Asian Choral Association
Executive Committee
Founding Directors
Nelson Kwei (Singapore)
Ko Matsushita (Japan)
John Pamintuan (Philippines)
Johnny Ku (Taiwan)
Committee members
Meng Dapeng (China)
Park Shin Hwa (Korea)
Avip Priatna (Indonesia)
Ronnie Cheng (Hong Kong SAR)
Pawasut Piriyapongrat (Thailand)
Susanna Saw (Malaysia)
Nelson Kwei (Singapore)
Nelson Kwei, is an internationally-acclaimed conductor, conservatorium lecturer, editorial advisor, adjudicator, music arranger and vocal clinician. He is a Fellow from the London College of Music, has a Licentiate in Singing from the Guildhall School of Music, and Advance Post-Graduate in Choral Conducting from the Royal Academy of Music (London). In 2013, Nelson received the Associateship from the Royal Academy of Music for his outstanding achievements in choral music. Nelson was the first conductor to lead a Singapore school choir in an overseas competition. Under his guidance, Victoria Junior College choir won the youth choir category in the Cardigan Eisteddfod, Wales in 1990. From then on, he led numerous other Singapore choirs garner victory in the world's most prestigious competitions. Nelson was awarded Best Conductor in 1998 and 1999 (Germany), in 2002 and 2004 (Prague), 2008 (Italy), and 2012 (Austria). He has led his choirs to 8 Gold Medals including 3 Choir Olympic Champions in the World Choir Games Bremen 2006 and Xiamen 2008. In Vienna, Austria 2012, he led Victoria Junior College Choir to attain 4 Gold awards and 2 Category Champion prizes. Under his leadership, the National University of Singapore Choir won three 1st Prizes in the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod (Wales, UK) and the coveted "Choir of the World" award in 2018. Nelson Kwei is an executive member of the National Arts Council’s Advisory Board for Choral Development in Singapore and the NAC external assessor for music. Internationally, he is the First Vice-Chairman of the Asian Youth Choir Council, as well as the Artistic Director of “A Voyage of Songs,” “Asia Cantate,”and "Jubilate, Festival of Choirs." Nelson is also invited as clinician and adjudicator in top international festivals and competitions. Currently, he is conductor of 9 choirs in Singapore. |
Ko Matsushita (Japan)
Composer and conductor born and raised in Tokyo, Ko Matsushita graduated at the top of his class from the Kunitachi College of Music, Department of Composition, and went on to study the Chorus Conductor master course at the Kodaly Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary. He is currently the conductor and artistic director of 11 choirs, which are often invited to perform in Japan, Europe, America, Canada, and Asia. They have also achieved excellent showings in the choral circuit and won awards in international competitions. A prolific composer and arranger, Matsushita’s works are performed all around the world. His compositions vary widely, ranging from works based on traditional Japanese music, masses, motets, to etudes for choirs. His works are published in Japan by Edition KAWAI, Ongaku no tomo sha Corp., and overseas by SULASOL (Finland), Carus-Verlag Stuttgart (Germany), Annie Bank Edition (the Netherlands) Porfiri & Horváth Publishers (Germany) and Santa Barbara Music Publishing (USA) among others. Besides conducting and composing, Matsushita is also an active workshop clinician and lecturer both within and outside Japan. In recent years, he has adjudicated at the Singapore Youth Festival, Hong Kong International Youth & Children’s Choir Festival, Gorizia (Italy), Tolosa (Spain), Tours (France), etc. In 2005, he became the first Asian to receive the “Robert Edler Prize for Choral Music" in recognition of his outstanding achievements worldwide in conducting, composing, performance, and education within the field of choral music. He is currently board member of the Tokyo Choral Association, as well as a member of the Japan Choral Directors Association, the International Kodaly Society, and a representative of the Workshop of the Choral Expression. Furthermore he is a member of Japan Composers & Arrangers Association. |
John August Pamintuan (Philippines)
