Artistic Panel – Singapore International Choral Festival 2026

Ai Hooi Lim

Artistic Director, SourceWerkz

Founder and Artistic Director, ONE Chamber Choir

Singapore

Ai Hooi’s philosophy for choral music and teaching stems from her view that a fulfilling musical journey is one that is filled with sincerity, love and excellence. She uses the creation of music as a platform to share and infuse her values and beliefs in her singers and inspires them to use the beauty of music to craft experiences that touch the hearts of the audience.

Born in Penang, Malaysia, Ai Hooi graduated from Royal College of Music, London with Majors in Piano and Voice. After moving to Singapore, Ai Hooi actively contributes to the growth of the local choral scene, through nurturing younger choral conductors and choristers. On top of conducting several local secondary and junior college choirs, Ai Hooi established ONE Chamber Choir, a young adult choir. In 2017, the choir achieved the 2nd Prize of the Mixed Choirs category at the 15th International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf 2017, as well as the Special Prize of the Carl-Orff-Stiftung Diessan am Ammersee for the best interpretation of a choral worked premiered at the competition for “The Emigrant” by Wolfram Buchenberg. Recently, the choir took part in the 10th World Choir Games in Tshwane, South Africa and achieved Gold in all three categories they competed in, including Champion of the World Choir Games in the Chamber Choir Category.

She has also been the conductor of the Hwa Chong Institution Choir since 2000 which has achieved numerous accolades over the years, including emerging Champion in the Mixed Choir category at the 5th World Choir Games 2008, achieving the title Absolute Winner (top choir across categories) at the Festival of Songs Olomouc, and the Prix du public (Public prize) at the 2010 Florilège vocal de Tour.

Ai Hooi has served as a jury member on numerous international choral festivals, including the World Choir Games, Asian Choral Grand Prix, Singapore International Choral Festival, Bali International Choir Festival, Taipei International Choral Competition, Canta Al Mar Festival Coral Internacional, Karangturi International Choral Festival, Festival Coros de Verão and so on. She has also shared her conducting experiences as a panellist and educator in Poland, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and most recently at the International Conductor’s Seminar Wernigerode 2025.

She is also the founder and Artistic Director of ONE Choral Company Ltd, a charitable arts organisation dedicated to being a leader in choral artistry in Asia and beyond, to touch hearts and forge communities. Together with the flagship ensemble, ONE Chamber Choir, the company is also the driving force behind the annual Singapore International Choral Festival. Hosting over 22,000 choristers from over 25 countries since inception, the festival aims to inspire excellence, celebrate diversity, and create transformative experiences through song.

Yong Chee Foon

Chee Foon Yong

Associate Artistic Director, Sourcewerkz

President, Choral Directors’ Association (Singapore)

Singapore

Yong Chee Foon’s journey as a choral director is a testament to his unwavering passion for choral music and commitment to artistic growth. Currently the President of the Choral Directors’ Association (Singapore), he began his musical journey by learning the piano, but his passion for choral music quickly took root when he joined the Victoria Junior College Choir and later, Victoria Chorale. This marked the beginning of a lifelong dedication to choral music education.

He first graduated from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) with a Bachelor Degree in Accountancy. After several years in the financial sector, he moved on to pursue his passion – Choral art – and obtained an ATCL in Voice from Trinity College, London. In 2016, he graduated with a Masters in Music (Choral Conducting) from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Alongside his studies, he has attended numerous choral conducting workshops by renowned choral directors, gleaning insights from their vast experiences and integrating their wisdom into his own approach.

He is currently the conductor of several choirs in Singapore and his choirs have performed well in the Singapore Youth Festival, garnering Gold and Gold with Honours awards as well as Certificates of Distinction. His choirs have also ventured overseas to participate in International Competitions where they received numerous accolades with Gold and Silver medals. Most recently, he was awarded a Distinction for Conductor Award at the 13th International Krakow Choir Festival (2024), an award he was first conferred at the 4th edition (2013) of the festival.

