LOS Music Directors
Chuck Greene - Music Director
Our Music Director, Chuck Greene, is a lifelong barbershop harmony aficionado. He resides with wife, Bev, in Fletcher, NC.
Chuck writes, “Harmony is a richly positive influence in people’s lives. It encourages, connects, cheers and inspires community life in unique and valuable ways. Human beings are hard-wired to have wonderful emotional feelings in the presence of consonant (as opposed to dissonant) harmonies. The strongest wonderful feelings arise when the harmonies are a cappella. What a powerful gift singers carry! The potential effects for good are enormous. Let’s create more harmony!”
Chuck has 22 years experience directing men’s and women’s a cappella choruses in barbershop styled singing. His music education includes undergraduate studies in Applied Voice at Mars Hill College, over 40 adult education voice classes and numerous vocal and visual coaching sessions with many of the finest a cappella performance coaches in the nation.
As a performer, Chuck has sung bass in two District Championship barbershop quartets, competed at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s international level six times in four different quartets and finished in the “Top 20” twice. His quartets have performed in over thirty states across the country.
As a coach, mentor, teacher and director, Chuck is widely sought. He has facilitated workshops for Barbershop Harmony Society members and Sweet Adelines throughout the United States and Canada. He has coached dozens of choruses and quartets, trained music directors and performance coaches and taught at many harmony education schools including the internationally renowned Harmony University.
Professionally, Chuck is an entrepreneur, visionary leader and turnaround strategist.
Kevin Kehres - Associate Director
Kevin shares a memory unique in the annals of barbershop harmony. He was a member of the only barbershop quartet ever to be featured in a live New York City radio program broadcast to more than a million listeners on Valentine’s Day … in a tattoo parlor … while watching a couple get his-and-her heart tattoos … on their rear ends. There is photographic evidence.
When he moved to Asheville in 2006, Kevin decided to forego singing in tattoo parlors for the greater good of becoming a director and coach. He is currently participating in the BHS program to train up-and-coming directors, and works on his “hand independence” every day.
As a singer, Kevin has performed everywhere from New York’s Carnegie Hall to San Francisco’s Cow Palace, as well as the Saddle Dome in Calgary, Canada, and the Summer Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia. For many years, he was the front-row captain of the Big Apple Chorus in New York. Prior to that, he was a member of the Singing Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, and the Heart of Ohio Chorus.
Kevin is a freelance writer and blogger who lives in Fletcher with a grumpy pet conure named George and several as-yet unnamed dust bunnies.
James McMahon - Associate Director
James McMahon is an associate director as well as the baritone section leader, and doubles as a bamboo pole when the need arises (he's tall and skinny). James got his first taste of barbershop at age 12, and the style has been in his bones ever since.
James directed the Harvard Din & Tonics, a 16-man college a cappella group, for audiences around the US and the world. He studied choral conducting as an undergraduate at Harvard and at the graduate level at the New England Conservatory of Music. His happiest barbershop memory is perpetually last Tuesday night's rehearsal. He lives in Asheville with his wife and 4 kids, and is an atmospheric scientist on the side.
Matthew Boutwell - Vocal Coach
Matthew Boutwell is an active semi-professional baritone originally hailing from Lakeland, FL, now working here in Asheville, NC He received his degree in Choral Education and Vocal Performance from the University of Central Florida. During his education, he taught voice privately and sang publicly for various church ensembles and community theatres in Orlando, FL. Since 2007, Matthew has been featured with the Asheville Lyric Opera in such roles as Antonio in The Marraige of Figaro, on the 10th anniversary gala in the role of Schaunard from La Boheme, and as guest artist with the masters students of Western Carolina University in the role of Cecil from Maria Stuarda. For 2 years he was a featured soloist and section leader for St. James Episcopal Church in Hendersonville, NC.
Along with his many classical singing credits, Matthew is proud to have kept his barbershop roots by coaching, directing, and performing with the Asheville Barbershop Chapter . He has gained a wealth of experiential knowledge in vocal pedagogy from doing so , first singing baritone, then stepping out of his comfort zone and making the switch to tenor. He began his barbershop journey when he was 18 singing with his hometown chapter, the Pride of Polk Chorus in Florida. He later sang with the Sun Harbor Chorus in San Diego, CA while serving his country in the US Navy.
Matthew Boutwell resides in West Asheville with his wife and 2 sons, and is available for private voice lessons at msboutwell@gmail.com.