Clark Duhrkopf is a graduate of Sumner Iowa High School, Waldorf College - Forest City, Iowa - and the University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls. Not only a conductor, Clark has performed the role of Tony in West Side Story and Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden. He has also sung "God Bless America", "O Canada" and the "Star Spangled Banner" for the Minnesota Twins Baseball organization, as well as the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Center. Mr. Duhrkopf has sang in China and made several visits to Europe, including a performance for the Pope in 1998 with the UNI Varsity Men's Glee Club. He has also directed many Musical Theatre productions.

Carpe Diem Vocal Ensemble (CDVE) and Parish Choir are based within St. Stephen's Church, in Edina, MN. CDVE is marking it's 15th Season (founded in September 2001). Clark has been with the Parish Choir since February of 1997. Both choral ensembles sing a wide variety of musical styles, including Broadway tunes, Jazz, Spirituals, major works by Karl Jenkins, and more. Additionally, CDVE performs Christmas and Spring concerts and the "Star Spangled Banner" for the Special Olympics in Minnesota. The Parish Choir leads worship on Sundays, holidays and for special services. Each group is comprised of excellent singers who simply "love to sing". This performance marks their second DCINY appearance.

This will be Erin Phillips’ fifth year teaching at Ridge View High School. Last year was an amazing year and a very successful year for the Singing Blazers. The Chamber Singers received Superior ratings in 40th Lander Choral Festival at Lander University in Greenwood, SC. They also received 2rd place overall and most inspiring performance. Mrs. Phillips also took the students to participate in the SCMEA Big 16 State Choral Festival at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. There, two choirs received a Superior Rating for their performances and one choir received a Superior with Distinction rating. All three choirs received a Superior rating for their efforts in sight-singing. The Ridge View Choirs also participated in the Music in the Parks Festival at Carowinds. All three choirs received Superior ratings from both judges. The choirs placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their division, as well as 1st place overall for the high school choral division. We also received two outstanding vocalist awards. The choirs are expected to participate in the same choral festivals again this upcoming year. Mrs. Phillips received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Lander University in May 2006. After that, she went on to receive a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 2009, she returned to Lander University and earned her K-12 Certification in Music Education. She is currently a member of the National Association for Music Education, American Choral Directors Association, the Palmetto State Teachers Association, Alpha Chi Honor Society, and the National Music Honor Society of Pi Kappa Lambda. Mrs. Phillips lives Ridgeway, SC with her husband, Al, and their three children: Emilee, 14, AJ, 11, and Keaton, 4. Emilee enjoys dancing, playing softball, and reading. AJ is a Georgia Football fan and enjoys playing video games, and Little League baseball. Keaton loves hanging out with her cousins and playing dress up. Outside of school, Erin enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, camping, swimming, reading, and singing.

The concert choir is one of the top performing groups at Ridge View. ​The ensemble is made up of 60 students ranging from 9th to 12th grade. The choir participates in many state events including state choral festival and the music in the parks festival at Carowinds. Members of the ensemble also participate in many other events, including All-State Choir, District Honor Choir, Region Choir, Solo & Ensemble, USC Honors Choir, ACDA State Honor Choir, and ACDA National Honor Choir.

Jason Womack is in his 14th year of teaching within Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District just outside of Houston. This is his 11th year conducting choirs at Cypress Woods High School. Jason graduated magna cum laude from the University of Houston, Moore’s School of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory. He is an active member of Texas Choral Directors Association and Texas Music Educators Association as well as a guest conductor/clinician throughout the state. Jason is married to Lindsay and they have four children – Sarah (11), Storm (9), Katherine (7) and Emmett (4).

