OUR STAFF

Victoria Gau (she/her/hers)
CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Now in her 28th season leading CCS, conductor Victoria Gau has been lauded by critics for her “strong sense of style and drama” (Washington Post) and her “enthusiastic and perceptive conducting”, and brings a wide range of musical experience and expertise to her work. She is Music Director of Cantate, where she conducts the Chamber Singers and the Concert Choir.

Maestra Gau is well-known in the Washington DC area for her work as Associate Conductor at National Philharmonic. She has additionally served as Artistic Director and Music Director/Conductor of the Other Opera Company in Bethesda, Maryland, which she co-founded in 1992. and music director for such Washington area companies as The Washington Savoyards, Victorian Lyric Opera Company, Annapolis Opera Musicales, the Eldbrook Opera Ensemble, and the IN-Series. Guest conducting includes the Open Page Ensemble, Alexandria (VA) and Akron (OH) Symphonies, Friday Morning Music Club Orchestra, and the Kennedy Center Messiah Sing-Along. She has been active as Artistic Director of the Takoma Ensemble and is the former Conductor and Music Director of the Richmond Philharmonic Orchestra in Richmond, VA.

Known as a strong advocate for American composers and for fostering ongoing expression in music, Ms. Gau has conducted numerous premieres, including works by Jorge Martin, Charlie Barnett, Scott Pender, Joel Friedman, and Alistair Coleman, among others.

Gau is in demand as a guest conductor and conductor/string educator at youth orchestra festivals and workshops. She is the former conductor of the Junior Summer String Institute Orchestra for National Philharmonic and the Young Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, an elite group of string players from the DC Youth Orchestra Program, as well as the Akron Youth Symphony. She has conducted youth orchestra festivals in Virginia, Ohio, and New York as well as Side-by Side events with DC-area youth orchestras and the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. Other recent appearances include the SOGO Conservatory Orchestra (Olympia, WA), the Vermont All-State Orchestra Festival, and the Maryland Senior and Junior All-State Orchestras.

Choral activities have included assisting in preparation of the 150-voice National Philharmonic Chorale for approximately 6 concerts per season, as well as serving as Co-Director of the National Philharmonic Singers, and Director and Co-Conductor of the National Philharmonic Summer Choral Institutes. Gau has guest conducted such choruses as The Metropolitan Chorus, Capitol Hill Chorale, and the Congressional Chorus. She is Director of Music at Bethesda Presbyterian Church.

Known for her ability to connect with audiences both on and off the stage, Ms Gau is also a popular clinician and lecturer on music. She formerly gave pre-concert lectures before all National Philharmonic performances, has been on the faculty of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of Johns Hopkins University, has been a guest lecturer for the Alexandria Symphony. And has taught music appreciation classes for the Monday Morning Music Club in Alexandria. She co-led a conducting clinic with Dr. William LaRue Jones at the ASTA National Conference in 2022.

Gau has served on the opera faculty at George Mason University, and worked with vocalists privately and in the Crittenden Opera Studio. She has toured with Cleveland Opera, performing throughout northern Ohio, as well as Odyssey Opera Theatre and the Baltimore Opera Company, performing educational outreach in schools throughout the state of Maryland. As a violist she has been an active freelancer, teacher, and 15-year member of the Envoy String Quartet. Ms. Gau holds degrees in Viola Performance and Conducting from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she won the Liberace Foundation Scholarship and the Phi Kappa Lambda Prize for Musicianship.

Genevieve McGahey (She/Her/Hers) - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Genevieve McGahey is a multitalented arts administrator, performer, and educator who is passionate about building and sustaining inclusive, healthy arts organizations. A D.C native, she is passionate about the unique and vibrant arts scene in Washington. With over ten years of experience in arts administration, she has worked with organizations including the Choral Arts Society of Washington, the Spoleto Festival, and Washington Bach Consort. Genevieve is the founder of the DC Singer Collective, a network of singers focused on providing opportunities for collaborative performance, connection and advocacy to local musicians. An active performer, she can be seen as a soloist and ensemble member around town. Recent appearances have included with Post Classical Ensemble, Chantry, Washington Bach Consort, and the choirs of both the Washington National Cathedral and the Basilica of the National Shrine.

Genevieve writes and organizes around issues that are prevalent for working singers in the current economic climate. Drawing on her personal and professional experiences, including her work as a facilitator and consultant focused on organizational change and inclusion, she is an engaged leader in the music community. She was a featured presenter at the 2024 Early Music America Summit at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio speaking on “The Art of the Day Job.”

In her work as a concert producer, Genevieve aims to create performer-driven programs that allow for deep collaboration, community building and feature underrepresented voices: recent efforts in this realm include “Plague of Love,” a concert showcasing music by Claudio Monteverdi and Barbara Strozzi, “Plus doux que des fleurs” featuring music by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre and music of the English baroque, and “Our Favorite Things” a collaboratively programmed concert featuring singers sharing repertoire that is personally meaningful to them in an intimate concert experience.

