Our Story
Since 1969, the internationally acclaimed vocal sextet The Western Wind has devoted itself to the special beauty and variety of a cappella music. The Ensemble’s repertoire reveals its diverse background – from Renaissance motets to Fifties rock ’n’ roll, from medieval carols to Duke Ellington, from complex works by avant-garde composers to the simplest folk melodies.
In addition to maintaining a demanding performance schedule, which has included such venues as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, ArtPark, The Ordway Theater, The Metropolitan Museum, The Frick Museum, The Jewish Museum, Folger Shakespeare Library, Library of Congress, and the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Western Wind regularly conducts Workshops in Ensemble Singing. The workshops, attended by vocalists ranging from novice to professional, address the particular challenges of singing in small, largely un-conducted ensembles.
As part of its non-profit mission to spread the joy of music to people of all ages, The Western Wind coordinates a highly-acclaimed arts-in-education program in the New York City public school system called The Western Wind Goes To School for children ages 8–18. The curriculum ranges from the fundamentals of music notation and rhythm to highly refined interpretation of challenging vocal repertoire.
Since 1989, The Western Wind has produced a series of radio programs distributed throughout the United States by National Public Radio and Public Radio International. The programs address topics ranging from settings of love songs throughout the centuries to a musical narrative of the Jewish High Holy Days.
The Western Wind has also produced twenty recordings, twelve of which have been released on Western Wind Records, the group’s own record label, distributed worldwide by Naxos, and available on our Recordings page.
Meet Our Singers
Eric S. Brenner
Countertenor
Eric Brenner has been hailed for his “penetrating eloquence,” (NY Times), “astonishing musicality,” (NY Classical Review), & “Mr. Roboto majesty” (Stage Mage). Eric is countertenor soloist in recent performances & recording of Hannah Lash’s Requiem (Naxos), as well as Du Yun’s Pulitzer Prize Winning Angel’s Bone (VIA Records). Other engagements include: alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Introduction & Gloria at St.Thomas Church Fifth Avenue; soprano & alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah at Avery Fisher (Geffen) & Alice Tully Hall; Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” at St.Thomas Church, St. John the Divine, & St. Ignatius Loyola; soprano in collaborative concerts with Les Canards Chantant and the Folger Consort at the National Cathedral; Doodle in Stefan Weisman’s & David Cote’s Scarlet Ibis; Poet in Virko Baley’s Holodomor in Ukraine. Eric is also co-composer with Matt Shloss of music for Rob Reese’s Yahweh’s Follies, writes fiction, & persists in being an incorrigible Mets fan. Eric joined the ensemble in August 2019. www.ericsbrenner.com
Linda Lee Jones
Soprano
Linda Lee Jones specializes in ensemble singing, appearing with choirs such as Musica Sacra, Voices of Ascension, the Clarion Choir, the choirs of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Trinity Wall Street Church, the Antioch Chamber Ensemble, the vocal sextet The Western Wind, and the chorale of the Carmel Bach Festival. Recent solo engagements include the roles of Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Carmel Bach Festival, and Filia in Carissimi’s Jephthe with the Zenith Ensemble of New Hampshire. Recordings include We Are Still Here: the Holocaust Through Music and Memory with The Western Wind, Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields with the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Bang on a Can All-Stars, Robert Kyr: In Praise of Music with The Antioch Chamber Ensemble, and the Grammy-nominated Maximilian Steinberg’s Passion Week with Clarion Choir.
David Vanderwal
Tenor
David is a native of Portland, Oregon. He has performed as a soloist with The American Bach Soloists, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, New York Collegium and Tafelmusik. Recently Mr. Vanderwal performed Handel’s Messiah with the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choirs of Buffalo, NY, Pax Christi of Toronto, ON, Danbury (CT) Symphony Orchestra, the Mendelssohn Choir (CT), and First Congregational Church of Greenwich, CT. He performed Bach’s Easter Oratorio, and a new concert Mass of John Tavener with the Choir of St. Thomas Church, in New York. Mr. Vanderwal appeared at the Carmel Bach Festival in California, and taught at the International Bachakademie’s Stuttgart Festival in Überlingen, Germany. He also presents a set of song recitals throughout the year.
