Board of Directors
The BAPA Board accepts applications in spring of each year. If you are interested, please email recruitment@bapany.org.
Officers
Troy Blackwell (he/him), Chair
Ex-officio member of all committees
Founder, Ready for Change
Twitter: @troyblackwelljr
Domingo Diaz, Jr. (he/him), Vice Chair
Lead: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee
McKenzie (a.k.a “Mother McKenzie”) Keating (we/she), Treasurer
Lead: Finance Committee
Artist, activist, and nonprofit professional (Co-Director, GayRidge)
Michael R. Dekker, Secretary
Lead: Governance Committee
Photographer
Kyle Medeiros (he/him), Membership and Social Team (MaST) Chair
Deputy Executive Director of the American Camp Association, New York and New Jersey
Directors
Daniel Baillie (he/him)
Member: Development Committee
Vice President, Global Ground Transportation Manager, Citibank
Emily Baum (she/her)
Member: Governance Committee
Venture Investor, NYU Innovation Venture Fund
Tym Byers (he/him)
Member: Development Committee
Rob Byrnes (he/him)
Member: Development Committee
President, East Midtown Partnership
Rob Cordell (he/him)
Member: Governance Committee
Executive Director and Counsel, Mizuho Americas
Bradley Hess (he/him)
Member: Finance Committee
Sr. Software Engineer, Google
Joshua O'Sullivan (he/him)
Member: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee
Consultant/Capacity Building Trainer
Dipal Shah, Esq. (he/him)
Member: Governance Committee
Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Greater New York Action Fund
Christina Simon (she/her)
Member: Public Relations
Advance Coordinator, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
Executive Director
John D. Carrion | He/Him
John holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Metropolitan Studies and his Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree, specializing in nonprofit management, at New York University (NYU). He also earned a Master of Science (MSc) degree in sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) - awarded with distinction. His MSc thesis focused on how music can form social movements as evidenced in LGBTQ+ choruses.
John has extensive experience in nonprofit management and executive leadership. He started his career working in residence life and academic service-scholarship at St. John’s University in Queens, NY before becoming the Associate Director of St. John’s University in Paris, France. John then relocated to London, UK and worked as a project manager for both the Royal College of Psychiatrists and for Marie Curie Cancer Care. His work at NYU has involved administrative and operational oversight for NYU’s 15 site global housing program.
John joined the London Gay Men’s Chorus (LGMC) in 2011 and created the LGMC's Youth, Education, and Outreach program that same year. Most notably, John served as Chairman of the LGMC from 2013-2017 where he led the transition to a modernized and ambitious LGBTQ+ musical organization. John’s tenure as Chairman focused on cultivating local, national, and international outreach supported by and contributing to a revitalized fundraising platform. Additionally, John spearheaded an expansion of the LGMC’s membership, concert venue, and artistic profile while equipping the organization for sustainable development and growth. In 2016, John led the LGMC to deliver an expansive and inclusive program of activity to celebrate the LGMC’s 25th anniversary. During John’s tenure, the LGMC performed together with the NYCGMC twice: first at Various Voices Dublin in 2014 and then again in 2017 during the LGMC’s USA tour.
John began his tenure with Big Apple Performing Arts (BAPA) and the New York City Gay Men's Chorus in October 2021. During his time at BAPA, he has focused on revitalizing the organization in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. John has worked to recruit over 170 new members, to produce the first concerts since 2019, to engage with new communities around New York City, and to reinvigorate BAPA’s fundraising campaigns. During his tenure, the NYCGMC has also featured on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Pix11, ABC7 News, and the 75th Annual Tony Awards.
In June 2022, John was named a New York City LGBTQ+ Power Player. In October 2022, John was elected to the GALA Choruses Board of Directors and began his term on January 1, 2023. In February 2023, he presented at the Out and Loud and Proud Festival in Sydney, Australia, representing both Big Apple Performing Arts and GALA Choruses.
Artistic Director
John J. Atorino | He/Him
John Atorino is a professional music conductor and arranger from New Jersey. He studied Choral Music Education and Conducting at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor under the mentorship of Jerry Blackstone and Eugene Rogers. After college, he went on to conduct with the Chicago Children’s Choir and teach music at Social Justice High School in Chicago. John moved back to the east coast in 2010 where he got his Master’s in Music Education at New York University while conducting the Men’s Glee Club and Mixed A Cappella Choir and teaching middle and high school choir during the day. In 2013, John was hired as Assistant Conductor for the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus where he conducted the chorus on numerous outreach gigs and main stage concerts. While continuing to conduct with NYCGMC and NYU at night, John eventually left the classroom during the day and began editing and typesetting music materials for Samuel French/Concord Music. In 2016, John started a weekly queer-themed podcast which has been featured in “Best of” lists for Cosmopolitan, LogoTV, Out.com, Metrosource, and Screenrant among others. In 2020, Atorino left NYC and moved to Oregon where he served as the Artistic Director for the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus bringing them through the lockdown and back to the live stage. While serving PGMC, he produced and edited digital performances, arranged and orchestrated songs, commissioned a new piece by Aaron Dai, and led the organization to receive the Governor’s Arts Award in the summer of 2020 for their first ever digital performance (“Under Pressure”) and their continued 40 year tradition of choral excellence. John has been commissioned to arrange or orchestrate over 30 songs for NYCGMC plus many more for various ensembles over the years. He believes community singing is a radical act of humanity.
