Art Sjögren received his master of music degree from Westminster Choir College and has done doctoral work at Indiana University and the Peabody Conservatory. Over the past 18 years he has received at least 20 grants for choral performance from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has served as a lecturer for the American Choral Directors’ Association and is the artistic director of the Pro Arte Singers (Stanford, Conn.). He conducted the Masterworks Chorale and Institute Chorus as well as coached small vocal groups at PAI.

John Vaida is chairman of the fine and performing arts department at Wyoming Seminary where he directs the 100-voice chorale and the award-winning 28-voice Madrigal Singers. He is the United States representative of the International Choral Network and an internationally known guest conductor and studio teacher. He also is a past president of the Pennsylvania Music Educator’s Association. He was the head of choral activities at PAI.

Johann van der Sandt received his formal training at the University of Pretoria. In January 1996 he received the Diploma in Choral Conducting at the Institute of Choral Conductors Training, Gorinchem (The Netherlands) under the direction of Joop Schets. He completed his doctoral studies in choral conducting (Performing Art) in July 2001 (the first South African to obtain a doctorate in choral conducting). Undergraduate music studies included organ, piano, clarinet and vocal training. He has been involved in choral work as a composer, conductor, arranger and adjudicator, on national as well as international level throughout his career.

Johann is currently professor in Choral Conducting at the University of Pretoria, and the official Choral conductor of the University where he implemented a unique model for choral singing on South African University campuses. The Tuks Camerata under his direction has been invited as guest choir to the World Choral Symposium in Minneapolis, USA, hosted by the IFCM in 2002. Acclaimed choir conductors Eric Ericson and Stefan Parkman commented on the high level of professionalism of the choir during this event.

Recent invitations include:

• Guest conductor of the Prague Chamber choir, concert dates still to be determined.
• Permanent jury member for the International Festival and Competition of Advent and Christmas Music, Prague, Czech Republic.
• Jury member for the 41st International Choir competition in Spittal, Austria.
• Guest conductor for the Austrian government's Bundesministerium für soziale Sicherheit und Generationen in Graz, Austria (2002 and 2003)
• Guest lecturer at the Institute of Music Pedagogy of The University of Music and Art, Graz, Austria; 2003.
• Guest lecturer and conductor on the choral traditions of South Africa at The Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary (USA) (2004,2005 and 2006).
• Guest conductor for Vorarlberg's Choral Association in Bregenz, Austria (2004 and 2006).
• Guest Conductor in November 2005 for a combined choir of members of Musica and Cantinovum Chamber Choirs, Jyväskylä, Finland. The concert featured contemporary South African choral repertoire.
• Guest lecturer at the Department of Musicology, University of Jyväskylä and the school of Music, Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences, Finland (2004, 2005 and 2006).

Choirs under his direction have won numerous choral competitions, both on international and national level. The Tuks Camerata (University choir of Pretoria) won the first prize in the acclaimed International Choral Competition, Spittal an der Drau, Austria, July 20011. They attained a percentage of 98% in the competition. In the same year they have been awarded the prize for the best rendition of a prescribed work in the Arnhem Ine4trnation Choral Competition (The Netherlands). Choirs (The Rand Afrikaans University Choir and the University Choir of Pretoria) under his direction have been awarded the Grand Prix award at the Prague International Choral Competition for two years consecutively.

As conductor he has been awarded: winner of price for best conductor with the East Rand Youth Choir's participation at the 16th International Béla Bartók Choir Competition, Debrecen, Hungary, and in 1998, winner of price for best conductor with the Rand Afrikaans University Choir's participation at the Prague International Choir Competition, Czech Republic.

He is also conductor of the SINGKRONIES Chamber Choir. The choir’s aim is to form a podium for the work of South African composers. In this way the choir endeavours to make a contribution to the archive of South African choral music. The choir was already nominated for two South African Music Awards in the category: Best Choral Performance. The choir won the 1998 South African Music Award for their recording of the sacred a capella works of the Stellenbosch composer Pieter van der Westhuizen.

He made his debut as choral conductor in 1989 with the Impromptu Chamber Choir. He led for six years (1993-1997) the East Rand Youth Choir. He strived to establish the choir as one of the leading youth choirs in the country with an extensive and diverse repertoire: simple South African and African folk songs, standard a capella compositions and works by South African composers. In July 1994 the choir took part in the 16th Béla Bartók Choral Competition, Hungary, where they won the folklore section and they received the 2nd prize in the Mixed Youth Choir Section. At the same event Johann received the prize for the 2nd best conductor.

