Music Director of ATLANTA YOUNG SINGERS since 1998, PAIGE F. MATHIS holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Jacksonville State University and a Masters in Conducting from the UMKC Conservatory of Music. Active in MENC, OAKE and Chorus America, she served as Repertoire & Standards Chair of the GA Division of ACDA and has served as a clinician for American Boychoir at Camp Albemarle and numerous Honor Choruses in the Southeast and GMEA District festivals. She is a 20+-year member of the ASO Choruses where she sang and recorded under the baton of the late Robert Shaw.

ATLANTA YOUNG SINGERS – Atlanta’s premier choir for children and youth – provides a diverse, challenging learning environment that inspires intelligent thought, artistic creativity, and personal growth for 200+ talented Singers ages 7-18. The Choir has traveled extensively, singing in all the cultural capitals of North America and Europe and winning invitations to the most prestigious choral festivals. Most recently, AYS Choirs won gold and silver medals and gold diplomas at the 2014 World Choir Games. Since 1975, AYS has promoted music literacy, commissions of American choral works, support of local musicians, innovative concert formats, free workshops for educators, and outreach to underserved children.

Kathryn Cole graduated from Evangel University ('08) with a bachelor's degree in vocal music education and Missouri State University (’10) with a master's degree in choral conducting. She is entering her third year as the director of vocal music and piano lab instructor at Bolivar Middle School where she teaches grades 6-8. Cole also conducts the women’s choir for Children's Choirs of Southwest Missouri in Springfield, Missouri. Before Bolivar, she led the choirs at Ozarks Technical Community College and taught private voice and music theory at Evangel University. For a specialized focus in working with young voices, Cole plans to pursue a doctoral degree in music education.

The Bolivar Middle School Show Choir is an auditioned mixed ensemble comprised of 7th and 8th grade advanced singers. They have been featured in many community performances and have also performed along with other Bolivar singers for the Missouri School Board Association. Their literature ranges from standard choral literature to as a cappella arrangements of modern music. Their favorite arrangers are Ben Bram (producer for Pentatonix) and Mark Hayes. There are 32 students total, and they rehearse before school twice per week. This is the inaugural trip for all of them to New York City, and they are honored to be a part of the performance.

Rebecca Morgan holds the distinction of being the first CCSA alumna to join the staff, having sung with the organization from 1987 – 1991. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and her master’s degree in music education from Texas State University with a Kodály concentration. Morgan taught elementary music for the North East ISD in San Antonio and currently teaches music at The Montessori School of San Antonio. Morgan recently attended the Kodály Seminar in Kecskemét, Hungary and is most interested in the development of the voice and ear to connect children to their own artistry and musicianship.

Founded in 1983, the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio is dedicated to enriching and expanding the experiences of young people through choral singing and musical performance. CCSA’s commitment to artistic excellence, social inclusion and individual responsibility empowers young singers to embrace and explore a broader, more positive view of self and the world. As a resident company of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, CCSA’s eight citywide community choruses in conjunction with its early childhood music program provide inspirational and transformative musical experiences for hundreds of young people from birth through young adulthood.

Artistic Director Crystal Kolt and Music Director Mark Kolt created the Flin Flon Community Choir in 1996 shortly after their arrival to the Northern Manitoban city of Flin Flon. They led the FFCC to New York’s Carnegie Hall (2002) for the New York Premiere of Canadian Composer Scott MacMillan’s Celtic Mass for the Sea, to the Lincoln Centre with DCINY for Messiah Refreshed in 2013 and produced numerous musical theatre and classical masterworks productions including collaborations with the Winnipeg and Saskatoon Symphony Orchestras and original musical theatre works Bombertown (Mark Kolt) and Three Brides For Kasos (Mark Kolt and Elias Kulukundis). Crystal was invested into the Order of Manitoba in 2012.

The Flin Flon Community Choir Started in 1996 soon after the arrival of Mark and Crystal Kolt. The Flin Flon Community Choir has been a driving force in the development of professional quality musical production in Northern Manitoba. Built upon a strong local musical tradition fostered by the dedicated and talented Flin Flon Glee Club which flourished in the postwar period, ‘the Choir’ alternates between Musical Theatre Productions and Classical Masterworks seasons. The FFCC, which ranges in size from 60 – 100 individuals, has had the opportunity to perform with The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and The Saskatoon Symphony. MILESTONES: Carnegie Hall (2012) Original Musical Theatre productions Three Brides For Kasos -  (Elias Kulukundis, NY and Mark Kolt) 2005, and Bombertown (Mark Kolt), 1999. This is the FFCC’s second engagement with DCINY, its first being Messiah Refreshed in 2013.

