Choir Fam Podcast

“It’s not until you’re leading an ensemble that you really figure out how to make the music happen and how to motivate the people around you. It’s humbling in a lot of ways, and it’s so gratifying. As a conductor, you’re providing the framework for musicians to do their best work. Both in the way that you structure rehearsal and the gestures that you are showing the music through, you’re creating a scaffolding, inviting people in, and collaborating together. Ideally, you’re creating a situation where everybody has ownership of the musical process and the musical result as well.”

Grant Gershon currently celebrates his 25th season as the Kiki and David Gindler Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, which he has turned into the "best-by-far major chorus in America” (Los Angeles Times). Earlier in 2026, Grant and the Chorale were honored to receive their second Grammy™ Award for Best Choral Performance, and they have been nominated 3 times in the last 5 years in this category. In 2025 the Chorale was featured on the Academy Awards ceremony, broadcast to over 19 million viewers around the world.

A champion of new music, Grant led the world premiere of John Adams’ Girls of the Golden West at the San Francisco Opera. He also conducted its European premier at the Dutch National Opera. As Resident Conductor of LA Opera, Grant conducted the West Coast premiere of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha, and he led the world premiere of Daniel Catán’s Il Postino, subsequently released on Sony Classical Records.

Among the highpoints of his tenure with the LA Master Chorale, he twice opened the famed Salzburg Festival—with Orlando di Lasso’s Lagrime di San Pietro in 2019 and Heinrich Schütz’ Music to Accompany a Departure in 2023. He and the Chorale also performed these works to enormous acclaim in London, Paris, Montreal, Toronto, Chicago and New Zealand.

Grant’s discography with the Chorale includes recordings of music by Billy Childs, Nico Muhly, Henrik Gorecki, David Lang, and Steve Reich. He has also led the Chorale in performances for motion picture soundtracks, including, at the request of John Williams, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.

In New York, Grant has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Trinity Wall Street. Other major appearances include performances at the Ravinia, Aspen, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Salzburg, and Vienna festivals; Teatro Colon in Buenos Aries, the Barbican in London and the Paris Philharmonie. He has worked closely with numerous legendary conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Gustavo Dudamel, Zubin Mehta, Simon Rattle, and his mentor, Esa-Pekka Salonen.

To get in touch with Grant, you can email him at [email protected] or find him on Instagram (@the_gershmeister).

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“This is a way to understand how the voice operates in all its parts – perceptually, physiologically, and acoustically -- so that we can learn to stop doing things that are unnecessary for a particular outcome. A lot of people get worried when they hear anything talking about muscles or working the voice or effort, that we’re talking about doing it all all the time. Why do we do what we do in this profession, and how can we utilize some of this science- and evidence-based knowledge to help ourselves not eliminate the things we say but inform them?”

Dr. Brian J. Winnie is the Director of Choral Studies at Western Illinois University, where he supervises the graduate choral conducting program, teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in choral conducting and choral literature, and conducts the Chamber Singers and the flagship ensemble, the University Singers. He previously served as the Director of Choral Activities & Voice and was chair of the music department at Southwestern College in Winfield, KS. Prior to his tenure in higher education, Dr. Winnie was the Artistic Director of ChoralSounds NW, a community choir based in Burien, WA, and he taught for seven years in public education at both the middle and high school levels.

An active festival conductor and adjudicator, Dr. Winnie has been artist-in-residence in Ekaterinburg, Russia and has worked with festival choirs throughout the United States. He is a frequent guest lecturer/workshop leader and has presented on "Contemporary Vocal Technique in the Choral Rehearsal," "Redefining the Choral Warm-Up," and "21st-Century Choral Pedagogy." Dr. Winnie has published articles in the Voice and Speech Review, Choral Journal, Voice Foundation Newsletter, International Choral Bulletin, and ChorTeach, and he is the editor and contributing author to The Choral Conductor's Companion and The Voice Teacher's Cookbook: Creative Recipes for Teachers of Singing both published by Meredith Music Publications and distributed by GIA Publications.

Choirs under his direction have performed at state conventions and received accolades in both international and national competitions.

A native of Pennsylvania, Dr. Winnie received his B.S. in Music Education from the Pennsylvania State University, Master of Music Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and his Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington. He is a certified Estill Master Trainer, Mentor, & Course Instructor.

To get in touch with Brian, you can visit his website or With One Voice's website or find him on Facebook (@bwinnie2).