Genevieve holds a M.M in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College and is a candidate for an Executive MBA in the Arts and Social Innovation from the Global Leaders Institute. She earned her B.A in History with highest honors from Swarthmore College where she completed award winning research on French woman composer Germaine Tailleferre. Her early musical education included time as a chorister in the Washington National Cathedral Girls’ choir. Genevieve is also an amateur cellist and spent twelve years playing orchestral and chamber repertoire. 

Johannes Visser - ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

Johannes Visser is a South African Composer and Conductor, currently based in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area. His music reflects on his South African heritage and celebrates the diversity of the musical traditions he practised from a very young age. Ranging from large orchestral works to intimate solo improvisations with live electronics, Johannes’ music tells an expressive story shaped by his deep, emotional feelings regarding social justice, equality, and inclusion. His string quartet, vlug 295, casts an emotional light on the human impact of the Apartheid regime and the lingering consequences thereof. As orchestral conductor, Johannes holds positions with the Capital City Symphony in Washington DC as well as the Prince George’s Philharmonic in Maryland.

Johannes earned his doctorate degree in music composition at the University of Maryland, under the supervision of his mentor and dear friend, Professor Robert Gibson. He also holds graduate degrees in orchestral conducting and composition from the University of Louisville, and a Bachelor of Music from the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town. Notable awards include the Jan Royce Foundation Prize for his symphonic work, madiba se sprokie, the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace Prize for vlug 295, and the Peter Klatzow Prize for compositional excellence. Johannes currently serves on the faculty at the University of Maryland as Assistant Clinical Professor of Music Theory and Composition.

Erin Snedecor - PERSONNEL MANAGER / LIBRARIAN

Erin Murphy Snedecor is a collaborative cellist and arts administrator based in Brentwood, MD who strives to forge new paths for interdisciplinary and multi genre art. Her work spans the realms of classical, contemporary, pop, rock, electroacoustic, and folk, and she would be hard pressed to pick a favorite.

A fervent advocate for new music, Erin engages in both the performing and leadership of two contemporary music ensembles. As cellist and Co-Director of Balance Campaign, the MD-based ensemble commissions and performs new works by historically excluded composers. In 2025, Balance Campaign premiered their commission of a new work by Jeffrey Mumford as part of their 2023 Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant. Erin is also the cellist and Co-Director of earspace, a North Carolina-based contemporary ensemble that curates multisensory programs that live outside of the typical concert experience. earspace has been in residence at the UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University and presented by Carolina Performing Arts.

In addition to her classical projects, Erin is known for her ability to perform in a myriad of genres. Erin is a longstanding member of Annapolis indie rock band Pompeii Graffiti, appearing on 4 studio albums and performing in local and touring performances. She is also half of the indie/folk duo Black Rhinoceros, and a composer and songwriter as her solo moniker, Zooxanthellae. In 2023, Erin was an Artist-in-Residence at Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, MD, where she mentored with bassist Michael Bowie, folk artist Cathy Fink, and banjo player Marcy Marxer.

In addition to performing, Erin is an arts leader in the DC area as the owner of District Strings, a program manager of Distrik Kollective, and the Personnel Manager and Orchestral Librarian for Capital City Symphony.

Al Rise - PRODUCTION MANAGER

Al Rise is a Stage Manager and performer serving the greater DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia areas. He began his studies on french horn in his hometown of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, with Mary Beth Orr, the current 3rd horn player in the Grand Rapids Symphony. He received his bachelor's degree in horn performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying under the tutelage of former principal horn of The Cleveland Orchestra, Richard King. Most recently, Rise received his master’s degree from the University of Maryland, studying with Greg Miller and Phil Munds. He currently performs with several professional orchestras in the DMV and in Michigan, and is the Stage manager for the Apollo Orchestra, as well as a substitute Stage Manager for the Arlington Philharmonic and Alexandria Symphony.

Alexandra Coburn - MARKETING AND DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

Alexandra Coburn is a professional mezzo-soprano from Houston, TX. She began her undergraduate degree at Louisiana State University. After finishing at LSU, she moved to Virginia to continue her study of voice with The Potomac Vocal Institute. Alexandra was also hired by Washington National Opera with the Kennedy Center in 2019 and is still an active member.

Alexandra is a teacher at The Browne Academy in Alexandria. She is their Musical Director and Director of Handbell Choirs. She is currently studying at George Mason working on her Masters in Arts Management. She currently lives in Alexandria, VA with her Fiance and four cats. She is very excited to be working for Capital City Symphony!

Abby Lynch- STAGE MANAGER

Abby is a freelance stage manager who has been working in the Washington, DC area since 2008, and with CCS since 2009. When not working behind the scenes, she is a fundraising officer at a local theatre company. Outside of work, she can be found around the DC area playing with her neurotic dog, working at her community garden, and planning her next entry into the DC State Fair pie contest.