Our Members
Narumi Sousa
A native of Gifu, Japan, Narumi Sousa has, since she can remember, been interested in music, more specifically, in singing. She began to sing with the Tajimi Choir at an early age and found that she has an incredible natural talent for music. While a member of the choir, she took the opportunity to tour with them and attend the World Choral Symposium, Asia Cantat, and many other festivals around the world. The Tajimi Choir directed by, Nobuaki Tanaka, the 2016 recent recipient of the Person of Cultural Merit award, also conducts the Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus.
Narumi attended the Osaka University of Education for early childhood education from . After graduation she became an Aupair for a warm and loving family in Charlottesville. Soon thereafter, she joined the St. Thomas Aquinas Church Choir, where she met her husband, Brian.
Narumi and her husband have worked together to form the Children’s Choir of Central Virginia as well as performing together in and around Charlottesville.
Karen Purnell
Karen began her musical journey while in elementary school playing clarinet through high school and continuing on through college while majoring in music. She eventually realized that teaching young children was her passion, so she changed courses and eventually obtained a Bachelors Degree in Early Education from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Masters Degree in Special Education from Old Dominion University. After a very long musical hiatus which included raising two children and happily shuttling them to their myriad activities, as well as participating in a rewarding teaching career, Karen returned to music, but this time as a singer. Though the musical journey the second time around has been challenging at times, she says it has been a lot of fun. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family as well as traveling. She looks forward to learning and growing with Musica Sacra.
Maria Del Mar Villar-Villar
Maria del Mar Villar-Villar was born and raised in Charlottesville and has been singing in choir since she was eight years old. She studied videography and communications in college. Since then, she has worked for non-profits in member retention and social media production. Maria has always had a passion for music and is excited to be a part of Musica Sacra Virginia. She hopes to be able to lend her talents and share the beauty of sacred music with those who may not have encountered it before.
Mirna P. Gardner
Mirna P. Gardner is a native of Novi Sad, Serbia. She has been a member of various choral groups since childhood. She was happy to become a tenor in high school. Mirna’s passion is singing Renaissance and Baroque music in particular, but she also started appreciating the beauty and spiritual power of Gregorian chant while singing with Mr. Sousa. Mirna loves spending time with family and friends, hiking, being in nature, cooking, reading, listening to old Yugoslav pop music, and dancing to ABBA songs.
Kristen Farabaugh
Kristen is currently a senior at Albemarle High School, where she sings in the Patriots choir and plays clarinet in the Wind Ensemble. She also has participated in Albemarle's competitive marching band for the last four years and serves as one of two field captains this school year. In her free time, she swims for the Cavalier Aquatics swim team, and enjoys reading, listening to music, and spending time with her friends. In the fall of this next year, she will attend Franciscan University, where she will tentatively major in English or Psychology.
Tess Eluvathingal Muttikkal
Tess is a junior at Albemarle High School and has been singing with Mr. Sousa for almost 10 years. She is passionate about music and has also played both violin and piano in many recitals. Outside of music, she enjoys to play tennis and spend time with her family.
Sergio Terrazas
Sergio recently started his choral music journey and started singing with his daughter in the church choir after admiring her performances in the children’s choir. Sergio enjoys playing golf, tennis, cooking, hiking, and spending time with his wife and four children. Sergio is a native Texan transplant and has thoroughly enjoyed living in Charlottesville, VA for the past 11 years.
Julie Bergner
A native of Colorado, Julie didn’t have any particular musical training as a child but decided to learn the piano while in college. She was first persuaded to join a choir during a study abroad semester in England, and she continued singing in church choirs while in graduate school and beyond, finding it a good way to become part of a welcoming community when moving to a new place. Since 2016, she has lived in Charlottesville, where she is a Professor of Mathematics at UVA. Especially in the last couple of years, she has sought to improve as choral singer and looks forward to singing in Musica Sacra Virginia as a part of that journey. Recently, she's taken the extra time at home as an opportunity to resume playing the piano and to participate in several international virtual choir projects, and she also enjoys hiking, dancing, and knitting.
Thomas Marsh
Thomas Marsh is a classical sculptor who has created many public monuments, and has works in collections throughout the United States and in Europe. Noted works include the statue in the Santa Cruz, CA, monument to surfing; John the Baptist at Mission San Juan Bautista, CA; the Goddess of Democracy in San Francisco’s Portsmouth Square (project leader and primary sculptor); the Crucifix and sanctuary sculptures at St. Mary Catholic Church, Fredericksburg, VA; the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, DC; and the tympanum sculpture over the portal of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Charlottesville, VA. Marsh received a BFA in painting from the Layton School of Art, Milwaukee, WI, in 1974, an MFA in sculpture from California State University, Long Beach in 1977, and studied extensively in Italy. Thomas Marsh and his family reside in Orange, Virginia.