Jonas Rasmussen

Denmark

Jonas Rasmussen holds an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma from The Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, a Master of Music in Choral Studies from University of Cambridge and a Bachelors Degree in Choral Conducting from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Since 2017, he has been living and working in Aarhus, Denmark as a director of three choirs: Academic Choir Aarhus, Aarhus U Youth Choir and BarbAros – Danish Barbershop Chorus. With these choirs Jonas has won several international choral competitions, including the World Choral Championships in Tokyo 2019 and Let the Peoples Sing in Barcelona 2019.

Jonas works simultaneously as a teacher in choral conducting at The Royal Academy of Music, a choir consultant for the nation-wide choral organisation “Danish Church Choirs” and as a singing consultant for “Sangkraft Aarhus” who promotes singing for children and young people. Besides these positions, Jonas frequently leads workshops and masterclasses around Denmark.

Anthony Trecek-King

USA

Over the past 20 years, Dr. Anthony Trecek-King has cultivated an international reputation as a choral conductor, scholar, pedagogue, and media personality. He is passionate about cultivating artistically excellent ensembles that explore socially relevant issues through emotionally immersive programs, challenging both artists and audiences to feel and think. Dr. Trecek-King has recently been appointed as both an Associate Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral Activities at The Hartt School, University of Hartford and a Resident Conductor with the Handel and Haydn Society. Ensembles under his direction were integral to projects that have won a Pulitzer Prize (Madam White Snake, Zhou Long), received a Grammy (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Boston Modern Orchestra Project), and earned the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from Presidential Committee on the Arts (Boston Children’s Chorus).

Dr. Trecek-King has worked with a variety of artists and ensembles including Leslie Odom Jr., Melinda Doolittle, the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Seraphic Fire, Keith Lockhart, John Williams, Gil Rose, Simon Halsey, Yo Yo Ma, and Roomful of Teeth. He has led performances in world-renowned venues including Boston Symphony Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Carnegie Hall in New York City, Royal Albert Hall in London, and the Sydney Opera House. In addition to his conducting work, he is currently the host of the classical radio show “The Silent Canon'' which airs on KNVO 90.7.  He can also be seen on-air and online on the Emmy nominated WGBH television series Sing That Thing, and two TEDx Boston talks.

He holds a B.M. in Cello Performance from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, an M.M. in Orchestral Conducting from the Florida State University, and a D.M.A. in Choral Conducting from the Boston University. He currently lives in the Boston area with his partner Melanie (of Thinking is Power) and their cat.

Tracy Wong

Malaysia/Canada

Tracy Wong is the Assistant Professor of Choral Studies at the Don Wright Faculty of Music, Western University, where she conducts Chorale and Les Choristes ensembles, and teaches choral conducting. She also serves as the Conductor of the Grand Philharmonic Youth Choir in Kitchener, Ontario. Tracy was previously the Assistant Professor (Music) at McMaster University where she conducted the University Choir and Cantemus Ensemble, and taught a variety of conducting, choral methods, music education, and history courses.

Tracy holds a Doctor in Musical Arts and Master in Music Performance (Choral Conducting) degrees from the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. She is also a proud recipient of the 2016 & 2017 Elmer Iseler National Graduate Fellowship in Choral Conducting, and 2018-19 McMaster University Student Union Teaching Award.

Tracy hails from Malaysia and is a choral conductor, music educator, composer, vocalist, and pianist. As an active clinician and educator, she has conducted workshops for choirs in North America, Malaysia, Brunei, France, Ireland, and Portugal. Her choral works are available on her website as well as Cypress Choral Music (Canada), Graphite Publishing (US), and Young Choral Academy (Malaysia). They have been performed by Malaysian, North American, European, and Southeast Asian choirs at international competitions and festivals. 

Felix Shuen

Hong Kong

Mr. Felix Shuen is one of the leading conductors in Hong Kong. He has extensive performance experience as a conductor and a vocalist, and has made appearances on international stages including Canada, China, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He has served as director and conductor in various choral ensembles including the Diocesan Boys’ School Choirs, Hong Kong Young People’s Chorus, Hong Kong SingFest, Hong Kong Voices, and The Illumino Singers. He received critical acclaim as one of the two chorus masters in HK SingFest since 2013, working closely with renowned world-class maestros Helmuth Rilling, Paul Goodwin, Rolf Beck, and William Weinert. Under his direction, the Diocesan Boys’ School Choirs captured numerous awards in international competitions, including the recent world champion title in the World Choir Games 2023 & 2024.

