Conductors & Clinicians

BA, Music Education, St. Olaf College
MS, Choral Music Education, University of Illinois
DMA, Choral and Orchestral Conducting, Eastman School of Music
Additional study, Business, Pace University
Current residence: Point Pleasant, NJ

Celebrated conductor and entrepreneur Craig Arnold is the Founder, Artistic Director, and President of Manhattan Concert Productions and conductor of Manhattan Chorale and Chamber Orchestra.  He has music ministry and teaching experience at all levels, including Professor and  Director of Choral Activities positions at Luther College (2008 Emmy Award), Western Michigan University, and Capital University.  Arnold has served as guest conductor of concert performances, music festivals, and all-state choirs in most of the United States and a dozen countries abroad.  He also has been featured guest lecturer on topics of music, business, and leadership on college campuses, conferences, and seminars.  Arnold is from Brainerd, MN where he was recently inducted into the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. He is the father of two, grandfather of two, husband of one.  Not so guilty pleasure:  he is a water nut.

PET: Cooper (third Sheltie).

Daniel Bara is the John D. Boyd UGA Foundation Professor of Choral Music and the Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia where oversees seven university choral ensembles as well as the graduate choral conducting program. His university choirs have performed by juried invitation for state, regional, and national conventions of ACDA, MENC, and IMC. In spring of 2014 The UGA Hodgson Singers won the Grand Prix at the International Choral Competition Ave Verum in Baden, Austria and performed at the ACDA Southern Division Convention in Jacksonville, FL. His former MM and DMA conducting students now hold collegiate conducting appointments at Susquehanna University, New England Conservatory, Miami University of Ohio, University of Idaho, William Jewell College, as well as heads of church and school choral music programs throughout the country.
Prior to his appointment at UGA, Dr. Bara was the Director of Choral Activities at East Carolina University, where he received the UNC Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award and the Robert L. Jones Award for Outstanding Teaching, and released two internationally distributed choral recordings, Greater Love (2007) and Eternal Light (2010) with Gothic Records. In 2001was a winner of the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize given at the Eastman School of Music, and the ACDA National Student Conducting Competition (Graduate Division) awarded at the National Convention in San Antonio, TX.

Dr. Bara is a past-president of NC-ACDA, has held the Artistic Directorship of the New York State Summer School of the Arts – School of Choral Studies (2007-2009), and has served as conductor of the World Youth Honor Choir at Interlochen Arts Camp (2004-2006). He is in regular demand as a guest conductor and clinician, having conducted all-state and honor choirs in 17 states and Carnegie Hall, and has served as clinician for conferences sponsored by ACDA, AGO, and other school and church musical organizations.

Dr. Bara holds the DMA degree in conducting from the Eastman School of Music, organ and conducting degrees from the University of Michigan, and is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy. He is the Repertoire and Standards Chair for Youth and Student Activities for the Southern Division Chapter of ACDA and has served on conference planning committees for the 2012 and 2016 Southern Division conferences. At UGA, Dr. Bara conducts the UGA Hodgson Singers, the University Chorus, and oversees the graduate conducting student recital choir, The Repertory Singers.

Called one of the most exciting and exhilarating voices in music education today, Peter Loel Boonshaft has been invited to speak and conduct in every state in the nation and around the world. Honored by the National Association for Music Education and Music For All as the first recipient of the “George M. Parks Award for Leadership in Music Education," Dr. Boonshaft is Director of Education for Jupiter Band Instruments. He is the author of the critically acclaimed best-selling books Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise. He is also co-author of Alfred Music’s method book series Sound Innovations. As well, his weekly “Boonshaft’s Blog” for music educators continues to inspire teachers everywhere. He has received official proclamations from the Governors of five states and a Certificate of Appreciation from former President Ronald Reagan, as well as performing for former President and Mrs. George H. W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton, and for Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His honors also include being selected three times as a National Endowment for the Arts "Artist in Residence,” three times awarded Honorary Life Membership in the Tri-M Music Honor Society, receiving the Al G. Wright Award of Distinction from the Women Band Directors International, and being selected for the Center for Scholarly Research and Academic Excellence at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, where he is Professor Emeritus of Music.

Dr. Brandon A. Boyd enjoys a versatile career as a conductor, in addition to appearing regularly as a composer-in-residence, collaborative pianist, and presenter for conferences, conventions, collegiate choirs, church choirs, choral symposiums, and festivals. He is the Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Choral Music Education at the University of Missouri, where he conducts MU University Singers and Choral Union. In addition to his conducting duties at the university, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in choral conducting and choral music education. He holds two degrees from Florida State University (Ph.D. in choral music education and M.M. in choral conducting) and earned a B.S. in music education (emphasis in piano) from Tennessee State University.

René Clausen is an American composer and conductor. Described as ‘eloquent,’ ‘subtle and thought-provoking,’ Clausen’s music is known for its dramatic, emotional sweep and highly sensitive approach to text setting.

Clausen’s catalogue includes dozens of commissioned works for chorus, orchestra, chorus with orchestra, wind band and the stage. Notable large format works include the 9/11 tribute MEMORIAL and the evening-length oratorio The Passion of Jesus Christ. Notable a cappella works include Mass for double choir (featured on the Kansas City Chorale’s Grammy-winning Life and Breath: Choral Works by René Clausen), and the choral cantata A New Creation, which includes ‘Set Me as a Seal,’ performed widely by choirs of all ability levels of across the country.

In addition to composition, Clausen is increasingly well known as a guest conductor of the major literature for choir and orchestra. At Carnegie Hall he has guest conducted the Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, Mozart Requiem and Mass in C Minor, together with the New York premiere of three of his own works, Gloria, Whispers of Heavenly Death, and Communion. Other major choral/orchestral works he has conducted include the Poulenc Gloria, Vaughan Williams Hodie, Beethoven Mass in C Major and Choral Fantasy, and Fauré Requiem.

Clausen was conductor of the internationally renowned Concordia Choir from 1986-2020. Prior to his appointment as conductor of The Concordia Choir, Clausen was director of choral activities at West Texas State University, Canyon, and assistant professor of choral music at Wichita (Kan.) State University. He also served as senior editor of Mark Foster Music Company and as interim conductor of the National Lutheran Choir of Minneapolis.

BM, Western Michigan University, Music Education
MM, Butler University, Conducting
Hometown: Marshall, MI
Current residence: Hightstown, NJ

An accomplished conductor, Brian Clissold has had great success specializing in community-based choirs throughout the Midwest. He was recently appointed as Artistic Director of the Hopewell Valley Chorus (Hopewell, NJ) and previously served as the Artistic Director of The Celebration Singers (Cranford, NJ). As a baritone, he is a founding member of the professional New York based ensemble, Manhattan Chorale. He performs regularly in renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall and has sung numerous roles in oratorios, masses, and operas.  He has also been a frequent clinician and adjudicator in Michigan, Indiana, New Jersey, and New York.

