A Family Affair: Musical Family Takes the Stage at Jarvis Conservatory October 3
NAPA, CA — What happens when an entire family of singers, musicians, actors, teachers, and performers takes the stage together?
Find out at It’s a Grand Night for Singing on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at Jarvis Conservatory in Napa, where this month’s concert offers something rarely seen in a recital setting: nearly the entire evening’s roster is connected by family.
Think The Sound of Music—but with a Napa County twist.
The concert brings together members of a remarkably musical family whose talents span classical voice, musical theatre, instrumental performance, education, conducting, voice acting, and more. Family members will perform as soloists, in duets and other combinations, and in larger family groupings throughout the evening.
At the center of the evening are sisters Katie and Shelley Foster, who will also serve as co-hosts, guiding the audience through a program that promises to be both musically varied and deeply personal.
Their parents, Timothy Foster and Diana DeGering, have music at the heart of their lives as well. Timothy is a talented vocalist and instrumentalist who sang with the San Francisco Opera Chorus for decades. He also taught choirs at an international school in Kuala Lumpur and has directed numerous church choirs over the years.
Diana DeGering is a longtime music educator and multi-instrumentalist who taught elementary music for 36 years. She has worked with bands, orchestras, and choirs throughout her career and continues to perform locally on flute. She holds master's-level training in Orff Schulwerk, an approach to music education particularly focused on engaging young children through singing, movement, instruments, and creative music-making.
The family’s next generation has carried that musical tradition into both performance and education.
Katie Foster, a Santa Rosa-based singer, director, and educator, grew up in a household where music was part of everyday life. With both parents working as music teachers and performers, she and her sisters spent countless evenings putting on homemade musicals in the family living room.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Sonoma State University, with an emphasis in vocal performance, while also studying early childhood education and German. During college she performed in musicals and operettas, sang with community choirs, and spent a year in Germany studying music and voice.
After teaching first grade, Katie shifted her focus to youth theatre and now directs musical productions at elementary schools throughout Sonoma County, as well as working with local community theatre organizations. She has performed in both classical and musical theatre repertoire, with favorite classical roles including Adele in Die Fledermaus and Edith in The Pirates of Penzance. Her recent theatre work includes Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins, Mrs. Mayor in Seussical, and Mrs. Hedgehog in The Wind in the Willows. She is particularly passionate about introducing young audiences to theatre through productions such as A Year with Frog and Toad and Elephant & Piggie’s: We Are in a Play!
Her sister Shelley Foster is a singer and musician with a master's degree in music who is active in the Sonoma County musical theatre community. She is thrilled to be performing at Jarvis Conservatory for the first time and brings what she describes as humor and authenticity to her performances.
Shelley studied Music and French at university and also dabbled in viola da gamba, adding yet another unusual instrument to the family's musical history. Her musical theatre credits include Mrs. Schwartz in A Christmas Story at 6th Street Playhouse, Ernestina Money/Dolly u.s. in Hello, Dolly! at Santa Rosa Junior College, Tour Guide/Woman #1 in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder with Green Valley Theatre Company, Corin in As You Like It with Winters Theater Company, and ensemble roles with Davis Musical Theatre Company.
Before returning to the stage last year, Shelley spent six years living in France, where she taught English. She is currently appearing alongside Katie in South Pacific at 6th Street Playhouse.
Another member of the family brings an international dimension to the evening. Sarah Foster studied singing and instrumental music in Europe. A multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Sarah's performance background adds yet another dimension to the family's already wide-ranging musical palette.
The family connection extends to the next generation as well. Ted Smith, Katie’s husband, is a baritone, actor, and voice-over performer who has been appearing in Sonoma County and Bay Area theatre productions for more than a decade.
Ted earned a Bachelor of Arts in Acting from Sonoma State University. His favorite community theatre roles include Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls, Patsy in Spamalot, and Nostradamus in Something Rotten. He has also performed in Spreckels Theatre Company’s productions of All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 for the past two years.
After taking a break from the stage to pursue a career in voice acting, Ted has returned to live performance in recent years. He is represented by STARS Talent Agency in San Francisco as a voice-over actor.
And then there is John Pavik, the evening’s one non-family member—and an essential musical collaborator. A pianist and organist based in the East Bay, Pavik brings extensive experience accompanying singers and performing repertoire ranging from opera and classical music to sacred works. His career has included work with opera companies, children's choruses, universities, churches, and vocal artists throughout the country.
As the collaborative pianist for the evening, Pavik will provide the musical foundation for the concert's many combinations of singers and instrumentalists.
The result will be an evening that is as much about musical connection as musical performance. Audiences will hear family members perform individually and together, shifting between classical vocal repertoire, musical theatre, instrumental selections, and other surprises.
It’s a Grand Night for Singing has long celebrated the artistry of professional singers and musicians in an intimate recital setting. The October program takes that spirit in an especially personal direction, offering audiences a glimpse into what happens when a family that has spent generations making music together finally shares the stage.
Whether you come for the voices, the instrumentalists, the musical theatre connections—or simply to see whether this family really can rival the Von Trapps—October 3 promises to be a very special night of music at Jarvis Conservatory.
It’s a Grand Night for Singing
Saturday, October 3, 2026
7:00 PM — doors open at 6:30 PM
Jarvis Conservatory
1711 Main Street, Napa, CA
Tickets: $20 at the door, beginning one hour before the performance.
Come hear a family make music together—and discover just how many ways there are to sing.
About It’s a Grand Night for Singing
It’s a Grand Night for Singing is a monthly concert series at Jarvis Conservatory featuring professional vocal artists and emerging talent in an intimate recital setting. Programs encompass opera, art song, sacred music, musical theatre, cabaret, and other vocal traditions, creating a space for both beloved repertoire and unexpected musical discoveries.
