Jeremy Jackman

Jeremy Jackman's musical education began as a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral, and continued at the Royal College of Music and Hull University. He began his career as a freelance countertenor and choral director. He sang throughout Eastern and Western Europe as a soloist, and with ensembles such as the BBC Singers, the BBC Northern Singers, the Alfred Deller Choir, the Tallis Scholars and The Sixteen. In the field of opera he created the part of Fulvio in Banchieri's La Pazzia Senile and sang the title role in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. He was appointed countertenor Lay Clerk at Westminster Cathedral in 1978, under the direction of Stephen Cleobury. Two years later he was invited to join The King's Singers, succeeding Nigel Perrin as their highest voice, and for the next decade shared their demanding international schedule, performing in the world's most celebrated concert halls and making countless broadcasts and recordings.

Member of: King's Singers (Former) - Countertenor

Anders Jalkeus

Anders Jalkeus was born and raised in Tyreso, south of Stockholm, the capitol of Sweden, was intoduced to folkmusic at an early age by parents with a great interest in music. Started to learn violin and piano at the age of 6, and was accepted to Adolf Fredriks school of Music as a 10 year old, a school that has a strong focus on choir singing. After that he continued his studies at The Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm for nine years where he and four fellow-students formed an a cappella quintet -The Real Group. The final two years, the studies were performed together with the other Real Group members on a specially designed post graduate course resulting in a diploma of the highest degree.

Member of: Real Group (Former) - Founder

Jason January

Jason was born in Dallas, Texas. His wife's name is Laura and they have two boys, Matt and Jon. He has served on the faculty of many music schools throughout the USA, Canada and Australia, providing coaching to vocal ensembles large and small. Jason recently served two terms as President of the Association of International Champions. Jason is an attorney in private practice and spent 15 years as a Prosecutor and Assistant District Attorney for Dallas County. Jason and his family reside in Carrollton, Texas.

Member of: Acoustix (Current) - Baritone

Aisha Kahlil

Aisha Kahlil possesses a dynamic, innate power and range in jazz, blues, traditional, contemporary, and African vocal styles and techniques.

Ms. Kahlil's interest in music was evident at an early age. She was a member of local choirs in her native Buffalo, New York, and during her high school years performed as a vocalist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in several productions, including Porgy and Bess, Carmen Jones, and The Messiah. During this time she also sang the role of Monica in a special WGBH production of Menotti's The Medium, and performed at Carnegie Hall in Julius Eastman's avant-garde composition The Thruway. She worked concurrently with the Studio Arena Theatre where she was awarded a full scholarship, and The Buffalo Black Drama Workshop, where she became interested in the music of such jazz artists as John Coltrane, Leon Thomas, Betty Carter, Yma Sumac, and Pharoah Sanders, to name a few.

Member of: Sweet Honey in the Rock (Current)

Avi Kaplan

Avi Kaplan is best known as vocal bass of the world-renowned a cappella group, Pentatonix, but he is also a Grammy-winning arranger, composer, and solo artist. He majored in opera and choral studies at Mt. San Antonio College, a school known for its strong choral and a cappella tradition. While at school, Avi sang with a cappella group Fermata Nowhere, vocal jazz group Singcopation, and the Mt. SAC Chamber Singers, racking up competition wins at the ICCA, Monterey Jazz Festival, and Choir of the World competition. Avi has worked with artists such as Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Cee Lo Green, Ne-Yo, Sara Bareilles, Nick Lachey, Ben Folds and many more.

Peder Karlsson

Peder Karlsson was born in 1963 in Stockholm, where he graduated in 1989 at The Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm with a master's degree in vocal group performance. At the same time his major studies were arranging and classical composition. From 1984 to 2010 he was a member of the a cappella group The Real Group and held over 2,000 concerts and TV performances in all parts of the world. With the Real Group, Peder recorded 16 CD albums and received two Grammy awards. Currently, Peder Karlsson is in charge of The Real Group's educational and internet activities.

