Meet our Board Members!

Eric Tinseth moved to Charlotte from Long Beach California in 2016. He grew up in Orange County, California and sang with MenAlive, The Orange County Gay Men’s Chorus in the chorus’ early years. He joined The Charlotte Gay Men’s Chorus in 2019 singing in the Dear December holiday show. He is on the purchasing team for a national homebuilder here in Charlotte contracting construction trades to build quality homes while also enrolled full-time in the Paralegal program at Central Piedmont Community College.  He enjoys the camaraderie in the chorus and has made some quality friendships here. Eric would like to see the organization grow in membership and in our outreach to all members of Charlotte's LGBTQ+ community. Eric is also a member of the men’s small ensemble, 7th Son. 

Patrick O’Brien has been working for CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) a regional accounting firm as a financial consultant since February 2021. He generally does accounting work such as cash reconciliations, financial statement preparation, treasury management or acts as temporary accounting management while their clients search for permanent replacements.

He joined GMCC when he moved to Charlotte from New Jersey in 2012, and before that sang with the Orpheus Club Men’s Chorus of Ridgewood in Bergen County, New Jersey for 10 years.

Pat has been with his husband of 40 years Stuart Andersen, and has been married for 7+ of those years. They have two Yorkshire Terrors (no that is not a typo!) Duncan and Anne, and a cat named Ginger.

Joseph Campos was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and graduated from Johnson & Wales University with a degree in Hospitality Sales & Meeting Management and completed his M.B.A. in Management, after which he began teaching Career Management courses for all incoming first-year students and graduating seniors at Johnson & Wales University- Providence Campus. Since January 2004, he has worked with the opening team of the Charlotte Campus as the Director of Advancement. He managed the campus Advancement and Alumni Relations initiatives under the leadership of Campus President Arthur J. Gallagher. Later as the Director of Admission for the Charlotte Campus, responsible for the campus's undergraduate and graduate student enrollment. He joined GMCC in 2008 and enjoys singing each season, celebrating the diverse and inclusive culture of the LGBTQ+ community.

Christopher Raines is a charter member of Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte and has dedicated his time and talent to the growth and development of the chorus since its inception. Chris holds a Bachelors of Arts in music with a concentration in vocal performance from Averett University and has worked as a professional and semi-professional musician with various groups and ensembles for more than 30 years. Chris is employed at Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

Bios coming soon!

Meet the members of our staff!

Sam Dreckman moved to the Charlotte area from Orlando, FL in January of 2022. She joined WCC as a Soprano 1 the following year and became a charter member of Vox Dominae. In addition to being the Secretary of the Board, she serves as the Soprano Section Leader.  She received her BA in Vocal Performance from the College of Charleston, where she studied under Deanna McBroom and participated in the CofC Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers, and Opera program. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Administration and an MBA in Human Resource Management.  

Upon completion of her undergraduate degree, Sam moved to Orlando where she worked as a character performer at Walt Disney World and Sea World Orlando, before transitioning into Human Resources with Universal Orlando Resort. While in Orlando, she sang with Orlando Choral Society in both the Garden Choir and Voce del Cuore under Dr. Jeffrey Redding and served as the Volunteer Chair on the Board of Directors. She also participated in events with Opera Orlando, the highlight being Andrea Bocelli’s 2021 touring show. 

Currently, she works as the Instructional Designer at MHI, a nonprofit association for the distribution logistics industry, where she creates educational content, facilitates training courses, and drives development of both the internal team and external members. 

John C. Quillin is the founding artistic director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte and the Women’s Chorus of Charlotte. John holds a BA in music theory from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and undertook additional study at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and private study in vocal and choral pedagogy with Dr. John Blizzard of Wingate College. He has been a professional cellist, singer, composer, arranger, and conductor for over 40 years. He has over 30 arrangements published by SMP Press, and GIA Publications published “Conducting Men’s Choirs” to which he contributed.

Since 2011 he has also served as director of Impromptu, the a cappella ensemble of Carolina Voices. He served as the artistic director of One Voice Charlotte for 15 years, and he’s led adult and children’s church choirs over 40 years.

In 2017, he was privileged to receive the Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce’s Recognition of Excellence Award. He was selected to co-direct GALA Chorus’ first Singers Weekend festival chorus in 2000 in Toronto, Canada, and he treasures the Don King Community Service Award he was presented in 1996.

Tracey Logan is our Executive Director.
A native of Pittsburgh, Tracey moved to Charlotte in 2012 by way of Florida. Tracey is an avid singer, and the cessation of in-person choral activities during the height of the pandemic was no barrier to her. During 2020 and 2021, she participated in the production of over 300 virtual choir projects, often singing multiple parts.

She joined The Women’s Chorus as a charter member in March of 2022 before subsequently becoming a charter member of Vox Dominae in January of 2023 when it was formed. She brings to GMCC and WCC her prodigious organizational skills and broad business experience, including accounting firm management and small business ownership. Additionally, Tracey sings in WCC as a first soprano, in GMCC as a first tenor, as well as in Vox Dominae, 7th Son and Spite & Malice. She pursues private study with our vocal coach and assistant accompanist, Randy Price.

Claudio Olivera was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where he attended the National Music Conservatory “Juan Jose Landaeta”, as well as the Simon Bolivar University in 2003 where he graduated cum laude.

In 2004 he obtained a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service to pursue his musical studies at the Martin Luther Universität in Halle, Germany, where he obtained his master degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy.

In 2009 he came to the University of South Carolina, where he was awarded his Doctorate in Piano Performance in May 2016. Since then, he has been working there as Adjunct Piano Faculty and Staff Accompanist, and has become one of the most sought-after collaborative pianists in the area.

He has participated and obtained prizes in numerous national and international competitions, and has performed in various cities in Venezuela, Chile, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the US.

In 2018, 2019 and 2021 he received the Steinway Top Teacher Award for the Columbia, SC area.

Budd Kirby is our Assistant Director, and he's been with the organization for over 10 years. He is the Director of Music Ministries and Organist at St. Martin's Episcopal Church of Charlotte, having served there for over 30 years. Previously Budd was the Minister of Music at First Baptist Church in Statesville, NC, and He founded and directed the Statesville Chamber Singers. He received his BM in Organ Performance from Mars Hill College, and his Master of Music Degree in organ performance from East Carolina University. He has accompanied vocalists, instrumentalists, choral groups and music theaters in North Carolina and France.

Richard Haffner, CI/CT, SC:L, is our American Sign Language Interpreter. A graduate of Columbus State, Rick has been interpreting between ASL and English for nearly 35 years. He has extensive experience in artistic interpreting, having interpreted for numerous choral organizations from across the US LGBTQ+ choral network and nearly 200 Broadway touring productions. He was a founder of Fluent Language Solutions which grew to become the largest interpreting and translating services company between DC and Miami, employing 45 staff and 800 contracted language professionals.

Bio coming soon!