Dr. Julian Ackerley

Director of the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus since 1980, Julian Ackerley has achieved national and international acclaim as an accomplished conductor and administrator of children's choral performing arts organizations. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Arizona with special emphasis in music education, vocal performance and choral conducting. His many successes include national and international tours, numerous critically acclaimed recordings, collaborations with national symphony orchestras and opera companies and increased fiscal stability for the Chorus. He is an experienced teacher having taught at all levels, elementary to college, prior to his appointment with the Boys Chorus.

Dale Adelmann

Dale Aldermann, Choirmaster of St. Paul's Cathedral in Buffalo, N.Y., outgoing president of the Association of Anglican Musicians, and former music director of the Gentlemen of St. John's College Ensemble, Cambridge, England, has accepted the call to become All Saints' new Director of Music. He replaces Tom Foster who retired in June after 27 years which saw the shaping of the music program to one of national acclaim, incorporating two adult choirs, a children's choir, four commercial CDs for Gothic and two in-house recordings; and an outstanding Music Guild concert series.

"I can't say enough about Dale, as a musician and person," said the Rt. Rev. Michael Garrison, bishop of western New York. "When I am at the cathedral, I am exalted by the music, and he is the backbone of that. His moving will be a big loss not only to the church but to the community."

Gene Aitken

Grammy-nominated Gene Aitken is considered one of the most exciting and energetic jazz clinicians today, and is recognized as a visionary in both jazz education and computer technology. In June 2007, he was awarded DownBeat magazine's Jazz Educator of the Year and inducted into the DownBeat magazine's Hall of Fame. In addition, he was the 32nd member inducted into the 1995 International Association of Jazz Educator's Hall of Fame along with Ella Fitzgerald and Doc Severinson, joining luminaries such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and others.

Dr. Aitken is only one of four individuals in the world who have received induction into both organizations' Hall of Fame. In 1985, the University of Northern Colorado Vocal Jazz Ensemble, under his direction, was awarded a prestigious Grammy Nomination by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. It is the only time NARAS has ever awarded this honor to an institution of higher education in the vocal jazz area. Dr. Aitken currently spends most of his time teaching jazz and music education in Asia and the Middle East, and has recently retired as Director of the Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore. His activities as a conductor, performer, composer, adventurer, clinician, adjudicator, and producer of educational events have led him to all corners of the globe.

Frank Albinder

Grammy Award-winning conductor and singer Frank Albinder currently directs the Washington Men's Camerata, the Virginia Glee Club at the Univesity of Virginia and the Woodley Ensemble. A native of Hollywood, California, Mr. Albinder hold degrees from Pomona College and the New England Conservatory of Music.

Like most musicians, he has held a number of non-musical jobs, including counter man in a delicatessen, secret document destroyer for a major military contractor, tour guide at Universal Studios and problem-fixer for FedEx. He was Director of Choral Activities at Davidson College in the mid-1980s, and for 11 years, he was singer, associate conductor and finally, acting director of Chanticleer, the world-renowned vocal ensemble.

During his tenure with the group, Mr. Albinder performed in all 50 states and in 20 foreign countries. He appears on 20 of the ensemble's recordings, including Wondrous Love, which was recorded under his direction, and the Grammy Award-winning Colors of Love, for which he designed the concept and selected the repertoire.

David T.R Albulario

Mr. Albulario has been Music Director of All-American Boys Chorus in Orange County, California for 10 years, touring in Austria, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan and nationwide throughout the U.S. He has served as Choral Director at Hollywood Bowl, Orange County Performing Arts Center, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Shrine Auditorium, Crystal Cathedral, Opera Pacific, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, William Hall Master Chorale, and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Theater credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Benjamin), Guys & Dolls (Nicely-Nicely Johnson), Dracula (Van Helsing), The Crucible (Danforth), The Libertine (Etherege) and Singin' In the Rain. A Walt Disney theme parks singer, Mr. Albulario has also been a performer in readings of The Wedding Banquet and Making Tracks in New York City. Love to Mom, Dad & Renee for love and faith!

John Alexander

Artistic Director since 1972, John Alexander is considered one of America's finest choral conductors. His inspired leadership both on the podium and as an advocate for the advancement of the arts has generated international respect and acclaim throughout his career.

His long and distinguished career has encompassed conducting hundreds of choral and orchestral performances in 27 countries around the globe. Alexander is not only recognized for his exceptional talent in bringing the masterworks to life, but is also eminent as a strong proponent of contemporary American music. He regularly programs works by American composers, and has presented many premieres of their works.

The 2007-2008 season saw the world premieres of works by Zachary Wadsworth and Michael Eglin, commissioned through Pacific Chorale's Young Composers Competition, and the West Coast premiere of David Del Tredici's Paul Revere's Ride. Previous premieres have included performances of works by John Adams, Dominick Argento, Eric Whitacre, Howard Hanson, Stephen Paulus, Frank Ticheli and James Hopkins.

