Johannes Antoni – Germany
Johannes Antoni - Germany
Johannes Antoni is a choral conductor whose work bridges tradition and innovation. Born in Bretten in 1995, he studied with Prof. Matthias Beckert at the University of Music Karlsruhe, earning both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in choral conducting with top honours. He has already made his mark as Artistic Director of the Baden-Württemberg Chamber Choir and, more recently, as Artistic Director of the University Choir of Education Karlsruhe and founder of the Jazz and Pop Choir Offbeats. Guest engagements have taken him to the Alte Oper Frankfurt, where he led Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and to the Ettlingen Castle Festival, where he conducted Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita. From 2020 to 2024, Johannes was chorus director at Theater Pforzheim, preparing ensembles for productions spanning opera, musical theatre, and symphonic works. Beyond the stage, he is deeply committed to teaching, serving as lecturer in choral conducting at the University of Music Karlsruhe and academic staff member at the University of Education Karlsruhe. His artistry has been recognized with awards such as second prize at the 5th International Conducting Competition in Slovakia and scholarships from the Richard Wagner Scholarship Foundation and the Interculture Choral Conductors’ Program. He has also participated in masterclasses with leading conductors including Yuval Weinberg, Florian Helgath, and Hans-Christoph Rademann. Praised for his clarity, sensitivity, and ability to inspire choirs with both energy and nuance, Johannes Antoni is establishing himself as one of the promising young voices in the European choral scene.
Franco Basili – Argentine
Franco Basili - Argentine
Maria Ciavarella – Italy
Maria Ciavarella - Italy
Maria Ciavarella (1995, Brescia, Italy) studied violin at the Conservatorio L. Marenzio before specializing in choral conducting at the Guido d’Arezzo School, guided by Lorenzo Donati, Nicole Corti, Gary Graden, and others. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Choral Conducting and Composition at Conservatorio F.A. Bonporti (2023) and graduated in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Brescia (2024). She refined her skills through international masterclasses, including the Chigiana Summer Academy (2018), Spirito Academy with Nicole Corti (2018), ARCOM workshops with Carlo Pavese (2021–22), “Sacred Music Today” in Stockholm (2024), and the Lisbon Choral Conducting Masterclass with Daniel Reuss (2024). An active singer, she has performed with award-winning ensembles such as Controcanto Female Choir (2011–), UT Insieme Vocale–Consonante (2020–22), Guido Chigi Saracini Choir (2018–23), and Tuscan Youth Choir (2018–19). As a conductor, she received 2nd Prize at the National Choral Conducting Competition Le mani in suono (2020), 1st Prize at Città di Fermo with Controcanto Female Choir plus a special conducting award (2022), and 2nd Prize at Città di Chiari with Controcanto Children Choir along with Best Conductor recognition (2025). She currently directs the Torino Vocal Ensemble, madrigal ensemble Suspirium (Florence), Controcanto Youth Choir, and Controcanto Children Choir, while leading educational projects in schools. She has been invited to conduct at the FENIARCO “Festival di Primavera” (2025–26) and youth choir workshops for Cori Lombardia (2025).
Elisa Huovinen – Finland
Elisa Huovinen - Finland
Elisa Huovinen is a Finnish choir conductor with a master’s degree from the Sibelius Academy and a degree in music pedagogy from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. She has refined her skills in masterclasses with renowned conductors and choirs, including Justin Doyle & RIAS Kammerchor, Paul Hillier & Ars Nova Copenhagen, and Frieder Bernius & Kammerchor Stuttgart. Elisa has achieved success both in Finland and abroad. She received the Gunilla Josefsson Prize (2025) for her work with young singers and was named Choral Conductor of the Year by the Finnish Choral Conductors’ Association (2024). Her competition successes include II prize at the Fosco Corti International Competition (Turin 2021), I prize at the Finnish Choral Conductors’ Competition (Tampere 2018), and I prize at the Gheorghe Dima International Music Competition (Cluj-Napoca 2018). She has also been recognized as best conductor at Kaunas Cantat (2024) and Cracovia Cantans (2016). She is artistic director of Somnium Ensemble, the Finnish Youth Choir, Male Choir Valkia, and Akademiska Sångföreningen, and has collaborated with professional choirs such as the Helsinki Chamber Choir, Key Ensemble, Tampere Cappella, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and the Estonian National Male Choir. Since 2017, Huovinen has taught choral conducting at the Sibelius Academy. As a singer, she has performed with ensembles including I Dodici Renaissance Ensemble, Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir, and the Sibelius Academy Vocal Ensemble. From 2018 to 2024, she chaired the Finnish Choral Conductors’ Association, advancing the profession and strengthening collaboration between choirs and conductors.
