Sandra Snow

Sandra Snow enjoys a national reputation as conductor, pedagogue, and educator. Snow is associate professor of music at Michigan State University, where she conducts the Michigan State University Women's Chamber Ensemble and interacts with undergraduate and graduate students in areas of conducting study, choral pedagogy, and teacher education.

Snow is in demand as a guest conductor and clinician, engaging teachers in professional development and conducting all-state, honor choir, and choral festivals across the United States and Canada. Under her direction, the MSU Women's Chamber Ensemble performed atthe 2008 ACDA Central Division Convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Snow is a recipient of the MSU Teacher-Scholar award, a campus-wide peer-reviewed honor.

Magen Solomon

Artistic Director of Choral Artists since 1995, Dr. Solomon has avidly cultivated engagements with living composers to bridge the gulf between composer, performer, and audience. Under her leadership, SFCA established the Composer-in-Residence program in 1999, the Bi-annual Composer's Invitational in 2001, and the New Voices Competition to help launch the artistic careers of young composers in 2005.

Under her leadership, San Francisco Choral Artists has premiered over 130 choral works, performed for the 2008 and 1998 Western Division conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, and released two CDs, Music Among Friends (2005) and So Gracious Is the Time (1999).

An innovative teacher and musician, Dr. Solomon joined the choral conducting faculty of the University of Southern California in 2004. She has also taught and conducted at Smith and Mount Holyoke colleges, and University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Santa Clara University, and she has studied conducting with Robert Fountain, Richard Pittman, David Becker, and Helmuth Rilling.

Murray Forbes Somerville

The English choral conductor and organist, Murray Forbes Somerville, was born in London and raised in Rhodesia. He studied studied under Karl Richter in Munich, Germany, at the Oxford University (where he was Organ Scholar of New College, under Sir David Lumsden), under Robert Baker at the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and at the New England Conservatory of Music.

Murray Forbes Somerville is noted as choral and orchestral conductor, organ recitalist on three continents, workshop leader and scholar. He served St. James's Church in West Hartford, Connecticut, and the Cathedral of St. Luke in Orlando, Florida, where he also founded the Orlando Deanery Boychoir. In 1990 he was appointed as the Harvard's sixth University Organist and Choirmaster, a post he held until 2003. In this post he presented regular recitals, directed the University Choir and played for services in Memorial Church.

Ants Soots

Ants Soots has been principal conductor of Estonian Song Celebrations as XXII Song Celebration in 1994 and XXIV Song Celebration "Alati teel" („Always on the Road") in 2004. He has been artistic director of XXIII Song Celebration in 1999 and XXV Song Selebration „Üheshingamine" („To Breathe as One") in 2009, also festivals as Nordic-Baltic Choral Festival (1997, 2002) , „Parnu 2002" and „Tallinn 2007".

Ants Soots has led seminars and master courses in Estonia, Japan, Lithuania, Sweden, Israel, Finland and Spain (including colloquium of Estonian choral music at international choir music conference in Altea, 2000). In 1996-2000 Soots was chairman of the Estonian Choral Association. Ants Soots has been awarded Gustav Ernesaks Scholarship (1999), Order of the White Star, 5th class (2002), Annual Prizes of the Estonian Cultural Endowment for both Music and Folk Art (2004). In 2006 Soots was elected honorary conductor of the Estonian National Male Choir. In 2008 Ants Soots was given Estonia's State Cultural Award.

Robert Spano

Robert Spano is recognized as one of the brightest and most imaginative conductors of his generation. Now in his ninth season as Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, he has enriched and expanded its repertoire through his characteristically innovative programming, and elevated the ensemble to new levels of international prominence and acclaim.

In his distinguished career, Robert Spano has conducted the greatest orchestras of North America, including those in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Abroad he has led the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala (Milan), Czech Philharmonic, Berlin Radio Sinfonie Orchestra, BBC Scottish and BBC Symphony Orchestras, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, and Oslo Philharmonic, among others.

Richard Sparks

Richard Sparks is a conductor. He's just taken a position as Professor of Music at the University of North Texas, where he conducts the Chamber Choir and Collegium Singers, and teaches a variety of academic courses. He is also Artistic Director and Conductor of Pro Coro Canada in Edmonton, Alberta--a professional chamber choir; and a free-lance conductor/clinician working in the US, Canada, and Europe. He spent considerable time working with the Swedish Radio Choir in 2007 and 2008. He's Conductor Emeritus of Choral Arts in Seattle, WA (which he founded and conducted from 1993-2006) and was Director of Choral Activities at Pacific Lutheran University from 1983-2001.

