Francis Choinière is a versatile musician active as a pianist, conductor, composer, and baritone. Co-founder of the OPCM (Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes), artistic director of EVTS (Ensemble Vocal Trame Sonore), and chorus master for several concerts at the Bell Center with Hans Zimmer and Ramin Djawadi, Francis is highly engaged in Montreal’s music scene. Francis refined his conducting under Maestro Colin Metters (Guildhall) during the Berlin International Masterclass with Berlin Sinfonia. Currently studying at McGill Schulich School of Music, Francis sings in numerous choirs including the Choeur Métropolitain (under Yannick Nézet-Séguin), and the Schulich Singers (under Jean-Sebastien Vallee).

The Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes (OPCM) is a non-profit organization founded in 2015 that seeks to promote choral and orchestral music in Montreal. Our mission is two-fold. At a community level, the OPCM provides students with a unique musical experience, through weekly rehearsals and 2 to 4 performances per year accompanied by professional musicians. On an artistic level, the OPCM seeks to engage its audience with a more diverse repertoire than the standard Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. Our programming consists primarily of new choral and orchestral works. We also encourage collaborations between young emerging musicians and established soloists.

Jean-Sébastien Vallée Music Director Ottawa Choral Society Conductor, scholar, clinician, and adjudicator, Jean-Sébastien Vallée is Conductor of the choirs of the historic Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul (Montreal), and Director of Choral Studies and Chair of the Conducting Area at McGill University‘s prestigious Schulich School of Music. An ardent advocate for contemporary music, he commissions new works and programmes rarely- performed repertoire. Maestro Vallée‘s research interests, particularly focussed on the connection between audiation and gestural communication, have made him much in demand as a presenter at numerous national and international conferences. His recent activities include a residency at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, masterclasses in China, and as a Presenter in choral pedagogy at the International Symposium on Choral Music held in Barcelona in July 2017.

Ottawa Choral Society Directed by prominent Canadian choral musician Jean-Sébastien Vallée, the Ottawa Choral Society (OCS) plays a pivotal role in the City‘s cultural life. The Society engages leading concert artists and ensembles in repertoire ranging from the supple polyphony of the Baroque to the jazz rhythms and cluster chords of contemporary composers. As the City‘s premiere symphonic chorus, the OCS appears regularly on the stage of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and has made five international tours. The Society is proud of its initiatives which support emerging choral musicans, concert artists, conductors, and composers. Its New Discoveries Auditions attract candidates from across Canada who compete for career development awards and professional performance opportunities. www.ottawachoralsociety.com

Dr. D. Bret Smithey, bass-baritone from Charlotte, North Carolina, has sung with regional opera companies including the Knoxville and Princeton Operas, the National Opera Company and the Brevard Music Festival. Dr. Smithey has also appeared with many symphonies including the Tallahassee Symphony, the Raleigh Symphony, and the Washington Symphony. Dr. Smithey received his Bachelor of Music from Westminster Choir College and Master of Music from the University of Tennessee. He acquired his doctorate from Florida State University. Dr. Smithey has taught at McNeese State University, the University of Tennessee and Murray State University. Currently he serves as Director of Music Ministries at First United Methodist Church of Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The First United Methodist Church of Lake Charles, Louisiana, founded in 1871, is the oldest Protestant church in Lake Charles. The Chancel Choir is a diverse musical ensemble composed of fory-two members, ranging in age from 23 to 92, from the city and surrounding areas. The choir performs weekly at the Traditional Worship Service under the direction of Dr. D. Bret Smithey. Their repertoire includes a variety of sacred music styles including classical, contemporary, spiritual and Gospel works performed in English, Italian, German, Russian, and Latin. The choir also performs in concert with other area choral groups and provides public concerts in Southwest Louisiana.

James Gutteridge studied at the University of Surrey, gaining an honours degree in music in 2001. During his time there he held several church organist posts in South West London. After Easter 2005 James decided he wanted to ’come home’ and took up his current position of Director of Music at St Mary’s Melton Mowbray, where he directs the choir as well as playing the organ for services. James also enjoys working in musical theatre, having worked on professional shows in London. James founded the Melton Mowbray Choral Society in 2013 and he is Musical Director.

