A choir is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures.
Raymond John Leppard was a British-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer and editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music; in particular, he was one of the first major conductors to perform Baroque opera, reviving works by Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Cavalli. He conducted operas at major international opera houses and festivals, including the Glyndebourne Festival where he led the world premiere of Nicholas Maw's The Rising of the Moon, the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House. He composed film scores such as Lord of the Flies and Alfred the Great.
Claire Gibault is a French conductor and politician and a Member of the European Parliament for the south-east of France. She is a member of the Union for French Democracy, which is part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education and its Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality.
Andrew Thomas Kuster is an American writer, composer, and conductor.
Carmen-Helena Téllez was a Venezuelan-American music conductor, producer, and composer. Reviewed as "a quiet force behind contemporary music in the United States today", she was a pioneer of new modes of classical music presentation, through the exploration of the relationship of music with other arts and technology as well as through the discovery of underrepresented composers with multiple performances of contemporary works for chorus, orchestra and new opera.
Maria Guinand is an internationally renowned choral conductor.
Dr. William John Dehning was an American conductor, teacher, and author who spent almost his entire career in the collegiate realm. He was known primarily for his work as conductor of the University of Southern California Thornton Chamber Choir and as author of the book, Chorus Confidential: Decoding the Secrets of the Choral Art, published in 2003. Under his leadership, the Thornton Chamber Choir won seven prizes in international European competitions, including Grand Prizes in Varna, Bulgaria and Tours, France. After winning the choral competition with the USC Chamber Choir in Bulgaria, Dehning was awarded the Judges' Conducting Prize by a panel of ten judges in 1999. During his tenure, the ensemble also appeared at American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conventions six times, including nationals in 2001 and 2005. They also completed a tour of East Asia in 2006, performing at the National Concert Hall in Taipei. While at Northern Michigan University from 1970–1972, Dehning was the founder of the Marquette Choral Society, which is still active. Later, he was from 1985-1995 the founder/conductor of the California Choral Company, a semi-professional chamber chorus that attained a reputation in Europe as well as in the United States. As Chairman of the USC Department of Choral Music, Dehning was awarded the first annual Dean’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, and he was also the 2007 recipient of the Thornton School's Ramo Award. Dehning was one of four founding members of the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO), which held its first national conference in San Antonio in 2006.
Robert Huw Morgan is a Welsh-born organist and choral conductor. He serves as the University Organist at Stanford University's Memorial Church.
Thea Kano is an American conductor. She is the Founder of the New York City Master Chorale, and was its Artistic Director until the end of the 2018–2019 season. She served as the Associate Music Director of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C. from 2004 to 2014, and has been appointed its Artistic Director, effective September 2, 2014. She served as the Associate Conductor of the Washington Chorus and Artistic Director of the Capitol Hill Youth Chorus from 2004–2009, both of which she joined in 2004 after earning her doctorate in choral conducting from UCLA, writing her dissertation on Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem under Professor Donald Neuen. She also studied privately with Paul Salamunovich.
Simon Carrington is an English conductor, singer and double bass player. He was a founding member and member for 25 years of the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble the King's Singers; he subsequently worked for 15 years in the United States and now divides his time between London and southwest France. He speaks French and German and holds British and American citizenship. He is father of the British "music comedian" and cello player Rebecca Carrington.
Richard Andrew Sparks is an American choral conductor. He is one of the leading figures in choral music in the Pacific Northwest and in Scandinavian, especially Swedish a cappella, choral music.
James Lee Fankhauser is an American conductor, tenor, and educator who is primarily known for his work within the field of choral music in Canada.
George Alfred Lynn was an American composer, conductor, pianist, organist, singer, and music educator. A longtime member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, his compositional output encompasses more than 200 orchestral and choral pieces; many of which have been performed by major American symphony orchestras like the Denver Symphony, the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He taught on the music faculties of several prominent American colleges, notably conducting several university choirs. Throughout his life he was active as a conductor, organist, and pianist for various church and community choirs.
Eudenice V. Palaruan is a Filipino conductor, composer, music educator.
Carl Crossin OAM is an Australian choral conductor, educator and composer. He is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the University of Adelaide. He was a director of the Elder Conservatorium of Music in the University of Adelaide in 2010–14.
Patrick Russill is an English choral conductor, organist and music conservatoire teacher.
Fiora Corradetti Contino was an American opera conductor and teacher. She was particularly known for her interpretations of Italian verismo works of the late 19th century, and was described as one of the most important figures in opera of the 20th century. Anne Midgette of The New York Times once suggested that she "might have had a far bigger career had she been a man".
Ilse Gerda Wunsch was an American composer, pianist, teacher, and choral conductor who was born in Germany.
Thomas L. Riis or Thomas Laurence Riis is an American musicologist and professor. His current position is the Joseph Negler Professor of Musicology and Director of the American Music Research Center at the College of Music, at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Karen Lesley Grylls is a New Zealand choral conductor. She is an associate professor in choral conducting at the University of Auckland and founder of Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir.
