Staff

Brendan Lodge, Operations Manager

Peninsula Cantare is thrilled to welcome Brendan Lodge as Operations Manager. Brendan joins the Peninsula Cantare team as he is completing his MM in Choral Conducting at San José State University. In 2014, he earned his BM in Vocal Music Education at Alma College under the tutelage of Dr. Will Nichols, where he had the opportunity to conduct multiple choirs as a student director. Brendan taught middle school choir for four years in Michigan and California before beginning his masters at SJSU.

An avid musical theatre fan, Brendan has worked as a music/pit director for multiple productions, and enjoys performing when he can. Brendan also works as an arranger and frequently arranges music for his own choirs to sing. The Alma College Choirs have repeatedly commissioned his arrangements, and he had the privilege of conducting his own works for the 2014 and 2017 Alma College Homecoming Concerts. In 2017 and 2019, his arrangements were featured at the Michigan Music Conference’s Choral Hour. At SJSU, Brendan works as an instructor in Music Appreciation, Music Fundamentals, and Ear Training, with all of the SJSU choral ensembles in various administrative and artistic capacities, and serves as the current director of SJSU’s Vocal Jazz Ensemble. He currently resides in San José with his fiancé, Tyler, and their Boston Terrier, Jan.

Contact Brendan

Emily Hsu, Collaborative Pianist

Emily Hsu began her piano and musical training at the age of three and had won several prestigious accolades by the age of ten. After moving from Taiwan to the Bay Area in 1996, she studied with renowned pianist Rebecca-Sen Chan. Since then, she’s won numerous competitions including the U.S. Open Competition, Young Pianist’s Beethoven Competition, and San Jose Jazz Society Piano Competition. Emily is a graduate of the University of California, Davis where she studied music and computer science.

In addition to having an extensive and accomplished solo career, Emily is a collaborative musician by nature. In addition to her work with Dr. Jeffrey Benson and the San Jose State University Concert Choir, Emily has served as the accompanist for the California All-State Choirs. She has arranged numerous choral repertoire for the Tzu Chi Foundation and Bo-Ai Chorus. She has also aided Dr. Jennifer McDowell on the completion of her songbook, The Women’s Basketball Songbook, performed with the Cambrian Symphony under the direction of Maestro Scott Krijnen, and worked closely with distinguished music educator Jim Yowell for over a decade.