Participating Choirs

Congratulations to the following conductors and choirs
who will be participating in the Eastern Division Conference!

High School Soundtable Participants

Cherry Hill High School West Chamber Singers
Christine C. Bass
Chamber Singers is an auditioned extracurricular group made up of twenty-four mixed voices. These students are at the top of the Cherry Hill West Choral Program. Chamber Singers performs varied repertoire from early Renaissance madrigals up through contemporary vocal jazz. The group receives superior ratings and first place in their division when competing and earns exemplary ratings in sight singing at the state ACDA festival. In the month of December they perform over 40 times in octets. Chamber Singers have been featured at NJMEA conventions and used as a demonstration group for high school choral music seminars.

When Christine arrived at Cherry Hill West twenty-one years ago, there were 60 students in the choral program. Today there are nearly 300 in seven choirs. Recently her program was featured in Choral Directors Magazine, which named Christine as a “Choral Director of Note.” She has been a guest conductor and clinician for NJEA, NJMEA and ACDA, and has served as NJ ACDA R&S Chair for Male Choirs. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Westminster Choir College where she studied conducting under Robert Simpson, Helen Brown, Andrew Megill and Joseph Flummerfelt. Bass has conducted the 1996 All South Jersey Chorus, the 2002 New Jersey All State Chorus, and the 2009 ACDA National High School Honor Choir.

Herricks High School Chamber Choir
Louise O'Hanlon
The Herricks Chamber Choir is comprised of auditioned students from grades 10-12 who have the opportunity to sing challenging, high quality music in a disciplined and demanding rehearsal environment. In 2008 the group was presented with a piece commissioned for them by Michigan composer Gerald Custer. During the past three years, HCC has performed at the Empire State Building, sung for the senior citizens of Herricks and have been invited guests at the Queens College Choral Festival. The group has received NYSSMA Level VI Gold and Gold with Distinction. HCC performed Haydn’s Te Deum and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music under the direction of Michael Kerschner at Carnegie Hall in 2008. In December 2009 Herricks Chamber Choir was selected to perform at the NYSSMA Winter Conference in Rochester, NY.

Louise O’Hanlon has been an educator for 21 years. She is proud to have spent 16 of those years in the Herricks School District where she has taught all levels. Louise is presently in her fifth year at Herricks High School. For the previous 11 years, she taught general music and chorus at Searingtown Elementary School. Ms. O’ Hanlon holds a BM and a Higher Diploma in Education from University College Cork, Ireland, a master’s in Education from Lehman College (CUNY) and certificates in both Orff and Kodaly. She has been studying choral conducting and taking further choral studies at Westminster Choir College during the summer months and has worked with Dr. James Jordan, Charles Bruffy, Weston Nobel, and Dr. Gerald Custer.

Pennsbury High School Concert Choir
James D. Moyer
The Pennsbury High School Concert Choir is one of five choirs that meet as a full academic credit at PHS. Made of up approximately 100 singers, the Concert Choir is the most advanced choir that meets during the school day. The concert choir has been honored in the past to have performed the U.S. premiere of “Te Deum” by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins at Avery Fisher Hall, and Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” under Maestro Ron-Dirk Entleutner at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany. The Concert Choir has also recently performed concerts in England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.

James D. Moyer is the Director of Choral Activities at Pennsbury High School, and the Curriculum Coordinator for Vocal/Choral Music (K-12) for the Pennsbury School District. Prior to his appointment at Pennsbury, he was the Director of Choral Activities at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, Virginia. Choirs under his direction have performed throughout the U.S. and across Europe, in such venues as The White House, the Washington National Cathedral, Carnegie Hall, and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, among others. His choirs have performed at state, regional and divisional conferences of the Virginia Music Educators Association, Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, and ACDA. Mr. Moyer is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Pennsbury Community Chorus and serves as the Director of Music for the Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church (NJ).

Strath Haven High School Silvertones
John H. Shankweiler
Founded in 1985, the Silvertones is a select 32-voice a cappella group specializing in small ensemble music. They first toured southern Italy in 1998, singing sacred motets of 16th-century Italy. In 2001, the Silvertones traveled through northern Italy where they added Palestrina’s Missa Viri Galilaei to their concert program. For 2003, the Silvertones brought their concert tour to the Amalfi Coast; in 2005 to Sicily, in 2007 to the Puglia Region and in 2009 to the Tuscan countryside. They alternate their foreign tours with a full year-end concert, which has included Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil and Buxtehude and Bach magnificats. The group was chosen to perform for the PMEA State Conference in 1996, 2002 and 2005. In 2009 they sang for the MENC All-Eastern Conference in Providence, RI.

John Shankweiler is director of choral music and theater arts at Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, PA. When he first arrived twenty-five years ago, the choral department consisted of twenty-three students. Today it includes four choirs, ranging in size from 20 students to 210 students. At Strath Haven, Shankweiler focuses on performing choral masterpieces with his two large ensembles. The Cantata Singers and Camerata have sung works by Faure, Bach, Bernstein, Rachmaninoff, and Duruflé, among others. Each fall, the Cantata Singers perform the Missa Gaia at New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Outside of school, John currently conducts The Orpheus Club of Philadephia, which celebrates 137 years of concerts this season. He holds a BS in Music Education and an MA in Vocal Performance from West Chester University.

Community Choir Festival Performers

Handel Choir of Baltimore
Melinda O'Neal
Handel Choir of Baltimore, a community-based oratorio ensemble enjoying its 75th anniversary in 2010, presents baroque, classical and early romantic works with period instruments as well as modern repertoire and newly commissioned works. Recent performances have included repertoire such as Handel’s Coronation anthems, Purcell’s symphony anthems, Bach’s Magnificat and cantatas, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung and Paukenmesse, as well as music by Fauré, Bernstein, Vaughan Williams, Duruflé and Lauridsen. In 2007 Handel Choir commissioned Requiem for the Fallen by composer Jonathan Leshnoff. Collaborative projects have included performances with Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Pro Musica Rara joined with Peabody Early Music, American Opera Theatre and Bach Sinfonia. During the Handel Choir’s history, performance of Handel’s Messiah has been an uninterrupted annual tradition.

Melinda O’Neal, in her sixth season as artistic director & conductor of Handel Choir of Baltimore, is professor of music at Dartmouth College. She was conductor of the Handel Society of Dartmouth College, founder of Dartmouth’s Chamber Singers, and visiting professor and/or conductor at Indiana University, University of Georgia, Towson University (MD), Seattle Symphony Chorale (WA), and Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, among others. O’Neal holds MM and DM degrees in conducting from Indiana University, and BME from Florida State University. Her research and performance interests include the relationship of text and music, historical performance practices, and Hector Berlioz.