The Cypress Woods High School Varsity Choir is a combination of 120 students from the high school’s top two performing groups - Mixed Choir and Varsity Women’s Choir. Students in these two ensembles are selected based on character, academic excellence and musical ability. The choir program alone has over 300 students and consists of students from all walks of life, including National Merit Scholars, athletes, artists, JROTC, and thespians. Notable performances include two appearances at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention (2011,2016), Distinguished Performance at American Classics’ Madrigal Festival (2013) and several best in class performances at festivals throughout the state and country.

South Sound Classical Choir Director, Dr. David LaBerge, organized the Bach Society of Minnesota with Charles Stroebel and was Music Director for 21 years of annual Bach Festivals and concerts by other composers. He prepared choruses for concerts by the Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and by guest conductors Robert Shaw, Neville Marriner, Raymond Leppard, Leonard Slatkin, and Henry Charles Smith.

The South Sound Classical Choir is made up of about 50 community singers from Puyallup, Tacoma, and surrounding South Puget Sound areas in the State of Washington who love to sing a diverse musical repertoire. Celebrating their 15th year, choral members continue to enjoy singing concert programs that include classical music, from Renaissance to modern periods. Two years ago, we chose "The Ground," by Ola Gjeilo, as our signature piece (or, as we often say, it chose us), and sing this to close each concert program.

Claire graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 1996, winning the prestigious Frederic Cox Award. Her BBC debut was in the recorded première of Britten’s Three Small Songs, in 1995. Joining English National Opera in 1999, as Principal Artist, her roles included Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro, and soprano soloist in a staged production of Verdi’s Requiem. She sang Freia, Ortlind and Gutrune in ENO’s production of The Ring Cycle directed by Phyllida Lloyd, being the first classical work performed on the main stage at the Glastonbury Festival. In 2004 she won the Bayreuth Scholarship from the Wagner Society of Great Britain. Claire became Music Director of Suffolk Singers in 2009.

Founded in 1991 Suffolk Singers is a largely acappella choir performing a wide variety of music, both sacred and secular. We perform four or five concerts a year and regularly visit Ely Cathedral to present music for Easter. In the 2012 Suffolk Festival Suffolk Singers emerged as the best adult choir and winner of the Wightman Cup. In July 2014 Suffolk Singers qualified to take part in the Choir of the World competition at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. In May 2015 the Singers performed at The Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy in London. We have performed alongside G4 at the Ipswich Regent and have recorded for SkyArts with Richard E Grant for Tate Britain. We have been on tour in Ireland and Wales and will be visiting Belgium in 2018.

Dr. Lana Stephens Pollard, conductor, organist, pianist Lana is a proud native of South Carolina and graduated from Presbyterian College, earned a MME at the University of South Carolina School of Music, and a Doctor of Worship Studies degree from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2009. Lana has over 30 years experience in church music and is currently Director of Music Ministries at Pawleys Island Presbyterian Church. She also taught music in public schools for a number of years and was honored as Teacher of the Year at Carolina High School in Greenville, SC, in 1986.   Lana has also worked with and directed a great variety of community artistic efforts, from the Greenville Chamber Singers, Greenville Little Theater, to the Northeast Florida Conservatory Orchestra. Lana and her husband Tim are delighted to be living in beautiful Pawleys Island, SC.

The Music Ministry at Pawleys Island Presbyterian Church is one of joy and celebration that enhances worship and moves us closer to God. Music is a vital part of the life at PIPC and opportunities are offered to participate in vocal, handbell, and instrumental ensembles for all ages and ranges of experience. PIPC has a long tradition of excellence in choral music and also has a strong commitment to make quality music and arts accessible to the Pawleys Island Community. The Chancel Choir leads traditional worship at weekly and special services.

Marten holds a Bachelor of Music with major studies in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting and postgraduate studies in Music Education, Christian Ministry & Educational Leadership. He has studied Choral Conducting with Andrew Wailes (Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale), Dr. Ian Burk (Australian Catholic University) and Dr. Geoffrey Cox (St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne). He has also conducted in Choral Master classes with Dr Rodney Eichenberger (Florida State University, United States), Dr Andre` Thomas (Florida State University, United States) and Ass. Prof. Carl Crossin (Elder Conservatorium, Australia). Marten is the Principal Artistic Director with Choral Institute Melbourne, the Leader of Performing Arts at Wantirna College, Victoria and is a highly sought after educationalist, choral clinician, adjudicator and vocalist.

