Michele Hecht has been Director of Music Ministry at First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn (FCCGE), Illinois, United Church of Christ (UCC), for over 22 years.  She leads a talented staff of professional musicians and oversees a program of choirs, handbells, Taizé, recorders, song leaders and soloists. Michele started her graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, earned her M.M. from Roosevelt University (1995), B.S. in Music at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign, 1989), studied conducting at the Kodály Institute in Hungary (1995), René Clausen Choral School (2006), University of Michigan Conducting Symposium (2018), and has two levels of Orff-Schulwerk certification.  

Together with her co-director, Jeff Haeger, the FCCGE Choir has performed in several choral festivals at Carnegie Hall (2003, Dr. John Leavitt), Kennedy Center, Washington, DC (2007, Dr. John Leavitt), Charleston International Choral Festival (2010, Dr. Jeffery L. Ames), Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago (2014, Dr. Hugh Floyd and 2016, Dr. René Clausen), St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans (2017, Dr. Alan Raines), College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL (IL-ACDA convention 2017), Grace Cathedral, San Francisco (2019, Dr. Sandra Snow), Carnegie Hall (2023, Dr. Jennaya Robison), and performed in their own featured concert at Carnegie Hall (2008).

In recent years, Michele has composed several worship songs and choral anthems, including “Bring Us Peace”, which was selected as a featured performance in closing worship at the UCC General Synod 2021.  “Bring Us Peace” is part of a curated list of ‘pandemic compositions’ for the American Choral Directors Association, and has been performed in churches across the US and Canada.  Click here to view the virtual choir video by the FCCGE Choir during pandemic lockdown (2020).  Click here for a full playlist of FCCGE virtual choir videos.

After serving as president of the United Church of Christ Musicians Association (UCCMA), she nows acts as an Advisor to the Board of Directors; she also chaired the national UCCMA conference at Elmhurst College (2015).  Michele served as Music in Worship chair for the Illinois chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, for whom she organized two Music in Worship choral festivals (2017, Dr. Timothy Sharp and 2019, Jeffrey Hunt.) 

Prior to her career as a church musician, she was an elementary vocal music teacher in Cincinnati (1989-91) and in Park Ridge, Illinois (1991-96). During that time, she acted as coordinator for several Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA/JEM) choral festivals, as guest conductor for district festivals, as well as an active member of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA), and President of the Chicago chapter of the Organization of American Kodaly Educators (OAKE). Michele was instrumental in the development of the Kodály certification program at DePaul University. 

Michele studied voice with soprano Judith Haddon (Roosevelt University, 1991-95), and has performed as a professional choral singer with the Cincinnati May Festival Chorus (1989-91, Dr. Robert Porco, with guest conductor, Robert Shaw), Holy Name Cathedral Singers, Chicago (1991-92, Richard Proulx), Chicago Choral Artists (1997-98, Bart Bradford), Voices Chicago (1994-96, Richard Garrin), and DuPage Opera Theatre (1998-2000, Harold Bauer), and currently with City Voices (2023, William Chin).

Click HERE to email Michele.

630.469.3096 X 15