Harvey Lok – Hong Kong – Cina
Harvey Lok - Hong Kong - Cina
Harvey Lok is a conductor recognised for curating contemplative programmes that explore the relationship between music, literature, and spirituality. He is co-founder and artistic director of Hemiola, a vocal ensemble that has presented seven innovative programmes in the past two seasons, including collaborations with The Dolor Consort and Lady Clare’s Consort, and a recent appearance at the 2025 Brecon Choir Festival. As Associate Choral Leader at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Harvey works with their Emerging Artists and conducts services at partner venues. He holds a first-class BA in Music and English from Royal Holloway, where he won the Final Year Prize for Outstanding Achievement and achieved top marks in conducting. During his studies he served as Student Conductor for the Choir of Royal Holloway and Assistant Conductor of both the Symphony Orchestra and New Music Collective, working with Rebecca Miller, Nathan James Dearden, Rupert Gough, and the London Mozart Players. Performance highlights include Mathias’ Missa Aedis Christi, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, and the UK premiere of Cecilia McDowall’s Music of the Stars. Harvey began conducting with Sanders Lau and later studied with Amy Bebbington, Neil Ferris, Patrick Russill, and Felix Yeung. He has directed ensembles including the Diocesan Boys’ School Choir and Orchestra, the Hong Kong Children’s Choir, and The Illumino Singers, a project he founded during the pandemic. He has also worked in masterclasses with Josef Bastian, David Hill, Gábor Hollerung, Yunn-Shan Ma, and Fred Sjöberg. This September, Harvey begins his Masters in Choral Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music with Nicholas Chalmers, including masterclasses with the BBC Singers, Roland Börger, James O’Donnell, and Sofi Jeannin.
David Kime – USA
David Kime - USA
David Kime is an American choir director, baritone, and instrumentalist, currently pursuing a Master of Music in Choral Conducting at Brigham Young University. Under the guidance of Andrew Crane, Brent Wells, and Sonja Poulter, he has gained extensive experience as an assistant and conductor in numerous university ensembles, as well as teaching courses in conducting, theory, and solfeggio. As a singer, he is a permanent member of the BYU Singers, with whom he has participated in prestigious international conferences and competitions, winning awards in Europe and the United States. At the same time, Kime founded and developed the Ensign Singers, transforming them from a community group into an independent ensemble invited to perform at the 2026 ACDA regional conference. He is also conductor of the BYU Welsh Choir and assists with the Utah Valley Interfaith Choir, where he promotes music that unites different cultures and faiths. Since 2018, he has also been the artistic director of A Voice for Good, a choir and association with which he has made recordings, premiered works, and carried out charitable projects. His training has been enriched by masterclasses and international competitions in Germany, Italy, Romania, and the United States, working with maestros such as Simon Carrington, Ruben Valenzuela, and Georg Grün. In addition to conducting, he continues to work as a pianist, organist, and accompanist, collaborating with soloists, choirs, and local institutions. His career combines artistic passion and community engagement, bringing together academic rigor, musical research, and a desire to create meaningful choral experiences for singers and audiences alike.
