Artistic Direction
Katherine Chan,
Artistic Director
Australian conductor, Katherine Chan, is known for her energy and enthusiasm on the podium. As Director of Choral Activities and Associate Teaching Professor of music at Northeastern University, Chan conducts the Northeastern University Choral Society Chorus, Chamber Singers, and Mosaic Advance Treble Ensemble. A sought-after choral clinician, Chan also serves as the ACDA East Region Collegiate Repertoire and Resource (R&R) Chair.
Chan’s unique blend of talent and energy has also been on display at the numerous prestigious international festivals in which she’s been privileged to participate. In 2010, Chan was a presenter at the Australia National Choral Association's Choralfest and in the same year, was awarded the Sydney Symposium Choral Foundation’s Fifth Choral Conducting Scholarship. Chan has been a conducting scholar with Maestro Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival (2011), Taipei Bach Festival (2012), Hong Kong SingFest (2012). In 2015, she was invited to conduct at the national conductor master class with John Nelson at American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Convention, and with an invitation to conduct at the 2016 National Conductors’ Symposium, Canada. In 2017, she placed among the top four finalists at the ACDA National Graduate Conducting Competition. Chan was selected as one of the top-12 finalists in the World Choral Conducting Competition 2019 (WYCCAA, Hong Kong).
Known for her highly innovative collaborations, Chan partnered with librettist Michael Dennis Browne in 2015 to present a semi-staged performance of Fauré’s Requiem with singers from the Minnesota Chorale. Other notable conducting engagements includes guest conducting Minnesota Chorale, Xi’an Symphony Chorus (China), ACDA Honor Choirs, Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Cantata Singers, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Back Bay Chorale.
Prior relocation to the United States, Chan was extensively involved in Australia’s choral community. She held positions on National Council, and Queensland & Northern Territory State Committee for Australian National Choral Association (ANCA). She held numerous positions throughout Australia including as the musical director of Choral Connection, and choir director St Andrew’s Uniting Church, Brisbane. In addition to conducting, Chan also actively performs as a soprano and pianist/accompanist.
Chan received her Bachelor of Music Performance and Pedagogy in piano from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University, and won numerous awards including the Brisbane Women’s Club and Yvonne Hayson Bursary, the Ruby C. Cooling Piano Bursary, and M. K. Lassell Piano Scholarship. She received her Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Washington, and Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Minnesota (UMN) under the mentorship of Kathy Saltzman Romey and Matthew Mehaffey.
Chan has led Boston Choral Ensemble since Fall 2022.
Since its founding in 2001, Boston Choral Ensemble has had four previous Artistic Directors
Klo Garoute
Interim Artistic Director, 2020-2022
Klo Garoute is a conductor, pianist, composer, and producer with further specializations in interactive music and audio technology. She served as an accompanist and as the Studio Manager for Boston Children's Chorus and as a keyboardist for the progressive rock group Space Junk is Forever. After from Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor's in Electronic Production Design ('20), she has spent much of her time directing classical and contemporary vocal groups, studying vocal pedagogy, and recording and producing original work for various ensembles. Klo has served as faculty at Berklee's Musical Theater Summer Intensive youth program and continues to serve as a staff member at Next Generation Performing Arts Camp in Oklahoma during the summer.
Klo sang with Boston Choral Ensemble, and then served as Assistant Artistic Director. She led the choir during the COVID-19 pandemic and brought the Ensemble back for its first post-pandemic performance season, directing and conducting concerts in December 2021 and June 2022.
Andrew Shenton,
Artistic Director 2011-2020
Andrew Shenton joined Boston Choral Ensemble at the end of its 10th season. Andrew Shenton is a scholar, prize-winning author, performer, and educator. He first studied at The Royal College of Music in London, and holds bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees from London University, Yale, and Harvard respectively. Dr. Shenton is Professor of Music at Boston University, and Conductor of Vox Futura.
He has given more than eighty premieres by composers such as Geoffrey Burgon, Joe Utterback, John Tavener, Judith Weir, and Arvo Pärt. Moving freely between musicology and ethnomusicology Shenton’s work is best subsumed under the heading ‘music and transcendence,’ and includes several major publications on Messiaen, Pärt, and others.
Under Andrew’s direction, the Ensemble continued to increase in professionalism, support the commission of new pieces, and explore unusual venues including the Haydn Planetarium at Boston’s Museum of Science.
Miguel Felipe
Artistic Director, 2004-2011
Miguel Felipe succeeded Tom Cunningham in 2004. Miguel joined Boston Choral Ensemble with a Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from Boston University and 5 years of experience with the Maine Gay Men’s Chorus. Under Miguel’s direction, Boston Choral Ensemble expanded to ambitious programs and started the Ensemble’s annual Commission Competition. When Miguel departed to accept a position at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, the choir had developed a stable, committed membership, experienced volunteer leadership, and was consistently putting on high quality performances of challenging pieces.
Tom Cunningham
Artistic Director, 2001-2004
Boston Choral Ensemble was founded in 2001 by its first music director, Tom Cunningham. A graduate of Yale University and Westminster Choir College, Tom was interested in creating a choir that was smart, but not stuffy—a place for people who may not have chosen music as a profession to produce high-quality music and have fun in the process. He drew a repertoire from various time periods and traditions, both sacred and secular, and was committed to sharing that variety with the community. The choir started small, but expanded significantly under Tom’s guidance.