About Spectrum
The Spectrum Singers
The Spectrum Singers is an acclaimed Boston-area chorus performing repertoire from the Renaissance to the present day. The group was formed in 1980 by John W. Ehrlich, who led the ensemble for 44 years until his retirement in 2024. True to its name, the chorus offers rich and diverse programs ranging from more familiar masterworks with professional vocal soloists and orchestral musicians to lesser known but deserving works of all eras.
During John W. Ehrlich’s tenure, The Spectrum Singers were invited to collaborate with several musical organizations, including Emmanuel Music, Cantata Singers, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, and Indian Hill Symphony. The chorus also performed a broad exploration of requiems, from the familiar (Mozart, Fauré, Duruflé) to the lesser known (Alfred Désenclos and John Rutter) and a multi-season exploration of the late Haydn masses.
In its 2025-2026 season, The Spectrum Singers welcomes new Music Director Max Holman who will continue to present relevant, wide-ranging, and captivating musical offerings and collaborations with exceptional local and international artists, musicians, and performers.
Music Director
Music Director Max Holman is a Boston-based musician recognized for his “clear and expressive” conducting, “sensitive” collaborative instincts, and “clever” improvisations, arrangements, and continuo playing. Equally comfortable in front of professional, community, and youth ensembles, his expertise as a vocal coach and choral clinician has transformed seasoned, aging, and changing voices alike. A passionate educator, Max infuses practical musicianship skills, musical literacy, and healthy technique into fun and engaging rehearsals through relevant and diverse programming. He is also Executive & Artistic Director of the Boston Saengerfest Men’s Chorus, Middle & Upper School Choral Music and Spanish Teacher at Brimmer and May School, and Director of the Five Cities Baroque Festival Youth Academy.
International engagements have taken him to the Sultanate of Oman, performing Puccini’s La Bohéme under Lorin Maazel; Rome, Bologna, Milan, and Venice with the Yale Schola Cantorum; Madrid with Salix Cantor and Coro Talía, for whom he also served as Assistant Conductor; and Paris with el Coro de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Stateside, he has performed Baroque and contemporary works at the harpsichord with the Norfolk Chamber Consort and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. An accomplished ballet accompanist, Max has played classes at American Repertory Ballet and New Haven Ballet, the latter of which commissioned him to compose and record The Children’s Ballet.
Max is in demand locally as a freelance conductor, collaborative pianist, harpsichordist, organist, and singer. Max received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education: Voice from Rutgers University and his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the Yale School of Music and Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where he was awarded the Hugh Giles Prize and the Hugh Porter Scholarship. When he’s not making music, Max enjoys cooking, cycling, immersing himself in new cultures, forever improving his Spanish, attempting to learn how to dance, making people laugh, and playing fetch with his cat, Estrella.
James Barkovic has been active in the Boston area as a conductor, pianist, organist, violist and accompanist for more than thirty years. In addition to serving as the Assistant Conductor and Accompanist for The Spectrum Singers, he is the Music Director of the Westford Chorus. He serves as Music Director at Holy Family Parish and West Concord Union Church, both of Concord, Mass. Jim is the Chapel Organist and Instructor of Organ at Middlesex School, also of Concord. He is also the Choir Director at Congregation B’nai Shalom of Westborough, Mass.
Jim received his Master of Music in Piano Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Stephen Drury, performed in master classes for Leonard Shure and Veronica Jochum, and studied organ improvisation with William Porter. A native of Minnesota, he received his undergraduate diploma from St. Olaf College, with concentrations in music theory and history.
This is Jim’s 34th season as Assistant Conductor and Accompanist of The Spectrum Singers.
Assistant Conductor & Accompanist
John W. Ehrlich, Founder and Music Director Emeritus, has been active as a singer and conductor in the Boston and Cambridge areas for more than forty-five years. He is widely admired for his intriguing and adventuresome programming. “From the beginning, it’s been my goal to seek out and perform worthy, important music that is rarely heard,” he says. “As our name suggests, we draw on the whole ‘spectrum’ of master works from the Renaissance to the present day.”
Mr. Ehrlich studied music and conducting while attending the Hartt School of Music, Trinity College, and both Harvard and Boston Universities. His teachers were Robert Shaw, Gregg Smith, G. Wallace Woodworth, Vytautas Marijošius, and Iva Dee Hiatt. Also a singer, Mr. Ehrlich has sung with the Hartford Chamber Choir, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Cambridge Society for Early Music, John Oliver Chorale, Boston Baroque, and the Emmanuel Church Choir. For eight seasons he was music director of The Master Singers of Worcester.
Mr. Ehrlich retired at the end of the 2023-24 season after leading the group for 44 years.
Founder and Music Director Emeritus
Soprano: Luellen Best - Jill Fekete - Valerie Gibson - Kaitlyn Hess Jimenez - Jill Hirst - Leslie Horst - Tricia Wells Kennedy - Maki Koto - Isabella Ricciardi - Sandra Shepard - Anna Andrews Smith - Christine Sullivan - Kathi Tighe* - Reeven Wang Dai
Alto: Christine Bishop - Diane Droste - Liz Epstein - Dorrie Freedman - Sara Glidden* - Linda Ingram - Elisabeth Jas - Kristin Leary - Jeannette McLellan - Penny Outlaw - Kim Soleski Ward
Tenor: Thomas A. Best* - Winter Douglass - Paul Dredge - Ian Fox - Steve Groff - Keith Ohmart - John Schumacher - Frank Villa - Maurice Wong
Bass: Ron Armstrong - John Bradshaw - Dan Epstein - Jeff Henton - Ian Hutchinson - Douglas Latham - Henry Magno - Dave Meharry* - Richard Scott - Steven Solomon
*Section leader
Singers
Daniel Epstein (Chair), Kathryn Tighe (Chorus President), James Cannon Johnston (Treasurer), Anna Andrews Smith (Clerk), C. Paul Dredge, Valerie Gibson, Kaitlyn Hess, Christopher M. Keppelman, Douglas N. Latham, Richard Scott
Board of Directors
Mission
The Spectrum Singers, a close-knit multi-generational community of accomplished singers, present live performances of works from all periods of music history—pre-Renaissance through the present day—emphasizing seldom-heard works by master composers, with a high degree of professionalism, musicality and technical facility.
The Spectrum Singers as an organization does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, disability status, national origin, or ethnicity in any aspect of its programming and administration. Sexual harassment in any form is not tolerated. The Spectrum Singers are committed to improving diversity, equity, inclusion, and access, both in membership and in programming.