Brady R. Allred

Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and Artistic Director of the Salt Lake Choral Artists, Dr. Brady R. Allred has developed "an international reputation for excellence." Under his energetic leadership, Dr. Allred's choirs have completed eight international tours of Europe, including 13 countries, and a concert tour of Canada. Honors he has received include Grand Prize at the Florilege Vocal de Tours International Choir Competition, Tours, France and First Prize at the Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition with additional prizes for Best Interpretation of 20th Century Music and the Conductor's Prize. The University of Utah Singers won the Grand Prize at the 2006 European Grand Prix International Choral Competition in Tolosa, Spain. In May 2007 he was the American judge on the international jury for the Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition in Germany.

Jean Applonie

Jean Applonie received her bachelor degree in choral music education and master degree in choral music performance from Brigham Young University. She taught choral music for Davis and Murray School Districs and served on the music faculty at The Waterford School. Ms. Applonie is co-founder/artistic director of Viva Voice! Women's Choir in Salt Lake City. She opened a private voice studio for ten years and is an active church musician. She has organized and presented for various choral music workshops and festivals.

Dr. Charlene Archibeque

Having recently retired after thirty five years as Professor of Choral Music from San Jose State University, Dr. Archibeque continues to remain active in the choral field as clinician, guest conductor, adjudicator, teacher. As a teacher of teachers her choral workshops throughout the world are acclaimed as "practical, comprehensive, and insightful". Her summer workshops at SJSU and for many ACDA State and other University workshops attracted thousands of participants. She appeared on the faculty for Westminster's "Five Perspectives", twice at the Santa Fe "Perspectives", the Four Corners Workshops in Arizona, for both the Tennessee and Oklahoma Fine Arts Institutes, and for many Invitational Festivals. Some of her areas of expertise include conducting technique, vocal training in the choral rehearsal, musicianship skills, rehearsal technique, choral diction, blend and tone quality, as well as performance practices with historical perspective.

Anton Armstrong

Anton Armstrong is the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College and Conductor of the St. Olaf Choir. He assumed this position in 1990 following 10 years in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he served on the faculty of Calvin College and conducted the Campus Choir, the Calvin College Alumni Choir and the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus.

A graduate of St. Olaf College, Armstrong earned a Master of Music degree at the University of Illinois and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University. He holds membership in several professional societies, including the American Choral Directors Association, Choristers Guild, Chorus America, and the International Federation for Choral Music. Armstrong also serves as editor of a multicultural choral series for Earthsongs Publications and co-editor of the revised St. Olaf Choral Series for Augsburg Fortress Publishers. He is featured with Andre Thomas on an instructional video on adolescent singers entitled Body, Mind, Spirit, Voice. He is a contributing writer to Volume I of Teaching Music through Performance in Choir and a contributor to Way Over in Beulah Lan' by Andre Thomas.

Vassil Arnaudov

Vassil Arnaudov was the conductor of the Sofia Chamber Choir since its foundation and is an outstanding figure in Bulgaria's cultural life. A name of world renown and prestige, he embodies the best of the national choral conducting school. A teacher of long-standing at the Sofia Musical Academy, he has created a whole generation of young talented conductors who provide the face of contemporary choral art and performance in Bulgaria, and in a number of foreign countries. His pupils are now working in Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Belgium and the USA. Professor Arnaoudov is the first President of the Bulgarian Choral Union.

Dr. Craig Arnold

Craig Arnold is director of choral activities, conductor of the Nordic Choir, and professor of music at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Arnold returns to Luther having served on its music faculty in the early 1980s. He was Music Director of Manhattan Concert Productions and Conductor of the New York City Chorale and Chamber Orchestra. He previously served as director of choral activities at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo and Capital University in Columbus, OH.

Arnold's education includes a doctorate in conducting from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY; a master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. He has served as guest lecturer at the St. Petersburg (Russia) Conservatory and has conducted choirs and orchestras at New York City's Carnegie Hall and the Weill Recital Hall. He has also frequently appeared as guest conductor, clinician, or presenter in Japan, England, Scotland, Germany, France, Italy, Wales, Hong Kong, China, Alaska, Colorado, New York, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, California, Texas, Michigan, Washington D.C., Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Jeremy Backhouse

Jeremy Backhouse is now established as one of Britain's leading choral conductors. He is the conductor of the 150-voice Vivace Chorus (formally the Guildford Philharmonic Choir). He is also the conductor of the Vasari Singers, widely acknowledged as one of the finest chamber choirs in the country.

