Renae Williams, a native of the Twin Cities, began playing piano at age 3 when her mother, a voice and piano teacher, discovered that she had perfect pitch.  At age 9, she became a church organist and as a teenager, was a rehearsal pianist for a local entertainment production agency, where her classical background quickly enabled her to pick up jazz and contemporary styles Renae soon joined one of the touring groups and traveled the country as a singer-entertainer. She returned to the Twin Cities and built a long and successful career as a free-lance musical arranger/composer specializing in vocal jazz, choreography, concert staging, accompanist and theater director.  During those twenty years, she worked at many local high schools, corporations and community theaters while being the Director of Music Ministries at Ascension Lutheran Church in Burnsville. 

Desiring a career more permanent than free-lancing, Renae began college in 1995 at Normandale Community College and graduated from Augsburg College in 2001 with a degree in choral music education.  During that time, she was the assistant conductor to Peter Hendrickson of the Augsburg Masterworks Chorale, a position she held for 18 years.  She taught choral music full time at Roseville Area High School and finished her full time career at Nova Classical Academy in St. Paul.  In partial retirement, she is a much sought after substitute music teacher and accompanist in District 196. Renae’s very diverse experience in the entertainment arts makes her schedule very busy with workshops, concerts and collaborations with other choral conductors.  She is excited to bring her skills to the Eagan Women of Note organization.

Kathleen Hollar grew up in Orlando, Florida, earning 2 Bachelors and a Masters Degree in Music. At the same time as teaching at Rollins College, she worked as music director at a dinner theater, followed by a repertory theater as well as doing convention shows at Disney World. After marrying, she moved to Philadelphia where she accompanied the Philadelphia Singers and the Philadelphia Opera Chorus before doing doctoral work at Columbia University. When Fortress Press, the Lutheran publishing house, merged under one roof with Augsburg Publishing, she and her family moved to the Twin Cities, where she became organist for Grace Lutheran Church on the East side of St. Paul as well as continuing to accompany and music directing. Now she is delighted to join forces with EWON and looking forward to accompanying the exciting sounds they have always been known to create.