Choral music was part of Midland Center before the building itself. The Midland Music Society was one of the charter organizations that came together to establish the Center, creating a shared home for music, theatre, art, science and history. Men of Music, founded in 1936 as the Dow Male Chorus, was part of that founding tradition.

When Midland Center opened in 1971, community singers gained a place to rehearse, perform and grow together. More than five decades later, the choirs remain central to who we are: a place where people not only experience the arts, but help create them.

Today, Chorale, Camerata, Men of Music, Youth Honor Choirs, Vocal Canvas and Golden Guild carry that legacy forward. Singers of different ages and backgrounds build their skills, form lasting connections and share music throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region. Every rehearsal and performance continues the community-made tradition on which Midland Center was built.

Dr. Letícia Grützmann
Chorale & Camerata Conductor

Dr. Letícia Grützmann conducts Midland Center’s Chorale and Camerata and serves as Director of Choral Studies at Saginaw Valley State University, where she teaches voice, conducting and music education. Her clinical and research work centers on vocal technique and body awareness for choral singers, including grant-supported research with kinesiology faculty on exercise and vocal production. She is also part of a Faculty Learning Community studying how undergraduate students communicate about and perceive alternative grading.

Dr. Grützmann founded and led the Vox Principalis Choral Association for four seasons and created its Chamber Music Concert Series. During her doctoral studies, she conducted the West Virginia Women’s Chorus and Morgantown Children’s Chorus, collaborating with the Morgantown Community Orchestra and West Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

In Brazil, she conducted community, church and children’s choruses; assisted university orchestras; and performed as a professional choral singer, Renaissance quartet member, soloist and opera chorus member. Her undergraduate research earned three presentation awards. Before joining SVSU, she directed choirs and vocal music at Carroll University. Dr. Grützmann holds undergraduate degrees in conducting performance and music education, master’s degrees in conducting and voice performance and a doctorate in conducting from West Virginia University.

Anna Doering
Vocalise Youth Honor Choir Director

Anna Doering directs Vocalise Youth Honor Choir for students in grades 3 - 8, returning to a program she participated in while growing up. She also serves as Director of Choirs at Christa McAuliffe Middle School and John Glenn High School in Bay City, where she leads five choirs for students in grades 6 - 12 and music directs three annual school musicals. Under her direction, students have won three state titles at the Michigan Interscholastic Forensics Association One Act Theatre State Festival. Anna also served as guest conductor for the 2025 Pueri Cantores Festival in Chicago.

An active member of the Michigan School Vocal Music Association, Anna prepares students for district and state Solo & Ensemble and Choir Festivals, where they frequently receive Division One ratings. Her choirs have collaborated with Three Men and a Tenor and performed throughout the community. Anna is passionate about creating a welcoming choir classroom and fostering lifelong appreciation and support for the arts. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University.

Claire Ingersoll
Ovation Youth Honor Choir Director

Claire Ingersoll leads the Ovation Vocal Intensive Workshops and serves as Director of Choirs at Shepherd Public Schools. She brings extensive experience in choral and vocal pedagogy, along with a history of collaborating with musicians throughout the Saginaw area. Her work helps middle and high school students strengthen their choral techniques, develop their vocal skills and grow as musicians. Her teaching is shaped by her passion for music and supported by her husband, who is a band director.

Outside the classroom, Claire enjoys hiking, reading and baking with friends. She and her husband share their home with three beloved cats.

Grace Marra
Men of Music Choir Director

Grace Marra has directed the Men of Music since 1994, continuing the ensemble’s longstanding tradition of music, friendship and community. A native of Western New York, she earned her Bachelor of Music from the State University of New York at Fredonia and her Master of Music from Colorado State University.

Grace has spent decades sharing her love of music throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region. She served as Chancel Choir Director at First United Methodist Church for 35 years, founded and formerly directed the Great Lakes Bay Harmony Diversity Choir and maintains a private voice studio of approximately 30 students. She also serves as an adjudicator for the Michigan School Vocal Music Association and performs throughout the region as a soprano soloist.

A composer and arranger, Grace creates music for both church ensembles and the Men of Music. She was named Musician of the Year in 1999 and continues to bring her experience as a conductor, educator and performer to singers throughout the community.