Jim (Lord Philly Cream) joined the Cheese Lords in 1999. He sang bass and later tenor with the DC Accidentals from 1993, when he first came to Washington, until 2009. Prior to this, at the University of Virginia, he sang bass (due solely to an 8:10am audition) with the Virginia Glee Club, and baritone with Coro Virginia. A reformed clarinet player, Jim currently works for the Department of Treasury after an undistinguished career in contracting, and he enjoys hiking, cooking, watching college basketball, and spending time with his wife, dog, and beautiful daughter Kate.

Baritone Steve Pearcy’s middle school band instructor would be startled to learn his near-hopeless second-to-last chair trumpet player (the last chair player blew into the wrong end of the instrument) went on to perform and record under such conductors as Mstislav Rostropovich, Antal Dorati, and Peter Philips, albeit as a singer. He’s performed “Blowin’ in the Wind” with Peter, Paul, and Mary, “One” with Marvin Hamlisch, and Bach and Mozart with Christopher Hogwood.  He’s sung with many DC-area chamber ensembles and church choirs.  A teacher for many years, he now serves as the financial officer of a DC public charter school.  When not singing or working, he travels the world in search of the meaning of life and the perfect cup of coffee, which he’s nearly certain may be the same thing.

Zach has been singing since practically forever.  After gracing Asia with his melodious tones for the first 11 years of existence, he returned to the good ol’ US of A to share the wealth. He graduated in 2009 from Vassar College where he sang tenor in two choirs and refined his voice under the expert tutelage of Drew Minter. He also managed to major in Classical Greek, a fact which still gets many the mixed reaction.  After sitting in on the Cheeselords for most of the year, he became an official member in early fall of ’09 and has been riding that fine passagio line between tenor and alto ever since.

Having joined in April 2009, Sargon de Jesus [sic] is one of the newest members of the Cheese Lords. Bestowed with a somewhat unusual name, he is the frequent recipient of strange epithets, such as "the Destroyer," "the Terrible," or the one mentioned above. Sargon sings bass with the Lords, but often wishes he could just bust out a tenor solo. His propensity for using strange voices or accents, though, sometimes leads to strange pre-rehearsal conversations using his "sexy voice." Some Lords have also expressed curiosity about Sargon's college experience as a co-founder of a whistling choir. He still dreams that one day he will unite a group of kick-ass whistlers to perform the National Anthem at a sporting event. One day... one day...

In his spare non-Cheese Lord time, Sargon likes to boogie down to the awesome fiddle tunes played at Glen Echo Park. He's also on a life-long quest to hike to the highest point in each of the lower 48 states (current tally: 15). Now, you might wonder, "why not hike all 50 states?" Well, that's because Denali is tough...and he's a chicken.

Christopher Riggs joined the Cheese Lords during their formative years (1997-98) after much cajoling by founder Skip West. A graduate of American University's School of International Service, Chris has lent his voice over the years to several DC-area choral groups including the Capital Camarata, Polyhymnia, the Heritage Signature Chorale, Ensemble Torculus, Musica Oriana, and the Spooktastics. He is a 15+ year veteran and occasional soloist with the acclaimed Cathedral Choral Society. Bearing a vocal range from bass to countertenor, Chris has performed featured roles in local community music theater productions mounted by The Arlington Players, Little Theatre of Alexandria, St. Mark's Players, and American Music Stage. You can hear him on Sundays in Washington singing for services with the superb choir of the Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes under the direction of Dr. Owen Burdick. In his spare time Chris is an ESL classroom instructor for the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity.

Before Cheese Lord rehearsals the aptly named "Lord Taskmaster" frequently brings his fellow Lords to task to finish their legs of mutton, drain their tankards of mead, and join him in the arte of Musyk and songe for the evening. As always Chris is grateful for the continued loyal support of his family and friends.

Org, as he is known to his friends, is a founding member of the Cheese Lords, its Vice President, and, as a member of the Repertoire Committee, is constantly searching out rarely-performed works and emerging composers. An Alta California native, he began singing classical music at the chapel choir at Georgetown University. He has previously sung with the Cathedral Choral Society and Coral Cantigas. He think that he may be one of the first people to have sung the bass line of Renaissance composer Elzear Genet's Virgo prudentissima on the banks of the Zambezi River.

Despite having no formal training in composition, he's had the temerity to compose a number of works for the Cheese Lords, includingTenebrae factae sunt, O magnum mysterium, and La Eficacia de la Paciencia, based on a prayer attributed to St. Teresa of Avila. The Blessing of St. Francis was described by Washington Post reviewer Stephen Brookes as having "faint but wonderful undertones of Brian Wilson…a real delight to the ears." In April 2008, his setting of The Prayer of St. Francis was premiered for a gathering of national interreligious leaders with Pope Benedict XVI at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C.