Member of: Real Group (Former) - Founder

Joey Kibble

Joey Kibble was born in Buffalo, NY on May 26, 1971. After living in Buffalo only a few years, the Kibbles moved to Nashville, where Joey entered the first grade. He spent most of his life in and around the South (Alabama, Tennessee) until he left home to finish his last two years of high school at Pine Forge Academy in Pennsylvania. After attending Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama (a Seventh-Day Adventist institution), Joey joined Take 6 and has been singing with them since. In 1997, Joey married the love of his life, Karima Trotter (of the group Virtue). His passion is to see lives changed for Christ. Joey feels called to a seven part ministry made known in songwriting, physical fitness, vocal discipline, speaking, writing books, marriage, and leadership. Joey recently returned to school to finish his undergraduate studies at Oakwood College's adult program.

Member of: Take 6 (Current) - Second Tenor

Mark Kibble

I, Mark Winston Kibble, was born on April 7, 1964, in The Bronx, NY. My early childhood was spent in Hempstead, NY, Bridgeport, CT, Boston, MA, and by 1970, Buffalo, NY where I spent most of my childhood. There I would meet Claude McKnight and his many brothers, and begin taking care of my baby brother, Joey, along with my older sister Michelle.

I have produced and performed on many other projects. They include the gospel group Virtue, Donnie McClurkin, Angie Winans, CeCe Winans, my wife Sherrie's group, Addae, and many, many others. Often Joey and I will team up and do projects for artists like Allen & Allen and Ben Tankard. I also team up with David Thomas and work as arrangers and vocal coaches for The Backstreet Boys. From time to time I do vocal coaching on an individual basis as well.

Member of: Take 6 (Current) - First Tenor

Lauren Kinhan

Vocalist and composer Lauren Kinhan has been creating genre-merging music for years as evidenced on her four solo CD's, Circle in a Square, Avalon and Hardly Blinking and her most recent all standard collection, A Sleepin' Bee. You'll also hear her offerings evidenced in the New York Voices' family of sound.

In 2017 she released A Sleepin' Bee, paying tribute to the great jazz vocalist Nancy Wilson. Focusing on her iconic collaboration with Cannonball Adderley and other earlier works with George Shearing, Lauren curated and soulfully crafted 10 tracks with pianist Andy Ezrin that are receiving much worldwide praise, "...brilliance in interpreting ballads, off-the-cuff maneuvers in bluesy and bawdy environments, whip-smart interactions with the instrumentalists-and you end up with a complete picture of her talents and the manners in which she claims these songs as her own," said Allaboutjazz.

Member of: New York Voices (Current) - Founder

Dave Lambert

David Alden Lambert was an American jazz lyricist, singer, and an originator of vocalese. He was best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Lambert spent a lifetime experimenting with the human voice, and expanding the possibilities of its use within jazz.

Lambert's band debut was with Johnny Long's Orchestra in the early 1940s.(1) Along with early partner Buddy Stewart, Lambert successfully brought singing into modern jazz (concurrently with Ella Fitzgerald). In the late 1950s he teamed with wordsmith and vocalese pioneer Jon Hendricks. The two were later joined by Annie Ross, and the lineup was a hit.

Member of: Lambert, Hendricks and Ross (Defunct) - Founder

Jerry Lawson

Jerry Lawson, who for nearly 40 years fronted the legendary A Cappella group,The Persuasions,has moved on.The man who led the celebrated quintet---and recorded and toured with numerous artists such as Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli, Joni Mitchell and Frank Zappa---is heading in many new directions.

Anyone who has been privileged to experience The Persuasions knows that their signature sound was defined by Lawson's sweet and smoky baritone. As music writer Rip Rense put it, "By any fair measure, Lawson is really one of the best singers of the last 50 years---up there with Sam Cooke, David Ruffin, Brook Benton, Jerry Butler, Roy Hamilton & Nat King Cole."

Member of: Persuasions (Former) - Founder

Philip Lawson

For 18 years Philip Lawson was a touring member of the world-famous King's Singers, and was for most of that time their principal arranger. Having replaced founder-member Simon Carrington in 1993, he performed more than 2,000 concerts with the group and appeared on many CDs, DVDs and on radio and TV programmes worldwide. Philip contributed more than 50 arrangements to the repertoire of The King's Singers, including 10 for the 2008 CD "Simple Gifts" which went on to win the GRAMMY for Best Classical Crossover Album in 2009.

Member of: King's Singers (Former) - Baritone

Christiane Legrand

Legrand was born in Paris. Her father Raymond Legrand was a conductor and composer renowned for hits such as Irma la douce, and her mother was Marcelle Der Mikaëlian (sister of conductor Jacques Helian), who married Legrand Senior in 1929. His maternal grandfather was of Armenian descent and considered a member of the bourgeoisie. Legrand studied piano and classical music from the time she was four. Jazz critic and composer Andre Hodeir discovered her in 1957, and she became the lead singer in the most notable French jazz vocal groups of the 1960s, including Les Double Six.

