From Ozawkie, Kansas, Clara Smith is an avid musician performing both as a vocalist and conductor around the world and has traveled extensively. She has performed as a soloist for a United States presidential inauguration as well as on stages throughout Europe, China and South Africa. She traveled to London as a soloist with the University of Missouri’s Concert Chorale and Vox Anima Symphony and is a part of the Walton Music recording choir, is a featured soloist on several choral albums and sings in several professional choirs including Prometheus and the Missouri Choral Artists. Clara currently serves as a professor in Music Theory, World Music and Music History at Columbia College. Clara also works as a parish music director and conductor of local youth choir, Bella Voce.

An accomplished Taiwanese-Canadian musician, Ann Chen is pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Music at USC. Ann is a pianist, mezzo-soprano, and conductor and has performed with the Vancouver Cantata Singers, Cor Flammae, Golden Bridge Singers, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival Choir, and recorded for Cypress Choral Music. In Canada, she served as Choirmaster of St. John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church. In L.A., Ann was the interim conductor and section leader at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church. She was conductor of Apollo Chorus and University Chorus. She is now the co-founder/artistic director of a cappella octet, Exilio and is selected as Spiral Chamber Ensemble Choral Conducting Fellow

Cami Everitt is a soprano based in Austin, TX with a deep passion for chamber singing and choral music. She received her B.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas in May 2020, and completed graduate study in the University of Redlands’ Vocal Chamber Music program. Recent engagements include performances with Dallas Chamber Choir, Austin Cantorum, Inversion Ensemble, San Antonio Chamber Choir, Opus Ensemble, and Conspirare Symphonic Choir. She has also been selected to participate in choral intensives such as Seraphic Fire’s Professional Choral Institute, Baylor’s International Choral Conductor Academy Young Artist program, and Yale’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. While classically trained, she has experience singing in a variety of styles such as musical theatre, pop, and jazz.

Soprano Mara Riley sings with Emmanuel Music and Nightingale Vocal Ensemble. She joins the Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Telemann’s Don Quichotte, will be a featured soloist with the Colorado Bach Ensemble, Boulder Bach Festival, and Rhode Island Civic Chorale. First prize winner 2023 Colorado Bach Ensemble’s Young Artist Competition, and was soprano fellow with Emmanuel Music’s Bach Institute. Mara was soloist in the Boulder Bach Festival’s Messiah, the Colorado Bach Ensemble’s Cantata Insights series, Handel’s Israel in Egypt and Handel’s Samson with the Cambridge Chamber Ensemble. Favorite opera roles included Calisto in Cavalli’s La Calisto, Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and Mary Bailey in Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life. She holds a double MM in voice and flute performance, New England Conservatory, and a double BM from the University of Colorado-Boulder. She also plays the Baroque flute

American soprano Emily Perry is most known for her shimmering high notes and bubbly, flexible voice. Perry is a graduate of Baylor University and South Dakota State University with degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education. Emily grew up in Brookings, SD, and currently resides in Pensacola, FL. Along with her husband, Micah, she performs with Pensacola Opera. This year, she had role debuts as Ida in Die Fledermaus, Carolina in Luisa Fernanda, Wilhelmina in Listen, Wilhelmina!, and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. Perry has also been a member of the Transept vocal ensemble in Sioux Falls, SD, and has been selected as a Voces8 Scholar for the 2024-2025 season.

Eric has served as Assistant Conductor of the Catholic University Chamber Choir, Music Director for the National Shrine of Saint John Paul II, and as a professional vocalist and soloist for the National Basilica, the Washington Master Chorale, the Early Music Ensemble Chantry, the Cathedral of Saint Matthew, and Saint Bernadette Parish. Now in Dallas he serves as Chapel Choir Music Director for his undergraduate alma mater the University of Dallas, as full-time Music Director at Cistercian Preparatory School, professional Cantoris Tenor for the Saint Mark’s Choir of Men and Boys, tenor vocalist for the Benedict XVI Institute, as a cantor for the parishes of Saint Thomas Aquinas and Christ the King churches, and as soloist / professional tenor both for the Ensemble Verdigris and for the Orpheus Chamber Singers.

A.J. Murgo is a tenor and choral conductor from Bristol, Rhode Island, now based in Kirksville, Missouri. A.J. graduated from Boston Conservatory where he studied with baritone Robert Honeysucker. He was an ensemble member in Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress” and Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking”. Relocating to St Louis his engagements included a position with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Chorus, a baritone section leader position at Second Presbyterian Church, and a tenor section leader position at Emmanuel Episcopal Church. At Webster University, A.J. delighted audiences as Alfredo in Verdi’s “La traviata”, and Roméo in Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette”. He was also granted the role of assistant conductor to the University’s Chamber Singers in the final year of his studies.

Maxwell Trochlil is a renowned tenor and choral conductor hailing from Minnesota. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Music Education from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, and furthered his education with a Master of Sacred Music from the University of Notre Dame. He has served as assistant director for several choirs, including the Minnesota All-State Lutheran Choir, the Elkhart Community Choir, and the Notre Dame Children's Choir. He has dazzled audiences with solo performances in both opera and concert repertoire as well. Notable roles include Nero in Monteverdi's "L'incoronazione di Poppea," Miles in Missy Mazzoli's "Proving Up," and the disciple Simon in the world premiere of René Clausen's "The Passion of Jesus Christ." Maxwell has recently sung as a vocal fellow with the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival as well as being a Voces8 Scholar last year and is so excited to be back for a second year!

Koji Sakano, baritone, is based in LA. He holds a B.M. in Choral Music from USC, he studied with Jennie Kampani, Katie Thiroux, Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe, and Mary Mattei-Scheibe. He sang with the USC Thornton Chamber Singers and coordinated the undergraduate recital choir. At 9 he entered the American Boychoir School as a boy soprano and participated in sixteen tours, numerous performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and London Philharmonic. Inspired by a passion for vocal chamber music, in 2022, he co-founded the octet exilio to perform works by historically underrepresented and new composers. When not singing, Koji serves as the Associate Chorus Manager for the Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC).

Jack Williams III is a Michigan Youth Arts Distinguished Scholar, winning the Detroit Jazz Festival Youth Vocal Jazz Competition. Jack is an alumnus of Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit appearing at the Apollo Theatre, Carnegie Hall, and The Public Theater NY, recording with Foreigner, on tour with Josh Groban, competing in the 2012 World Choir Games in Ohio and the 2014 World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia. At University of Michigan he premiered and recorded various works with the Chamber Choir and Men’s Glee Club under Eugene Rogers such as Amass by Jocelyn Hagan and The Fisherman’s Song by Hyo-Won Woo. In 2023, Jack was a Top 10 Finalist for the Amplify the Sound of Detroit Contest through Hitsville Next and the Motown Museum. He lives in NJ and is the Upper School Choir Director at Gill St. Bernard’s.

Joe Daly is a bass, composer, and arranger from Chicago. A veteran of the stage and several community choirs, his roles have included the Pirate King in "The Pirates of Penzance," Lancelot in "Camelot," and Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof." Currently based in Arizona, he sings bass with Floriani, a nonprofit quartet he co-founded in 2021 that specializes in sacred music and works with schools, churches, and choirs around the United States. He holds a BA in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College and a Master’s in Business from the Catholic University of America. Joe can usually be found drinking coffee, enjoying a good book, or helping people reach items on the top shelf.