CHIME is a contemporary community choir that presents an innovative, and eclectic musical program of the highest standard, intended to engage a diverse audience. We endeavour to provide both our members, and our audiences with an experience of musical artistry, and the beauty and power of choral singing. CHIME engages in 2 annual concerts, a large volume of corporate and community performances, commissions works and regularly produces choral recordings. The CHIME Choir are thrilled to perform in New York for the 2017 DCINY Season.

Kimberly Walley is the choral director at Columbia High School and an adjunct instructor of Music Education at William Carey University, her Alma mater, where she holds degrees in Music Education and Secondary Education. Kimberly has been an educator for 18 years on the elementary, secondary and collegiate levels. She is married to J. R. Walley and they have three children; Kaitlin, Zachary, and Rachel Katherine.

The Columbia High School Concert Choir represents a diverse group students in grades 9th-12th at Columbia High School, located on a campus that is listed with The National Register of Historic Places. The Mission of Columbia High School is to provide all students with the opportunity to acquire the skills necessary to lead productive lives in a constantly evolving and increasingly complicated world. The CHS Choir is under the direction of Mrs. Kimberly Walley and the school's principal is Ms. Sheila Burbridge.

The VOCA Chorus of Toronto is a dynamic, auditioned ensemble that performs a wide range of repertoire, encompassing major works as well as folk/world, jazz, musical theatre and contemporary compositions - including premieres of arrangements by our artistic director, Jenny Crober.  VOCA has collaborated with some of Canada's finest artists from a variety of disciplines, including tenor Andrew Haji, TorQ Percussion Quartet and guitarist Michael Occhipinti.  Some of our renowned guest clinicians have included composer Ola Gjeilo, Tafelmusik conductor Ivars Taurins and jazz vocalist/producer Dylan Bell.  We, along with several members of the Achill Choral Society who are joining us, are thrilled to be performing in this celebration of Ola Gjeilo’s music.  

Jenny Crober has had a richly varied career as a choral conductor, arranger and accompanist, collaborative pianist, coach, teacher, clinician, dance accompanist and a cappella jazz vocalist.  Notable artists she has worked with include conductors Elmer Iseler and Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, and composers Ola Gjeilo and Bob Chilcott.  Jenny accompanied singer Patricia O’Callaghan on her debut CD, “Youkali”, recipient of a prestigious Billboard Magazine Critics’ Choice Review.  Since 2004, she has been the artistic director of the VOCA Chorus of Toronto, for which she has programmed a wide range of classical and contemporary repertoire.   Jenny co-conducted a massed choir from six Canadian provinces (which included forty VOCA choristers) at Carnegie Hall in May 2015.  She is honoured that Ola Gjeilo invited her to assemble a group of choristers to perform in this concert.

Angela Lemere has served as artistic director and conductor of Greenville Chamber Singers since 2003. Her choral experience includes working with ensembles involving elementary through adult singers of public school, church and community choirs throughout the upstate of South Carolina. She also serves as the Spartanburg School District Six Choral Coordinator and Director of Choral Activities at Dorman High School where she conducts high school ensembles, and collaborates with middle and elementary choral programs. She earned a BA degree in Music Education from Wingate University, and a Master of Music in Music Education from University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The Greenville Chamber Singers, an auditioned women's four part ensemble formed in 1996, share an exuberant love for choral music and a strong commitment to ongoing growth as performers. Members' previous experiences include high school and college choruses, church choirs, and other community musical groups. Traveling and performing in the Southeast, The Greenville Chamber Singers is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and  is a  musically versatile ensemble that focuses on community service.