Legrand was the original lead soprano of The Swingle Singers and was the vocalist who dubbed the part of Madame Emery in Les parapluies de Cherbourg, the music for which was composed by her brother Michel Legrand. She also sang the part of Judith in his Les demoiselles de Rochefort. Her commercial recordings of music for the concert hall included a recording of Laborinthus II of Luciano Berio.

Member of: Swingle Singers (Former) - Founder

Scott Leonard

Charles S. (Scott) Leonard is a singer with the group Rockapella, the former 'house band' on Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego on PBS (1991-1996). He was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana and attended the University of Tampa on a baseball scholarship where he was a Voice major. He briefly lived in Japan in the late 80s/early 90s and speaks fluent Japanese. Since then, he has become the main songwriter and producer of Rockapella albums.

Member of: Rockapella (Current) - High Tenor - Founder

Rob Lundquist

Rob received an undergraduate degree in music from the University of Minnesota Duluth before working several years as a bartender in Minneapolis.

Member of: Home Free (Current) - Tenor - Former

Carol Maillard

Carol Maillard was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although she originally attended Catholic University of America on scholarship as a Violin Performance major, she soon began writing music and performing with the drama department and eventually changed her major to Theater.

This passion for the stage brought her to the D.C. Black Repertory Company and the beginnings of the vocal ensemble that was to become Sweet Honey in the Rock. Carol is an accomplished actress and has performed in film, television, cabaret and on stage.

Member of: Sweet Honey in the Rock (Current)

Kirstie Maldonado

Kirstin is a National Hispanic Scholar and was a sophomore Music Theater major at The University of Oklahoma before joining Pentatonix. She developed her vocal and performance skills during her eight years as a touring member at Theatre Arlington where she'd learned to sing eight-part harmonies. She began her classical training during high school and was a member of the Texas All State Choir for three years. A four-year show choir member and dance captain, Kirstin held numerous roles in local stage productions, performing at shows around the Metroplex, including Casa Manana and Bass Hall.

Member of: Pentatonix (Current) - Founder

Yumiko Matsuoka

Yumiko Matsuoka was born in Tokyo, Japan, and grew up there as well as in London, UK. She started studying piano at an early age, and was quickly drawn to the magic of chords. Yumiko's passion for great harmony was developed further in the high school choir, band for musical "Godspell," encounter with the music of the Singers Unlimited as well as many other composers/arrangers in a wide range of genres. Yumiko came to the US in 1986 to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. She founded a cappella ensemble Vox One in 1988 to realize her dream of writing for and singing in such a group. Vox One released five albums, won numerous awards, and established themselves as one of the pioneers in the world of a cappella music. Her arrangements are available through the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Press. Yumiko's arrangements are unique - she takes a song and reveals a layer of emotions that may not have been apparent in the original. Fans and performers of her music span the globe from Australia, Europe to the Americas and Japan. Yumiko is a professor in ear training at her alma mater Berklee, and keeps herself busy with workshops/coaching including the Western Wind's summer sessions at Smith College in Northampton, MA.

Bobby McFerrin

On the 11th of March, 1950, Bobby McFerrin was born. His parents were classical singers and he began to study music theory early on in his life. His family then moved to Los Angeles. During high school and then in College, UCSC, he focused on the piano. Once he finished college, Bobby McFerrin toured with numerous bands including the Ice Follies.

However, it was only in 1977 that Bobby McFerrin decide to become a singer. At one point he met Bill Cosby who arranged for him take part in the 1980 Playboy Jazz Festival. It was only two years later where he released his firm album called "Bobby McFerrin" in 1982. It was in 1983, that Bobby McFerrin started converting without a band. This eventually led him to make a solo tour in Germany. It was in Germany that he recorded his album "The Voice". From that point on, he continued to make solo tours in the most prestigious locations. It is also important to realize that Bobby McFerrin worked with several important people like Garrison Keillor, Jack Nicholson, and Joe Zawinul. On "Another Night in Tunisia", Bobby McFerrin won two Grammies.

