CAITLIN TABANCAY AUSTIN
Caitlin Tabancay Austin grew up in Berkeley, California, with her two sisters and parents of Irish and Filipino heritage. Inspired by a Kitka performance she attended as a kid, she joined Kitka in 2008. After jump-starting her lifelong choral addiction in the SF Girls Chorus, she completed her BA in Music History and began studying Bulgarian singing at UCLA. Curiosity in vocal theater led her to an artistic immersion program at Double Edge Theatre in 2012. She has directed the SFGC Camp Counselor Chorus, and she has sung with Euouae (Lacuna Arts), AVE, Saint Ignatius Church Motet Choir, More Than One, Axios, and SF Choral Artists. Currently she directs the Berkeley branch of the Kitka Community Chorus, teaches voice, and plays in local folk bands Iron Henry and the Austin Tabancay Family Band. She’s interested in art that involves sound and bodies. She’s training to become a bodyworker.
HANNAH LEVY
Hannah Levy joined Kitka in 2016 shortly after returning from a second international tour with Vermont-based folk choir Northern Harmony. She owes her passion for harmony singing to the musical communities she found early on through chorus with Penny Shultz, Village Harmony, and her family and friends. A musical omnivore, Hannah performs regularly around the Bay Area and beyond with her band Little Arcs. More information can be found at www.hannahlevymusic.com.
BARBARA BYERS
Barbara Byers grew up in West Virginia and Nepal with a family of rugged music loving mountaineers. After living and studying music in Indonesia, Turkey and the Bay Area, Barbara joined Kitka in ‘14 and developed a love of the music of the Balkans. She took a hiatus to acquire a PhD in Music from the University of California, San Diego ‘21, where she wrote and produced two original operas and performed locally and internationally in collaborative, experimental operatic works. Her peripatetic appetite settles for a time in Oakland, where, in addition to singing again with Kitka, she enjoys climbing, martial arts and getting out into the beautiful hills and parks that surround this special place.
BRIGET BOYLE
Briget Boyle’s background ranges from the folk music of the Balkans to the folk music that surrounds her on the West Coast of the United States. A prolific songwriter and guitar player, gifted vocal coach, and the founder of Unleash Your Voice, Briget joined Kitka in 2004 and served as the groups Ensemble Manager through 2013. She officially rejoined Kitka in 2020. Briget also sings and plays guitar with True Life Trio, a Bay Area–based group the features Kitka alum Juliana Graffagna and Leslie Bonnett. TLT delves deep into a vast array of folk music that lends itself to three-part vocal harmony. Always keeping busy, Briget also serves as the CEO and Creative Director of Waxsimile Productions a record label and production company that focuses on both profitable and equitable methods of creating musical products.
JULIANA GRAFFAGNA
Juliana Graffagna began her musical career at a young age, singing in church choir and studying classical piano. She then ventured on to musical theatre, women’s glee club, Russian language study, and the discovery of her passion for traditional music. Juliana has worked with Kitka for more than two decades, serving as music director. Juliana currently performs with the eclectic world music ensemble Janam and the True Life Trio. She is also a studio vocalist and voice/piano teacher.
LILY STORM
Lily Storm is a singer specializing in traditional music, with particular experience in Eastern European styles. She has studied with many traditional singers (Donka Koleva, Kremena Stancheva, Merita Halili, Mariana Sadovska, Christos Govetas, Carl Linich, Tzvetanka Varimezova, Radostina Kaneva, Tatiana Sarbinska), and has traveled extensively, living for some months in Hungary and Greece and visiting Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, and India. She also makes use of archival recordings to study ancient styles preserved into the early 20th century. In 2009 Lily released a debut solo album called If I had a key to the dawn: Love Songs and Laments from Eastern Europe, and is currently recording a collection of traditional lullabies from all corners of Europe. She also teaches, writes, and performs regularly with accordionist extraordinaire Dan Cantrell. Lily holds a Masters in Music (with emphasis on Kodály pedagogy) from Holy Names University, and a B.A. in Mathematics from Bryn Mawr College.
MICHELE SIMON
Michele Simon, a proud third-generation native Bay Arean, was raised surrounded by music: classical (especially Bach), popular (especially Ella, Frank Sinatra, and Margaret Whiting), and American folk music. She sang before she talked, played cello and guitar, and most formatively, enjoyed trading a capella harmonies with her mother’s rich alto. Her relationship with Balkan music started with folk dancing as a teenager; after a 20-year acting career, she joined Kitka in 1988, and then went on to the Balkan dance bands Anoush, Brass Menažeri, and Helladelics; as well as Zabava! Izvorno, with which she currently performs as a singer and drummer. She is a popular teacher of Balkan singing technique. She works as a bookkeeper, and lives in Oakland with her husband and daughter.