Spirit of the Midwest Region 5
Regional Faculty
Kay Bromert
Member of Kansas City Chorus
Certified Arranger, International Music Arrangers Program Coordinator
Sweet Adelines International - Approved Music Judge
Certified Director
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Biography: Kay has a degree in music and spent several years as a music teacher. She is a Certified Music Arranger (CMA) in Sweet Adelines and is currently serving as the Moderator for the Arranger Certification Program Coordinators Committee, an International appointment. She has also been a church pianist and organist for many years, and she was a Sweet Adeline chorus director for about four years, including a year directing a multi-lingual prospective chorus in Peru, South America. She has been a Sweet Adeline since 1976 and has been arranging almost that long! She lives in Urbandale, Iowa, and currently sings baritone with the Kansas City Chorus. Kay is a Certified Judge in the Music Category in Sweet Adelines
Area of Expertise/Strengths:
- Music Arranging
- Music Category/Interpretation/Performance
- Coaching quartets & small choruses
- Available to 'advise' on music choices and fixing arrangements
- Music choices / legal issues
Mary Duncan
Member of Kansas City Chorus
Biography: Mary has been a member of Sweet Adelines International since 2010, when she joined the Kansas City Chorus at 12 years old. Since then, she has gone on to compete in various quartets at the regional and international level.
She is the baritone of the 2014 International Rising Star Champion Quartet and the 2019 Sweet Adelines International Champion Quartet, ClassRing.
Mary enjoys traveling, teaching, coaching, and performing for audiences all over the United States and abroad. She is a third generation barbershopper and is honored to share the love of 4-part harmony with her mom, Michelle, tenor of Zing! the 2010 Queens of Harmony, as well as her late grandmother, bass extraordinaire, Pat Duncan.
Outside of music, Mary holds a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry and a Masters in Biomedical Engineering. She is currently in Law School and lives in Lawrence, KS, with her partner, Clara, and their pets.
Area of Expertise/Strengths:
- Chorus & Quartet Coaching
- Vocal production/Sound/Expression
- Leadership Skills
Diane Huber
Retired Master Director of River Blenders Chorus
Master Faculty Member for Region 5
Biography: Diane was introduced to Sweet Adelines in 1972. Since that wonderful beginning, Diane has served on the regional faculty, the Regional Board of Directors, and the International Board of Directors. As a member of the International Board, she served as Secretary, President Elect, President. Diane has also served as Chair of the Education Direction Committee.
Throughout her 52+ years as a Sweet Adeline, she has coached choruses and quartets throughout the world. Diane is the bass in the 1986 Queens of Harmony Quartet, Ambiance. She began directing the River Blenders Chorus in 1989.
Area of Expertise/Strengths:
- Chorus & Quartet Coaching
- Vocal performance skills
- Directing skills
- Vocal production / unit sound
Michelle Hunget
Master Director for Kansas City Chorus
Master Faculty Member for Region 5
Biography: Michelle began quartetting in high school and jointed Sweet Adelines in 1986. She is a Queen of Harmony, singing Tenor with the 2010 International Champion Quartet, Zing! She has served on the Coronet Club Board of Directors and is an Approved Candidate Judge in the Visual Communication Category.
At the Regional level, Michelle has won eleven times singing in five championship quartets: Plaza Lights in 1992, 1993 and 1994; Fanfare in 2001; Zing! in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; HEAT in 2013; and Journey in 2023 and 2024. She and her husband, Grant, were half of the quartet Date Night, which was the 2018 Mixed Quartet Champion of the Central States District of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Michelle has served on the Regional Faculty, Regional Management Team, and was the 2025 Spirit of the Midwest Region 5 Hall of Fame recipient.
Michelle joined the Kansas City Chorus in 1986 and has served on the Leadership Team, the Music Team, and the Visual/Choreography Team. In 2016, she brought her musical passion to the position of Artistic Director.