Head chorister at Canterbury Cathedral, he studied music and composition at Liverpool University and began his career as a Music Editor with EMI. From 1998 to December 2004 he was Conductor of the Wooburn Singers - only the third in the choir's history, following Richard Hickox and Stephen Jackson. He has also worked with the BBC Club Choir, Kent Youth Choir, Brighton Festival Chorus, London Choral Society, Trinity College of Music Chamber Choir, Philharmonia Chorus and the BBC Singers.

Eric Banks

Conductor, composer, instructor, vocalist, linguist, and ethnomusicologist, Eric Banks has garnered significant acclaim as one of the most creative and compelling choral directors in the United States - for his unwavering commitment to new music for unaccompanied voices. In 1992, Eric founded The Esoterics, a professional-caliber chamber chorus in Seattle whose mission is to perform and perpetuate contemporary choral music beyond the scope of the established a cappella canon. In 2004, Banks founded yet another group, the all-male vocal ensemble AEDONIS, whose mission is to perform choral music exclusively by gay and lesbian composers.

After completing his BA in Composition at Yale University in 1990, Eric relocated to Seattle to study in the departments of Choral Studies and Music Theory at the University of Washington. His MM thesis (1992) is a performance edition of Dixit Dominus by Chiara Margarita Cozzolani; his MA thesis (1995) is a postmodern analysis of Arvo Part's symphonic Credo; and his DMA dissertation (1996) surveys the choral music of Mexican composer and Aztec ethnomusicologist Carlos Chavez.

Daniel Bara

Daniel Bara joins the Hugh Hodgson School of Music as Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music in fall of 2010, having served as Associate Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities at East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina. While at ECU, his university choirs were invited to perform for state, regional, and national conventions of ACDA and MENC, and the ECU Chamber Singers completed two professional recordings for the Gothic Records label (Greater Love, 2007; Eternal Light, 2010). His conducting students have consistently advanced into the live rounds of the ACDA National Conducting Competition, and several of his former MM conducting students now hold collegiate conducting appointments at New England Conservatory, Miami University of Ohio, University of Idaho, and William Jewell College.

Christine Bass

Christine Bass is a distinguished choral director, guest conductor, and clinician, and the Choral Director for the Women's Choir at Temple University. A teacher for almost three decades, she has presented workshops on vocal technique, recruiting male singers, and differentiated instruction for NJEA, NJMEA and ACDA (American Choral Director's Association) high schools and universities. She was named New Jersey MENC Master Music Teacher and received the Governor's Award in Arts Education. She conducted All South Jersey Chorus, New Jersey All State Chorus and in 2009 Christine was honored to conduct the ACDA All National High School Honors Choir in Oklahoma City, and in 2010 South Carolina All-State Women's Chorus. She has served on the NJACDA Board as the Repertoire & Standards Chair for Male Choirs. Christine has been selected for Who's Who of American Teachers and Who's Who of American Women. She was featured in the September 2007 edition of "Choral Director" magazine. Christine currently has a vocal technique DVD, Vocal Transformation, published by Hal Leonard.

Linda Beaupre

Linda Beaupre received her Bachelor of Music degree with a major in music education and concentrations in piano and voice from the State University of New York at Potsdam, and her Master of Music degree with a major in vocal performance form the University of Western Ontario. She has taught school music and school choirs in Australia and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and for several years she was a soprano with the Elmer Iseler Singers and the Torronto Mendelssohn Choir. She has been director of the Bach Children's Chorus since she founded it in 1987. Since 1991 she has also conducted the Guelph Youth Singers, founded in that year, which includes four choirs at differing levels of training.

Deborah Benedict

Deborah Benedict has dedicated her life to singing, first as a trained opera singer (Santa Fe Opera Apprentice, New England Conservatory graduate with a Master's in voice, and roles with companies across the US.) In addition, she has had an active teaching schedule, teaching voice, opera workshops and musical theater workshops at UC Berkeley, San Francisco State University and Dominican University. She is the choral contractor for Skywalker Ranch, singing in and assembling choruses for videos and movies. Deborah has also been the musical director at Saint Patrick's Church in Larkspur, CA for the past 10 years, and conductor of the Rodef Sholom Choir for the High Holy Days at the Marin Civic Center for the past 15 years. It is with great enthusiasm that she looks forward to continuing the singing tradition of Marin Barbershop Chorus.

Jenny Bent

Jenny Bent, DMA, is the Director of Choral Activities at Sonoma State University and Project Manager of Chanticleer's summer program, Chanticleer in Sonoma. She is a graduate of Boston University (BM in Voice Performance, MM in Choral Conducting, MM in Voice Performance) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (DMA in Choral Conducting and Choral Literature). Her teachers include Ann Howard Jones, Jerold Siena, and Ruth Ann Swenson. She has also studied with and/or performed under such choir eminences as Robert Shaw, Joseph Jennings, Matthew Oltman, Peter Bagley, Dennis Keene, and Julian Wachner.