Ingrit Malleus – Estonia
Ingrit Malleus - Estonia
Ingrit Malleus is an Estonian-born soprano and conductor whose musical journey has taken her across Europe. She studied choir conducting at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre under Toomas Kapten and Tõnu Kaljuste, at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin with Justin Doyle and Jörg-Peter Weigle, and at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Nils Schweckendick. Alongside conducting, she deepened her passion for early music through vocal studies with Tuuli Lindeberg. Her curiosity and drive have led her to masterclasses with renowned conductors including Simon Halsey, Sir Roger Norrington, Paavo and Kristjan Järvi, Kaspars Putniņš, Georg Grün, and Patrick Russill. As a singer, Ingrit has performed with ensembles such as the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, EuropaChorAkademie, Helsinki Chamber Choir, and Key Ensemble. Ingrit has been recognized in competitions from an early age, winning Estonia’s Choral Conductor’s competition twice as a student and later achieving international recognition with prizes in Wroclaw, Italy, and Estonia. In 2024, she won first prize at the Estonian competition for young conductors, along with the special prize from the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Her professional experience is equally rich, having conducted or collaborated with ensembles including Philharmonischer Chor Berlin, the Estonian National Male Choir RAM, and Mieskuoro Valkia. Since 2022, she has also worked as soprano section leader and project-based chorus master with the Helsinki Music Centre Choir. Whether on the podium or singing in an ensemble, Ingrit brings energy, precision, and a deep love of choral music to every project she leads.
Fiorella Monsorno – Italy
Fiorella Monsorno - Italy
From a young age, Fiorella Monsorno embarked on a musical journey that led her to cultivate a passion for the piano and, later, for choral conducting and composition. After studying piano at the F.A. Bonporti Conservatory, she graduated with honours in both the three-year and two-year courses in choral conducting and composition at the same institute, under the guidance of Lorenzo Donati and Petra Grassi. At the same time, she enriched her training through masterclasses and international seminars with renowned teachers, including Gary Graden, Helene Stureborg, Ivo Antognini, and Carlo Pavese, and completed an Erasmus+ internship at Stockholms Musikgymnasium. Her professional activity is divided between conducting, teaching, and choral singing. Since 2019, she has been the director of the Controtempo Choir in Pergine Valsugana and, since 2024, she has been the assistant director of the SAT Choir. She also collaborates on school projects and music workshops for children and young people, continuing her ongoing commitment to the promotion of choral music. As a singer, she is a member of the Coro Giovanile Italiano, the Ensemble Suspirium, and other youth and women’s choirs, with which she performs repertoires ranging from Renaissance polyphony to contemporary music. A finalist in the choral conducting competition “Le mani in suono” (2024) and winner of third prize in the composition competition “Cordate vocali” (2023), she has published harmonizations and arrangements in magazines and collections dedicated to choral music and the popular repertoire of Trentino.
Erin Plisco – USA
Erin Plisco - USA
Erin Plisco, conductor and soprano, is Associate Director of Choral Studies at Missouri State University, where she leads multiple choirs and inspires excellence, with her ensembles earning six prestigious conference invitations in the past three years, including the 2023 National ACDA Conference and her recent Carnegie Hall debut. She serves as ACDA National SA Choirs Repertoire and Resources Chair and was a conducting fellow for ACDA’s International Conductor Exchange Program. Plisco earned degrees from Christopher Newport University, the University of Cambridge (UK) as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, and the University of Arizona, where she completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in choral conducting. She has also been a fellow with the Yale Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and the Varna International Music Academy in Bulgaria. As a guest clinician and presenter across the U.S. and abroad, Plisco has received honors including the Podium Award, the Missouri ACDA Outstanding District Director Award, and the Colleen Kirk Award for achievements as a young conductor. Her experience spans choirs of all ages, from her nationally awarded high school choirs in North Carolina to collaborations with orchestra, including work with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus. An accomplished soprano, Plisco has performed opera, concert, and professional choral repertoire. She has sung with True Concord Voices & Orchestra and the Missouri Choral Artists, also serving as guest conductor for the latter during the 2022–2023 season.
