Logo

SUNDAY WORSHIP 10:30AM ONLINE & IN-PERSON

Our Staff

At UU Wellesley Hills, we are fortunate to have dedicated church staff working alongside our capable lay leaders and ordained ministers to build an inspiring community of faith.  Our minister and staff work out of our offices at Rice House, located directly behind the church building. They can be reached by calling the church office at 781.235.7423, or by emailing them directly.

 

Our Music Director

 SUZANNE CARTREINE

music@uuwellesley.org

Since returning to the Boston area, Suzie Cartreine has worked extensively in church settings, including a nine-year tenure as Director of Music at the First Parish Church of Stow and Acton Unitarian Universalist, where she grew a thriving music program with three choirs, involving more than 100 volunteer musicians each year. Her youth and children’s choirs enjoyed frequent interfaith collaborations, and hosted and performed with The American Boychoir on their 75th Anniversary Tour. As a conductor Suzie welcomes and gently challenges singers of all ages and levels of experience; former choir members have described her as “the most patient perfectionist I’ve ever met.”

Suzie performs regularly on harpsichord and piano, on series such as Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Concerts, MIT Concert Series, SoHIP, Lincoln Laboratories, Music of Norway Pond, and Bach Around the Clock/Trinity Artist Series in New Orleans. She has appeared on WGBH and WBUR radio, Stow TV, and provided the soundtrack for the documentary “The Experience of Disaster Research.” With an affinity for music of the French Baroque, she has been hailed for her “expressive and well-nuanced performance” which “fully captured the seventeenth century sensibility.” Current projects include learning the six concerti for solo harpsichord by J. S. Bach.

Suzie has a DMus in Historical Performance from Boston University, a MMus in Piano Performance from Temple University (Pi Kappa Lambda), and a BA in Physics from Macalester College (Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude). When not making music, Suzie enjoys yoga, swimming, playing cards, and spending time with her husband and two young sons.

 

Our Director of Congregational Life & Learning

MICHAEL PACKARD

mpackard@uuwellesley.org

Michael Packard, a native Massachusetts resident, has been serving UU Wellesley Hills since 2019. Michael’s passion for church life and traditions began when he was a young altar server in the Catholic Church he grew up attending.  Since then, Michael has served in almost all aspects of church life, from Director of Religious Education, to chair of the governing Board and of a major church fundraiser, to co-founder of a young adult group.

Michael has been married since 2003, welcomed his twin daughters into the world at the end of 2009, and adopted 2 kittens in 2021.  Michael’s wife, a lifelong UU, and children (also lifelong UUs) are active members at their home church in Framingham.

In 2017, Michael completed a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Studies, with a concentration in Religious Education, from Andover Newton Theological School.  His Capstone Project focused on building interfaith relationships. Michael earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish from Providence College. Outside of academia and church, Michael elates in nature: taking walks, tending gardens of flowers and vegetables, and observing the wonders of life alone or with fellow wonderers.

 

Our Administrative Associate

NICOLE GINARTE 

info@uuwellesley.org

Nicole was raised in the city of Boston, where she was immersed in a blend of cultures and traditions from a young age. Growing up in a household deeply rooted in the Greek Orthodox faith, she developed a strong connection to its rich traditions and practices. Additionally, attending Catholic school provided Nicole with a multifaceted spiritual upbringing, instilling in her a profound sense of spirituality and a respect for diverse religious beliefs.

Nicole pursued her higher education at the University of Massachusetts, where she earned a double major in Political Science and Sociology, and furthered her academic journey by earning a Juris Doctor (JD) from the Massachusetts School of Law.  Her diverse background, blending faith and a passion for social justice, has equipped her with a unique perspective and a steadfast determination to make a difference in her community and beyond.

Nicole currently resides in Boston with her 3-year old French bulldog, Mr. Blue.  She is a member of the National Association of Realtors and assists those looking to purchase real estate throughout the state.  In her work as a realtor, Nicole strives to embody the values of empathy, integrity, and compassion, seeking to create a more just and equitable world through homeownership and equal opportunity for all.

Our Choir Section Leaders:

 

ETHAN BREMNER, TENOR

Ethan Bremner has been a Unitarian Universalist for the bulk of his adult life and has sung with a UU church for more than 15 years.  He is originally from Athol, MA.

He got his bachelor’s degree from Bard College and his Masters of Music from University of Wisconsin, Madison. Since his arrival in Boston, Ethan Bremner has become one of the city’s most sought-after tenors.

He made his local debut with Boston Opera Collaborative in 2006 as Achilles in Gluck’s Iphigenie en Aulide, and then sang with the company as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème. He also had an auspicious debut as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca, Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’elisir D’amore, Don Jose in Carmen and Lt. Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly with Longwood Opera.