His philosophy for music revolves around the transformative power of artistic expression and its ability to bridge cultural divides. He believes that music has the ability to transcends barriers, enabling individuals from different backgrounds to communicate and connect on a profound level. He advocates for an inclusive and nurturing environment where aspiring musicians can explore their creativity, develop their technical skills, and discover their authentic musical identities.

He desires to inspire young singers, through choral music education, to live life with passion and achieve excellence in all aspects of life whilst remaining appreciative to all who have made a difference to them.

Aris Sudibjo

Aris Sudibyo

Indonesia

Aris holds a first degree in Architecture from Petra Christian University (PCU), followed by a second degree in Church Music with a major in Vocal Performance from the Singapore Bible College (SBC). He later completed a Master’s degree in Church Music, majoring in Choral Conducting, jointly offered by Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Baptis (STTB) and SBC.

From 1997 to 2005, he served as Director of Choral Activities at Petra Christian University in Surabaya, Indonesia, where he established his national reputation as a choral conductor. He then spent 15 years in West Papua, pioneering and teaching choral music to young people, from children to young adults, across various regions. During this time, he also served as Head of the Education and Training Department of the Provincial Foundation for Indonesian Church Music Development.

He has been an active speaker and clinician for choir and vocal workshops across Indonesia, and has served as an adjudicator at local, regional, national, and international choir competitions.

Since 2012, he has been a member of the World Choir Council of the World Choir Games.

He has since returned to Surabaya, where he currently leads the Center for Church Music Development, overseeing choral and orchestral activities as well as church music training at Petra Christian University.

Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng

Philippines

Dr. Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng is the President of the Philippine Choral Directors Association, Associate Professor and Chair of the Conducting & Choral Ensemble Department of the University of the Philippines College of Music, and Artistic Director of the Las Piñas International Bamboo Organ Festival.

She is a first prize winner at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Graduate Conducting Competition. She also won first prize for the A1 Piano Category of the Philippines’ National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA). She is the Philippine representative to the Asia Pacific Choral Council and was appointed as conductor of the Asia Pacific Youth Choir for its 2018 Season. In 2023, she served as one of the Artistic Directors for the World Symposium for Choral Music, an event organized by the International Federation for Choral Music. In the same year, she served as guest conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in one of its season concerts. Recently, she was a featured presenter at the 2023 and 2025 National Conferences of the American Choral Directors Association.

Dr. Shangkuan-Cheng’s conducting, academic, and teaching awards include the Levi Barbour Fellowship from the University of Michigan, the Phyllis Curtin Career Entry Award from the Yale School of Music, the Margot Fassler Award and the Hugh Giles Prize from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, the 2022 – 2024 One UP Professorial Chair Award in Music for Outstanding Creative Work and Public Service, the 2023 UP Diliman Centennial Professorial Chair, and most recently, the 2025 Gawad Tsanselor sa Natatanging Guro Award, the highest recognition given to a faculty member in UP Diliman.

Performance and adjudication engagements have brought her to Belgium, South Africa, Germany, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Spain, Vietnam, Portugal, Singapore, and the US. She also regularly leads workshops in different parts of the Philippines.

Dr. Shangkuan-Cheng received a Bachelor of Music (summa cum laude) from the University of the Philippines, a Master of Music from the Yale School of Music and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan.

Eugene Rogers

United States of America

Lauded for leading performances of “pure magic” (Washington Post), Eugene Rogers is at the vanguard of American musicians. Rogers brings a wide-ranging artistic vision as a conductor for orchestra and chorus with a commitment to championing timely new works and supporting next-generation artists.

He is a two-time Michigan Emmy Award winner, a 2017 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2015. Musical America magazine has named him one of the top music industry professionals, and his work has been profiled on CNN, PBS, and on radio stations and in print and online publications across the world.

He has guest conducted such ensembles as The Chicago Symphony Chorus, the State Choir of Latvia, the Grant Park Symphony Chorus and have collaborated with such conductors as James Conlon, Gianandrea Noseda, Marion Alsop, Jonathan Heyward and many others.