Benedict Preece – United Kingdom
Benedict Preece - United Kingdom
Benedict Preece is an award-winning conductor who trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is currently music director of Caritas Chamber Choir, East Bridge Chorale, and Graduates Singers. Highly sought after as an orchestral conductor, he was Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar 2017-2018. He achieved a master’s degree with Distinction, a DipRAM, the Regency Award, and the Exam Board Prize for the best final recital. He studied conducting with Stephen Portman and Peter Stark, collaborating with the Festival Chamber Orchestra and Kent Sinfonia. With Genesis Sixteen, he has worked with Eamonn Dougan, Harry Christophers, and Nicholas Chalmers. His career began as a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral. At Trinity College of Music, he studied horn and natural horn with Roger Montgomery and Anthony Halstead, and organ with David Ponsford, David Flood, and Neil Wright. For ten years he was conductor of the Sandwich Concert Band and for five years Head of Chapel Music, Head of Keyboard, and organist at the Duke of York’s Royal Military School. With Caritas Chamber Choir he has made numerous critically acclaimed recordings: Ritmo wrote that “Preece is very convincing… he always knows which voice to highlight and how to bring out the beauty of the phrase.” He is an artist under contract with Ulysses Arts as a conductor and organist. His choral compositions are regularly performed in Europe and the United States. Passionate about contemporary music, he has commissioned new works and conducted first recordings by composers such as Sir James MacMillan, Cecilia McDowall, Gabriel Jackson, and others, with future plans to bring new music to an international audience.
Ode Pürg – Estonia
Ode Pürg - Estonia
Ode Pürg (b. 1999) is a conductor from Estonia. She holds a master’s degree in Choral Conducting (cum laude) from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, studying with Tõnu Kaljuste, Toomas Kapten, and Kaspar Mänd, and also studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice. She has participated in international masterclasses with Zoltán Pad, Paavo Järvi, Risto Joost, and Georg Grün, working with ensembles such as the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Since 2022, Pürg has been chief conductor of HUIK! and since 2019, founder and conductor of the Female Chamber Choir MUUSAD. In 2024 she became chief conductor of Vikerlased. Major projects include Koshinski and Jürjendal with the Estonian Percussion Quartet, Tasakaal (her Master’s recital with Schönberg and Martin), and MUUSAD’s 5th anniversary concert with Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Tormis’s Songs about Songs and the Singer. She has also worked as chorus master for Dvořák’s Stabat Mater with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. Her choirs have won multiple prizes at international competitions in Jūrmala, Baden, Tallinn, and Cork. She earned 3rd place at the Estonian Young Choral Conductors’ Competition (2024) and received the Estonian Choral Association’s Young Conductor Award (2022). Deeply involved in the Song Festival tradition, Pürg conducted her first Estonian Song Festival in 2025, leading 4,000 singers, and has directed choirs at regional festivals. She has also been awarded the Gustav Ernesaks and Tõnu Kaljuste scholarships. Beyond conducting, Pürg is active as a singer-songwriter and arranger. She released her first single in 2025 and has studied composition with Tõnu Kõrvits and Lorenzo Donati.
Rebecka Ryd – Sweden
Rebecka Ryd - Sweden
Rebecka Ryd (b. 2000) is a versatile Swedish musician based in Salzburg, Austria, where she studies conducting with Prof. Jörn Andresen at Mozarteum. Specializing in choral conducting, she is also active as a professional singer (Swedish Radio Choir, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir), composer, and board member of UNGiKÖR, Sweden’s national youth choir organisation. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 2023 at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm under Profs. Mats Nilsson and Fredrik Malmberg, following studies at Adolf Fredrik’s Music School and Södra Latins Gymnasium. She has participated in international masterclasses with Krista Audere, Gary Graden, Primož Kerštanj, Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng, Lionel Sow, and Helene Stureborg. From 2022–2025, Ryd served as conductor at Oscar’s Church in Stockholm, leading five children’s choirs and four adult choirs, conducting works such as Bach’s Johannespassion, Schnittke’s Requiem and Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri. She also managed recruitment and repertoire for the church’s nine choirs. As a singer, she regularly performs with the Swedish Radio Choir and Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, recently appearing in Mahler’s Das Klagende Lied and touring with Herbert Blomstedt. In 2025 she founded her own professional ensemble, Sága, which debuted with concerts and a recording. Her early experience includes productions at the Royal Opera and international tours with Adolf Fredrik’s Girls Choir. Since 2024, she has sung with the World Youth Choir. Through UNGiKÖR, Ryd also teaches and organises leadership courses for young conductors across Sweden.