Paul Greene-Dennis
Bass
Paul hails from Brentwood, NY. He is a versatile musician, mainly an opera singer, who also lends his bass to other styles and genres of music, including jazz. He has performed opera and oratorio with various organizations in the New York area including the Oratorio Society of New York, the Long Island Choral Society and the Queens College Opera Studio. Paul also does voice-over for various projects to which he has lent his voice and artistry.
During the 2025-2026 season, guest performers and workshop coaches will be working in tandem with the core quartet of Western Wind singers shown above. Please view the archival video-recording of the December 14, 2025 winter holiday concert, Lighten Our Darkness: Musical Illuminations Celebrating Christmas and Hannukah, to experience this flexible membership model in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACtsXTi4ZwU&t=7039s
Meet Our Executive Director
William Zukof
Executive Director
William Zukof is a founding member and Executive Director of The Western Wind. He sang countertenor with the ensemble from 1969 to 2019. A New York City native, he was born in Manhattan and received his BA degree from The City University of New York. In his early twenties, he became a student of the noted American countertenor Russell Oberlin. He has appeared as a soloist with the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, the Roger Wagner Chorale, the Gregg Smith Singers, the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, Musica Sacra of New York, and the Zamir Chorale. Mr. Zukof performed the Bach Magnificat under the direction of Leonard Bernstein at the Vatican in Rome. His operatic appearances include roles with the Washington Opera, the Center for Contemporary Opera, the Eastman School, and the University of California at Berkeley. He is the executive producer for Western Wind’s recordings, including the latest release, We Are Still Here – The Holocaust Through Music & Memory, the ninth in a series of Judaica recordings. A version of this program narrated by Danny Burstein and Jessica Hecht is being distributed nationwide by Public Radio International.
Board of Directors
Joan O. Epstein, President
A composer, trumpeter, musicologist, and longtime Western Wind workshop participant, Epstein is Prof. of Music Em. at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL. She earned degrees at Smith College, the Yale U. School of Music, and the U. of South Florida.
Ruth Ball, Secretary & Chair for Human Resources
A Ph.D. clinical psychologist practicing in Charlottesville, VA, Ball has a specialty in trauma treatment. Also a lifelong choral singer and pianist who participates regularly in Western Wind workshops, she holds degrees from the U. of Pennsylvania and the U. of Virginia.
Russell Braun, Treasurer
An avid choral singer and former lower brass player living on Cape Cod, Braun has attended The Western Wind’s workshops for 25 years. Trained as an architect at the U. of Michigan, Braun is now retired from his career in design and property development, allowing him to devote more time to nonprofit board service and enjoyment of his family, friends, and the beach.
Christina Frei, Chair for Communications
An alumna of Wellesley College, Frei, who currently sings in an excellent Andover, MA choir, has been attending Western Wind workshops since 1996. Professionally, she is a marketing consultant who helps small business owners market with authority and authenticity.
Martha Hollander, Chair for Development
A lifelong choral singer and Prof. of Art History Emerita at Hofstra U., Hollander is a devoted Western Wind workshop participant. She earned her B.A. at Yale U. and both her M.A. and Ph.D. at UC - Berkeley. She lives in New York’s Jackson Heights neighborhood and engages the City’s vibrant culture as a choir member, concert goer, and public scholar.
Siddartha Rao, Chair for Board Development
Educated at Middlebury College and the U. of Texas - Austin, Rao is a Brooklyn, NY based intellectual property attorney specializing in litigation and technology. Outside of the law, Rao sings a cappella music and serves on the boards of the New York Asian Film Foundation and Soundshop, a non-profit devoted to arts education.