Claude McKnight

Claude McKnight got his earliest musical influences in Buffalo, mostly from his grandfather (Fred Willis Sr.) who was the choir director at his church. His earliest musical memories are from going to rehearsal with his mom every Friday night. He was able to learn parts and harmonize and see how his grandfather was able to lead a group of people.

One of the first things he did during his freshman year was to put together a freshman quartet, singing mostly barbershop style harmonies. The legendary story goes that Mark Kibble came into a bathroom where they were rehearsing and added a fifth part to what they were doing, and subsequently joined the group. From there, Mervyn Warren joined the group, making it a sextet. They knew they had something special from the very beginning.

Member of: Take 6 (Current) - First Tenor

Darmon Meader

Recognized in both the jazz vocal and instrumental world, Darmon is a distinguished vocalist, arranger and saxophonist. He has achieved rapid international recognition as the founder, musical director, chief arranger, composer, producer, saxophonist, and vocalist with New York Voices. As a member of New York Voices, he has released four albums on the GRP Records label. Darmon has performed and/or recorded with a variety of artists including Ray Brown, George Benson, Bobby McFerrin, Don Sebesky, Nancy Wilson, Ann Hampton Callaway, Patti Austin, Jon Hendricks, Jim Hall, Paquito D'Rivera and the Count Basie Orchestra. He has toured internationally, performing at such renowned venues as Carnegie Hall, Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival and the Blue Note Jazz Clubs in New York and Japan.

Member of: New York Voices (Current) - Founder

Rick Middaugh

Rick was born in Akron, Ohio. His wife's name is Tiffany. He has five children, Emily, Joseph, Aubrey, Lauren and Michael, and one grandchild. He has served on the faculty of many music schools throughout the country, providing coaching to vocal ensembles large and small. Rick owns and manages Champion Home Improvement, a construction company in Houston, Texas. Rick and his family reside in Houston, Texas.

Member of: Acoustix (Current) - Lead

Kim Nazarian

For the past 29 years Kim Nazarian has been harmonizing all over the world with New York Voices (NYV). In 2012 Ms. Nazarian was recognized as one of the top 50 most influential Armenian artists, and inducted into her High School's Hall of Fame.

In addition to being a requested vocalist, Kim's work as a lyricist is in rising demand. Of course, you can hear her contributions on the NYV CD's; and now you can hear her other original lyrics throughout the world, including Russia, Brazil, the Netherlands (with Brazilian composer, Ivan Lins and the Metropole Orchestra), and Japan. Most notably, Kim wrote the title track to the accompanying CD of Bill Strickland's best selling book "Making the Impossible Possible". You can find her song "World of Possibilities" on iTunes.

Member of: New York Voices (Current)

Emma Nilsdotter

Emma was born in Umea in the north of Sweden, and recalls her family life close to the mountains in a small town called Vilhelmina, where she would hear her father playing in a professional danceband. Listening and singing along with recordings as she grew up, Emma found that as most of the lead vocalists were male, she instinctively needed to develop harmonies to sing along with them. She sang for her father's band through her teenage years, eventually forming an all-girls group with classmates at her music school when she was about 18. Moving to Stockholm at age 21 she quickly found work as an entertainer and studio musician, singing backing vocals for many of the top Swedish artists, as well as for international names like Britney Spears.

Member of: Real Group (Current)

Drew Ochoa

Drew Ochoa was introduced to the barbershop style in his senior year of high school and immediately fell in love. His decision to attended Bowling Green State University was strongly influenced by the school's deep-seeded roots to barbershop singing. Here he formed a quartet and earned a gold medal with the 2011 International Collegiate Quartet Champions, Prestige. Drew has a Bachelor's in Choral Music Education and finished his Master's in Voice Performance from Roosevelt University in 2014. He currently lives in Orlando, FL where he works at Disney World as a member of The Voices of Liberty. Drew enjoys reading out loud, cycling around Orlando, and eating mangoes.

Kevin Olusola

Kevin grew up in the small town of Owensboro, Kentucky, the son of a Nigerian psychiatrist and a Grenadian nurse. At an early age, Kevin began learning piano, cello and saxophone. He performed at Carnegie Hall twice as soloist on the cello and saxophone and has appeared on NPR's "From The Top." After finishing high school at Phillips Academy Andover, Kevin enrolled in Yale University where he was pre-med and majored in East Asian Studies. He spent 18 months in Beijing becoming fluent in Chinese as a part of his Yale fellowship. While in college, Kevin began developing his "celloboxing" skills and in 2009, he won second place in the "Celebrate and Collaborate with Yo-Yo Ma" international competition. Ma would call Kevin's celloboxing version of "Dona Nobis Pacem" both "inventive and unexpected."