Jane DeLoach Morison, received the Bachelor of Music Education (summa cum laude) from East Tennessee State University where she was twice named Most Outstanding Music Student. She received the Master of Music degree in Performance Studies (piano) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and has completed further study at L’académie de musique de Sion in Switzerland. Morison is on the faculty at King University, and has directed and taught at the Montreat Worship and Music Conference, the Barter Theatre Youth Academy, the ETSU Summer Piano Camp, and the Virginia Suzuki Institute. She is the Virginia State Membership Chairman for the American Choral Directors Association and is in demand as an honor choir clinician, adjudicator, pianist, and vocalist. For her work in the performing arts and music education she was honored by Minds Wide Open: Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts (2010), and Virginia Celebrates Children in the Arts (2012). Under Morison’s leadership the MECCA choirs have performed in places as diverse as Syros, Greece, ACDA conferences, Carnegie Hall and the Bristol Motor Speedway. This coming summer she will make her Carnegie Hall conducting debut as the Highlands Youth Ensemble performs a solo concert set on the world’s most famous stage!

​The Highlands Youth Ensemble, under the direction of Jane DeLoach Morison is the premier SATB choir under the auspices of the Mountain Empire Children’s Choral Academy. Singers in this auditioned group come from about a dozen public and private schools plus home schools in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia to rehearse together once a week. Many received their early training in the East Tennessee Children’s Choir, and have been awarded places in All-County, All-District, All-East, All-State, Governor’s Schools, regional, and national honor choirs. Some have been selected as national soloists. The Highlands Youth Ensemble performs a wide range of choral repertoire in several annual concerts throughout the Southern Appalachian region, and also sings every Christmas with the Symphony of the Mountains, and at the Biltmore Estate. Notable past performances include International Chamber Choir Competition, Pecs, Hungary (2007); Carnegie Hall (2006, 2010); and Festival of the Aegean, Syros, Greece (2014). Highlands Youth Ensemble was recently selected as one of sixteen performing choirs (out of one-hundred-six auditioning choirs) for the 2016 American Choral Directors Association Southern Division Conference. They are honored to return to Carnegie Hall to perform Morten Lauridsen’s “Lux Aeterna” on June 12, and also a solo concert set on June 11.

Marian founded the Nanaimo Youth Choir in 1992 after moving from Calgary, Alberta. With a long standing love of choral music, as a singer, accompanist and organist, it seemed natural to begin a children's choir. The choir is a division of the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music. Over the years, Marian has fostered many programs to help to connect her community through song. She is the proud recipient of an Honor in Culture Award presented by her city for her success in these endeavors.

The Nanaimo Youth Choir is a small group of enthusiastic young people who love to sing and study music. Many friendships have been formed over the years as many have remained committed to work with their team to aim for excellence. They have received many local and provincial awards. They love to travel and have performed at festivals and workshops in their own province and attended PICCFEST in Eugene, Oregon twice. This year they have been singing and working hard to raise enough money to realize their dream to sing as a part of DCINY and perform in Carnegie Hall.

Mrs. Kimberly A. Walley is the choral director of Ocean Springs Middle School and an adjunct Music Education instructor at William Carey University. She graduated from William Carey University with a Bachelor of Music Education; vocal emphasis a Master of Secondary Education. Kimberly resides in Hattiesburg, MS where she lives with her husband, J.R. Walley and three children Kaitlin, Zachary, and Rachel Katherine. In addition to her teaching, Kimberly is active in the Music Ministry of Main Street Baptist Church of Hattiesburg, MS, and a member of MMEA.

The Ocean Springs Middle School Choir program proudly represents both 7th and 8th graders of Ocean Springs School District. Students performing in conjunction with DCINY are members of five performing ensembles ranging from auditioned ensembles, concert choirs, and show choir. OSMS Choirs are all-superior award winning performers, state honor choir members, and participants in the state of MS Treble Song experience. Students in the OSMS choral program also represent their school in places of leadership, sports, band, and the dance team.

Tammy-Jo Mortensen received her Bachelor of Music (University of Alberta) and Master of Music degrees in pipe organ (McGill University), and M.Mus., Choral Conducting degree (U of A). She has received many awards and scholarships and has presented at several festivals and conferences. In 2014, she was the Canadian conductor at the International Handbell Symposium, South Korea. She has performed recitals in Canada, the US, Denmark and England. Music director at Robertson-Wesley United Church, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada since 2003, she leads a 30-voice senior choir and two handbell groups. Tammy-Jo is harpsichordist for the Alberta Baroque Ensemble and teaches privately.


Conductor Warren Mack is Music Director and Organist at Knox-Metropolitan United Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and founder and conductor of the Willan Chorale. His choirs have toured throughout Alberta and also to England. He runs his own company as a pipe organ builder and service person for the northern Alberta region. Known also as a composer, Warren has over 150 choral pieces in his catalogue.  Additionally, Warren finds time to act with, and design, paint and build sets for the Ninth Street Players, of Knox-Metropolitan United Church. 

