Our Team
Musical directors
Aquiles Morales was born in Mexico City and began his piano studies at the National School of Music in 1996, where he studied with Eva del Carmen Medina. In 1999 he continued his studies in Paris in the École Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot where he obtained the diploma in 2004. He was a student of the teacher Dusan Tadic and later of the soloist Françoise Parrot-Hanlet. He participed in a number of competitions, gaining second place in the Sucy-en-Brie National Piano Contest. In 2004 he was admitted in the École Nationale de Musique de Créteil where he carried out specialization studies with the teacher Christophe Vautier, also participating in master classes in Nice and Courchevel with Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique (C.N.S.M.) teachers Jacques Rouvier and Prisca Benoît. He returned to Mexico in 2005 and continued studying with the renowned pedagogue Néstor Castañeda. He has appeared as a soloist and in chamber music groups at the most important concert halls in Mexico, France, and the United States. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras conducted by Francisco Téllez and Arturo Enrique Diemecke. In 2006 he recorded his first CD 32 Variations/Variations, and in 2009 [post] Sturm und Drang. In April 2015 he recorded a new CD with music written by Ravel, Debussy, and Franck. This production will be ready during the next months. In 2013 and 2014 he studied at the Mozarteum University’s Sommerakademie with the French pianist Dominique Merlet. From 2008 he began expanding his musical horizons to choral music. He received his choral conducting training by directors Alberto Balzanelli (Argentina), Leo Kraemer (Germany), Konrad von Abel (Germany), student of Sergiu Celibidache, and Simon Carrington (UK), founding member of the King's Singers. In February 2015 he was chosen as the director of Mexico City Choir. Five years ago he became the director of the Superior School of Music Youth Choir with whom he performs regularly. Some of the choir performances include Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem on Opus 94.5 FM, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy accompanied by the school orchestra conducted by maestro Enrique Diemecke, the musical and scenic project Coros y Arias de Ópera at the Blas Galindo Auditorium, Oh Lord, I wanna be in that Number ! Gospel and Spirituals at the Soumaya Museum, and Délicieux, a French music feast. He is also the founder of Poder Coral MX where Coro Délicieux and Coro UNO come from. He performs with them throughout the year. He studied voice with the mezzo-soprano Armelle Orieux in Paris and later with the soprano Gabriela Miranda in Mexico. Since 2006, he shares his musical experience as a teacher in the Superior School of Music. He worked as an accompanist and is currently in charge of the piano for composers, and choir classes. In 2007 he worked on the staging of the opera Lucia di Lammermoor at the Mexico’s City opera hall, Bellas Artes. He also participated as a pianist in the 2006 production of The Magic Flute by the National School of Music Opera Company.
Board Members
Susi Schuegraf was a music major at Cal State Northridge and studied with Peter Rejto. She finished in Computer Engineering and worked as a technical systems manager at Microsoft, and Hughes Aircraft. Her love for music never left and all of her children have played instruments. Son Sebastian plays violin in the orchestra. Her daughter plays recorder, She performed a concert at Act 2 with Daniel Olivieros and Sharon Baughman White and helped with the prior DIF program.
Terrence is a Founder and CEO of MEXLend, an 18-year-old national mortgage brokerage and escrow service, focusing on financing for US and Canadian citizens throughout Mexico. He began playing the clarinet in elementary school in Germany and continued to play into college. As a co-founder and board member of the Instituto de Artes Musicales (IAMPV), he is fiercely dedicated to providing musical opportunities to the youth of Puerto Vallarta where he resides with his husband, David Schwendeman and to the cultural enrichment of the community through music and art.
