Olesia Castuera, Music Director
Olesia Gordynsky Castuera has been with Bella Music Chorus for two years. Originally born in Ukraine, she comes from a diverse musical background, which includes singing in Ukrainian, Russian and English regularly in the Philadelphia area with various choirs. There she studied Music Education at Eastern University with a concentration in voice. Along with many engagements as a soloist, she’s sung with the Mendelssohn Club Chorus in Philadelphia with conductor Paul Rardin and the San Francisco Choral Artists with Magen Solomon. She completed her graduate degree at Messiah University, studying Choral Conducting with Dr. Cornacchio and Dr. Joy Meade. Recently she’s worked with the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, and Pacific Edge Voices. During the school year, she is a local music educator and has taught in Philadelphia, Berkeley and Mill Valley. Her eclectic musical interests and experiences allow her to connect to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Rebecca Hass, Accompanist
Rebecca Hass is a pianist, composer, collaborative pianist, educator, and creative coach in the San Francisco Bay Area dedicated to creative curiosity and joy. She has extensive experience collaborating with classical performers, groups, and movement artists, including Diablo Women’s Chorale, Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choirs, and Opera on Tap SF.
With a deep passion for Brazilian rhythms, Rebecca has been part of the Brazilian music scene in the Bay Area for the last 6 years, and performs solo shows of her own compositions and arrangements, as well as with Melodias das Estrelas, Lillian Yee, and other groups. Recent collaborations include the Berkeley Choro Ensemble with multi-genre bassoonist Paul Hanson, and the Echo Chamber Orchestra.
Rebecca’s debut Brazilian album, Florescer (Bloom), was described as “a delightful 43 minutes of musical sunshine, and her 2024 album of original piano music, Bright Little Worlds, is an imaginative, heart-filled collection of 22 compositions in various styles (Brazilian, jazz, impressionistic, neo-classical, and more), featuring guest musicians Debbie Gold (flute) and Brian Rice (pandeiro).
She was also a longtime member of the Minneapolis Brazilian percussion group Batucada do Norte, and a founding member of the Modern Spark Trio, a piano trio with diverse repertoire.
In addition, Rebecca is a creative coach who helps ambitious artists self-compassionately reduce overwhelm, so they have more energy to focus on their most important work. She hosted the podcast Being a Whole Person, full of inspiration and tangible tips to help you self-compassionately grow your creative practice.
Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Music degree in piano with a concentration in art history and anthropology from Ithaca College, and is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music through MTNA.