Harmonium Choral Society
Anne Matlack
Harmonium Choral Society, now in its 30th anniversary season, is made up of 90 auditioned volunteers ranging in age from 15 to 75, including a large number of music educators. Harmonium is dedicated to performing a diverse repertoire at a high artistic level, and increasing community appreciation of choral music through concerts, education and outreach. Harmonium, known for its eclectic programming and community spirit, sponsors major commissions, musicianship workshops, an Outreach Chorus which performs in schools and nursing homes, numerous partnership programs, conductor apprenticeship, and an annual High School Student Choral Composition Contest which recently won the Chorus America Education and Outreach Award. Harmonium has toured England and Wales, Eastern Europe, Northern Italy and, most recently, Spain and Portugal.

Dr. Anne Matlack holds degrees from Yale University and the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. She is the Organist/Choir Director at Grace Episcopal Church, Madison, where she directs a program of adult choirs and a concert series, as well as a children's choir training program. Matlack recently served as ACDA Eastern Division R&S Chair for Community Choirs. An active adjudicator and clinician, she has conducted choirs at Yale, Lafayette College, and Rutgers University. She is the 2003 recipient of the Arts Council of the Morris Area’s Outstanding Professional in the Arts Award. During her tenure as Artistic Director, Harmonium has been recognized for its musical excellence and innovative programming and has premiered works by Amanda Harberg, Matthew Harris, Michael Mendoza, Edie Hill, Elliot Z. Levine and Mark Miller.

Princeton Pro Musica
Frances Fowler Slade
Princeton Pro Musica exists to perform choral masterworks and other works of the choral literature with energy, passion, and uncompromising artistic excellence. We believe in the power of choral music to uplift and transform current and future audiences, performers, and communities. Founded in 1979, PPM has performed most of the major choral works with orchestra, from the Bach St. Matthew Passion to the Britten War Requiem. The chorus has performed with Opera Orchestra of New York in Carnegie Hall, with Princeton and Westfield symphonies, and many others. In recent seasons, PPM has collaborated with American Repertory Ballet, Trenton Children’s Chorus, Princeton GirlChoir, Reverence Dance Company, Sharim V’Sharot, and Bright Hope Baptist Church Celestial Choir of Philadelphia.

Frances Fowler Slade, founder and Music Director of Princeton Pro Musica, has focused her career on performing major choral works with orchestra. Formerly a member of the choral faculty at Rutgers University, she was awarded the Douglass Medal for outstanding service to the college community. She has conducted choral groups at Wellesley College, Northwestern University, William Rainey Harper College, Raritan Valley College, and Westminster Choir College of Rider University. Choruses she has prepared include those for the New Jersey Symphony, the Opera Orchestra of New York, and New York’s Concert Royal.

Robert Dale Chorale
Steven Thomas
The Robert Dale Chorale, one of Northeast Pennsylvania’s premiere musical organizations, has served the region with choral performances of the highest quality for over 30 years. The Chorale has received critical acclaim for performances of works ranging from the Renaissance to the present, and sponsors two long-standing local traditions: the annual Messiah Sing-Along and the annual Northeast Pennsylvania Bach Festival. Dr. Steven Thomas has served as Music Director of the ensemble since the 2004-2005 season.

Steven Thomas is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Wilkes University, where he directs the choral ensembles and teaches courses in music theory and music history. Thomas is also the Music Director of the Robert Dale Chorale, a chamber choir based in northeast Pennsylvania, and sings tenor in the Lyric Consort, an eight-voice a cappella ensemble. He holds a BA degree in music from Harvard University and a DMA degree in choral conducting from Yale University. Thomas has also served as College and University R&S Chair for the Pennsylvania chapter of ACDA.

Susquehanna Chorale
Linda Tedford
The Susquehanna Chorale, founded in 1981 by Artistic Director Linda L. Tedford, is recognized for its artistic interpretation of choral works of many styles, for its commissions of 14 new works, and for its educational outreach programs. The Chorale is the recipient of Chorus America’s highest award: The Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence. In addition to its series of performances throughout Central Pennsylvania, the Chorale performs regularly with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra and has toured Great Britain and Europe. The Chorale’s CD’s have received national recognition: Wondrous Love and American Treasures were offered for consideration for a Grammy Nomination.

Linda L. Tedford is the Founder and Conductor of the Susquehanna Chorale based in Hershey, PA, and Director of Choral Activities at Messiah College in Grantham, PA.
Ms. Tedford holds an MM in conducting from Temple University where she studied with Robert Page. She has also studied with Robert Shaw, Gregg Smith, and Dale Warland. Choirs under her direction have performed for ACDA and PMEA conventions, toured throughout the US and Europe, commissioned sixteen new works, and have released fourteen recordings. Ms. Tedford frequently appears as a guest conductor, clinician and consultant.

Wheatland Chorale
Robert Upton
Founded in 1987 and based in Lancaster, PA, the Wheatland Chorale is an important part of the musical landscape of south central Pennsylvania, drawing singers from Lancaster, York, Berks and Chester counties. In addition to its subscription series, the Chorale is often invited to perform in concerts sponsored by other organizations. The group has performed at the White House, the National Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City, and on two tours of Europe. The Chorale has performed twice with choirs from the Berks Classical Children’s Chorus, including a performance of Bob Chilcott’s Canticles of Light in May 2009. The group has joined forces several times with the Susquehanna Chorale for Beethoven’s Symphony #9 with the Allegro Orchestra of Lancaster, and Haydn’s Creation with the Harrisburg Symphony.

Robert Upton is a graduate of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ, where he majored in organ and voice. He founded the Chamber Singers of Harrisburg ( PA) after graduation, and was its director for 6 years prior to moving to Lancaster, PA. There, he founded the Wheatland Chorale in 1987 and has served since then as its artistic director. Upton has twice been on the board of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the ACDA as R&S Chair for Community Choirs. He is also a graduate of the Dickinson School of Law and is currently Assistant General Counsel for AAA Mid-Atlantic, Inc. in Wilmington, DE.

Conference Performing Choirs

Bel Canto Children's Chorus Concert Choir
Joy Hirokawa
The Bel Canto Children’s Chorus was founded in 1993. Comprised of auditioned treble singers from five counties in southeastern Pennsylvania, the singers have developed an international reputation for performing diversified choral repertoire at the highest standard of musical excellence and style. They are particularly noted for the innovative, artistic programs they perform. The choir has performed for numerous MENC and PMEA conference programs, and appeared at the 2006 Eastern Division ACDA Conference. In 2007, the choir was honored to be part of the Philadelphia premiere performance of John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls, presented by the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia (Alan Harler, conductor).

