Lorenzo Donati (IT) is a composer, conductor and a violinist. He has performed with Vocale Vox Cordis, Hesperimenta Vocal Ensemble di Arezzo and Vocalia Consort di Roma winning several national and international awards (Arezzo, Gorizia, Lugano, Montorio, Montreux, Senlis, Vittorio Veneto). In 2007 he won two first prizes at the international choral conductors competition Mariele Ventre in Bologna. In 2010–2012 he conducted Italian Youth Choir. His compositions have been published by Italian publishing houses, Pizzicato Verlag, Carus Verlag and others. Donati holds courses on choral music and composition in Italy and abroad and has worked as a juror at several international contests. He teaches choral conducting at the Conservatory of Trento. Ulrika Emanuelsson (SE) is a Swedish composer, conductor and singer, educated at Malmö Academy of Music at Lund University. She has a double degree, in eurythmics and singing as well as a Master in composition. She has won several awards for her choral compositions both in Sweden and abroad. Ulrika has been called ‘one of the most interesting Swedish composers of choral music today, always with a very conscious choice of lyrics.’ Ulrika has been the artistic leader of Carolinae Female Choir since 2003 and has won gold medals at the International Choir Competition in Budapest 2013, World Choir Championships in Riga 2014 and in Meeting Music in Rome 2016. With her ensemble she takes on new vocal techniques and genres from all over the world with fearlessness and a great thirst: the Northern joik, Arabian folksong as well as overtone-singing and Indian kollakol. Stan Engebretson (US) is the Director of Choral Studies and Professor of Music at George Mason University, the Artistic Director of the National Philharmonic Chorale, and Director of Music at The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church (aka the ’Lincoln’ church) in Washington, DC. He earned bachelor’s and master’s
degrees in piano and voice from the University of North Dakota and his Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from Stanford University. A frequent guest conductor and clinician, Engebretson has appeared throughout the United States and abroad in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Russia, Lithuania, Cuba, South Korea, and Iceland. Through advanced study grants he had the opportunity to work with the great choral mentors of our time, including Eric Ericson, Robert Shaw, Gregg Smith, Richard Westenburg, Roger Wagner, and Margaret Hillis. As a lecturer, he has served as Fulbright Foundation Senior Specialist in Iceland, and speaks annually for the Smithsonian Institution in events. Burak Onur Erdem (TR) is the Principal Conductor of the State Choir Turkey in Ankara and conductor of the Istanbul based chamber choir Rezonans. He studied music theory and conducting, along with political science and international relations. Erdem refined his choral conducting skills in masterclasses with Johannes Prinz, Maria Guinand, Volker Hempfling, Anders Eby, Denes Szabo and Michael Gohl. Erdem founded Choral Culture Association in Istanbul—a platform to innovate and develop Turkish choral music. He is engaged in the activities of European Choral Association - Europa Cantat as a board member and a member of the music commission. Kevin Fox (CA) is a baritone, mouth drummer, coach, arranger and Toronto native, and is a recognized voice in the world of contemporary a cappella. For the last nine years he has toured the globe with the Grammy-winning group The Swingles, following on the heels of his nine-year stint with Toronto’s Juno-nominated vocal band Cadence. He serves as Artistic Director of the Israeli choral project Vocalocity. His improvisation workshops including ‘Sing Without A Safety Net’ and ‘Beatbox And Beyond” have received rave reviews in schools, festivals, and summer camps in North America and Europe. Kevin’s latest initiative, a master class series called Coach K Music. Conductors and Speakers
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