The Choir of Robertson-Wesley United Church has been an integral part of worship at Robertson-Wesley and part of the larger musical community in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They sing everything from Byrd to Britten, Handel to Howells, as well as spirituals and newly- written material including commissioning new music from prominent Canadian composers from across the country. They have toured England twice and have been the invited choir for several special events. The choir has been involved in many recordings and together with the Robertson-Wesley Ringers recorded their most recent CD, “Song Forever New”.

The United Voices of Edmonton consists of the combined voices of established Edmonton choirs that first joined under the UVE name in 2011 to accept an opportunity to be named to a choral residency at the culturally-important Gloucester Cathedral, UK, and the legendary Bath Abbey.  
 
The Choir of Knox-Metropolitan United Church derives from the lineage of two very chorally oriented churches in Edmonton.  When Knox United and Metropolitan United churches amalgamated in the early 1970’s their two fine choirs and choral traditions merged, producing a large, excellent church choir for the new combined church of Knox-Metropolitan.  The present choir embraces a broad variety of styles from ancient to modern in keeping with the present day liturgical needs of the United Church of Canada. The choir has had pieces composed for it by Dr Violet Archer and Warren Mack.
 

Nathan Lansing directs Men’s & Women’s Choirs, Chamber Choir, and Vocal Jazz (both ensemble and solo) at Spokane Falls Community College in Spokane, Washington. He also teaches courses in music theory, music fundamentals, and the history of popular music. In 2011, he earned the Instructionally-Related Programs Club Advisor of the Year award. He is a freelance and published (Sound Music Publications) choral arranger, lyricist, and composer with; a founding member of Spokane Choral Artists; and has performed with Soundsation, Seattle Jazz Singers, the Northwest Bach Festival Chorus, the Spokane Choral Project, and Opera Coeur d’Alene.

The SFCC Chamber Choir is a select ensemble that performs music appropriate for smaller ensembles across a wide range of styles. Recent highlights include The Lamentations of Jeremiah (Ginastera), Bendita Sabedoria (Villa-Lobos), Trois Chansons de Charles d’Orléans (Debussy), and Requiem (Fauré, Mozart). This ensemble is intended for students with exceptional vocal and musical ability, who will self-start and practice regularly on their own. This ensemble performs many times each quarter and tours every year, alternating regional with national & destinations.

Bronwen Low has been involved in music all her life, singing in stage and concert productions since she was a child. This passion for the arts led her to The University of Western Ontario where she completed her Bachelor of Music with Voice. She furthered her studies at The Royal Conservatory of Music and with Kimberly Barber at Wilfred Laurier University. Ms Low also continued her studies in music education and has her masters in Orff music which she teaches for The Toronto District School Board. Bronwen also works with the education and outreach department of the Canadian Opera Company in programs weaving the joy of singing, orff & drama. In 2006, Ms Low founded the Toronto Beaches Children’s Chorus for kids and youth who love to sing and act. The kids work in an atmosphere where hard work and fun co exist. The Chamber choir attended its first festival in Nashville Tennessee in July 2014 and are thrilled to be participating in DCINY’s Eternal Light premiere this June 2016.

The Toronto Beaches Children’s Chorus was founded by Artistic Director Bronwen Low in 2006 and has grown to over 150 kids. The choir provides both vocal and dramatic training, in a fun and supportive environment, learning a variety of music from all different genres. The kids enjoy bi-weekly drama classes with actor & teacher Joanne Mitchell. Dr Jessica Riley, Anna Madgett & Michael Gomiega round up the artistic team to help deliver the five levels of instruction for kids ages 4-16. The choir performs at least three of their own concerts each year including a fully staged musical production each spring. The Choir also enjoys singing at a variety of engagements across the GTA. We are very proud to have released our first cd this year entitled, I Love to Sing! The Chamber Choir are thrilled to be singing with DCINY this June 2016.

Managing Director of Utah Conservatory, Head of Voice Department and member of piano faculty. Served 10 years as Adjunct Assistant Professor for the University of Utah's Actor Training Program, also developing the Department of Theatre’s Musical Theatre studio courses, as well as a year for the U’s Music Department. Served 11 years on the music faculty at Brigham Young University, teaching voice, group voice and diction. Graduate from Brigham Young University with a Masters Degree in Music Performance. Studied with Rita Patané, Seth Riggs, William Schuman, David Triestram, Ray Arbizu, Joan Kreugar, and was past president of the Southern Utah Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Current member of UTMA and NATS. Founder of Utah Vocal Arts and Metropolitan Vocal Arts Institute, and principal of Beachwood Arts Management. Founding Board Member of Opera West. A winner of the American Opera Auditions, U.S.A. World Showcase, and a regional finalist for the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. Cook has done opera and concert work throughout the United States, including solo performances with the National Choral Society at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, Utah Symphony, and several seasons in repertory with Utah Opera Company. She performed off-Broadway, is featured as Roxanne in Stuart Crane's cast recording of Cyrano, and serves as a professional choral conductor and competition adjudicator.