Joy Ondra Hirokawa is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Bel Canto Children’s Chorus. She earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in Music Education, a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from Temple University, and is currently a DMA student in Music Education at Boston University. She currently serves as Visiting Professor of Music Education at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA. Mrs. Hirokawa was honored to be selected as a Conducting Fellow at the first Chorus America Orchestral Conducting Workshop for Children’s Choir Directors, and was a Conducting Associate at the 2006 Chorus America Choral-Orchestral Conducting Masterclass. She is a frequent guest conductor and clinician, presenting and conducting regularly at MENC, PMEA, and ACDA-PA conferences.

Boston Children's Chorus Premier Choir
Anthony Trecek-King
The Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC) is an innovative arts education organization that unites area children ages 7-18 across differences of race, religion and socioeconomic status to discover the power of singing and transcend social barriers in a celebration of shared humanity and love of music. Beginning with only 20 children in a pilot training program, today the Boston Children’s Chorus serves nearly 300 singers in nine choirs in four Boston locations.
Called Boston’s “Ambassadors of Harmony,” the Boston Children’s Chorus presents 50 performances per season in a wide range of public and private events across the city of Boston and beyond. They have appeared on local and national television and radio broadcasts, including Good Morning America, NPR’s Morning Edition and From The Top, and Urban Update on WBZ-TV.

As a conductor, Mr. Trecek-King has earned international acclaim and has directed some of the world's greatest professional choral ensembles throughout Europe. During his short tenure at the Boston Children's Chorus, the choir has quickly earned a reputation as an ensemble of musical excellence and received glowing reviews. He recently participated in both the Eric Ericson Masterclass in the Netherlands and the Eric Ericson Award, an international conducting competition in Sweden. Mr. Trecek-King earned a bachelor's in Cello Performance from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a master's in Orchestral Conducting from Florida State University. Before joining the Boston Children's Chorus, Mr. Trecek-King was Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Artistic Director of the Nebraska Choral Arts Society.

J.P. Case Middle School Tigerettes
Rosemary C. Nagy
The J. P. Case Tigerettes are one of five vocal ensembles at J. P. Case Middle School. It is an auditioned ensemble that meets before the school day for seventh and eighth grade girls. Students in this ensemble have the opportunity to perform repertoire of many different styles, languages and cultures. This group encourages personal growth, friendships, and respect for diversity. The Tigerettes have consistently received superior ratings, winning numerous awards at music festivals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They have been asked perform at conferences for the Music Educators National Conference and the American Choral Directors Association.

Rosemary Nagy received her Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College and earned a Master of Arts degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. She currently teaches seventh and eighth grade vocal and classroom music at J. P. Case Middle School in Flemington, New Jersey. Ensembles under her direction have been asked to perform at conferences for the New Jersey Music Education Association, the Music Educators National Conference, and the American Choral Directors Association. She also is the director of Bel Canto Singers at Hunterdon Academy of the Arts in Flemington. Professional accolades include Teacher of the Year at Reading Fleming Middle School and the New Jersey Governor's Teacher Recognition Award. She is also a Fulbright Alumnus, teaching at the Leweston School in Sherborne, England.

Cherry Hill High School West Men of Note
Christine C. Bass
The Men of Note is an auditioned extracurricular group of eleven young men selected from the Cherry Hill West choral program who sing a cappella music of various styles. They perform extensively on the East Coast and consistently receive first place, superior ratings. They have performed for the State Teen Arts Festival, Governor's Awards Reception, State PTA, and the Music Education Department of Westminster Choir College. They appear on the Best of High School BCDs and are the ‘three-peat’ Best of High School A Cappella National Championships in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

When Christine arrived at Cherry Hill West twenty-one years ago, there were 60 students in the choral program. Today nearly 300 students are members of seven choirs. Her top choir, West Singers, has performed on three ACDA National conventions, the 2001 MENC and 2004 ACDA Eastern conventions.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Westminster Choir College where she studied conducting under Robert Simpson, Helen Brown, Andrew Megill and Joseph Flummerfelt. In 1996, Christine was named New Jersey MENC Master Music Teacher and received the Governor’s Award in Arts Education. She conducted the 1996 All South Jersey Chorus, the 2002 New Jersey All State Chorus, and the 2009 ACDA National High School Honor Choir. She is the author of an instructional DVD, Vocal Transformation, available from Hal Leonard.

Hamburg High School Concert Chorale
Norman Zogaib
Committed to performing the works of contemporary composers, the Hamburg High School Concert Chorale has collaborated with composers Glenn McClure and Gwyneth Walker. The Chorale has had the honor of performing in concert with many distinguished conductors and ensembles, such as the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Buffalo Philharmonic, Amherst Symphony, and Dr. André Thomas, among others. Highlights include performances by invitation at the 2000 and 2008 NYSSMA Winter Conferences, the 2003 Statewide Choral Festival sponsored by Carnegie Hall and a 2008 performance at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. In addition to winning the Outstanding Overall Choir awards at choral festivals in New York and Toronto, the group earned seven consecutive Level 6, Gold with Distinction ratings at NYSSMA Festivals from 2000-2007.

A native of Long Island, Norman Zogaib is currently on the faculty at Hamburg High School, where he has taught since 1998. Previously, he taught in the Cattaraugus, North Collins and Silver Creek Central School districts at all levels of vocal music. Mr. Zogaib has served on the faculty of SUNY Buffalo State College as an adjunct lecturer and has been a member of the SUNY Fredonia Summer Choral Music Program faculty.
The 2005 recipient of the Buffalo Philharmonic/ ECCMC Award for Excellence in Choral Music Education, Zogaib serves on the board of directors of ECMEA and is the Western NY representative of NY ACDA. He holds a BM in Piano Performance from SUNY Buffalo, an MM in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia and is completing coursework toward the DMA at Boston University.

Heritage Signature Chorale
Stanley Thurston
The Heritage Signature Chorale celebrates its tenth season as it continues its mission of preserving the African American choral tradition, especially the Negro Spiritual. The year 2009-10 includes performances for the Joy of Christmas as guests of the Cathedral Choral Society, a return to the Kennedy Center for the 22nd Annual Choral Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as guests of the Choral Arts Society of Washington, and Carmina Burana with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall.
Previous seasons have featured premieres of works by Adolphus Hailstork and Ysaye Barnwell as well as programs of a cappella Negro Spirituals. Additional engagements have included the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ 20th Annual Open House Arts Festival, the African American Composers Series concerts, and a tribute to Moses Hogan, in collaboration with the Duke Ellington School for the Arts.

Stanley J. Thurston is the founding Music Director of The Heritage Signature Chorale. Choruses under his direction have performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Washington Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Joffrey Ballet and the Royal Ballet, among others.
As conductor, he has appeared with such artists as Denyce Graves, Kathleen Battle, Sweet Honey in the Rock and jazz legends Ramsey Lewis and Wynton Marsalis. He recently served as Panelist for the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and was commissioned by the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee to compose and conduct a special musical tribute for President Obama’s National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral. He is currently Washington Performing Arts Society’s Artistic Director of Gospel Choirs.