He attended the World Choral Music Symposia in Vancouver, Canada, August 1993, Sydney, Australia, August 1996, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 1999; Minneapolis, 2002, as well as the European Symposium on Choral Music in Ljubjana, Slovenia, during July 1995. Under invitation from Eric Ericson he attended the following masterclasses:

1996 December Amsterdam (Choir: Netherlands Chamber Choir).

1997 September Prague (Choir: Prague Chamber Choir).

1998 February Amsterdam (Choir: Netherlands Chamber Choir)

Johann is also a composer and is well known for his choral arrangements, performed by national and international choirs. His first publication, in co-operation with the composer Niel van der Watt, was published in June of 1995 - African songbook for mixed choir. Under his artistic direction the German label Prospect have launched the CD series South African Choral Music.

Steve Fidyk (jazz conductor) is an accomplished percussionist, clinician, educator, and studio musician with over thirty recordings to his credit, including one Grammy Award. He is currently the drummer with the Army Blues Jazz Ensemble of Washington, D.C. and has toured and recorded with Maureen McGovern, New York Voices, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, The Capitol Bones, Michael Abene, and The Taylor/Fidyk Big Band, an ensemble he co-leads with Stan Kenton Alumnus Mark Taylor.

An active educator, he has authored “The Drum Set SMART Book” and an instructional DVD entitled “Set Up and Play!” – available through the Mel Bay Corporation. He has recorded over 60 jazz play-along volumes for the Hal Leonard Corporation and has contributed drum transcriptions to “Drum Standards” and Peter Erskine’s “The Drum Perspective.” In January 2003, his new Zildjian Drum Stick “Big Band Jazz” was premiered at the National Association of Musical Merchandisers Trade Show. Steve has served on the faculty at Wilkes University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, George Mason University and The University of Maryland.

Tomas Heinze (jazz conductor) is a music specialist in the Palmerton Area School District (Pa.) and studio professor of oboe and saxophone at Wilkes and Marywood Universities. He holds a bachelor’s in music education and master of music in oboe performance from West Chester University and has served as principal oboist with the Allentown Band for 37 years. Formerly the principal oboist with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Heinze is active as a solo recitalist and chamber musician in the Mid-Atlantic area and performs with numerous ensembles in Northeastern Pennsylvania. In addition, he is musical director and saxophone soloist with the Big Band Ambassadors.

James Orfanella is the band director at Valley View High School (Pa.). In addition, he is an active free-lance trumpeter throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania and has a private trumpet studio.

While at PAI, he taught jazz theory and conducted the Jazz Band.

Perry Orfanella graduated from the Hartt School of Music, where he was a double bass student of Gary Karr and went on to receive his Masters of Music at the University of South Florida. He currently is Director of Orchestras at the Osceola County School for the Arts in Kissimmee Florida, a free-lance bass player and studio musician.

Bringing fourteen years of experience with him from the Encore Music Camp of Pennsylvania, he has served as the director of jazz activities, Jazz Band conductor, jazz combos coach and string bass teacher.