Area of Expertise/Strengths:- Chorus & Quartet Coaching
- Vocal performance skills
- Directing skills
- Vocal production / unit sound
- Visual Communication / choreography
Robert Mance
Master Director of Vocal Standard Chorus
Master Faculty Member for Region 5
Biography: Robert has been directing Vocal Standard (VS) since its inception in 2015. Under his direction, VS quickly gained popularity and grew tremendously in musical excellence earning many regional awards and most recently earning 7th place at the 2025 Sweet Adelines International Chorus Competition. Robert is also the musical director of the 2nd place International medalist men's chorus, Central Standard.
Robert completed the coursework for a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting at the University of Kansas, where he has been conductor of the Oread Consort. He served as Director of Music at the Shawnee Presbyterian Church in Shawnee, KS. Before starting his studies at KU, Robert most recently served as Interim Director of Choral Activities and Interim Voice Area Director at William Jewell College in Liberty, MO. Robert completed his undergraduate studies at McGill University in Montreal, QC in voice performance, and completed his graduate studies at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ in choral conducting and voice pedagogy.
He is an active clinician for high school vocal ensembles, maintains a recording studio, and serves as a full-time coach for choruses and many award-winning quartets. Rob is also a certified Singing Judge for BHS. Robert has sung professionally with such groups as the Kansas City Chorale under Charles Bruffy, the Westminster Symphonic Choir and Westminster Choir.
Robert resides in Kansas City with his wife Kristin, an English teacher and 2022 Harmony Incorporated Quartet Champion.
Area of Expertise/Strengths:
- Chorus & Quartet Coaching
- Vocal performance skills
- Directing skills
- Vocal production / unit sound
- Voice pedagogy
- Personal vocal instructions (PVIs)
Susanna McBride
Choreographer for Kansas City Chorus
Biography: Susanna was brought into the Sweet Adelines world in 2006 when becoming a member of Greenville In Harmony (now Vocal Matrix) in Region 14. While there, she was Team Lead on their visual/choreography team. Also, while in Region 14, Susanna was the choreographer for the men’s barbershop chorus, Palmetto Statesmen, helping to bring their Presentation score level up.
When moving to Kansas City in 2016, she joined the Kansas City Chorus and quickly became the choreographer and helped to consistently improve their visual scores. Her choruses have competed at the international level multiple times. She has worked with The Heart of America men's chorus on their joint Holiday Show. Susanna has supported local high school quartets through the annual Harmony Explosion Contest as Performance Judge.
Additional experiences include leading and coaching choreography for drill teams and musicals while in high school and college. Susanna is currently the Lead of Lucky Day Quartet.
Area of Expertise/Strengths:
- Chorus & Quartet Coaching
- Characterization, Expression and storytelling
- Choreography and visual communication
Annette Wallace
Director of Acappella Omaha Chorus
Master Faculty Member for Region 5
Biography: Annette's barbershop experience goes back to 1990. She has served as lead section leader and website administrator before stepping out front as director. Annette received many regional quartet medals while singing lead in Fever! Quartet.
Annettee has a B.S. degree in Music Education, is a Sweet Adelines Certified Expression Judge, served as the 2017-2018 Education Director for Region 5 and most recently the 2020 recipient of the Spirit of the Midwest Lifetime Achievement Award.
Area of Expertise/Strengths:
- Chorus and quartet coaching
- Vocal production / Sound / PVIs
- Expression Category
- Singing with Expression / Music Interpretation
Heather Schouten Wilson
Assistant Director of Kansas City Chorus
Biography: Heather Schouten Wilson has been a member of SAI for over 9 years, serving in a variety of roles in the Kansas City Chorus, including Assistant Director, Marketing Team Coordinator, section leader positions, and currently acting as Associate Director. She has also been a past interim director for Show Me Sound and sings lead/baritone in the Region 5 quartet, Sassaphras.