Barbara Berner

Barbara Berner conducts the advanced touring ensemble, Concert Choir, co-directs Choristers, and oversees all aspects of the children's choirs program as Artistic Director. Under Mrs. Berner's direction Concert Choir has performed at Carnegie Hall, the national American Choral Directors Association convention in Los Angeles, and at the White House.

Mrs. Berner has prepared Concert Choir for numerous performances with the Saint Louis Symphony under conductors David Robertson, Ludwig Wicki, Peter Oundjian, Hans Vonk, Eri Klas, David Amado, David Zinman, Ward Stare, Scott Parkman, Robert Kapilow, and John McDaniel. Mrs. Berner has conducted the young singers in performances with the Bach Society of Saint Louis, the St. Louis Holiday Brass Ensemble, and the St. Louis Chamber Chorus, plus featured broadcasts on KFUO Classic 99, and on international tours to Australia, England and Wales, Austria and the Czech Republic, Scotland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

John Bertalot

The English choral conductor, John Bertalot, won Organ scholarships to the Royal College of Music, London, and to Oxford and Cambridge.

After his studies, John Bertalot first appointment was Director of Music for 6 years of St. Matthew's Church, Northampton, UK (a successor of Alec Wyton), the church for which Britten wrote Rejoice in the Lamb. He then became director of music at Blackburn Cathedral (for 18 years) where he founded the Blackburn Bach Choir and was Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.

In moving to the USA, John Bertalot has been Director of Music for 16 years of Trinity Church, Princeton, NJ. succeeding Dr James Litton. He led for sixteen years one of the most ambitious Episcopal Church music programmes in the USA, where he founded the acclaimed Princeton Singers. He was also Adjunct Associate Professor, Westminster Choir College, Rider University. In over forty years of professional music-making he has led choral workshops all over the world.

Matthew Best

Matthew studied at Kings College, Cambridge, and at the National Opera Studio, and in 1982 won the Decca-Kathleen Ferrier Prize. At the outset of his career, he sang as a principal bass with The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and as a guest with many other companies, and in recent years he has moved into the bass-baritone and Heldenbariton repertory. This process reached a significant landmark when he sang the role of Wotan/The Wanderer in Scottish Opera's new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen, first seen at the Edinburgh International Festival.

His various recordings include Beethoven's Leonore, Berlioz' L'enfance du Christ, Britten's Billy Budd and Peter Grimes, Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, Falla's El Retablo di Maese Pedro, Menotti's Martin's Lie and Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Thomas Beveridge

Thomas Beveridge, Music Director of the National Men's Chorus, has had a distinguished career in music. He has been recognized for his multi-faceted abilities: singer, oboist, keyboard player, composer, arranger, teacher, conductor. He attended Harvard College, studying composition with Randall Thompson and Walter Piston, and choral conducting with G. Wallace Woodworth. Vocal study was at the Longy School of Music with Mme. Olga Averino and, later, with Mme. Mascia Predit. He studied composition and conducting in France with the legendary Nadia Boulanger.

His career as a professional singer has included performances at the Yehudi Menuhin Festival in Switzerland, with the National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Choral Arts Society, U.S. Army Band and Chorus, the Boston Opera Group, New England Bach Festival, the Cathedral Choral Society, the New Amsterdam Singers, the Bethlehem Bach Choir, and the Philadelphia Singers. He has appeared in solo recital throughout the U.S., and at Carnegie Recital Hall, Symphony Space in New York City, the Phillips Collection, the Corcoran Gallery, the Library of Congress, and three entire concerts of his own songs at the National Gallery of Art.

Jerry Blackstone

GRAMMY Award winning conductor Jerry Blackstone is Director of Choirs and Chair of the Conducting Department at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance where he conducts the Chamber Choir, teaches conducting at the graduate level, and administers a choral program of eleven choirs. In February 2006, he received two GRAMMY Awards ("Best Choral Performance" and "Best Classical Album") as chorusmaster for the critically acclaimed Naxos recording of William Bolcom's monumental Songs of Innocence and of Experience. In 2006, the Chamber Choir performed by special invitation at the inaugural convention of the National Collegiate Choral Organization in San Antonio, and in 2003, the Chamber Choir presented three enthusiastically received performances in New York City at the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). In addition to Professor Blackstone's choral conducting work at the University, he has led operatic productions with the University of Michigan Opera Theatre, including productions of Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen and Strauss's Die Fledermaus. For his significant contributions to choral music in Michigan, he received the 2006 Maynard Klein Lifetime Achievement Award from the ACDA-Michigan chapter.