Ellen Rowe has been described as “that rare ‘triple threat’ of pianist, composer-arranger, and teacher” (Arizona Daily Star), a title that until recently kept her too busy to actually record an album under her own name. That situation has been thankfully rectified with the recent debut release of “Sylvan Way,” a dynamic work that combines standards and intriguing original compositions that soar with emotion and expression. Ms. Rowe has performed at various jazz clubs and concert halls throughout the United States and has toured many parts of Europe and Australia. She has had the honor of appearing on Marian McPartland’s acclaimed NPR show "Piano Jazz" twice. In 1991 the Ellen Rowe Trio garnered first place in the Hartford CT Advocate Readers’ Poll for Best Acoustic Jazz. In addition to leading her own trio and quartet, she is in great demand as a sideman, performing with a variety of artists including Kenny Wheeler, Ingrid Jensen, John Clayton, Tom Harrell and Jiggs Whigham. In keeping with the eclectic nature of her earliest musical influences, Ms. Rowe also continues to play classically, having performed the Stravinsky Piano Concerto with the University of Michigan Wind Ensemble. Her compositions and arrangements have been performed and recorded by a wide variety of jazz ensembles and orchestras around the world, including the legendary Village Vanguard Orchestra, the BBC Jazz Orchestra, the U.S. Navy Commodores, the Berlin Radio Jazz Orchestra and the big band DIVA. Her big band compositions are currently published by Sierra Music Publications. After working with John Mehegan for four years in high school, she entered the Eastman School of Music in 1976, where she continued her studies with Bill Dobbins and Rayburn Wright. While attending Eastman she had her first significant professional success, winning the Kansas City Womens’ Jazz Festival Combo Competition with her jazz quintet “Joyspring.” The group subsequently performed at that festival as well as at the New York City Womens’ Jazz Festival. The Kansas City Star reviewed the performance and praised Ms. Rowe as a “gifted composer and pianist who can move with ease from thumb-popping funk to straight ahead bebop.” It was during this time period that she also acquired her first professional arranging experience, writing orchestral features for Marian McPartland and Gene Bertoncini as well as big band features for Red Mitchell and Bob Brookmeyer. Ms. Rowe is currently on the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music, where she is Associate Professor of Jazz Piano and directs the University of Michigan Jazz Ensemble. Her music resounds at once with melodic depth and compelling intensity, defining Ellen Rowe as a formidable talent poised to take her place among the top jazz artists of today.

Paul Hostetter (orchestral conductor) is currently the music director and conductor of the Colonial Symphony, artistic director of the Winter Sun Music Festival, Director of Orchestral Studies at Montclair State University and the former musical director of the New Jersey Youth Symphony. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the New York City Opera, New Jersey Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, Delaware Symphony and Philharmonic Virtuosi, among others. On Broadway he has conducted productions of “Candide” and “Gershwins’ Fascinating Rhythm.” A graduate of the Juilliard School, he has recorded for the Telarc, CRI, Albany, Centaur, Milken Archive and Koch labels, and his CD of the music of Pulitzer Prize winner Lewis Spratlan was named by Anthony Tommasini, chief critic of “The New York Times,” as one of the top five of 2005.

Kenneth Jernigan (orchestral conductor) is often sought to conduct all-state festivals because of his high musical standards and his ability to inspire young musicians to winning performances. Jernigan earned his degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music.

At PAI he conducted Symphony Orchestra and String Orchestra and served as co-director of PAI’s Junior Division.

Victor Liva (orchestral conductor) is currently Associate Professor at Cleveland State University, where he is the Orchestra Director and Coordinator of String Studies. In addition, he was recently named music director and conductor of the Cleveland Philharmonic. He holds degrees from Temple University and the University of South Carolina, where he earned the Dr. of Musical Arts Degree in Conducting under the tutelage of Donald Portnoy.

Formerly the director of orchestral studies at the University of Northern Arizona, Victor studied violin under world re-known master teachers such as Dr. Min Soo Chang, Helen Kwalwasser, Odin Rathnam, and Ryan Kho.

Recently promoted to Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra starting in the 2007-2008 season and entering his third season as Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Lawrence Loh is one of the most exciting young talents on the classical music scene today. He was brought to national attention in February 2004 when he substituted last-minute for an ailing Charles Dutoit with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Conducting Stravinsky’s Petrouchka and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Loh received enthusiastic acclaim from orchestra players, audience members and critics, alike.

Since his appointment as Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic in 2005, the orchestra has flourished artistically, defining its reputation as one of the finest regional orchestras in the country. His leadership has attracted such artists as André Watts, Anne Akiko Meyers, Jon Nakamatsu, Zuill Bailey and Sharon Isbin. A champion of early childhood exposure to music, Loh created a family concert series that is dedicated to the youngest of audiences. He is very active in the region as an arts leader and music advocate, and is constantly in demand as a guest speaker and clinician.

As Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Lawrence Loh conducts a wide range of concerts including classical, educational and pops. He is active in the PSO’s Community Engagement and Partnership Concerts, extending the PSO’s reach into other communities. Recent notable concerts with the Pittsburgh Symphony include performances of Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony, Mendelssohn’s 4th Symphony and Beethoven’s 7th Symphony on a concert featuring violinist Sarah Chang. Next season, he makes his debut on the main season conducting Handel’s Messiah in December 2008. As the conductor of the enormously popular Fiddlesticks Family Series “Bringing Music to the Lives of Children,” Lawrence Loh plays the part of host and conductor. He works closely with incoming Music Director Manfred Honeck as well as frequent guest conductors Yan Pascal Tortellier, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos and Marek Janowski, among others. In addition to his duties on the podium, Lawrence Loh is an audience favorite in the PSO’s Concert Preludes lecture series, edits radio broadcasts, and makes many public appearances. His association with the PSO began as Assistant Conductor in 2005-2006, and he was quickly promoted to Associate Conductor in 2006-2007.