Melton Mowbray Choral Society has been rehearsing and performing concerts together since being formed in April 2013. We are now over 50 strong and perform major concerts organised with professional soloists as well as a traditional Christmas Carol Concert each year. We are very fortunate in performing most of our concerts in the wonderful setting of St Mary's Parish Church in Melton Mowbray, as well as many other beautiful venues. www.meltonmowbraychoralsociety.co.uk

Yvan Sabourin completed his musical studies at the University of Montréal together with a master's degree in choral conducting at the University of Sherbrooke under visiting professor Nicole Paiement. He recently completed a development program with Bernard Tetu (France). Under his direction, the Ganymede Vocal Ensemble won the gold medal at the choral competition of the Montreal Outgames in 2006 and in 2010 won the special diversity prize at the Choral International Festival in Neuchâtel, in Swiss. He is a member of many associations and he celebrated his 35 years of choral leadership in 2017.

The Ensemble Vocal Ganymède, whose members come mainly but not exclusively from the Montréal gay community was created in 1991 by Yvan Sabourin, its current music director. The choir's mission is to present the classical male-voice repertoire; the better to raise awareness of this music and to provide an image of openness and respect. On two occasions, Ganymède has hosted prestigious choral gatherings: the Choralies du Rallye des Arts du Centre-Sud de Montréal (1996) and the Gala Choruses (2004), the largest cultural event in the gay world.

Christoph Stiller was born in Euskirchen, Germany. He completed his studies in conducting and piano at the Hochschule für Musik in nearby Cologne in 1997, and later that year joined the music staff of the Hessian State Theatre in Wiesbaden. As Head of Music he is responsible for the musical preparation of all principal singers, most recently for a production of Wagner's Ring Cycle. In his twenty years at the theatre he has also conducted over 500 performances of varied repertoire, from ballet and operetta to Mozart's da Ponte operas and the great works of Verdi. Christoph Stiller was appointed Director of the Chor der Stadt Wiesbaden in 2011.

The Chor der Stadt Wiesbaden is the concert choir of the capital of the state of Hesse in Germany. The chorus was founded in 1847. It regularly sings in symphonic concerts with the Hesse State Orchestra under the baton of the orchestra’s principal conductor. Among the works performed in the past years were Georg Friedrich Handel’s Messiah, Gustav Mahler’s Second Symphony, Joseph Haydn’s The Seasons, Felix Mendelssohn’s Second Walpurgisnacht, Bruckner’s Te Deum and Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem. In April of 2017, the chorus performed the Duruflé Requiem in a major Wiesbaden church. Besides concert performances, the choir is involved in cultural activities of the Wiesbaden community. It has participated in concerts of the Wiesbaden Music Academy and it regularly organizes public sing-along events at Christmastime.

This is his fourth season as artistic director/conductor of the Jackson Hole Chorale. He achieved a double Master’s degree in Church Music and Organ Performance from Westminster Choir College ,Princeton, NJ , studying conducting with Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt and group vocal techniques with Frauke Haasemann. His postgraduate studies were at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY. He taught conducting, choir training methods, and group vocal techniques in the Rochester, NY, Diocese certification program. Throughout his 45 years of music, his professional objective is “to encourage ordinary people to do extraordinary things…to challenge people to grow personally, musically and spiritually.”

The Jackson Hole Chorale was formed in 1983 with a mission to provide an opportunity for local singers to perform and further their choral skills. Throughout the years we have educated our community audience in a wide variety of music forms and literature, introducing them to composers with whom they might otherwise never become acquainted. The Chorale performs music from all periods. We consist of 25-30 members, including some founding members. We perform three major concerts every year – one at Christmas, one in the spring and one in the summer. Typical concerts feature a large work performed by the entire Chorale, such as the Mozart Requiem, and some small-group presentations such as barbershop quartets, trios and duets.