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HCC is always FREE. We rely on donations to fund the choir. Please support us if you are able. Thank you.
History
History
Our Story
Hudson Community Choir was founded in the spring of 2023 by three Hudson community members, Anneice Cousin, Jess Laddin, and Sharece Johnso, with a simple goal: create a space where anyone could come together in song. No auditions, no barriers. Just positive leadership, intergenerational learning, and a shared commitment to Hudson and the community around it.
Since then, we've performed at Hudson Hall, sung at the Hudson Winter Walk, carried carols to the cows in Churchtown, and sung for the horses at Equine Advocates in Chatham. We've performed alongside the Camphill Players, collaborated with the Hudson Festival Orchestra, and shown up for Waterfront Wednesdays and the Hudson Pride Parade.
HCC and Beautiful Racket
Hudson Community Choir was founded under Beautiful Racket, a Columbia County 501(c)(3) that began in the summer of 2020 to bring accessible creative programming to Hudson's youth. Beautiful Racket has always believed that accessibility means more than dollars and cents, and that belief shaped our mission from day one: a free, welcoming outlet for creative expression, open to singers of every age, ability, background, and means.
Under Beautiful Racket's guidance, we've built close partnerships with Hudson Hall and The Spark of Hudson — relationships that continue to shape what we're able to do.
HCC Today
The 2025/2026 season was our biggest yet. We put on two free Friends & Family Concerts, sang with the Hudson Festival Orchestra on the Hudson waterfront, performed at Winter Walk, collaborated with Camphill Hudson on a theatrical production, and sang alongside Davóne Tines and Ruckus at Hudson Hall. In spring 2026, more than 70 community members from Hudson and the surrounding towns in Columbia and Greene Counties registered interest in joining us, and our active roster has grown to over 40 singers.
The 2026/2027 season marks a turning point: we're becoming an independent, fully registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Beautiful Racket will guide us through the transition, and Hudson Hall remains a committed partner throughout. We're excited for what comes next!
Meet The Artistic Team
Meet The Artistic Team
Michael Hofmann
Music Director
Michael Hofmann
Music Director
Michael Hofmann is a stage director, administrator, performer, conductor, and artist based in Hudson, New York, and has served as the music director and conductor of the Hudson Community Choir since fall 2024. As a classically trained baritone, he has sung regularly with several New York-based choral ensembles and small opera companies, including The Choir of St. Luke in the Fields, Canticum Scholare, and Opera on Tap, and currently is a staff singer at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran in Poughkeepsie. He appeared as John Raymond in the Vassar College production of Computing Venus in January 2026.
Previously the Mayoral Aide & ADA Coordinator for the City of Hudson, he currently works as the Associate Director of Audience Services at the Fisher Center at Bard. Hofmann serves on the Board of Directors for the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society (Treasurer) and Columbia Opportunities, Inc. He was an honoree in the inaugural Columbia County “40 Under 40” Awards in October 2022.
Hofmann holds a B.A. in music from Vassar College and an M.M. in voice from Bard College Conservatory.
Paula Vitolo
Associate Music Director
Paula Vitolo
Associate Music Director
Paula Vitolo has been a local music teacher for over a decade. After her studies at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam where she received a BA in music theory and history, she began her career as an educator and accompanist. She currently works with many Hudson Valley school music programs and choirs.
Meet The Board of Directors
Meet The Board of Directors
Joel Kreisberg
Officer
Joel Kreisberg
Officer
Joel Kreisberg has been teaching the healing arts and meditation for over 30 years. After training as a jazz bass player, he found his way in the field of integrative medicine, as a physician, teacher and program director. More recently, he directs a Zen center Shining Bright Lotus Meditation Society. He continues to perform as a Jewish service leader and a bass in the Hudson Community Choir.
Jessica Laddin
Officer
Jessica Laddin
Officer
Jessica Laddin is a community programmer, arts administrator, and lifelong learner based in Hudson, New York. She currently serves as Director of Programming at The Spark of Hudson, where she develops accessible educational, cultural, and community-centered programming built around the belief that everyone has something to teach and everyone has something to learn.
Jessica holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Ithaca College, and her background spans the arts, education, community engagement, and nonprofit programming. Her work has included helping build and coordinate the Hudson Community Choir, developing partnerships with artists, educators, nonprofits, and local organizations, and creating opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to learn, connect, and share their expertise.
Across her work, Jessica is especially interested in what brings people together: curiosity, creativity, storytelling, and the opportunity to learn something new from one another.
Michele Widd
Officer
Michele Widd
Officer
In addition to her role on the board, Michele Widd also serves as Manager for the Hudson Community Choir.
Michele's career includes over a decade managing marketing plans and budgets for leading consumer products brands at Colgate-Palmolive in the U.S. and abroad. She also spent 15 years as an educator & curriculum developer, and today she runs her own coaching practice, GoalSpark Coaching.
Her board and strategic planning experience runs deep: she has led strategic planning processes for a variety of community-centered non-profits. She has also served as board president of a homeowners association and as a board member of SOL International Foundation. Michele is currently the board vice-president for PIER Foundation International, supporting educational programs in Roatán, Honduras, where she volunteers her teaching talents during the winter months.
Michele holds a B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Stevens Institute of Technology. She has sung in school, church, and community choirs throughout most of her life.
Pending Election
Pending Election
CHOIR REPRESENTATIVE
Pending Election
Pending Election
CHOIR REPRESENTATIVE
Michael Hofmann
Michael Hofmann
EX OFFICIO ADVISOR
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