Ben Luedcke, Artistic Director and Conductor
Ben Luedcke conducted his first season with Masterworks Choral Ensemble in 2023-24. He brings a variety of conducting and leadership experiences to the organization.
Ben is the Minister of Music at Seattle First Baptist Church in downtown Seattle, and the Artistic Director of the Bellevue Chamber Chorus. He is currently finishing his Doctorate of Musical Arts in choral conducting at University of Washington, and he has held teaching positions at UW in the Choral, Musicology, and English departments.
Before moving to Washington, Ben completed a Master’s in Choral Conducting at University of Iowa, and subsequently served as faculty at Grinnell College, where he taught voice and conducted both the Grinnell Singers and the Grinnell Oratorio Society, and as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Monmouth College where he taught voice and conducted the Monmouth Chorale and chamber choir.
Ben is known in Madison, Wisconsin as both a voice teacher and as the conductor and founder of several startup organizations: he was the co-founder and director of Voces Aestatis, a Wisconsin-based professional choir that specialized in the a cappella repertoire of the sixteenth century. Likewise, for ten years Ben was the founder and artistic director of Madison Summer Choir, a large community chorus that performed choral orchestral works.
In his spare time, Ben is most often hiking with his two dogs, and otherwise exploring Washington’s many amazing trails, trying new craft beers, and binging good science fiction.
Angi Swan, Accompanist
Angi grew up in a musical home and started singing and playing piano at an early age. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelors in Music Education, earned her Kodaly certification at the University of St. Thomas, and completed her Masters in Music Education at Kent State University. She has taught elementary music, private piano and voice lessons, and has held organist, bell choir, adult and children’s choir director positions in various churches and community groups. Angi is a K-5 general music teacher in the Olympia School District, a choir director for the Olympia Youth Chorus, and a worship team musician at First United Methodist Church of Olympia.
Gary Witley, Former Artistic Director and Co-Founder (1981 - 2023)
Gary Witley was involved with Masterworks Choral Ensemble since its inception in 1981, and served as Artistic Director, Conductor, and sometimes Business Manager until his retirement after MCE’s 40th season (2022-2023). He has directed choirs for The Evergreen State College and South Puget Sound Community College. He has been music director for Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic, and Brethren churches in California and Washington. Mr. Witley has M.A. in Educational Technology from City University in Seattle,a B.A. degree in Choral Conducting from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and an A.A. degree in Music, from Santa Barbara City College. In March 2004, he was an adjudicator at the San Francisco Choral Festival sponsored by World Projects. Mr. Witley was a music specialist in public schools for 41 years and taught in the Tenino School District as both a technology and music specialist. He has also taught at the Olympia Waldorf School (chorus and recorders) to grade 5 thru 8 and the Griffin School District teaching classroom music K-6, band 5-8, string 4-8, and chorus 5-8.
Mr. Witley helped Masterworks grow from its beginnings as a non-auditioned choir to an auditioned choir. He was the group’s principle conductor since 1981. Mr. Witley also founded, directed, and sang with the Masterworks Singers, a smaller ensemble that performs for community and private events, and participates in Masterworks concert programs.
Additionally, Mr. Witley is a composer and arranger. His newest musical for young voices, “The Elephants Child,” based on the Rudyard Kipling story was scheduled to debut in March 2020 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Collaborating with Vonda Witley as poet/lyricist, they created a 5-movement choral/orchestra work in 2011 allied “Wingspan,” an 8-movement choral/orchestra work in 2006 called “Come, Union.” They also created an original production for Masterworks in December 1999 called “Seasonal Celebrations.” This choral-theater show—with narrator, adult and children’s choruses, dance, costumes and sets—traced Solstice and Christmas traditions from 1000 AD to 2000 AD. Mr. Witley’s four musicals for young voices, “One Earth,” “Once Upon a Rainforest,” and “What Makes Me, Me?” focus on environmental and gender equity issues and his musical, “Aliens in our School,” focuses on racism and discrimination.