Ithaca College Women's Chorale
Janet Galvan
The Ithaca College Women's Chorale (WoCho) has performed in Ireland, Carnegie Hall, and at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls. WoCho has performed at ACDA and MENC national and regional conventions and was the resident artist choir at the International Women in Song Festival in Toronto, Canada. Chen Yi wrote to the ensemble: "I was deeply impressed by your great performance of my choral arrangement. Your performance is so vivid and passionate, youthful and energetic, yet the Chinese pronunciation is so precise and accurate. You have really sung in my expression and style." WoCho can be heard on the CD "Cantan - treble compositions of Francisco Núñez."

Dr. Janet Galván is Professor at Ithaca College where she conducts the Women's Chorale and the Chorus. Galván has conducted all-state choruses throughout the United States as well as ACDA National and Division honor choirs. In 2002 she conducted the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Galván has also served as clinician at national conventions for ACDA and MENC and has presented workshops in international venues including the World Symposiums on Choral Music. She was one of the invited authors for "Teaching Music through Performance in Choir," 2nd edition. She is also the contributing editor for two series with Roger Dean Publishers and the series advisor to Latin Accents with Boosey & Hawkes. Dr. Galván was a member of the Grammy Award-winning Robert Shaw Festival Singers.

Keystone State Boychoir
Joseph P Fitzmartin, music director;
Steven M Fisher, associate music director
Keystone State Boychoir (KSB) consists of 150 young men between the ages of eight and 18 who sing an enthralling repertoire from the classical to the contemporary. KSB has sung with the region’s most distinguished ensembles, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Singers, and at the region’s most prominent venues. KSB has performed internationally at the Manaus Opera House in Brazil, the Hanoi Opera House in Vietnam, the Petronas Philharmonik Hall in Malaysia as an invited choir of the 2006 ISME World Conference, the Perth Concert Hall as an invited choir of the 2007 Australian Music Educator’s Conference, and in venues throughout Europe, Asia and South America.

Joseph P. Fitzmartin, along with Steven M. Fisher, founded the Keystone State Boychoir in 2001 with 35 boys. Their artistic leadership has allowed the organization to blossom into the Commonwealth Youthchoirs, now serving over 300 children in three member-choirs: the Keystone State Boychoir, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir, and Find Your Instrument! - an outreach program that brings choral music to area schools that have no formal music program. A native of Philadelphia and graduate of Catholic University, Mr. Fitzmartin is also choral director for the middle and upper schools at the William Penn Charter School. Previous positions include organist and choir director at Girard College, and associate director and accompanist for the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale, a post he held for twenty-one years.

Steven M. Fisher is a conductor, composer, arranger, but foremost a music educator. He holds an undergraduate degree in music education, as well as a master’s degree from Temple University’s Esther Boyer College of Music. In 1998, Temple University awarded him the prestigious Presser Foundation Award, which recognizes “a graduate student who has the potential to make an outstanding contribution in the music world.” Mr. Fisher is a composer of musical theatre. His work Mandela has been presented in New York and in Johannesburg, while his musical Isabelle and the Pretty-Ugly Spell received a rave review from the New York Times. Mr. Fisher is currently at work writing a new musical titled In the Theatre.

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts Girls Chorus
Audrey Bishop
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is a specialized high school in the New York City Public School system, providing each student with professional preparation in conservatory arts education and in college preparatory academic education. The members of the Girls Chorus at LaGuardia Arts are all tenth grade vocal majors. In addition to chorus, they receive training in voice, sight singing, theory and music history. The Girls Chorus has been conducted in rehearsal by Paul Salamunovich and members have performed in Carnegie Hall under Sandra Snow. The choir received a rating of Gold with Distinction at a New York State School Music Association Festival.

Audrey Bishop earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Education at the School of Music of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she studied with William Olson and noted choral pedagogue Harold Decker. She later performed at the Hollywood Bowl under Roger Wagner. She earned a master’s of Science in Mathematics Education from the City College of New York and has taught mathematics and music in the New York City Public Schools for over 26 years. She currently conducts the Girls Chorus at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, as well as teaching voice and sight-singing classes. In addition, Ms. Bishop enjoys singing with her local community chorus, the Cornerstone Chorale, where she serves both as Assistant Conductor and on the board.

Mansfield University Mansfieldians
Sheryl Monkelien
The Mansfieldians are twelve singers who specialize in vocal jazz and chamber music. They have performed at MENC Division and PMEA State Conferences and the 2006 Vocal Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall with Phil Mattson. In summer 2008, they won a Gold Medal and were named World Champions in the Jazz Vocal A Cappella Category at the World Choir Games in Graz, Austria. With the MU Jazz Ensemble they tour annually and have performed throughout Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and New Jersey, and released two cds – Hourglass and most recently La Fiesta. The annual MU Vocal Jazz Festival has featured guests Phil Mattson, Michele Weir, Groove for Thought, Peter Eldridge, and internationally acclaimed artists The Real Group.

Sheryl Monkelien is currently Professor of Music Education and Director of Vocal Jazz at Mansfield University in Mansfield, PA. She received degrees from Iowa State University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and studied at the Phil Mattson School in Spokane, Washington. She is a sought after vocal jazz clinician and conductor and her groups have performed at state, national and international festivals. At the 2008 World Choir Games in Graz, Austria, the Mansfieldians were named World Champions in the vocal jazz a capella category. Dr. Monkelien also serves as the Eastern Division ACDA Vocal Jazz R & S Chair.

Nittany Valley Children's Choir Concordia Singers
Lou Ann Shafer
The Nittany Valley Children’s Choir was formed in the fall of 1997 to provide the Centre County, PA, area with a community choir for children which emphasizes healthy vocal development, expressive singing, musical excellence, and lots of FUN! The choir began with approximately 25 singers and has grown to 100 children in 3 different choir levels, ages 5 – 18. The Concordia Singers is a select ensemble of advanced singers, who demonstrate outstanding singing ability, positive attitude, and commitment to excellence in performance. The Concordia Singers have performed at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association State Conference, MENC Eastern Division, ACDA State, Eastern Division, and national conventions, and in concert with the State College Choral Society and the American Boychoir.