Member of: Pentatonix (Current) - Founder

Lisa Ostergren

Lisa studied singing at The Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen for two years and then completed her studies with a pedagogical degree in singing at The Stockholm Royal Academy of Music. Since then Lisa has been freelancing as a singer, both as a solo artist and as a backing singer for various Swedish pop artists. She has also been doing studio work with songwriters and composers both within and outside of Sweden. Although Lisa has performed at both the Hollywood Bowl and Wembley Stadium, most of her own concerts have been in small auditoriums and school gyms, trying to please the most demanding audience of them all; kids.

Member of: Real Group (Current)

Ben Parry

Ben Parry is an established conductor, composer, arranger, singer and producer in both classical and light music fields. He has made over sixty CD recordings and his compositions and arrangements are published by Peters Edition and Faber Music, including the popular Faber Carol Book and Music for Special Occasions. He collaborates regularly with the writer Garth Bardsley, and their choral piece, "Flame" was performed by a choir of 300 singers at the Royal Albert Hall in the 2012 BBC Proms. Major commissions include the Cathedral Choral Society of Washington DC, BBC Singers and the Aldeburgh Fesitval.

Member of: Swingle Singers (Former)

Alan Paul

Alan Paul is one of the founding members of The Manhattan Transfer and an eight-time Grammy Award recipient. He was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey and began his professional career on Broadway at the age of 12 in the original Broadway cast of Oliver. As a child actor, he worked extensively in stage, film and TV; some of the productions include The King and I, The Pawnbroker, The Pursuit of Happiness and The Patty Duke Show.

Member of: Manhattan Transfer (Current) - Founder

Annette Philip

Annette Philip is an Indian vocalist, pianist, composer/arranger, recording artist, and choral specialist who thrives on experimenting with the human voice. In 2003, she co-founded Artistes Unlimited (AU) in New Delhi, India, a performing arts ensemble, promoting collaboration among musicians in the city. With a vast repertoire spanning genres such as jazz, rock, R&B, funk, a-cappella, Gospel, Indian and Western Classical, Sufi and Indian folk music, AU soon became established as the premiere youth platform for independent musicians, with a rotating line up of over 250 artistes. AU also became fertile ground for external collaborations, leading to the formation of myriad other Delhi bands, and has consequently helped to bolster the indie music scene in New Delhi in it's own unique way, one of Annette's personal goals when founding the group.

Member of: Women of the World (Current) - Founder

Craig Philips

Two-time GRAMMY-nominee, Craig Phillips is a founding member of the acclaimed male classical vocal quartet New York Polyphony and an established operatic and concert soloist. Possessing a "handsome, elegant bass" (New York Times), he has distinguished himself as a gifted singing actor, performing a wide range of repertoire with companies including Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera, New York City Opera and Boston Lyric Opera. From Monteverdi to Nico Muhly, his credits as a concert artist include appearances with Eastern Music Festival, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Washington National Cathedral.

Member of: New York Polyphony (Current) - Bass - Founder

Paul Phoenix

Paul Phoenix, tenor and founder of PurpleVocals. Paul's long career in the music business began in the 1970's, when he became a Chorister in St. Paul's Cathedral Choir in the City of London. He sang in the Queen's Silver Jubilee service in 1977 and recorded the Ivor Novello award-winning theme 'Nunc Dimittis' by Geoffrey Burgon, in the BBC adaptation of John Le Carre's 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' in 1979, for which he was later awarded a gold disc.

2014 marked his 'retirement' from the King's Singers and the launch of: 'Purple Vocals: Perform and Engage', Paul's coaching and engagement consultancy. 'It's important to me to pass on the many skills I have learned in 17 years as a King's Singer', explains Paul. 'My singing career will continue as a guest soloist, but I also want to concentrate on educating, mentoring, lecturing, speaking and coaching. I feel uniquely placed to offer new perspectives and advice on the career development of young musicians, as well as coaching choirs, ensembles and their conductors and speaking about the art of 'audience engagement'.'

