Lysander Jaffe (Co-Artistic Director) is a violinist, vocalist, and choir director, equally at home in classical music, traditional music, and educational settings. He serves as a Co-Artistic Director of Palaver Strings, a chamber orchestra and nonprofit based in Portland, ME, and of Culomba, a genre-defying vocal quintet based in Boston. A devoted student of traditional music, he has studied with master musicians in Bulgaria, Kosovo, Greece, Corsica, and Georgia. In 2020, he completed his Masters in Contemporary Improvisation at New England Conservatory, where he studied styles ranging from free improvisation to Hindustani music with Warren Senders, Joe Morris, and many others. As a teacher, Lysander is passionate about broadening the cultural horizons of students of all backgrounds. He has been on faculty for Village Harmony since 2013, where he teaches polyphonic singing styles from the Balkans and Mediterranean, and he has co-directed SingPositive since 2018.
Lexi Ugelow (Co-Artistic Director) is a lifelong learner and lover of intergenerational community singing. She is a professional singer and songwriter and has toured with groups such as Northern Harmony, performing and teaching workshops to adults and children. Her interests and experience with music spans from funk, to world folk music, to classical and her heart really lies with anything a cappella. A firm believer that our bodies are our instruments, she encourages the practice of non-judgement during exploration of musical play. She was director of her a cappella group “The Limelights,” for three years before moving to NYC in the fall, where she worked as an Assistant Sound Engineer. Having grown up with the Family Folk Chorale, she is excited to be coming back home and joining the sister community of SingPositive.
Joel Sindelar (Founder and Director Emeritus) is a musician, conductor, and teacher living in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Previous to his work with SingPositive, he was conductor of the Newton Family Singers, and founded and conducted two other JP choruses: the Loose Canon Chorale and the Churchless Church Choir. He has taught music at many area schools, including the JFK School in JP, The Hurley School and Kingsley Montessori School in Back Bay, and the Lesley Ellis School in Arlington. Mr. Sindelar is a third generation musician, teacher, and scientist; he graduated from MIT with a Bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology, and from New England Conservatory with a Master's degree in Choral Conducting. His primary conducting teachers and mentors were Tamara Brooks and Lorna Cooke deVaron. After founding and directing SingPositive for seven years, he is shifting into a new role as Choral Director at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, but will stay involved with SingPositive in an important advisory role and as an occasional guest conductor.