Lou Ann Shafer earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music Education from Oberlin College Conservatory in Ohio. A former music teacher at the elementary, high school, and collegiate levels, she currently teaches piano and voice at the Ivory League Studio in State College, PA. Mrs. Shafer is the Founding Director of the three-tiered Nittany Valley Children’s Choir. She is active as a guest conductor for children’s and women’s choir festivals. A composer of choral music for the church with works published by Shawnee Press, Lorenz and the United Methodist Publishing House, she currently serves as editor for the new Psalter Hymnal of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

Northern Harmony
Larry Gordon and Patty Cuyler
Northern Harmony is a highly selective world music choir of 12-18 voices, constituted anew about every 18 months for a 7-9 week performing tour. The singers are mostly 18-25, and are chosen by directors Larry Gordon and Patty Cuyler from among the strongest veterans of previous seasons of Village Harmony singing camps. Many have sung with Village Harmony since their early teens and have traveled abroad to study ethnic singing traditions first hand. Through its regular tours throughout Europe and America, the group has developed a wide reputation for its remarkable command of varied world singing traditions and vocal styles. They have particular expertise in Georgian, Bulgarian, Corsican and South African traditions, as well as American shape-note and Appalachian styles.

Larry Gordon is the founder/co-director of Village Harmony/Northern Harmony. Founded in 1990, Village Harmony is an organization dedicated to the study and performance of ethnic singing traditions from throughout the world. He has co-led Village Harmony study/performance tours to South Africa, Bulgaria, Georgia, Italy, Germany, Sweden and the UK. From 1972-1984 he directed Word of Mouth Chorus, a chamber chorus specializing in early music, shape-note singing and traditional Balkan music. An early leader of the shape-note singing revival in New England, he co-edited and published the Northern Harmony, a hardcover anthology of New England shape-note songs. Since 1978 he has conducted the Onion River Chorus (VT), which has built a wide reputation for its performances of lesser-known renaissance, early baroque and contemporary works

Patty Cuyler, co-director of Vermont-based Village Harmony since 1995 and leader of multi-generational community world music choirs in Montpelier, VT, and Concord, MA, is a dynamic choral director, versatile workshop leader, accordionist, dance musician, and talented singer.
Since 1999 she has made multiple study/performance trips to South Africa, Ghana, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine and Corsica. She has worked extensively with native teachers of these traditions in the US and with traditional musicians/ensembles abroad, learning how to teach the vocal placement and timbre necessary to mimic the distinctive sounds of widely-different folk traditions. She is currently collaborating (with South African choir director, Matlakala Bopape) on a multi-volume series of books of South African folk songs with accompanying teaching CDs and dance-instruction DVDs; the first two volumes have been published.

The Pennsylvania State University Glee Club
Christopher Kiver
Founded in 1888, the Pennsylvania State University Glee Club has performed across the United States and around the world, and will undertake a national tour of New Zealand in May of this year. The Glee Club has appeared at state and divisional conventions of MENC and in April will host an inaugural weekend workshop for high school men from throughout Pennsylvania. The oldest student organization at Penn State, the Glee Club’s members hail from all colleges and schools on the University Park campus.

Christopher Kiver joined the Penn State faculty in 2005, and directs the Penn State Glee Club and Chamber Singers. He is a graduate of the University of London, Florida State University and the University of Michigan, where he received the DMA in choral conducting. He has studied conducting with Jerry Blackstone, Rodney Eichenberger and Theodore Morrison. Kiver has also participated in master classes with Anton Armstrong, Frieder Bernius, Simon Halsey and Stefan Parkman. He has taught at the Westminster Choir College summer seminar program, served as Men’s Choir R&S Chair for ACDA PA, and appeared as guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Rhode Island Children's Chorus Chamber Choir
Christine Noel
The Rhode Island Children’s Chorus, founded in 2003 by Christine Noel and Joyce Wolfe, is comprised of 100 children, ages 7-18, in four choir levels. The Chamber Chorus performed at the 2009 MENC Eastern Division Convention in Providence, RI, and has collaborated with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Providence Singers, and the Boston University Choruses. The Chamber Chorus was featured on Bill Harley’s children’s album, I Wanna Play, nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award. On one Providence concert, the Chorus presented an evening of the music of the late Canadian composer, Srul Irving Glick, which was attended by Mrs. Glick. Recently the Chamber Choir joined the Rhode Island College Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls.

Christine Noel is the Artistic Director of the Rhode Island Children’s Chorus, which she founded in 2003. She is currently pursuing a DMA in Conducting at Boston University, where she is a student of Dr. Ann Howard Jones and David Hoose. Ms. Noel received her MM from Boston University and completed Italian language studies at the Università degli Studi di Firenze. She is the recipient of the Shinn Study Abroad Grant to Kecskemét, Hungary, where she pursued a year of study at the Kodály Institute. Ms. Noel is the Director of Choral Activities at Clark University, Artistic Director of the Carillon Women’s Chorus of RI, Assistant Conductor of the Providence Singers and serves as the Children’s Choirs R & S Chair for RI ACDA.

Roxbury High School Classic Sounds Honors
Lorraine Lynch
Roxbury Classic Sounds Honors is the premier curricular vocal ensemble at Roxbury High School. With 48 members, it is one of four choirs in the vocal program at Roxbury High School. The ensemble focuses on a cappella choral repertoire, including classics, madrigals, spirituals, and contemporary choral works. Classic Sounds has twice been selected to appear with Perform America on the stage of Carnegie Hall. The ensemble has also performed at the New Jersey Music Educators Convention, the 2006 Eastern Division ACDA Convention, the MENC All-Eastern Convention in Providence, and has been invited to sing at the African American Spiritual Festival at Penn State twice. Classic Sounds Honors has received superior ratings at every festival it has attended for the past 20 years.

Lorraine Lynch, Director of Choral Activities at Roxbury Township Public Schools and K-12 Lead Teacher for the Roxbury Performing Arts Department, has led the choral department at Roxbury High School for 25 years. Her choirs have consistently received superior and first-place ratings at state and national festivals. She developed the Roxbury Choir Invitational, which has grown into one of the premier concert, jazz, and show choir festivals in the Northeast. Ms. Lynch’s credits as a guest conductor include the New Jersey All-State Choir, the Massachusetts All-State Choir, the Southeastern Massachusetts District Chorus, the ACDA Women’s Honor Choir in Eastern Pennsylvania, and the North Jersey Region Chorus. She holds a BME from Indiana University, an MM from Rutgers University, and a New Jersey Supervisors Certificate.

Rutgers University Glee Club
Patrick Gardner
Tracing its roots back to 1872, the Rutgers University Glee Club has been among the nation’s premier collegiate choirs for one hundred and thirty-eight years. In 2000 they hosted the National Seminar of the Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses, highlighting the conference with the première of The Miracle, by composer William Bolcom. The Glee Club has performed at the 2001 ACDA National Conference in San Antonio, Texas, and the 2006 ACDA Eastern Division Conference, in addition to appearances at the Kimmel Center and Carnegie Hall. In the fall of 2006, they joined pianists Misha and Cipa Dichter in the premiere performance of the four-hand version of the first movement of Shostakovich’s 13th Symphony, Babi Yar, then went on to sing the complete work under the direction of Maestro Valery Gergiev at Lincoln Center.

