Ana Alvarez will work with Bright Sheng on The Boatmen’s Song, his 2004 Transient Glory commission.  Currently a DMA student at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt, Ms. Alvarez is conductor of the University of Toronto Women’s Chorus and a member of MacMillan Singers.  A native of Cali, Colombia, Ms. Alvarez began her studies in voice at the Conservatorio Antonio Maria Valencia.  She received her BA in choral conducting in Bogota under the supervision of Colombian conductor Alejandro Zuleta and later founded and directed her first choir, Anita y el Coro Sound. Eager to further develop her technique as a conductor, she moved to Canada and gained experience conducting the University of Victoria Chamber Singers, Prima Choir, and Philomela Women’s Choir, while studying with Dr. Bruce E. More and Dr. Gerald King.  She expanded her knowledge of contemporary music as a teaching assistant for Christopher Butterfield’s Sonic Lab program. Her research plan focuses on authentic performance practice of Latin American music and creating “cultural bridges between Latin America and North America.”

Karen Cooksey will work with David Del Tredici on Four Heartfelt Anthems, his 2003 Transient Glory commission. Ms. Cooksey currently serves as associate chorus master at Los Angeles Opera, where she has assisted Associate Conductor/Chorus Master Grant Gershon and conducted offstage ensembles since 2008.  Last season she was first assistant to Mr. Gershon for the world premiere of Daniel Catán’s final opera Il Postino, featuring Placido Domingo, and has also worked with San Diego Opera and Intimate Opera of Pasadena.  Ms. Cooksey has led a wide variety of ensembles, including a 2010 performance of Morton Subotnik’s The Key to Songs for chamber ensemble and electronics.  She previously worked with several ensembles in Indiana, including the Richmond Symphony Orchestra as assistant conductor.  Ms. Cooksey has been a finalist in numerous conducting competitions.  In the Third International Competition for Young Choir Directors in Vienna in 2004 she won second place overall and awards for Best Interpretation of a Modern Work and Best Female Conductor.  She holds degrees from the University of Southern California, Indiana University, and Butler University.

Jennah Delp will work with Douglas J. Cuomo on Fortune, his 2007 Transient Glory commission.  Ms. Delp joined the artistic staff of the Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley this past fall as the assistant conductor for the Ensemble and Vocalise choirs. Ms. Delp earned a Masters in Music in choral conducting with distinction from Westminster Choir College and undergraduate degrees in vocal performance and music education from the University of Michigan, summa cum laude.  At Westminster she served as the assistant conductor for the Westminster Choir and Westminster Community chorus.  She has participated in conducting master classes with such notable master teachers as Robert Sund, Vance George, Elmer Thomas, and Marguerite Brooks. For the past two years, she taught choral music in a public high school in Orlando, Florida.  As a performer, Ms. Delp is a member of The Crossing, a professional choir dedicated to the performance and commissioning of new choral works. She believes the experience of bringing new music to audiences is a highlight of her musical life.

Composer and conductor Dominick DiOrio will be working with Paquito D’Rivera on Tembandumba, Mr. D’Rivera’s 2010 Transient Glory commission. Mr. DiOrio was a participant in YPC’s first choral symposium at NYU in 2005.  He is currently director of choral activities and associate professor of music at Lone Star College-Montgomery, and in May he will receive a DMA in choral conducting from the Yale School of Music.  He also holds an MMA and MM in choral conducting from Yale and a BM in composition from Ithaca College, where he studied conducting with Janet Galván.  In 2009 he was one of only 12 conductors invited to Sweden to participate in the Eric Ericson Award.  A serious advocate of new music, he has conducted premieres by Zachary Wadsworth, Tawnie Olson, Santana Haight, Dewey Fleszar, Kevin O’Neill, and his own compositions and has conducted acclaimed performances of works by Stravinsky, Penderecki, Rautavaara, Pärt, and James MacMillan. He sings professionally with the Houston Chamber Choir and regularly guest-conducts the ensemble. He was recently named “Best Composer 2011” by Houston Press for Klytemnestra, his new opera with Divergence Vocal Theater.  www.dominickdiorio.com