Member of: King's Singers (Former) - Tenor

Andrew Piper

Andrew Piper has a Master of Music degree from The Canberra School of Music (ANU). Following graduation at the Diploma level in 1993, Andrew accepted a lectureship at the Canberra School of Music that continued until 1998 when he took up a full-time position with TION. He has worked in the music industry as a writer/arranger and performer in and for many ensembles - both as a vocalist and as a trumpeter.

As a freelance musician for many professional ensembles and bands, Andrew has been on several overseas tours as a performer prior to his involvement with TION. These included trips to Beijing and the Monterey Jazz Festival. As an accomplished composer and arranger, much of Andrew's outstanding vocal writing is featured on The Idea of North's CD recordings.

Member of: Idea of North (Former) - Founder

Gene Puerling

There certainly is no more influential and revered a cappella arranger than the brilliant Gene Puerling. From his auspicious beginnings as a founding member of the vocal jazz group the Hi-Lo's, with whom he recorded thirteen albums between the years of 1953-1964, Gene revealed the talent and promise that would later be fully realized with his work as director, arranger and performer with the Singers UnLimited.

Gene was born in Wisconsin in 1929. Though his family was musically inclined (various members of the family played violin, piano and clarinet) Gene himself had no formal musical training! He was a working professional musician from the age of seventeen, and simply did not have the time to devote to a formal musical education.

Member of: Hi-Lo's (Defunct) - Bass - Founder Singers Unlimited (Defunct) - Founder

Jonathan Rathbone

After training as a chorister at Coventry Cathedral and choral scholar at Christ's College Cambridge, where he read mathematics, Jonathan rounded-off his musical education at the Royal Academy of Music with a second degree, specializing in singing and composition. Jonathan's compositional career includes works for theatre, film, radio, television, concert platform and the church, and a song-writing contract with Noel Gay Music.

Jonathan Rathbone was Musical Director and arranger for the Swingle Singers (1984-96) and has worked with many of the world's leading musicians, from the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Pierre Boulez to Stephan Grappelli and George Martin.

He is now much in demand in Europe, the USA and UK, as a freelance choral director, arranger and workshop leader. A natural communicator, Jonathan leads workshops covering anything from close harmony singing, improvisation, choral conducting, vocal arranging to choral techniques.

Member of: Swingle Singers (Former)

Debo Ray

Debo Ray (Deborah Pierre) is an artist who seeks to push the boundaries of the perception of the human voice. Born and raised in Boston, MA, Ms. Ray is a graduate of Berklee College of Music.

Ms. Ray is known for her many collaborative projects, namely International group Women of the World, Senegalese Afro-beat fusion band Group Saloum, up-and- coming Pop-Jazz band led by Hal Crook, Behind These Eyes, as well as many others. Currently, she is working on her original project, taking influences from classical, jazz, rock, electronic, and traditional Haitian music.

Ms. Ray's unique sound blends into a tool with a world perspective, as she endeavors to share her story, and inspire others to do the same.

Member of: Women of the World (Current) - Founder

Bernice Johnson Reagon

For more than a half-century Bernice Johnson Reagon was a major cultural voice for freedom and justice. An African American woman's voice, a child of Southwest Georgia, a voice raised in song, born in the struggle against racism in America during the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s, she is a composer, songleader, scholar and producer.

Perhaps no individual today better illustrates the transformative power and instruction of traditional African American music and cultural history than Bernice Johnson Reagon, who has excelled equally in the realms of scholarship, composition, teaching and performance.

A woman of significant accomplishment, she has served as Distinguished Professor of History at American University, curator emerita at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and as the founder and long-time artistic director of Sweet Honey In The Rock, a world-renowned a cappella ensemble of African-American women. Success in any one of these fields would be noteworthy, but she has combined music, a commitment to social justice and academic excellence, and has earned esteem in all three.

Member of: Sweet Honey in the Rock (Former) - Founder

Giorgia Renosto

Born and raised in a musical family, Giorgia Renosto is an Italian vocalist who entered the artistic world at the young age of 14. Highly exposed to classical music and opera by her grandfather, a clarinet player, she enriched her musical background with jazz by starting her formal training in Torino, Italy. Her ability to focus on various types of vocal styles inside the extremely diverse world of Vocal Jazz allowed her to capture elements of vocal technique from different sources of inspiration and at 17, she was selected as one of the winners of the "Giovani Proposte" of the Italian contest "Sanremo Giovani".

