Asian Choral Music – Introducing soundscape from the Southeast Asia Region.

Budi Susanto Yohanes (Indonesia) Budi Susanto Yohanes is a conductor and composer who has been recognized for his contributions to Indonesian choral music. He has been actively contributing as choral clinician in many parts of the country and frequently invited as adjudicator in various national and international choir competitions. He is the founder of Gracioso Sonora Choir, Malang ChoralArt and also the conductor of ITS Student Choir and difertimento vocal ensemble as well. Under his direction, these choirs have been invited to participate in major festivals and also have received numerous international awards. As a composer, Budi has been hailed as one of the few composers with strong ability to take up original ethnic elements of Indonesian traditional music into an intelligent contemporary piece. Some music publishing companies like Earthsongs USA, Carus-Verlag, and Kontrapunkt Hungary has published the works of Budi Susanto Yohanes. He studied choral conducting and vocal minor in Korea National University of Arts and graduated as Bachelor of Arts in Music and Choir Conducting.

Dr. Beverly Shangkuan (Philippine) Dr. Beverly Shangkuan is the President of the Philippine Choral Directors Association and Associate Professor of Music at the University of the Philippines, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting. She is the Principal Conductor of the Ateneo de Manila College Glee Club, Resident Conductor of the Las Piñas International Bamboo Organ Festival, and the Music Director of the New Millennium Evangelical Church. She is a First Prize Winner at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Graduate Conducting Competition. She also won First Prize for the A1 Piano Category of the Philippines’ National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA). She is the Philippine representative to the Asia Pacific Choral Council and the Asia Choral Association. In 2018, she was an Adjudicator and the Philippine representative to the World Choir Council for the World Choir Games. In the same year, she was also appointed as Conductor of the Asia Pacific Youth Choir. Her conducting and academic awards include the Levi Barbour Fellowship from the University of Michigan, the Phyllis Curtin Career Entry Award from the Yale School of Music, the Margot Fassler Award and the Hugh Giles Prize from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. Performance and adjudication engagements have brought her to South Africa, Germany, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Spain, Vietnam, Portugal, and Singapore. She also regularly leads workshops in different parts of the Philippines. Dr. Shangkuan-Cheng received a Bachelor of Music (summa cum laude) from the University of the Philippines, a Master of Music from the Yale School of Music and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan.

Toh Ban Sheng (Singapore) Toh Ban Sheng is no stranger to the choral world. An active member in the international choral arena and a recipient of seven Conductor’s Prizes in Europe, he has been invited to adjudicate, conduct, or teach in more than 20 countries. Known for his artistry, he is one of few who also adjudicated international competitions in choral conducting and choral composition. Starting out essentially as a self-taught musician, former Physics teacher Toh completed two master’s degrees in Choral Conducting and Voice from the USA. Toh has since been recognized as an eminent conductor and educator, having garnered eight Grands Prix, numerous Category Champions and Jury Prizes, and some 70 gold awards. With Raffles Singers, a triple Grand Prix winner, he was invited to perform at the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, Spain. At home, Toh’s choirs were crowned the Best Choir of the Year Award in consecutive years. Among other notable appointments, he conducted the 800- strong National Day Parade Combined Choir on live telecast. His work as a Chorus Master for Mahler Symphony Nr. 2 and Beethoven Symphony Nr. 9 has won him raved reviews by the Straits Times. In recognition of his artistic achievements, Toh was conferred the national Young Artist Award in 2006 and the Honorary Member of the Choral Directors Association of Singapore in 2016. He is also the founding member and the Continental Ambassador of Asia of the International Choral Conductors Federation. He is currently the Artistic Director of the International Choral Festival Orientale Concentus (Singapore). His self-titled biography, “The Accidental Conductor”, was published in 2010 and the “Toh Ban Sheng Choral Series” with Earthsongs Music Publication 2012. He has also written for the International Choral Bulletin and had his music published in Europe.