Corey Holt Merenda will be celebrating her 12th year on staff with GCYC this season. As accompanist for Le Petit Choeur, she has toured throughout the United States, Scotland, England, Wales, and China. She received her Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music and is active both as performer and teacher. Ms. Merenda has performed and recorded a wide variety of music, specializing in 20th and 21st century piano works.  Her solo CD, Unmistakably Modern, was released in January 2003 and features many works written specifically for her. She has performed on over two dozen recordings, both classical and pop. 

Ms. Merenda serves as Vice-President of the Bonk Festival of New Music, an annual concert series in Tampa, FL featuring avant-garde music from around the world, and has been a core performer at this festival since 1992.  As a member of “Confluences”, a trio consisting of trumpet, trombone and piano, Ms. Merenda has performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and many other venues throughout the east coast. 

Mary Gant is a graduate of the University of South Florida with a degree in piano performance.  Mary has been an active accompanist in the Tampa Bay Area for many years, including playing for GCYC from 1993-1995.  She has also served as an accompanist for dance classes and for various ensembles for the USF College of Visual and Performing Arts, and was a teacher of Kindermusik for the USF Community Music Division. She has played for numerous Bay area theatrical productions, including Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof, Nunsense, The Sound of Music, Godspell, and The Fantasticks.  Mary is currently the music director at St. Paul Catholic Church in Carrollwood, along with her husband, Russell. 

Teresa Rose frequently performs both as a piano soloist and chamber musician.  While a student at Florida Southern College, she was a winner of the 1989 West Coast Chopin Competition.  Teresa received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance at the University of South Florida, Tampa.  Subsequent to her earned degrees, she studied piano accompaniment in Salzburg, Austria. 

Teresa has appeared as a featured soloist with the Florida Orchestra and the Imperial Symphony Orchestra.  She has taught piano and accompanied students and faculty at Florida International University, the University of Miami, Florida Southern College, Southeastern University and the University of South Florida. 

This marks Mrs. Rose's 8th year with the Gulf Coast Youth Choirs. Previously, she has accompanied for Le Petit Choeur, the Children's Choir and the Girl Choir.  In addition to accompanying for the Girl Choir this year, she is also staff accompanist at the University of South Florida and teaches at the Leopold School of the Performing Arts.

Directors