Holiday Pops 
Ohio Theatre
December 5, 2025 | 8PM
December 6 & 7, 2025 | 3PM

Stuart Chafetz, conductor
Capathia Jenkins, vocalist
Columbus Symphony Chorus
Stephen Caracciolo, director
Columbus Children’s Choir
Jeanne Wohlgamuth, artistic director

PROGRAM

Capathia Jenkins

The Brooklyn-born and raised singer/actor, Capathia Jenkins, premiered her new show, ICON: The Voices That Changed Music, with the Princeton Symphony, with subsequent performances with the Houston Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, North Carolina Symphony, Anchorage Symphony, and several others.  She premiered her solo show, She’s Got Soul, with the Houston Symphony in October 2022, followed by performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Utah Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Philly Pops, among many others.

Ms. Jenkins starred as ‘Medda’ in the hit Disney production of Newsies on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in The Civil War, where she created the role of Harriet Jackson. She then starred in the Off-Broadway 2000 revival of Godspell, where she wowed audiences with her stirring rendition of ‘Turn Back, O Man’ which can still be heard on the original cast recording. She returned to Broadway in The Look of Love and was critically acclaimed for her performances of the Bacharach/David hits. Ms. Jenkins then created the roles of ‘The Washing Machine’ in Caroline, Or Change and ‘Frieda May’ in Martin Short-Fame Becomes Me where she sang ‘Stop the Show’ and brought the house down every night.  In 2007 she went back to Off-Broadway and starred in (mis) Understanding Mammy-The Hattie McDaniel Story for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She was also seen in Nora Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore.

An active concert artist, Ms. Jenkins has appeared with numerous orchestras around the world including the Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony (with Marvin Hamlisch), National Symphony, Cincinnati Pops (with John Morris Russell), Philly Pops, San Francisco Symphony, San Diego Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and many others.  She was also a soloist with the Festival Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic multiple times.  In October 2025, Ms. Jenkins will travel to Bratislava to perform at the Concert Hall of the Slovak Philharmonic.   Ms. Jenkins had the great honor of performing in the ‘Broadway Ambassadors to Cuba’ concert as part of the Festival De Teatro De La Habana. She has performed at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops multiple times and also sang in a Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch at the Library of Congress.  

She is a founder and board member of Black Theatre United. 

Socia Media @capathianyc

Stephen Caracciolo  

Stephen Caracciolo is the Chorus Director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, preparing the CSO Chorus for appearances in the Masterworks concert series and conducting community performances of the CSO Chamber Choir. Dr. Caracciolo is a conductor recognized for his passionate artistry and creative leadership in interpreting an expansive range of the choral repertoire, including choral-orchestral works, Renaissance and Baroque motets, German-Romantic part songs, French chansons, the sacred literature of the English and Russian churches, opera choruses, American folk songs and spirituals, and works by living composers. 

For twelve years he was a professional choral bass at Washington National Cathedral where he also served as the cover conductor for masses, choral evenings, and special services. He has performed choral masterworks with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Juilliard Orchestra, the American Symphony, and the orchestra of Washington National Cathedral with such renowned conductors as Robert Shaw, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur, Erich Kunzel, Michael McCarthy, and James Levine.

Known nationally as a composer and arranger, Caracciolo’s choral works are performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe. He is a composer with MorningStar Music Publishers, E.C. Schirmer, Kjos Music, and Roger Dean Publishing, and is active as a consultant for various educational, ecclesiastical, and professional organizations.

His publications—including commissions for the acclaimed professional vocal ensemble, Cantus—appear on numerous professional, collegiate, and cathedral repertoire lists, and may be heard on nationally distributed recordings as well as syndicated radio broadcasts including the well-known Sunday program, With Heart and Voice.

