Jane McDougle formerly sang in Tactus SF. She holds a DMA (early music, voice) from Stanford University and was, for many years, the music director at St. Bede's Episcopal Church. Having focused on being an Episcopal priest in San Francisco in the past ten years, Jane is delighted to return to Tactus SF for more music-making.
Music has always been an important part of Jane’s life. Jane has sung with a number of groups over the years including Clare College Choir, Cambridge, with John Rutter; Horniman Singers, London, with Sebastian Forbes; Stanford Early Music Singers with William Mahrt, and the Theater of Voices, with Paul Hillier. She particularly loves Renaissance and early Baroque vocal music.
Mezzo/alto Susan Swerdlow has enjoyed singing in Tactus since 2017 and has served as the group's Associate Conductor for several years. She was also Tactus Co-Director during the transitional 2018-2019 season. and has served in that role again during fall 2026. In addition to Tactus, she does choral and solo singing with the Berkeley Bach Cantata Group, has sung with Marin Baroque, and is an intermittent conductor and singer with Voci Women's Vocal Ensemble. Susan, who holds an M.M. in choral conducting from Temple University, recently directed the Women's Antique Vocal Ensemble (WAVE) for several years. In the early 1990s she directed Sacred and Profane Chamber Chorus, and in the '90s and 2000s she trained the choruses for many productions at Berkeley Opera (now West Edge Opera) and Oakland Opera Theater. She enjoyed teaching music to young people for about 50 years, including 35 years at the College Preparatory School in Oakland.
Sven Edward Olbash has been the Music Director of Tactus SF since fall of 2024:
Sven Edward Olbash
Sven Edward Olbash is a multidisciplinary teaching artist with a special interest in the therapeutic potential of music, particularly for those dealing with grief. His album you who sow in tears will reap in joy with medieval vocal ensemble Euouae is available for streaming at euouae.bandcamp.com. He teaches Vocal Physiology and Voice Pedagogy at San Francisco Conservatory and individual singing lessons through Voice Science Studio.Sven has been a guest conductor for San Francisco Renaissance Voices and the Gregorian Institute of Canada and has completed two Music Performance Residencies with SF Opera. As a singer, Sven has performed in recital at Old First Concerts & Center for New Music, at Other Minds Festival, and with new music ensemble Volti. He holds degrees in singing and voice pedagogy from Boston University and New England Conservatory and lives in Lower Haight with his chihuahua Tupperware.
Past Music Directors:
Elizabeth Kimble
Elizabeth Kimble is a composer, soprano, conductor, and teacher. She was the Music Director of Tactus SF 2021-2024, and was the Assistant Conductor of the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco from 2012-2020. She performs with a wide variety of ensembles including the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Gaude, and the California Bach Society. Her music has recently been performed by St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Burlingame CA, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, SF Sound, Trinitas Vocal Ensemble, Cappella SF, and the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco. Elizabeth holds a master's degree Composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and bachelor degrees in Composition and Vocal Performance from Baldwin-Wallace University. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, and is pursuing a MA in Counseling Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. elizabethkimblemusic.com
Jonathon Hampton
Jonathon Hampton directed Tactus SF in its fourth year from June 2019 through June 2020. Having directed choirs for 15 years, Hampton is a unique and versatile conductor and professional singer. He is also a conductor of choruses at East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, San Francisco Youth Chorus, and San Francisco Early Music Society's summer Music Discovery Workshop and Youth Collegium. Hampton was previously a director for the GRAMMY-winning Pacific Boychoir where, for 14 years, he taught and toured internationally with choristers of all ages. He revived the children’s choir as Director of Choristers at Grace Church in Newark (NJ) over two seasons, and founded two choruses in affiliation with his Alma mater, Cornell University. Hampton has been guest conductor of several ensembles across the country and also spent five years with Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, coordinating international music education programs. He also performs professionally as an alto, tenor, and baritone with such choral ensembles as American Bach Soloists, San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Cappella SF, Schola Adventus, and the Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys. Additionally, Hampton performs as a popular music soloist and is an arts consultant. JonHampton.com
Tanmoy Laskar
Founding director of Tactus, Tanmoy Laskar is currently an Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utah. Tanmoy has been directing student and community chamber choirs since 2005 and also founded two Renaissance chamber choirs in Cambridge, MA (Tactus Ensemble and the Summer Seasonals). Several years of Summer Seasonals performances are available on YouTube, and the 2015 Summer Seasonals concert can be viewed in its entirety on-line. Tanmoy has previously sung with the Trinity Singers of Cambridge University during his NatSci undergrad years, and with The Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus, the Harvard Glee Club, and the Choral Fellows of the Harvard University Choir, while pursuing his PhD from 2009 to 2015.Tanmoy is also an active composer, writing both instrumental music in the Classical style, and choral works, predominantly using Renaissance polyphony. His compositions have been premiered by leading choral ensembles including the Harvard University Chorus, the Choral Fellows of Harvard's Memorial Church, the Appleton Compline Choir, and Boston-based Convivium Musicum. A catalogue of his works is available on line, and recordings are available on SoundCloud.