Meet the Staff
Charmian Bulley
Artistic Director
Music Makers Conductor
Charmian Simons Bulley received her BA in Music Education from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, and her MS in Music Education from the University of Illinois. She is a certified Orff Schulwerk instructor, having studied with Jane Frazee, Arvida Steen, and Mary Goetze. Mrs. Bulley taught general music education in Champaign, IL, Unit 4 Schools for 34 years. She has also taught early childhood education classes at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois, and has presented workshops to educators in Central Illinois. She is a member of the Illinois American Choral Directors Association and served on their board as Children’s Chorus Chairperson. She has been on the CICC staff since 1985 and also serves as conductor of all choirs at Faith United Methodist Church in Champaign, Illinois.
Andrea Solya
Chamber Choir and Youth Chorale Conductor
Andrea Solya is on the music faculty of the University of Illinois, where she received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting. As a native of Hungary, Dr. Solya attended the Kodály Music School in Kecskemet and received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music education and choral conducting from The University of Szeged. She also holds a Master’s degree in choral conducting from The Ohio State University. She is a former conductor of the Columbus Children’s Choir. She teaches musicianship and conducting at the Kodály Institute at Capital University in Ohio each summer and serves as choir director at Trinity Lutheran Church in Urbana, IL. Dr. Solya has conducted CICC choirs since 2006.
Ann Morrissette
Concert Choir Conductor
Ann Morrissette teaches music at Barkstall Elementary School in Champaign, IL. She received her teaching certification and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in vocal performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mrs. Morrissette has performed in many musicals and operas with the Illinois Opera Theatre and Parkland College, as well as solo performances with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra. Mrs. Morrissette is a former member of CICC and sang under its founder, Carolyn Paulin.
Michael Hammer
Accompanist
Michael Hammer has a Doctorate (2006) in piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, where he also earned his Master's Degree; he received his Bachelor's Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Dr. Hammer has performed in Europe, Asia, and around the United States, including appearances at the recital hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, NY, and at the National Recital Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. He has received several prizes in solo piano competitions, some of which included appearances with an orchestra, as well as prizes for piano accompanying. In fact, a fellowship primarily in the field of vocal accompanying enabled his Doctorate studies at Peabody, so he is well qualified to work with the CICC choirs, a position he enjoys.
Dr. Hammer has been music director and/or organist of several Methodist churches, and he currently serves as the keyboardist for Faith United Methodist Church in Champaign, Illinois. Previously, he taught theory at the Peabody Conservatory and at Towson University in Maryland. For several years, he also taught piano to school-aged children at the St. Paul's Schools in Brooklandville, MD. The piano, organ, and composition students in his current studio range in age from preschool to “retired.” For more information about his flexible teaching style, please see his website:www.pianonoise.com. Dr. Hammer is married and has one very erudite cat.
Sandy Nieman
Administrative Director
Sandy Nieman began her association with CICC in 1990 as the parent of two singers. She served on CICC’s Board of Directors for 11 years and joined the staff in 1998. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in mathematics from Purdue University and a Master of Science degree in statistics from Michigan State University.