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“One of my favorite parts of teaching younger students is getting to see them experience things for the first time. I was their introduction to choir a lot of the time, their first choir teacher. I got to see them have those moments like, ‘Whoa, we can do this, we can sing together, we can sound really cool.’ Eventually, they can tell you, ‘we were not singing with tall vowels right there.’ They call each other out on it. With kids that young, a lot of it is just that they’re not used to that soundscape; they’re not used to singing in a group. That exposure helps raise the ability level.”

Molly Toups is a second-year graduate student at Louisiana State University (LSU) currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she graduated summa cum laude from LSU in 2018, earning her undergraduate degree in vocal music education and obtaining a University Medal. Throughout her studies, she has performed with the LSU A Cappella Choir, LSU Chorale, LSU Chamber Singers, and LSU Gospel Choir. Additionally, she has conducted the LSU Chamber Singers and LSU Chorale while obtaining her graduate degree.

Ms. Toups taught music and choir in local public schools for six years before returning to graduate studies. In her most recent position, she worked as choir director and music teacher at Copper Mill Elementary in Zachary Community School District from 2021 to 2024. During her tenure there, the choral program doubled in size. Her choirs consistently achieved superior ratings at assessments, and her students were frequently selected for honor choirs at the local, state, regional, and national levels. She has been an active member of the American Choral Directors Association and Louisiana Music Educators Association (LMEA), previously serving as Elementary Co-Chair and Secretary of her local choral directors’ association. She recently served as guest clinician for the LMEA District VIII Elementary Honor Choir in February 2025, and she has been a frequent adjudicator for honor choir auditions and vocal rallies.

Ms. Toups has sung with a variety of choral ensembles in recent years, including Red Shift Choir, Opus Ensemble, VIVA, and the Baton Rouge Symphony Chorus. She currently serves as the music director at Christ the King Catholic Church at LSU and is a cantor at various churches within the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

Ms. Toups believes in providing quality musical opportunities for all students and fostering a life-long pursuit of learning. She has completed Level I of Kodály training and Levels I, II, and III of Orff Schulwerk certification.

To get in touch with Molly, you can email her at [email protected].

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“What most people want to get out of choir is to feel a progression, that they slowly master the craft of choral music. For every warm-up, I boil it down to make it simple but also find the sweet spot where I can challenge the singers to get out of their comfort zone or dare to fail. The bravery to fail is crucial to the music making we’ll be doing after the warm-up. Exercises that are on the brink of what is doable will have them on the edge of their seat in a playful spirit. It’s always with a smile, always fun. If you make a mistake, no one will judge you. We can’t grow if we don’t make mistakes.”

Jonas Rasmussen (b. 1992) is a Danish conductor, composer, content creator and educator who has quickly established himself as one of the most distinctive choral voices of his generation. Known for his ability to combine artistic ambition with playfulness and accessibility, he is the Artistic Director of Ensemble Novum, Academic Choir Aarhus and Youth Choir Aarhus U, and teaches classical choral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus.

Jonas’ ensembles have won some of the most prestigious international choral prizes, including the World Choral Championship in Tokyo (2019), the Grand Prix at the Rimini International Choral Competition (2018), the European Broadcasting Union’s competition Let the Peoples Sing in Barcelona (2019), and the World Choral Cup in Barcelona (2022). In 2023 and again in 2025, he brought home multiple gold medals at the European Choir Games, Europe’s biggest choral competition. Both his ensembles choirs are now ranked in the top 10 on INTERKULTUR’s official top 1000 list of choirs from all around the world – with Youth Choir Aarhus U as #2 and Academic Choir Aarhus as #8.

Education and mentorship are central to Jonas’ work. In 2025, he started to post content online for a wider international audience and the response has been remarkable. In the first 10 months, Jonas has achieved just short of 350.000 followers across platforms and that number is quickly growing. He is frequently invited as a workshop leader for choral organizations in Denmark and abroad where his engaging style and ability to connect with singers of all levels are widely appreciated.

Jonas’ vision is to position choral music as a living, evolving art form – not a museum piece, but something that constantly redefines itself through collaboration, innovation, and community. Whether on the concert stage, in a classroom, or online, his work is driven by the belief that choir singing is one of the most powerful ways to create meaning and connection between people.

To get in touch with Jonas, you can find him on Instagram (@choirconductor).