Following a guest conducting appearance at the Detroit Symphony in 2007, Loh was immediately invited to conduct several concerts in the 2007-2008 season. Other recent guest conducting engagements include the Malaysian Philharmonic and the symphony orchestras of Portland, Cedar Rapids, Colorado Springs, East Texas, Fort Collins, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Plano, Shreveport, Sioux City, Spokane and Tallahassee. He’s also led Korea’s Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Yale Philharmonia, Omaha Area Youth Orchestra, Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Dallas Chamber Orchestra. His summer appearances include the festivals of Bravo Vail Valley, Breckenridge, Las Vegas and Hot Springs, the Kinhaven Music Academy, the Performing Arts Institute (PA) and the Carnegie Mellon Summer Strings Camp.

Lawrence Loh held the positions of Assistant and Associate Conductor of the Dallas Symphony from 2001-2005. He led the Dallas Symphony in a variety of classical and educational programs throughout each season including classical subscription. Highlights include impassioned performances of Brahms’ Requiem, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances and Brahms’ 2nd Symphony.

Prior to his Dallas appointment, Lawrence Loh was appointed by Music Director Marin Alsop to be Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. From 1998-2001, he conducted more than 50 concerts annually, including classical subscription, pops, education, family and outreach programs. While in Denver, he was also Music Director of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra, the premiere youth orchestra in the Colorado Rocky Mountain Region. Additionally, Mr. Loh served as the Interim Director of Orchestras and Head of the Orchestral Conducting Program at Denver University’s Lamont School of Music in 2000-2001.

In May 1998, Lawrence Loh received his Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from Yale University, also earning the Eleazar de Carvalho Prize, given to the most outstanding conductor in the Yale graduating class. During his years at Yale, he was chosen to be the Assistant Conductor of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra and Apprentice Conductor of the Hot Springs Music Festival. He received further training at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival and School and has additional degrees from Indiana University and the University of Rochester. A dedicated teacher, Mr. Loh held the position of Associate Instructor in Music Theory at Indiana University and, later, that of Teaching Assistant at Yale University in Advanced Hearing, Conducting and Orchestration. He was also the Guest Curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for “What Makes Music?,” an interactive exhibit, offering the opportunity to explore the science of music and sound, as well as the role of music in culture.

Lawrence Loh was born in southern California of Korean parentage and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Jennifer have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Hilary.

Jerome Campbell, a conductor of university wind ensembles as well as district, regional, and all-state festivals throughout the Northeast, conducted the Wind Ensemble at PAI. A former university professor of music and department chair, he received the Citation of Excellence award from Pennsylvania Music Educator’s Association in 1990 and the Distinguished Service award in 1998. He is currently the conductor of the PAI/Wyoming Seminary Civic Symphony and is immediate Past President of PMEA, District 9.

Scott Cranston is director of bands at New Canaan High School, Connecticut. His ensembles have earned top honors at competitions in Quebec City, Orlando and New Orleans and have been invited to perform both at Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall. They also have performed with distinction at festivals in Paris and London. Cranston, along with three PAI alumni, formed the NCHS Woodwind Quintet in 2005. The quintet was named an All-Connecticut Honor Ensemble in 2006 as well as an MENC All-Eastern Honor Ensemble. Scott performs as principal trombonist with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra, Waterbury Symphony Orchestra and in Broadway National Tours in Hartford and New Haven. He received a bachelor of music degree from the Hartt School of Music and master of music degree from Yale University.

