MOLLY BUZICK PONTIN, a self-described “choir nerd,” has spent more than 25 years championing musical access, reaching countless lifelong learners through her work. As Pacific Chorale’s Vice President and Director of Education and Community Programs, she applies her passion for arts education, wideranging administrative experience, and considerable music skills to fostering the belief that everyone can sing. Appointed to the position in 2014, she oversees a wide range of highly successful education and community programs that serve thousands of people of all ages annually and are designed to encourage people to transcend their differences by raising their voices together in song. Among them, she developed Pacific Chorale Academy, a groundbreaking after-school program for low-income elementary school students that uses singing as a tool to build life skills, which won Chorus America's prestigious national award for best education program in 2015 and has greatly expanded Pacific Chorale’s impact on the community. Other initiatives geared for young people under her purview include Pacific Chorale’s Choral Camp, a rigorous five-day summer program for high school students who are interested in expanding their musical skills; and Intro to the Arts & Passage to the Arts, established in 1986 to increase access to the arts by providing free Pacific Chorale concert tickets to schools and social service agencies. Pontin also manages the Pacific Chorale Choral Festival, a three-day intensive choir workshop led by Artistic Director Robert Istad drawing over 200 community-based singers from across the country each year and culminating with a free public performance at the Reneé and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. In all of these endeavors, she works closely with Pacific Chorale’s artistic staff to ensure they reflect the choir’s stringent artistic and educational standards.

Prior to joining Pacific Chorale, Pontin held artistic and administrative roles with the Colorado Children’s Chorale, Santa Barbara Youth Symphony, Denver Young Artists Orchestra, Santa Barbara Symphony, and Pacific Symphony, where she created its highly regarded “OC Can You Play?” initiative for adult amateur musicians. Pontin holds a Bachelor of Arts in piano performance from the University of Denver, a Master of Music in choral conducting from Penn State University, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in orchestral conducting from the University of California Santa Barbara, where she was a student of Heiichiro Ohyama. An avid learner of languages, she has studied abroad in Milan, Paris and Cuzco (Peru). She is a past board member of the California Choral Directors Association, and currently advocates nationally as a board member of Chorus America.