Philippe Chandor discovered his passion for choral music during his studies at the Rouen Conservatory in France. After being a member of the Rouen Chamber Choir from 1989-1997, he began to conduct several different choirs in Rouen. He has sung with the ensemble Philippe Caillard in Paris and he currently is a choir member of the group Les Affinités Électives that is directed by Pascal Hellot in Rouen. In addition, Chandor has also taught voice for choral singers and choral conducting at the University of Rouen in the Musicology department. Philippe Chandor has lead the Ensemble Vocal Maurice Duruflé since 1998.

Born in Barcelona, studied Singing, Piano and Conducting at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu and Conservatori Superior Municipal de Música, Barcelona, Choir Conducting with Manuel Cabero, Mireia Barrera, Josep Vila, Carl Høgset, Anders Eby, Pierre Cao and Frieder Bernius and Orchestra Conducting with Manuel Valdivieso, Jordi Mora, Salvador Mas and Antoni Ros Marbà. Awarded with the First Prize at the II Concurs de Composició Coral de la FCEC . Several groups have premièred his works including his first opera SORT! (operasort.com) in 2006. He presently conducts Orquestra Barcelona Filharmonia, Simfonova and Camerata Impromptu.

Pianist, organist and conductor Dan Broner has been the Music Director at First Unitarian Society since 2002 and administers a multi-faceted program that includes two adult choirs that Dan directs, three choirs for children and youth, a Friday noon concert series, and opportunities for many singers, instrumentalists and ensembles. A Michigan native, Dan began his career as a church musician at the age of nine, playing for daily Mass. He began his collegiate career as a scholarship student of the famed organist, Robert Glasgow at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, later earning Bachelor and Master degrees in piano performance and conducting at Grand Valley State University and Oakland University, where he studied with the Brazilian pianist Flavio Varani. Dan has enjoyed a varied career as church musician, teacher and collaborative pianist.

Tom McAlexander sang with the Metropolitan Chorus in the Washington DC area for 25 years, where he was frequently featured as tenor soloist. Shortly after retiring to Hawaii in 1994, he became the volunteer director of a community chorus in the village of Volcano. In 2005 he was asked to become the music director of the Hilo Community Chorus and has served in that volunteer capacity ever since. Tom and the Hilo Community Chorus are proud to have been a part of DCINY's inaugural concert at Carnegie Hall in January of 2008.

George Case, tenor, is the Director of Choral Activities at The Boston Conservatory, where he directs the choral ensembles and directs the graduate choral conducting program. Dr. Case is also the newly appointed music director of the Newburyport Choral Society, an 80-year old choral society on the North Shore of Massachusetts. With a multi-faceted background as a conductor, educator, and professional singer, Dr. Case brings a wide-ranging body of musical experience and a passionate artistic voice to his work. Dr. Case is an award-winning educator of young musicians who frequently leads clinics and workshops for high school and college singers, as well as professional development sessions for teachers around the country. He holds Doctoral and Masters degrees in conducting from the University of Michigan and a Bachelors degree in vocal performance from Boston University. 

Benjamin Turner, originally from Gulfport, Mississippi, has been Director of Music Ministries at Crossgates United Methodist Church (Mississippi) since the summer of 2011. He received his Master of Music degree in Conducting from Mississippi College where he also completed the Bachelor of Music Education degree. Throughout his studies, Turner was mentored by James M. Meaders. His choirs have been invited to sing as part of the 2013 Mississippi United Methodist Annual Conference Ordination Service and have collaborated with Tim Zimmerman and The King’s Brass. Turner previously held similar positions at Ogden Baptist Church and New Zion Baptist Church. He is married to Audra Turner.

The Hartnell Community Choir presents concerts spanning five centuries from early baroque to jazz including  composers such as Pergolesi, Handel, Mozart, Bach, Haydyn, Fauré, Vaughan Williams, Barber, Bernstein, Joseph Martin, Mark Hayes, Rogers and Hammerstein, and Leonard Cohen. Guest composer and conductor Jennifer Tibbitts of New York City is a regular   featured artist.  Soloists are often HCC choir members but there is also a  variety of guest soloists and instrumentalists. The Hartnell Community Choir has performed in Avery Fisher Hall, Steinbeck Center, Hartnell College, Hidden Valley Music, and local churches on the Monterey Peninsula. Robin McKee Williams, director, is presently a part of the Distinguished Concerts International New York mentoring program and continues her studies with Michael Adelson of New York.

Gisela Crespo graduated from Choral conducting and Score reading at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Cuba. She is the director and founder of the Coro de Cámara UDLAP from Universidad de las Américas Puebla, winner of the prize to Renaissance program and 2nd place in chamber ensembles category at the Florilege Vocal (France). She has recorded: Oh Tiempo, De Cuba pa´ usté and De México y algo más. Other achievements include the Grand Prize at the Festival Naional del Minint (Cuba). She founded and directed the Chair of choral conducting at the Escuela de Instructores de Arte at Santa Clara, Cuba.

Anita Cyrier, conductor of Johnson County Chorus, earned her BME from Kansas Wesleyan University and her MME from Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.   During her career as a music educator, Anita served as a teacher, private vocal coach, and adjudicator, clinician for local, regional and state choirs plus guest conductor for orchestra and choir concerts.  She has served as music director, lyricist, arranger and creator of choral concerts and theater productions for over 35 years. As a performer she enjoyed singing solos for classical oratorios and concerts plus performing character roles for Community Theater.   She has been active in Music Educations National Conference where she and her choirs presented on three separate occasions concerts for KMEA, Kansas Music Educators Association convention. She has prepared the Johnson County Chorus on numerous occasions for concert tours to Germany, France, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY, Lincoln Center, New York, and NY, premiering choral works for Dr. Eugene Butler, Mark Hayes and other composer friends.  Anita continues to share her passion of choral music with each chorus she is privileged to direct.  Borrowing from one of her favorites “The Singing Heart…sings for all eternity, sing on, sing on..”  Chilcott

Peter Dent has a BA from York University and a Master of Education degree from the University of British Columbia where he studied Choral Conducting with James Fankhauser and Arranging with Fred Stride. He is the composer of two major choral works: A Jazz Mass – 1993 and A Canadian Requiem – 2003. He had a lengthy career in the labour movement prior to taking up conducting. During this time he sang under several of Canada’s premiere choir directors, was a paid chorister and directed an a cappella vocal jazz ensemble made up of members of the Vancouver Bach Choir throughout the 1980’s.