Prior to moving to the Northeast, Brian led the Vivace Youth Singers of Fort Wayne (IN), the Fort Wayne Children’s Choir, and the Fort Wayne Youth Symphony. From 2008 to 2010, Brian worked with the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, establishing and conducting the Lebanon (IN) Regional Satellite Choir and working closely with Henry Leck and Ruth Dwyer. For 11 years, he served the Music Center of South Central Michigan as conductor of both the Battle Creek Girls’ Chorus and Community Chorus where he prepared numerous choral-orchestral works for performance.

Dr. Erin Colwitz has been Director of Choral Activities at Northern Michigan University since August 2015, where she conducts the Arts Chorale and the University Choir. Under her leadership, NMU choirs have toured Finland, Austria, and Poland, as well as various venues in the United States. She is also Music Director of the Marquette Choral Society.

Dr. Colwitz is a frequent guest conductor, lecturer, contest adjudicator and choral clinician throughout the United States. As a clinician and lecturer, Dr. Colwitz presents at conferences at the state, regional, national, and international levels, including at the Athens Institute of Research. In 2014, Dr. Colwitz served as guest conductor and clinician at a collegiate choral festival in Bangkok and Chiangmai, Thailand, with conductor William Dehning under the auspices of the US Embassy.

She is currently President-Elect of the Michigan state chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, and she has served ACDA as the AL-ACDA Repertoire & Standards Chair for Community Choirs and Youth and Student Activities. Dr. Colwitz is also a member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO), the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM), the College Music Society (CMS), Delta Kappa Gamma and the Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Society.

Before coming to Michigan, Dr. Colwitz served as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. While there, her choirs toured domestically and twice internationally and were selected to sing at the Alabama state music education conference. She received numerous grants to fund research in choral music, including from the UAH Humanities Center to fund British composer Tarik O'Regan’s residency. As a result, Dr. Colwitz’s choirs performed the U.S. premiere of O’Regan’s Martyr and the world premiere of his new arrangement of Triptych. Another grant brought Dr. Colwitz to South Africa for research on the African church music tradition in rural areas.

Dr. Colwitz earned her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Southern California in choral music, studying conducting with William Dehning, David Wilson, Magen Solomon, and Claire McCoy. At USC, she was awarded a full teaching assistantship as conductor of the Thornton Oriana Choir, the University’s only women’s chorus, a post she held for three years. She also sang with the award-winning Thornton Chamber Choir, including tours in France, Belgium, and East Asia.

Dr. Colwitz’s doctoral treatise was a critical analysis of Dominick Argento’s A Toccata of Galuppi’s. This twelve-tone work was part of the 2003 Grammy-nominated recording of Argento’s music, Walden Pond, by the Dale Warland Singers, for which Dr. Colwitz herself sang as a member. While with that ensemble, she performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of Robert Shaw, Edo de Waart, and Hugh Wolff.

Dr. Colwitz served as a member of the choral music faculty at California State University, Fullerton, where she conducted the women’s choir and taught music education courses. She was also Director of Music at St. Victor Catholic Church in West Hollywood; sang regularly with John Alexander and the Pacific Chorale in Santa Ana; and sang with the Pacific Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the batons of Carl St. Clair, Giancarlo Guerrero, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Gustavo Dudamel.

Conductor Douglas Droste is recognized as possessing "obvious joy" for making music and a "sure sense of timing" when on the podium. Those under his baton routinely acknowledge his in-depth interpretations, keen sense of communication and personable ability to empower musicians.

Droste’s guest conducting appearances include the INSO-Lviv Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine), and the orchestras of Kansas City, Indianapolis, Columbus, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Midland-Odessa, Fox Valley (IL), Chappaqua (NY), and the Amarillo Virtuosi. Equally at home in the pit, he has conducted over 30 productions of opera, ballet and musical theatre. Droste has also led eclectic shows with artists such as Black Violin, Ben Folds, The Flaming Lips, Pink Martini, Michael Cavanaugh, Time for Three, Christian Howes, and Disney’s All-American College Orchestra Alumni, among others. He previously served as artistic director of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra, where he was praised for dynamic performances, innovative programming and his rapport with musicians and community.

A dedicated teacher, Droste is director of orchestral studies at the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Performing Arts, where he conducts the Baldwin Wallace Symphony Orchestra and teaches conducting. He regularly programs traditional repertoire, works by underrepresented composers, as well as new music by the composers of today. He also seeks unique collaborations and projects, such as Ron McCurdy’s Langston Hughes Project, sensory friendly concerts for children with special needs, and a recording with Tony Award winner Sutton Foster, "Take Me to the World," on the Ghostlight label.

As an advocate of music education, Droste has conducted numerous all-state orchestras, as well as the Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House, Let Music Live Festival at the Vienna Musikverein and Rodolfinum in Prague, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, and French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts. He is also active as a clinician and adjudicator, including Festival Disney, ASTA’s National Orchestra Festival, MCP at Carnegie Hall and the Music for All National Festival. Droste is a Yamaha Artist and Master Educator.

A talented violinist, Droste has performed with the orchestras of Canton, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Nashville, and the Lancaster Festival, among others. He is also skilled on viola, trumpet, and as a tenor. Droste holds degrees from The Ohio State University and Texas Tech University.

Dr. Derrick Fox is the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Creative Endeavors and a Professor of Choral Conducting at Michigan State University. Prior to MSU, he was the Director of Choral Activities and Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Assistant Professor of Choral Music at Ithaca College. Dr. Fox has taught at the middle school, high school and collegiate levels. His conducting experiences have included singers from upper elementary choirs through collegiate and community choirs. He was awarded the 2021 Bryan R. Johnson Service Award by the Nebraska Music Educators Association and the 2022 University of Nebraska Omaha Award for Distinguished Research/Creative Activity.

Dr. Fox has conducted all state and regional choirs across the United States, led international, national and regional choral concerts/residencies and presented professional development workshops across the United States and internationally. His professional workshops focus on assessment in the choral classroom, building classroom community, rehearsal strategies, choral conducting techniques and shape note singing in the African American community. Dr. Fox has held teaching residencies at the Latvian Academy of Music and Syracuse University and led performance tours through Lithuania and Estonia. Dr. Fox conducted the 2019 National ACDA Middle School/Junior High Mixed Honor Choir and traveled to South Africa as a 2019 ACDA International Conductor Exchange Fellow where he led choral workshops and rehearsals in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Potchefstroom.