Within SAI, she is involved in DEI committees as a resource and voice for the disabled community. Educationally, she holds a Masters in Music Education with an emphasis in Vocal Pedagogy from KU, and currently works as a Music Education professor at Calvary University. She also has experience in the Kansas City area as a music teacher in several area schools, as a private music instructor, and as the founder and director of Una Cantamus, a choir for individuals with disabilities and their advocates.
Area of Expertise/Strengths:
- Chorus & Quartet Coaching
- Directing Skills
- Diversity & Inclusion
- Vocal Pedagogy/Vocal Production
- Personal Vocal Instruction (PVI)
Janice Wood
Member of Topeka Acappella Unlimited Chorus
Member of Kansas City Chorus
Former Associate Director of Topeka Acappella Unlimited Chorus
Biography: Janice joined Sweet Adelines in 1983 as a member of the Sunflower Harmony Chorus (now Topeka Acappella Unlimited). She has served on the Music Team (Associate Director, Bari Section Leader), Board of Directors, and Visual/Choreography Team.
At the Regional level, Janice has competed in many quartets, winning 1st Place as the Baritone of Pizzazz! (2017, 10th Place Int’l) and Journey (2023, 2024). Janice also served in Region 7 as a Regional Competition Chorus Liaison and as a member of the Education Faculty.
Janice has a Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Washburn University. She lives in Topeka, KS, with her husband Chris and their cats.
Area of Expertise/Strengths:
- Chorus & Quartet Coaching
- Vocal Skills/Vocal Production
- Visual/Performance Skills
- Personal Vocal Instruction (PVI)
Sandi Wright
Retired Master Director of St. Louis Harmony Chorus
Biography: Sandi is a member of Sweet Adelines International, Harmony Incorporated, and the Barbershop Harmony Society. As a baritone singer she has earned two Sweet International Queen of Harmony gold medals (Tetrachords in 1978 and Ambiance in 1986) and six regional quartet championships in Sweet Adelines and two silvers and one bronze medal in Harmony Incorporated international competitions.
Sandi is the only person certified as a competition judge in every North American barbershop organization. She is certified in the Visual Communications Category with Sweet Adelines International and the Performance Category in
Harmony Incorporated and Barbershop Harmony Society. She is a certified international faculty member of Sweet Adelines International.
- Chorus & Quartet Coaching
- Teaching (extensive class list available at www.sandiwright.com)
- Judging Categories - You Be the Judge
- Visual and Vocal Performance skills
- Directing Skills
- Rehearsal/Section Rehearsal Planning & Implementation
- Training/Cultivating Music Leaders
- Grant writing
- Quartet Workshops
- Marketing to Women of Today
The Leadership of Region 5 is committed to providing all members with education through coaching, teaching, and other educational activities provided by Regional Faculty. We strive to offer every member consistently strong, high-quality teaching skills from our Regional Faculty. To that end, we've developed the Regional Faculty Program and are continuing to build on-going training and support to help enrich our faculty's knowledge, instructional abilities, and presentation skills.
Spirit of the Midwest Region #5
Faculty Development and Improvement Program information: click here
Region 5 Education Faculty Application: click here
THRIVE program
THRIVE is an Internationally funded program available to all chartered chapters in Region 5. The focus of this program is to provide monies/education in identified administrative areas of need; such as updating and/or creating a new mission/vision statement; working on your choruses governance structure; membership development, recruitment, and retention; Community relations and Marketing - Social Media development; Financial Health; Strengthening Chorus Leadership - music/leadership team development; chorus emotional health, and stability.
To request more information or resources visit the SAI International THRIVE home page or contact one of the following Region 5 Faculty members: Michelle Hunget, Region 5 Education Coordinator at reg5educoord@gmail.com. Kelsey Kessler, Region 5 Membership Coordinator at reg5saimem@gmail.com.
Michelle Franzen, Region 5 Marketing Coordinator at reg5market@gmail.com