More recently he has performed as Don Jose in Carmen and Calaf in Turandot with Opera51 out of Concord.  He is a regular member of the chorus with Boston Lyric Opera and he was a Finalist in the 2010 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.  His website with upcoming performances is www.ecbremner.com

 

ARJUN MUDAN, BASS

Arjun Mudan is a Boston-based musician, with a particular interest in the new and the unusual. On violin and viola, he has performed with numerous Eastern MA ensembles, including the Boston Philharmonic, Cape Ann Symphony, and Plymouth Philharmonic, as well as Boston New Music Initiative and White Snake Projects.

He was involved in the US and Swiss premiers of major works by Helmut Lachenmann and Friedrich Cerha, and has worked with conductors such as Matthias Pintscher, Jeffrey Milarsky, Heinz Holliger, and JoAnn Falletta. His festival credits include Spoleto, Round Top, and Lucerne. Arjun has a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University.

Influential viola teachers include Michelle LaCourse, Jessica Meyer, Cyrus Beroukhim, and Dimitri Murrath. As a baritone, Arjun regularly sings with Boston Choral Ensemble and Vox Futura. By day, he works as a software engineer, and he enjoys running, cooking, and reading nonfiction books about obscure subjects!

 

CHRISTINE TEETERS, SOPRANO

Whether it be as the star blazing Queen of the Night portraying the headmistress set in a Hogwarts-esque boarding school production of The Magic Flute or hand jiving down a stroll line as Donna Anna in a 1950’s setting of Don Giovanni, Soprano Christie Teeters voraciously takes hold of roles both vocally and theatrically. Said to have “unleashed such sound and agility to astonish the audience” and that her “enrapturing, powerful voice alone was simply a show stealer”(The Boston Musical Intelligencer).

Ms. Teeters has performed a wide variety of roles in the operatic canon ranging from La Comtesse in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory, Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, The Fox inJanáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Madame Goldentrill in Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor to Mrs. Nordstrom in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music and the Witch in Hansel and Gretel. She has also been able to take part in several operatic firsts such as the East Coast Premier of Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with Boston Opera Collaborative. Another exciting performance was in the ensemble with The American Repertory Theater in Cambridge taking part in their dueling pianos production of Bizet’s Carmen as well as a new musical play set to music called Amerika based on a Kafka novel by Gideon Lester. It was a work commissioned for and associated with the ART and the Tony Award winning theater company Theatre de la Jeune Lune out of Minneapolis, MN. Other premiers include the title role of the dying Juana Inez de la Cruz in Daniel Crozier’s opera Juana Inez de La Cruz in its collegiate premier at The Boston Conservatory and the Boston premier of The Hourglass by Matthew Vest as well as the role of Super Nova inIsaac Schankler’s opera Light and Power with Juventas New Music Ensemble.

Ms. Teeters began her vocal studies receiving her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from The University of Central Oklahoma and her Master of Opera from The Boston Conservatory under the tutelage of William Cotton and Sanford Sylvan. She has worked with many area Boston companies including Opera on Tap, Odyssey Opera, Opera del West, Mass Opera (formerly MetroWest Opera), Juventas New Music Ensemble, Newport Baroque and Boston Opera Collaborative.

Ms. Teeters was a charter member of Boston Opera Collaborative at its inception in 2005. During her tenure with BOC she served the company in many capacities from Production Coordinator to oversight and participation in many committees including Fundraising, PR/Marketing, Operations, Community Outreach and Budgeting. Ms. Teeters also served on the Governing and Advisory Boards until she stepped down in 2013.

REBECCA TEETERS, SOPRANO

Rebecca Teeters is a soprano said to be a “moving performer worth watching.” A native of Oklahoma, Rebecca relocated to Boston in 2006 to begin her graduate studies at New England Conservatory. Rebecca continues to perform with companies within the greater Boston area. Her most notable roles include Sister Rose in the New England premiere of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with Boston Opera Collaborative, Mimì in La Bohème, Susannah (title role), Micaëla in Carmen, First Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, and Terentia in the world premiere of The Beautiful Bridegroom by Dan Shore. She was a member of the professional ensemble at First Church in Boston for twelve years.

In addition to performing, Rebecca is passionate about music education and arts administration. She is the Director of Curriculum Development and Innovation at Longy School of Music of Bard College. Previously she was the Senior Associate Dean of Students at NEC. She served on faculty at New England Conservatory and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Rebecca has worked with various individuals, ensembles, organizations, and schools on career planning and given master classes on arts leadership, grant writing, and stage make-up. She was an active member of Boston Opera Collaborative and served as their Executive Director.