About Us
Our Approach
Voices Rock welcomes everyone, whether you’re a seasoned singer or have never performed in your life and finally want to take the leap.
Rehearsal cycles run for ten weeks and culminate in a performance at the end of the session.
Voices Rock has several Denver locations to choose from! Check out our Join Now page for locations, dates, and times.
Can’t attend every rehearsal? No problem! We provide Drop Box recordings for you to listen to at your convenience. Once you are a member and the session begins, you will receive access to our Member portal where you will find everything you need for fun and successful session!
The goal of Voices Rock is to build community, and we provide several social opportunities outside of rehearsal for our fantastic members to get to know each other. We also strive to help our community through charity and several outreach performances each year.
Reasons to Join
- You love to sing!
- It’s yoga for the brain
- You get to meet new people
- You’ll learn more about music
- We create and build community
- We get to do something meaningful together
- Everyone has a voice and a right to sing!
- Music is good for the soul.
- It’s so much fun!
Want to experience Voices Rock?
Stay in touch with our newsletter:
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Before You Come:
- Stay up-to-date with our email communications
- Listen to the recordings of our current songs on Dropbox!
- Leave all your cares at the door and get ready to sing your heart out!
What To Bring:
- Feel free to bring you beverage of choice and share if you wish!
- Help the planet – bring a reusable cup!
- A pencil and/or highlighter
- You might want a binder or folder to keep your music organized
Meet The Team

Jill Teas
Co-Founder & Musical Director

Betsy Leighton
Co-Founder, Strategic and Creative Director

Clara Shelton
Executive Director
Clara Shelton joined Voices Rock in its second session and was hooked from the start. She became the Executive Director in 2025. Prior to Voices Rock, Clara held marketing and communications roles with Colorado Public Radio and Concentric Ag. A lifelong musician, Clara started formal Suzuki violin training at age 5, played with youth symphonies in Europe and the U.S., and sang in an a cappella group at Pomona College, from which she graduated with a degree in American Studies. In her free time, Clara serves as a National Ambassador with MADD, begins too many craft projects, and occasionally hosts a Taylor Swift podcast. She credits Voices Rock with helping her find her people when she moved to Denver, and she believes strongly in the power of groups like this to help strengthen our communities through music, friendship and laughter.

Marla McClure
Choir Director @ Highlands
Marla McClure is a choir director, voice teacher, actor, singer, and ballroom dance instructor. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, she spent the last 12 years in New York City, where she taught high school music and co-directed a community rock choir, Unsettled Scores. An avid musical theater lover, Marla has performed in numerous shows, including Gypsy, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Last 5 Years, and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. She has an Advanced Certificate in Music Education from Brooklyn College and a BA in Psychology from Pomona College.
Choir has been one of the great loves of Marla’s life… it was the place where she really found her artistic voice and her sense of community in NYC. Since moving to Denver, she’s been so grateful to find a new choir family in Voices Rock! And she’s hoping to foster that same sense of community with her singers in the Highlands area.

Brian Shimamoto
Choir Director @ Central Park
Brian caught the musical bug at age 10 when he was cast in the title role of a local community theatre production of “Oliver!” and music has been a part of his life ever since. His musical roots were always closely tied to the communities he’s been part of from local children’s theatre to high school chorus and show choir. In college, he was introduced to contemporary a cappella ensembles and he and some friends formed the Deltones, a University of Delaware co-ed a cappella group founded on the idea of “friends first, singers second.” That philosophy paid off and the group recently celebrated 35 years on campus and competed on NBC’s “The Sing Off” going up against Denver’s own “Urban Method” and a little 5-member group known as “Pentatonix.” After college, Brian travelled with Up With People where he first met Voices Rock director, Jill Teas and served as her vocal intern while on the road. He went on to work as a vocal director and show manager, traveling throughout the United States and Europe for five years.
Brian and his family have called Colorado home since 2007 and he is excited to help bring the Voice Rock community to his Central Park neighborhood,

Dave Ramsey
Choir Director @ Cap Hill
Dave Ramsey is a professional performer, composer, director, writer, and music educator based in Denver, CO. As a soloist, in ensemble, and as a director he has performed a wide range of music from punk and metal to baroque chamber music, opera, EDM, jazz, and experimental contemporary works. Dave’s original music has been performed on 5 continents and is commissioned for new pieces by ensembles of all sizes. He currently serves as the Director of Music at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and as the Music Teacher at DSST: Green Valley Ranch High School, both in Denver.

Andy Ard
Band Leader
Andy Ard is a Denver singer-songwriter and the band leader of Voices Rock choir. He also performs with choir director Jill Teas as an acoustic duo. Andy grew up playing guitar, has played in numerous bands, knows a startling number of cover songs, been part of the accompaniment for local musicals, and composed the music for the 2003 virtual tour of the White House for the White House Historical Association. He writes and produces original recordings and enjoys collaborating with other artists. A career highlight was performing with Voices Rock at Red Rocks Amphitheater in 2018 and 2021.

Edwina Lucero
Choir Director @ Lakewood
Edwina grew up in Colorado, singing in choirs at church and school, from the Meistersingers at Cherry Creek HS to church choirs and groups through college. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Education from CU Boulder and spent 20 years teaching and leading in public schools, as well as adjunct at a community college. She has directed a wide variety of styles of choirs, and musicals. The best moments of her teaching career were spent in Northwest Denver with her students building a choir program that was inclusive and prioritized a sense of belonging, welcoming any level, at all times. Edwina believes in the ability of every person to use their voice to express and connect to their self and others, that music-making is ingrained in our heartbeat and how we interact with the world, and her greatest joy in life is helping others discover this for themselves. Edwina and her husband and kids live in Lakewood, and she works with her husband as Director of Operations at his nonprofit, Colorado Treks. She’s excited to make music with Voices Rock!