Landon Scriber, from Pineville, LA, received his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Mississippi College and his master’s degree in choral conducting from Louisiana State University. After completing his master’s degree in 2016, Landon moved home to become the Director of Choral Activities at Alexandria Senior High School. Last year at District and State Assessment ASH received all superior ratings in both sight-reading and on stage performance. Landon currently sings with Red Shift, a professional choir based out of Baton Rouge, LA under the direction of Trey Davis and Coro Vocati, a professional choir based out of Atlanta, GA under the direction of John Dickson. In February, Landon traveled to perform with Coro Vocati for Southern Division ACDA in Louisville, KY.

The Alexandrians are the premier ensemble of the Alexandria Senior High School Choral Department. Composed of roughly thirty singers per year, the Alexandrians compete in District and State Assessment as well as the Louisiana Music Educators Association All-State choir competition. Last year they received all superior ratings at District and State Assessment and had over thirty students in District Honor Choir and four students in LMEA All-State Mixed Choir. Most recently, students from the ASH Choral Department performed the Star Spangled Banner for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Timothy has studied cello, organ and conducting. He has just recently gained his Master of Music with first class honours from the University of Auckland. He gained the Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music in Cello with Distinction, a Bachelor of Music from the University of Waikato and an Honours degree in performance organ from the University of Auckland. He has been a member of the New Zealand National Youth Orchestra, the New Zealand Youth Choir and is currently a member of Voices New Zealand. Timothy is emerging as one of New Zealand’s most active and promising young conductors. As well as his University study, Timothy attended conducting master classes in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand and has worked with a number of notable orchestras including Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Western Australia Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Currently, Director of Vocal and Choral Music at St Paul’s Collegiate Hamilton, Musical Director of Hamilton Civic Choir, Associate Conductor of OPUS Chamber Orchestra, and a guest conductor with St Matthew's Chamber Orchestra, the Devonport Chamber Orchestra and Bach Musica NZ. Timothy hopes to further his studies overseas and pursue a career in conducting.

Since beginning in 1946, the Hamilton Civic Choir has enjoyed a reputation as one of New Zealand’s finest Choirs. Being a fully auditioned choir, we are able to perform works outside the scope of many community-based choirs. In addition to the large choral works of the great composers, usually performed with organ or orchestral accompaniment and the best national and international soloists, the choir’s repertoire includes chamber music and other shorter and more modern works. Currently we comprise about 40 singers, some of whom travel from other Waikato towns to sing with us. The choir has a wide and varied repertoire, presenting masterpieces of western musical culture under the direction of both local and international conductors. Our mission is: “To continue to be Hamilton’s premiere classical choir, regularly presenting the world’s greatest choral music, at the highest possible standard, to the people of the Waikato and beyond for the mutual enjoyment and enrichment of choir and audience.”

Kate Campbell grew up in a music- and nature-loving family in Oregon. A life-time of piano lessons, choral singing, teaching and conducting have brought Kate to a joyful crossroad -- singing at Carnegie with other music-lovers from all around the world and working with one of her favorite living composers. She has a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and a Masters in Teaching Music. But the real education has been in creating living harmony together with wonderful people. Kate directs three choirs in the rural southwest corner of Oregon.

3 Rivers Chorale was founded in 2004 by singers who desired to learn challenging and beautiful choral music and share it in concert with their friends and neighbors in Josephine County, Oregon. The Chorale is a membership-supported non-profit group which performs two free concerts in the rural south of the County each year, in addition to ticket-holder concerts in the small city of Grants Pass. We have performed Ola Gjeilo's "Sunrise Mass" in 2013 and 2015, with an orchestra of both professionals and students. We are thrilled to work with this wonderful composer in person in NYC!