Horace Tantang – Indonesia
Horace Tantang - United Kingdom
Horace Tantang began music at age three, studying organ and piano from age ten and completing ABRSM Grade 8 at sixteen. In 2016, he joined the Mozarteum Sommerakademie, studying voice with Prof. Bernd Valentin and German literature with Prof. Elke Renner. That same year, he became Choral Director at Loyola High School, Semarang, leading the choir to a gold medal and 3rd place in their debut at the Sapta Gita National Choir Competition. Between 2016 and 2019, his choirs won multiple awards nationally and internationally. In 2019, he began formal study at the University of the Philippines – Diliman, majoring in Choral Conducting with minors in Piano and Voice, under mentors including Prof. Mark Anthony Carpio and Dr. Beverly Shangkuan-Cheng. Singing with Novo Concertante Manila from 2022, he consistently earned the University Scholar Award and College of Music Merit Scholarship, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2023. From 2023 to 2024, he served as Assistant Conductor of Novo Concertante Manila and led choral workshops in the Philippines and Indonesia. He is currently pursuing an M.A. in Choral Conducting at the University of Birmingham with Simon Halsey CBE and Julian Wilkins, graduating in 2025. He has performed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, Birmingham University Singers under Bob Chilcott, and the University Camerata Singers, collaborating with the BBC Philharmonic and BBC Singers, and attending masterclasses with Simon Carrington and Neil Ferris. As a baritone soloist, Tantang trained under Prof. Raymond Leslie Diaz, joined workshops with Prof. Rudolf Piernay, and worked with early music specialist Mark Chambers.
Sinhaeng Lee – South Korea
Sinhaeng Lee - USA
Sinhaeng Lee is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Programs at Colgate University. A conductor, educator, singer, and keyboardist, he is also the founder and Artistic Director of Vox Amicis, a professional ensemble based in Seoul, South Korea. Previously, Lee was a graduate assistant conductor at Westminster Choir College, preparing performances for the Westminster Symphonic Choir in collaboration with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He also directed the Westminster Community Chorus and later the University Chorus, earning recognition on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students in 2021. His career includes international performance tours across Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, and more, as well as participation in masterclasses with renowned conductors. Most recently, he presented a conducting masterclass at the NY ACDA Collegiate Conference. Lee’s honours include a Conducting Assistantship at the Carmel Bach Festival and Fellowships with Chorus America and the National Collegiate Choral Organization. He has been awarded 1st Prize in the Korean Federation for Choral Music Conducting Competition, 3rd Prize in the Korean Choral Directors Association & National Chorus of Korea Competition and was named distinguished runner-up in MidAmerica Productions’ inaugural International Choral Conducting Competition, leading to an invitation to conduct at Carnegie Hall. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Church Music (Choral Conducting) from Yonsei University, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music with a cognate in Performance Practice from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Lena Herber – Germany
Lena Herber - Germany
Lena Herber is a German choral conductor and church musician with a growing international profile. She is currently completing a Master’s in Choral Conducting and a Bachelor’s in Church Music at the University of Music Würzburg, studying with Benedikt Haag, Ari Rasilainen, and Christoph Bossert. Her education also includes an Erasmus year at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with Fredrik Malmberg, Mats Nilsson, and B. Tommy Andersson, and earlier studies in Mannheim in Music Education and Conducting. Her artistic path has been shaped by masterclasses with Florian Helgath, Ko Matsushita, Barnaby Smith, and Georg Grün, working with ensembles such as VOCES8, the Swedish Radio Choir, and the Zürcher Sing-Akademie. She has been recognized at major competitions, winning 1st prize and a special award for Romantic music at the 2025 International Choral Conducting Competition in Preveza, and 3rd prize at Marktoberdorf in 2022. Collaborations include the Royal Swedish Opera Chorus, KMH Vokalensemble (with members of the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir), and the Montana Chamber Chorale. In 2025, she founded Vocalensemble Connexus, a 24-voice semi-professional ensemble, where she leads both artistically and organizationally. Professionally, she has served as assistant conductor in Würzburg Cathedral, directing children’s and youth choirs, deputizing as cantor, and overseeing concert projects. She also led the Mariakyrkan Church Choir in Stockholm and regularly conducts youth and community ensembles. Future engagements include guest conducting the Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir in 2026/27. In addition, she is active as a choral singer, organist, and workshop leader.
