Conductor Dr. Michael Sheetz is a leading and versatile professional who holds multiple artistic positions in the New York City cultural arena. As Music Associate at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, Michael performs in acclaimed Concerts at St. Ignatius music series. Here he directs two mass choirs, the Wallace Hall Choir and Orchestra, a Sunday morning gospel, pop, and contemporary choral ensemble ministering to the parish’s family Mass, and Canticum Sacrum, a Sunday evening chamber choir devoted to worship at the 7:30pm Sunday evening liturgy and assists in the development and curation of the entire music series.
Michael is an Assistant Professor and Director of Choral and Voice Studies at Hunter College of the City University of New York, where he conducts the College Choir and select Chamber Singers ensembles, teaches private voice lessons and directs the only graduate choral conducting program in the city. As Assistant Music Director of Musica Sacra, New York City’s longest continuously performing professional chorus, Michael conducts, prepares, and accompanies in performance at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Through this organization, Michael directs an educational outreach program which engages at-need music programs in and around New York City. Michael is the Music Director of The Greenwich Village Chamber Singers, a renowned, advanced avocational chorus specializing in chamber works that presents a three-concert season each year. During the summer Michael is a faculty member of Classic Lyric Arts, an international summer training program for emerging vocal artists, pianists and conductors.
Michael has performed at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, and his pianism has been featured in numerous live broadcasts on WQXR and Vermont Public Radio. He has taught on the faculties of Vassar College and The Juilliard School and has played for many internationally renowned conductors. Michael holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Manhattan School of Music.
Enrico Lagasca (Jesus) – Filipino-American bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca is a sought-after vocalist praised for his “smooth, dark bass voice” and commanding stage presence. With a repertoire of over 100 oratorios, operas, and premieres, his voice features on five Grammy-nominated recordings. In the 2025 season, Enrico debuts with the Nashville and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras, and returns to opera in 2026 in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo with Ars Lyrica Houston. Recent highlights include performances with the St. Louis, Baltimore, and Toronto Symphonies, Tafelmusik, BachFest Leipzig, and the San Francisco Symphony. He appears regularly with leading ensembles like Bach Collegium San Diego, Trinity Wall Street, Conspirare, Seraphic Fire. A passionate advocate for social justice, Enrico is a co-founding member of Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble, a group focused on equity and access in the arts. He is widely known for his moving performances in Considering Matthew Shepard. Born in the Philippines, Enrico toured internationally with the Philippine Madrigal Singers before studying at the University of the Philippines and Mannes School of Music. Now based in New York City, he maintains a private voice studio and leads artist residencies at US universities.
The Greenwich Village Chamber Singers is presently in its 49th season of performing secular and choral music from all periods. Based in Greenwich Village, GVCS is a mixed chamber chorus of approximately 40 voices that has been a recognized creative force in New York City’s music community for more than four decades, with members hailing from all over the greater New York City metropolis.
The Greenwich Village Chamber Singers was founded in 1976 and engaged its first permanent music director, Mark Mangini, in 1980. Over the 41 years of Mr. Mangini’s leadership, GVCS evolved into an auditioned chorus that strives to be one of the most highly regarded amateur choruses in New York City. Following the untimely passing of Mr. Mangini in September 2021 and a season of leadership by interim Music Director Alec Galambos, the chorus welcomed its new permanent Music Director, Dr. Michael Sheetz, in July 2022. Dr. Sheetz has led the chorus into an exciting new era, and GVCS looks forward to a bright future under his baton.
The Greenwich Village Chamber Singers performs musical repertoire in many different languages and musical styles that speak to the varied experiences, history, and diversity of our community. Over its history of nearly half a century, the chorus has performed more than 150 concerts throughout the New York City metropolis, with repertoire drawing from a wide range of composers, including the Handel oratorios Israel in Egypt, Judas Maccabaeus, Messiah, and Solomon. Baroque and pre-baroque composers also include Bach, Schütz, Monteverdi, Charpentier, and Vivaldi; other performances have encompassed settings of the Mass by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, Dvořák, Kodály, Stravinsky, and Rossini. The group’s repertoire also includes a cappella works by Victoria, Palestrina, Byrd, Poulenc, Duruflé, Monteverdi, and Bruckner; contemporary works by Respighi, Barber, Britten, Honegger, Copland, Ives, Rutter, Bernstein, Hoiby, Rorem, Earnest, Busto, Spratlan, and Avshalomov; and the best of musical theater from Sondheim to Rodgers and Hammerstein.
The Greenwich Village Chamber Singers is committed to the presentation of new works by contemporary composers. This has included a co-commissioned world premiere of David Avshalomov’s 3 Water Songs in 2023, as well as 2 world premieres of works by emerging, NYC-based female composers in 2024: Lay That On Your Heart from Shahar Regev and Sotto Cieli Morbidi from Kenedea Lee. The latter two commissions were made possible in large part due to our first ever grant award from NYSCA, which we received in 2023.
The chorus has produced four live concert CDs, In Dulci Jubilo, Natale in Venezia, Dido & Aeneas, Christmas in England and America, and a studio recording of a cappella works entitled My Spirit Sang All Day.
About Music at Hunter College
The Department of Music at Hunter College is committed to providing the highest quality musical instruction to students in the areas of performance, composition, education, musicology, ethnomusicology, and theory. Through our varied courses and numerous performances, the department seeks to enrich the musical lives of not only Hunter students, but all members of the Hunter and New York City communities. Through our world-class faculty—who teach in one-on-one or small-class settings and who often bring in distinguished artists to Hunter to teach, lecture, or perform—we offer an outstanding musical education at a reasonable price. By drawing on our central location in Manhattan, we strive to engage students in the musical vibrancy of our great city. In our performance ensembles and classes we teach students listening and analytical skills, historical context, performance practice and technique, and critical thinking. We also provide vital services to Hunter College via our many introductory music courses and our large performing ensembles.
The Hunter College Chamber Singers is a select group of 24-36 mixed voices performing the diverse repertoire from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Modern periods, often performing with the accompaniment of early instruments (recorders and viols). The ensemble meets twice each week for 75-minute rehearsals and performs on and off campus. Participation is open to members of the NY metropolitan area and all students, staff and faculty at Hunter College. An audition is required.
The Hunter College Choir is a symphonic sized, 100+ voiced mixed chorus (SATB) performing repertoire from all periods, both a cappella and with orchestra. The ensemble is open to members of the NY metropolitan area and all students, staff and faculty at Hunter College. A brief audition to assess vocal range and pitch identification skills is required during the first class, though prior choral experience is not a prerequisite. The College Choir exists in two different sections – a Day Section which meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:00-2:15pm, and an Evening Section which meets Thursdays only from 6:30-8:45pm.