Alex Gartner is the Artistic & Executive Director of the Pensacola Children’s Chorus (PCC). Under his leadership since 2016, PCC’s programs have expanded to include 14 unique choirs and unique musical initiatives that spread music throughout Northwest Florida and Southwest Alabama through innovative means of performance, creativity, and collaboration. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Gartner previously served as the Assistant Director of the Cincinnati Youth Choir. He is an active composer, clinician, and conductor. He has led all-state and regional honor choirs and led presentations throughout the United States, and his choirs have performed in esteemed concert halls across the country and internationally in China, Italy, Costa Rica, and Ireland. A prominent advocate for the arts in the United States, he presently serves on the national Advocacy & Collaboration Standing Committee of the American Choral Directors Association and previously served on the Arts Education Advisory Committee for Americans for the Arts. He is the co-author of The Business of Choir: A Choral Leader’s Guide for Organizational Growth, a resource for choir directors who seek to expand the scope and scale of their choral programs. Mr. Gartner earned his Master of Music in Music Education from the University of Florida, where he conducted research to identify successful methods to develop musicianship within the performance-driven environments among successful and respected children's and youth choirs. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he graduated summa cum laude and was the recipient of the 2012 John Leman Award for Outstanding Choral Leadership. He also holds a certificate in Arts & Culture Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice. Mr. Gartner has been recognized by Pensacola’s Inweekly as a Rising Star in 2017 and as Best Community Leader in 2023.

Michael Hanawalt is the Director of Graduate Choral Studies at Florida State University, where he conducts the Chamber Choir, teaches graduate courses in conducting and choral literature, and serves as Artistic Director for the Tallahassee Community Chorus. Previous appointments include Director of Choral Activities at Wichita State University, Chorus Director at the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, and Visiting Instructor of Music at St. Olaf College.

Hanawalt is a founding member of the professional male vocal ensemble Cantus, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Throughout his eleven-year tenure with the organization, he recorded twelve CDs, participated in 200 educational outreach events, and performed in or oversaw the booking of over 500 concerts, including collaborations with the King’s Singers, the Boston Pops, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra. He also served for six years as Cantus’ Executive Director, overseeing its growth through organizational management, fundraising, and board development.

Active as a conductor and tenor soloist, Hanawalt has conducted choirs and honor choirs in and from Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, as well as the Czech Republic, Portugal, and Puerto Rico. His choirs have appeared at conventions of the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) and the American Choral Directors Association’s (ACDA) Southern Region. Past solo engagements include the Evangelist in J. S. Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with the Bethany College Messiah Festival of the Arts, as well as tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and in Mozart’s Requiem with the Tarleton State University choirs and orchestra and at Westfield State University in Massachusetts.

Hanawalt’s choral arrangements are published by Boosey & Hawkes, Colla Voce, the Niel. A Kjos Music Company, and Alfred Music. His setting of “Amazing Grace” has been performed at two national conventions of the American Choral Director’s Association, and his arrangement of “Loch Lomond” is featured on the Cantus recording, Let Your Voice Be Heard.

Hanawalt holds the B.M. in Vocal Performance from St. Olaf College, the M.M. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, and the PhD in Choral Music Education from Florida State University. He is the recipient of a 2024 award for Outstanding Graduate Teaching from Florida State University and the 2016 Mickey and Pete Armstrong Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Wichita State University College of Fine Arts.

Jamie Hillman is an American and Canadian musician, active as a conductor, singer, pianist, music educator, and composer. He holds the endowed Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting at the University of Toronto where he is Director of Choral Studies and an Associate Professor. He conducts the U of T MacMillan Singers and leads the master's and doctoral programs in Choral Conducting, as well as the annual summer Choral Conducting Symposium. He is also cross listed as an adjunct faculty member in Emmanuel College's Master of Sacred Music program.

In Fall 2022, Hillman began an additional role as Associate Conductor and Director of Community Engagement of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

Prior to relocating to Toronto in 2021, Hillman served on the faculties of Boston University Metropolitan College/Prison Education Program, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Gordon College, Kodály Music Institute, and Longy School of Music of Bard College. As a Boston University Prison Arts Scholar, Hillman co-initiated an innovative vocal music program in the Massachusetts prison system.

Dr. Hillman is an examiner for Conservatory Canada and has adjudicated, guest conducted, performed, and presented at conferences throughout the United States and Canada, and in Brazil, France, India, Indonesia, Portugal, and Taiwan. He has led All-State, festival, or honor choirs in Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ontario, Rhode Island, Taiwan, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. Most recently he conducted two national festival choruses at Carnegie Hall. He returns to Carnegie Hall in 2025 with Manhattan Concert Productions. Hillman has conducted world premieres by Shireen Abu Khader, Matthew Emery, Qiushi Jiang, and Sarah Quartel, among others.

Hillman is the curator and editor of The Jamie Hillman Choral Series published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing. His co-editorial work includes numerous editions of Arabic, Asian, Latin American, and Western choral pieces published by Earthsongs and Hinshaw Music. Choral pedagogical curriculum that he has written with composer Dan Forrest is published by Beckenhorst Press. He is also co-editor of Beckenhorst Press’ Concert Series.

Dr. Hillman earned an associate diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto) and degrees from Western University (London, Canada), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Boston University where he studied with Ann Howard Jones. Hillman is the 2012 laureate of the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting from the Ontario Arts Council.

Jefferson Johnson is Director of Choral Activities at the University of Kentucky where he conducts the University Chorale and Men's Chorus. He also teaches advanced choral conducting, choral methods and literature, and directs the graduate program (MM and DMA degrees) in choral music. A native of Atlanta, Johnson received the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Georgia (magna cum laude, 1978), the Master of Music from the University of Tennessee (1981), and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Colorado (1992), where in 2017 he was the third recipient of the “Distinguished Choral Alumnus Award.” While living in Atlanta, Johnson was a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus conducted by Robert Shaw.

University of Kentucky choirs under Johnson’s direction have performed at more than twenty conventions of choral music educators, including national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO), Music Educators National Conference (MENC), and Intercollegiate Male Choruses (IMC). In March of 2017 Johnson’s graduate student, Cameron Weatherford, won first place in the ACDA National Conducting Competition. In December of 2013 the acoUstiKats, a select ensemble from the UK Men’s Chorus, were chosen as finalists on NBC’s a cappella competition “The Sing Off.”

Johnson is presently Music Director of the Lexington Singers. The 180-voice multi-generational community chorus annually performs major works with orchestras. The Singers have toured internationally, most recently to South Africa, Spain, Brazil, France, Italy, and Austria. In 2000 the chorus performed Mozart’s Requiem with the Vienna Mozart Orchestra in the famous Hofburg Palace and sang the evening mass at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. In 2003 the chorus performed in St. Marks Cathedral in Venice and sang mass at St. Peters Basilica in Vatican City. In 1999 the Lexington Singers celebrated its 40th anniversary with a performance in New York City as Johnson made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the Singers and orchestra in Faure’s Requiem. The Lexington Singers returned to Carnegie Hall in 2014 for an acclaimed performance with bluegrass super group “Dailey and Vincent.”