Adriana Blagoeva

The Sofia Boys' Choir is the first boys' choir in Bulgaria, founded in 1968. The performers, aged 8 to 15, are picked out from the elementary schools in Sofia. Since 1989 Adriana Blagoeva has been a conductor of the choir. She has graduated as "choir conducting" from the State Musical Academy "Prof.Pancho Vladigerov" in Sofia. Besides of her active conducting practice, Adriana Blagoeva teaches choir conducting at the State Musical Academy. Under her direction the choir considerably widened its musical repertoire, invigorated its concert and recording activities, perfected its artistic qualities. Development of the choir is the Youth Formation, founded in 1997 and consisting of former members of the Children Formation. Since 1993 the Sofia Boys' Choir has won many awards at international choral competitions - one Grand Prix, four First Prizes, two Second Prizes, two Silver Medal First Prizes, the "Musician of the Year, 2002" Prize in "Allegro Vivace" Annual Musical Competition of Bulgarian National Radio, the Silver Lyre Award of the Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers Union. Adriana Blagoeva won the Special Conductor Mastership Prize at the 1st International Choral Competition in Bolzano,Italy in 2000.

Robert Bode

Robert H. Bode is in his fourth year as Artistic Director of Choral Arts. In addition to his work in Seattle, Bode is also on the faculty at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, were he is the Raymond R. Neevel/Missouri Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral Activities. Prior to going to UMKC, Dr. Bode was the Alma Meisnest Endowed Chair in the Humanities and Fine Arts and Director of Choral/Vocal Studies at Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, where he conducted the 100-voice Chorale and the 30-voice Whitman Chamber Singers.

Robert Bode received his doctorate in Choral Conducting from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to attending the Cincinnati Conservatory, Dr. Bode won a conducting scholarship at the prestigious Aspen Music Festival, where he studied opera conducting with Fiora Contino.

Kristina G. Boerger

Kristina Boerger received her formative musical training from pianist Annie Sherter and holds the doctorate in Choral Conducting and Literature from the University of Illinois. Having directed independent choirs in Urbana-Champaign and New York City, public-school choirs in Wisconsin and Illinois, and college choirs at Lake Forest College and the Millikin University School of Music, she was recently appointed Director of Choral Activities at Carroll University.

Based in New York City from 2000 through the spring of 2009, Dr. Boerger divided her professional activities among her three principal loves: choral conducting, singing, and academic teaching.

Beth Ann Bonnecroy

Beth Ann Bonnecroy is in demand as a singer, conductor, and teacher of voice. An accomplished soprano, she has distinguished herself as a recitalist and performer in the Seattle area. Bonnecroy is a member of the artistic staff of the Northwest Girlchoir, where she conducts Vivace, the choir of middle school level singers. Under her direction, Vivace traveled to Japan to perform at the Japan-American Grassroots Summit in Hiroshima. She has over 20 years experience in church music, conducting choral groups and handbell choirs of all ages. Bonnecroy is currently on the music staff of Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church in Seattle. She holds a BM from St. Olaf College and an MM from Arizona State University.

Sara Boos

This is Sara's 6th year as Director of Northwest Girlchoir. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Michigan State University and a Master of Music degree in music education from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Sara has over fifteen years of choral and general music teaching experience and has worked with students at the elementary, middle, high school, and college levels in Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, and Washington.

Along with her work in public school music programs, she has directed adult and children's church choirs and a women's choir at a maximum-security prison in Minnesota. Sara is an active vocal soloist and choral musician. For four years she was a member of the Dale Warland Singers in Minnesota, one of the country's premier professional choirs. Since coming to the Northwest, Sara has sung with Seattle Pro Musica, the St. James Cathedral Choir and Cantorei, Opus 7, and Urban Baroque in Portland, Oregon.

Patricia Bourne

Patricia Bourne is a veteran music educator who has taught preschool through graduate level students over the span of 29 years in four different states. During her long tenure as a teacher, she has presented workshops throughout the country on topics such as children's choral and classroom singing, curriculum development, classroom management systems, working with special-needs students, African drumming, marimbas in elementary general music, to name a few. Patty has guest conducted regional and all-state choruses in multiple states, as well as adjudicated secondary vocal solo and ensembles throughout the Northwest region..

David Brensinger

In 1976 founding conductor, Kevin Culver, and soprano, Cheryl Bray, inspired by their mentor Robert Shaw and his Chorale, brought together a group of their friends for a few concerts, never thinking that The Atlanta Singers would last for over thirty years. Today, the group is known nationally and internationally through their recordings and performances aired on American Public Media's Performance Today, and by concerts streamed over the Internet.

Kevin retired from the Singers in 1992 after leading the group for fifteen years. David Brensinger became the second conductor of The Atlanta Singers in 1993.

Brensinger conducted the group for thirteen years before retiring in 2005. He broadened their audience through recordings and performances around the Southeast, and selections from many of their past Christmas concerts at Spivey Hall under his direction have been heard nationally on National Public Radio.

Mike Brewer

Recognised as a leading fugure in the choral world, Mike Brewer is in demand in Britain and worldwide for vocal and conducting workshops and guest conducting of choirs. His annual tours include the USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico, Venezuela, and, in 2010, Poland and Slovakia. He is an adviser on world music to the IFCM and assessor to Mexico's choral programme.

