Toronto, April 24th, 2023—The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Artistic Director Jean-Sébastien Vallée welcome six emerging choral conductors to Toronto for Take the Podium, the TMChoir’s 2023 Conducting Symposium.
This annual gathering offers an invaluable opportunity for emerging conductors from across North America to work with artistic director and conductor Jean-Sébastien Vallée and the full TMChoir for a five-day series of workshops and masterclasses. Participants will have the rare opportunity to conduct the 130 voices of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, including the 24-voice professional ensemble, the TMSingers, in rehearsals throughout the week and in the concluding public performance, which will also be live-streamed.
Six Emerging Conductors Take the Podium:
Matthew Boutda (Ontario, Canada)
Matthew Boutda is a Canadian conductor, organist, and singer who is currently studying Master of Music in choral conducting at the University of Western Ontario, where he serves as the Assistant Conductor of the Western University Singers.
Raoul Carlo Angangco (Indiana, USA)
Raoul Carlo (Miggi) Angangco is a Filipino choral conductor pursuing his Doctor of Music degree in Choral Conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He has served as director of the IU All-Campus Chorus and assistant conductor for the Singing Hoosiers and the contemporary vocal ensemble NOTUS.
Emmanuel de Leon Jr (Indiana, USA)
Emmanuel de Leon Jr. is a Filipino conductor, music educator, and scholar who is pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting at the University of Notre Dame.
Mattias Lundberg (Connecticut, USA)
Mattias Lundberg is a baritone, conductor, and composer studying for a Master of Music in Choral Conducting at the Yale School of Music. Mattias was the musical director of his a cappella group, the Haverford College Ford S-Chords, and served as Director of Choral Scholars at Wayne Presbyterian Church.
Lauren Ramey (Tennessee, USA)
Dr. Lauren Ramey is an experienced choral conductor and music educator, currently serving as Associate Director of Choral Activities and Director of Music Education at East Tennessee State University, where she conducts choirs and teaches courses in choral conducting and music education.
Joung A Yum (California, USA)
Joung-A Yum is a South Korean-born conductor, singer, and pianist based in Los Angeles, currently pursuing a Doctoral of Musical Arts degree at UCLA.
The TMChoir also announces Kai Leung as the 2023 winner of their Debbie Fleming Prize for the Choral Composition Competition. Leung holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition and Voice from the University of Toronto and is the Artistic Director of MSC Choirs, where he conducts Concreamus, Sehnsucht, and Frisson. His winning work, There Will Come Soft Rains, will be premiered at the Symposium.
“Through its annual conducting symposium, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is committed to nurturing the next generation of choral conductors and promoting a sense of community within the wider choral music scene. I am excited to welcome these emerging conductors to Toronto and provide them with a unique opportunity to engage with our choir and hone their craft through workshops and masterclasses. I strongly believe that investing in the education and development of young conductors is essential to the continued growth and vitality of choral music,” shares Artistic director Jean-Sébastien Vallée.
The Symposium concludes with a concert on May 5th, 2023 at 7:30pm EDT at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. There will be free in-person tickets available and the concert will be available to stream online.