Member of: Women of the World (Current) - Founder

Rhiannon Rhiannon

Rhiannon is a vocal artist with a vision of music as a vehicle for innovation, healing, transformation, and social change. A vibrant, gifted singer, performance artist, composer, and master teacher, Rhiannon has been bringing her unique and potent blend of jazz, world music, improvisation and storytelling to audiences for over four decades paving a unique path as an independent artist. Collaborations include the all-women's jazz ensemble Alive!, a cappella ensembles SoVoSo and WeBe3, Bobby McFerrin and Voicestra, the instrumental trio Spontaneous, duets with pianist Laurence Hobgood, and improvised performance pieces with Japanese dancer Shizuno Nasu:The Ocean Regards Us All As One. Rhiannon's book about her life and teaching methods, Vocal River, The Skill and Spirit of Improvisation, was published in 2013. Rhiannon lives and works on her farm on the Big Island of Hawai'i, currently building a teaching/performance space, Ha Lau Leo Nani, The Gathering Place, honoring culture and community.

Member of: SoVoSo (Former) - Founder

Arnold Robinson

Arnold Robinson formed his first band, "The Robinson Brothers", while he was attending university. From 1965 to 1972, he performed extensively throughout the southern states with "Sonny Turner and Sounds Unlimited" (formerly The Platters). Before joining The Nylons in 1981, Arnold formed his own business working in many aspects of the entertainment industry including management, recording and production.

Member of: Nylons (Former) - Bass

Louise Robinson

Louise Robinson, a native New Yorker, studied concert bass for six years and attended the High School of Music and Art.

A graduate of Howard University with a BFA, her professional career began at Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage. Louise accepted Robert Hooks' invitation to become a member of the new, D.C. Black Repertory Company Acting Ensemble. It was out of this theatre company that Louise, along with Carol Maillard. Bernice Johnson Reagon, and Mie, formed the a cappella quartet, Sweet Honey In The Rock.

Member of: Sweet Honey in the Rock (Current)

Annie Ross

Annabelle Allan Short, known professionally as Annie Ross, is a British-American singer and actress, best known as a member of the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. She recorded seven albums with Lambert, Hendricks & Ross between 1957 and 1962. Their first, Sing a Song of Basie (1957), was to have been performed by a group of singers hired by Jon Hendricks and Dave Lambert with Ross brought in only as vocal consultant. It was decided that the trio should attempt to record the material and overdub all the additional vocals themselves, but the first two tracks were recorded and deemed unsatisfactory so they ditched the dubbing idea. The resulting album was a success, and the trio became an international hit. Over the next five years, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross toured all over the world

Member of: Lambert, Hendricks and Ross (Defunct) - Founder

Adam Rupp

Beat boxer who became one-fifth of the acappella group, Home Free that would go on to win the fourth season of NBC's The Sing-Off. He, his brother Chris, Matt Atwood, Darren Scruggs, and Dan Lemke formed Home Free in 2000 in Minnesota. He earned a bachelor's degree in music and is trained in the instruments of trumpet, drums, keyboard and bass guitar.

Member of: Home Free (Current) - Founder

Chris Rupp

From the very beginning I grew up in a musical family. My mom has always been a professional musician, and my brother and sister both pursued music quite a bit - family jam sessions were a normal and frequent occurrence (dad did his best to keep up). When I was about 16 or so before my junior year of high school, I made the decision that I was going to pursue music as my career and eventually attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota for 3 years.

Member of: Home Free (Former) - Founder

Joe Russell

Joe Russell was born in Henderson, North Carolina in 1939 and grew up with an undying love for the church. He regarded the Persuasions' tour of the Holy Land as the highlight of his life. He loved the gospel music of the Golden Gate Quartet, the Dixie Hummingbirds and the Soul Stirrers with Sam Cooke, but his favourite vocalist was the '50s star Jackie Wilson.

Around 1965, Russell and Herb "Toubo" Rhoad from the Parisians teamed up with Jerry Lawson and Jimmy Hayes of the Five B's and Jayotis Washington of the Interiors to form an a cappella group. They were taking a chance by getting audiences to like them without instruments and so Hayes named them the Persuasions.

