Personnel
Paul Thomas May - Director of Music
Conductor and baritone Paul Thomas May is a stalwart vocalist and devoted church musician native to San Diego, CA. Mr. May served as the Director of Music for several Catholic churches in the course of his career and has curated and developed choirs varying from an octet schola to 50+ voice liturgical ensembles. Mr. May previously held the position of Bass Choral Scholar and Assistant Director for the Choristers at St. Anne’s Catholic Church where he specialized in the performance and history of both Gregorian Chant and sacred renaissance/baroque polyphony. Mr. May served as the Director of Music for St. Rocco Parish, the first and oldest Italian Parish in Cleveland, OH, for the 2017-18 season coordinating all liturgies and teaching music for the entire K-8 parish school. From 2018–2020, he took the post of Director of Liturgical Music at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in El Cajon, CA and assisted with the parish school choir for all weekly Masses. Though primarily a church musician, Mr. May is also the former director of the Cuyamaca Community College Choir and San Diego Mannskor, Norwegian Male Chorus, and has worked closely with many other professional organizations in San Diego including the Bach Collegium San Diego, and San Diego Pro Arte Voices. His credentials include two degrees—Bachelor of Music and Master of Music—from San Diego State University in Professional Studies and Choral Conducting respectively.
Julie Knott - Soprano Section Leader
Elyse Rinehart - Alto Section Leader
James Briscoe - Tenor Section Leader
James Briscoe is a husband, father of four, Catholic convert, Aerospace Engineer and classically trained Tenor. His musical foundation was established by singing in a professional men and boy's choir at St. Stephens Anglican Church in Timonium Maryland, starting in the 7th grade first as a boy Soprano and then as a Tenor. James was also privileged to perform in various music theatre productions as well as a production of The Magic Flute opera at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore (role of one of the Knaben, as a boy Soprano). Since then, he has been involved with a number of choirs at Catholic churches as a cantor, chorister, or Schola member. Special thanks to his better half, Caitlin, for wrangling the children and enabling his participation in the Schola and Choir.
Micah Collins - Bass Section Leader
Micah Collins is the Bass Section Leader of the St. Lawrence Choir, and a leader of chant in the St. Gregory Schola. He has been singing in choirs and churches for over 15 years and joined the staff in 2021. Micah is currently working on his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Messiah University.