Rebecca Lord will work with Derek Bermel on A Child’s War, his 2006 Transient Glory composition.  Ms. Lord is the associate director of choral activities at UCLA and the chorus master for the Arizona Musicfest.  She directs UCLA’s choral outreach program, traveling to high schools in Southern California every week to provide choral clinics to students and adults, many of whom say that choral singing brings balance and meaning to their lives. Ms. Lord is also the conductor of the 100-voice University Chorus. She was, in addition, conductor of UCLA’s Early Music Ensemble, co-conductor of the Chamber Singers, assistant conductor for the Chorale, has led the UCLA Symphony, and guest-conducted the Philharmonia.  As a violinist, violist, vocalist, actress, and dancer, she has performed in many locations around the country.  Ms. Lord completed her MM and DMA in conducting with Donald Neuen at UCLA, her BM, summa cum laude, in vocal performance at Georgia State University, and received a certificate in acting from Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre School.  She has also studied at the Eastman School of Music and the Chautauqua Institute. 

Stephanie Mowery will work with Michael Gordon on Exalted, a 2011 YPC co-commission with the Kronos Quartet.  Ms. Mowery was appointed artistic director of the Syracuse Children’s Chorus last July and directs the Kantorei and Chorale ensembles. Since 1986 she was director of children’s and youth music at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA, directing six choirs, grades K-12.  The program reached over 200 children annually and served as a community model of exemplary music education.  A co-founder of the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, she was a director from 1987 to 2007. Ms. Mowery was active as a guest director and clinician with children’s choirs in the Los Angeles area and a leader in teacher education and festival organization.  She holds a BA from Occidental College, a MM from Westminster Choir College, and an Artist-Teacher Diploma from the Choral Music Experience Institute for Choral Teacher Education founded by Doreen Rao.  Her All Saints choirs have been featured at regional and state conventions of ACDA, the California Music Educators Association, and the National Convention of the American Orff -Schulwerk Association.

Tian Hui Ng will work with Joan Tower on Can I, her 2007 Transient Glory composition.Mr. Ng is currently the director of orchestral activities at Mount Holyoke College, where he has conducted premieres of music by Colin Britt, Curt Cacioppo, Zhangyi Chen, Reena Esmail, and Americ Goh. He previously was the interim director of choral and vocal studies at Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges. A native of Singapore, Mr. Ng was admitted into the Music Elective Programme at Anglo Chinese School at age 13 and subsequently won scholarships to the Pan Pacific Music Summer School in Sydney, Australia, and the University of Birmingham in the UK. There he encountered the “wonderful” British tradition of choral singing and studied conducting with Andrew Constantine and composition with Vic Hoyland.  Mr. Ng holds a MM in choral conducting from the Yale School of Music and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and his outstanding work at Yale earned him scholarships in 2009 and 2010.  Known for his versatility as a composer, he has written music for animation, dance, film, and theater as well as for choir and orchestra. 

Dr. Troy David Robertson will work with John Corigliano on One Sweet Morning, his 2006 Transient Glory commission. Dr. Robertson, assistant professor of music education at Ithaca College, conducts the Campus Choral Ensemble, is a faculty mentor for the Junior Vocal Student Teaching Program, and teaches conducting. He is also the director of the Young Men’s Chorus of Ithaca, an affiliate ensemble of the Ithaca Children’s Choir. He previously served as choral director of East Gaston High School in North Carolina, co-conductor of East Gaston County Choral Ensemble, and associate conductor of the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte. Born and raised in Lawrenceville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, Dr. Robertson began singing in choruses in pre-school. He credits the dedication and persistence of his choral director at Dacula High School for his career as an artist and educator. Dr. Robertson holds a PhD from Florida State University, a MM from the University of North Carolina, a BMEd from Furman University and often serves as a festival clinician and adjudicator. A tenor and composer, as well, Dr. Robertson has sung as a soloist at the Prague Festival and with orchestras in Florida and North Carolina.  He frequently composes and arranges for chorus and ensembles.