SABIS Runda - Voice for Peace June 24, 2023

The Nairobi

Chamber Chorus

The Nairobi chamber chorus is a choral singing group founded in October 2005 by Kennedy Wakia. The mission of Nairobi Chamber Chorus is to enable young Kenyans to participate in a high-quality musical forum from which they can build their careers or expand their realm of knowledge and interest in the arts.

The chorus also offers a cultural exchange platform on which visiting musicians can interact with upcoming Kenyan musicians. They have taken part in a number of concert tours and international projects. Their major highlight was their performance at Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Pagent at the Windsor Castle, United Kingdom in May 2012. Other major concert tours have seen the choir perform in the USA, Spain, and Denmark

For more info, visit their website: ncc.or.ke

Mashimoni Good Samaritan

School for Orphans

Mashimoni Good Samaritan School for Orphans was opened in the year 1999 by Lilian Wagala. The school supports and offers education to underprivileged children drawn from the Kibera Slums. The needs of the children have continued to increase owing to the rising numbers absorbed by the program.

The school is also a strong art center dedicated to inspiring and nurturing young learners’ talents in the arts.

For more info, visit their Facebook Page or contact them on +254725712604

AVOICE4PEACE Project

AVOICE4PEACE is an international peace project that was established by the Festival Singers of Florida in conjunction with Nairobi Chamber Chorus in the year 2017. A number of choirs and institutions in the USA, Europe, and Africa have taken part in this project over the years by way of performances of songs that promote world peace on September 21^st (World Peace Day).

This year the Festival Singers of Florida will be joining Nairobi Chamber Chorus and other institutions in Nairobi for a preamble concert on June 21^st, 2023.

[Watch a Video about AVOICE4PEACE] -> http://avoice4peace.org/film#av4p-synopsis

For more info, visit their website: avoice4peace.org

Dr. Kevin Fenton

Dr. Kevin Fenton is a professor of choral conducting and ensembles and director of the FSU University Singers and Men’s Glee (Collegians). He has conducted the Virginia Tech Meistersingers (1998), the University Singers (2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2013), and the Festival Singers of Florida (2012 and 2018) in performances at regional and national conventions of ACDA and NAfME. He has served as a Fulbright Specialist to Sub-Saharan Africa, teaching choral conducting and conducting pedagogy at Kenya’s Conservatory of Music. In the fall of 2019, Kevin taught conducting at the Universitas Pelita Harapan in Jakarta, Indonesia. As co-founder of AVoice4Peace, Kevin has held AVoice4Peace events in Kenya, Indonesia, Ireland, and China, and for the Florida and Southern Region ACDA conventions. Dr. Fenton has conducted choirs in 35 states, including 29 all-state choirs. Internationally, Kevin was a featured conductor for the International Choral Festival and Conference in Xi’an (2017) and Beijing (2007), South Africa’s National Youth Choir (2016), and the Dublin International Choral Festival (2016). Dr. Fenton, a champion of new music and has conducted over thirty premiere performances.

Dr. Fenton has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in choral literature and choral conducting at Florida State University since 2000, and his textbook Foundations of Choral Conducting is being used in introductory conducting classes throughout the country. He is a recipient of the Florida State University Teaching Award for Excellence, the Gamma Mu Chapter of Delta Omicron Music Professor of the Year Award, and the Wayne Hugoboom Distinguished Florida Service Award. Dr. Fenton is Artistic Director of the Festival Singers of Florida, who are celebrating their 14th season.

Dr. Marques L. A. Garrett

A Virginia native, Marques L. A. Garrett (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Music in Choral Activities at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He earned his PhD in Music Education (Choral Conducting) at Florida State University. An active conductor, Dr. Garrett is the artistic director of the Omaha Symphonic Chorus and founding conductor of the Nebraska Festival Singers. He has served as a guest conductor or clinician with several school, church, community, and festival/honor choirs throughout the country. In addition to his conducting classes at UNL, he leads conducting workshops at other universities and conferences. A versatile voice performing both as a baritone and countertenor, Dr. Garrett has sung with several community, church, and university groups as a chorister and soloist. He was the countertenor soloist in the European premiere of Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo in Limerick, Ireland. Currently, he sings with First-Plymouth Congregational Church, Festival Singers of Florida, and the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers. Dr. Garrett is an avid composer of choral and solo-vocal music whose compositions have been performed to acclaim by high school all-state, collegiate, and professional choirs including Seraphic Fire and the Oakwood University Aeolians. His compositions are available through several publishers.