His instructional video "Ready...Set...Sing!" is published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing and has been featured at music educators’ conventions from Ohio to Hawaii. Johnson has an editorial series with Hinshaw Music and National Music Publishers. The University of Kentucky choral program is featured in a book called “Rehearsing the Choir.” His article The What, Why, and How of Young Adult Male Choirs appeared in the Choral Journal in 2012. Johnson maintains an active schedule as an adjudicator and guest conductor for high school and collegiate choirs throughout the United States. He has conducted honor choruses in 33 states and has appeared as a featured clinician at ACDA or NAfME conventions in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Dr. Deanna Joseph is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at the Georgia State University School of Music where she conducts the University Singers and leads the master’s program in choral conducting. In 2015, she was the recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Outstanding Teacher Award at Georgia State, where she was selected out of a pool of over 800 faculty.A recent review of her work states, “the choir sings with great musicality, excellent intonation, clear diction, and a healthy and beautiful pallet of tone colors…” (The Choral Scholar).

Dr. Joseph’s research in the area of 19th-century choral-orchestral performance-practice has led to invited presentations on the topic at several division conferences of the American Choral Director’s Association and at the national convention for the National Collegiate Choral Organization. In October of 2012, she was selected as one of 25 presenters from ten countries to speak at the Lund Choral Festival in Sweden.

Prior to her appointment at Georgia State University, Dr. Joseph served on the faculties at Smith College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Deanna Joseph holds conducting degrees from the Eastman School of Music. She is the founder and co-artistic director of the Atlanta Summer Conducting Institute, a conducting master class that draws conductors from across the country.

Wes Kenney is in his 21st season as Music Director of the Fort Collins (Colorado) Symphony and is now Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University after retiring as Director of Orchestras in May 2023. Maestro Kenney concluded his tenure after conducting two critically acclaimed performances of the Mahler Symphony No. 3. In 2022, he was named a University Distinguished Professor, the highest honor the university can award. During 2020, he was honored as an American Prize Winner in the following categories: Best Orchestral Performance in the Professional Orchestra Division, Honored Artist, and Programming. He was the 2020 Ernst Bacon Memorial Prize winner for excellence in the performance of American Music, and received the 2007 Grand Prize Winner at Bulgaria’s Varna International Conducting Competition.

Wes Kenney also just completed his tenth and final season with Denver Young Artist Orchestra—the premier youth orchestra in the State of Colorado. He directed that orchestra on two European tours and anchored two festivals at Carnegie Hall. In June of 2023, he led DYAO on tour to Southern California where the audience responded with a standing ovation at Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Mr. Kenney’s guest conducting credits include: the Acadiana Symphony (LA), Alabama Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Dubuque Symphony, Lafayette (IN) Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, Richmond Symphony (VA), Riverside Symphonia, Savannah Symphony (GA), and the Virginia Symphony. His international guest conducting includes performances with the Liev Philharmonic (Ukraine), Changwon Philharmonic (South Korea), Vietnam National Symphony (Hanoi), Vidin State Philharmonic, Stara Zagora Opera Company (Bulgaria) and the Edinburgh Music Festival (Scotland).

Kenney has enjoyed success directing opera, ballet, and musical theater. Previous positions include: Music Director of Opera Fort Collins, Music Director of the Virginia Ballet Theater, Co-Principal Conductor of the Oakland Lyric Opera, and Guest Conductor with Universal Ballet Korea. Since 2004 he has conducted much of the major opera repertoire, notably two productions of Puccini’s Turandot, the twin bill of Pagliacci and Cavalleria Rusticana, La Boheme, Carmen, Otello, Tosca, Barber of Seville, Madame Butterfly, Rigoletto, Cenerentola, Die Zauberflote, Die Fledermaus, La Traviata, Falstaff, Turandot, Marriage of Figaro, Aida, Don Giovanni, and Tenderland. In addition, he has conducted over two hundred performances of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Firebird, and many other dance works.

In six seasons as the Virginia Symphony’s Associate Conductor, Kenney appeared more than 350 times with that orchestra where he was responsible for programming and conducting Pops, Family and Young People’s Concerts. In addition, he was Invited to guest conduct the Williamsburg Symphonia, Virginia Chorale, Norfolk Chamber Consort and Virginia Waterfront International Arts Festival.

Named 2008 Educator of the Year by the Colorado Chapter of the American String Teachers Association, Kenney has served as Guest Conductor with the Alabama, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Virginia All-State Orchestras. Awarded the prestigious Carmen Dragon Conducting Prize in 1992, Wes Kenney is a founder of the CSU Summer Master of Music Education (now in its 15th year) which has an emphasis in conducting. He has been a guest lecturer at the Conductor’s Institute held at Bard College in upstate New York, teaching alongside the late Harold Farberman and American Symphony Orchestra Music Director Leon Botstein.

Mr. Kenney is a past president of the Conductors Guild, a 2000-member service organization to the conducting profession. He currently is on its advisory board. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and San Francisco State University. Additional studies include three years as a fellow at the Conductors Institute, several American Symphony Orchestra League and Conductors Guild Workshops, and the Sandpoint Festival. His teachers include Harold Farberman, Hans Beer, Gunther Schuller, Hans Swarovsky and Miltiardes Carides.

Melissa Trevino Keylock serves as Artistic Director and Program Manager of the San Diego North Coast Singers. She taught eleven years at the Princeton Girlchoir, and previously worked at the American Boychoir School, Rider University, and the Indianapolis Children's Choir. She has taught public and private school, and throughout her career, Melissa has served in state and regional leadership positions with the American Choral Directors Association. She holds an undergraduate degree from Wheaton College and a Master of Music from Butler University, where she studied with Henry Leck, and directed the Butler University Women's Glee Club. Melissa completed her Kodály studies at Capital University and is listed in Who's Who in American Women. She is a Yoga Alliance certified yoga teacher and group fitness instructor. She and co-writer Jill Friedersdorf have published over thirty compositions with Chorister’s Guild, ECS Publishing Group, Colla Voce, ICC Publishing, and Hal Leonard Publishing.

