Each SMS section has a leader who conducts sectional rehearsals, monitors attendance, and supports section members with concert preparation.  Current section leaders featured below include Barbetta Laurelle (soprano), Kathy Ossmann (alto), David Temme (tenor) and Tom Kaiser (bass).

Barbetta Laurelle

Barbetta Laurelle is the soprano section leader. She attended a school where music was given a high priority, learning soprano recorder in first grade and violin in second.  By fourth grade she was in the orchestra and choir, and remained in each through High School graduation.  The summer she was 14 she learned to play the guitar and has been a folk music aficionado ever since.  She also began private voice lessons that year.

Barbetta has a bachelor of music degree from CSUS, teaches private voice lessons from her home, directs her church choir, and teaches voice, choir and music appreciation at a local private school.  She has two grown daughters who grew up attending SMS concerts and have very fine voices, and she has a cat that sings with her on pitch!  In her spare time she loves to read and go to movies and regrets that no one will play the Lord of the Rings trivia game with her, since she is known to have lost count after her fortieth re-reading of the Trilogy.

Barbetta joined SMS in the 1989-90 season and has been section leader since 90-91. When asked her favorite Master Singers memory she replied: “At the end of a Christmas concert when we surrounded the audience to sing and sign “Peace, Peace,” I noticed some audience members who were watching me intently.  When the audience joined in, the grandmother bent to her granddaughter and started signing “Silent Night.” I still tear up when I think of it.”

Kathy Ossmann

Kathy Ossmann is the alto section leader. She has been performing with choral groups since the age of 5 when she discovered, to her delight, that when you stand in front to sing you can see everyone’s faces! Kathy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education with an emphasis on voice and piano from Michigan State University. She has taught private voice and piano lessons, conducted choirs in churches and schools, directed summer music camps, and taught music at the community college level. And that was just her first career!

Kathy is currently a change management consultant with over 20 years of service in public sector organizations. In this capacity she has assisted government and non-profit organizations implement both business process and automated systems changes.

Kathy has sung alto with SMS since 1993. When asked her favorite Master Singers memory she replied: “I loved leading the processional that opened our Celtic concert as I marched in front of the group drumming on a bodhran while we sang the dramatic ancient chant ‘Media Vita’.”

David Temme

David Temme is the current tenor section leader.  He studied piano from an early age and took up the viola, leading to four years as a member of the San Joaquin Youth Symphony.  He started singing while in college and since has sung with many choral groups including the Stockton Chorale, Chico Opera Workshop, and the Sacramento Opera Chorus.  David has been with the Sacramento Master Singers since 1986 and is thrilled to be starting his eighteenth season. “This choir has brought so many joys to my life.  It is an honor to be part of a group dedicated to bringing magical choral performance to our community.” In addition to being the tenor section leader, David served SMS as treasurer for nine years.

David spent 20 years as a manager in the banking industry. After five mergers, he went to work for the State of California where he is currently a unit manager for the Department of Personnel Administration.  He enjoys gardening and cooking and can usually be found engaged in two favorite pastimes: puttering in the kitchen or pushing the lawn mower!

Tom Kaiser

Tom Kaiser serves as the leader for the baritone/bass section. During his early years he could be found on the piano bench, taking lessons beginning at age seven. When his teacher moved out of town, Tom started playing sports instead of studying piano, but did continue on his own to develop his skill of playing by ear. In later school years, he discovered the challenge of playing organ with two or more keyboards and a pedal board. 

After completing his B.A. in industrial administration and M.B.A. in accounting and working as a corporate internal auditor, it was at the age of 29 that Tom decided to pursue his interest in music more seriously. Taking a sabbatical from his business career, he studied pipe organ and conducting at UC Davis.

For over 20 years, Tom had leadership roles in the music programs of Holy Rosary church in Woodland and then St. James church in Davis. He also founded and conducted the Woodland Chamber Orchestra 1983-1989. Tom resumed his administration career in 1984 when he accepted the position of Assistant Director at the California National Primate Research Center at UC Davis. In 1992, Tom accepted his current position as Assistant Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis.

Tom joined the Sacramento Master Singers in the fall of 1997. He appreciates everyone’s commitment to quality and excellence and stated “It is a privilege to be part of such an outstanding performance group”.