Born in 1959, Leek has over four decades had associations with innovative choirs around the world and through his own choirs, vOiCeArT and acclaimed The Australian Voices, that he co-founded and conducted until 2009. As a composer his original music has its own distinctive voice and is performed regularly throughout the world and championed by the most innovative conductors. As a conductor Leek works with beginner community and children’s choirs through to leading professional ensembles with equal ease.
A Churchill Fellow, he has received numerous national and international awards including the prestigious “Robert Edler International Choral Prize in 2004. He has a great belief in the development of global choral music and to facilitate this he has held national and international positions including Vice President of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) from 2011 – 2017, Founding Artistic Director of the Shanghai Youth Choir 2012/13, and in 2015, Conductor of the Asia Pacific Youth Choir.
Leek now resides in Tasmania and continues to freelance internationally as conductor and composer.
Dr Zechariah Goh, a native of Singapore, is the recipient of the National Arts Council Young Artist Award and NAFA distinguished Alumni Award. Zechariah is the head of Composition (NAFA) and the artistic director of the Singapore Saxophone Symposium since 2011. He was commissioned by Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir (Taiwan), The Diocesan Boy’s School Choir (Hong Kong), SYC Ensemble Singers and Victoria Junior College from Singapore. Dr Goh also served a jury member for the Philippines Choral Director Association (2022) and Raffles Singers, 2021 choral composition competitions. He was invited to judge Bali International Choral Competition in Indonesia and the World Youth and Children Choir competition held in Hong Kong. Zechariah is a faculty member of the Choral Collective Residency Programme (Singapore) where he teaches choral compositions to young and upcoming composers. Zechariah recent compositions for orchestra include, Blossoms 2017 and Flow 2022 (Singapore Symphony Orchestra), Iridescence, 2015 (NAFA Symphony Orchestra), Nuances: Soundscapes from a distant land, 2014 (Singapore National Youth Orchestra. He is an active speaker at international conferences such as the International Kodaly Symposium, ISME, and WASBE. Zechariah conducts the Suara Singa men’s choir.
He was born in 1975 in Cluj/Kolozsvár (Romania).
He studied at Ferenc Liszt Music Academy. His professor was György Orbán.
He graduated on 5 May, 1999 with distinction. In the concert was also performed the first act of his opera, titled The Stork Calif. This two-act opera was performed on May 28, 2005 on the stage of the Opera House Budapest.
In recent years he composed a large number of choral works for renowned Hungarian and international choirs, like the Pro Musica Girls Choir (Hungary), Stellenbosch University Choir (South Africa) and Iowa State University Choir (USA). His choir works are very popular in Japan and USA, but also in South Africa and Philippines too.
Many times he worked as jury member at Interkultur events in Graz (2011), Cincinnati (2012) and Riga (2014). In addition to the choir works he composed 4 symphonies (the 3. was commissioned and performed by Budapest Festival Orchestra), Piano concerto, St. Luke Passion and Christmas Oratorio. His most important work, the opera-musical The Master and Margarita, was performed in Hungarian State Opera House 2021.
In 2005, he was honored with the Erkel Ferenc-Prize through the Hungarian State – and in 2009 with the Bartók-Pásztory Prize, given by the Music Academy Budapest.
Dr. Russell L. Robinson, Emeritus Professor Music at the University of Florida, has made over 300 appearances as a conductor, speaker, consultant and presenter at festivals, workshops, honor choirs, all-state choirs and state, regional, national and international conferences in the US, Europe, Asia, Africa, Central America, South America, Mexico, Canada, the Middle East, and Australia as well as conducting venues, which include: Carnegie Hall (six times), Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Boston's Symphony Hall, the White House, and Washington's National Cathedral. Dr. Robinson was the 2016 inductee into the Florida Music Educators Association (FMEA) Hall of Fame, and is a past President of FMEA, Associate Dean of the UF College of the Arts, National Collegiate Chair and Choral Adviser for the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Dr. Robinson is a published author, composer and arranger with over 500 publications in print, including choral compositions, arrangements, articles, books, and instructional DVD's.
©TAKUMI JUN
Aizawa is the CEO of AizawaNotes, and an assistant director of both the Japan Choral Directors Association and the Tokyo Choral Association. He also serves as a lecturer at the Tokyo University of the Arts and the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. His mottoes of "authentic art" and "performance that pleases the music" resonate with audiences, and he continues to hold various seminars such as "Living Musical Scriptures," "eye the harmony," and "Digging into masterpieces," to help performers express themselves in their performances. These seminars have been well received.
Currently, he serves as the principal conductor of several choirs, including Ai-kon and Yume no Kanzume, and is often invited as a guest conductor by other choirs including Tokyo 6 College Mixed Chorus Association and Waseda University Glee Club. Aizawa is acclaimed for his ability to interpret and express the lyrics and music in Japanese works in performance, and well received among composers and pianists alike.
As a composer, he has composed more than 200 choral works. Many of his works, including his signature piece "Everything," have been performed well. His publications include "Choral Exercise Ensemble Edition" (Volumes 1-3) and "Nuance Edition".