Hope Armstrong Erb is the founding director and president of the Greater Richmond Children's Choir. Critics have proclaimed her "a wonder" in her ability to maintain a high standard in both performance and teaching. She is an active conductor, pianist, composer, teacher and lecturer. During GRCC’s 2008 summer tour to China she was enthusiastically received when she held a masterclass with the Shanghai Children’s Palace Choir, teaching and demonstrating jazz style for the Shanghai Choral Association. She is the current Virginia ACDA Repertoire and Standards Chair for Children’s Choirs. In August 2008 John Rutter declared he was “truly delighted” with the ACDA Voices United Children’s Honor Choir which was auditioned and rehearsed by Ms. Erb and Maryland ACDA R&S Chair Judy Dubose in a performance of his Mass of the Children conducted by Mr. Rutter. In March 2008, Ms. Erb presented an interest session at the Southern Division ACDA Convention in Louisville KY entitled: NOBODY’S HOPELESS! Everyone can learn to sing! She has served on the music faculties of Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond and has taught in public and private schools K-12 including 22 years working primarily with choirs of boys and men. She maintains a private studio where she offers piano and theory lessons as well as vocal and instrumental coaching and accompanying. As a pianist, she has been hailed for her “innate musicianship and graceful style” as well as her “robust, rhythmic, and excellent playing.” She has appeared as a chamber musician, solo pianist and conductor in the United States, Europe and China and has recorded with violinist Yoko Kato a critically acclaimed compact disc of chamber music for violin and piano by Mozart, De Falla, and Brahms.

Associate Director: Diana Covington Greer

        Associate Director Diana Covington Greer joined the GRCC last season. Diana is a retired Richmond Public Schools Arts and Humanities Center music resource teacher and instructional specialist.  Her job encompassed teaching, grant writing, staff development coordination and musical direction for twenty-six all-city productions.   She graduated with honors from Radford University with Bachelor of Science in Music degree and in 1978 received a Master of Music Education degree from Virginia Commonwealth University where she taught on the adjunct faculty. In 1992 she received the Weedon Teacher/Scholar in Asian Studies Award from the Center for the Liberal Arts at the University of Virginia and traveled extensively throughout China. In her third year as President of the Richmond Chapter of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association, she was recently elected to serve on the National Board of the USCPFA.   For over thirty years she has been associated with the opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, the last ten as its musical director/conductor.   In 1976 she was hired as the organist at Corinth United Methodist Church and is now the director of music and youth ministries there.   In her spare time, she continues to enjoy composing and arranging music and playing recorder and percussion in the early music group, the Finnsbury Minstrel Guild.  She and her husband/guitarist Linny Greer free-lance as a duo performing music for all ages.

Assistant Director and Accompanist: Leilani Mork

     Assistant Director and Accompanist Leilani Mork is an active performer throughout Richmond and holds a Masters in Piano Performance from VCU. She currently is an Adjunct Faculty member at VCU in the Music and Theatre Departments; Pianist at Christopher Newport University and a former Coordinator of Piano Studies at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. With VCU’s Theatre Department, she has served as the Pianist and Vocal Coach for the Musical Theatre class and is currently the Vocal Coach/Music Director for the Senior Showcase which recently performed in DC, NYC and Chicago. Other engagements in the Richmond area include serving as the Pianist/Asst. Director for the Greater Richmond Children's Choir and the Choir Director for St. Mark's United Methodist Church. Ms. Mork’s professional performing credits include an appearance at the Helen Keller Festival in Tuscumbia, Alabama (2007) with baritone James Taylor; VCU Theatre's productions of The Civil War (2005) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (2006); a Vocal Coach and Pianist for OperaFestival di Roma (2001/2002) and the Music Director/Pianist for University of Virginia's Opera Workshop (2000-2002). She has also served as stage manager/rehearsal pianist for VCU’s Opera Theatre (2004-2006); the Music Director for Emory Water's opera, The Edge of Glory (2007) with the Petersburg Symphony; Richmond Triangle Players for Zana Don’t (2007) and Reefer Madness! (2008) with the Firehouse Theatre which was recently nominated by the Richmond Theatre’s Critic Circle for five awards, including Best Musical Director. Ms. Mork's teachers have included most recently Dr. Sonia K. Vlahcevic for her solo work and Prof. Melanie Kohn-Day for her coaching and collaborative work.

Managing Director: Anne Williford

       Anne Williford joined GRCC in 2001 and handles the day to day operations of the choirs, as well as fundraising for the organization. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Both of her daughters have sung with GRCC since 2000, and although her older daughter has now graduated, her younger daughter is in the Pro Arte choir.