David W. Goins is the Director of Music and Worship at First United Methodist Church in the capital city of Frankfort, Kentucky. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky where he earned degrees in Music Education and Sacred Music. An accomplished trumpet player, David has performed all over the United States, Europe , and Asia. He has been the soloist with Saxton's Cornet Band since 1992 and has been featured multiple times with this ensemble on NPR's "Performance Today", the NBC television show "Timeless", as well as numerous motion pictures. He has been featured as the guest soloist with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and the Lexington Brass Band as has served as guest conductor to ensembles across Kentucky. He is married to Meredith Goins, choral director at Western Hills High School in Frankfort, Kentucky and they have three beautiful children, Ava, Alex, and Aaron.

The First United Methodist Church Chance Choir is the primary choral ensemble at First Church providing choral leadership at the 11 a.m. traditional worship service. The ensemble is responsible for leading worship through weekly anthems and choral responses and assists in seasonal worship services throughout the church year. The ensemble presents larger works once a year for special worship services with the assistance and cooperation of the Capital City Community Choir and the local high school choirs. In recent years, the choir has performed the Dan Forrest "Requiem for the Living", John Rutter's "Requiem" and Gabriel Faure's "Requiem" which was orchestrated for choir, organ, and brass ensemble by David W. Goins.

Nathan Lansing earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Choral Education and Conducting from Central Washington University. He has taught at the middle school, high school, community college and university levels and serves as an adjudicator at numerous vocal, choral and jazz festivals across the Pacific Northwest. His work has been featured on over a dozen recordings and he is a founding member of Spokane Choral Artists. At SFCC, Nathan directs Men’s & Women’s Choirs, Chamber Choir and Vocal Jazz. He also teaches courses in music theory and history of pop; and is a published choral arranger and lyricist.

J.R. Walley serves as the Minister of Music at the Main Street Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, MS. He is married to Kimberly Walley and they have three children, Kaitlin, Zachary and Rachel. Over the last 25 years Mr. Walley has served churches in Mississippi and Louisiana as Minster of Music.

The Main Street Baptist Church Sanctuary Choir contributes to the 10:45 am worship service, in addition to special services on Maundy Thursday, Independence Day and the Christmas season. The Sanctuary Choir sings a wide variety of repertoire and has a rich history of church music excellence in the Hattiesburg community.

Sarah Ruff has been the choir and orchestra teacher at the Arthur and Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts for the last 7 years, and has been a music educator in the Miami-Dade County school district for 15 years.

The Mays Chorale has been in existence for 4 years. For the last 3 years, the choir has earned superior ratings at district and state assessments.

William Brakemeyer has led the Raincross Master Chorale since September, 2014. He holds a B.A. from Cal State Northridge and an M.A. from Cal State San Bernardino. Bill retired after 36 years in public education and has been organist at First United Methodist Church, Redlands for more than 23 years. He sings with the Inland Master Chorale, is a past dean of the American Guild of Organists, Inland Empire Chapter, and a board member of the National Association of Church Musicians. He is an accomplished conductor, organist, composer and arranger and singer.

The Raincross Master Chorale presents the best of choral literature, ranging from the classics to spirituals, folk songs, and Broadway musicals. Concerts are in October, December, February and May. The February concert is the “Evensong” during the Dickens Festival in Riverside, Calif. All proceeds from the concerts support vocal scholarships to be given to promising college music majors, based on audition. Scholarships are ,000 per year and may be renewable for a total of four years, depending upon academic standing and date of graduation. The chorale currently has 60 singers.

David J. Cochrane currently serves as the Director of Music at Cardinal Newman School and St. John Neumann Church in Columbia, SC. He has degrees from Dickinson College where he studied under Dr. Robert W. Pound, University of South Carolina under Dr. Larry Wyatt and Dr. Alicia Walker, and the Moscow State Conservatory under Professor Alexander Solovyev. While in Moscow Cochrane guest conducted the Moscow Conservatory Chamber Choir in concert, and participated in a number of performances and master classes led by conductors of the Moscow Conservatory, including People’s Artist of the USSR and recipient of the State Prize, Vladimir Minin. Cochrane returns to Moscow often to work with a Professional chamber choir.