Now in his 19th season as Director of the Riverside Choral Society, Patrick Gardner is also Director of Choral Activities at the Mason Gross School of the Arts of Rutgers University, where he conducts the Kirkpatrick Choir and the Glee Club and supervises doctoral students in choral conducting. Gardner has prepared choruses for the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Lincoln Center, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Kirov Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony, and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He prepared Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas for the Mark Morris Dance Group's 25th anniversary season at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. In the summer of 2006, he presented concerts in Taiwan, and in 2007 he gave master-classes for professional conductors in the Netherlands.

Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys
John Scott
The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys is considered to be the premiere choral ensemble of the Anglican music tradition in the United States and among the finest in the world. The Choir presents an annual Concert Series from October to May in addition to singing four weekly Evensong services, Sunday Eucharist, and numerous liturgical feast day services throughout the year. The men of the choir are professional singers; the boys attend Saint Thomas Choir School, the only church related boarding choir school in the United States. The Choir has performed in the U.S. and internationally in annual tours and has recorded their own repertory of music from the fifteenth century to contemporary works, currently totaling over twenty recordings.

John Scott was born in 1956 in Yorkshire. While still at school he gained the diplomas of the Royal College of Organists and won major prizes. He made his debut in the 1997 Promenade Concerts, the youngest organist to appear in the proms. On leaving Cambridge, he was appointed Assistant Organist at London’s two Anglican Cathedrals, St. Paul’s and Southwark. In 1990 he succeeded Dr. Christopher Dearnley as Organist and Director of Music at St. Paul’s. After 26 years at St. Paul’s, John Scott moved to take up the post of Organist and Director of Music at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in 2004.

Shepherd Hill Regional High School Fantasy
Connie Vanco Galli
The Shepherd Hill Show Choir “Fantasy” celebrates their 25th season in 2009-2010, proudly representing the communities of Dudley and Charlton, MA. “Fantasy” continues to earn recognition for their high standards of performance and trend-setting shows. This Gold medal group has consistently earned highest ratings in festival competition and has received numerous awards for “Best Choreography,” “Best In Show,” “Best Rhythm Section,” and “Outstanding Soloist.” Having one of the first show choirs in New England, Shepherd Hill hosts the annual Central Mass. Show Choir Festival to help encourage and promote show choir programs in New England schools. “Fantasy” will explore two themes this season. “Looking Back” adds a contemporary twist to some of their favorite songs from past shows, while “Loud Machines” takes us to a futuristic world where anything is possible.

Connie Vanco Galli is the Visual and Performing Arts Department Coordinator at Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley, MA, where she has taught for 28 years. Under her tenure, the choral program at Shepherd Hill has evolved to include 6 performing ensembles, all of which have gained recognition for high standards of performance. Galli is an active member of TI:ME (Technology Institute for Music Educators) and serves as the Massachusetts Chapter Vice-President. With the MIDI Schoolhouse, and as a free-lance consultant, she provides professional development to music educators in Music Technology applications and curriculum development. In addition, Ms. Galli retains strong ties to her alma mater, Anna Maria College in Paxton, MA, where she serves as adjunct faculty and mentor teacher to many aspiring young educators.

Syracuse University Singers
John Warren
The University Singers is the most select choral ensemble at Syracuse University. With 36 members, the choir performs a variety of music, from Renaissance to contemporary compositions. The ensemble has toured throughout the Northeast and Florida. The 2009-2010 season will include a performance at the American Choral Directors Association Eastern Division Conference in Philadelphia, and two performances with the Syracuse Symphony. Membership is open to all University students by audition.

John Warren is Director of Choral Activities at Syracuse University, where he conducts three choirs, and teaches conducting and choral literature to undergraduate and graduate students. From 1999-2005, Dr. Warren held a similar position at Erskine College in South Carolina, where he won the Younts’ Excellence in Teaching Award in 2005. He holds the BM in Church Music from Furman University, the MM in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Miami. Warren was one of five conductors chosen to conduct the choir and orchestra in masterclass with Maestro Rilling and was a Conducting Fellow for the 2006 Chorus America Choral-Orchestral Conducting Workshop in Philadelphia. He will serve on the Planning Committee for the 2011 ACDA National Convention.

University of Toronto MacMillan Singers
Doreen Rao
The University of Toronto MacMillan Singers were founded in 1994 to celebrate the legacy of Sir Ernest MacMillan, a performer and devoted teacher who influenced every aspect of Canada’s musical life. The ensemble has performed and recorded a wide range of culturally diverse and distinctive repertoire with a demonstrated commitment to 20th-century Canadian composers. In April 2009, the MacMillan Singers performed the American premiere of John Burge’s Mass for Prisoners of Conscience in Lincoln Center, a monumental cantata for chorus, orchestra and soloists dedicated to Amnesty International. In April 2010 the Singers will conclude their year with Helmuth Rilling and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in performances of Bach’s Mass in B Minor. The group performs regularly with the University of Toronto Symphony and in concert collaborations with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Appointed to the University of Toronto Faculty of Music as The Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting, Doreen Rao serves as the Director of Choral Programs and Conductor of the University of Toronto MacMillan Singers and Bach Festival Singers. Her choirs enjoy on-going collaborations with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Gryphon Trio, Nexus Percussion Ensemble and the Elmer Iseler Singers. Recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on children’s and youth choirs, she founded the ACDA National Committee on Children’s Choirs and was Artistic Director of the award-winning Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus. She was recently appointed Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, the recipient of the Cameron Baird Conductor’s Chair.

Vassar College Women's Chorus
Christine Howlett
The Vassar College Women’s Chorus is an auditioned ensemble of approximately forty singers and is open to all Vassar women. Although a small number of these singers are music majors, the majority of the members are students majoring in diverse programs such as anthropology, biology, economics, political science, and others. The Women’s Chorus has toured in Puerto Rico and Spain, and was featured in live performances on both national radio and television programs in Turkey. Last year, the Chorus was invited to perform at Harvard’s Festival of Women’s Choruses and made their debut at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. This year, the Women’s Chorus is honored to be performing at conferences for both the National Collegiate Choral Organization and ACDA.

Christine R. Howlett is Assistant Professor and the Director of Choral Activities at Vassar College where she conducts the Vassar College Choir, Women’s Chorus, and teaches voice and musicianship skills. She is the artistic director of the Cappella Festiva Chamber Choir and Treble Choir, and the Poughkeepsie Boys Choir. Last year her choruses sang at Carnegie Hall and the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and she was the chorus master for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for a performance with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic under the baton of Randall Fleischer. She holds an undergraduate degree in Voice Performance from the University of Toronto, and a master’s in Early Music Voice Performance and doctorate in Choral Conducting from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Washington Men's Camerata
Frank Albinder
The Washington Men’s Camerata was founded by its members in 1984 to perform, promote, and preserve the rich legacy of men’s choral music. The Camerata maintains a subscription series in the Washington, DC, area, and has performed at the Kennedy Center and the White House. They have sung at conventions of the ACDA, Chorus America, Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses and the Organization of American Kodály Educators. The group has released six critically-acclaimed CDs on the Gothic label and they are heard regularly on several nationally-syndicated radio programs. In 1998, the Camerata established a National Repository Library of Men’s Choral Music.

Frank Albinder is music director of the Washington Men's Camerata, the Woodley Ensemble and the Virginia Glee Club at the University of Virginia. Frank was a longtime member of Chanticleer, with whom he made 19 recordings (including the Grammy® Award-winning Colors of Love) and performed in all 50 states and 20 foreign countries. He holds degrees from Pomona College and the New England Conservatory of Music. In addition to serving as the National R&S Chair for Male Choirs, he is also President of Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses, a National Board Member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization and Vice-President of ChoralNet.org.

Wellesley College Choir
Lisa Graham
Consisting of approximately 50 auditioned singers, the Wellesley College Choir was founded in 1900 and has enjoyed a rich history, including the directorship of composer Randall Thompson. National and international tours have led the choir to perform in such venues as the National Cathedral in Washington DC, La Basilique Notre-Dame Montréal, the Mezquita-Catedral in Córdoba and in Rome before a Papal Audience. The Choir has commissioned many important new works, including music by Marjorie Merryman, William Hawley, Kirke Mechem, David Childs and Joan Szymko. The Wellesley College Choir regularly performs on Boston-area concert series, often collaborating with the New England Philharmonic and with the choral programs of Harvard, Cornell and Rutgers. They are featured in the 2003 motion picture, Mona Lisa Smile.

In her eighth year as the Evelyn Barry Director of Choral Music, Lisa Graham conducts the Wellesley College Choir and Chamber Singers as well as teaching courses in the music department. In 2004 she founded the Choral Scholars Program, consisting of scholarship students selected to study conducting and choral music. An active participant in the musical life of the greater Boston area, she is also the Music Director of the Brookline Chorus and conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society’s Young Women’s Chorus. Additionally, she is a founding member of the National Collegiate Choral Conductor’s Organization, as well as serving as Vice President and current Treasurer. She is the Women's Choir R&S Chair for the Massachusetts ACDA and an active guest conductor, clinician, and festival adjudicator.

The York County Junior Honors Choir
Donna A. Knott
Celebrating its seventh season, the York County JUNIOR Honors Choir includes singers in grades 7 through 9 who represent the seventeen school districts in the county. Concerts educate listeners about adolescent male and female voices and entertain audiences of all ages, including those on the annual elementary school tour. The choir has performed for Pennsylvania ACDA, PMEA, and the Music Education Department of Penn State University. The group has experienced many choral exchanges with junior high choirs and has participated in frequent choral workshops with Dr. Anthony Leach, Dr. Christopher Kiver, Dr. Lon Beery and Christine Jordanoff . The workshops, arranged by director Donna Knott, address the unique challenges of the changing male and female voices.

Donna A. Knott is in her seventh season as the Director of The York County Junior Honors Choir. Mrs. Knott’s passion for encouraging youth through the art of choral music has not waned during her 26 years of teaching. Second only to being with her family is the importance of serving as an active middle school festival conductor in PA, and implementing various festivals, camps and music scholarship programs in York County. A graduate of West Chester University and Penn State University, her thesis was “An Extensive Study of the Young Male’s Changing Voice in Correlation to His Interest in Singing.” She has served a three-year term as R&S Chair for Vocal Jazz and Show Choir for PA-ACDA.

United in Praise Choirs

Nashira: The Jewish Chorale of Greater Philadelphia
Jonathan Coopersmith
Nashirah's mission is to bring Jewish choral music of the highest caliber to the community. As defined by Nashirah, this includes: music by composers either born or culturally Jewish and music by composers who are non-Jewish, but whose work draws from Old Testament texts or other Jewish sources. Formed as a 12-voice demonstration choir, Nashirah has grown into a 23-voice ensemble that has performed in venues in the Greater Philadelphia area, as well as twice by invitation at the North American Jewish Choral Festival. The group has staged four annual concerts, and is now the choir-in-residence at the Gershman Y on the Avenue of the Arts. Nashirah aims ultimately to comprise a 40-voice ensemble and to be an integral member of the Philadelphia Jewish and secular artistic communities.

A native of Princeton, Jonathan Coopersmith has been Associate Conductor for the Philadelphia Singers since 2002 and on the musical studies faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music since 2004. At Curtis, Mr. Coopersmith teaches harmony, counterpoint, music history, and solfege.  In past seasons, Mr. Coopersmith has been hired by The Philadelphia Orchestra as a Guest Chorus Director. He has also served as music director for Philadelphia's Opera On The Square, the Rittenhouse Row Festival, and the Philadelphia Festival of the Arts.
Coopersmith holds a master’s in Orchestral Conducting from the Mannes College of Music, and a BA in music from the University of Pennsylvania. He also studied at the Pierre Monteux School of Conducting, where he was a student of Michael Jinbo.

Korean United Christians Choir
Changho Lee
A native of Korea, Changho Lee began his musical training at the age of fifteen on the oboe and later went on to earn two master’s degrees in oboe performance and choral conducting. Presently, he serves as an assistant conductor with the Mendelssohn Club Choir in Philadelphia. He is also the music director at Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church in New Jersey. Previous appointments include serving as assistant conductor of the Bucks County Choral Society, Temple University Concert Choir, University Singers, University Chorale and Chamber Choir, and also as assistant with the Korea Air Force Military Band, where he was a captain and conductor for eight years, from 1992 to 2000.

Bright Hope Baptist Church Celestial Choir
J. Donald Dumpson
Founded in 1950 by the late Rev. William H. Gray, Jr., the Bright Hope Baptist Church Celestial Choir keeps its primary purpose of music ministry central in its activities. It is also involved with outreach ministries that have taken it from the sanctuary to some of the most prestigious concert halls in America. The Choir sang at the groundbreaking ceremony for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, PA, and performed Donald Dumpson's arrangement of "God Bless America" as the inaugural choral appearance at the opening of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. It was also the featured choir at the opening of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in July, 1993. The Choir has appeared in television commercials, television specials, educational forums and premier presentations throughout the East Coast.