Paul Spicer

Paul Spicer began his musical training as a chorister at New College, Oxford. He studied with Herbert Howells and Richard Popplewell (organ) at the Royal College of Music in London, winning the Walford Davies Organ Prize in his final year (the top award). He taught music for ten years from 1974 at Uppingham School and Ellesmere College before becoming a Producer for BBC Radio 3 in 1984. In 1990 he became Artistic Director of the Lichfield International Arts Festival, and also Director of the Abbotsholme Arts Society, he relinquished these posts in July 2001 in order to pursue a completely freelance musical career.

Paul Spicer is best-known for his work as a choral conductor. He has conducted Bach Choirs in Chester and Leicester (and the Chester Festival Chorus), and in September 1992 took over the conductorship of the Birmingham Bach Choir, one of the leading amateur choirs of the Midlands. He is also the founder and director of the Finzi Singers. This well known professional London-based chamber choir of 18 singers has achieved an international reputation principally through their many recordings on the Chandos label, and also through their concerts at Festivals, in London and elsewhere, and through the many broadcasts they do for the BBC.

Debra Spurgeon

Debra Spurgeon is associate professor of music at the University of Mississippi where she conducts the Women's Glee and teaches choral methods and conducting. She has conducted high school and collegiate honor choirs in Oklahoma, Tennesse, Georgia, and Texas. In 2011 she conducted the Louisiana Music Educators All State Women's Choir. Prior to moving to Ole Miss she taught at Southwestern Oklahoma State University for eighteen years and in 1999 was named Oklahoma Choral Directors Association's "Director of Distinction." Her choirs have performed on state and division conventions; recently the Women's Glee performed on the southern division ACDA conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

She has been actively involved in leadership roles in the American Choral Directors Association. From 2007-2010 she served as the National Chair for women's choirs repertoire and standards with the American Choral Directors Association. She was president of the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association and president-elect of the Southwestern Division of ACDA before moving to Ole Miss in 2001. Dr. Spurgeon's numerous articles have appeared in the Choral Journal, Teaching Music, The Journal of Singing, and The Journal of Music Teacher Education. She is the editor, compiler, and co-author of the 2012 GIA publication Conducting Women's Choirs: Strategies for Success, which features the writing of many conductors and composers.

Dr. Ronald Staheli

At Brigham Young University, Dr. Ronald Staheli is the Choral and Conducting Division Coordinator and the Director of Graduate Studies in Choral Music. He also appears regularly as conductor in performances involving the combined choirs and orchestra of Brigham Young University. He has traveled widely as a clinician and guest conductor, and has become known for what a colleague calls a profound sense of phrasing and articulation, which informs all his work. In July of 2001, Dr. Staheli conducted an all-Mozart concert with choirs of the Zimriya International Choral Festival. Dr. Staheli was a guest lecturer at the Fourth International Choral Symposium in Sydney, Australia, where the BYU Singers also performed concerts in the world-famous Opera House and Town Hall. Travels have also taken him and the choir to the Middle East, Russia, Western and Eastern Europe, the South Pacific, and West Africa. Dr. Staheli is a fine pianist and regularly arranges many selections performed by the BYU Singers, several of which are now published.

Georg Stangelberger

In 1999, Mr. Georg Stangelberger joined the Phoenix Boys Choir as Artistic Director with unparalleled international experience with the Vienna Choir Boys, in the latter years as Deputy Artistic Director.

Now in his tenth season with the boys, he recalls many memorable performances. He led the Choir to its Carnegie Hall debut, to France and Spain where the choir was named "Cultural Ambassador" to the European Union and to Germany, Switzerland and Austria where they sang side-by-side with the Vienna Choir Boys in the famous Court Chapel. In June of 2007 he led the boys to victory when they won 1st place at the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Choir Festival in the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria.

In the fall of 2004, Mr. Stangelberger made his debut with the Phoenix Symphony conducting the orchestra and Phoenix Boys Choir in the Requiem by W. A. Mozart. He is regular guest conductor at the Maurice Ravel Conservatory in Levallois, Paris, conducting it's ancient music instrumental ensemble and the chamber choir.

Royal Stanton

Royal Waltz Stanton, was a nationally known choral conductor and teacher whose students included opera star Marilyn Horne. Born in Santa Monica and educated at UCLA, Stanton began his career directing music at Long Beach Polytechnic High School and then became chairman of the music department at Long Beach City College. In 1953, he founded the Long Beach Schola Cantorum, a symphonic choir that sang with Miss Horne among others. He was director of the prestigious Los Angeles Bach Festival for two years. Moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1961, Stanton chaired the fine arts departments of Foothill College in Los Altos and then De Anza College in Cupertino. Stanton founded and for 18 years directed the bay area's Schola Cantorum, which performed with the San Francisco, Peninsula and San Jose symphonies. A widely published composer and arranger for choirs, Stanton also wrote two books, "The Dynamic Choral Conductor" and "Steps to Singing for Voice Classes."