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“In many choirs, the tenors and basses were a minority. The tenors and basses at the middle level are disparate; they’re not like each other in any way. Sometimes there’s a common range of only about a minor third. I made it my goal to see if I could write music for that type of choir. Rule #1: the tenors and basses will have separate parts, and it will be in their range. I thought, ‘why not put altos and basses on the same part, just in octave unison, and do it for the entire song with no exceptions?’ We called it SAB with optional tenor.  Now I’ve got 11 songs out with that voicing.”

Dan Davison was the Choir Director at Ballou Junior High in Puyallup, Washington, from 1979 to 2019.  In addition to having taught the four ensembles at the school, he had numerous teaching and mentoring responsibilities.

Currently, he sings professionally with Male Ensemble Northwest.

Dan was born in 1956 in Sacramento, California, but he has lived in the greater Seattle area since 1965.  Since 1979, he has lived in Puyallup, Washington, with his wife, Cathy, who was also a public school teacher.  He attended public schools in the Bellevue School District and then attended Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, where he received his Bachelor's degree, studying under Maurice Skones.  He continued his education and received a Master's In Music from Western Washington University, studying with Bruce Pullan. 

Dan's tenure as Choir Director at Ballou Junior High School acquainted him well with the complexities of the adolescent voice. His experience ranges from working with treble choirs to tenor-bass choirs to mixed choir, He also worked with vocal jazz ensembles and his Jazz Choir performed at the ACDA Northwest Convention in Seattle in 2010.  Dan is an experienced church choir director and has directed choirs at Western Washington University and Pacific Lutheran University.  Dan also directed the Northwest ACDA Youth Choir (grades 7-9) for the 2014 ACDA Northwest Convention.

Dan is a published composer, with numerous works available from Walton Music, BriLee Music, Pavane Publishing, and Anchor Music. Mr. Davison received numerous awards for his role in music education, including the 1996 State Of Washington Christa McAuliffe Educator Of The Year, The Educator Citizen Of The Year in 2010 for Communities In Schools In Puyallup, Washington, and also the "Outstanding Choral Director Award" for 2010 from the Washington chapter of The American Choral Directors Association.

To get in touch with Dan, you can email him at [email protected].

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“There were a whole bunch of these women who were publishing music during their liftetime in 17th-century Italy. I find it's important that young women know that they were composers other than Hildegard and Fanny Hensel who were writing. These women's voices were buried for so many years, and yet they were writing in the same styles as their male contemporaries. We can learn about our times now by looking to the past and to think critically about who we're lifting up and whose voices we are amplifying now based on how things have progressed over history.”

Dr. Meredith Bowen is an Assistant Professor of Choral Music at Michigan State University where she teaches graduate choral literature, conducting at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and conducts the auditioned treble ensemble, Mosaic. Bowen works to expand the choral canon and amplify marginalized voices by editing, restoring, and publishing editions of historical music by women. She is an active guest conductor, presenter, and clinician and is founding singer and Artistic Administrator for mirabai, a professional women’s ensemble dedicated to amplifying women’s voices through commissioning, performing, and recording. Her editions of music by 17th-century composers are published by Boosey & Hawkes and MusicSpoke. Prior to joining MSU, Bowen was the Director of Choral Studies at Radford University in Radford, VA, taught public school in Lansing, MI, and led a variety of community choirs throughout MI. She earned her B.S. in Music Education from West Chester University, and both an M.M., and a D.M.A. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University.

To get in touch with Meredith, you can email her at [email protected] or find her on Facebook (@mybowen), Instagram (@emwhybee), or TikTok (@m.y.bowen).

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“I remember when I performed at Carnegie Hall for the first time. It was transformative. I remember taking the stage and just being in complete awe. I looked out, and it was just incredible. When I heard the sound, it was even more incredible. I used to say that my favorite part of my job was standing right at the stage door and watching every choir singer come and take the stage for the first time. They would look out and just be in complete awe. Now that I’m production manager, my new favorite part of my job is when conductors come off the stage and I get to tell them, ‘turn around, go back, they’re still clapping for you.’” - Eric Spiegel

“Living abroad gave me a whole new perspective and appreciation for my home country. It taught me a lot about other cultures and how to work with different people and have a certain cultural sensitivity and sensibility. I could not recommend it enough. We’re trying to grow and enhance the kinds of international opportunities that we provide. It’s such a collaborative, educational experience that goes way beyond one or two concerts. We know for many people who travel with us, it might be their first time in Europe. We try to make sure that it’s special in every possible way that we can.” - James Redcay

A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, James Redcay joined MidAmerica Productions in April of 2015. A graduate of New York University, Redcay spent years in New York City as an accomplished pianist, composer and teacher, performing and composing for numerous concerts and institutions. During this time Redcay also held the position of Composer-in-Residence at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. After graduating from NYU, Redcay moved abroad to Macao, where he taught music at the Conservatory of Macao and created and managed large-scale arts and entertainment programs and daily operations for Sands China Ltd., a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands. After six fruitful years, Redcay relocated to the United States and now resides in Michigan.

