Meet Our Artistic Team
Sterling Finkbine, M.Ed.
Music Department/Performing Arts Department Chair, Director of Baby Grands, Chorale, Synergy JH Choir, Musical Theatre Company, Masterclass, & Private Studio Coordinator
Sterling Finkbine is a choral director, vocal coach, and arts educator serving as Director of Vocal Music and Chair of Performing Arts at Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA). He teaches a range of vocal ensembles and musical theatre courses, including Chorale, the school’s flagship high school choral ensemble, and Baby Grands, a select 13-voice treble a cappella group. His choirs consistently earn Superior ratings at the Ohio Music Education Association’s Large Group Regional and State contests, reflecting his commitment to musical excellence and expressive performance. Through student-centered leadership, he creates an inclusive, challenging environment where young artists develop their skills, confidence, and artistry.
Before joining SCPA, Sterling spent more than a decade as Director of Choral Activities for the Ross Local School District, building a nationally respected choral and show choir program. He guided *Legacy*, the high school show choir, to numerous Grand Championship awards and founded *Next Generation*, a middle school show choir that earned recognition as one of the Midwest’s leading middle school ensembles. His choirs have collaborated with and shared the stage with acclaimed artists and organizations, including JoJo, Norm Lewis, Cody Fry, the Cincinnati Pops, May Festival Chorus, and New York Voices.
Outside of the classroom, Sterling serves on the Board of Directors for the Cincinnati Boychoir. He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association for Music Education, and the Ohio Music Education Association. He holds a Bachelor of Music and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Wright State University.
Sterling lives in Cincinnati with his husband Chris, and their two dogs, Whisky and Pete.
Rick Hand, M.M
Director of Meridian 8, Concert Choir, Musical Theater Company, Children’s Choir, Music History
Rick Hand is a vocal director for SCPA’s Musical Theatre Company and director of the SCPA Children’s Choir, Concert Choir, and Meridian 8, SCPA’s vocal jazz octet. An alumnus of SCPA, Mr. Hand has written numerous arrangements for performing groups at SCPA, including a medley that was performed with the Cincinnati Pops for SCPA’s 20th Anniversary. Mr. Hand also stays active as an accompanist and keyboard player, having performed in shows at Kings Island and for the Broadway Series. Mr. Hand holds degrees in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music and Miami University. He is currently in his 33rd year of teaching at SCPA.
Cynthia Heister, M. M.
Director of Voices of SCPA, Elevation Junior High Choir, Junior Musical Theatre, 12th & Elm
Cynthia Heister is a passionate music educator and director with extensive experience in teaching and musical direction. With a rich background in public school education, she has directed numerous ensembles and music programs for grades K-12, reflecting her commitment to shaping the next generation of performers and the continuous integration of arts in education. She is also a passionate private voice and piano instructor, specializing in musical theater performance and audition preparation, empowering students to find their voice. Cynthia holds a Masters of Music in Music Education, with specialization in Arts Administration and Musical Theatre, from The College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, where she researched and developed a notable capstone project on adolescent vocal techniques. Additionally, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Music from Southwest Baptist University. Cynthia has obtained teaching certifications in both Ohio and Missouri.
Dr. Kaylyn Baldwin
Private Voice Faculty
American soprano Kaylyn Taylor Baldwin is an active performer and educator based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Recent highlights include her Cincinnati Opera mainstage debut as the Page in Verdi’s Rigoletto, an artist at the Ravinia Music Festival with the Steans Music Institute, a District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and an appearance as an Emerging Artist with Opera Saratoga.
Her operatic roles include Sally in Joe Illick’s Stone Soup, Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina and Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Young Leah in the world premiere of Lori Laitman’s Uncovered, First Witch in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and Papagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. She has also performed extensively in musical theatre performing the roles of Maria in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, Peggy in Rick Lewis’s The Taffetas, and Marcy Park in William Finn’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Originally trained as a violinist, Baldwin performed for more than two decades before turning her focus to voice. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance with an emphasis in Vocal Pedagogy from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Utah State University. She is the author of The Legacy of Laura Netzel: Complete Works for Voice and Piano, a comprehensive anthology of the Swedish composer’s solo vocal music. She is also a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and has twice hosted the organization’s Science Informed Pedagogy Institute.
Baldwin is passionate about teaching and helping young singers develop healthy technique, confidence, and artistry. She teaches classical and musical theatre voice at Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts and has served as an adjunct voice instructor at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Miami University.