Randy Stenson

Randolph C. Stenson is on the music faculty at St. Mary's International School in Tokyo, Japan, where he conducts the St. Mary's Men's Choir, Varsity Male Ensemble, and International Show Choir. With more than twenty years experience in developing male ensembles, his groups have gained international recognition, winning top honors and awards at competitions and festivals in Japan and abroad. Mr Stenson's choirs have appeared with such diverse performers and musical organizations as Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, John Ken Nuzzo, John Denver, Perry Como, Yuzo Kayama, Alexander Mikhalov, John Rutter, and the Covent Garden and La Scala Opera Companies.

Francis Stockwell

Francis D.C. Stockwell, born in New Zealand, began his musical career at a very early age. At age six he was studying piano and later violin. He was also a soloist in a local church choir. At age 15 he received his first concert diploma for piano from the Trinity College of Music, London. In 1968 he gained two further concert diplomas for piano: one from the Royal Schools of Music, London, the other a Fellowship from the Trinity College of Music, London. In the same year he graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and languages. In 1969 he left New Zealand for Switzerland to continue his piano studies at the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva. At the same time he accepted a teaching position in Zug, Switzerland at Institut Montana, a renowned international boys' school. There he taught English, music and Latin.

Mary Alice Stollak

Founded in 1993, the choir's founder and director was Mary Alice Stollak. Stollak led the MSU Children's Choir in performances at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Detroit's Orchestra Hall, and Chicago's Symphony Center. In 2002, Stollak and the MSU Children's Choir were the official U.S. representative to the 6th World Symposium on Choral Music.

Carol Storck

Ms. Storck is responsible for the MCC's artistic leadership and supervises all education and performance operations. She also directs MCC's Jubilate and created and oversees MCC's Harmony Choir program, which reaches more than 200 children attending school in the City of Milwaukee. Ms. Storck succeeded founder Emily Holt Crocker as Artistic Director in July 2009. She originally worked for Milwaukee Children's Choir from 2000-2002, then returned to the organization in the summer of 2008. From that time until her appointment as artistic director, Ms. Storck was a Prelude Director and also coordinated the organization's Prelude program. In 2010, she was honored with the Civic Music Association Award for Excellence in Youth Music Instruction.

Daniel Stowe

A native of the Los Angeles area, he received his undergraduate degree in Music and International Relations from the University of California, Davis, and holds graduate degrees from the University of Southern California and Cornell University, with research interests in the sacred and secular music of the sixteenth century. He has conducted the University Chorus, Chamber Singers and Early Music Ensemble of U.C. Davis, as well as the Cornell Chorale.

In addition to leading the Glee Club, he also presently serves as conductor of the Notre Dame Symphony Orchestra and the Notre Dame Collegium Musicum. He is a founding member of the plainchant ensemble Schola Musicorum and has appeared in Notre Dame Opera productions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi fan tutte. Mr. Stowe contributed articles on Renaissance, Baroque and 20th-century Latin American composers to the Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music.

Marie Stultz

Marie Stultz was a nationally-acclaimed music educator, composer, conductor, workshop leader, and choral consultant. Her expertise is in the area of training young singers for choral and solo performances. She has more than 30-years of experience in selecting appropriate literature and music for choirs to practice and perform. Marie is an authority on training the young voice, and has devoted most of her life to training young singers in the classics. Over her more than 30-year musical career, she has trained thousands of accomplished students ranging in age from five to 18. Twenty-one of her private voice students have participated in the prestigious Tanglewood Institute. Many have gone on to highly successful careers in music as conductors, teachers, and performers. Her own original works and adaptations are performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Jeremy Summerly

Jeremy Summerly is Head of Academic Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. As well as a conductor and lecturer he is a writer / presenter for BBC Radio and an editor for Faber Music. He graduated from Oxford University with First Class Honours in Music and thereafter undertook musicological research at King's College, London, while also working as a Studio Manager for BBC Radio. He founded the Oxford Camerata in 1984 and between 1990 and 1996 he was conductor of Schola Cantorum of Oxford. He has conducted over forty commercial recordings of music spanning nine centuries and he made his conducting debut at the BBC Proms in 1999 and at the Berlin Philharmonie in 2005. He has given concert tours throughout Europe and the United States as well as in Israel, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Botswana. He has conducted Ligeti for Ligeti, Kagel for Kagel, and Part for Part.

In 1995 he was a recipient of a European Cultural Prize from the European Association for the Encouragement of the Arts (Basel, Switzerland) and in 2007 he was made an honorary associate of the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Robert Sund

Sund sings, plays, arranges, composes and conducts. His multi-faceted gift has given him a prominent position both on the Swedish and the international scene.

