Cristina Doria

Cristy Doria, choir director at Spring Valley Academy in Ohio, was born in Valledupar, Colombia.  She started piano lessons at age six and entered Universidad Adventista in 2004, where she completed a B.Mus.Ed. in 2008. While at UA she was a member in both the university and chamber choirs and the handbell ensemble.

In the course of her studies she had the opportunity to direct large children’s and youth musical groups. One of those was a government program in which students would trade in a weapon for an instrument, symbolically exchanging destruction for beauty. Following graduation she worked as assistant director of the main children's choir in the Network of Music Schools of Medellin, Colombia, and was also a member of Trinity, a vocal trio that performed nationally and in Venezuela.

In 2010 she entered Andrews University where she pursued master’s degrees in voice and choral conducting. While there she sang in the music department’s three choral groups, played clarinet in the Wind Symphony, and was a member of the worship team Calls of Worship. She was a winner in the 2014 AU Young Artist Competition and as a result performed Dvorák's Song to the Moon with the AU Symphony Orchestra.

Doria is fluent in Spanish and English and when at AU filled the role of music minister simultaneously at two churches, the Kalamazoo SDA Hispanic Church and the Harbert Community Church. In both churches she directed their church choirs and coordinated praise teams.

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Sources: Profile at zoominfo.com, 2015; Harbert Community Church Midweek online newsletter, 24 September 2014; Spring Valley Academy website biography.