Thomas McCauley is the director of bands at Montclair State University where he conducts the Montclair State University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band. He was previously at the University of Indianapolis where he held the position of director of bands and instrumental activities and conducted the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra in addition to teaching courses in conducting, instrumental arranging, and music education. He has held similar positions at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio and Northeastern Illinois University. He founded and was Music Director of the University of Indianapolis Orchestra Festival held each fall and the Festival of Winds held each winter on the university campus which attracted high school aged instrumentalists from throughout Indiana and surrounding states. During his time in Indiana, Dr. McCauley hosted and taught the University of Indianapolis Instrumental Conducting Workshop with such notable guest clinicians as Eugene Corporon, Jerry Junkin, Craig Kirchhoff, Felix Hauswirth, and Mallory Thompson. From 1986 – 1995 Dr. McCauley directed several successful secondary music programs in the Clark County School District in Nevada.

He earned a Doctor of Music in conducting from Northwestern University where his primary teacher was Mallory Thompson, and holds a Master and Bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Dr. McCauley has appeared as a guest conductor, clinician, or adjudicator in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Missouri, Arizona, Kentucky, Georgia, California, and Nevada. In 1998, he appeared as guest conductor with the renowned Northshore Concert Band on their summer concert series. Groups under his direction have appeared at national and regional conventions and conferences. He is active as a professional trumpet player and was Associate Conductor of the Indianapolis Brass Choir. He appeared with that ensemble at the 15th International Congress of the International Society for the Investigation and Promotion of Band Music in Lana, Italy in the summer of 2002. In May of 2005, Dr. McCauley led the University of Indianapolis Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra on a tour of Austria that included concerts in Vienna, Salzburg, and Innsbruck. From August 2002 – December 2003, Dr. McCauley was also the creator and host of Music Education Matters, a 30-minute radio talk show heard weekly on WICR in Indianapolis. In 1995, the Nevada Music Educator’s Association named Dr. McCauley Music Educator of the Year and in 2006, the Indiana Music Educators Association honored Dr. McCauley with an Outstanding University Music Educator Award.

Cynthia Johnston Turner is the director of wind ensembles and assistant professor at Cornell University. She completed her doctor of musical arts degree in conducting at the Eastman School of Music, where she taught undergraduate conducting, and served as doctoral assistant conductor in Eastman’s wind ensemble program. She was awarded the Eastman Graduate Teaching Award for 2003-2004. While at Eastman, she was also the resident conductor of the University of Rochester Wind Symphony. Before beginning her doctorate, Turner had been the director of music at Parkside High School, Dundas, Canada for 12 years, where wind and jazz bands under her leadership consistently won provincial and national awards for performance excellence. Prior to her tenure at Parkside, she taught middle school beginning instrumental music in Toronto, and vocal music in Switzerland. Currently, she is active as a guest conductor, festival adjudicator and clinician.

Bruce Yurko received his master’s degree in performance and composition from the Ithaca College School of Music. He has studied conducting with Thomas Michalik, Frederick Fennell, Eugene Migliaro Corporan, H. Robert Reynolds, and Donald Hunsberger, and is a composition student of Karel Husa. Formerly the conductor of the Princeton University Wind Ensemble and the wind ensemble at Cherry Hill High School, he is currently in demand as a guest conductor at collegiate music programs and All-State festivals throughout the country. His award winning compositions are published by C. Alan Publication, Ludwig Music Company, and Southern Music Company.

An active conductor and clarinetist, Matthew M. Marsit has lead ensembles and performed as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Currently the Assistant Director of Wind Ensembles and a clarinet instructor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Matthew has held conducting posts with Drexel University, the Chestnut Hill Orchestra, and the Bucks County Youth Ensembles. In his young career, he has served as a guest conductor or clinician for several institutions and festivals including the Delaware County Youth Orchestra, the Temple University Symphony Orchestra Brass and Percussion, the Western Burlington County Honors String Orchestra, the Altoona Tri-County Honors Orchestra, and the Hatboro-Horsham and Harriton High School Symphonic Orchestras. At Wyoming Seminary, Matthew serves as Dean of Students for the Sem Summer Programs and a staff conductor for PAI.

As a clarinetist, Matthew has played with many ensembles including the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Fairmont Chamber Orchestra, and has made solo appearances with the Cornell University Jazz Ensemble, the Drexel University Symphony Orchestra and the Chestnut Hill Orchestra.

A native of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Matthew moved first to Philadelphia to complete his studies in music at Temple University, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2003, where he studied clarinet with Anthony Gigliotti and Ronald Reuben and conducting with Luis Biava and Arthur Chodoroff. In addition to his degree from Temple University, Matthew has continued to advance his study of conducting by working with such well-known instructors as Larry Rachleff and Mark Davis Scatterday.