Mrs. Keylock was honored to guest conduct at the Ohio All-State, Midwest Regional ACDA Children’s Choir, Georgia All-State, North Carolina All-State 6th Grade, ILMEA District 9 Junior High, NY ACDA NYSSMA, PMEA District 7 Song Fest, Kentucky All-State Children’s Chorus, NJ Elementary Honor Choir, CNJ Intermediate Jr High, Youth Creating Harmony, Norman (OK) Children’s Choir Festival, Maryland Young Voices, Piedmont Invitational, Howard County Gifted & Talented Festival, Music in the Parks adjudicator, Bucks County Music Festival, Fellowship of American Baptist Musicians (WI), Let Freedom Sing National Girlchoir Festival, 1st Coast Honors Choir Festival, NC Sings!, Philadelphia Festival of Young Musicians, Appleton Boychoir clinic, Pennsylvania Elementary Song Fest, 7 regions of Circle the State With Song in Indiana, and serve as Artist in Residence at The Peck School. Upcoming engagements include NY-ACDA in August 2025, 1st Coast Honors Choir Festival in January 2026, and Manhattan Concert Productions at Carnegie Hall, March 2026.

Dr. Rebecca B. MacLeod is Professor of Music Education and Daniel J. Perrino Endowed Chair in Music at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she teaches string education and conducts the University of Illinois Philharmonia Orchestra. Her research on working with underserved populations, vibrato technique, music teacher education, and music perception has been presented at the International Conference of Music Perception and Cognition, Music Research and Human Behavior International Conference, International Society for Music Education, National Association for Music Education National Conference, American String Teachers National Conference, Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, Society for Music Teacher Education, and music educators state conferences.

Dr. MacLeod is author of Teaching Strings in Today’s Classroom and coauthor of Clifford K. Madsen’s Contributions to Music Education and Music Therapy: Love of Learning. She is also a contributing author to Teaching Instrumental Music: Perspectives and Pedagogies for the 21st Century, Rehearsing the Middle School Orchestra, and Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra. Her research is published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, International Journal of Music Education, Bulletin for the Council of Research in Music Education, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, String Research Journal, Psychology of Music, The Strad, American String Teachers Journal, and various state music education journals. She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Research in Music Education, the String Research Journal, and as guest reviewer for the International Journal of Research in Music Education. She has received the UNCG Junior Research Excellence Award and the Researcher Award from the American String Teachers Association.

In demand as a guest conductor and clinician, Dr. MacLeod has conducted region and all state orchestras in over 20 states. She enjoys expanding musical boundaries by incorporating a variety of cultures and styles into the orchestra and has premiered collaborations such as The Glass, Electric Guitar Concert by Demir Demirkan; Love Me and Fly for Folk Band and String Orchestra by El Rich; and At the Purchaser’s Option by Rhiannon Giddens featuring banjo, fiddle, and vocalist; among others.

Prior to joining the UIUC faculty, she was Professor of Music Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for 18 years. She is recipient of the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award, the UNCG School of Music, Theatre and Dance Outstanding Teaching Award, and a semifinalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award.

During her early career, Dr. MacLeod taught elementary, middle, and high school orchestras in Hollidaysburg and Beaver, Pennsylvania. She received her undergraduate degree from Duquesne University and her MME and PhD from Florida State University.

Dr. MacLeod currently serves as immediate past president for the American String Teachers Association.

Conductor-teacher Kristina Caswell MacMullen has devoted her career to sharing music and inspiration with students and audiences. Her collaborations with fellow musicians continue to confirm her abiding hope for the future and an unflagging belief in the power of choral music.

Currently, MacMullen serves as the Mary Gibbs Jones Chair of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Baylor University. She conducts the Baylor A Cappella Choir, Chamber Singers, and leads the graduate program in choral conducting. Prior to her appointment at BU, MacMullen served on the faculties of the University of North Texas and The Ohio State University. Her interdisciplinary work earned her the Sir William Osler Award at OSU and the President’s Special Recognition Award at UNT. MacMullen has also been recognized by TCDA for her innovation in programming.

MacMullen believes that great potential lies in choral performance and creative communication. She strives to guide her students, as they desire to make an impact for good. Creative projects include interdisciplinary performances addressing human trafficking, the Kubler-Ross stages of grief, play theory, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, archetype exploration, belonging, American song, civic engagement, and the nature of tears.

As an active adjudicator and clinician, MacMullen has conducted All-State and honors choirs throughout the United States. She has presented and co-presented interest sessions at state, regional, national and international conferences. Her teaching and conducting is featured on the DVD Conducting-Teaching: Real World Strategies for Success published by GIA (2009). Her editions are published by Boosey & Hawkes, Musicatus Press, and MusicSpoke.

MacMullen earned both the Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degrees from Michigan State University. She completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Texas Tech University. MacMullen has enjoyed a diverse career as a public-school teacher, interacting with students in rural, suburban, and urban settings, elementary through high school. She also sings with the professional ensemble Mirabai.

A Southern California native, Rayvon T. J. Moore, is a conductor, educator, and baritone who has been lauded for his energetic, yet sensitive conducting and his rich baritone voice. Moore serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Friends University and as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Wichita Chamber Chorale. At Friends, he conducts the internationally renowned Singing Quakers, in addition to teaching courses in conducting, choral methods, and applied voice.

In 2023 Moore was recognized by the Wichita Business Journal being listed as 40 UNDER 40 recognizing his work at Friends University, community involvement, and arts leadership. He has appeared as a guest conductor/music director with local companies such as the Forum Theatre and Crown Arts Collaborative, as well as serving as the chorus master for the Wichita Grand Opera’s production of LA BOHÉME.

As a conductor he has won numerous awards including the 2024 American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for American Music, Pacific Chorale’s Elliot and Kathleen Alexander Memorial Award, Mu Phi Epsilon’s Foncannon Grant, and others.

Being a versatile performer, he has sung back up for The Rolling Stones, Barry Manilow, Patti Austin, Andrea Bocelli, Kathleen Battle and Deborah Voigt. Moore can be heard on the album “John Williams & Steven Spielberg: The Ultimate Collection” recorded with Sony Classical. He has sung under the baton of Helmuth Rilling, John Williams, Jeffery Kahane, Carl St. Clair, James Conlon, Grant Gershon, Marvin Hamlisch and others. As a conductor/soloist, he has premiered works by composers such as Christopher Tin, Stacey V. Gibbs, Seth Houston and many more.

His conducting mentors include William Weinert, Robert Istad, Donald Brinegar, Brad Lubman, Joel Pressman, Jo-Michael Scheibe, Cristian Grases, Mark Scatterday, and Neil Varon. As a conducting fellow at several programs, Moore has worked with Ann HowardJones, John Alexander, Jerry Blackstone, David Hayes, and Daniel Bara, He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Choral Music from the University of Southern California, a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from California State University, Fullerton, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from the Eastman School of Music.

He has held faculty positions at Colgate University, Hamilton, NY; Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY; The Young Musicians Foundation, Los Angeles, CA; The Saturday Conservatory of Music, Pasadena; CA and Esperanza Azteca Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles. He has also served as Associate Conductor of the Eastman-Rochester Chorus and Chorale, Assistant Conductor for California State University Fullerton's Opera, Concert Choir and Women's Choir, as well as the Assistant Conductor of the Donald Brinegar Singers.