Countertenor Daniel Ebeling enjoys long walks on the beach, sunsets and beer, but not in that order. He has lived in the Washington DC area since 2004 and has been a Cheeselord for almost as long. He has done stints with the Woodley Ensemble, St. Paul's Rock Creek and the Choir of Men and Boys at the National Cathedral. Currently he is a member of the Choir of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception with whom he participated in the 2009 Festival Internazionale di Musica e Arte Sacra in Rome.

In the years ahead he hopes to get a job working for the man, or a man, or even a woman before quitting work altogether and living on his own private island in the Caribbean, if possible, the one next to Johnny Depp's.

In the meantime, he spends his days at an educational company, his evenings with his lovely wife, Ellen, and in the time between brewing his own beer, which he enjoys; sometimes a little too much.

Tenor Joseph Bates got his musical start when he found a harmonica in a cabinet as a chubby two-year old.  After a year of begging, his parents allowed him to learn the piano, and eventually the French horn.  He studied at Interlochen during his summers, and played in the New World Youth Symphony during his school years.  Joseph overcame his shyness about singing as a junior in high school, which may or may not have had something to do with a cute girl.  As a student at Duke University, he won several international awards as a vocal arranger, and eventually wrote his thesis in vocal composition, earning graduation with Highest Distinction. He discovered early music late in his college career as a student in music composition, singing with the Duke Vespers Ensemble, and has been chasing opportunities to scratch that itch ever since.  Joseph despises commuting and bosses, and currently operates his own studio as a freelance composer, arranger, and producer.

Outside of music, Joseph enjoys travel, food, books about the universe, and things that are sustainable.  He is currently training for a triathlon as part of a team raising money for blood cancer research.

Gary is one of the founding members of the Cheese Lords. Originally from Windsor, NY, he has lived in the Washington, DC area for the past 30 years. In addition to singing with the Cheese Lords, Gig sang as a member of the Cathedral Choral Society for 18 years (1984-2002). He also occasionally dabbles in choral composition having written works for SCL including a setting of O Magnum Mysterium, Recessit Pastor Noster, and les cedres et chaque petite fleur.  In addition to singing and writing music, he also enjoys two-stepping and boating on the Chesapeake Bay with his partner Howard. Gig is thought to be the only person to ever have completed the Marine Corp Marathon and then sung in a performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis all on the same day!

Chris Fominaya was discovered by the Cheese Lords at the age of 6 hours, when they discovered he already had a baritone voice, fresh out of the womb! The nurses were so fascinated by the low-voiced infant, they continunally knocked his crib just to hear him cry. Even to this day, people will not let Fomo sleep, for fear that his voice will rise to tenor if he sleeps more than 5 hours at a time.

Fomo likes beer. Fomo likes women. Fomo likes women who like beer. Women who like beer are encouraged to attend Cheese Lord performances.

Fomo is currently a music teacher at University Park Elementary School in Prince George's County, Md., where he directs a kids' choir and produces the school's musicals. Fomo also directs an adult choir, teaches at a private voice studio, sells musical instruments at the House of Musical Traditions, sings professionally at St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, and of course sings with the Cheese Lords. Fomo graduated from Shenandoah Conservatory with a music ed degree in 2005.

Clifton "Skip" West III is the founder and president of the Suspicious Cheese Lords, a position he retains through his skills as a cook par excellence. Skip began his stage career in kindergarten by singing "The Perfect Nanny" from the movie Mary Poppins. He was encouraged to study music by his next-door neighbor, who happened to be Howard Mitchell, conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra. Skip was a boy chorister in the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass, a musical travesty he'd rather forget. He sung with the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Treble Choir, the J. Weldon Norris Chorale (Howard University), the Washington Capella Antiqua, the Cathedral Choral Society, and Coral Cantigas before deciding to found his own group. This D.C. native is equally at home with Gregorian chant and spirituals, but his true love is for music of the Renaissance. He sings countertenor, and currently studies with Barbara Hollingshead.

Peter Larsen learned to sing standing around the piano with the family while Mom played. He opted out of the high school/college show-choir/glee-club/a cappella group scene but took up singing again as an adult.

His proudest accomplishment with the group is the invention of the term "Suspicious Cheese Lord".

Lord Blue Pants (baritone)
Lord of All Goats (bass)
Lord Broccoli (tenor)—Teaching math to musicians at Oberlin
Lord Dan the Elder (tenor)
Lord Irish (bass)
Lord Tony (bass)—Treading the boards in New York, New York
Lord Rob (tenor)—Med school had to be for something...
Lord David (tenor)—Pursuing a PhD in design
Lord Ryan (bass)
Lord Jay (countertenor)
Lord Josiah (baritone)

Lord Jonathan (alto)—curating in Scotland
Lord Ben (baritone)—Taking On Corporate America for Elliot Spitzer
Lord Chris the Brit (alto)
Lord Seth (baritenor)—fatherhood took its toll
Lord Alvin (bass)—lawyering up north
Lord Tim (tenor)—Visit his blog!
Lord 'Toine (baritone)—decorating down south
Lord Jeff the Jawbreaker (bass)
Lord Andy the Driller (bass)
Lord Larry (bass)