Mary MacLachlan - an “original” - has played in orchestras since she was 10 years old! She first played professionally at age 19 with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and continued professionally for decades, plus teaching instrumental music both privately and in schools. When she and her husband Don moved to Vallarta in 2004 she was invited to join a small group of musicians who wanted to play classical music together. This core group of about 8 players (the PCO - Puerto Vallarta Chamber Orchestra) grew to become the orchestra that we have today. Three of the original members still play in the orchestra today. Her passion to play the classics in an orchestra never fades. Mary is on the OSV board to assist both with music selection and the many details that are involved in our performances. She spends summers in British Columbia, on a lake, in the woods. She loves to walk, entertain family and friends, and enjoys the outdoor living of this unique site.
Brian Cloyd
Board Member
Brian Cloyd is past Vice-President of Global Corporate Relations for Steelcase Inc. In his business career one of his responsibilities was funding corporate giving. His company supported many non-profits and arts organizations including the local symphony. He joined the board in 2023.
Sally Estes
Clarinet
Board Member
Sally Estes grew up in Sedalia, Missouri. At age 8, she taught herself how to play piano from her older sister’s piano lesson books. She began playing the clarinet in elementary school. When a Junior in High School, she was invited to join the local Symphony. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree with Piano Emphasis from Columbia College, Columbia, MO. After a 30-year hiatus with the clarinet, Sally joined the PV Chamber Orchestra in 2007. She enjoys classical music and says “it feeds my soul when I can play my individual part and create beautiful music with other individuals”. Sally provided piano accompaniment for the PV Men’s Choir from 2015-2019. She currently is the keyboardist for the Worship Team of Grace Vineyard Vallarta Church. Sally and her husband, Jim, moved permanently to Puerto Vallarta in 2012. They own a business which manages condominium associations in Lake Ozark, MO which they continue to oversee. Sally joined the IAMPV Board in 2022 because she is passionate about helping youth have access to learning a musical instrument which will give them life-long skills and opportunities.
Bob Bruneau
Board Member
Bob Bruneau has become a musical icon in Puerto Vallarta. From the Puerto Vallarta Men's Chorus (which he founded) to his «Swingin' Bob at the 88's», it's a world of entertainment, music and fun that he brought to Puerto Vallarta from intimate piano style cabaret to full-scale musicals at ActII. He's a great addition to our board.
Techies
Pat Silver was drawn to the piano at age 4 and began formal piano training at age 7 in St. Louis, Missouri. Throughout her school years, she added violin, guitar, organ, double bass, viola, banjo and accordion, with flutes as a "midlife crisis" project. Pat earned degrees in piano and violin performance from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and a Master's degree in broadcasting from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. A producer and publicist in Toronto, she was drawn to the lure of the 'road', joined a touring rock band and never looked back. She owned one of Canada's top entertainment agencies for 32 years. As Patty The Clown with her Sphere Clown Band, she toured the world, winning a Gold Record, numerous songwriting awards, and her children's book became a bestseller. Pat was inducted into the Clayton Education Foundation Alumni Hall of Fame in 2022 for her international contributions to the arts. His “retirement” plans include co-managing Canada's top a cappella festival, SING! Toronto, the management of the international touring group Countermeasure A Cappella and its participation in the PV orchestras through concerts and work with the board of directors. Her son John-Michael Erlendson's a cappella group, Ruach Singers, performed with the PV Orchestra in 2019.
Michael Peters studied classical piano from the age of 6. He started playing the guitar as a teenager and these two instruments have never left him. He took private lessons with a classical guitar teacher for 4 years and with a clarinet teacher for one year. He fell in love with wind instruments when he met a concert band in Disraéli (a small musical town in the Eastern Townships, an area of Quebec bordering the United States). He played saxophones (tenor and alto) and preferred the sound and spirit of the clarinet. He has won a few performance competitions as a singer-songwriter. He is a self-producing artist, having produced a classical guitar album, two pop music albums, an instrumental music album and two singles. He enjoys producing videos from the music he has produced. He is passionate about computers, computer graphics, music and video production. A 'jack of all trades', 'master of none'. He participated in some OSV concerts as a clarinetist. He took charge of the development and maintenance of the new website for IAMPV in 2022. He is also a tenor/baritone singer with the Montreal Ensemble Vocal Ganymède.