Meet the Members
Click on a member's name to learn more about him or her.
Accompanist and Director
Michael Spencer, Calvin Knipschild
First Tenors
Rob Peterson, Henry Murray, Paul Wilcox, Dave Taylor
Basses
Ken Holland, Gary Mattison, Jonathan Davidson, Patrick Wolfe, Leonard Fletcher, Not Pictured: Clarence Brummett
Baritones
Chris Klebba, Bruce Powers, Al Perry, Craig Vendouris, Keith Smith, John Reader, Not Pictured: Gary Gifford
Second Tenors
Russ Nelson, Fred Miller, Dick Sample, LaMarr Profitt, Mickey Smith
Support Staff
Richard Gutsche, Gayle Craig, Lori Spencer, Sonya Aceres, Malisa Smith, Sam Aleksic
Member Name: Michael Dean Spencer
Position: Pianist
Years with CE: 14 years
Occupation: Music teacher at Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy
Grew up in: California, Texas, Wisconsin, Alabama and Mississippi
College(s) Attended: Pacific Union College
Hobbies/Interests: Travel, things Disney, fountains, waterfalls, fireworks, bright lights, tall mountains
Resides in: Bay Point, California
Home Church: Pleasant Hill SDA Church
Family: Michael and his wife, Lori, have been partners now for almost 30 years. Their daughter, Jillian, is a Senior at Pacific Union College, where she is majoring in Theology and Spanish. Her adventures are chronicled at jilliansjourneys.blogspot.com. Their son, Justin, lost his life at age 17 in 2004 while on a mission trip to Cascas, Peru. Michael, Lori and Jillian live in anticipation of reuniting as a family in the new earth.
Member Name: Calvin D. Knipschild
Position: Director
Years with CE: 30 years (original member)
Occupation: Retired music teacher
Grew up in: Hawaii and Northern and Southern California
College(s) Attended: La Sierra University, Pacific Union College and Atlantic Union College
Hobbies/Interests: Photography, golf and travel
Resides in: Washougal, Washington
Home Church: Eagle Rock SDA Church
Family: Calvin has been married to his wife, Linda, for 39 years. Their son, Erich, and his wife, Julie, and son, Hudson, live in Vancouver, Washington and will be welcoming another child in the summer of 2011. Their daughter, DeAnne, finished her Master's and was hired by La Sierra University. Calvin is retired from teaching music after 40 years. During that time he received three "Teacher of the Year" awards. He is available as a choral clinician or guest conductor for festivals.
Member Name: Christopher Klebba
Vocal Section: Baritone
Years with CE: 13 years
Occupation: Transportation Security Officer for the Department of Homeland Security
Grew up in: Arcadia, California
Hobbies/Interests: My son’s growth, swimming, building models, train, travel
Resides in: Long Beach, California
Home Church: Norwalk SDA Church
Family: Chris has been married to his wife Tricia since 1999 and their infant son’s name is Lucas.
Chris Klebba sang baritone with Christian Edition for 15 years, but discontinued the group in the fall of 2010.
Member Name: Bruce Powers
Vocal Section: Baritone
Years with CE: 6 years
Occupation: Business consultant to non-profit organizations
Grew up in: Southern California
College(s) Attended: Loma Linda University - Riverside and Capital University in Columbus, Ohio
Hobbies/Interests: Cooking and friends
Resides in: Redland, California
Home Church: Azure Hills SDA Church
Family: Two adult children - Heather and Drew. Drew is married and he and his wife, Cara, have two sons – Jack is a rambunctious 3 year old and Ryan is 1.5 years old. Drew teaches English at California Preparatory College and Cara is a full-time mom. Heather works for the department of surgery at Loma Linda University.
Member Name: Allan Perry
Vocal Section: Baritone
Years with CE: 28 years
Occupation: Plastic Surgery
Grew up in: Canada
College(s) Attended: Andrews University and Loma Linda University
Hobbies/Interests: Scuba diving, snow and water skiing and birdwatching
Resides in: Glendale, California
Home Church: Eagle Rock SDA Church
Family: Al’s wife is Mary Lou and they have three children – Allan, Jr., Julie Perry-Wheeler and Lisa Baltazar. They also have six grandchildren – Teddy and Taryn Bancarz, Jonathan and Michelle Wheeler, and Jaclyn and Michael Perry.
Allan Perry was a baritone with Christian Edition for 28 years and, sadly, passed to his rest on April 1, 2011.