Dr. Caracciolo concurrently serves as Artistic Director of ProArteOHIO, Central Ohio’s premier professional vocal ensemble. Under his leadership, the ensemble consistently garners high praise for its beauty of tone, remarkable blend, and exceptional commitment to elegant text phrasing. Previous conducting posts include the Maryland Choral Society and choral ensembles at the University of Maryland-Baltimore, Roberts Wesleyan College, the Ohio University School of Music, and Denison University. Caracciolo holds a doctoral degree in conducting from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, a master’s degree in conducting from Westminster Choir College, and a bachelor’s degree in music education from the Capital University Conservatory of Music.

Jeanne Wohlgamuth 

Throughout her four-decade career, Jeanne Wohlgamuth has been an unwavering advocate for children’s music education of all ages. In 2012, Wohlgamuth was named Artistic Director of Columbus Children’s Choir and has since led the organization to extraordinary heights, including six national and international tours, eleven competition victories, and a performance with the renowned Vienna Boys’ Choir.

A lauded conductor and educator, Wohlgamuth received the Professor Veneta Vicheva Conductor’s Mastery Award from the XXVI Dobri Voinikov International Children and Youth Choral Gala in Shumen, Bulgaria (2021), the Best Conductor Award from the Rimini International Choral Competition, Rimini, Italy (2021), the Outstanding Music Educator Award from the Royale Music Competition (2023), and the National Teacher of the Year Award from the Organization of American Kodály Educators (2020). In June 2023, Wohlgamuth led her inaugural choral residency at Carnegie Hall and will return to Carnegie Hall in 2026 to conduct Mulholland’s Missa Romantica for treble choir with the New England Symphonic Orchestra.

During her tenure as the director of choirs and performing arts chair at Dublin Jerome High School, Wohlgamuth’s Class A middle school and AA high school choirs achieved an unparalleled record of twenty-four consecutive years of superior ratings in the main stage and sight-reading evaluations at the Ohio Music Educators Large Group Adjudicated Events.

Wohlgamuth is dedicated to elevating the field of choral education through service, mentorship, and hands-on experiences for children and educators. She serves as President of the Ohio Choral Directors Association and regularly shares her expertise as a guest clinician for events such as the Organization of American Kodály Educators National Women’s Concert Choir, the Indiana Elementary All-State Honor Choir, the Georgia All-State Middle School Treble Honor Choir, and various district high school, middle school, and elementary honor choirs.

Other honors and accolades include the Teacher of the Year Award, Dublin Jerome High School (2006), Teacher of the Year Award, Karrer Middle School (2003), Teacher of the Year Award, Wright Elementary (1994), and Teacher of the Year Award, Bowen Elementary School (1988). Wohlgamuth is a recipient of the distinguished Golden Shamrock Award for Educational Excellence, Dublin City Schools (2001), and the Community Champion Award, presented by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce (2008). In 2021, her contributions led to her induction into the Dublin Jerome High School Hall of Fame.

New World Singers of Columbus Children’s Choir

Praised as “rare, radiant, and beautiful” by composer Nick Page and led by Artistic Director Jeanne Wohlgamuth, the New World Singers of Columbus Children’s Choir are no strangers to the public arena. They hold numerous competition titles, including the Youth Choir Division winner of The American Prize, first place at the Bratislava International Competition in Slovakia, and gold medalists at the Musica Orbis Competition in Prague, Czech Republic—all in 2025 alone.

Other recent distinctions include grand prizes at the Youth International Choral Competition (2023, 2024, 2025) and the Rimini International Choral Festival, first place honors in The American Prize (2010, 2019, 2021, 2025), and the Diamond Prize at the Royale Music Competition (2023).

The New World Singers have captivated audiences around the world, performing in Austria, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, sharing stages with the Vienna Boys’ Choir and headlining the Granada International Music and Dance Festival. Closer to home, they have appeared with BalletMet, Opera Columbus, Harmony Project, the Worthington Chamber Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony, and at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Breakfast.