Rogers was announced in February of 2020 as the fifth Artistic Director of The Washington Chorus (TWC), became the Founding Conductor of the Sphinx Organization’s EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble in 2018 and has been the Director of University Choirs at the University of Michigan since 2018 where he leads the graduate choral conducting program and adminsters nine choral ensembles.

Yoon Euijoong

Euijoon Yoon

Republic of Korea

Dr. Euijoong Yoon, the 8th Artistic Director of the Incheon City Chorale, is a renowned conductor recognized for his exceptional skill and strategic vision. As an active leader in the field of choral music, he has been instrumental in expanding the choral community and advancing Korean choral composition. Uniquely among choral conductors, Dr. Yoon majored in violin at Seoul National University. This distinctive background has earned him high regard for his ability to create meticulously crafted and richly textured choral music, distinguishing him from his peers. Dr. Yoon earned both his master’s and doctoral degrees in choral conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where he studied under Dr. Earl Rivers, one of the most esteemed maestros in American choral conducting.

Upon returning to Korea in 2005, Dr. Yoon began his tenure as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Changwon City Chorale, a position he held for over a decade. His leadership significantly elevated the Changwon City Chorale to one of the premier choirs in South Korea, thanks to his innovative and expansive repertoire. He also successfully directed the Changwon Grand Prix and Choral Festival & Competition. His dedication and achievements were recognized with the ‘Choir of Changwon’ Award, bestowed by the Choral Federation of Changwon City for his outstanding leadership. Dr. Yoon was also invited as a guest conductor for the Boys’ & Men’s Choir in Herning, Denmark in 2006, and for Seraphic Fire, one of the top professional choirs in the United States, in 2019, where he received widespread acclaim.

From 2017 to 2023, Dr. Yoon served as the 10th and 11th Artistic Director of the National Chorus of Korea. During this period, he promoted the excellence of Korean choral music on the global stage through numerous international performances. Notably, in 2023, he received high praise for showcasing the essence of Korean choral music at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. Under his direction in 2022, the National Chorus of Korea released ‘Voice of Solace’ through Warner Music, further contributing to the global promotion of K-Classic and reinforcing Korea’s leadership in the world of choral music. Additionally, in 2022, he founded the American Soloist Ensemble and invited them to Korea to perform Korean choral works, further advancing the globalization of Korean choral music.

As of January 2024, Dr. Yoon has assumed the role of the 8th Artistic Director of the Incheon City Chorale, where he aims to elevate the ensemble to new heights. From 2025, he has been serving as Professor in the Choral Conducting Department at Dankook University and as Conductor of the Dankook University Concert Choir, having previously served as Professor at Hansei University. In addition, Dr. Yoon serves on the Board of Directors of the Korean Choral Directors Association (KCDA), as Deputy Director of the Korean Federation for Choral Music (KFCM), and as Director of both the Korean Church Music Association and the Korean University Choral Association. He is also a committee member of the Asian Choral Association, representing Korea.

Lee Shiak Yao

Shiak Yao Lee

Malaysia

Lee Shiak Yao is a multiple international prize and award-winning conductor, vocalist clinician, and lecturer. He graduated with a MMus from the University of Hull, UK, and studied conducting with Andrew Penny and Dr. Lee Tsang. He also mastered the arts of piano accompaniment, under the tutelage of Miss June Stephenson, and vocal singing, under Ralph Macdonald, Lim Cheng Hock, Paul Wade, and Dr. Michela Bertagnolli.

He is very active in all grounds of musical performances and pedagogy on local as well as on international stages, which include conducting wind, symphonic orchestras, and theatrical productions; adjudicating music competitions, conducting master classes and workshops on solo and choral singing, instrumental ensemble playing and professional conducting technique; serving as recital repetiteur and accompanist for singers, instrumentalists, and theatrical productions; singing as soloist or ensemble singer. The choirs and ensembles that he directed had won impressive awards locally as well as on the international scene.

Lee Shiak Yao has performed and lectured in more than 35 countries around the world and he had the privilege of landing himself on the grounds of Scandinavia, Europe, the United States of America, South America, Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Africa. He was awarded the “Honourable Music Art Contribution Award” in year 2010 for his diligent and ceaseless contribution in musical arts all over Malaysia. He received the utmost honour to be the first Malaysian to be invited to perform with the World Youth Choir in the 2011 Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Norway.

