David was appointed to the position of Music Director of the New Zealand Youth Choir in 2011 and is the first alumnus conductor of the choir. He has led the choir on four international tours, including the USA and Canada in 2013, which featured performances of the War Requiem by Britten in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, as well as concerts in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, New York and Washington DC. In 2016 the choir gave concerts in Singapore, the Czech Republic, France and the UK. Tour highlights included singing high mass at Notre-Dame in Paris, a lunchtime concert at Windsor Castle, and producing a live DVD recording of a well-received concert at St Johns Smith Square in London. The choir also participated in the Festival of Academic Choirs in Pardubice, Czech Republic, winning every category it entered, as well as the prize for outstanding vocal culture, and then going on to win the Grand Prix. At the end of 2019 the choir embarked on a Pacific tour aboard the cruise ship MS Maasdam, taking in Tonga, Niue, Fiji, New Caledonia and Sydney. In 2022 the choir undertook a tour of Australia, performing in Tasmania, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and the Sydney Opera House.

David has taught music in secondary schools for over 30 years, directing choirs, orchestras and bands, including many groups that have won local, national and international awards. His mixed-voice chamber choir from Rangitoto College, The Fundamentals, won the platinum award at the 2008 NZCF Big Sing Finale in Wellington – the first time a mixed-voice choir achieved this. The Westlake Symphony Orchestra has won a gold award at every KBB Music Festival for almost twenty years, and also won the award for the best orchestral performance of a New Zealand work for ten of the thirteen years it has been presented. In July 2014 the orchestra won first equal prize at the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival in Vienna, Austria. His upper voice choir from Kristin School, Euphony, was placed third in the open female choir competition at the International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales, in July 2013, and then represented New Zealand at the ChoralFest convention in Brisbane in 2017. In April 2019 Euphony represented New Zealand at the Budapest International Choral Festival in Hungary, winning the Youth Choirs of Equal Voices category, coming 3^rd in the open Musica Sacra category, and was then invited to compete for the Grand Prix. His boys’ choir from Westlake Boys High School, Voicemale, won the Grand Prix at the 2^nd Leonardo da Vinci International Choral Festival in Florence, Italy, in July 2018, and David also won the award for best conductor at this event.

As a freelance music educator, David teaches in several secondary schools and frequently runs workshops and professional development courses throughout the country. He has conducted several local ensembles, including the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the St Matthews Chamber Orchestra. He was the assistant musical director of the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir, founding musical director of the Auckland Youth Big Band, chairman and administrator of the KBB Music Festival, and a live performance reviewer for Radio NZ Concert. He is often involved in session and recording work, particularly as a conductor, adjudicator, clinician and singer, including a tour with George Benson as backing vocalist in 2010. He has been the choral adjudicator and clinician at the Rhapsody Rotorua festival for several years. He presented workshops at the 2009, 2013 and 2016 Sing Aotearoa Festivals and the 2010 International Summer School of Choral Conducting, where he was a mentor and tutor. In 2011 he directed training workshops for choirs singing the anthems at the Rugby World Cup, and then conducted anthem choirs at seven matches. In 2012 he was a mentor and workshop presenter at the inaugural ACD Choral Connect convention. In March 2017 he was guest conductor of the mixed honour choir at the AMIS festival in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and in July 2017 he directed the choir for Neil Finn’s critically acclaimed album Out of Silence. In February 2018 he was appointed chorusmaster and choral director for the International Schools Choral Music Society, having taken on this role at the annual festival held in Suzhou, China. In February 2019 he conducted the combined ISCMS choir and orchestra in the Chinese premiere of Tippet’s spirituals from A Child of Our Time in the Shanghai Symphony Concert Hall. In July 2019 he served as a jury member for the Andrea O. Veneracion Choral Festival in Manila, Philippines, and also for the 1^st Asia Choral Grand Prix.

In March 2011 he was awarded a New Zealander of the Year Local Heroes Medal for services to music education.

Due to his reputation in the international choral community, Dr. Peterson is in high demand as a lecturer, choral clinician and adjudicator for local, regional, and international choral festivals, symposiums and workshops, has conducted numerous honor choirs and all-state choirs, and served as a guest conductor for choral concerts and festivals around the world.

Dr. Peterson has served on the ACDA National Standing Committee on Education and Communication and in additional professional leadership roles in California including High School Standards and Repertoire Chair for the California Choral Directors Association and as Bay Area Choral Representative for the California Music Educators Association. Additional professional posts include Men’s Chorus Repertoire and Standards Chair for the Southern Division American Choral Directors Association, the Southern Division Conference Planning Committee, the Men’s Chorus Representative for Minnesota Choral Directors Association, the executive committee for the International Choral Festival and on the chair for the Legacy Directors Chorus at the most recent National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association.

Dr. Peterson holds the Associate of Arts in Music-Piano from El Camino College, the Bachelor of Music in Choral Conducting and a Master of Arts in Education from Chapman University in Orange, California, and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Elisenda is a dynamic force who, thanks to her musical and pedagogical knowledge, brings boundless energy and vision, broadening the group’s musical horizons both technically and sonically.

He was also the founder of the acclaimed “a cappella” group “Tetvocal” (11 CD’s recorded including EMI, RCA/Victor, BMG and others) from which he was awarded with several prizes including Radio and TV.

