Marcus Desir is the conductor of the recently established Los Angeles based singing group, De-Nuance. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in choral music at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music studying with Jo-Michael Scheibe, Cristian Grases, Nick Strimple, and Tram Sparks. He previously earned a Master of Music...
Hailing from Hong Kong, Sarah Maria Leung is known for her gentle yet commanding music direction. Sarah is currently Music Director at the Newman Centre at U of T. She is also Assistant Conductor at Pax Christi Chorale and the project-based group Incontra Vocal Ensemble. Sarah holds an MMus in choral conducting from the University of...
Born in Taichung, Taiwan, Ann Chen obtained her Bachelor of Music in Piano from the University of British Columbia in 2013 and Bachelor of Education in 2014. She is currently studying MM in Choral Music at University of Southern California. Ann is a pianist, a vocalist, and a conductor. She was selected to perform in...
Matt Taylor is a DMA student at the University of Georgia, currently pursuing his degree in Choral Conducting on a Hoveland Choral Fellowship. Before moving to Athens, Georgia, Matt was an associate choral director at Wando High School in Charleston, SC, where he directed the intermediate and advanced treble choirs. Matt has served as a...
Joshua Boggs is Assistant Professor of Choral and Vocal Studies at Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia, and Founding Artistic Director of AppOpera. He is most interested in the scholarship and performance of early and new music, and maintains an active profile as a countertenor. Boggs’ dissertation focuses on Craig Hella Johnson’s oratorio Considering...
Rena Roussin is a doctoral candidate in musicology at the University of Toronto, and is currently writing a doctoral dissertation on constructions of disability and gender in Joseph Haydn’s operas and oratorios. More broadly, her research interests include conceiving of art music and music theatre as forms of activism and social justice in historic and current...
Brett Polegato’s artistic sensibility has earned him the highest praise from audiences and critics: “his is a serious and seductive voice” says The Globe and Mail, and The New York Times has praised him for his “burnished, well-focused voice” which he uses with “considerable intelligence and nuance.” He appears regularly on the world’s most distinguished...
Composer Barbara Assiginaak says of her background: “Rooted in the Anishinaabe aural/oral traditions of singing, drumming and the pipigwan/bbigon (cedar flute) from a young age, I am also classically-trained in piano and other European instruments, Western music theory and composition technique. Over many years I have also worked closely and collaboratively with musicians of diverse...
Brainerd Blyden-Taylor is the Founder, Artistic Director and conductor of The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Canada’s first professional chamber choir dedicated to the creation and performance of Afrocentric music of all styles. Born in Trinidad & Tobago, Mr. Blyden-Taylor immigrated to Canada in 1973. He founded The Chorale in 1998, in response to a musical void...