He is currently serving as the Vice-President of the Malaysian Choral Federation, and the Artistic Director of Klang Chamber Choir and Time Ensemble.

Luc Anthonis

Belgium

Luc Anthonis started his musical career at the music academy of his hometown Ekeren. He developed a particular fascination for choral music. At the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp Luc Anthonis received qualifications for flute, chamber music, harmony and choral conducting.

He rounded out his knowledge on choral music and choral conducting in master classes with Jan Eelkema, Michael Scheck, Eric Ericson, Simon Halsey, Péter Erdei and others.

From 1980 till 2024 he conducted the youth choir Cantilene and in 1989 he himself founded the chamber choir Cantando that is still under his artistic direction. The latter has won a great number of prizes in national and international competitions. He conducted the Flemish Radio Choir on a regular basis. He also conducted the Symphonic Orchestra of Ekeren (SEE) from 1988 till 2022.

Luc Anthonis is professor choral conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp (School of Arts). He is a standard member of the jury for choir contests, national and international and he is the Belgian representative of the World Choir Council.

Mat Wright

United Kingdom

Mat is a former Cathedral Choral Scholar who has worked in a variety of roles in education during the last 25 years. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the internationally award-winning Barnsley Youth Choir, and has also established Barnsley Singers, an adult community choir.

He has worked internationally as an adjudicator, clinician, course leader, guest conductor and workshop leader and is the Artistic Director of two major international choral competitions.

Mat is an honorary member of the World Choir Council and was awarded an MBE for his services to music and young people. He was made an Honorary Freeman of Barnsley in recognition for his work within the local community.

He is spearheading the development of the Northern Academy of Vocal Excellence (the NAVE) which is a £4m development that will provide a centre of excellence for choral singing in the North of England. He is passionate about the use of singing as a mechanism to engage, connect and transform communities.

Michael Barrett

South Africa

Michael Joseph Barrett, who was awarded a DMus (Performing Arts) in Choral Performance by the University of Pretoria in 2017, is currently the conductor of the University’s (Tuks) Camerata choir and a senior lecturer in Choral Conducting in the Department of Music.

He has received a Y2 rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and is a four-time South African Music Awards (SAMA) Nominee. Michael’s choirs have won numerous national and international awards and have performed at the World Choral Symposium (Barcelona 2017) and the National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association (Dallas 2025) as a headline choir.

He is in demand as a choral clinician, a lecturer and an adjudicator both locally and abroad, most recently having conducted All State Choirs in Texas (2024), Missouri (2022), and Florida (2019). In April 2026, Michael will make his Carnegie Hall Debut conducting a programme of South African music.

He is an active composer and arranger, and 40 of his compositions have been published internationally (USA) by Walton Music (GIA) and Santa Barbara Music Publishers. Michael is the Executive Director and co-producer of Capital Singers, South Africa’s largest community choir project.

Ronnie Cheng

Hong Kong, China

Educated in Hong Kong and the United States, Mr. Ronnie Kay Yen CHENG is a seasoned conductor in both the choral and orchestra arts.

Mr Cheng has led his ensembles to international accolades including being crowned as the Champions of the World Choral Championships, Grand Prix Champions at the Tokyo International Choral Championships 2024, and double champions at the World Choir Games in 2023 and many others held around the world in Austria, China, Germany, Japan, S. Korea, U.S.A., and Wales.

These contributions to the choral arts have credited him global recognition, as shown in his being awarded the Outstanding Artistic Award, Outstanding Interpretation Awards, as well as the Best Conductor Award. He currently directs the Diocesan Choral Society and the Diocesan Male Chorus.

Mr Cheng has been serving as Chairman of the HKSMSA since 2022 and is currently an Executive Committee member of the newly established Asian Choral Association. As an accomplished musician and educator, Mr. Cheng is also active in the field of educational leadership as the Headmaster of the Diocesan Boys’ School, Hong Kong.

