John August Pamintuan is a renowned Philippine conductor and composer. Since 2007, John is recognized by the American Federation of Musicians as an artist of sustained international acclaim.
As a conductor he has given workshops, performed in concerts, and won in competitions in Asia, Europe, and North America. As a singer, he has sung in solo recitals at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and Moscow Glinka Hall. As a composer, John was awarded the composition prize in Tours (France), and Tokyo (Japan). He has composed around 450 pieces which have been performed by choirs from 30 countries.
In the last couple of years, John has been invited in the jury of international choir competitions in Hoi An, Cincinnati, Rimini and Cattolica Italy, Singapore, Penang, Hongkong, Taiwan, Chiang Mai and Bangkok Thailand, Jakarta and Manado Indonesia, Riga Latvia, and in Takarazuka, Kobe, Karuizawa, and Tokyo in Japan. He is also a member of the panel of adjudicators for composition contests in Croatia (2011, 2012, 2014), International Federation for Choral Music (2013), and International Choral Composition Competition Japan (2015, 2016, 2018, 2020).
As a Senior lecturer of composition at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, a composer of music ranging from choir, symphonic band, wind ensemble, chamber music to large scale orchestral works. In 1999, he received the David and Gunda Hiebert Scholarship award to work on his Master of Piano from University of Kansas, during which he was appointed as a graduate assistant by the university to teach undergraduate music theory.
Subsequently, he worked on his Doctorate degree majoring in Composition under the guidance of Dr. Charles Hoag. Zechariah was also awarded the prestigious Anthony Cius Prize for outstanding student composer from the University of Kansas for the Academic year of 2001 and 2002.
Before embarking on his studies in the United States, he was a familiar face in the local music scene, teaching bands and choirs in Singapore. He was a lecturer at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, since July 2002. As a composer, he is frequently commissioned to write music for symphonic bands and choirs. Since the 1990s, his choral works have been premiered in Singapore as well as winning many international competitions.
Dr Goh has conducted numerous folksong arrangement and choral improvisation workshops for choral directors and composers across the Asia Pacific region, including cities such as Bandung (2017), Kuala Lumpur, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Taipei, and Tianjin, China (2018). Additionally, he was invited to lecture and give workshops at the Oklahoma State University and University of Kansas, USA.
He adjudicated the World Children and Youth Choir Competition in Hong Kong (2017), and the Bali International Choral Competition in 2018 and The Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod, 2018.
For his artistic excellence in the field of music, Zechariah was conferred the Young Artist Award (Music) in September 2003 by the National Arts Council, Singapore. Zechariah was awarded the Artistic Excellence Award from the Composers and authors Society of Singapore in 2013. Zechariah Goh was also presented with the distinguished Alumni medal from NAFA in 2014.
ANDRÉ J. THOMAS is the recently retired Owen F. Sellers Professor of Music, and Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Choral Music Education at Florida State University. A previous faculty member at the University of Texas, Austin. He is in demand as a choral adjudicator, clinician, and director of Honor/All-State Choirs throughout the North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, and Africa.
Dr. Thomas has conducted choirs at the state, division, and national conventions of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) and American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). His international conducting credits are extensive Since 1988, he has also served as Artistic Director of the Tallahassee Community Chorus. Thomas has also distinguished himself as a composer/arranger. He has produced two instructional videos "What They See Is What You Get" on choral conducting, with Rodney Eichenberger, and "Body, Mind, Spirit, Voice" on adolescent voices, with Anton Armstrong. His recent book "Way Over in Beulah Lan’. Understanding and Performing the Negro Spiritual" has quickly become a major source in this area of study.
The African Diaspora Sacred Music honored Dr. Thomas as a Living Legend. In 2011, Thomas’ dedication to and accomplishments in the choral arts was recognized by his peers in Chorus America when that the organization presented Dr. Thomas with its Distinguished Service Award. In March of 2017, ACDA presented Thomas with its highest honor the Robert Shaw Award, and finally in November of 2017 NCCO will present Thomas with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
He is a past president of the Florida ACDA and the past president of the Southern Division of ACDA. He is currently the Vice-President of the National ACDA.
Mr. Nishimura was born in Osaka 1953. He studied composition and musical theory to post graduate level at Tokyo University of the Arts. In 1977 he won the first of his numerous later prize winnings at the Queen Elizabeth International Music Composition Competition with HETEROPHONY for string quartet (1975) and the Luigi Dallapiccola Composition Award with MUTAZIONI (1977). In 1980 KECAK (1979) was selected as the best work at the International Rostrum of Composers, and he won awards at the ISCM World Music Days with ODE for EKSTASIS (1981) in 1982, then in 1984, 1988 and 1990. The Otaka Prizes were awarded to him in 1988 for HETEROPHONY for two pianos and orchestra(1987), in 1992 for A RING OF LIGHTS, double concerto for violin, piano and orchestra, and in 1993 for INTO THE LIGHTS OF THE ETERNAL CHAOS. In 2001, he was awarded the ExxonMobil Music Prize and in 2004, the Suntory Music Award. He was composer-in-residence of the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (1993-94) and of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (1994-97).
Nishimura principally employs heterophony, a characteristic device of Asian traditional music, thereby subtly transforming the intervals, rhythm and melody of his dense multi-layered textures. Though similar to 'micropolyphony' of Ligeti, an Asian perspective informs his technique. Some works are heterophonic melodically, such as HETEROPHONY (1975), and some rhythmically, as in KECAK; the superimposition of trills, tremolos and harmonics contributes to the more complex textures of his later works.
He has been commissioned from many overseas music festivals and ensembles such as ULTIMA Contemporary Music Festival Oslo, Octobre en Normandie, Arditti Quartet, Kronos Quartet, ELISION Ensemble, Hannover Society of Contemporary Music and so on.
In 2019, Opera "Asters” a new production, commissioned by the New National Theatre, Tokyo was a great success. He is currently a Professor at the Tokyo College of Music and the Musical Director of the Izumi Sinfonietta Osaka, Kusatsu International Summer Music Academy & Festival.