Over the past 15 years he has managed to achieve much as a choral conductor. He was the manager and co-conductor of Vivaldi Chamber Choir of Vancouver during the choir’s two tours of Mexico and one of Central Europe. In an International choral competition in 2002, the Pacific Singers which he founded in 1999 received the highest mark awarded in the Adult Mixed Voice Choir category in the annual Prague Folk Music Festival. He has been a guest juror in international choral competitions in that city in both 2004 and 2007.

Peter Dent is currently the conductor of The Newcombe Singers of Victoria (5 years), and Ekoos Vocal Ensemble of Sooke (4 years) and the Arion Male Voice Choir of Victoria (3Years). He has just become the director of The All Comers Choir" a musical outreach endeavor of First Metropolitan United church in Victoria intended to encourage new singers. Peter Dent is the artistic director of two musical travel opportunities for singers: SING TO THE LORD, classical sacred music centered in Prague, Cz. and SOUNDS LIKE HEAVEN, folk and pop singing in Cuba.  Both major undertakings have operated for several years, assembling singers from many regions of Canada to form a non-auditioned choir in the host country, rehearse for 5 to 7 days, and then give performances.  In May of 2013 he led 46 singers from Victoria to Avery Fischer Hall, Lincoln Centre to participate in a performance of the Durufle Requiem. This June, he will lead over 50 to sing The Faure Requiem in Carnegie Hall. Both performances are given under the auspices of Distinguished Concerts International of New York.

Peter Dent is also a jazz pianist and choral arranger. His CDs are played regularly on the CBC and several of his compositions have been performed by Canadian choirs. He is comfortable conducting a variety of musical genres and styles. He has led vocal workshops in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. He spent the academic year of 2007-2008 teaching piano and conducting the University Choir at the Edna Manley School for the Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica. Since moving to Victoria, he has worked in venues as diverse as Hermann’s Jazz Club, The Mary Winspear Centre, The Alix Goolden Hall, The Delta Ocean Pointe, The Hotel Grand Pacific, and First Metropolitan United Church. He became a life member of Victoria Local 247, Canadian Federation of Musicians in April of 2015. He and his wife are members the Union Club of Victoria.

David Galasso has served as Director of Music & Arts at St. Peters UMC for 15 years. He formed a full orchestra at the church and directs multiple musical groups. He is the recipient of a national singing award and frequently serves as clinician/adjudicator in the south as well as an All-State clinician in Louisiana. He has worked with conductors, Andre Previn, Sir Neville Mariner, Paul Salamunovich, Weston Noble, and most notably, Robert Shaw where he performed as one of the prestigious Shaw Festival Singers for many years. This is his 10th performance in Carnegie Hall. He has been married to his wife Gayle for 35 years and is a proud father to his four sons and grandfather to his three grand kids.

The music faculty at the Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School consists of four dedicated teachers who work together to provide guidance and training to the school’s music students. John Atteberry directs the Upper School Choir and Orchestra, Musical Theater and teaches theory. Molly Williams directs the Middle School Choir and Musical Theater, Lower School Choir and General Music. Rebecca Cutler directs the Middle School and Upper School Orchestra and Lower School Strings. Margaret Yocum is our accompanist and coach. Due to their leadership, over 70% of the school’s student body elects to be in the choir and orchestra programs.

Alison Chew spent her professional life in music and education. She trained as a teacher at Maria Grey College, London UK, specialising in singing and piano, and her advanced singing studies continued under the renowned international soprano, Helga Mott. Alison has performed as a soloist in oratorio and as a recitalist in the East Anglia region of the United Kingdom. She moved to France in 2004, and shortly became a co-founder of Variations Vocal Ensemble. Under her dedicated leadership and musical direction, the choir has developed into a popular, much appreciated association, giving great pleasure to its international audiences.

A native of North Carolina, Matthew Webb is a sought-after conductor, collaborative pianist, and vocal coach.  He currently serves as the Director of Music at the Presbyterian Church in Morristown, NJ, where he leads a comprehensive music program from preschool age through adults, conducting both choral and instrumental ensembles.  While in Morristown, he has lead ensembles in Handel’s Messiah, the Mozart Requiem, the Fauré Requiem, and most recently in the choral portions of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2.  As a collaborative pianist, he has performed in the U.S. and Europe, including Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.  Webb is an active vocal coach and musical theatre director whose students are currently performing with Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theatre companies.  He was formerly the Music Director of the acclaimed Musical Theatre program at Elon University (NC).  As an educator, Webb has served on the faculties of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and is currently the Visiting Assistant Professor and Interim Director of Choral Studies at Drew University, where he conducts the Chorale and Choral Union.

Webb completed graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in conducting and keyboard performance, and has undergraduate degrees in philosophy and piano performance from Wake Forest University.  He has done additional studies at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Vienna (Austria).  He studied conducting with Welborn Young, Carole Ott, and David Hagy, and has enjoyed master class studies with Craig Jessop, Michael Adelson, Donald Neuen, and Anton Armstrong.