He was for many years artistic director and conductor of the mixed choir Allmanna Sången and the male choir Orphei Drangar (OD) and he founded and was the leader of both the women`s choir La Cappella and the youth choir Uppsala Musikskolas Kammarkor. Since 2004 he has also directed the Robert Sund Chamber Choir. As singer he has been a member in Eric Ericsons Chamber Choir and the legendary Kvintetten Olsson.

For 17 years he has been teaching conducting and ensemble leadership at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. He is in great demand to lead courses for both choral singes and conductors in Scandinavia, Europe, the USA, South America, Africa and Asia. He has been guest conductor all over the world, from the Radio Choirs in Vienna and Stockholm to the Coro Nacional in Cuba and he has also conducted the WYC 1994 and 1997. He has been workshop leader at several World Symposia and he is a guest lecturer and a diligent jury member at choral competitions and festivals worldwide.

Hirvo Surva

The Estonian National Opera Boys' Choir Artistic Director and Main Conductor, Hirvo Surva, was born in Kohtla-Jarve (Estonia) in 1963. After graduating from the Georg Ots Music School in Tallinn, he studied conducting with Professor Ants Uleoja at the Estonian Music Academy, where he is now working for a Master's Degree. Hirvo Surva is the Main Conductor of the Virumaa Boys` Choir, , the Estonian Men's Choral Society Boys` Choir and the Revalia Male Choir. Since 1993 he has been actively involved in conducting Estonian Song Festivals, assuming the responsibility of Artistic Director for the VIII and IX Youth Song Festivals. Hirvo Surva serves as a board member in the Estonian Men's Choral Society. From 2002 he has been appointed Chairman of the Estonian Choral Conductors' Association.

Joan Szymko

Joan Szymko is a composer and conductor from the Pacific Northwest. With a catalog of over 100 published choral works, her music is performed by ensembles across North America and abroad. Abundant lyricism, rhythmic integrity and a vigorous attention to text are hallmarks of Szymko's diverse and distinctive choral writing. Fresh and inspiring, her text selections are as notable as her music. Especially significant is Szymko's contribution to the body of quality literature for women's voices. Her music is frequently heard at regional, national and international choral festivals and competitions. Since 2003, her music has been performed at every National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association. The ACDA recognized Szymko's lasting impact on the choral arts in America by selecting her as the recipient of the prestigious Raymond W. Brock Memorial Commission in 2010.

Robert Taylor

Robert Taylor is the director of choral activities at the College of Charleston, director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus, and the founding artistic director of the Taylor Festival Choir. Taylor's ensembles have performed throughout the United States and Europe, and have been featured in numerous festivals and special concerts, including 2004 ACDA Southern Division Convention in Nashville, the 2005 ACDA National Convention in Los Angeles, American Guild of Organists regional conventions, and annual appearances in Charleston's Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto Festivals. Taylor holds a D.M.A. in choral conducting from Louisiana State University, a M.M. in vocal performance from Sam Houston State University, and a B.M.E. from the University of Central Arkansas. He has studied conducting with Kenneth Fulton, B. R. Henson, John Erwin, and his late father, Bob Taylor.

Nancy Telfer

Nancy Telfer is a Canadian composer who has been a choral clinician and guest conductor for many provincial, national, and state organizations throughout Canada and the United States. For many years she has presented workshops on vocal production to both choral conductors and singers.

Since 1979 Telfer has composed over 300 works for choirs, soloists, chamber ensembles, orchestras, bands, and pianists; many of which are published in Canada and the United States. Her music ranges from beginning to virtuoso levels and she has been commissioned to compose music for many fine performers. She believes that all music should delight the ears, capture the imagination of the mind, and feed the soul. Successful Sight-Singing, Books 1 & 2 and Successful Warmups, Books 1 & 2 (published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company), her reputable method books for singers, choirs, and vocal classes, provide innovative systematic teaching materials for sight-singing and every aspect of good vocal production. Her more recent publications, Singing In Tune and Singing High Pitches with Ease, focus on strategies and solutions for conductors, conductors-in-training, and voice teachers. Nancy Telfer's newest book, Successful Performing, focuses on ideas to ensure an outstanding choral performance.

Lori Tennenhouse

Lori Tenenhouse formed the Grand Rapids Women's Chorus in 1996 and has been the artistic director since it's inception. A member of the American Choral Directors's Association, the Sister Singer Network and a 2006 YWCA Tribute Awards honoree for performing arts, Lori is an advocate for women's choral music.

