Circle Singers Music Staff

Circle Singers consists mostly of volunteers who love to sing. However, at our forefront are two people who not only love their music but also have made it their careers. Here we present the credentials of these two individuals that help give Circle Singers a more professional sound.

(In addition, note that they happen to be husband and wife.)

Image of Roxanne Engle

Roxanne Engle
Director of Circle Singers

Roxanne Engle is in her first year as director of the Circle Singers. She grew up in Waukegan, Illinois where she was immersed in music from a very young age. She was always singing in church choirs, in special programs, and often performed solos and trios with her two older sisters. She studied piano and voice with her mother and spent much of her spare time playing and singing oodles of music. In high school she continued voice studies and performed in choral ensembles and musicals.

On a full tuition scholarship she pursued a Music Education degree at Illinois State University where she experienced the opportunity of making a concert tour of Europe with the Madrigal ensemble. Roxanne earned a Master of Music from the College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. Her post-graduate studies in choral conducting at CCM, led to an Assistant Professor of Voice position at Bemidji State University in Minnesota. As a fulltime faculty member she conducted choirs, performed both solo recitals and in faculty ensembles and accompanied student recitals.

Her passion for music education led to many years teaching children in the music classroom, from Montessori preschool age through junior high school. She has created numerous children’s ensembles, conducted church choirs, and directed and performed in community theater productions with Cincinnati Music Theater, Footlighters and Cincinnati Children’s Theater. As a soprano soloist she has sung with the Vocal Arts Ensemble, Musica Sacra, Beyer Music Society, the Cincinnati International Choir (touring in Yugoslavia) and in small jazz ensembles. As a member of the Cincinnati May Festival Choir she sang at Carnegie Hall in a performance commemorating the 9/11 attack.

Roxanne continues piano instruction at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center and the Evendale Cultural Arts Center. She is the accompanist for the Winton Woods Junior High School Choirs and as a member of the Keyboard Club often performs with her husband, David. They have two sons and are blessed with four grandchildren ages 4 – 16. Their four cats and two dogs testify to their passion for animal rescue.

Obviously, Roxanne Engle is a very experienced and well-rounded musician. Circle Singers is delighted to have her as our director.

For more information, call: (513) 519-1838, (513) 505-5221 or e-mail us

Image of David Engle

David Engle
Accompanist for Circle Singers

David Engle has been accompanist for the Circle Singers since 2013. His long career on the Cincinnati scene includes many significant accomplishments in performance, music publishing, composition, and music education.

Engle earned his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in piano performance at the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati. Since then he has completed all but his dissertaion in pursuit of his doctorate in instrumental conducting.

Soon after graduating he formed his own trio and for many years backed shows at the Cincinnati Playboy Club. He was also staff pianist for The Nick Clooney Show. Over the years David has been a church organist/choir director and has directed more than a dozen productions of the Cincinnati Children's Theater. For ten years he was music director of the Xavier University Players. He has also directed a high school string orchestra. Once he appeared as piano soloist with the Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra. Six times he has been invited to be guest conductor of the All-Ohio Piano Ensemble.

During the period 1978-2002, David Engle was the Editor for The Willis Music Company. There he was responsible for the publication of more than 1000 works of various genres. He has also been a composer himself. On three occasions the Cincinnati Children's Theater gave him commissions to write original musicals. His piano solo, Soliloquy, was the 1994 Commissioned by Clavier feature. His Sonata for Clarinet and Piano was premiered at the Ohio Music Teachers Association convention after they selected him as "Composer of the Year for 2001." Many of his compositions were published by Willis Music under the pseudonyms of "Geoffrey Carroll" or "Christopher Davidson." Some of his piano originals or duet arrangements of classics have appeared on various National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festivals Bulletins. Piano Ensemble International has published three of his works for five pianos. For six consecutive years he was one of the judges for the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs Junior Composers competition.

He was offered a graduate assistantship at the College-Conservatory of Music for several years where he served on the staff of the opera department as coach-accompanist. He has taught at the college level as well. For a while he was a clinician for N. Jane Tan's Well Prepared Pianist program, visiting four states to teach piano teachers jazz fundamentals. In 2000 he was a guest clinician at the National Piano Teachers Institute in Dallas, TX. Twice he has been one of the judges for the Piano Ensemble International competition.

A native Cincinnatian all his life, David lives in the northern suburb of Finneytown with his wife, Roxanne, whom he married in 1977. They have two grown sons and four grandchildren. Besides accompanying the Circle Singers he also performs solo at many local events. He continues to teach piano with his wife at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center to inner-city youth in the Over-the-Rhine district of downtown Cincinnati. He still loves to read and listen to classical music including opera. His daily exercise always includes walking the family dogs.

Circle Singers is proud to have such a talented and accomplished musician as our accompanist.