Our Staff

Kristina Nakagawa (Artistic Director, RA Conductor)

Kristina is one of the founders of Resounding Achord Productions and has been the Artistic Director since its inception in 2012. As Artistic Director, Kristina sets the organization’s overall artistic vision and branding, both musically and visually. She collaborates with all levels of the organization’s membership to ensure that the artistic vision is executed appropriately. She strives to embody the mission, vision, and core values of the organization.

Kristina has been performing and directing in Silicon Valley since 2001. Besides serving as Artistic Director for Resounding Achord, Kristina is the Executive Artistic Director of Vivace Youth Chorus of San José. Previously, Kristina directed the choirs at Saratoga High School and St. Francis Episcopal Church in Willow Glen, served as the Interim Director of Choral Activities at San José State University in Spring 2019, and taught 7th–12th grade music at Pinewood School in Los Altos Hills. Her choirs consistently received superior rankings at California Music Educator Association festivals and Gold awards at Heritage Festivals. In December 2024, Ms. Nakagawa conducted Kirke Mechem’s Befana with Nova Vista Symphony, Resounding Achord, and Vivace Youth Chorus. She has prepared choirs for the Fauré Requiem, John Rutter’s Gloria, Orff’s Carmina Burana, the Mozart Requiem, Hadyn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and the Bernstein Mass.

Ms. Nakagawa sang and served as the Assistant Conductor for The Choral Project from 2005 to 2012. During this time, The Choral Project won First Prize at the 2007 California International Choral Festival in San Luis Obispo and was invited to participate in the 2011 International Concorso Corale in Tolosa, Spain. She can be heard on their recordings Winter, One is the All, Tell the World, and Yuletide.

As a soloist, Ms. Nakagawa has performed cabaret shows at Society Cabaret in San Francisco and San José, Theatre on San Pedro Square in San José, and also at Limelight Theatre in Gilroy. She was featured in the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus production of Enchantingly Wicked with Stephen Schwartz at Davies Symphony Hall and has performed with Tabard Theatre, Foothill Musical Theatre, South Bay Musical Theatre, and the Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus.

Ms. Nakagawa graduated in 2001 with a degree in vocal performance from UC Irvine, studying with Mahlon Schanzenbach and Joséph Husti. She received her master’s degree in choral conducting from San José State University in 2005 with Dr. Charlene Archibeque, and has additional training in the Kodály method from Holy Names University. She is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, California Music Educators Association, Organization of American Kodály Educators, and Chorus America and has served in various roles on the California Choral Directors Association (CCDA) board since 2015. She will assume the role of CCDA President in July 2025. Kristina and her husband Ryan are the proud parents of a Vivace Youth Chorus student.

Andrea White (Executive Director)

Andrea White joined Resounding Achord as a singer in 2014, and became Executive Director of Resounding Achord Productions in January 2025. She began serving RAP in an administrative capacity in 2020, first as the Volunteer Coordinator, and later as the Administrative Coordinator, assisting with marketing, communications, and development. In addition to her work with RAP, she is the Director of Advancement for Vivace Youth Chorus.

With a background in non-profit organizations and education, Andrea enjoys bringing her experience in communications, project management, and organizational leadership to support performing arts organizations. From 2015 to 2020, Andrea worked at The Tech Interactive (formerly the Tech Museum of Innovation), where she served in multiple roles. After successfully helping implement a new education partnership grant program, Andrea joined the Volunteer Services Department, coordinating volunteers, training, and recruitment. Following a department merger with Human Resources, Andrea became an HR Administration and Recruitment Supervisor. Andrea’s professional experience also includes providing administrative support for the Visual and Performing Arts Academy at La Mirada High School and nearly a decade working in training, development, project coordination, and accreditation management at Chapman University in Orange, CA.

Andrea earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Public Relations from California State University, Sacramento in 2001. In 2008, she received a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership and a Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Leadership from Chapman University. In addition to being a vocalist herself, Andrea and her husband Brian are the proud parents of two young singers. She enjoys the outdoors, reading, and making music with her friends and family.

Albert “Albee” Mabeza (Conductor, Pariter Vocal Ensemble)

For the last 6 years, Albee has taught at Woodside Priory School in Portola Valley, California where he teaches choir, guitar and is the 10th grade class moderator. He also serves as the performing arts department chair.

In the past, Albee has conducted and performed with multiple vocal ensembles across the Bay Area including the Fog City Singers, SJSU’s Pitch Please, and Voices in Harmony. His past music education experience includes working with both the Vivace Youth Chorus and the Alum Rock School District.

Albee also serves as the tenor-bass Repertoire and Resource Advisor for the California Choral Directors Association (CCDA). His passion for barbershop, folk songs, and tenor-bass repertoire are all topics in which he is well versed. He has written articles for the Cantate Magazine, which is a publication of (CCDA). He has also presented in reading sessions across California where he shared repertoire with hundreds of choral directors from across the state.

Supporting identity in the choral classroom is one of Albee’s passions that he works on in both his own classroom and with other music educators. As a past member of his school’s Professional Development Committee, he contributed a lot of his research and knowledge from past experience as the committee had focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Albee is also in development of a social media campaign that will help focus on how to help educators make an identity-conscious (sex, race, gender, class, and ability) music classroom.

Dario Watts-Johnson (Conductor, Chromatic Convergence)

Dario is the visionary behind Chromatic Convergence, our dynamic choral ensemble that specializes in Jazz and Pop music. Dario not only selects the choral repertoire for this ensemble, but arranges a significant portion of it.

In the last several years, Dario has also established himself as a versatile baritone with extensive performance experience across various Bay Area opera companies and musical theater organizations. In addition to his performance and conducting career, Dario loves to teach and has been teaching private voice and piano lessons to children and adults for several years. He is on the faculty of the Los Gatos School of Music and he is dedicated to imparting both his knowledge of and passion for music to his students. His goal is to create lasting and meaningful musical experiences for the youth of our community.

Dario holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from San Jose State University. While there he performed in a number of choral groups on campus including the Spartones and the San Jose State Choraliers.