Mr. Lourenço dedicates a substantial part of his work in performing contemporary music including more than 100 premieres of Portuguese composers in the last 25 years and the Portuguese premiere of Arvo Pärt’s Passio with the Hilliard Ensemble. He is also the founder and Artistic Director of the Summer Choral Festival that takes place in Lisbon being the most important choral event in Portugal.

His international career includes engagements in Turkey (Turkish State Polyphonic Choir), Spain (Coro de la ORCAM and Coro de la Radio Television Española), Poland (Filharmonii Wrocławskiej), Israel (New Israeli Vocal Ensemble), Mexico (Coro de Bellas Artes), France, Iceland, Germany, China, Singapore, Brazil, Slovenia, and USA as clinician at the “Ambassadors of Song” (an international male chorus symposium in Michigan University and as guest teacher at the University of Cincinnati. CCM.

He was the Portuguese Music Advisor for Europa Cantat from 2013 to 2018. Mr. Lourenço is also the president of COROS PORTUGAL since 2017 (Portuguese Association of Choral Music).

She is the Founder of one of Sri Lanka’s leading Music Academies – The Soul Sounds Academy focusing on all aspects of music. The Academy focuses on Music Education for young children starting at the age of 5 and has classes for Voice, Piano, Violin, Music Therapy, Drums, Guitar, and basic appreciation of Music classes. She directs the newly forms Soul Sounds Academy Mixed choir who have also won awards recently.

Soundarie has directed many Music Productions and has collaborated with many artists for concert recitals. Soundarie is an Honorary Member of the World Choir Council for INTERKULTUR.

She also regularly serves as a jury member at international choral competitions. She was one of the judges for the franchised talent show ‘Sri Lanka’s got Talent’ Soundarie plays an important role in the promotion of culture and arts in Sri Lanka and the region.

She was the Deputy Director at the SAARC Cultural Centre based in Sri Lanka from 2010 having set up all its programs from inception and later on was Director, Programs for the Colombo Cultural Hub till 2018. Her awards include the SAARC Woman of Achievement Award, the Zonta Award, the Bunka Award presented by the Japan/Sri Lanka Association and most recently the Women In Management Award 2019/20 for the Arts and Creative Industry.

Currently André conducts three choirs:

The Stellenbosch University Choir:

The Stellenbosch University Choir is the oldest and most celebrated choir in South Africa. The choir was founded in 1936 under the baton of William Morris. Currently the US choir is ranked number 1 on the Interkultur World Ranking List of the top 1000 international choirs.

In February 2016 the choir received a Fiesta award for the Best Classical Production at a South African Arts festival. They were also announced as the best Classical Music Vocal production at the 2016 Woordfees.

The Stellenberg Girls Choir:

Since its inception the choir has won numerous first places in national and international choral competitions. A highlight for the choir was at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales in July 2006 where they were announced as the overall winners with the coveted title Choir of the World.

At the World Choir Games (2012) in Cincinnatti, USA the girls won two categories overall. In 2013 the Stellenberg Girls won the National ATKV Applous Choir Competition overall for the 12^th time.

The Stellenberg Girls are currently ranked number 12 on Interkultur’s World Ranking List of the top 1000 international choirs.

Voces Cordis:

In 2022, André formed a new young adult choir, Voces Cordis. This choir comprises alumni members of his previous and current choirs.

Erdem started the Boğaziçi University Choral Festival (KoroFest) in 2009, founded the Choral Culture Association in 2012, has been elected to the board of European Choral Association in 2015 and has been appointed to the board of International Federation of Choral Music in 2018. He served as music commission members in Europa Cantat Tallinn and Ljubljana Festivals, and acted as chair of the music commission in Leading Voices Utrecht Festival.

Erdem won prizes in guitar and singing in his highschool years in Jugend Musiziert competitions. Starting from his university years, he performed with his choirs in countries like Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Estonia, Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria, as well as in Türkiye. He won prizes in prestigious competitions like Cork, Arezzo, Varna, and Marktoberdorf with Rezonans, which he founded. He has been invited as a jury member to Italian National Choral Conducting Competition, Arezzo International Choral Competition, German National Choral Competition, and Japan National Choral Competition. He founded Bahçeşehir University Choral School and taught in national and international choral conducting masterclasses.

Erdem performed numerous concerts with Turkish State Choir in Türkiye and Europe since 2013, has been one of the founders of Walter Strauss Choral Conducting Masterclass, premiered renowned Turkish composers, initiated European composers to write Turkish choral works and recorded them, and has been accepted to TENSO (European Network for Professional Chamber Choirs) with the choir.

Erdem has led the World Symposium on Choral Music 2023 Istanbul as its festival director and continues to serve as vice-president of the European Choral Association and International Federation of Choral Music.

Jürgen Budday initialized a cycle of Handel oratorios over a several years that involved working with soloists like Emma Kirkby, Michael Chance, Nancy Argenta and Mark Le Brocq (to name but a few). The live recordings of these performances, that have received the highest praise from reviewers, has won him international recognition.

Since 2019 he holds the chair of the board of the recently founded National Youth Choir of Germany. Beyond that he is a member of the advisory board of the World Choir Council.

Velasco was elected the first President of the Philippine Choral Directors Association in 2008. He was awarded the Pinoy Playlist Music Festival Ryan Cayabyab 2022 Award for his lifelong excellent contribution to Filipino choir music.

He was recently appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to the Board of Trustees of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

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.