Chui added that there were a lot of first-year members of the group this year and that only a few present singers had extensive instruction under Taylor.

Singers had mixed reactions to the plan for restructuring the conducting responsibilities.

"A lot of people are confused about the positions," said Willow D. Crystal '98, the assistant financial manager for RCS. "Without having started, it is hard to know how different it is going to be."

Loh-Sze Y. Leung '97, the president of RCS, said that it is important to foster a good relationship with Defotis early on to preserve continuity when Defotis takes over conducting responsibilities in the spring.

Chui said that the biggest advantage to the new program is that having different conductors will add different elements of training.

Defotis will help in emphasizing voice training and individual instruction, while Marvin will continue to improve the choir as a whole, Chui said.

Last night students from the choirs met with Defotis at an informal dinner sponsored by Pforzheimer House.

Earlier this weekend, members of the executive committees of the choirs also met with Defotis to talk about their plans and concerns.

"[The meeting] was a chance for her to come back after the audition process was over and talk about concerns that had been brought up in the audition process," said Leung.

Some singers mentioned that the original auditions did not go as well as choir members would have liked and students were initially apprehensive about the decision.

"There was not a big feeling of enthusiasm," said one singer about Defotis' audition.

Still, most students praised the enormous experience and qualifications DeFotis has for the job.

"Musically, she's impeccable," said Chui.

"She's really an amazing musician," said Leung. "I think we're all pretty excited about having [Defotis here]."

Defotis is a professional singer and has sung and directed opera courses in Germany, working with both the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Boy's Choir