LiveWire!
2015 Harmony Queens
About LiveWire!!
Lynn Blakeney (TENOR) joined Northern Blend Chorus 28 years ago when her Mom 'dragged' her to a chorus rehearsal. She has is currently the bass section leader and part of the choreography team. In 2001 her quartet, Upstate Rhythm, in which she sang lead, became Harmony Queens. She is also proud to now sing lead with the 1996 Harmony Queens, For Heaven's Sake. Lynn is a substitute teacher at Alexandria Bay Central School. Her passion is coaching quartets and choruses and encouraging singers to be the best they can be. Most recently she became a Certified Judge in the Presentation Category in 2017 and we are so proud of her. Winning with LiveWire has earned Lynn her 2nd crown in a 2nd voice part and she is excited about the journey to come in the years to come! She married her adorable hubby, Jim, in 2013 and has a son, Joshua, living on the other side of the country! 
Katie Taylor (LEAD) has been singing barbershop since she was a little girl. She joined Northern Blend in 1988 at the age of 12. She is now the front line director of the chorus and has helped lead them to many medals over the past 12 years - including gold (as co-director with her mom) in 2010 and again as front line director in 2017! Katie also has two previous gold medals as a quartet singer: For Heaven's Sake - 1996 Harmony Queens (as bass), and U4X - 2008 Harmony Queens (as tenor). She is excited to be giving lead a try! Katie is a K-12 Music Teacher with her degree from Crane School of Music, and has been teaching Pre-K - 12 music, show choir, theatre, and music theory. She has directed 20 musicals in her 21 years at Alexandria Central School including Les Miserables, her proudest moment! Katie also makes learning tracks (www.TaylorTrax.homestead.com) and greatly enjoys coaching, teaching, and giving PVIs in her free time! She has served on faculty at BHS Harmony University again teaching Fundamentals of Music and Conducting. She will be returning in 2018 as the Conducting team! Winning with LiveWire marks Katie's 3rd crown on a third voice part (who wants to sing BARI, anyway!?) and she is thrilled to take on the challenge of singing lead - the toughest to do, to be honest!! Katie is married to her hubby of 21 years, Rick, and together they have two boys; Gavin (19), a freshman at UMSL majoring in Music Performance,  and Zach (17), a future Air Force hopeful! 
Jessi Nasto (BASS) is the barbershop baby of the group. She joined Northern Blend in 2010 as a lead and migrated south to the Bass Land. She also sang with Pitch, Please!, which was founded in 2011. She studied classical voice at The Boston Conservatory and Crane School of Music. She has a musical theatre background, performing roles like Eva Peron in Evita and Judy Denmark in Ruthless! The Musical. Now, she works as a leasing consultant in Ithaca, NY. She is the mommy of an 7 year old curly headed sprite named Nova. She can't wait to experience all she can with LiveWire. Because you know, it's all about that bass, 'bout that bass... Winning with LiveWire marks not only her first crown, but her first time in the finals at International - not a bad job for a newbie, huh? Jess is drawing the attention of many with her incredible booming bass voice - we are blessed to have her singing with us! Jess is also our quartet newlywed, marrying her love, Tony (tenor of well known BHS college champs, Men in Black!) the summer of 2017! They are loving the family life and there is singing pretty much 24-7 in their home!! 
Lorie Autote (BARI) is a second-generation barbershopper, who patiently waited until she was 12 to join Northern Blend Chorus. She sang lead for a couple of years, then found her place in the tenor section. She was thrilled to become a Harmony Queen at the age of 18 with For Heaven's Sake. (Nothing beats getting to sing with your mom and sister, who are also your best friends!) Lorie is currently Northern Blend's tenor section leader and part of the choreography team. She is very excited about singing baritone with the lovely ladies of LiveWire! When she's not singing, Lorie is a wife, to her hubby of 17 years, Chris,  mom to Drew (14) and Evan (11), and middle school math teacher. Winning with LiveWire marks Lorie's 2nd crown on a 2nd voice part, as well! She's been wanting to try baritone for years, and is loving filling in the chords! Her voice is the perfect compliment to her sister's lead!