Moore is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, National Collegiate Choral Organization, the National Association for Music Education, and is sought after as a guest conductor, clinician, speaker, and adjudicator.

Rayvon T. J. Moore is grateful to his grandparents, Rev. John A. and Sheila J. Moore and Shirley Kleinpeter for their love and for being extraordinary role models. He is married to Brittany, who is a registered nurse, and they reside in Wichita, KS with their fur-babies Chester (mini poodle) and Winnie (cavapoo).

Dr. Yoojin Muhn is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), where she leads a dynamic choral program, conducts the UTSA Chamber Singers, and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in choral conducting. She also serves as the Music Director of the San Antonio Mastersingers, a premier 120-voice volunteer chorus representing the greater San Antonio area.

Dr. Muhn is widely recognized for her artistry as a clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator. She has led numerous honor choirs across Texas and beyond, including serving as a guest conductor for the Louisiana Music Educators Association (LMEA) All-State Choir. She has appeared on major stages such as Carnegie Hall, where she conducted Mozart’s Requiem with the New York City Chamber Orchestra as part of the Manhattan Concert Productions’ Masterwork Series. Under her direction, the UTSA Chamber Singers have earned invitations to perform at prestigious national and state conferences, including the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Conference and the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Conference.

Dr. Muhn earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music with honors from the University of Southern California, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music in Sacred Music (with distinction) from Westminster Choir College, and a Bachelor of Arts in Composition from SookMyung Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea.

Dr. Lee Nelson holds the Patricia R. Zahn Chair in choral conducting and serves as the director of choral activities at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Nelson conducts the Wartburg Choir and Ritterchor (tenor/bass choir) and teaches choral literature, beginning conducting and advanced conducting courses at Wartburg College. He also serves as the artistic director of Christmas with Wartburg. Wartburg College recognized Nelson’s work as an educator by awarding him the John O. Chellevold Award for Excellence in Teaching and Service.

Under Dr. Nelson’s direction, the Wartburg Choir has performed at multiple ACDA conventions, including the 2017 National Convention, and at both the White House and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The Wartburg Choir was honored as the national winner of The American Prize, College/University Choir Division in 2017. Nelson has tours with the Wartburg Choir throughout the United States every year, and they have sung in 12 different countries over the last 12 years. On the most recent international tour, a television production of “The Wartburg Choir in Germany: Celebrating 500 years of Reformation” was taped and shown worldwide. Internationally renowned composer Morten Lauridsen praised Nelson and the Wartburg Choir’s performance of his “O Magnum Mysterium” stating: “It was in the top echelon of any performance of that piece by any choir that I have ever heard.”

A highly sought-after conductor, clinician and adjudicator, Nelson has directed all state and honor choirs throughout the United States and internationally. He has been invited to conduct at Carnegie Hall on multiple occasions. Earlier in his career, Nelson won the National ACDA Graduate Conducting Competition in Los Angeles, and he received the Outstanding Young Choral Conductor of the Year, awarded by ACDA of Minnesota.

A champion of contemporary music, Nelson regularly commissions and performs new works of choral literature. ECS Publishing distributes the Lee Nelson Choral Series both nationally and internationally.

Chad Nicholson is the Director of Bands at the University of Arizona School of Music where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and leads the graduate program in wind conducting. He is also the Principal Guest Conductor of the Beijing Wind Orchestra, China’s first professional wind ensemble. He will be serving as a faculty member at the Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo next spring.
Nicholson has impacted students and teachers around the world. He was an adjudicator for the All-Chinese Wind Band Contest and has conducted groups in Tokyo, Taipei, and Shanghai. He has led ensembles at China's National Centre for Performing Arts and at the Beijing Concert Hall. A new edition of his book, Great Music for Wind Band, has been translated into Mandarin and will be released later this year. Dr. Nicholson published a series of video masterclasses, Pro Tips for Band Directors, with the online learning platform Forward Motion. The University of Arizona Wind Ensemble recently released an album, Joy and Monsters: The Music of Joel Love, through SoundSet Records.
Nicholson has served as an All-State conductor and clinician at many international events, including the Taiwan Band Clinic, the Western International Band Clinic, the NAfME National In-Service, and sessions at three Midwest Clinics.
Nicholson holds degrees from the University of Oklahoma (BME), New Mexico State University (MM), and Indiana University (DM).

Active as a conductor, string pedagogue, and editor, Chung Park teaches at St. Olaf College, leading the St. Olaf and Philharmonia Orchestras and teaching courses in conducting. He has also led orchestra programs at the University of Central Florida, Appalachian State University, Idaho State University and the University of North Dakota. Dr. Park regularly leads clinics and honor orchestras nationwide, with recent and future engagements in California, Kansas, Florida, New York, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Bärenreiter-verlag has recently published his edition of J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites in a transcription for viola, the first such edition for the preeminent international publisher. Park earned his doctorate in instrumental conducting from the University of Miami, and holds M.M. degrees in orchestral conducting (University of Illinois) and viola performance (Western Michigan University), and a B.M. in viola performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music.

A lifelong learner, he has continued his education through activities that include studying Dalcroze-Eurythmics, staying abreast of the latest cognitive research, working with master pedagogues such as Marianne Ploger and attending seminars on diversifying the repertoire at the Brevard Music Center. Dr. Park also spent a transformative semester in Hannover, Germany as a private student of Hatto Beyerle, founding violist of the Alban Berg Quartet. Dr. Park believes passionately that music and music education can be a powerfully positive force in a young person’s life and has dedicated a significant portion of his career to supporting music in public schools. He has served on advisory committees, has led several hundred clinics during his time in higher education, is a mentor to young teachers and a resource to established teachers.

Jason Paulk is Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM, where he conducts the University Singers, Chamber Singers, and Swanee Singers ensembles, and teaches beginning conducting, advanced conducting, and choral methods. His degrees include a DMA from the University of Oklahoma, MM in Conducting and MM in Music Education from Westminster Choir College, and BME from Stetson University. His primary conducting teachers and mentors were Duncan Couch, Joseph Flummerfelt, Dennis Shrock, Andrew Megill, Robert Shaw, Charles Nelson, Robert Fort, and Robert Rich.

Dr. Paulk was the winner of the 1997 ACDA National Student Conducting Competition and was awarded the 2014 Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching at Eastern New Mexico University. He was named New Mexico Music Educators Association Music Educator of the Year in 2023. Choirs under Jason’s direction have performed at state NAfME Conferences in Florida and New Mexico, the 2009 American Choral Directors Association National Convention, the 2018 National NAfME Conference, and for audiences throughout the United States, Europe, and China. Recent conducting engagements include the 2019 Kentucky All-State Collegiate Choir, TMEA All-Region Choirs, as well as feature performances in Carnegie Hall (2011, 2013, 2015, 2022), and numerous European tour performances (2007, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019). The ENMU Choirs and Alumni enjoyed a performance tour of Spain in the summer of 2022.

