with the young composers and the chorus. “I feel honored to be a part of that process,” she says.

She loves singing traditional music, but has also learned that contemporary pieces can grow on her, sometimes becoming her favorites. “The more you learn about a piece, the more you understand it. It is a great feeling to perform a challenging piece well!”