About Us
Jeanette MacCallum
Jeanette MacCallum is the Founder and Artistic Director of Vox Grata. She also serves as Director of Music Ministries at Second Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN, and founder and Artistic Director of Vox Grata, a Nashville community women’s choir. Previously she served as an Adjunct Professor in music theory and history at Belmont and Lipscomb Universities. In addition, she served as the Director of Choral Activities at Saint Cecilia Academy in Nashville, TN, from 2002 to 2012, where she conducted various ensembles and taught AP Music Theory. During her time at St. Cecilia, the Advanced Choir received superior ratings at all regional and state adjudication festivals in which it participated. In addition, the St. Cecilia Advanced Choir performed at ACDA and TMEA state conferences. Mrs. MacCallum led the St. Cecilia Choir on performance tours to Carnegie Hall, Canada and Italy. In 2007, the Saint Cecilia Choir performed by invitation at the Ospedale della Pietà and the Ospedale dei Derelitti in Venice. Her students earned positions in numerous All State and ACDA Honor Choirs.
A native of Princeton, New Jersey, Mrs. MacCallum’s passion for choral music began as a member of the distinguished Princeton High School Choir. She received her musical education at the Eastman School of Music and Belmont University, and received the Master of Church Music degree from Belmont. A singer, pianist and conductor, Mrs. MacCallum has directed choirs at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, as well as at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN. She is past president of the Tennessee chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. Jeanette is the author of “The Sacred Choral Works of the Venetian Ospedali,” published by GIA in “Conducting Women’s Choirs: Strategies for Success,” Debra Spurgeon, Editor and Compiler. (2012)
Dr. Susan Kelly
Dr. Susan Kelly is Associate Director of Vox Grata. She is employed as Co-Director of Choirs at Stewarts Creek High School in Smyrna, Tennessee. Prior to coming to Stewarts Creek, Dr. Kelly served as an Assistant Professor of Music/Choral Director at Tennessee State University where she directed the University Choir and Meistersingers, taught classes in Music Education and Conducting, and taught Applied Voice. She currently serves as the Associate Conductor for Vox Grata Women’s Choir and as the adult choir director at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Murfreesboro. Dr. Kelly is also in demand as a guest conductor, having recently conducted the KY-ACDA All-State Middle-School Choir, as well as choirs in Georgia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia. Additionally, she has sung soprano with the Tennessee Chamber Chorus, a professional choir based in eastern Tennessee and The Cecilia Ensemble, based in Augusta, Georgia.
Before coming to Tennessee, Dr. Kelly taught at Abington Heights High School in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania and Mid Valley Secondary Center in Throop, Pennsylvania. She also served as director of the Cantare Choir of The Choral Society of Northeast Pennsylvania, a community high-school women’s ensemble that performed at both state ACDA and PMEA conferences, as the Director of Music at the First Presbyterian Church of Clarks Summit, and as a soprano with The Lyric Consort, an eight-voice vocal ensemble.
Susan holds undergraduate degrees in Music Education and English Education from Wilkes University, a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting from Temple University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the University of South Carolina. Prior to her move to Tennessee, Susan was active in both PMEA, in which she served as Choral Coordinator of District 9, and ACDA, in which she served as President-Elect Designate of PA-ACDA. Susan is a past president of TN-ACDA and is currently serving as Co-Chair of Conference Performing Ensembles for TMEA and Chair of the Choral Performance Assessment for MTVA.
Dr. John Semingson
Dr. John Semingson serves as Accompanist for Vox Grata Women’s Choir. Since 2001, John has served as the Director of Music Ministries for Westminster Presbyterian Church—Nashville where he oversees a multi-faceted music program of nine choirs involving nearly 200 children, youth, and adults. John holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting, the Master of Church Music in both conducting and organ, and the Bachelor of Music in organ performance. He has conducted and/or served as an accompanist for church, community, and university choirs in Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Tennessee, over the past three decades.
Shae Lime
Shae Lime serves as the Marketing and Community Engagement Manager for Vox Grata. She earned the Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Creative Writing from St. Olaf College in 2022. A soprano in the renowned St. Olaf Choir, Shae’s musical training began at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs Senior High School in St. Petersburg, Florida where she majored in voice. Following graduation from St. Olaf, Shae was employed by National Concerts as a Marketing and Content Manager in New York City.
As a singer, Shae has performed widely as a soloist with the St. Olaf Choir and has worked one-on-one with Jake Heggie, Ériks Ešenvalds, Grace Brigham, Jonathan Thomas Madden and others. Shae sings with SONUS Choir, an a cappella choir based in Nashville.