Located on a state-of- the-art, 50-acre campus in Columbia, South Carolina, Cardinal Newman School is a coeducational institution providing Catholic education of the highest quality in a college preparatory atmosphere for students in grades seven through twelve. Cardinal Newman's goal is to REDEFINE EXCELLENCE- In The Classroom, On The Field, In The Community, and For Their Futures. The Cardinal Chorale is in it's second year at Cardinal Newman. This group rehearses two to three times per week for eighty minutes. The Cardinal Chorale is the highest level choir at Cardinal Newman.

David Stephenson, Ph.D. serves as Choral Director/Fine Arts Department Head at Pelion High School (SC) in Lexington School District One. From 2002-04, he taught choral music at Middlesex High School in Saluda, Virginia and directed The Chesapeake Chorale community choir. Dr. Stephenson is a graduate of the University of Georgia, Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of South Carolina. Pelion Choirs, under his leadership since 2004, have consistently earned superior festival ratings. Additionally, Dr. Stephenson serves as a coaching teacher for University of South Carolina music education students. He has presented at Newberry College, NYU, SCMEA, and USC.

The Choirs of Pelion High School (SC) have established a high standard for excellence throughout our state and southeastern United States. Serenata, the auditioned women’s choir, earned 1st place in the 1A/2A Division in 2016 at State Choral Performance Assessment sponsored by the South Carolina Music Educators Association. Serenata and Honors Choir, the auditioned mixed choir, respectively earned 3rd and 2nd place at the same event in 2015. Our choirs regularly earn superior ratings for both on-stage performance and sightreading. Choral members consistently achieve All-State honors and scholarships as music majors at the university level.

Ms. O'Dowd graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Music in Choral Music Education. Ms. O’Dowd is the Choral Director at Johns Creek High School and recently won the 2017 Shuler Award for Music Direction for the JCHS production of Cinderella. Prior to JCHS, Ms. O’Dowd taught music theory for the Savannah Children’s Choir Summer Camp and student taught at Hillgrove High School in Cobb County. Ms. O’Dowd currently performs in Coro Vocati, a professional chamber choir in Atlanta and performed with them at the 2018 ACDA Southern Division Conference in Louisville, Kentucky this February.

Chamber Choir is an auditioned ensemble made up of 9th-12th grade students who have demonstrated great skill and musicality. This choir continues to receive straight superior scores at Large Group Performance Evaluation and has many students who have participated in All-State Chorus, All-State Reading Chorus, Honor Chorus, and Governor's Honors Program. In the past year, they've also been invited to perform in the Nashville Christmas Parade, at the Johns Creek Art Center, and won 1st place in the mixed category at the Southern Invitational Choir Competition. They are pleased to be a part of an event of this caliber.

Mindy Forehand holds a Bachelor of Music in Education from Louisiana Tech University and a Masters in Choral Conducting from the University of Arizona. Mrs. Forehand previously taught two years at Ruston High School in Louisiana, and two years at Brusly and Port Allen High Schools in Baton Rouge. This is her fourth year at Ola High School in Georgia. She is an active member of ACDA and serves on the Georgia Chapter Board. She is an active member of the NAfME and serves as District VI Honor Choir Chair for GMEA.

The Ola High School Department of Choral Activities is comprised of 165 9th-12th graders in 5 choirs: Chamber Singers, Advanced Women, Concert Choir, Treble Choir, and Freshmen Women. This is their second time to appear on the Carnegie Hall Stage with DCINY. The Ola Choirs have performed in notable cities such as Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Orlando, Florence, and Vienna. The choirs are well known in the community for their annual performance of "Ola Over Broadway," a Broadway music review. Future endeavors include traveling to Kansas City, Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona.