PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE THROUGH PASSION,
COMMITMENT & COMMUNITY
The Oriana Management Team
Oriana Arts is a community-based, not-for-profit incorporated association. It is governed by a management team, with elections for all positions on the management team held each year at the association's Annual General Meeting.
From time to time, the Management Committee may extend the honour of Life Membership to people who have been members of the organisation and who have provided outstanding services or assistance in the advancement of the Choir.
Oriana's Life Members include:
Fay Baker, awarded in 2016
Joachim Rother, awarded in 2018
Kendall Snowden, awarded in 2018
Melissa Innes, awarded in 2019
Sharon Fitness, awarded in 2023
Daniel Calder, Oriana Founder, awarded in 2025
Cath Galloway, awarded in 2026
Meet The Team
Melissa Innes
President
Melissa has administratively led Oriana since its inception in 2005.
An Associate Lecturer in Management and Human Resource Management at University of the Sunshine Coast, and proud mother of four boys, Melissa feels honoured to be President of the choir she considers to be her 'extended family'.
Singing soprano in the choir, Melissa toured internationally with Oriana in 2012 and 2016; and with her fellow choristers, has defended their Queensland Champion Choir title at the Heritage Queensland Eisteddfod on many an occasion.
Melissa takes great joy from working with a dedicated and passionate committee to develop opportunities for choristers to deliver quality choral performances to Oriana's valued patrons of the Sunshine Coast and beyond.
Vanessa Smith
Vice President & Tech Lead
Vanessa joined Oriana Choir as a singer in 2018 and later joined the Committee in 2021 first as Secretary, and now as Vice President. Vanessa is happy to lend her support to the executive team and committee in this progressive choir.
The Choir's tour to Italy in 2019 was a motivating factor to join Oriana and she has not looked back since, enjoying the variety of repertoire, seasonal music directors and performing opportunities on offer.
Vanessa’s day job has her working from her home office in Maroochydore for a global software company to provide product support, training and implementation services for its Asia Pacific customer base.
Vanessa is a member of the Fancy That! Quartet, and has sung in Choirs for most of her life, enjoying the community, joy and enrichment that music and choral singing bring.
Carol Quin
Treasurer
Carol has returned to the role of Treasurer in 2025.
Carol has been a member of Oriana since 2008 and loves the variety of music performed by Oriana, the wonderful people, and the high standards always maintained by the choir. The highlight of her time with Oriana so far is the International Tours - in 2012 to UK, France and Belgium ;2016 to Central Europe , and to Italy in 2019.
Carol’s financial background spans 34 years in banking, starting with ANZ Bank as a graduate recruit, holding management roles in the areas of corporate lending, compliance, governance and risk management . She gladly shares her qualifications and expertise with Oriana , having previously held the role of Oriana Treasurer from 2015- 2019 including leading the administrative and financial aspects of Oriana’s Tours in 2016 and 2019. Carol was also Oriana’s Vice President from 2019-2022 before taking a break from the Oriana Executive Team
Sharon Fitness
Production Manager
Sharon works full-time as an adminstrator at subscription television channel ACCTV, as well as dabbling in design and public relations consultancy with her own business, Joyful Media.
Sharon enjoys singing, pets and cooking and is a bit of a movie buff. She is a founding member of Oriana and is responsible for creating all of our great ‘looks’ from season to season.
Sharon was made a life member of Oriana in 2023.
Secretary
Jenny is a primary school teacher on the Sunshine Coast. As a lifelong lover of music, she’s been blessed to have had the opportunity to sing in choirs since childhood.
Jenny joined Oriana Choir in 2007 as a soprano. Her experiences as a member of Oriana have been truly unforgettable - from international tours to England, Wales, France, Italy, and Central Europe, to the sense of belonging and camaraderie within the 'Oriana family'.
Above all, she’s proud to be part of a group that consistently strives for excellence in choral performances.
Helen Peters
Membership
Helen is a founder member of Oriana and sings in the Alto section. She has sung in choirs through primary and high school and in various choirs as an adult. She is not a trained musician or singer but continues to learn an immense amount through her adult choir participation. She loves being part of the choir family.
Helen has participated in two overseas tours with Oriana and is excited for the next opportunity to travel again! The camaraderie that is built and developed on tour is amazing and the experiences form life long memories.
Prior to retirement, Helen was a Primary school teacher, Teacher-Librarian, Deputy Principal and Principal. She now works part time as a Medical Receptionist.
She enjoys the variety of experiences and repertoire that comes with being part of a quality choir and the challenge of always striving to do better.
Jenny Baker
Heather Hagemann
Uniform Coordinator
Music and the Arts have been an important part of Heather’s life for as long as she can remember, both personally and professionally. Her musical journey began at primary school, where she learned to play violin, viola and cello, and continued throughout high school. She also sang in choirs during both primary and high school and studied Curriculum Music throughout her secondary years.
Her love of music naturally became an important part of her career as a high school teacher, where she taught Music and Drama. For many years, Heather was also involved in directing school musicals behind the scenes, giving her a wonderful appreciation of the creativity, teamwork and commitment involved in bringing a production to life. She has also enjoyed performing herself, with roles in productions including High School Musical and Grease.
Outside of teaching, Heather was a member of the Toowoomba Philharmonic Society for many years, providing another opportunity to continue making music and being part of a vibrant performing arts community. In 2023, she joined Oriana Choir, where she has found another wonderful musical community and a place to continue sharing her love of singing and the Arts.
For Heather, music has always been about much more than performing. It brings people together, creates a sense of belonging, and provides opportunities for creativity, connection and expression. She is delighted to be part of the Oriana Management Committee and looks forward to contributing her experience, enthusiasm and passion for music and the Arts to support Oriana and its future.
Mark Deal
Marketing
Mark joined Oriana in 2014 for a brief period and thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie of the members and the professionalism of the choir. He departed to the Central Coast of NSW for 3 years, where he sang with 3 highly experienced choirs during this time. Nothing compared to Oriana.
After returning to Queensland in 2018 Mark re-joined Oriana and feels like he has returned home. Mark works as a Chiropractor, Osteopath and Acupuncturist in Noosa. He provides support to Oriana through commitments to the Marketing of Oriana’s performances and presentations.
Roberto Marques
Production Committee Head
Roberto is the chair of the Production Sub-Committee, which supports Oriana’s coordination of concert production, from planning to execution. He also assists the choir with sourcing new music scores.
He is a founder member of Oriana as part of our tenor section. He works as a professional officer (research horticulturist) with the Queensland Department of Agriculture.
Karissa Brooke
Youth Choir Manager
Karissa has been involved in choral singing from an early age, starting out in primary school choir. She was a member of the Blackstone-Ipswich Cambrian Junior Choir.
Karissa moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2010 where she sang in her high school choir. She joined Sunshine Coast Oriana Youth Choir in 2011, and in 2014 she joined her mother in the Sunshine Coast Oriana Choir, thus becoming the first Youth Choir member to transition to the adult choir.
Karissa enjoys helping the Youth Choir and inspiring young singers to follow their love of singing and the arts.
Lyndel Grant
Tech Assistant
Lyndel grew up in Horsham, Victoria and started singing in choirs at school. She studied piano for many years and had a stab a playing the oboe.
She completed a Veterinary Science degree at Melbourne University, then a Grad Dip Ed 10 years later when she had her children (a daughter and twin boys).
Lyndel moved to Qld in 1992, sang with Sunshine Coast Choral Society and joined Oriana in 2015 for the Eastern European Tour. She is hoping we can travel again soon!