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
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.
Carol Quin
Vice President
Carol joined the choir in 2009 and has been privileged to be a part of Oriana’s events and successes ever since, which have included overseas tours to UK and Europe in 2012 and 2016 . Being a member of Oriana brings opportunites and experiences which are unique and often life changing!
Carol currently works full time in Risk Management at ANZ Bank, and has previously worked in the areas of Corporate Lending, General Banking, Audit, Compliance and Governance. She brings almost 30 years experience in Banking and Finance to the role of Treasurer. Carol enjoys travel, home life, beach walks, golf, yoga and, of course, the Oriana Experience.
Jo Evans
Secretary
Jo grew up with a love of music, singing in a variety of choirs in her youth, followed by barbershop and community choirs in New Zealand, the UK and Brunei Darussalam over the past 20 years. After moving to Australia in 2012 Jo was ecstatic to find and join, a choir of the calibre of Oriana, in 2013. Apart from the stunning quality of the choir, one of the best aspects of Oriana was, and still is, the welcoming family feeling that underpins this close-knit group of singers.
A highlight for Jo was spending more time singing with, and getting to know, people on the 2016 European Tour.
Jo says of belonging to the choir, “Whatever else goes on in life and work, Oriana always makes my heart sing!” She feels that it is both a pleasure and an honour to be able to contribute back to Oriana Choir.
Karissa Brooke
Karissa Brooke
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.
Mark Deal
Committee
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
Committee
Originally from Brazil, Roberto migrated to Australia more than 20 years ago. After completing his PhD through the University of Queensland, he began working as a research horticulturist with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries based on the Sunshine Coast.
Roberto is passionate about choral music, having joined our tenor section in 2007. After a 3.5-year gap due to a work re-location in 2014, he was glad to return to the Coast in 2018, and to re-join Oriana then. Roberto is part of our marketing subcommittee and the library team, as well as assisting with our Covid-safe Taskforce.
Fay Baker
Artistic Director
Fay studied piano and cello at the Royal Academy of Music in London, obtaining the qualifications of LRAM and ARCM.
She and her family moved to Australia in 1978 and, after an initial career as a string teacher in Brisbane, joined the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and the University of Queensland as a vocal and choral accompanist. She accompanied the University Chamber Singers, the Conservatorium Singers, the Conservatorium Chorus and the Brisbane Chorale for several years. Fay was Senior Repetiteur for Opera Queensland for seven years before moving up to the Sunshine Coast.
Fay was the official accompanist and assistant conductor of the Sunshine Coast Choral Society for about 5 years. She retired briefly from choral accompanying before joining the award-winning Sunshine Coast Oriana Choir, firstly as a singer and then as the official accompanist and assistant conductor. She was also the founding accompanist of the University of the Sunshine Coast Singers. She retired from this position recently.
In December, 2016, Fay was honoured to be the first person awarded Life Membership of the Sunshine Coast Oriana Choir. Along with her role as Artistic Director for Oriana Fay continues her work as a freelance accompanist and vocal coach.
Treasurer
Karissa has been involved in choral life from a young age starting out in Churchill Primary and was also a member of Blackstone-Ipswich Cambrian Junior Choir in Ipswich.
She moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2010 and sang in the Peregian Beach College Choir throughout her high school years.
She joined the Sunshine Coast Oriana Youth Choir in 2011 and also joined the Sunshine Coast Oriana Choir alongside her mother in 2014, being the first youth member to transition to the adult choir.
Karissa is currently working as a spa therapist at RACV Noosa Resort.
Her highlight of being a part of Oriana so far is the tour to Italy in 2019.
Chris Mills
Webmaster
Chris joined Oriana in 2015 and was elected to the committee the following year. Although new to Oriana at that time he brought a wealth of experience in community organisation management.
Chris has been President of two theatre companies both here and in New Zealand, been on several sports club committees, Rotary and most importantly as a Councillor where he chaired two Council sub committees.
Chris has considerable experience in marketing and integration with digital media and maintains not only our website, but all of the other "tech"that the choir uses in its day to day operation.
This year has been challenging as most of our administration has had to be done using services like Zoom, Flock and Choraltracks among other apps we now use. "I am continually amazed with the adaptability of the people on the Committee and the membership at large who have embraced these changes and have taken on the steep learning curve with gusto!"
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.
Annie Smith
Committee
Annie joined the choir in 2019. She recently retired from 17 years of teaching Fitness at TAFE Sunshine Coast and 40 years within the fitness industry.
In partnership with a long time colleague, she now runs a Pilates studio in Mooloolaba in her semi retirement. She loves singing, walking, Pilates and golf (sometimes) and her wonderful grandchildren.
She has also been involved with many committees over the years.
Jen Brooke
Committee
Jen has been singing since her first choir experience in year 4 at Silkstone Primary and participated in eisteddfods and musicals throughout primary and high school.
She was a member of Blackstone-Ipswich Cambrian Choir for many years and was involved in eisteddfods as well as musical theater productions.
Jen moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2010 and joined Oriana in 2011.
She has joined Oriana in many adventures including eisteddfods and community events, and also the recent tour to Italy.