Mr. Shuen is currently the Music Director of in his alma mater, Diocesan Boys’ School, board member of Diocesan Choral Society and HK SingFest, and one of the Country and Regional Representatives of Asia Choral Association. He is the founder and artistic director of Phoenix Choral Projects, a newly establish platform for choral exchange in Hong Kong. He is also a vocalist of Hong Kong’s leading professional chamber choir NOĒMA. He obtained his Master of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music in 2012, studying conducting under William Weinert, Mark Scatterday, and Bradley Lubman.

He has been the Conductor of Hong Kong Inter-School Choir (Senior Secondary Division) since 2022, and was invited to present a workshop in the Hong Kong Inter-School Choral Festival in 2021.

Sanna Valvanne

Finland

Sanna Valvanne is an innovative conductor, versatile performer and singer & songwriter, originally from Finland. She is recognized worldwide for her creative and holistic choral method: “Sing and Shine with Body and Soul”, which combines vocal expression with movement and drama. Sanna has been a popular clinician, guest conductor and performer with choirs around the world since 1994.

In 2014, she was chosen to present her method at the World Symposium on Choral Music, held in Seoul, South Korea, and in 2015-2016 she has been invited to guest conduct in Canada, Norway, Finland, Mexico, Colombia, USA, Hong Kong, Greece, Spain, and Germany. Sanna is a former singer, conductor’s assistant, and vocal trainer of the world famous Tapiola Choir, with a Masters Degree in Music, from the Sibelius Academy.

Previously Sanna founded and conducted children’s and youth choir programs in Finland and Michigan, and performed in children’s TV-programs in Finland. Since 2011, she has been living in New York City, where as the founding director of Sing & Shine Kids and the choir specialist at several El Sistema inspired programs, she works with children who lack other opportunities for learning music.

Sanna’s newest choir initiative, Sing&Shine Choirs, has brought together her former children’s choir singers in Finland for new projects around the world, where the boundaries of choral expression are expanded and new forms for sharing love & joy & healing through vocal theater are explored.
Sanna's special vocal warm ups have been published in a DVD and are available from www.sannavalvanne.com. Her newest DVD: “Sing and Shine Repertoire” will be published in 2016.

Greg Beardsell

UK

Greg is a dynamic force in the world of choral and orchestral music and is celebrated for his dedication to music education and advocacy for the transformative power of music in society. His passion for bridging the gap between classical traditions and contemporary audiences has made him a sought-after conductor, educator and broadcaster, inspiring musicians of all ages. 

Balancing a busy schedule of freelance activities, he is Associate Conductor of London Voices, the UK's most in-demand session choir. He has conducted on many TV and film soundtracks including, most recently, the Academy Award-nominated animation The Wild Robot.

He is also Musical Director of the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland, an ensemble established in 1995 as a peace initiative and composed of exceptionally talented young musicians from all over the island of Ireland. Every year, in collaboration with the orchestra, he conducts over 35,000 school children across Ireland and the UK in a concert series called the Peace Proms; performances which help to nurture vital cross community relations. 

He was, for 20 years, Principal Conductor of the National Youth Choir (15-18) and has held directorships with the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, the Irish Youth Choir, the Ulster Youth Choir and the Royal College of Music Chamber Choir. He was also was Chorus Director for Gabrielli Consort's engagement programme ROAR. He has adjudicated at the Llangollen Eisteddfod, Côr Cymru, Cork Choral Festival, UK Choir of the Year and various other competitions around the world, and has also presented seminars on conducting and teaching strategies for organisations such as Cambridge University, the Swedish Choral Directors Association, Cornell University New York, and music education hubs across England. 

He has conducted the chorus of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, BBC Symphony Chorus, London Bach Choir and the London Symphony Chorus and collaborated with conductors such as John Wilson, Marin Alsop, Edward Gardner and Sir Colin Davis. He has conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, the City of London Sinfonia, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the National Children's Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestras of Ireland and Ulster, in a range of performance and education projects. 

An avid collaborator, with a Masters degree in composition, Greg has commissioned new music for choirs, electro-acoustic musicians, Irish folk ensembles, Carnatic Indian musicians, dance companies and jazz bands. 

He enjoys a very close association with Royal Albert Hall, devising the inaugural International Youth Choir Festival there in 2017. The festival, produced in collaboration between the RAH Education & Outreach team and the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, featured seminars, workshops and performances in the Hall and across the city from some of the finest choirs in the world. Greg also hosts the ‘Carols at the Hall’ shows, a series of multiple sold out performances across the festive period.

He has been a guest presenter for BBC Radio 3’s Live in Concert, Inside Music and Choir and Organ programmes, and has featured as a choral music expert for the BBC Proms television broadcasts.