Active as an educator, master keyboardist, conductor, vocal coach, composer and arranger, J. Donald Dumpson is Minister of Music and Arts at Bright Hope Baptist Church. He has served as artistic director and conductor for numerous choirs in the Philadelphia area, and assisted with the choral preparation of the Opera Company of Philadelphia's production of Porgy and Bess. Dumpson is on the music faculty at Westminster Choir College of Rider University where he conducts the Westminster Jubilee Singers. He co-produced the national telecast of Black Entertainment Television's First Annual African-American Sacred Music Festival and also prepared the chorus for the Marian Anderson Award concert. Mr. Dumpson earned an MM from Temple University and is currently enrolled there in the PhD program.

Conducting Master Class Choirs

Mansfield University Concert Choir
Peggy Dettwiler
The Mansfield University Concert Choir is a select ensemble; while the majority are undergraduate music majors, membership is open to all university students. The group has been chosen to perform at conventions or festivals around the world: the Pennsylvania Music Educators State Conference, the Eastern Division MENC, the Music Educators National Convention, the ACDA Pennsylvania State Conference, and the ACDA Eastern Division Convention. The choir was a finalist in the Florilège Vocal de Tours International Choral Festival in France, a winner of a Gold Medal at the Robert Schumann International Choir Competition in Germany; and placed fourth in the International Choir Competition in Bulgaria. They won the Championship in the Gospel & Spiritual Category and placed second in the Mixed Youth Choir Category at the 2008 World Choir Games in Austria.

Peggy Dettwiler is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania, where she conducts the Concert Choir, Festival Chorus, and Mansfieldians, and teaches choral conducting and methods. She holds a DMA from the Eastman School of Music, an MM in Choral Conducting from the University of Texas and an MM in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin. Prior to coming to Mansfield in 1990, she was Director of Choral Activities at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX, and Choral Director at Mt. Horeb High School in Mt. Horeb, WI. She has served as a guest conductor and lecturer throughout the country and has given presentations at numerous conventions. Her most recent interest sessions are based upon her DVD, "Developing a Choral Color Palette."

University of Delaware Chorale
Paul D. Head (Philadelphia Bach Institute)
The 60-voice University of Delaware Chorale is held in high regard among the finest university choral ensembles in the eastern United States. They have appeared on regional ACDA conventions in Pittsburgh and Hartford, as well as the National ACDA Convention in Los Angeles. International concert tours have taken the Chorale to Shanghai and Beijing, China, in addition to their participation in the Estonian International Choral Competition where they were awarded the first-place Grand Prix Award in 2007. The Chorale represents nearly every college in the University of Delaware, providing opportunities for musical excellence to majors and non-majors alike.

As director of choral studies at the University of Delaware, Paul D. Head directs the University Chorale in addition to teaching choral methods, literature, and conducting. He is also currently serving as the Chair of the Department of Music. Head is a native of California where he taught in the public schools for eight years prior to pursuing graduate study at Westminster Choir College and the University of Oklahoma. He has presented at workshops and conventions at regional, state, and national levels and is in frequent demand as a clinician/adjudicator for choral festivals and honor choirs throughout the United States. This year, Head will serve as a guest conductor, clinician, and/or adjudicator in California, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Örebro, Sweden

University of Maryland Chamber Singers
Edward Maclary (Philadelphia Bach Institute)
Founded in 2001 Music Director Edward Maclary, The University of Maryland Chamber Singers are chosen from undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Music and other academic programs within the University, through a rigorous audition process. Since 2003 the Chamber Singers have appeared annually with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. Highlights of these collaborations include the Bach St. Matthew Passion under the direction of Helmuth Rilling in 2006. In the spring of 2010 the Chamber Singers will return to the NSO for a series of performances of the Bach Mass in b minor with Principal Conductor Iván Fischer. In 2007, the ensemble was awarded the second prize at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales. The University of Maryland Chamber Singers have also been honored with consecutive invitations to perform at NCCO conferences.

Edward Maclary is Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at the University of Maryland School of Music. Choirs under his direction have toured in Europe and North America and have performed by invitation for ACDA, NCCO and MENC conventions. Professor Maclary leads the graduate program in conducting at the University of Maryland and oversees the School’s seven full time choral ensembles. He has served as chorus master for such conductors as Robert Shaw, Helmuth Rilling, Robert Spano and Iván Fischer and has prepared choral ensembles for the Cleveland Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra. Regarded as an outstanding clinician and teacher, Edward Maclary maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor for choral festivals and honor choirs throughout the country.

Kimmel Center Concert

Temple University Concert Choir
Alan Harler
The Temple University Concert Choir has won the praise of critics, the public, and the musical world alike. The Temple University Concert Choir is committed to the performance of new American choral music and has presented many Philadelphia premieres including Robert Moran's Hagoromo, Alfred Schnittke's Requiem, Arvo Pärt's Passio Nostri Jesu Christi Secundum Joannem and music of Temple composers Jan Krzywicki, Cynthia Folio, Jay Krush, Richard Brodhead, and Maurice Wright. In recent years, the Concert Choir has performed in major concert halls in the Republic of China, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Alan Harler serves as Laura H. Carnell Professor and Chairman of Choral Music at Temple University's Boyer College of Music and Dance. With the Temple University Concert Choir, he has presented many Philadelphia premieres, including works of Moran, Schnittke, and Pärt. He is an active conductor outside of Philadelphia, having performed regularly at the Festival Casals in Puerto Rico, and the Aspen Choral Institute, and has given master classes and conducted performances in Taiwan and China. During his tenure as music director of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, he commissioned and premiered thirty-three new compositions and conducted the group in a critically acclaimed recording for Argos/London in 1994. Harler has prepared choruses for many of the country's leading conductor's, including Muti, Tennstedt, Dutoit, Mehta, Maazel, and Sawallisch.

The Westminster Choir
Joe Miller
Setting the standard for choral excellence for 88 years, the Westminster Choir is composed of students at Westminster Choir College, a division of Rider University's Westminster College of the Arts, in Princeton, NJ. It has been the chorus-in-residence for the Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus.
With conductor Joe Miller, the ensemble's 2008-2009 season included a concert tour of the Midwest, performances at its home in Princeton, a recording project and a series of concerts at the Spoleto Festival USA. Praised by The New York Times for its "full-bodied, incisive singing," the Westminster Choir also forms the core of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with the leading conductors and orchestras of our time.

Joe Miller is conductor of two of America’s most renowned choral ensembles – the Westminster Choir and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. As director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, NJ, he oversees an extensive choral program that includes eight ensembles. His 2009-2010 season includes collaborations with the New York Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the San Francisco Symphony with conductors John Adams, Alan Gilbert, Sir Roger Norrington, Helmuth Rilling and Michael Tilson Thomas. He will also conduct the Westminster Symphonic Choir performing Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Westminster Festival Orchestra. His season with the Westminster Choir includes a concert tour of California, a recording project, and their annual residency at the Spoleto Festival USA.

Last revised June 26, 2010

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