Wesley Roy

Wesley Roy is currently working towards his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Miami. During his studies, he has served as choral TA, honor choir coordinator with guest artists Voces8, church choir director, choral clinician, and is currently the Assistant Conductor Fellow for Seraphic Fire. Prior to his doctoral studies, he worked in public high and middle schools for ten years, where he taught choirs, music theory, private voice lessons, and musical theater. He has served on county and state boards for the Florida Vocal Association and the American Choral Directors Association, and has performed nationally and internationally with the Festival Singers of Florida. Roy, an advocate for student and teacher wellness, has presented at state and national professional conferences on stress management for performing arts teachers, community-building, and student leadership. He firmly believes in the power of service through musical excellence, and his choirs consistently received high ratings at music assessments and performed for numerous community and charitable organizations. Prior to his work in schools, he received a Master of Music Education in Choral Conducting from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Syracuse University. He enjoys baking and cuddling with his sweet little dachshund in his free time.

Dr. Frances Fonza

Frances Fonza is on faculty at the University of Central Arkansas where she teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting, choral literature, and conducts the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. Fonza earned a bachelor's degree in music education at the University of Missouri-Columbia, a master's degree in music education, and a doctorate in music education/choral conducting at Florida State University. Dr. Fonza taught choral music at the middle school and high school levels in Kentucky and was the choir director and a sight-singing teacher at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington DC. Additionally, Dr. Fonza served as Assistant Professor of Music Education and Director of Choral Activities at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Her responsibilities included teaching music education courses, aural skills, choral conducting, supervising music education interns, and directing the Wittenberg choirs. Choirs under her direction have participated in state, regional, and national music festivals. Fonza is an active singer, clinician, and adjudicator. A frequent guest conductor, she has conducted all state, honor, public school, and church choirs. Her research interests are community partnerships, healthy singing in Gospel music, and tone-building strategies used in the choral classroom. She holds professional memberships in the National Association for Music Educators and the American Choral Directors Association.

Dr. Adam Zrust

Dr. Adam Zrust is Director of Choral Studies and assistant professor of Choral Music Education at Northwest Missouri State University where he conducts Tower Choir, University Chorale, and Celebration Jazz/Show Choir, and teaches specialized courses in music education. As a teacher, he has had opportunities to instruct in both secondary and post-secondary settings. Prior to his collegiate teaching, he was Director of Choirs at Mansfield Legacy High School in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. During his six-year tenure at Legacy, the program doubled in size, expanding from three choirs to six, and ensembles under his direction were frequent “sweepstakes” winners at their annual performance assessment. He was also honored twice as a finalist for “Teacher of the Year.” Dr. Zrust maintains an active schedule conducting honor choirs and is frequently invited to present at various conferences across the United States and abroad. In 2018, he was the featured clinician for the Montana Choral Directors Association, providing five plenary sessions for their annual fall conference. In 2019, his Concert Choir performed by invitation at the 2019 Xi’an International Choral Festival and Conference in Xi’an, China. Dr. Zrust earned an MME and a PhD in Choral Conducting and Music Education from Florida State University, and a BAE-Music from the University of Nebraska-Kearney. He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association and National Association for Music Education.

Dr. Steven Hankle

Dr. Steven Hankle, Assistant Professor of Choral Music and Music Education, and Director of the University of Dayton Chorale and Bella Voce. Under Dr. Hankle’s direction, his choirs have toured and performed regionally (Ohio and Michigan, 2022), performed collaborative community concerts with the Bach Society of Dayton and Stivers School for the Arts, and recently performed at the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) state conference (2022 & 2023). He also teaches undergraduate choral conducting and choral methods. Dr. Hankle is also Choral Faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, where he served as Music Director of the Alumni Choir and guest conductor for the Vocal Ensemble and Staff Choir. Under his direction, the combined choirs performed a radio broadcast performance of John Rutter, Gloria (2017), and a live performance of Johannes Brahms, Liebeslieder Walzer Op, 52 (2019), during the Summer Music Festival in Twin Lake, Michigan. In July 2022, the Dayton Performance Arts Alliance appointed Dr. Hankle as the new chorus master of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus. He recently prepared the World Premiere of Steven Winteregg’s Expression, Handel’s Messiah, Boulanger’s Por les funerailles d’un Soldat, and Mozart’s Missa Brevis in C Major. As a guest conductor, Dr. Hankle has directed honor choirs in California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania and co-directed the Avoice4peace Choir in Kenya, Africa. An active clinician and adjudicator, he has worked with ensembles in California, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Tijuana, Mexico. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Hankle received undergraduate and master's degrees in music education and choral conducting from San Francisco State University and his Ph.D. in choral conducting and music education from Florida State University. Prior to his appointment at the University of Dayton, he served as choral music and music education faculty at Penn State University. He successfully developed a new choral program at Mission High School in San Francisco, California.

Kyle T. Gray

Kyle T. Gray spent most of his career in Tampa, Florida directing choirs at the middle and high school level. His choirs regularly performed in regional and district events and have been featured at state adjudication, state conferences, and performances around the Southeastern United States. He enjoys working as a clinician for honor choirs and workshops, as well as visiting classrooms in his local choral community. As a performer and conductor, he has been fortunate to perform with featured ensembles in Europe, Asia, and South America. He received his bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Florida, his master’s degree in choral music education from Florida State University, and is currently pursuing his PhD in Music Education at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.