Arian Khaefi is conductor of the University of Michigan Arts Chorale – an auditioned 75-voice chorus of undergraduate students - and assistant conductor of the University Musical Society Choral Union where he assists Jerry Blackstone in the preparation of the chorus for performances both in Ann Arbor and Detroit with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under such noted conductors as Leonard Slatkin and Christopher Warren Green.

In March 2011, Mr. Khaefi was a finalist in the graduate division of the American Choral Directors Association biennial National Choral Conducting Awards competition in Chicago. He was chosen from a nationwide pool of 150 applicants.

Mr. Khaefi has appeared as workshop presenter at high schools and middle schools across southern California, presenting on choral energy, tone, and diction. Mr. Khaefi has also served as director of choral activities at a number of successful secondary choral music programs.

In May 2012, he will complete the doctorate of musical arts degree at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance where his primary conducting teacher is Jerry Blackstone. Prior to coming to the University of Michigan, Mr. Khaefi received the Master of Music degree in conducting from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied with Donald Neuen.

Jason Harris is Associate Conductor of the University Musical Society Choral Union (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and founding Artistic Director and Conductor of Audivi Vocem. In 2006 he received two Grammy Awards ("Best Choral Performance” and "Best Classical Album”) as a choral director for the critically acclaimed Naxos recording of William Bolcom's monumental Songs of Innocence and of Experience.

In 2002 Mr. Harris was named Associate Conductor of the University Musical Society Choral Union, a symphonic community chorus that frequently appears with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In this capacity Mr. Harris has prepared the chorus for performances under conductors such as Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, Sir Neville Marriner, Neeme Järvi, James Conlon, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and composer John Adams. In 2011 the UMS Choral Union will appear with the Detroit Symphony and the choirs of the University of Michigan for a groundbreaking performance of Mahler's Eighth Symphony under the baton of Leonard Slatkin.

To meet the growing demand for performances of early music in Michigan, Mr. Harris founded Audivi Vocem, a 20-voice chamber ensemble dedicated to the interpretation of rarely heard sacred works of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. Recent performances include Tomas Luis de Victoria's Officium Defunctorum, and various works by Hans Leo Hassler, Leonhardt Lechner, Heinrich Schütz, and Roland de Lassus.

In 2010 Mr. Harris was one of two conductors in the nation selected by Chorus America to participate in a joint Chorus America/League of Symphony Orchestras conducting master class, hosted by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, where he had the privilege to work with Robert Spano and Norman Mackenzie.

Mr. Harris is currently in his final year of the Doctor of Musical Arts program in choral conducting at the University of Michigan. During his time at Michigan he has served as Assistant Conductor of the U-M Women's Glee Club, and conductor of the Residential College Singers, Orpheus Singers, and U-M Opera Chorus, and is currently the Assistant Conductor of the U-M Men's Glee Club and Chamber Choir.

Mr. Harris holds degrees in conducting from Chapman University and the University of Michigan. His teachers include Jerry Blackstone, Theodore Morrison, Kenneth Kiesler, and William Hall.

A proud Atlantic Canadian, Joel Tranquilla is a conductor, collaborative pianist, vocal coach and music educator who has worked extensively in the areas of church music and theatre music. Joel is in his second year of the Master of Music degree in choral conducting under the tutelage of Dr. Jerry Blackstone at the University of Michigan, the number one ranked conducting training program in the United States. In addition to his work with the U-M Arts Chorale, Joel is the Chorus Master of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and also conducts the Orpheus Singers and the Huron Hills Church Sanctuary Choir. He has been invited to work with some of Canada’s finest choral conductors including Lydia Adams, Noel Edison, Diane Loomer and Jon Washburn, and has participated in such conducting master classes as the Vancouver Chamber Choir National Conductors’ Symposium, Festival 500 and the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute. Most recently, Joel served as the conducting intern for the Nova Scotia Choral Federation’s Sing Summer 2010 program where he conducted the 60-voice high school choir and was mentored by Elise Bradley, Artistic Director of the Toronto Children’s Chorus.

Before moving to Michigan, Joel worked in Halifax, Nova Scotia for three years and quickly became a part of the rich musical life of that city. During this time he held several positions including Director of Music at Stevens Road United Baptist Church and Artist-in-Residence at First Baptist Church Halifax. He was a staff accompanist and lecturer in aural skills in the Music Department at Dalhousie University and spent three seasons at the Chester Playhouse Summer Theatre Festival as Musical Director, performer and composer/arranger. Joel served as the assistant conductor of the award-winning Halifax Camerata Singers as well as the founding assistant conductor and accompanist of the Xara Young Women’s Choir. He has led workshops for CAMMAC (Canadian Amateur Musicians/Musiciens Amateurs du Canada) and the New Brunswick Choral Federation and has adjudicated at the South-West Nova Music Festival on the French Shore of Nova Scotia.