Member of: Persuasions (Former) - Founder

Darren Rust

Darren is a 4-time Emmy award, Dove Award, and certified Grammy Award winning producer and mix engineer, who has over 25 years experience in arranging, recording, mixing and performing contemporary vocal music.

As a founding member of The Blenders, Darren has arranged, recorded, and produced the groups 15 albums over their 27 year career, which is still going strong today. He also toured with the group for many years, sharing the stage with such artists as Jay Leno, Howie Mandel, Johnny Lang, Savage Garden, Chuck Barry, The Righteous Brothers, Blue Traveler and many more. The group also appeared on such national TV shows as The Arsenio Hall Show (FOX), The Today Show (NBC), and Crook and Chase (TNN). The Blenders have also had much commercial success locally and nationally with many campaigns including the "Wake Up With Fox 9" campaign in Minneapolis, and a national McDonald's TV commercial with their #1 hit, "I Am In Love With the McDonald's Girl".

Member of: Blenders (Current) - Founder

Joel T. Rutherford

Joel was born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. His wife's name is Heather and they have a son named Joshua and a daughter named Grace. Joel has degrees in voice, opera and music education. He is proficient in music composition, jazz arranging as well as playing several musical instruments. He serves as the Director of Fine Arts at Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, TX.

He has served on the faculty of many music schools throughout the country, providing coaching to vocal ensembles large and small. Prior to joining ACOUSTIX, Joel performed in the smash hit musical production "Patsy!" and was offered a contract to perform the role of "Smudge" in the Drayton Festival's production of the Broadway musical, "Forever Plaid". Joel is also a member of the Gospel Music Association and the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America. Joel resides in Carrollton, Texas.

Member of: Acoustix (Current) - Bass

Jes Sadler

Jes Sadler is an educator, singer and vocal percussionist from London, UK. Jes spent nine years touring with a cappella group The Swingle Singers as Baritone and Vocal Percussionist, giving concerts in many of the world's top venues, recording seven albums and serving as the group's Technical Director.

Jes left Swingles in 2006 and became a founder member of 'Beatbox Choir' The Vocal Orchestra - a collective comprising some of the UK's outstanding human beatboxers and vocalists. Founded by the beatboxer Shlomo, the ensemble's debut performance was headlining the International Human Beatbox Convention at London's South Bank Centre in 2007. Over the following years they played to thousands at The Big Chill and Glastonbury festivals, the South Bank Centre's Chorus vocal festival and The Udderbelly and collaborated with artists as diverse as Jarvis Cocker, Ashley Walters, Mutya Buena, Cleveland Watkiss and Imogen Heap. 2010 saw Shlomo & The Vocal Orchestra take things to another level with the premiere performances of human beatbox musical 'BOXED' and the groundbreaking Concerto for Beatboxer and Orchestra by composer Anna Meredith.

Member of: Swingle Singers (Former)

Joseph Shabalala

In 1958, Joseph discovered an isicathamiya group, The Highlanders, led by his hero Galiyane Hlatshwayo. Hlatshwayo was the man who encouraged Joseph to use his voice powerfully. Joseph formed his own group the following year 1959, Ezimnyama ("The Black Ones"). A series of dreams Joseph had in his sleep in December 1960 was a major turning point in the formation of the group; when he saw how well his group did in the once-weekly isicathamiya competitions, he renamed them Ladysmith Black Mambazo, "Mambazo" meaning axe, referring to how the group chopped down the other choirs by winning almost every time.

In 1986, Paul Simon travelled to South Africa to collaborate with South African artists for his upcoming Graceland album. Simon collaborated with Shabalala and the group, and co-composed the now-famous song, "Homeless". The group's popularity spread all over the world, and since then they have sold records popular enough to earn platinum disc certification.

Deke Sharon

Born in San Francisco, California, Deke Sharon has been performing professionally since the age of 8, and as a child toured North America and shared the stage in operas with the likes of Pavarotti. Heralded as "The Father of Contemporary A Cappella," he is responsible for the current sound of modern a cappella, having pioneered the modern vocal-instrumental sound in college, subsequently spreading it around the world. He produced "The Sing-Off" on NBC and worldwide (Netherlands, China, South Africa). In addition, Deke served as arranger, on-site music director and vocal producer for Universal's "Pitch Perfect" 1, 2 & 3 starring Anna Kendrick & Rebel Wilson.

Member of: House Jacks (Former) - Founder