Music Director Julie Starr has been a member of Bay Area Showcase Chorus since 1989 and served as Bass Section Leader and an Assistant Director for 10 years before being named Director in 2002. She has always been active in music, starting with elementary and high school bands and choirs. She has written and arranged a number of songs, several of them performed by her quartets or the chorus, or other barbershop groups around the country. From 1994 to 1999, Julie directed the Diablo Vista Chorus in Concord, California, leading them to a first-place small chorus award in the Northern California regional contest. Julie serves on the Region 12 (Northern California) music faculty and coaches quartets and choruses throughout the Bay Area.

Currently Julie sings bass with the Region 8 (Rocky Mountain Region) champion quartet, Radiance. This long-distance quartet represents three choruses and includes three Master Directors and the one with the real power, the young tenor with eyesight good enough to see the pitch pipe! Julie has also sung in several Regional medalist quartets and a prior International 4th place quartet.

Julie is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and teaches voice privately. She loves working with singers and says, "I can't think of another group of women I'd rather sing and laugh and work with than Bay Area Showcase Chorus! Our music transcends age, race, religion, and so many other potential barriers, and brings us all together in harmony. Barbershop is 'feel-good' music, and there's a natural high that comes with ringing chords and making music together with our voices. I love being a part of it."

Julie was born in Champaign, Illinois, but grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, where her family still resides. She attended Boston University School for the Arts as a Music Education major and graduated summa cum laude in English from the University of Massachusetts. Julie is a contract technical writer and project manager for Expert Support, Inc. in Mountain View. She has lived in the San Jose area for over 25 years and currently resides in Sunnyvale with a housemate and two cats. Besides music, teaching, and writing, Julie enjoys walking and other gentle outdoor activities, and good movies.

In September 2003, Julie directed Bay Area Showcase Chorus to a 6th-place finish in the Sweet Adelines International chorus competition finals in Phoenix, Arizona, out of 35 regional champion choruses competing. Not only did the chorus score reflect well in our final placement, but it also earned Julie the title of Master Director! Since then, the chorus under Julie's direction has gone on to compete at the International chorus competition in Detroit, Michigan in 2005, and most recently qualified to represent northern California once again at the International level in the competition to be held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in October of 2007!