Lori studied jazz improvisation at the University of Michigan and performed in various rock and jazz bands in Ann Arbor and later in the Boston area. Lori was a string bassist with the New England Women's Symphony under the direction of Kay Gardner, and had the incredible experience of performing under the direction of Antonia Brico in 1979. During the early 1990's in Grand Rapids, she collaborated with local musicians and friends to form The Carla Tee Band and later the jazz band, Women at Play, which played exclusively original and improvisational music . Renewing her high school love of choral singing, Lori sang with the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus and with the Shir Shalom Choir at Temple Emmanuel.

Karen P. Thomas

Karen P. Thomas, composer and conductor, is the artistic/executive director and conductor of the Seattle Pro Musica. With Seattle Pro Musica she has produced seven critically-acclaimed commercial CD recordings, has received the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and the ASCAP-Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music, and is currently a finalist for The American Prize for choral conducting.

Ms. Thomas's compositions have been performed at several festivals, including the International Festival Donne in Musica in Italy, the Bergen International Festival in Norway, International Congresses on Women in Music in England and Spain, the Oregon Bach Festival, the Alliance World Festival of Women's Singing, and the Goodwill Arts Festival in the United States. Her compositions are also regularly broadcast on radio and television throughout the United States, Europe, and Latin America. Her choral works are performed by groups such as The Hilliard Ensemble and have been praised as "superb work of the utmost sensitivity and beauty."

Anne Tomlinson

Anne Tomlinson, Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Children's Chorus, conducts the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers and is responsible for the educational and artistic development of the Chorus. She is also Children's Chorus Mistress for Los Angeles Opera. Over the last ten years, she has prepared children for major operatic works including the world premiere of Tobias Picker's children's opera Fantastic Mr. Fox, based upon the story by Roald Dahl. In these productions, Tomlinson has worked with Placido Domingo, Andrew Litton, and Julius Rudel, among others. She has also prepared children's choirs for Los Angeles Philharmonic performances of Stavinsky's Persephone, John Adams' El Nino, Mahler's Symphony No. 3, Orff's Carmina Burana, and a fully staged production of Bernstein's Mass at the Hollywood Bowl in the summer of 2004. Los Angeles Master Chorale presentations include Orff's Carmina Burana under the direction of Grant Gershon and Paul Salamunovich. Live broadcasts include the January 2005 Chamber Singers performance on NPR's nationally syndicated radio program, "From the Top."

Donald L. Trott

Donald Trott received his Bachelor of Music Education degree cum laude from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. He obtained both the Master of Music degree and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from the University of Oklahoma under the guidance of Dennis Shrock. Following degree work he taught at Lawton Senior High School in Lawton, Oklahoma, Rogers State College (now Rogers University) in Calremore, Oklahoma, and Longwood College (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia.

His research in performance practice of the late eighteenth century resulted in two articles published in the Choral Journal and two lectures at regional and national College Music Society conventions. More recently he produced a third article for the Choral Journal based on interviews with Alexander Bernstein, son of Leonard Bernstein. His most recent publication is a monograph sponsored and published by ACDA.

Dr. Gail Walton

Gail Walton held the position of Director of Music at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame from 1988 until her death in 2010 after a long battle with leukemia.

Dr. Walton holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and the Eastman School of Music, where she earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance. The Eastman School also awarded her the prestigious Performer's Certificate in Organ. She has studied with David Craighead, Russell Saunders, William Hays and Andre Marchal.

Dr. Walton has performed throughout the Midwestern United States and in the summer of 1991 played concerts in the German cities of Bonn, Heidenheim, Mainz and Rottenburg/Neckar. In the summer of 1995 she took the Notre Dame Liturgical Choir on a tour of Italy, including appearances in Florence, Milan, Assisi and Rome.

Dr. Robert J. Ward

Robert J. Ward currently serves as Director of Choral Studies at The Ohio State University where he conducts the Men's Glee Club and Chorale. He also teaches courses in conducting and choral literature. Prior to his appointment at Ohio State, Dr. Ward was for sixteen years a member of the music faculty at Oklahoma State University. He has been honored with invitations to present concerts and lectures for National ACDA, National Collegiate Choral Organization. North Central Division ACDA, Central Division ACDA, International Kodaly Educators, Organization of American Kodaly Educators, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Choral Directors Association, as well as Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Utah, Arkansas, Louisiana, and West Virginia Choral Directors Associations.

Fred Waring

Fred Waring's career in the music business spanned more than sixty years. Though his early orchestra was highly successful with its novelty effects and collegiate dance music, it was his later vocal chorus that is best remembered today. The Fred Waring Glee Club was organized in the 1930s and quickly set the standard for choral groups to come. Waring is often called ''The Man Who Taught America How to Sing.''

Raised in his father's Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, music store, Waring studied violin as a youth and was a member of his high school glee club. He formed his first professional band around 1916, a six-man string outfit called Waring's Banjazztra. After graduating from college he took the group to Detroit, where it began to attract the attention of the local music crowd. He later dropped banjo from the line-up and changed the name of the group to the Pennsylvanians.

