Joe Barone graduated from The Crane School of Music at SUNY-Potsdam in June 1986. He has served as choral director for the West Babylon High School for the past 22 years, and was recently appointed Music Department Chairperson and Performing Arts Center Coordinator. Joe has conducted the SCMEA All County Division III choir and is a NYSSMA solo certified vocal adjudicator. In addition to his talents as a musician, Joe has also been treasurer of the Long Island Pride Sports Association for the past five years. He has helped coordinate the Tuesday Night Tease Bowling league in Patchogue as well as the LIPSA Lavender softball league. In his spare time, Joe owns a small real estate company with his brother, called Horizon Realty Group, which serves all of Long Island. Joe returns as Artistic Director after serving as the LIGMC's Artistic Director for its first two seasons.

Mary Ann Cafiero is very honored to be assistant directing the Long Island Gay Men’s Chorus, alongside life-long friend Joseph Barone. Mary Ann received her BM in music education from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. While attending, she was able to perform at some of the most magnificent music halls in the world—Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and under the direction of Ricardo Muti and the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. She was also featured on PBS’ Great Performances, singing a memorial requiem for September 11th. She received her MALS with a concentration in Eighteenth-century English Literature from Dowling College. She has been choral director at West Babylon High School for the past seven years, also taking on the select Jazz Choir, the Drama Club and staging the annual musical productions. Under her direction, WBHS has won several Teen Tony Awards, including two Best Dance Performance awards, Best Ensemble in a Dramatic Play, Best Props, Best Set Crew and awards for several of her students. Mary Ann is also enjoys performing herself—she is an active member of the James Street Players and performs in benefit concerts, “Making Music Matter” with the other music teachers in her district, and “A Night to Remember” which raises money for the American Heart Association and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. She is proud to be adding the LIGMC to her list of accomplishments.

CARLOS SERRANO
Executive Director

Our Executive Director and founder created the Long Island Gay Men's Chorus out of a desire to belong to a brotherhood of men of all ages and backgrounds with a similar interest in the performing arts. It was that desire and his love of choral music that brought together the LIGMC. Carlos' determination and drive, along with generous community support, not only quickly secured rehearsal space and musician leadership, but also brought the LIGMC to the Staller Center for the Arts for its first ever concert, where we performed for a sold-out audience.  Carlos makes his living as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and spends his spare time playing with his dogs and cats, reading, traveling, working out, watching TV and movies, and eating out.

Michael is a born-and-bred Long Islander.  He graduated from SUNY-New Paltz in May 2007 with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and currently works as a leasing consultant on Long Island.  His musical background began with high school musical performances, choir ensembles, variety shows, and benefit concerts.  He has performed with The Wesleyan Singers (a 12- person chamber choir) based in Virginia Beach at Virginia Wesleyan College, Absolut A Cappella of SUNY-New Paltz (where he was also Musical Director/Choreographer), and now the LIGMC.  Michael's dance background began in 2001 at Vic D'Amore Dance Studio.  He continued to dance throughout his college career with Culture Shock Dance Troupe, and choreographed as well as danced in Fresh Dance, a student-run dance show at SUNY-New Paltz.  Dancing and singing are his passions in life and nothing makes him happier than to be able to combine the two to help progress this amazing group of men to higher and higher levels of achievement.  LIGMC is more than a performing ensemble . . . it is a brotherhood, a family, and most importantly a group of outstanding individuals with a collective dream of bettering the lives, rights, and perceptions of the Gay and Lesbian community.

Bill Bensburg is the youngest graduate of the Westchester Conservatory of Music, where he studied piano with its director, Michael Pollon. As a teenager he represented five counties in an all-state piano competition, won the Music Educators League of Westchester competition and was subsequently heard on radio. While taking a dual major in Chemical Engineering and Music at Cornell University (where he also sang with and accompanied the Cornell University Glee Club), Bill won a concerto competition judged by Robert Sherman and Beveridge Webster and performed the Grieg piano concerto with orchestra.  Bill continued his studies in adult life, culminating in a sold-out all-Chopin recital at Carnegie Hall in 1995.  He returned there in 2005 with two collaborators.

Since Bill likes to eat, he eschewed a career in music and became a New York air traffic controller in early 1982.  After 26 enjoyable years he is now blissfully retired, and continues with his serious avocation. In addition to accompanying the LIGMC, he accompanies New Century Singers; plays with Lunatic Fringe, an improv comedy troupe; occasionally appears on stage without his piano (most recently as the bass in the barbershop quartet in Music Man); and will be directing Grease at Center Moriches High School next February. Bill and his wife Vicki (yes, Bill is “gender challenged”) are planning a move to Florida, where they hope Bill will work with his music at Disney World.

Brett Pontecorvo is proud to be playing piano for the LIGMC. Brett began playing the piano at age 8 at the Performing Arts Studio of New York. Soon after, he also began playing the upright bass as well as the bass guitar. His past experiences include working as the musical director of Urinetown the Musical at Comsewogue High School as well as the director of Wedding Singer at Comsewogue High School. He is also featured on select tracks of Deerheart’s "No Legitimate Purpose" as well as on all of the bass and piano tracks of Derek and the Wonderdog’s "At Least That Wasn’t The Real One." Brett plans to continue pursuing his musical career through higher education after he graduates High School in June 2010. On the other side of the piano, Brett has performed on the stages of Creative Ministries, Broadhollow Theatre and TTG. He has also spent a great deal of time in the martial arts community of Long Island.

Kristin Connolly is a nationally certified interpreter who has been interpreting for more than five years. Kristin has her Bachelors degree in ASL interpreting and transliterating and couldn't imagine having any other profession. Kristin spends her spare time reading, playing with her dog and traveling with her husband. If you are interesting in contacting Kristin for interpreting service she can be reached at Signer9308@aol.com.

SEAN ARTHURS
Chorus Librarian

STEPHEN DOONE
Webmaster

JIM COLLIER
President