Jana Young, soprano - Praised for her beautiful lyric singing, most notably in the bel canto repertoire, soprano Jana Young is a native of Louisiana. She received her vocal training at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she holds two degrees; a B.M.Ed and a BM in Vocal Pedagogy. She later moved to Dallas, Texas to continue her vocal study with Madeline Sanders, a student of Gina Cigna. Mrs. Young moved to Darmstadt, Germany upon scholarship with the American Institute of Musical Studies and remained in Europe performing in recitals, and concert. While in Darmstadt, Ms. Young studied with Eva von Ambrosius of the Frankfurt Stadtstheater. Upon returning to the United States, Mrs. Young graduated with a M.M. in Vocal Performance from The University of Louisiana-Monroe, where she studied with Dr. John Burgin.

During her year at The University of Louisiana Jana Young was selected to premiere Richard Hervig's "Five Romantic Songs", the winner of the first NATS song composition competition. She regularly sings with the Naples Philharmonic under the direction of Maestro Christopher Seamon, and sings with the Miami Bach Society, the Miami Youth Orchestra, as soloist with the Civic Chorale of Greater Miami, Collegium Musicum, Mainly Mozart Festival, the Nakamichi Concert Series in Boston, and the University of Miami Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Young was the soprano soloist in Mahler's Symphony # 2, under noted Mahler expert, Gilbert Kaplan, soloist in Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's Mass in C major, and Mozart's Solemn Vespers with the Bahamian National Choir and Orchestra, in Nassau, Bahama. She also was the soprano soloist in premiere and subsequent recording of Steven Edward's Ave Maria Mass with the London Sinfonia Orchestra.

In 2003, Jana Young was the featured soloist at Carnegie Hall, Weill Hall, for "A Birthday Concert Celebration for Ned Rorem" with the noted composer present. She was cited in the New York papers for her ability to achieve the "near impossible" by alternating the angular vocal lines with perfect skill and lyric beauty of tone in performances of two of his most famous songs:   Alleluia and The Silver Swan, and as the soprano soloist with the Miami Chamber Ensemble in Rorem"s Ariel: Five Poems of Sylvia Plath. This past year, Mrs. Young was the soprano soloist in Schubert"s Mass in Eb, with the Miami Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Maestro Jo-Michael Scheibe.

From 1991-2005, Mrs. Young served on the voice faculty at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida. Beginning in the fall of 2005, Ms. Young is Artist-In-Residence on the voice faculty at Kennesaw State University.  Ms Young is also active as a vocal clinician, adjudicator and Master Class Teacher. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Cheryl Vanture Davenport
Cheryl has been singing for as long as she can remember. Her first debut as a solo singer was in fifth grade. She sung in her high school and college chorus as well as her church choirs. In college she also sang with the Madrigals and had solos in the Broadway Cabaret.

Cheryl went to Presbyterian College graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, and a minor in Religion. From there she continued her studies at Georgia State University, receiving a Masters in Community Counseling after taking a year to work with kids at Talladega Children’s Home. She also attended Psychological Studies Institute while at Georgia State where she earned her diploma in Christian Counseling. She worked for the state of Georgia in the Mental Health Centers in both Dalton and Canton, working with people suffering with addiction, sexual abuse, and mental illness.

Cheryl married Roger Davenport over seventeen years ago. She has two stepchildren, Jeremy and Jennifer. Jeremy now lives in Roswell and works for an advertising agency. Jennifer is presently a nurse at Northside Hospital.

Cheryl has enjoyed singing the National Anthem for both the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks. Presently Cheryl is singing with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus. She is also a member of First Presbyterian Church, Marietta, GA and sings in the Chancel Choir. Cheryl collaborated with three other church friends to create a Christmas CD of which she is extremely proud titled, Quiet Carols. Anyone can sample a couple of songs from it by going to www.quietcarols.blogspot.com. She is very proud to be a part of the Cobb Symphony Chorus, and looks forward to many years with the organization.