Dale Warland

Dale Warland, celebrated American musician, has made an indelible impression on the landscape of contemporary choral music both nationally and internationally. During his time with the Dale Warland Singers, he shaped a vocal ensemble known for its exquisite sound, technical finesse, and stylistic range. From that platform, Warland not only mastered the traditional repertoire, but also commissioned 270 new choral works.

The music world has responded by bestowing its highest honors on Warland, including the 2006 Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia's Individual Leadership in Choral Music Award, the Champion of New Music Award from the American Composers Forum (2005). a Distinguished Master Artist Award from the University of South Florida (2004), a Grammy nomination of Walden Pond for best choral performance (2003), the prestigious ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Victor Herbert Award (2003) and a special award from Chorus America and ASCAP for Warland's "pioneering vision, leadership and commitment to commissioning and performing new choral works at the highest level of artistry".

Jon Washburn

Jon Washburn is the Conductor and Artistic Director of Canada's outstanding professional vocal ensemble, the Vancouver Chamber Choir. Well known internationally for his mastery of choral technique and interpretation, Washburn travels widely as guest conductor, lecturer, clinician, and master teacher. In addition to Canada and the United States, he has performed in Russia, Finland, Estonia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico, and Brazil.

Washburn's early musical experience was wide-ranging and eclectic. As a teenager, he was a jazz bass player and band leader. At university, he became heavily involved in musical theatre, specifically acting, singing, conducting, and stage directing. He earned a choral conducting degree at the University of Illinois and proceeded to pursue musicological studies at Northwestern and the University of British Columbia.

Joann Weber

Joann Weber has served as the primary administrator of The St. John's Boys' Choir for 22 years. She facilitates program development and is responsible for day-to-day operations. In addition, Joann spearheads fundraising and development, coordinates staff and volunteers, conducts special events and tours, and serves as liaison with parents. Representing the choir on numerous boards, Joann has fostered an active community relations program that has resulted in significant public awareness of the choir and its activities.

Denise Wharmby

Denise began as a chorister herself at the age of seven. At the age of twelve, she toured England and Wales for international choral competitions and her choir was offered the rare opportunity to sing a concert in Westminster Abbey, London. This early training provided a solid musical foundation, built upon and taken to top tier levels through her teen years into adulthood, which ultimately resulted in a significant career as a professional performer of musical theatre, classical vocal repertoire (she loves to sing opera) and as a teacher.

Denise was a consultant and song writer for 'Music Makers', a BBC television program for schools in the UK. She has taught grade levels K-12 in Marin schools and was music director of high school musicals at San Domenico for twelve consecutive years. She has penned words and music for a growing collection of original songs for children. Denise's effervescent style and smile create a happy, music loving, welcoming learning environment where girls can flourish musically, have fun and sing beautifully together.

Eric Whitacre

An accomplished composer, conductor and lecturer, Eric Whitacre has quickly become one of the most popular and performed composers of his generation. To date, Whitacre's published works have received thousands of performances and have sold in excess of one million copies worldwide. Over the past few years, his loyal fans and supporters have moved online, spreading Eric's popularity to an ever-expanding worldwide audience.

Though he had received no formal training before the age of 18, his first experiences singing in college choir changed his life, and he completed his first concert work, Go, Lovely, Rose, at the age of 21. Eric went on to the Juilliard School, earning his Master of Music degree and studying with Pulitzer Prize and Oscar-winning composer John Corigliano.

Julia J. White

Julia is the founder of the acclaimed Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir (SVCC) at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she oversees the program of over 200 students in three classes and three choirs and teaches courses on the child voice. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from DePauw University and a Master of Music degree from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, where she studied choral conducting, organ performance and children's choirs. Ms. White has done post-graduate specialization in children's choirs at Westminster Choir College, the American Boychoir School, Royal School of Church Music, and Choral Music Experience Institute at Northern Illinois University, where she received Levels I- III certification and Artist Teacher Diploma. She has studied long term in Vienna, Austria, and England and holds the Level I Kodaly training.

Dr. Laura Wiebe

Dr. Laura Wiebe enjoys a multifacted career as a singer, conductor, pianist, and music professor. Wiebe currently serves as director of Marin Oratorio and vocal instructor at the Collegeof Marin, and has served on the music faculties of Central Methodist University and Coe College.

Wiebe's singing career embraces diverse styles, ranging from performances with symphony orchestra to intimate jazz collaborations. As a mezzo-soprano, Wiebe's solo engagements include performances with the Missouri Symphony; the Marshall Philharmonic Orchestra (Missouri); the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra; Ensemble: Peripherie; and faculty recitals at Central Methodist University, Indian Hills Community College, and Coe College. Wiebe's professional choral work includes membership in the Minnesota Chorale and Magdala in Oxford, England.

