An Emmy-winning, Grammy-nominated American composer and conductor, Jake Runestad is widely considered one of the most prominent voices in contemporary choral and orchestral music. Known for his expressive lyricism, rhythmic energy, and deep social conscience, Runestad frequently tackles poignant, humanistic themes ranging from mental health to environmental awareness. His works, including Let My Love Be Heard, Please Stay, and his major work A Silence Haunts Me, are staple repertoire for premier ensembles worldwide, earning him commissions from organizations like Conspirare, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and the Philippine Madrigal Singers.

Franz Biebl was a German composer, educator, and choral conductor. After studying church music and composition in Munich and serving in World War II, he worked extensively as a choral director, music educator, and head of choral music for Bavarian Radio. While he composed hundreds of works across sacred and secular genres, he achieved global fame through a single, extraordinary piece: his Ave Maria (setting the Angelus). Originally written for a local fire brigade male choir, the work gained worldwide acclaim after being championed by the American vocal ensemble Chanticleer.

Alice Parker was a monumental American composer, arranger, conductor, and educator whose career spanned more than seven decades. A student of Robert Shaw at Juilliard, she co-created legendary choral arrangements of American folk songs, spirituals, and hymns with Shaw, bringing foundational vernacular music into the concert hall. An ardent believer in the communal power of singing, Parker founded the organization Melodious Accord, wrote hundreds of sacred and secular compositions, and led community Sings across North America, leaving an indelible imprint on American choral tradition.

Manuel María Ponce was a foundational figure in modern Mexican music. A scholar, pianist, and composer, Ponce studied in Mexico, Italy, and France (under Paul Dukas) before spearheading the Mexican musical nationalism movement. He sought to elevate authentic Mexican folk melodies and mestizo songs into sophisticated concert works, composing iconic piano pieces, orchestral suites, and chamber music. His vast catalog includes the timeless song Estrellita and an indispensable body of works for classical guitar, written in close collaboration with virtuoso Andrés Segovia.

An Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, singer, and choirmaster, Komitas is revered as the father of modern Armenian classical music and a pioneer of ethnomusicology. After studying music in Berlin, he painstakingly collected, transcribed, and analyzed more than 3,000 Armenian, Kurdish, and Persian folk songs, cleansing them of foreign influences and preserving an ancient cultural heritage. His sacred choral works—most notably the Patarag (Divine Liturgy)—remain core to Armenian identity. Tragically, surviving the trauma and persecution of the 1915 Armenian Genocide led to severe PTSD, and he spent the remainder of his life in psychiatric clinics in Paris.

Mark Templeton is an American choral composer, arranger, and veteran music educator based in Virginia. Holding degrees from Shenandoah University and the University of Missouri–Columbia, Templeton has served as Director of Choral Activities at Handley High School for over two decades. His compositions, often published by Walton Music, Hal Leonard, and Santa Barbara Music Publishing, are widely celebrated for their lush harmonic colors, accessible voice-leading, and thoughtful lyrical sensibilities, making his works frequent selections for all-state, collegiate, and festival choirs nationwide.

One of England’s greatest and most influential Baroque composers, Henry Purcell served as organist of Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal. He developed a distinctly English theatrical and sacred idiom, brilliantly marrying expressive continental Baroque styles with natural English text setting. His masterwork, the opera Dido and Aeneas (famed for “Dido’s Lament”), alongside his funeral music for Queen Mary and numerous anthems, odes, and keyboard pieces, cemented his reputation as an extraordinary craftsman of dramatic and polyphonic choral music before his untimely death at age 36.

Sopranos:

Rachel Fields
Anne Whatoff

Altos:

Evangelina Woo
Theodora Mautz

Tenors:

John Yokoyama
Samuel Buse

Basses:

Michael Sokol
Allen  Pace