Eric Spiegel holds a Master of Music Education degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami Frost School of Music, with experience teaching middle and high school vocal/general music. As a performer, Eric has sung and acted in choirs, jazz groups, a cappella ensembles, and musicals across the United States and around the world. Eric conducted the Brooklyn, NY chapter of HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Choir for seven seasons, including in performances at David Geffen Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and has served as MidAmerica Productions’ head of production for concerts at Carnegie Hall since 2023.

To get in touch with James & Eric, you can visit midamerica-music.com or find MidAmerica on Facebook (@midamerica.productions) or Instagram (@midamericaproductions)

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"Every single workshop I give is all about excellence, singing well, singing properly, and achieving the very best we can achieve. Why do we it? We don't do it because we'll be paid millions and millions of pounds. It's not cash-motivated. We do it because there is a higher purpose, a higher calling that makes us do it. I got offered a graduate scheme at university, so I could have been a corporate sellout. I'd probably arguably work less hours than I do in music, but I didn't do that. I don't have any regrets, because on an evening, I go home, I look myself in the mirror, and I can say to myself, 'we did some good stuff today.'"

Caius Lee is the Director of College Music at Worcester College, Oxford, where he leads the internationally acclaimed College Choir and Boys’ Choir, alongside the Jericho Youth Choir and the All Sorts Community Choir. He oversees an extensive portfolio of collegiate, community, and outreach initiatives under the Music at Worcester banner, including the groundbreaking Oxford Choral Experience and New Instrument learning scheme. Furthermore, he is a guest lecturer for the Institute of Sacred Music at St Stephen’s House and the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM).

Caius began his musical career as a chorister at Bradford Cathedral aged 11, later becoming the Cathedral Organ Scholar at 15. At 17, he joined Leeds Cathedral, concurrently holding the Idlewild Conducting Scholarship and the Cathedral Organ Scholarship. He was appointed Assistant Organist a year later, serving as the Diocesan Organist and Director of Music for the annual Lourdes pilgrimage.

Caius read Music at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, as the Neville Burston Organ Scholar. During his time at university, he founded the Addamus Choral Programme (formerly the Florence International Singing Programme). Addamus facilitates several annual courses and has performed at prestigious venues including Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Saint-Sulpice, Florence Cathedral, and the Vatican. Most recently, the programme launched the inaugural Italian Choral Programme, providing aspiring young professionals with the opportunity to perform at the Vatican, Florence Cathedral, Milan Cathedral and the Pantheon under the tutelage of a distinguished faculty, including Bob Chilcott, James Jordan, and Lorenzo Donati.

To get in touch with Caius, you can find the Addamus Choral Programme on Facebook (@addamuschoralprogramme) or Instagram (@addamus_official) or email him at [email protected]. 

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“Burnout is when you reach a point where there is no mystery in the music making anymore and you’re just redoing what you’ve always done. You’re reheating it. Self-exploration should be the goal of every musician. The idea of staying connected to sound through listening and really fantasizing is essential. You have to believe there’s magic in the room, and then magic happens. What a gift it is to share music with other people in that room at that time.”

GRAMMY-nominated conductor James Jordan is recognized and praised throughout the musical world as one of America’s pre-eminent conductors, writers and innovators in choral music. He was described as a “visionary” by The Choral Journal, which cited his book Evoking Sound as a “must read.” His more than 60 books explore both the philosophical and spiritual basis of musicianship, as well as aspects of choral rehearsal teaching and learning. His latest book, The Conductor's Triangle, will be released in January 2026. He served as director of the Westminster Conducting Institute for 12 years and is Director of the Choral Institute at Oxford to be held this summer at Worcester College Oxford. He is also Conductor and Artistic Director of The Same Stream Choir and conductor of The Nexus Choral Artists. 

He is founder of The Choral Academy, an online resource offering courses in Pedagogy, Conducting and Private Conducting Study. He has also created The Evoking Sound Virtual Classroom that houses his lectures and teaching as a resource, with contributions by Simon Carrington, Weston Noble and others.

