Board of Directors

Sharon Messbarger, President

Sharon has been singing with the Arvada Chorale since 2019. She has worked in hospitality for many years, as a server, bartender and event captain at the Denver Zoo and some of Denver’s nicest hotels. Now retired, you will still find her preparing cocktails at the Cattlemen's Club at the National Western Stock Show every January. She served on the board as new member representative and sings alto.

Batina Bek, Vice President

Batina, an alto, has been a member since 2021. She has been singing her whole life, at school, church and in small ensembles. She holds an AAS in Health Information Technology from Front Range Community College and is excited to use her talents for the chorale. She lives in Aurora with one of four adult sons and a yellow Labrador named Sassy. Batina is involved in children’s ministry at her church and enjoys crafting and playing the piano.

Sue Lindsay, Secretary

Sue has been singing tenor with the Chorale since 2007, along with several other groups. A journalist for more than 40 years, she worked for newspapers in Chicago and Denver’s Rocky Mountain News. After the Rocky folded in 2009, she became a private investigator and then communications director for the Adams County District Attorney’s Office. Music is what kept her sane during all those stressful occupations, so she joined the board once she retired, hoping to give back to the organization she has loved for so many years.

Deb Morrow, Treasurer

Deb came to the Arvada Chorale in 2019 as General Manager after retiring from Central City Opera , where she was Director of Education and Community Engagement for 27 years. After five years as manager, she stepped back -- a little -- to become Treasurer. She is a soprano whose experience in both administration and artistic endeavors has been invaluable to the chorale.

Chris Varner, Member at Large

Chris joined the chorale as a bass in 2018, but as the child of a conservatory-trained jazz trumpeter, he has been surrounded by music his whole life. He spent 35 years at Ball Aerospace as an electrical engineer, designing computer systems for science projects including the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes and the HiRISE camera that images the surface of Mars.

Craig Biesterfeld, Member at Large

Craig is the perfect example of a community chorister -- he loved to sing, but never learned to read music until he joined the chorale as a bass in 2022. When not singing or playing guitar, Craig is a Broker Associate with ReMax Alliance in Arvada, where he lives with his family.

Jamie Stalker, Member at Large

Jamie has been singing in choirs and playing the piano since she was 5 years old, eventually attending Indiana University Jacobs School of Music for a year. She has a B.S. in Biology from Indiana University, an M.D. from Rush Medical College in Chicago, and is board certified in Internal Medicine. After a respite from choir for career and kids, she resumed singing in 2014 with the University of Chicago Chorus and then the DuPage Chorale. After moving to Colorado for work, she made finding a new choir a priority and joined the chorale as an alto in 2022. Jamie is senior medical director for a government health screening program and enjoys hiking, cooking, reading and ceramics.

Kara Sakulich, Past President

Kara has been a member of the Arvada Chorale since 2011. She is a lifelong singer and has sung alto in church, high school, college and community choirs. She holds a B.S. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Mansfield University in Pennsylvania. She is a stay-at-home mom and substitute teacher who lives in Arvada with her husband and two sons. Kara is excited to use her talents and past experience with the chorale to take the organization to new heights.

Eliana Whitehouse, Community Member at Large

Eliana Whitehouse recently moved to Colorado. She has a B.A. in psychology and studio art from Lawrence University in Wisconsin and recently received a Masters of Social Work from the University of Michigan. She recently moved to Golden where she works in the field of education equity research and enjoys participating in the arts in her free time. Eliana lends her knowledge of grant writing and social media marketing to help the chorale reach a broad and diverse audience.

John Hubert, Artistic Director (Ex Officio)

John is a conductor, singer, instrumentalist, musical collaborator, teacher, husband, father and lover of life from St. Louis, Missouri. He believes in the power of musical communities to bring people together and explore themselves through their musical repertoire. John has conducted ensembles at the First Universalist Church of Denver, Regis University and The Spirituals Project. He has been a conducting clinician for many other ensembles in the Denver metro area and beyond. John lives in Lakewood with his beloved wife, Christmas, and two children, Nick and Naomi.

Lisa Greim, Chorale Manager (Ex Officio)

Lisa joined the chorale as an alto in 2014 after her youngest child went off to college, ending her days as a Jeffco performing arts parent. She served on the chorale board for five years, including three years as president, and returned to take on manager duties in 2024. A longtime Arvada resident, Lisa wandered from job to job as a writer, editor and corporate communicator, most recently for Xcel Energy.