Leadership

Daniel Edward Parks, Interim Director of Choirs

Education

M.M., University of Minnesota
D.M.A., University of Colorado Boulder

Background

Daniel Edward Parks is a Visiting Instructor of Music and Choral Conducting at William & Mary and the Interim Director of Choirs. He holds a doctoral degree in choral conducting and literature from the University of Colorado Boulder. He also holds degrees from the University of Minnesota and Lawrence University. As an educator, he taught choral music, voice, and music theater at the middle and high schools levels in Wisconsin for five years. As a professional ensemble singer, he has performed with Alium Spiritum, Solis Singers, the Boulder Chorale, the Minnesota Chorale, Border CrosSing, and Weimar Bach Cantata Academy.

The topic of his doctoral thesis, To the Hands by Caroline Shaw: A Conductor’s Guide and Analysis focuses on formal analysis of post-tonal music and rehearsal planning from a comprehensive musicianship perspective. He presented an interest session entitled “The Choral Music of Caroline Shaw” at the 2022 Southwest American Choral Director’s Association conference. His research interests include vocal improvisation, early music, and Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP).

Josie Summers (she/her), Vice President

• Majors: English & Linguistics
• Class Year: 2025
• What Josie’s position does: “I assist our lovely president Amanda and incredible director Dr. Parks, and I support the rest of the officers however they need! I’m also in charge of Kwah merch & overseeing our publicity ◡̈”
• What Josie loves about KWAH: “I never imagined that I would get to sing such amazing music with such special people, but I get to do this—and have so much fun doing it—with my absolute best friends—the Kwah!!!”
• Other Campus Activities: Residence Life, Intonations A Capella, Linguistics research

 Beckett Behel (he/him), Fundraising Co-Chair

• Major: Music
• Class Year: 2024
• What Beckett’s position does: “We foster connections with our audience and community and encourage them to support the choir.”
• What Beckett loves about KWAH: “I love how everyone has their own role to play. Out of individuals, we get a cohesive whole which is much greater than the sum of its parts.”
• Other Campus Activities: Melodia Ensemble

Kyle Sharma (he/him), Social Co-Chair

• Major: English
• Class Year: 2026
• What Kyle’s position does: “The Social Chairs are in charge of planning and running the events that turn the Kwah into a community, rather than just a class. From social breaks during rehearsal, events with other groups on campus, and everything in between, the Social Chairs are there to foster a fun, welcoming, and supportive Kwah atmosphere.”
• What Kyle loves about KWAH: “Having people who are always there for you is absolutely priceless, and Kwah is full is those kinds of people. I’ve met some of my closest friends through Kwah, and getting to sing with them has been just incredible!”
• Other campus activities: Stairwells Acapella, W&M Pep Band, Wham Bam Big Band, AMP Interns Committee, Resident Assistant

Jonathan Aspin (he/him), Co-Historian

• Majors: Theatre & History
• Class Year: 2027
• What Jonathan’s position does: “Within my position, publicizing and documenting events within Kwah are the big parts of it! I work with my wonderful co-historian to make sure that the history of our fabulous choir is told and shown to the world! It’s just brilliant!”
• What Jonathan loves about KWAH: “The sense of community and the true love of music everyone has!”
• Other campus activities: “I’m involved in theatre here at William and Mary because that is one of my true passions and i love everything about it!”

Edward Kerins (he/him), Recording Chair

• Major: Neuroscience
• Class Year: 2025
• What Edward’s position does: “The Recording Chair is responsible for facilitating the setup/teardown of the performance equipment, and making sure that said equipment can be fully functional so that we can listen to and learn from our past performances.”
• What Edward loves about KWAH: “The community. Everyone is so inviting and warm and welcoming! It’s a group that is ready to take you as you are and meet you where you’re at, and is willing to be there for you, from the simple things such as study sessions and Sadler late-nights to great friends you can come to for anything.”
• Other campus activities: “Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity (PSP Represent!), Chess Club”

Hannah Ryan (she/her), Riser Royalty

• Major: Classical Archaeology
• Class Year: 2026
• What Hannah’s position does: “Keeps track of the risers for our performances, including making sure they get to where they need to be, and also advocates for newbies during officer meetings.”
• What Hannah loves about KWAH: “The community and getting to sing together as an ensemble.”
• Other campus activities: “Officer of Eta Sigma Phi, I’m in Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta, William & Mary Hillel, and working at the off-campus greenhouses.”