Member Name: Craig Vendouris
Vocal Section: Baritone
Years with CE: 18 years
Occupation: Jr. High history teacher at Glendale Adventist Academy
Grew up in: Southern California
College(s) Attended: Pacific Union College and La Sierra University
Hobbies/Interests: Baseball (Go Angels!), hockey, traveling and reading
Home Church: Eagle Rock SDA Church
Family: Craig is married and has a daughter in elementary school.
Member Name: Keith Smith
Vocal Section: Baritone
Years with CE: 3 Years
Occupation: Anesthesiologist
Grew up in: Washington, D.C., Maryland
College(s) Attended: Columbia Union College, Ohio University
Hobbies/Interests: Traveling, Music, Sports and Reading
Resides in: Redlands, CA
Home Church: Membership is still out of state, but attends various SDA churches in Southern California.
Family: Happily married to Amithy.
Member Name: John Reader
Vocal Section: Baritone
Years with CE: 17 years
Occupation: Steam plant operation manager at Glendale Adventist Medical Center since 1960
Grew up in: East Los Angeles, California
College(s) Attended: La Sierra University
Hobbies/Interests: Sports and music
Resides in: Glendale, California
Home Church: Glendale City SDA Church
Family: John is married to Karyn. He has four married children and 7 grandchildren (6 grandsons and 1 granddaughter).
Info about this member is coming soon...
Member Name: Rob Peterson
Vocal Section: First Tenor
Years with CE: 28 years
Occupation: Registered Nurse at Southern California Permanente Medical Group
Grew up in: Miami, Florida
College(s) Attended: Pacific Union College - BSN
Hobbies/Interests: Cooking and Southern Gospel Music
Resides in: Los Angeles, California
Home Church: Eagle Rock SDA Church
Member Name: Henry Murray
Vocal Section: First Tenor
Years with CE: 11 years
Occupation: Real Estate Broker/Owner with Western Brokerage Company
Grew up in: Jamaica, West Indies
College(s) Attended: West Indies College, Atlantic Union College, Long Beach State University
Hobbies/Interests: Music, reading and fishing
Resides in: Fontana, California
Home Church: Whittier SDA Church
Family: Henry has been married to his wife Heather for 35 years. They have two children: Hillorie and Henry Jr. They also have two grandchildren: Naia, age 7 and Jaden, 5.
Member Name: Paul Wilcox
Vocal Section: First Tenor
Years with CE: 30 years (original member)
Occupation: Sr. Biomedical Equipment Technician at Glendale Adventist Medical Center
Grew up in: Indonesia, Korea and Singapore
College(s) Attended: Pacific Union College
Hobbies/Interests: Snow skiing, traveling, home remodeling and automobiles
Resides in: Los Angeles, California
Home Church: Eagle Rock SDA Church
Member Name: David Lawson Taylor
Vocal Section: First Tenor
Years with CE: 9 years
Occupation: Professor in the School of Religion at Loma Linda University
Grew up in: Camden, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
College(s) Attended: Oakwood University, Pepperdine University, Andrews University and Vanderbilt University
Hobbies/Interests: Gardening and reading
Resides in: East Highlands Ranch, California
Home Church: Arden Hills SDA Church
Family: David’s wife, Dr. Maxine, is a Professor at Loma Linda. Her area is nutrition and management. They have a son, Daryle and a daughter, Cheryle Neal. They also have 4 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.
Member Name: Russ Nelson
Vocal Section: Second Tenor
Years with CE: 9 years
Occupation: Loan Advisor for Prospect Mortgage
Grew up in: Pasadena, California
College(s) Attended: Oakwood College and La Sierra University
Hobbies/Interests: Cycling, motorcycling and sports
Resides in: Colton, California
Home Church: Azure Hills SDA Church
Family: Russ's wife is Paulette and they have seven children – Kevin (married to Marni McClain in July 2008), Brian, Kelly, Ashley, Kory (married to Deborah Montero in July 2009), Derek and Kameron
Member Name: Fred Miller
Vocal Section: Second Tenor
Years with CE: 26 years
Occupation: Teacher (English as a Second Language) for the Diversified Language Institute in Los Angeles
Grew up in: Calexico, California
College(s) Attended: La Sierra University and Pacific Union College
Hobbies/Interests: Reading, photography, travel (actual and vicarious!)