Mike is a consultant for over 20 prize-winning UK choirs, and serves as adjudicator in international competitions. In 2008, Mike led BBC workshops for Last Choir Standing.

Mike became musical director of The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain in 1983 and is deeply passionate about the choirs. Mike's recordings with NYC senior choir and with Laudibus, the 18 voice chamber choir, have won many awards. Mike Brewer's books for Fabermusic include the best-selling 'Kickstart your Choir', 'Warm ups', 'Improve Your Sightsinging (with Paul Harris)' and 'Finetune your Choir'. Hamba Lulu, his set of African songs is performed worldwide, and has over 100 versions on You Tube to date. Mike wrote the song and prepared conductors for the Olympic.

Dr. Madeline Bridges

Dr. Madeline Bridges is the Associate Dean for Academic Studies and Professor of Music Education in the School of Music at Belmont University. Dr. Bridges received her Doctorate of Music Education from the University of Alabama, Master of Music Education from George Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, and Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Shorter College in Rome, GA.

Dr. Bridges has taught music and music education in classrooms from kindergarten through the graduate level. She serves as Campus Director of the Tennessee Arts Academy and is Co-Director of the Nashville Children's Choir, a multi-level community choir program in residence at Belmont. In the spring of 2002, the Touring Choir component of the Nashville Children's Choir was selected to sing at the biennial national conference of MENC: The National Association for Music Education. Dr. Bridges is also a frequent clinician for choral music festivals and a conference leader in the area of general, choral, and early childhood music.

Peter Broadbent

Peter Broadbent is the founder conductor of Joyful Company of Singers and is one of Britain's leading choral conductors, enjoying a versatile career with an extensive repertoire ranging from baroque music performed on period instruments to contemporary music, including many first performances. Broadbent has conducted the London Mozart Players, Divertimenti Chamber Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, the Southern Sinfonia, the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra, Apollo Voices and the BBC Singers, broadcasting frequently on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. Engagements outside the UK include concerts with the Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra & Kodaly Chorus in Hungary and a broadcast with the National Chamber Choir in Dublin. In 2003 he conducted an Atelier at the XV Europa Cantat in Barcelona, including music by Tavener, Rautavaara and Tarik O'Regan and in 2006 he conducted the World Youth Choir in their summer session giving concerts in Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Germany. He appears as an adjudicator at International Choral Competitions throughout Europe and the UK and conducts workshops and masterclasses throughout the UK, Europe, the US and Canada and was a member of the Artistic Committee of the Polyfollia International Choral Showcase in Normandy. In 2007, Peter Broadbent was awarded the honour of the Pro Cultura Hungarica Award by the Hungarian government in recognition of his services to Hungarian music.

Timothy Brown

The English choral conductor, Timothy (Tim) Brown, received his initial musical training as a chorister at Westminster Abbey, and later as a member of the King's College Choir, Cambridge.

For many years Timothy Brown conducted the Cambridge University Chamber Choir and is now the director of the London-based professional chamber choir, English Voices. He has been Director of Music at Clare College and director of Choir of Clare College, Cambridge since 1979.

Timothy Brown is Director of Studies in Music at Clare and Pembroke Colleges, Cambridge.He has been guest chorus-master at the Berlin Staatsoper and at the Flanders Opera, and is a popular conductor at singing weeks, including Europa Cantat and the Berwang Holiday Music Course. In November 2002 he directed a project with the Berlin-based RIAS-Kammerchor, and in April 2005 conducted a series of concerts with RAM, the National Male Voice Choir of Estonia. He has edited a number of choral volumes for Faber Music and is a contributing editor to the complete edition of music by William Walton, published by Oxford University Press.

Bruce Browne

Bruce Browne is Emeritus Professor of Choral Studies and Voice at Portland State University, and Conductor Laureate of the Portland Symphonic Choir. He founded the professional choir Choral Cross Ties, and co-founded Male Enesmble Northwest. Choirs under Browne's direction have performed at five ACDA National Conventions, four MENC Nationals, an ISME Convention, and numerous regional and state Conventions. He has been guest director / clinician in several countries including Spain, Greece, Canada, and England, and has appeared in several states in similar capacities.

Charles Bruffy

Charles Bruffy is one of the most admired choral conductors in the United States, respected and renowned for his fresh and passionate interpretations of standards of the choral repertory and for championing new music. He currently conducts the Kansas City Chorale, the Kansas City Symphony Chorus and the Phoenix Chorale, and is Director of Music at Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church.