Jason is the National Collegiate Repertoire and Resources Chair for the American Choral Directors Association and editor of the Student Times monthly column in the Choral Journal of ACDA. He remains active as a scholar, having published numerous articles in the last decade. He has published a book chapter (in collaboration with Kayla Paulk and Jason Vest) in Nova Publishing’s “The Nurturing of Talent, Skills, and Abilities." Hal Leonard published his recent textbook, co-authored with Dr. Ryan Kelly, entitled Messiah: Warm-ups for Successful Performance. Two new book projects—a choral style guide and beginning conducting textbook.

Of all of Jason’s professional accomplishments, he takes the greatest pleasure in witnessing the growth of his students who are following their passions to become great singers, conductors, and music educators. He finds great satisfaction and joy in seeing his students teaching in their own classrooms, developing their own musical legacies, and learning to be servant leaders.

Timothy Peter is a professor of music at Stetson University. He is a native of Minnesota, received his undergraduate degree from Luther College and completed his doctorate of musical arts degree at the University of Arizona. Before coming to Stetson University, he was professor of music at Luther College and served as the head of the music department. He has been a high school choral director and church musician in Minnesota, Iowa, Arizona and Florida. Having joined the faculty of the Stetson University School of Music in the fall of 2012, Peter conducts the Stetson Concert Choir, which is the university's touring SATB ensemble, comprised of select upper-class singers.

Peter is involved in the American Choral Directors Association, having held positions as the divisional chair for repertoire and standards for college and universities and the state and divisional chair for men's choirs. His choirs have been selected to perform at the 2017 National ACDA Conference in Minneapolis and the 2011 National ACDA Conference in Chicago and at four Divisional NC-ACDA conventions held in Minneapolis, Minn., Sioux Falls, S.D. and Madison, Wis. He was a presenter at the 2015 National ACDA Conference in Salt Lake City, UT. His off-campus teaching, adjudicating and conducting includes numerous appearances as an all-state conductor and festival clinician in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Peter has prepared choirs and orchestras for performances at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, Singapore SAS Concert Hall, Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Orchestra Hall and Rockefeller Chapel in Chicago, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the Holland Center in Omaha, the TWA Center in St. Louis, the Overture Center in Madison, the Alamodome in San Antonio and the Seoul Foreign School Center for the Performing Arts. He has also conducted in Singapore, Germany, England, Namibia, Oman, South Africa and South Korea.

For the past nine years, Kenney Potter has served as Conductor and Artistic Director of the Charlotte Master Chorale. His choirs have received wide-spread acclaim including winning the Grand Prix for best choir in the Pärnu International Choral Festival in Pärnu, Estonia. As a performer, he has been a featured soloist in Carnegie Hall, and was choir soloist for the Grammy-winning Oregon Bach Festival choir as well as the International Bach Academy, conducted by Helmuth Rilling. Under his leadership, the Master Chorale has received critical acclaim for artistic excellence and creative programming. Committed to music education, he served as Professor of Music at Wingate University and is Vice President of Publications for ECS Publishing Group.

In addition to his work at with the Chorale, Dr. Potter serves as Choral Conductor at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. In demand as a clinician, he has conducted state-wide festival choirs for NAfME and ACDA in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia as well as in Nairobi, Kenya and Johannesburg, South Africa. He holds degrees from Florida State University, Portland State University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He resides in Charlotte with his wife, Heather, and their children, Syl and Calvin.

Dr. Rosephanye Powell is celebrated as one of America’s foremost women composers of choral music, earning widespread acclaim for her exceptional contributions to the art form. With a remarkable catalogue of works published by leading publishers like Hal Leonard Corporation, Gentry Publications, Oxford University Press, Alliance Music Publications, and Shawnee Press, her compositions have been performed, recorded, and premiered by world-renowned conductors and ensembles. From the grandeur of Carnegie Hall to the iconic Lincoln Center and Spivey Hall, her music has captivated audiences in some of the nation’s most prestigious venues. Among the many distinguished ensembles to bring her works to life are Cantus and the Grammy award-winning men’s vocal ensemble Chanticleer.

In addition to her celebrated compositions, Dr. Powell is a dynamic educator, serving as Coordinator of Voice Studies and conductor of the Women’s Chorus, and co-conductor of the Concert and Gospel choirs at Auburn University. Her expertise and passion have made her a sought-after presenter, conductor, adjudicator, and clinician at premier conferences and festivals worldwide. She has conducted all-state and honor choirs across the United States in states such as California, Colorado, Florida, and New York, and has brought her talents to international stages in Italy, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Dr. Andrea Ramsey enjoys an international presence as a composer, conductor, scholar, and music educator. Her teaching experiences range from work with adolescent and children’s voices to high school and collegiate voices. She enjoys regular opportunities to conduct all-state and divisional level honor choirs, festival events at Carnegie Hall, and served as a principal conductor for the Pacific International Young Women’s Choral Festival in Eugene, Oregon and conducted the National ACDA Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir in 2023. An award-winning composer with nearly 200 works to date, Andrea previously held positions in music education and conducting at The Ohio State University and the University of Colorado, respectively. She believes strongly in the creation of new works, and her compositions are available with traditional publishers and through MusicSpoke, a digital sheetmusic marketplace. She regularly enjoys residencies and collaborations with ensembles and festival choirs across North America and abroad.

As a scholar, she has presented for state, divisional, and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, the 6th Annual Symposium on Sociology in Music Education, as well as The Phenomenon Singing Symposium in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. Additionally, she has co-authored articles published in the Choral Journal, as well as the Journal of Research in Music Education.

A product of public education and the first in her family to attend college, Andrea grew up in rural Arkansas where she experienced firsthand the power of music to provide opportunities, a sense of community, and better understanding of our humanity. It is through the generosity of her many teachers and the state and federal funding of scholarships and fellowships that she is able to have the career and successes she enjoys today.

Paul Rardin is Elaine Brown Chair of Choral Music and Chair of the Vocal Arts Department at Temple University, where he conducts the Concert Choir, teaches graduate conducting, and oversees the seven-choir program at Temple’s Boyer College of Music and Dance. Rardin previously taught at the University of Michigan and Towson University, and was formerly artistic director of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia. His choirs have performed at the national conferences of the National Collegiate Choral Organization and American Choral Directors Association, and at regional conferences of the ACDA and National Association for Music Education.

Rardin has served as a guest conductor for all-state choirs in eighteen states, for divisional honor choirs for ACDA and Music Educators National Conference, and for Manhattan Concert Productions at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. He has presented clinics for state, regional, and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association.