Lester Vrtiak | He/Him
Operations Manager
Lester joins Big Apple Performing Arts and the New York City Gay Men's Chorus with over ten years of experience as an arts administrator. Previously, Lester managed outreach programs with the Thurnauer School of Music at the JCC on the Palisades, and educational and community engagement programs with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, Lester served as the Director of the Sing for Hope Pianos, public pianos placed throughout NYC for anyone to play and enjoy.
Today, Lester is in charge of operations and makes sure that everything is running smoothly with BAPA and NYCGMC, as well as working closely with the Youth Pride Chorus and Tonewall.
Lester is an active member with Barkada NYC, a community for Queer and Trans Filipinx folks, and has been a volunteer mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters NYC for the last three years. Lester is obsessed with hotpot, outdoor adventures with his dog Lucas, and collecting the first 151 Pokemon.
Photo credit: Michael Dekker
Aaron Dai | He/Him
Accompanist
A graduate of Columbia University and the Mannes College of Music, Aaron began studying piano at the age of five and went on to win the UNICEF Youth Concerts Competition three times by the age of fifteen. As a soloist and collaborative pianist, he has performed around the country and abroad, in New York venues such as Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Symphony Space, and The Town Hall, and cities including Dublin, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and San Francisco.
Aaron's venture into serious composition began at the University of Pennsylvania under the auspices of George Crumb. His The Night Before Christmas for Narrator and Orchestra has been performed internationally and by actors such as Ana Gasteyer, David Hyde Pierce, Charles Busch, Andrea Martin, BD Wong, and John Lithgow. He has a history of fruitful collaboration with artists in other fields, including the late abstract painter Louise Fishman, poet Eileen Myles, and choreographer Kevin Hill. For his fifteen-minute miniature opera Hamlet, he collaborated with Pulitzer-nominated playwright Jon Marans, and the opera premiered in New York City with actor Darius de Haas in the title role. You Yourself Must Change It (text by poet Adrienne Rich), a work commissioned by the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, received its premiere at The Town Hall and aired nationally on Sirius XM Satellite Radio for two months. Aaron is a founding member of and the resident composer for The Chelsea Symphony, and he is a four-time recipient of the ASCAP Plus Award, Concert Music Division.
A former clarinetist, oboist, and bassoonist, Aaron is now a staff pianist at the Mannes School of Music. He lives with his husband Tom and teaches in New York City.
Nicholas Sienkiewicz | He/Him
Director, Youth Pride Chorus
Nick is a conductor, music director, and researcher from Romeo, MI. Nick studied conducting under Chris Albanese Betsy Burleigh, Dominick DiOrio, and Walter Huff at Indiana University. Prior to this, Nick studied with Professor Austin McWilliams, and sang under the tutelage of Dr. Kimberly Dunn Adams at Western Michigan University. Nick recently participated in NYU’s Musical Theatre Conducting Intensive, under the mentorship of Ted Sperling. Some of his previous work with youth includes positions as Chorus Director with the Kalamazoo Children’s Chorus’ Coro De Niños and Head of the Voice Department at French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts.
As a conductor, Nick has worked with the Bloomington Chamber Singers, and previously led and organized the inaugural Kalamazoo Community Grand Chorus. While at Indiana University, Nick had the privilege of working as the Assistant Conductor with the Indiana University Vocal Chamber Ensembles, the Grammy-Nominated Singing Hoosiers, Opera Chorus for HMS Pinafore, and the Assistant Director for All Campus Chorus.
Nick’s work and research as a scholar is focused in the psychological and brain sciences and specializes in developing trauma-informed environments that result in safe, challenging, and engaging choral spaces. Nick has been presented at multiple international and national conferences including the European Association for Music in Schools, the College Music Society, and the American Choral Director’s Association. An active author, Nick has two articles published in the Choral Journal. In the public sphere, Nick has been featured on local and national radio networks, along with the Choralosophy podcast. He has a particular interest in psycho- and queer musicology, with a current focus on the music of John Corigliano, and Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard.
Nick holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and a Bachelor of Musical Arts from Western Michigan University. Nick completed his Master of Music in Choral Conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Along with his appointment with YPC, Nick is the Artistic Director of the Lehigh Valley Chorale, and serves as an Instructor in the Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre at the New York Film Academy.
Stephen Kurowski | He/Him
Production Manager
IN MEMORIAM: 1963 - 2023
Stephen Kurowski has worked in theater for more than 28 years both as a Stage Manager and Production Manager. He joined the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus in 2002 as a singing member and became Production Manager in 2008. He has helped produce over 36 shows and special events for the chorus, including Big Gay Sing for Gala 2012 in Denver and Big Gay Sing for Marriage Equality in Dublin in 2014.