Wei Cheng

United States of America

Dr. Wei Cheng is the Director of Choral Program and Associate Professor of Teaching at University of California, Berkeley, Department of Music, where she oversees the UCB Chamber Chorus, University Chorus, Vocal Program, and conducting instruction. For her outstanding contributions she has been named the Virginia Chan Lew Distinguished Professor in Music for 2023-2028. This follows her tenure as the Jerry and Evelyn Hemmings Chambers Distinguished Professor in Music from 2020-2023. Originally from Beijing, China, Dr. Cheng earned her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in choral conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

Recipient of the Dale Warland Conducting Award from the American Prize, Dr. Cheng is revered as an accomplished performer, educator, clinician, and adjudicator, having engaged musicians across the USA and China. Her leadership has seen both present and past choirs embark on numerous international tours, collaborating with renowned musicians and ensembles such as the Ethel String Quartet, Phillippe Entremont, the Munich Symphony Orchestra, and Essa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra (London). Moreover, under her guidance, the UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus recently won the American Prize in 2022 (college division), further attesting to Dr. Cheng’s commitment to excellence in choral performance.

Dr. Cheng’s primary professional focus lies in China, where she serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Beijing Harmonia Choir and frequently conducts the Young People’s Chamber Choir at the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing. She has also led residencies at prestigious institutions such as the China National Opera House and the Lanzhou Performing Arts Group. Additionally, she conducted the Stara-Zagora Opera
Chorus and Orchestra in Bulgaria.

As a clinician, Dr. Cheng has worked with diverse age groups, ranging from children’s choirs to conservatory-level ensembles, in both the USA and China. Her expertise includes contemporary choral repertoire, conducting pedagogy, and the advancement of choral music in China. Committed to her mission of promoting Western choral traditions in China, she has served as a guest lecturer and conducting master teacher at prestigious conservatories in the country. Additionally, Dr. Cheng has been invited to adjudicate numerous state contests, music festivals, and national conferences, further solidifying her reputation as a leader and innovator in the choral community.

Dr. Wong Su Sun

Su Sun Wong

Singapore

In the past 35 years, Dr Wong Su Sun works extensively as a soprano; mentor; choral adjudicator; conductor; clinician for local, regional and international festivals, universities, schools and choirs; and opera creative artiste / facilitator. She is also known to be one of the long serving choral adjudicators for Singapore Youth Festival. As the artistic director of Singapore Lyric Opera in the early 2000s, she was instrumental in developing award winning Singapore young singers as well as directing SLO in-house adult and children’s opera choruses for all stage productions; young opera artist training; outreach education; touring program, locally and internationally.

In recent years, Dr Wong was honoured to be appointed as the alpha member (Singapore) of Global Science Opera Program – a United Nation’s Legacy runs by Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. Her 2021 GSO project – Thrive, which involved school students creating, researching, performing and filming class-made mini opera scenes with topics addressing climate change, global warming, and Singapore’s approaches to embodying the Island city with nature and protecting rich biodiversity, was voted as one of the best mini opera scene submitted by European audiences at GSO opera preview of Thrive in Norway.

2024 marked an important milestone where Dr Wong made an operatic endeavour to stage a new chamber opera which she originated, co-created with an outstanding team, and starred in Losing Lily. The world premiere of this work received critical acclaim by opera enthusiasts and critics alike. Straits Times hailed that her impressive interpretation of the title role, Lily, was on point and a ‘tour de force’. Moving forward, the 1998 soprano prize winner of the International Donizetti Opera Competition at Bergamo, Italy, continues to pursue her calling in developing and performing story singing works with Asian cultural and environmental contexts; making music with younger generations of soloists, choristers, conductors, and teachers; and delving deeper into performance practise research on singing for well-being.

She earned her doctorate degree in vocal performance from The University of Texas at Austin and was trained in London and Italy. Her former teaching posts include Singapore University of Social Sciences, Yong Siew Toh Music Conservatory, University of St Joseph at Macao, and Scheiner College at Kerville, Texas. She is currently an adjunct voice faculty at University of the Arts Singapore (LaSalle College of the Arts) and United World College of South-East-Asia.