About
The Reuter Center Singers are an active Special Interest Group that meets on a weekly basis as part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UNC-Asheville. Led by Chuck Taft, they produce harmonious tunes while also building strong bonds and valuing shared moments. Their concerts feature a diverse range of musical styles and periods. Unlike other groups, they don’t require auditions and instead ask only that participants have a love for singing and a willingness to enjoy the experience.
Chuck Taft
Music Director & Conductor
Chuck Taft is a multi-talented musician, pastor, and author living, working, and learning in Western North Carolina. Chuck’s wide-ranging work includes music directing for theater and opera, conducting orchestral and choral groups, teaching university students, and performing as a singer and pianist. His Master’s research focused on exploring the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical benefits of choral participation in an aging population, with the aim of using scholarship to improve practice and, ultimately, the lives of parishioners. Guiding his work across all these disciplines is Chuck’s core belief in “people over process,” a commitment to valuing the needs of the individual above those of organizations. Led by this belief, Chuck moves daily between the classroom, sanctuary, and rehearsal hall, cheerfully helping the people around him find joy and express their truth through music.
Eric Fricke
Interim Music Director and Organist
Eric is from Scottsdale, AZ, and came to Asheville after living in Santa Fe, NM, for many years. He came to North Carolina in June 2020 to study in a graduate program for Injury-Preventive Keyboard Pedagogy at Salem College.
From 2017 to 2019, Eric was the Principal Organist of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, NM. During his time there, Eric helped prepare and performed with a 120-voice combined choir from the Santa Fe Diocese in a performance of John Rutter’s Mass of the Children at Carnegie Hall, among many other musical and liturgical adventures. While in Santa Fe, Eric performed as a Santa Fe Opera pianist and was the Santa Fe Symphony organist. Eric was the Associate Director of the St. Michael’s High School’s Choral Arts Society, which won AAA New Mexico State Champion Choir during two of his three years with them. He has appeared nationally as an organist since 2007, with notable appearances at Entertainment Gathering 2008 (later broadcast on TEDTalks) on NPR’s From The Top.
Eric is a chocolatier, botanical perfumer, and African and Haitian dance student, and he enjoys hosting his neighborhood outdoor yoga group. He holds undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and History of Mathematics and Sciences from St. John’s College, the notorious Great Books school of Annapolis, MD.