Wiebe serves as editor of Recorded Sound Reviews for the ACDA Choral Journal.

Mack Wilberg

Mack Wilberg was appointed Music Director of The Tabernacle Choir in 2008, having served as Associate Music Director since 1999. He is a former professor of music at Brigham Young University, where he received his bachelor's degree; his master's and doctoral degrees are from the University of Southern California. Alongside Wilberg's conducting responsibilities he is active as a pianist, choral clinician, composer, arranger, and guest conductor throughout the United States and abroad. In addition to the many compositions he has written for The Tabernacle Choir, his works have been performed by artists such as Renee Fleming, Frederica von Stade, Bryn Terfel, Rolando Villazon, Deborah Voigt, and The King's Singers. Wilberg's arrangements and compositions are performed and recorded all over the world.

Sir David Willcocks

The English conductor, organist and music educator, Sir David Willcocks, began his musical training as a chorister at Westminster Abbey from 1929 to 1934. He was a music scholar at Clifton College, Bristol (1934-1938), and then the organ scholar at King's College, Cambridge (1939-1940). Following a five-year period of war military service, in which he was awarded the Military Cross, he returned to King's College for two years (1945-1947). He was elected a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and appointed Conductor of the Cambridge Philharmonic Society.

From 1947 to 1950 David Willcocks was the organist at Salisbury Cathedral and from 1950 to 1957 at Worcester Cathedral. During his years at Worcester he was principal conductor of the Three Choirs Festival (1951, 1954 and 1957) and conductor of the City of Birmingham Choir (1950-1957), with whom he gave his first British performance of Maurice Durufle's Requiem in 1952. From 1956 to 1974 he was also conductor of the Bradford Festival Choral Society. From 1957 to 1974 he was Director of Music at King's College, Cambridge, where he maintained the glorious tradition with distinction. He made numerous recordings that gained international popularity through television and radio.

Jonathan Willcocks

Jonathan Willcocks was born in Worcester, England, and after early musical training as a chorister at King's College Cambridge and an Open Music Scholar at Clifton College he took an Honours degree in Music from Cambridge University where he held a choral scholarship at Trinity College.

Jonathan is currently Musical Director of the Guildford Choral Society, the Chichester Singers and the professional chamber orchestra Southern Pro Musica, and freelance conducting and workshop engagements in recent seasons have taken him to many parts of the world including USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, China and most of the European countries as well as the United Kingdom.

Dawn Willis

Dawn Willis, Artistic Director and Founder of Bella Voce Women's Chorus, also serves as the Assistant Director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Chorus. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Music from Arizona State University and Masters degrees in Sacred Music and Choral Conducting from Southern Methodist University.

In 1999, Dr. Willis conducted the New England Symphonic Ensemble and the McMurry University Choirs in a performance of Mozart's Solemn Vespers at Carnegie Hall. She has also served as a guest conductor for the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra and prepared choruses for regional orchestras in Iowa and Texas. Dr. Willis has served as the Director of Choral Activities at McMurry University and Iowa Wesleyan College, and has conducted the University of Vermont Catamount Singers and Arizona State University Women's Chorus.

Shelly Winemiller

Shelly Winemiller is the conductor of the Bella Voce Young Women's Choir. She holds a Bachelor of Music Therapy degree from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Since her graduation, she has worked in several therapy settings with both young and old, including the Growing with Music program in Rochester, and has directed various church children's choirs.

Shelly sang for six seasons with the Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester as well as two years with the Minnesota Chorale. Her previous positions of conducting were held at Honors Choirs of Southeast Minnesota, where she conducted the Children's Chorus for two years and the Lyric Singers (women in grades 9-12) for five years. Under her direction the Lyric Singers doubled in size, performed at the Regional ACDA in Omaha in 2006 as well as for the MN ACDA Finale Concert in 2007 at Orchestra Hall, traveled to Great Britain in 2003 and to Oregon in 2006 for the Pacific International Children's Choir festival (PICCfest), where the choir was selected to perform at the Oregon Bach Festival concert series.

Randall N. Wolfe

Currently on the faculty of Sinclair Community College and Central State University, I am the conductor of the newly founded Schubert Chorale and the Schubert Boys Choir in northern Cincinnati.

My current teaching assignments include applied voice and piano, choral methods, advanced choral conducting, sight-singing, and music appreciation, and I serve as an assistant for collegiate choral ensembles and a staff accompanist. I have also taught class piano, choral literature and arranging, music theory, and voice class, and I maintain a private piano and voice studio in my home in Mason.