Resides in: Bellflower, California
Home Church: Eagle Rock SDA Church
Family: Fred’s wife Kathy is an elementary teacher. Daughter Krista is a kindergarten teacher and daughter Janelle is currently between jobs and is living at home. Their other family member is Nadine Robinson who often signs for Christian Edition on “Daystar”.
Info about this member is coming soon...
Member Name: LaMarr Profitt
Vocal Section: Second Tenor
Years with CE: 30 years (original member)
Occupation: Registered Nurse in Orange Country
Grew up in: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
College(s) Attended: Santa Monica City College and Cal State Long Beach
Hobbies/Interests: Traveling
Resides in: Los Angeles, California
Home Church: Eagle Rock SDA Church
Member Name: Mickey Smith
Vocal Section: Second Tenor
Years with CE: 28 years
Occupation: Teacher at San Gabriel Elementary
College(s) Attended: La Sierra University, Loma Linda University
Hobbies/Interests: Collecting musical instruments
Resides in: San Gabriel, California
Home Church: Temple City Church
Family: Two girls, Angelina and Cristina
Member Name: Ken Holland
Vocal Section: Bass
Years with CE: 8 years
Occupation: 4th Grade Teacher at Banyan Elementary in Thousand Oaks, California
Grew up in: Columbia, Missouri
College(s) Attended: University of Missouri in Columbia, California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks
Hobbies/Interests: Computers and baseball
Resides in: Moorpark, California
Home Church: Thousand Oaks SDA Church
Family: Ken is happily married to Ruth.
Member Name: Gary Mattison
Vocal Section: Bass
Years with CE: 29 years
Occupation: Integration Specialist for Methodist Hospital of Southern California
Grew up in: Oakland and Lodi in California, and in Honolulu, Hawaii
College(s) Attended: La Sierra University and Andrews University
Hobbies/Interests: Computers, racquetball and other sports
Resides in: Arcadia, California
Home Church: Eagle Rock SDA Church
Family: Gary's son Jon does computer graphic design in the Napa, California area. He and his wife, Kathy, have a young daughter, Abigail. Daughter Andrea has been a kindergarten teacher in Glendale, California for many years. Son Mark , married in 2009, graduated from Loma Linda University Medical School. He and his wife Sandy are both doing their residencies in Pennsylvania.
Member Name: Jonathon Davidson
Vocal Section: Bass
Years with CE: 3 years
Occupation: Student at La Sierra University in Riverside, California
Grew up in: Loma Linda, California
College(s) Attended: La Sierra University and Crafton and San Bernadino Valley Colleges
Hobbies/Interests: Writing, singing and mountain biking
Resides in: Loma Linda, California
Home Church: Loma Linda University Church
Family: Jonathan's mother is Lolita and his brother is Berney.
Member Name: Patrick Wolfe
Vocal Section: Bass
Years with CE: 8 years
Occupation: Registered Nurse at Loma Linda University Medical Center
Grew up in: Porterville, in Central California
College(s) Attended: Pacific Union College and Loma Linda University
Hobbies/Interests: Hiking and camping
Resides in: Loma Linda, California
Home Church: Loma Linda University Church
Family: Patrick has been married to Nancy for 19 years. They have two sons, Brandon (10) and Ryan (8).
Member Name: Leonard Fletcher
Vocal Section: Bass
Years with CE: 11 years
Occupation: Dentist in Corona, California
Grew up in: Washington, Colorado, Central and Southern California and Hawaii
College(s) Attended: La Sierra University
Hobbies/Interests: Golf and travel
Resides in: Corona, California
Home Church: La Sierra University Church
Family: Two adult children – Chris, living in San Francisco and Heather, living in San Diego.
Member Name: Clarence Brummett
Vocal Section: Bass
Years with CE: 1 year
Occupation: Retired
Grew up in: Michigan
College(s) Attended: EMC (Andrews University)
Hobbies/Interests: Classic Cars, Travel and Flying
Resides in: Loma Linda, California
Home Church: Redlands SDA Church
Family: Clarence has been married to his wife Esther for 25 years. He has three children: daughter Rhonda is married to Jeff Racine; son Geoffrey Brummett; daughter Lori is married to Bo McMurphy. Clarence enjoys his seven grandchildren.
Info about this member is coming soon...
Info about this member is coming soon...
Info about this member is coming soon...
Info about this member is coming soon...
Info about this member is coming soon...
Info about this member is coming soon...