OUR PEOPLE
Co-Artistic Director
Theodore Thorpe, III
Theodore Thorpe III is a leading voice and contributor to the music field in the Washington area, with experience ranging from conductor to vocalist, pianist, organist, composer, clinician, arranger, and choral master. He has performed as an artistic director, conductor, and soloist at major performing arts centers including Carnegie Hall, the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the Strathmore Music Center, and the John F. Kennedy Center. He is currently music director at the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA, an artistic director for Washington Performing Arts, and director of choral activities at Alexandria City High School. The Alexandria Times noted he is “Inspiring students to soar!” The school’s choral groups have consistently received superior ratings and first place at local and national competitions. They have also performed for the U.S. president in “Christmas in Washington” and “Kennedy Center Honors” nationally televised productions, opened for the cast of the television show “Glee,” and performed at the opening ceremony of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Recently, he was selected as one of the 40 educators in the Yamaha “40 under 40” Class of 2023 for his outstanding contribution to music education. For more information, visit www.3tmusic.com.
Scott Tucker
Scott Tucker has prepared choruses for many of the best-known orchestral conductors in the world including Marin Alsop, Gustavo Dudamel, Christoph Eschenbach, Joanne Falletta, Erich Leinsdorf, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda and Michael Tilson-Thomas.
During his tenure as Artistic Director of The Choral Arts Society of Washington (2012-2022), he prepared the chorus for over two dozen appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. In 2018, a reviewer for the Washington Post described the Choral Arts role in Britten’s War Requiem as “…the most moving choral singing I have heard in a quarter-century’s residence in Washington.”
Tucker also prepared Choral Arts for guest appearances with several other orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis.
In addition to his collaborations with major symphony orchestras, Tucker took to the podium to conduct a wide range of choral-orchestral works including classics by such composers as Bach, Brahms and Verdi, as well as deserving lesser-known works such as Bacalov’s Misa Tango, Schmitt’s Psalm 47. And Geter’s An African American Requiem.
Our Board
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley: President
Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley has held numerous senior leadership roles in US government and policy organizations, including Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and Ambassador to the Republic of Malta at the Department of State, and President of the Middle East Policy Council. A Cleveland native, she holds degrees from George Washington and Johns Hopkins Universities. As a board member for multiple organizations, including the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, she has been committed to excellence in professional development, leadership, and the arts. Her interest in music was fostered as a singer in Washington Performing Arts Men and Women of the Gospel.
Phyllis Chesley: Treasurer
Phyllis Chesley, born in New Jersey and raised in Washington, DC, is an independent
accountant who helps small businesses, churches and non-profits keep their finances in order. She graduated from Georgetown University with a BSBA degree in accounting and studied filmmaking at Howard University. She does volunteer accounting work for her filmmaker friends to support their independent film efforts. She is a member of the Washington Performing Arts Men and Women of the Gospel and sings in her church choirs. She is very happy to serve on the Washington Douglass Chorale board.
Robert Vogel: Secretary
Robert (Rob) Vogel is the co-founder of the Washington Douglass Chorale, serving as initial President. Besides singing in WDC, he has been singing in multiple DC-area concert choirs since 1987. Rob is the founding partner of Vogel, Slade & Goldstein, a Washington, DC law firm representing whistleblowers in lawsuits against defense contractors, health care providers, and others who submit fraudulent claims for government funds. He has received the “Whistleblower Lawyer of the Year” award from the organization “Taxpayers Against Fraud,” and he has been repeatedly named a “Top Whistleblower Attorney” by Washingtonian Magazine.
David Flaxman
David Flaxman is a computer scientist with several software patents who now spends most of his time on music and foreign languages. He is the co-founder of the Washington Douglass Chorale. He teaches music and the Italian language in the Osher Lifelong Learning program at the American University where he is also a board member, immediate past board chair, and co-chair of the Lecture Committee. He is the co-producer of the podcast, “Curiosity Never Retires.” He sings in Washington Douglass Chorale, along with multiple other local choruses.
Milton Pippins
Milton Pippens is a Systems Engineer with LT Consulting, LLC providing Information Technology solutions for federal government clients. He is a retired member of the United States Air Force and Air National Guard. Milton has been a member of many choral groups in the Washington DC area, including Washington Performing Arts Men and Women of the Gospel Choir and Heritage Signature Choral. Milton appreciates all genres of music, with a special love for choral music. He is honored and excited to serve the Washington Douglass Chorale as both a singer and as a board member.
Lizbeth Tankersley
Lizabeth (Liz) Tankersley is a retired congressional staffer and lawyer who served for 25 years as counsel or legislative director for five different senators, including Edmund Muskie of Maine, Joe Biden of Delaware, and Barbara Boxer of California. Liz began singing at age of 4 in a children's choir in her Texas hometown, eventually joining multiple choruses at the University of Texas in Austin. After moving to Washington, DC, she sang with large symphonic choruses for many decades, also serving as a chorus board member. Liz is now deeply honored to serve on the board of the Washington Douglass Chorale.
Cynthia Dunbar
Cynthia (Cindy) Dunbar MD is a physician-scientist at the National Institutes of Health, working to improve treatments for serious blood disorders in the laboratory and the clinic. She has served as President of national medical and scientific societies and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She leads programs to broaden the scientific workforce. A lifelong choral singer, she has been a member of performing groups in Boston and in Washington DC, including the Choral Arts Society of Washington and the Washington Revels, and is thrilled to both sing in and serve on the board of the Washington Douglass Chorale.