The Bonita Vista Vocal Music Department is celebrating more than five decades of excellence. The BVHS show choir program began in 1975 and have been going strong ever since, consistently winning top awards locally, nationally, and internationally. Students have traveled extensively, performing in 22 countries on 4 continents, providing unparalleled enrichment opportunities for students.
The success of the programs are made possible by the dedicated, talented students, and creative team, as well as the families and community who support them. Students experience not only personal growth as musicians and performers, but also as contributing members of a team and a family, creating relationships and memories to last a lifetime.
Vita Brevis Ars Longa
Michael Atwood, Vocal Music Director
The Vocal Music Department is under the Direction of Michael Atwood. Michael holds an undergraduate degree (BA, Music) from Whittier College, and a Master’s Degree (MM, Music Education) from the University of the Pacific. At Whittier, he was a talent scholarship recipient, featured soloist for choir tours, and received the “Outstanding Service in Music” award for the Class of 2019. At Pacific, he served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for Choral Methods, General Music Methods, and First-Year Seminar courses. Michael was also inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies, the only graduate music student from Pacific to be inducted his graduating year. Additionally, he has sung as a Tenor in the San Diego Master Chorale and performed as a chorister with the San Diego Symphony. For the Sweetwater Union High School District, Michael serves as Vocal Music Chair and is the Resident Vocal Director for the annual Sweetwater Summer Theater Institute, having vocally directed Mean Girls and Hadestown. Michael is especially proud to serve as the Director of the Bonita Vista Vocal Music Department, of which he is an alumnus.
Colden Lamb (Artistic Director) was a member of the Music Machine from 2011-2014. Mr. Lamb obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Musical Theater from San Diego State University. As an educator, he has worked with Moonlight Youth Theater and San Diego Musical Theater Academy. As a music director, choreographer and stage director for Saint Augustine High School, he has worked on She Loves Me, Trap, The Lighting Thief, The Drowsy Chaperone, Clue and Something Rotten. Upcoming projects with Saints include The Skin of Our Teeth and Sweeney Todd. As an actor, he has worked with PCPA, Moonlight Stage Productions, CCAE Theatricals, San Diego Musical Theater, Five Star Theatricals, Candlelight Pavilion, Sierra Repertory, 3D Theatricals, The Welk Resort, and Performance Riverside. Mr. Lamb is in charge of the Marc Blitzstein Archive on Youtube and has been a guest host on A Musical Theater Podcast and Life's But A Song. coldenlamb.com
A Bonita native, Chantal began acting in community productions of “Bonitafest Melodrama” and “La Pastorela” when she was barely old enough to walk. Having caught the performing arts bug, Chantal started dancing when she was three years old at In Motion Dance Center. Throughout her time there, she studied hip hop, tap, jazz, and ballet and was a part of the In Motion Company dance team. At Bonita Vista High School, Chantal was a member of both Sound Unlimited and The Music Machine show choirs and served as the Dance Captain of The Music Machine her senior year. In college, she studied musical theatre and drama at the University of California, Irvine where she graduated with a BA in Drama. She is now a Choreographer and Artistic Director for Sound Unlimited and The Music Machine. She also owns a dance business, Dance Dynamics San Diego, where she teaches teen-adult Jazz. Additionally, she teaches Tap and Jazz at Tap Fever Studios in Pacific Beach and is a Scare Actor and Makeup Artist at The Haunted Trail of Balboa Park every Fall. Chantal’s dance style is heavily influenced by musical theatre and emphasizes clean movements and storytelling!
Colden Lamb, Artistic Director
Chantal Branscomb, Choreography Director
Alexis Luna was a member of The Music Machine from 2012-2016 where he performed as a singer/dancer and also served as the Baritone Section Leader for his Junior and Senior years. He has also been a part of the department's Festival Band since 2017, performing his parts on the synth or more recently, the Keytar. Alexis completed a Bachelor of Arts in Music at San Diego State University, where he focused on both voice and piano during his degree. Alexis participates in the yearly "Bonitafest Melodrama" where he performed as part of the cast and also helps run rehearsals as its Musical Director. Alexis also is part of a video game music cover band called "Appease the Skeleton" where he plays the Keytar. Alexis is now an accompanist for the BVHS Vocal Music Department where he plays piano for Sound Unlimited, The Music Machine, and the Bonita Vista Middle School choir Crusader Chorale.
Alexis Luna, Associate Director & Collaborative Pianist