He is dedicated to commissioning and premiering works by contemporary American composers, and has received ASCAP's Adventurous Programming award. Recent commissions and premieres include works by Jean Belmont, Matthew Harris, Libby Larsen, Zhou Long, Stephen Paulus, Stephen Sametz, Eric Whitacre, Rene Clausen and Chen Yi. The Roger Dean Company, a division of the Lorenz Corporation, publishes a choral series under Bruffy's supervision specializing in music for professional ensembles and sophisticated high school and college choirs.

Philip Brunelle

Philip Brunelle is an internationally renowned conductor, choral scholar and performer. He founded VocalEssence (previously known as the Plymouth Music Series) in 1969 and remains the artistic director today. Brunelle's conducting engagements have taken him across the United States, South America and Europe. Recently, he has conducted the BBC Singers, the Seattle Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra. Brunelle has served on the board of directors of Chorus America and the National Council on the Arts and he currently serves on the Board of Regents at St. Olaf College and the Board of Directors of the Greater Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association. In 2001, he was inducted into the Minnesota Musical Hall of Fame and he has won a myriad of awards including the Kodaly Medal from the government of Hungary, the Stig Andersson Award for contributions to Swedish music and the Minneapolis Award presented to him by Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton. In 2002, he was honored with the U.S. Bank Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Commitment, recognizing lifetime achievement, contribution and leadership in culture and the arts.

Dr. Scott Buchanan

Scott Buchanan serves as the Director of Choral Activities and coordinator of the voice and choral division at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. Originally from New Jersey, Dr. Buchanan holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Bradley University, a Master's Degree in Music Education from the Florida State University, and a Ph.D. in Music Education from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Prior to his appointment at ISU, he served on the faculty as Director of Choral Activities at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Georgia. Dr. Buchanan began his career teaching choral music at the high school level in Brevard County, Florida. Dr. Buchanan is in frequent demand as a choral clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States. Additionally, he has published articles in the Southeastern Journal of Music Education, the Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education, VocalEase magazine, and has written compact disc and choral reviews for Choral Journal.

Javier Busto

Busto graduated as a medical doctor from Valladolid University. In 1995 he created and founded the women's choir Kanta Cantemus Korua. Known internationally as a composer of music and as a choral conductor, he has presented his compositions at the Fourth World Symposium on Choral Music in Sydney, Australia in 1996, and was guest conductor of the Tokyo Cantat in 2000. His choirs have won first place awards in France, Italy, Austria, and Germany. Busto has served on the jury of composition and choral competitions in Spain, France, Italy and Japan.

Simon Carrington

In 1967 Simon Carrington co-founded co-founded at Cambridge University the internationally acclaimed British vocal ensemble The King's Singers, and was its Director for 25 years. He gave 3,000 performances at many of the world's most prestigious festivals and concert halls, made more than 70 recordings (for EMI), and appeared on countless television and radio programs including: Regular TV appearances worldwide, including Live at The Boston Pops, 1983; BBC TV series, The King's Singers Madrigal History Tour, 1984; On Stage at Wolftrap, PBS TV, USA, 1986; ABCTV (USA) The Sound of Christmas: Salzburg, 1987; nine appearances on the Tonight Show with the late Johnny Carson.

Tom Carter

My name is Tom Carter, and for the past 25 years I've been helping actors and singers create engaging experiences for themselves and their audiences. Lately, I've been doing this type of work with choirs, and the results have been extremely rewarding. When singers connect deeply and specifically to text and music, their faces and bodies are dynamically expressive, their singing is vibrant and nuanced, and -- most significantly -- their connection draws the audience into the heart and soul of the music. This is exciting stuff! In fact, Choral Coaching has become so fulfilling that I retired as Drama teacher and head of a private school's Performing Arts department so that I could work with more choirs and write a book on this subject. The second edition of Choral CHARISMA: Singing with Expression is now available. Since "playing with expression" is a very similar process (witness Gustavo Dudamel & the Los Angeles Philharmonic), I have begun to work with instrumentalists as well. It's an equally rewarding experience.

Andrew Carwood

Andrew Carwood is one of the most versatile musicians of his generation, working both as an international solo and consort singer and as director of The Cardinall's Musick. A choral scholar at St. John's College, Cambridge and a lay clerk at Christ Church, Oxford and Westminster Cathedral, he was also Director of Music at the Brompton Oratory in London for five years.

Andrew's impressively diverse vocal repertoire encompasses the renaissance to the contemporary: from the consort songs of William Byrd to the role of the Male Chorus in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. As a soloist he has worked worldwide with conductors such as Sir Roger Norrington, Joshua Rifkin, Harry Christophers, Richard Hickox, Paul McCreesh, Phillipe Herreweghe, Robert King and Christopher Hogwood. He is also a regular member of The Tallis Scholars. His discography includes works by Hassler, Vivaldi, Haydn, Warlock, Howells, Poulenc, Janacek and Christopher Headington.