James Jordan holds a BM from Susquehanna University, a MM in choral conducting and a Ph.D in the Psychology of Music from Temple University where he was a student of Edwin Gordon. He is a conducting student of the legendary teacher Elaine Brown. He holds several conducting certificates from Chorstudio Wilhelm Ehman earned in St. Moritz, Switzerland. He has attended the Laban Institute of Movement Studies in New York. He was a finalist in the Stokowski Conducting Competition sponsored by The Philadelphia Orchestra.

James Jordan’s research beginning in 1980 regarding applications of Laban to rhythm pedagogy and conducting are pioneering. His books regarding the Application of Music Learning Theory to the Choral rehearsal have revolutionized choral teaching and Learning. His most recent book on this subject, Intonational Solfege (GIA) presents an approach for teaching Intonation skills to choirs. Dr. Jordan is exclusively published by GIA Publications. 

James Jordan has been the major author regarding the application of vocal technique to the choral rehearsal. He was a student of Frauke Haasemann and has continued and advanced her work. He explores connections into voice science in the book, The Anatomy of Tone and most recently in the extensive text, Essentials of the Choral Warm-Up (GIA).

Dr. Jordan has recorded over 20 CDs with the Westminster Williamson Voices, The Same Stream, and The Westminster Choir. James Jordan is also one of the hosts of the nationally syndicated radio program Sounds Choral on WWFM.org.

Dr. Jordan’s career and publications have been devoted to innovative educational changes in the choral art which have been embraced around the world. His residencies, master classes and guest conducting have taken him throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and China.

To get in touch with Jim, you can visit thechoralacademy.com, email him at [email protected], or find him on Instagram (@wckonductor) or X (@jevoke).

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"Singing in a choir, you're trying to about five things at the same time, and sometimes you're not even doing it in the language you have spoken your entire life. Sometimes I had to just start with rhythm on one pitch and then build that step by step by step. In the process, I was always trying to teach voice. If the voice mechanism shuts down, that's where you get into problems and they stop engaging. You have to let people in rehearsals make mistakes, especially early on. It's so important. If you think rhythm, tone, rhythm-tone-text, rhythm-tone-dynamics, rhythm-tone-articulation, rhythm-tone-expression, that's six times I should have gone through that section. Then I saw that these kids were actually digging it, getting into it, and they felt that they were learning something."

For the past 40 years, Richard Zielinski has taught at five universities, worked as a music director in numerous churches, and has conducted orchestras, choruses and stage productions throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. Zielinski recently retired as the Director of Choral Activities, Chair of Graduate Choral Studies at the University of Oklahoma and as Director of Music Ministries at McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church in Norman, Oklahoma.  Prior to his appointment at the University of Oklahoma, Richard directed choral programs at University of South Florida (Tampa), Indiana State University (Terre Haute), Mercer University, (Macon, Georgia), State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

He has also served as Music Director for the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, Elgin Choral Union (IL), Vermilion Festival Chorus (IL), and Terre Haute Masterworks Chorale (IN). 

In 2005, Richard founded and serves as conductor of the Zielinski Singers. This 40-voice professional chorus combines the talents of the finest choral singers in the United States producing performances, tours and recordings of choral works by American composers.

Richard currently serves as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the 51st Classical Music Festival and Orchestra located at the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria.  He is also a recipient of the Gold Medal of Achievement for his artistic achievements and musical contributions in Eisenstadt, Austria as principal conductor and artistic director of the Classical Music Festival.  In 2025 Zielinski was awarded the honorary badge “Meritorious for Polish Culture” from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland for his 32 years of artistic work in Poland. 

In 2012, Zielinski and members of the city of Norman, Oklahoma, founded a professional orchestra, The Norman PHILharmonic.  The PHIL’s mission is four-fold: to be an innovative and standard-setting orchestra, to commission new works from American composers, to collaborate with area arts programs, and to excite the youth of America about symphonic music. 

Throughout his career Zielinski has collaborated with composers Norman Dello Joio, Libby Larsen, John Mackey, Michael Daugherty, Samuel Adler, Eleanor Daley, Marek Jasinski, Rosephanye Powell, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, James Oliverio, Stephen Paulus, Krzysztof Penderecki and has commissioned numerous works from many of these composers.

To get in touch with Rick, you can find him on Facebook (@richard.zielinski.77) or visit richardzielinski.com.

Email [email protected] to contact our hosts.

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