Xan Jeffery
Private Voice Faculty
Xan Waddell Jeffery, B.M. and M.M., University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is on faculty at CCM, Northern Kentucky University and the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts teaching Vocal Techniques for Musical Theatre, Musical Theatre Song/Scene, and Applied Voice. She also has a very active private voice studio. She has done continuing education courses in Contemporary Commercial Music Techniques and Vocal Injury and Wellness. Her students have been/are currently seen on American Idol, Broadway, numerous National Broadway tours and many of the top BFA Musical Theatre and BM Vocal Music university programs. Xan music directs around the Tri-State area for professional theater companies, universities and high schools. She is the alto section leader at Indian Hill Church and has sung with the Cincinnati Fusion Ensemble and Cincinnati Choral Society. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and Sigma Alpha Iota. Xan is passionate about instilling confidence in her students while developing healthy vocal technique and finding just the right repertoire for each one.
Kelly Mackenzie-Thurley
Private Voice Faculty
Kelly MacKenzie-Thurley is a graduate of both Northern Kentucky University and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She has performed in venues and festivals throughout the United States, Australia, Italy, Czech Republic, Austria, the United Kingdom and Germany, including performances at Cincinnati’s Music Hall, Harlech Castle, and the Sydney Opera House.
Kelly is on the voice faculty at Northern Kentucky University’s School of the Arts and recently joined the faculty at Cincinnati’s School for Creative & Performing Arts. In 2018 she took over as Director of the NKU Vocal Jazz Ensemble and has continued her studies with Darmon Meader of New York Voices. In October 2021, Kelly served as a Jazz Ambassador for the Cincinnati-Nancy Sister Jazz Initiative in Nancy, France. Kelly continues to perform regularly throughout Southwest Ohio including Caffé Vivace, Muse Café, and the Härth Room, and has upcoming performances with the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra.
Ethan Neal
Private Voice Faculty
Ethan Neal is an American conductor and baritone whose work explores the relationship between singing and conducting across opera, orchestral, and choral performance. Drawing on his experience as both conductor and performer, he brings a singer’s perspective to the podium and a conductor’s perspective to vocal performance. Hailed for his “mesmerizing conducting” (Ryan Brandau, Princeton ProMusica) and “engaging singing” (Cincinnati Classical Concerts Review), Neal is particularly interested in opera, collaborative music-making, and programming that places the expressive potential of the human voice at its center.
Neal has collaborated as both conductor and singer with organizations including the Philadelphia Orchestra and Philadelphia Symphonic Chorus, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Spoleto Festival USA, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Vocal Arts Ensemble Cincinnati, and the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory. Additional professional engagements have included work with Lexington Philharmonic, Kentucky Opera, Santa Fe Opera, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the Bach Ensemble of St. Thomas, the Kentucky Bach Choir, the professional recording ensemble Coro Volante, and the England-based vocal ensemble Gallicantus.
Recent and upcoming engagements include performances with Spoleto Festival USA, serving as Assistant Conductor for the Chautauqua Opera, and appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Philadelphia Symphonic Chorus. His developing career reflects a growing focus on opera, orchestral, and vocal performance, informed by his experience both on the podium and on the concert stage.
Neal is the Founding Artistic Director of the Artifex Ensemble, a Cincinnati-based professional vocal ensemble dedicated to innovative programming and collaborative artistic experiences. He also serves on the faculty of Miami University, Thomas More University, and Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts. In addition, he is Assistant Minister for Worship and Music at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer and a Teaching Artist with Cincinnati Opera.
Candace Williams
Private Voice Faculty
American soprano Candace Williams has performed and studied a variety of operatic roles, including Norina (Don Pasquale), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Constance (Dialogues des Carmelites), and more. This season, she looks forward to covering the role of Despina for Queen City Opera’s upcoming production of Così fan tutte and will be the soprano soloist in Handel’s Dixit Dominus at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, both in Cincinnati, OH. She has enjoyed several seasons with Cincinnati Opera as a chorus member and has additionally performed as a soloist in several of their workshop presentations of contemporary operas. With a specific passion for community engagement efforts, Candace has also performed with Cincinnati Opera in a variety of outreach performances aimed towards young audiences, including the title role of César Cui’s Little Red as a part of their collaboration with Roundabout Opera for Kids.
Ms. Williams is a decorated competitor, holding multiple awards from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, the George Shirley Vocal Competition, and the Pasadena Vocal Competition. As an avid lover of ensemble singing, Candace recently joined the Spoleto Festival as a 2026 Choral Fellow and regularly performs with several Cincinnati-based professional vocal chamber ensembles, including the Cincinnati Fusion Ensemble, Ensemble con Fuoco, Bach Ensemble of St. Thomas, and more. She holds an Artist Diploma in Opera Performance from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from University of Kentucky, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance & Pedagogy from Oakwood University.
With a deep appreciation for crossover genres, Reed portrayed Archibald Craven in the Chautauqua Institute’s production of the musical Secret Garden. Following graduation, Reed joined the choruses of Lucia di Lammermoor and Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Cincinnati Opera last summer. Currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Voice Performance at The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Reed studies under the guidance of Grammy Award-winning baritone Elliot Madore. Beyond the stage, Reed enjoys listening to his vinyl record collection, composing music, and savoring Skyline Chili.