Members

The ALPaca Herders

Wes George

Founder, Lead Technician

Wes has been singing since he was old enough to talk - with church choir, his school chorus, and with his family.   However, the a cappella bug bit him during his first semester at PSU, and that has been his favorite ever since.

Wes sang with a total of 6 different a cappella groups while at PSU and has the dubious distinction of juggling 2-3 groups simultaneously for several semesters. He's most comfortable singing bass but can fill in as vocal percussion and occasionally sing tenor and lead when necessary.

He's dabbled in live sound reinforcement as a leader in the AV club during middle and high school and has been the lead sound technician for several churches, as well as assisting with sound with his college groups' live and recorded work.

He's also a hardcore computer geek, by day doing internet network engineering stuff, by night serving as tech support for ALP.

Shawn Pearce 

Founder, Creative - Project Manager

Shawn has devoted as much of his life to a cappella as one can without making it his full-time job. As the founder of three a cappella groups at Penn State University (Pennharmonics, Grace Notes, and the summers-only A Cappella Project) and the music director of two others, Shawn had a strong hand in shaping the PSU a cappella community as it stands today. He has also served as an ambassador for the Contemporary A Cappella Society, a reviewer for the Recorded A Cappella Review Board, and a producer for the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella.  He currently does professional arranging work as part of Clear Harmonies Productions.

A catastrophic car accident in 2009 that affected his mobility, lungs and vocal chords made it difficult for Shawn to sing in a live group. ALP allows Shawn to make music with friends and to hear his arrangements performed live again, which has rejuvenated his life.  As Project Manager, Shawn oversees the arranging / production of ALP's music and videos, as well as acts as project lead for specific projects here and there.

Shawn's day job is helping at-risk citizens obtain needed benefits, and his most important job is as a husband and father of two.

Meg Leonard 

Internal Connections

Meg (who, while not a founder, had the original idea for ALP) began her journey into the world of competitive a cappella early, when she and her neighborhood best friend had impromptu duels to see who could “sing just like Ariel” the best.  Unfortunately, given that the judges were their mothers, a clear winner was never decided, and Meg retired from competing, but not from singing.

As a music major at Mary Baldwin College in Virginia, she was involved in the college choir, the a cappella madrigals ensemble, and Baldwin Charm, the women’s college’s all-female contemporary a cappella group, where she served primarily as vocal percussionist.  With the wisdom and perspective that come years after graduating, she’s realized she never had a sense of rhythm and is happiest singing alto.  (Sorry, Ariel…)

Meg currently lives in a tiny Nebraska town with her husband, three boys, and five pets, and spends her days attempting to be as close to the “Proverbs 31 woman” as she can, tending 30 goats and making soap.  She and Glenn will serve as the Connections Team, which will handle Communications (Internal / External), Social Media and Administrative.

Glenn Visscher 

External Connections

Glenn has been involved with both choral Music and a cappella singing (both Barbershop and Contemporary) since the early 1980's, thus making him one of the "Old Guard" of the group.  Music has been in his blood all his life: High School (Colonial Quartet)...Bucknell University (Harmonytryx)...Penn State (The A Cappella Project; None of the Above; Out of Nowhere; Northern Lights)...and beyond.  Glenn sings Baritone / Bass by training, but can sing whatever is needed.

He is based out of Northern New Jersey and works as a Research Scientist / Project Manager for a Global Confectionary Company (Mondelez)  developing gum & candy treats!   He is the "Gum Guy"!    It is certainly never dull at his work.   Between travel to the Gum, Candy and Chocolate plants, music is a welcome respite!     


Glenn and Meg will make up the "Connections Team" and will be responsible for Internal / External Connections, Social Media and Administrative.

Our Active Performers

Soprano                                    
Maria Barrilla (Sao Paolo, Brazil)
Leslie Clarke (Maryland)
Christine Galdi (Pennsylvania)
Caitlyn Nelson (New York)
Leslie Rueff (Virginia)
Rachel Weinstein (New York)
Lauren Weigand (New York)
Alexandra Wallace (New York)


Mezzo
Kris Celario (California) 
Leslie Clarke (Pennsylvania)
Taryn Johnson (Wisconsin)


Alto
Amy Braverman (Pennsylvania)
Jennifer Cannon (Arizona)
Gillian Fox (Texas)
Meg Leonard (Nebraska)
Ericka Nichol (Pennsylvania)
Stefanie Ding (New Jersey)


Tenor 
Jacob Berglin (Illinois)
Ben Clarke (Maryland)
Travis Swinford (Illinois)


Baritone
Josh Cole (Washington)
Christoph Droesser (Germany / California)
Shawn Pearce (Pennsylvania)
Ian Podraza (Massachusetts)
Perry Tsai (Virginia)
Jordan Ullman (New Jersey)
Glenn Visscher (New Jersey)
Khoi Vo (Pennsylvania)


Bass
Wes George (Virginia)   
Rob McKeever (Virginia)
Josh Sholes (Pennsylvania)
C.J. Smith (New York)


Vocal Percussion
Sašo Vrabič (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Kris Celario (California)
Wes George (Virginia)
Shawn Pearce (Pennsylvania)
C.J. Smith (New York)




YOU COULD BE ON THIS LIST TOO!  JOIN US TODAY!