Joel is an alumnus of the National Youth Choir of Canada and is a founding member of several choirs in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. An Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto with diplomas in both piano and voice performance, he completed a Bachelor of Music degree at Mount Allison University where he was also selected to receive the Faculty Artist Award in his final year. A versatile musician, Mr. Tranquilla is an advocate of Canadian music and has performed across the country with the Canadian Chamber Choir as both singer and pianist. His recording credits include the Canadian Chamber Choir’s recent release, “In Good Company” (featured pianist) and the Halifax Camerata Singer’s CD, “Solace: Songs of Remembrance” (assistant conductor).

Mark Marotto is conductor of the University of Michigan Arts Chorale. In addition to conducting a wide range of concerts in the United States and Canada, Marotto maintains an active career in Europe - including recent performances in Switzerland, France, Spain and Romania. For the past eight years, Marotto has served as artistic director of Le Louverain Choral Festival in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and recently led their chorus in a 30th anniversary concert. In July 2009, he conducted the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and Orchestra. For the 2009-2010 season, Mark is also guest conductor of the Windsor Classic Chorale in Windsor, Canada as well as conductor of the Huron Hills Choir in Ann Arbor.

Marotto has studied at Duke University, the Bucharest Conservatory, and the University of Michigan, where he is currently completing a doctorate in choral conducting. In his training, he has worked with a number of prominent conductors, among them Jerry Blackstone, Helmuth Rilling, Christopher Hogwood, Kurt Masur, and George Pehlivanian. In addition to conducting, Marotto pursues interests in both music education and management research. Most summers, he teaches a music appreciation course for Pepperdine University’s programme in Lausanne, Switzerland. His research on leadership has been published in scholarly management journals as well as featured in conferences throughout Europe and North America.

Brandon, a native of Michigan, is currently pursuing a M.M. in Choral Conducting. Before coming to University of Michigan in fall 2008, Brandon served for four years as the Oaklawn-Tuttle Chair of Vocal Music at The Hill School near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At The Hill he directed the choral ensembles and musicals, taught the History of Art and Music, and served as the school's organist. Over the past four summers, he has served as a conductor, coach-accompanist, and instructor of advanced musicianship on the faculties of the New York State Summer School for the Arts (NYSSSA) and Interlochen Arts Camp. Brandon earned a B.A. in Music Education from Michigan State University. As a student, he served as a singer and accompanist for numerous choral ensembles and opera productions, including three years as accompanist of the MSU Men's Glee Club. Brandon is also currently in his second year as Director of Music at First Baptist Church in Ann Arbor.

Canadian-born John William Trotter is currently in residence in the Doctoral conducting program at the University of Michigan. While at the University he has also served as assistant instructor of conducting, Conducting Faculty of the Residential College, and Opera Chorusmaster. Trotter's conducting work has been recognized internationally through numerous prizes, grants, and guest conducting invitations; to date he has conducted over a dozen professional choirs and orchestras in five countries. In 2007, while still a Masters student, Trotter was awarded second prize in the Graduate Division of the ACDA Student Conducting Competition. In 2008 he was awarded a major individual grant by the Canada Council for the Arts, and during the summer season conducted in concerts with Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra as well as the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra and Chorus.

Trotter's pursuit of advanced conducting training has taken him across North America and Europe, including studies with Jerry Blackstone, Kenneth Kiesler, Helmuth Rilling, Jon Washburn, Andrew Parrott, Eric Ericson, and others. His ongoing professional conducting work ranges from traditional choral/orchestral repertoire, new music and film score recording to various forms of outreach as a clinician, adjudicator, conducting teacher, keynote speaker, and leader of improvisation workshops. His guest conducting appearances in 2008/09 will include concerts with the Windsor Classic Chorale and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. For more information, visit www.johnwilliamtrotter.com.

Alejandro Manso is currently in his second year in the Master's degree of Choral Conducting at the University of Michigan. He received his bachelor's degree in vocal education at Simpson College in Indianola, IA. Born and raised in Kansas City, KS, Alejandro began music at an early age taking voice and piano lessons. Studying voice in his undergraduate degree, he discovered his passion for conducting in his classes. He has studied with ensembles such as Chanticleer and the Westminster Chamber Choir in Florence, Italy. Alejandro has had the opportunity to assist and lead such ensembles as The Residential College Choir, the University Choir and Orpheus Singers at the University of Michigan. In addition to conducting, Alejandro has sung in many operatic performances and choral ensembles. He looks forward to the opportunity to work with eager and talented musicians and is grateful for the opportunity to work with the wonderful and extremely talented singers of Arts Chorale.

Brandon, a native of Michigan, is currently pursuing a M.M. in Choral Conducting. Before coming to University of Michigan this fall, Brandon served for four years as the Oaklawn-Tuttle Chair of Vocal Music at The Hill School near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At Hill he directed the choral ensembles and musicals, taught the History of Art and Music, and served as the school's organist. Over the past three summers, he has served as a conductor, coach-accompanist, and instructor of advanced musicianship on the faculties of the New York State Summer School for the Arts (NYSSSA) and Interlochen Arts Camp. Brandon earned a B.A. in Music Education from Michigan State University. As a student, he served as a singer and accompanist for numerous choral ensembles and opera productions, including the MSU Men's Glee Club. Brandon is also currently the Director of Music at First Baptist Church in Ann Arbor.