Having taught in the public schools, I served as music director and pianist for the Cincinnati Boychoir for 22 years, giving performances in 23 states and 4 foreign countries, with ensemble performances in 7 additional countries, and concerts by members serving in the Vienna Boys Choir in 24 additional countries.

Ralph B. Woodward

The son of an internationally renowned choral conductor, Ralph B. Woodward is an accomplished singer, horn player, composer and an authority on the care and development of the young voice. He has played in the American Wind Symphony, and also with the Rheinische Philharmonie and the Utah Symphony, performed with jazz greats, Chuck Mangione and J.J. Johnson, studied and recorded with horn virtuoso, Herman Baumann, and worked in close collaboration with pianist Grant Johannessen and folk singer Pete Seeger. His own considerable writing for the choir often reflects his extensive multi-cultural/lingual background in Europe and Latin America. In 1999 he was awarded special recognition for his teaching, arrangement, and conducting at the Golden Gate International Children's Festival and Competition.

Dr. Jerome Wright

Dr. Jerome Wright, Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus, possesses over fifty years of professional conducting, 27 of those years include his leadership of Seattle Girls' Choir. In the fall of 2009 he began the transition of leadership culminating in his retirement in January 2010. Not to worry, Dr. Wright will continue as an integral resource for the Seattle Girls' Choir's for years to come. (etc.) A native of the State of Washington, he received most of his musical education at the University of Washington, and majored at the graduate level in Symphonic Conducting under the late Stanley Chapple, while studying choral conducting with Rodney Eichenberger. He has five degrees, including two doctorates. He is a master artist-teacher who delights in seeing his students catch the spark of truly passionate, exciting, literate, creative music making. Dr. Wright has earned the respect of his colleagues because of his enthusiasm, energy, professionalism and musical results. In addition to his position with the Seattle Girls' Choir, he guest conducts festival choruses, and adjudicates and conducts master classes and workshops.

John Yarrington

Yarrington has written many articles for major journals relating to church music and especially the changing voice. His published compositions are with Augsburg-Fortress, Choristers Guild, and MorningStar. Books include Training the Youth Choir, Somebody's Got My Robe, and Somebody's Got My Hymnal. A new book, in progress, is entitled: Have We Had This Conversation?

Dr. Yarrington is the faculty representative to the athletic council and an avid basketball fan. He serves on the Admissions Committee as well.

In addition to his work at HBU, Yarrington directs the Chancel Choir of the First Presbyterian Choir. Previous positions in church music have included McFarlin memorial Methodist in Norman, Oklahoma; The First United Methodist Church of Dallas, Texas and Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church of Little Rock, Arkansas.

Brenda Zadorsky

Brenda Zadorsky (B.Mus. Hons, B.Ed W.C.A.M.) is a highly sought after voice teacher, clinician, adjudicator and soprano soloist. She co-founded the Amabile Youth Singers in 1985 and has won numerous honours for her artistic leadership. She has acted as a clinician and adjudicator at several national and international conferences over the years and has been a guest conductor for numerous choral organizations. Her extensive career as a music consultant and teacher with the Thames Valley District Board of Education spanned some 30 years before her retirement in June 2009. Prior to that, Brenda was choral director at the St. Mary Choir and Orchestra School and she also taught music education methodology for the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Music where she was awarded several certificates for outstanding teaching. Brenda received the Don Wright Scholarship for Vocal Music, and in 2002, she was presented with the Canadian Learning Tree Award. She is principal of the Zadorsky School of Music and over the years, her students have consistently won major scholarships at festivals as well as entrance scholarships into universities and have continued with performing careers in Canada and abroad.

Marv Zauderer

My experience of singing with people is an experience of a profound kind of connection, a collective effervescence. In the most magical of moments, veils of history fall away - persona, trauma, self-protection - and my soul meets other souls in a beautiful, mutual giving and receiving, carrying the words and feelings of the songs we are singing through that pure channel of meeting. No matter what the content of the songs is - hope, grief, fear, awe, shame, love, joy - I feel us singing our way into aliveness and I know I have come home.

To me, singing is a crucial part of the social infrastructure of our communities - as important as roads and bridges, for so many of us, for our feelings of connectedness, belonging, and well-being. With all the separations and separateness in our experience - between people, between groups, between us and so much of the more-than-human world - singing together can give us the experience of crossing any divide into an experience of resonant union, poignant interdependence, and what the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh called "interbeing.

Dr. Steve Zegree

Internationally was recognized as one of the most respected vocal jazz conductors and educators in the world, Steve Zegree was active as a pianist, conductor, clinician, and adjudicator. His career as a pianist and conductor includes performances on five continents. Dr. Zegree is in demand as a pianist, clinician, adjudicator and conductor around the world. A renowned educator, his students are among today's leaders in jazz and pop performance, Broadway, recording studio production, writing, arranging, singing, and music education.