Rardin is a graduate of Williams College and the University of Michigan, where he received the M.M. in composition and the D.M.A. in conducting. His compositions and arrangements are published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing.

Rardin lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife, Sandy.

Giovanni Santos serves as Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at La Sierra University, where he directs the University Wind Ensemble, Chamber Winds, Big Band, and teaches courses in graduate and undergraduate instrumental music education, popular music, conducting and composition.

Dr. Santos has proudly implemented a yearly wind band conducting workshop at La Sierra University and has worked alongside H. Robert Reynolds, Thomas Lee, Larry Livingston, Travis Cross and Allan McMurray, helping some of the brightest young music educators in the United States. Santos also organizes yearly workshops. clinics and conversations with conductors and composers, such as Frank Ticheli, Mallory Thompson, and most recently, Maestro Leonard Slatkin. A strong advocate for music education, Santos frequently presents at conferences, school in-service days, classrooms, and as clinician for young ensembles across the United States, Mexico, and Europe. Most recently, Dr. Santos presented at the Midwest Clinic’s High School Leadership Institute, California All-State Music Education Conference (CASMEC), for the California Music Educators Association’s ‘Casting a Wider in Net’ at Azusa Pacific University, for the North American Division National Teachers Convention, the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago, CBDNA National Convention in Arizona, for the 2019 SCSBOA Professional Development Conference, and for the World Association of Symphonic Band and Ensemble International Conference (WASBE) in Prague. Santos also maintains a busy guest conducting/clinician schedule, with recent residencies at the Manhattan School of Music, University of the Pacific, Cal State University (Fullerton), University of Illinois (Chicago), the University of Connecticut and for the Association of Concert Bands conference in Orlando.

As a composer, Santos has premiered his works across the United States, Asia and Europe, including a premiere with the United States Naval Academy Band Brass Ensemble at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. under his baton. His works have received premieres and performances by ensembles at the University of Michigan, University of Illinois, Michigan State University, University of North Texas, Florida State University, University of Florida, Yale, Ball State University, Oklahoma State University, UCLA, Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble, Illinois State University, Tanglewood Young Artist Wind Ensemble, Interlochen World Youth Wind Symphony and many more. His works for wind ensemble, orchestra, chamber music, and solo wind instruments are published exclusively by Murphy Music Press, LLC. His compositions and passion for music education have received many recognitions, including a Meritorious Achievement Award by the Minority Band Directors National Association for “exceptional contributions to the wind band repertory.”

Dr. Santos earned graduate degrees from the University of Southern California (MM) and Florida State University (PhD).

Russian-American conductor Elena Sharkova was born and raised in St. Petersburg and received her training at the famed Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire, alma mater to Tchaikovski, Prokofiev, Schostakovich, and Balanchin, and holds a graduate degree in conducting. In 1993 Ms. Sharkova moved to the United States where she continues her varied career as a conductor, music educator, lecturer, workshop leader, and editor.

Most recent engagements have been with Britain’s foremost professional choir the BBC Singers, Grammy-winning male ensemble Chanticleer, Miami-based Grammy-nominated Seraphic Fire, and Houston Chamber Choir.

A frequent guest conductor, Elena Sharkova has had the privilege of inspiring youth and adult singers in eighteen countries across three continents. She has conducted honor choirs and festivals in NYC’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall and the Grace Cathedral.

Elena Sharkova has been Artistic Director of the award-winning Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley since 2004. Today the organization serves over 300 youth ages 4-18 and provides a unique and comprehensive choral music education curriculum that fosters deep mind-body-heart engagement, independent thinking, and community.

Ms. Sharkova is in her nineteenth year as the chorus master for Symphony Silicon Valley (previously San Jose Symphony) and has prepared the singers for performances of over fifty major works for distinguished conductors such as George Cleve, Carlos View, Jane Glover, John Nelson and many others. Each season she leads the orchestra and chorus in a concert of choral masterpieces as well as in the annual Christmas celebration.

She has served as editor of “Elena Sharkova Choral Series” for Carl Fischer Publishing since 2011. Her series with National Music Publishing promotes music for treble voices.

Dr. Mark Stover is the Director of Choral Activities at Calvin University where he proudly serves as a part of a dynamic team of faculty, conductors, and artist-teachers. He shares his passion for people and building community through pursuing the highest levels of choral artistry. He came to Grand Rapids in 2024 from Ann Arbor, Michigan where he previously served for six years as the Associate Director of Choirs at the University of Michigan, conducting the University Choir, Michigan Youth Chamber Singers, teaching conducting, and holding the role as music director of the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club. Prior to his time in Ann Arbor, Stover was in Northfield, Minnesota, home of Saint Olaf College, where he served on the music faculty as conductor of the St. Olaf Chapel Choir and Viking Chorus while teaching conducting and a course he designed titled, Music and Social Justice.

https://calvin.edu/people/mark-stover

Dr. John Wilson is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities in the School of Fine & Performing Arts at SUNY New Paltz and the Artistic Director of the Riverside Choral Society. Prior to these appointments, Dr. Wilson served as the choral director at Bridgewater-Raritan High School for seventeen years. His choirs developed a reputation for excellence. The BRHS Symphonic Choir was notably featured as a performing choir at the 2020 ACDA Eastern Division Conference in Rochester, NY. Dr. Wilson’s ensembles have performed at major venues in the New York/New Jersey area under the direction of Ryan Brandau, James Jordan, Amanda Quist, Alan Raines, Lee Nelson, and Andrew Megill, a notable example being a performance of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 in March of 2018 at Princeton University Chapel. John served as an Associate Director at the Princeton Girlchoir organization between 2015-2018, where he conducted the Cantores ensemble. This ensemble was featured in a recording of Steven Sametz’s A Child’s Requiem in 2015 which was led by the composer. From 2014-2019, Dr. Wilson served as a faculty member at the Summer High School Vocal Institute faculty at Westminster Choir College, where he conducted the Men’s Ensemble and taught a primer in conducting. John conducted the New Jersey All-State Junior High SATB chorus in 2024, Georgia All-State Middle Treble chorus in 2023, the Virginia All-State Middle School Treble chorus in 2018, and the CJMEA Region Treble Chorus in 2019, and is in demand as a clinician and guest conductor. John was the conductor of the Choral Art Society of New Jersey in the fall of 2024, and of the Westminster Community Chorus between 2014-2017. Dr. Wilson has taught undergraduate courses in conducting and music education at Rutgers University, where he earned his masters and doctorate degrees in choral conducting under the guidance of Dr. Patrick Gardner. During 2020-2021, Dr. Wilson had the privilege of leading the Rutgers University Choir. He is the most recent past-president of the New Jersey chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, and coordinated the summer conference in 2023. He lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife Clara and two children, Elliot and Henry.