Elizabeth Mixon, Co-Artistic Director

Mrs. Elizabeth Mixon was appointed Co-Artistic Director and Conductor of the York County Choral Society in August 2023.  She served as an educator in the South Carolina public school system for 31 years with 18 of those years in choral music education and 13 years in leadership and test administration. 

Following one year of elementary teaching and eight at the middle school level, Elizabeth joined the faculty of Northwestern High School where she served as the Visual and Performing Arts Department chairman from 2002-2007.  Under her direction from 1999-2008, the Northwestern High School Troubadours of Rock Hill ranked first in six of the South Carolina Music Educators Association (SCMEA) AAAA yearly festivals and, by audition, regularly placed numerous students into the South Carolina All State Choirs.  In addition to their popular Winter and Spring  multi-evening concerts and yearly performance trips, Troubadours served as a demonstration choir for the 2004 American Choral Directors Association Convention (Nashville, TN) and a 2007 guest choir for the SCMEA convention (Charleston, SC).  In the 2003-2004 school year, Elizabeth guided the process to Northwestern High School being named a 2004 National Grammy Signature School of Excellence in the Arts. 

A South Carolina lowcountry native and resident of Rock Hill, SC, since 1988, Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Furman University (Greenville, SC), a Master of Music Degree in Choral Conducting from the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY), and a Master of Arts in Teaching in Music Education degree from Winthrop University (Rock Hill, SC).  She studied voice with Ms. Gail Schoonmaker, Dr. Trudy Fuller, and Dr. Carol Allred and conducting with Dr. Bigham Vick, Jr., and Mr. Donald Neuen, both of whom she credits as being instrumental in building her technique and leadership skills as well as her understanding of ensemble growth and development.  Elizabeth has served as clinician for the South Carolina Music Educators Association SSA clinic, the Rock Hill School District Middle School Honors Choir, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of SC and the Presbyterian  Association of Musicians’ Festival by the Sea.  Staying true to her roots, she is an active church musician at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Associate Reformed.  She and her husband, Ben, have two adult daughters, both of whom live in Rock Hill.

Randy Imler, Co-Artistic Director

An active musician for more than 35 years, Dr. Randy Imler has served as Director of Music at Ebenezer Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) Church in Rock Hill, Steele Creek Presbyterian (PC-USA) Church in Charlotte, and St. Stephen’s Lutheran (ELCA) Church in Lexington, SC.  Randy was an adjunct professor of music at Winthrop University from 2007-2014, conducting the Collegiate Choir and Jazz Voices.  He was elected to the Winthrop Board of Trustees in 2014 and works as Executive Director of the Catawba Regional Council of Governments, a regional planning and economic development organization.

Randy holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Music degrees from Winthrop University, where he studied with Jerry Helton, Donald Rogers, and Robert Edgerton. He earned Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees(conducting) from the University of South Carolina, where he studied with Larry Wyatt and David O’Shields.  While at USC, he won first place in the 2007 USC Graduate School Competition, Performing Arts Category, with a performance of choral arrangements derived from William Walker’s Southern Harmony.   

Randy has prepared choirs for major works including the combined USC choirs for performance of Mozart’s Davidde Penitente (K. 469) with the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra.  While at Winthrop he prepared and conducted the Collegiate Choir and University Orchestra in Faure’s Requiem in d minor (Op. 48).  Under his direction, the Winthrop Jazz Voices were a featured ensemble at multiple SC Allstate Choral Festivals.  Church choirs under his leadership have been included in the Presbyterian Church-USA National General Assembly and the Billy Graham crusades.  Randy also has served as a clinician of York County honors choirs and as an adjudicator of choirs at the Carowinds Festival of Music.    

Randy and his wife, Tracy, live in Tega Cay, SC.  They have three adult children and enjoy spending time with family, on Lake Wylie, and at the beach.   

Zinorl Broñola, Directing Assistant and Accompanist

Zinorl Broñola – Mr. Broñola is currently an instructor/accompanist of various courses in Winthrop’s Department of Theatre and Dance, an accompanist for the Winthrop Chorale, and serves as the Director of Music at Epworth United Methodist Church, Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Rock Hill, SC, and the Lifenotes Band Director at St Philip Neri Catholic Church in Fort Mill, SC for their contemporary mass. He earned an MM in piano performance (Winthrop University) and a BA in piano performance from the Bulgarian State Academy of Music. He is a native of Manila, Philippines, and throughout his young adult years won prestigious awards and distinctions both nationally and internationally as a solo pianist. His achievements include winning first prize at the 1981 National Music Competitions for Young Artists and the 1990 International Piano Competition for Young Pianists held in Marsala, Sicily, Italy. Mr. Broñola is also the recipient of the 1990 Young Achievers’ Award in Music which was awarded to him by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts in Manila.

Mr. Broñola was featured as a guest artist on Philippine radio/television on many occasions. He was discovered by then-First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos, and frequently invited to perform at the presidential palace. In 1982 he was invited to be part of her delegation (as a solo artist) to Russia, Morocco, and the United States. Other performances abroad include concerts in Bulgaria, Poland, and Italy, where he was featured both by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Rome. Since completing his master’s degree in 2005 at Winthrop, he has continually played an active part in the life of the university and the surrounding communities through performance in solo/collaborative music, accompanying statewide festivals (both in choral music and dance and for Charlotte Ballet) and has directed/accompanied many musical theater productions at Winthrop University, as well as the Rock Hill Community Theater.