David Cherwien

David Cherwien, music director of the National Lutheran Choir, is a nationally known conductor, composer and organist. Recognized for his contributions to the field of church music and liturgy, he is in demand as a clinician and hymn festival leader across the country. David serves as editor of the National Lutheran Choir Series of choral music published by Morningstar Music Publishers. He is a founding member of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians and has served in its leadership in a variety of capacities, including as National President from 1993 to 1997. He is a member of the American Choral Director's Association, American Guild of Organists, Chorus America and Choristers Guild.

Jenny Chiang

Jenny Chiang was born and raised in Taiwan. She received her early music education from Professor Chuan-Sheng Lu, who is well known as a composer and "Father of Children's Choral Music" in Taiwan. Ms. Chiang co-founded Crystal Children's Choir in 1994 and has served as Artistic Director ever since. In the summer of 2000 and the spring of 2005, she studied choral conducting with Dr. Charlene Archibeque at San Jose State University.

Some notable performances with Crystal Choir include a Grand Champion in the 9th International Youth Choral Festival in Portland, Oregon 1998; three ACDA conventions (Western Division 2002, 2006 and National 2007); three CMEA convention in 2001, 2002, and 2004; OAKE 2004; the Australian International Music Festival 2004, Gold Medal awarded; and MENC 2006.

Bob Chilcott

Described by the Observer newspaper as "a contemporary hero of British choral music", Bob Chilcott has always been immersed in the choral tradition of his country. He sang as a chorister and choral scholar at King's College, Cambridge, and after singing professionally in London and also as a member of the vocal group the King's Singers for 12 years, he became a full-time composer in 1997. He has embraced his career with energy and commitment, not only producing a large catalogue of music for all types of choirs, but also working with singers and choirs in more than 30 countries.

Harry Christophers

Harry Christophers is known internationally as founder and conductor of The Sixteen as well as a regular guest conductor for many of the major symphony orchestras and opera companies worldwide. He has directed The Sixteen and its orchestra throughout Europe, America and the Far East gaining a distinguished reputation for his work in Renaissance, Baroque and twentieth century music. He has made a significant contribution to the recording catalogue (already comprising some ninety titles) for which he has won numerous awards including a Grand Prix du Disque for Handel's Messiah, numerous Schallplattenkritik, the coveted Gramophone Award for Early Music and most recently, the prestigious Classical Brit Award 2005 for his disc entitled Renaissance. His CD IKON was nominated for a 2007 Grammy. In 2000 he instituted the 'Choral Pilgrimage', a national tour of English cathedrals from York to Canterbury in music from the pre-Reformation, as The Sixteen's contribution to the millennium celebrations. It raised awareness of this historic repertoire so successfully that the Choral Pilgrimage in the UK is now central to the annual artistic programme.

Rene Clausen

Rene Clausen's has served as conductor of The Concordia Choir of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota since 1986. Additionally, he is the artistic director of the award-winning Concordia Christmas Concerts, which are frequently featured by PBS stations throughout the nation.

Rene Clausen is a well-known composer. His compositional style is varied and eclectic, ranging from works appropriate for high school and church choirs to more technically-demanding compositions for college and professional choirs. Interested in composing for various media, Clausen's compositional interests include works for the stage, solo voice, film and video composition, choral/orchestral compositions and arrangements, as well as works for orchestra and wind ensemble. He regularly composes on a commission basis, and is a frequent guest conductor and composer-in-residence on a national basis.

Stephen Cleobury

Stephen Cleobury has been Organist and Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge since 1982, and, since 1983, conductor of the orchestra and chorus of the Cambridge University Musical Society. He received his early musical education at Worcester Cathedral, and was later Organ Student at St John's College, Cambridge, under George Guest. Before going to King's he was successively Organist at St Matthew's, Northampton, Sub-Organist at Westminster Abbey and Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral.

Under his direction King's College Choir Cambridge continues the daily singing of chapel services during term time - the raison d'etre of the choir - and maintains a busy schedule of concerts, tours, recordings and broadcasts. It is, perhaps, most famous for the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols which is heard each Christmas Eve throughout the English-speaking world and beyond. Recent appearances include concerts in Bermuda, New York, Washington, Cologne and Paris.

Judith Clurman

Emmy and Grammy nominated conductor, educator, and choral specialist Judith Clurman is driven by a passion for vocal music in all its forms and styles. Equally at home with repertoire from the classical canon to the American Songbook, musical theater and contemporary compositions, Ms. Clurman's performances are marked by dynamic interpretations and effortless panache.

As music director for Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) Ms. Clurman collaborates with the New York Pops on their Carnegie Hall subscription series. With the Symphony Singers, she has worked with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. She served as founding conductor of the New York Concert Singers and Project Youth Chorus, music director of Prism Concerts, the 92nd Street Y's "Music of the Spirit" program, and as artistic director of the Lincoln Center Tree Lighting.