Columbus Symphony Chorus 

SOPRANO I
Alleana Bammerlin
Laura Byars
Julie Cannell
Lexi Clossin
Andrea Dent
Katie DiPietro
Charlotte Rose Geary
Sarah Higley 
Makenna Koehl
Stephanie Rodriguez
Kristen Snyder
Megan Trierweiler
Victoria Zanatian

SOPRANO II
Elizabeth Jewell Becker
Susie Beecroft
Kathryn Ehle
Karissa Frische
Charlene Grant
Cassie Howard
Alexa Konstantinos
Miriam Matteson
Gretchen Mote
Elizabeth Neer
Maureen O’Brien
Amy Adele Parker
Stephanie Pikovnik
Elisabeth Ross
Mary Yarbrough
Jennifer Young

ALTO I
Leslie Armstrong
Aubrey Bailey
Amy Bergandine
Kara Carlen
Kelli Clawson
Kailey Coulter
Deborah Forsblom
Suzanne Fryer
Savannah Gonsoulin
Jessica Kahn
Hannah Miller Rowlands
Elizabeth Murphy
Cassie Otani
Wendy Rogers
Gretchen Rutz Leist
Jenna Shively
Katie Thornton
Katerina Warner
Shelli White

ALTO II

Jordan Abbruzzese
Katarina Cochrane-Yamaguchi
Lauren Grangaard
Kirby Johnson
Georgia Loftis
Janet Mulder
Melissa Obergefell
Debbie Parris
Lisa Peterson
Christina Rossi
Heather Rudisill
Laura Scobell
Laura Smith
Tara Smith
Peggy Wigglesworth

TENOR I

Justin Burkholder
Daniel Davis
Geoffrey Gear
Aaron Lashley
Adam Mesker
Richard Spires
Andrew Sutherland
Eric White
Michael Wigglesworth

TENOR II

William B. Catus III
Todd Chandler
Michael Cochran
Andy Doud
Hector Garcia Santana
Darius McBride
Matthew Norby
Paul Ricketts
Evan Stefanik
Ed VanVickle
Thom Wyatt
Jason Yoder
Aidan Young

BARITONE

Alexander Almeida
Matt Barbour
Kevin Baum
Anthony Brown
Raymond Cho
Jeffrey Davis
Jordan Elkind
Gary Everts
Keith Frische
William Gehring
Eric Gibson
Andrew Grega
Ernest Hoffman
James Legg
Gordon McKnight
Kyle Norton
David Scott
Dominic Straquadine
David Zach

BASS

Kevin Bilbrey
Jacob Conrad
Luis Falcon
Ian Furniss
Kent Maynard
Robert Moreen 
Allen Rutz
David Rutz
Andrew Shadwick
Bruce Turf
Keith Whited

DIRECTOR
Stephen Caracciolo

ACCOMPANIST
Casey Cook

BOARD CHAIR
William Gehring

CHORUS COORDINATOR
Lauren Grangaard

New World Singers of Columbus Children's Choir

Emma Aring 
Ellie Armstrong-Phillips
Julia Balada-Guerau
Athina Becker
Erin Brown
Layke Burke
Martin Cabrera
Mariana Cabrera
Stephanie Chute
Rae Coe
Max Cooper
Joshua Dilgard
Keira Dively
Lilliana Donabauer
Aizik Gentile
Laure Haskins
Daniel Hernandez Duque
Ryan Hindman
Liam Hite
Christen Hoyte
Martha Jimenez
Kylie Johnson
Violet Kitchel
Grace Kleismit
Sylvia Laing
Hannah Lear
Bonnie Lowe
Isaac Lowe
Aashi Mathur
Jonathan Nicolette
Audrey Noble
Terra Page
Aarav Peter
Moriah Pockras
Varsha Rayapudi
Miriam Rule
Roshan Satiani
Colin Sauer
Aubrey Scaggs
Aiden Slisher
Miles Stover
Simon Wilcox
Jane Wootton
Ashley Zehnde