John August Pamintuan is a renowned Philippine conductor, composer, singer, clinician, and adjudicator. Since 2007, John is recognized by the American Federation of Musicians as an artist of sustained international acclaim. As a conductor he has given workshops, performed in concerts, and won in competitions in Asia, Europe, and North America. As a singer, he has sung in solo recitals at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and Moscow Glinka Hall. As a composer, John was awarded the composition prize in Tours (France), Tokyo (Japan) and has written around 450 pieces which have been performed by choirs from 30 countries. In the last couple of years, John has been invited in the jury of international choir competitions in Hoi An, Cincinnati, Rimini and Cattolica Italy, Singapore, Penang, Hongkong, Taiwan, Chiang Mai and Bangkok Thailand, Jakarta and Manado Indonesia, Riga Latvia, and the cities of Takarazuka, Kobe, Karuizawa, and Tokyo in Japan. He is also a member of the panel of adjudicators for composition contests in Croatia (2011, 2012, 2014), International Federation for Choral Music (2013), Arezzo Italy (2020, 2021) and International Choral Composition Competition Japan (2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022). Towards creating cross cultural ties and strengthening friendship and cooperation, John August Pamintuan has also organized many musical exchanges among conductors and choirs of Asian countries. He is the Artistic Director of the Asian Choral Masters, and also an honorary member of the Choral Directors Associations of Japan and Italy. |
Yu Chung John Ku (Taiwan)
Dr. Yu-Chung John Ku is the Music Director of Taipei Philharmonic Foundation, which consists of 15 musical groups, including Oratorio Chorus, Chamber Choir, Youth Choir, Women’s Choirs, Senior Choir, Children’s Choirs, Youth Orchestras, Children’s Orchestra, Opera Studio, and Musical Theater. He is also the Music Director of Taipei International Choral Competition and Festival, an executive board member of Taiwan Choral Association, an assistant professor in the Chinese Culture University of Taiwan, a member of the World Choral Council, a member of the Asia-Pacific working committee in the International Federation for Choral Music, co-founder of the World Choral Championship, and one of the founding directors of the Asian Choral Association. Dr. Ku is an active conductor and choral expert. He has given concerts, masterclasses, workshops, and lectures around the world, including Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Hong-Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Macao, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the USA. He also serves as the Chorus Master for more than 40 operas and choral-symphonic productions, working alongside with Frieder Bernius, Charles Dutoit, Günther Herbig, Jahja Ling, Helmuth Rilling, among others. Ku has been an adjudicator in international competitions, such as the World Choir Games, Bali International Choral Competition, Singapore International Choral Competition, Oriental Concentus International Competition, A Voyage of Songs Festival, Penabur International Choir Festival, Busan Choral Festival and Competition, and several others. Dr. Yu-Chung John Ku received his D.M.A. from the College-Conservatory of Music in University of Cincinnati, and holds a master's degree from Temple University. |
Meng Dapeng (China)
National First-Class Conductor, Vice Chairman of World Youth and Children Choral Artists’ Association (WYCCAA), and Director of the Children's Choir Committee of China Chorus Association (CCA). Mr. Meng has been the Artistic Director and In-house Conductor of the prestigious China Broadcasting Children's Choir for over 37 years, and is also appointed as Guest Conductor and Artistic Director of the Beijing Police Officer Choir, Peking University Student Choir (PKUSC), and China Construction Bank Beijing Branch Staff Choir. He has served multiple terms as adjudicator in the CCTV Youth Singer TV Competition, as expert panelist for Ministry of Education's choral art promotion programs, as advisor to the World Choir Council and jury of the World Choir Games, and as jury and master class instructor at various international youth choral events, including the China International Chorus Festival (CICF). He has debuted and recorded many Chinese choral classics, such as "Let the World Full of Love", “The Same Song" and "Beautiful Prairie is My Home". The National Children’s Choral Festival and China International Children’s Choral Festival, organized under his main leadership, have greatly facilitated the development of Chinese choral music and international choral exchange. In an effort to bridge the regional gap in youth choral development, over the past few years, he has committed himself to organizing lectures, training local conductors and music teachers, and raising awareness on choral singing, in the hope that choral music could play a stronger role in youth development and in the spiritual well-being of Chinese citizens. |
Avip Priatna (Indonesia)
Avip Priatna, Mag. Art., is a two-time winning conductor in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing with The Resonanz Children's Choir (TRCC Maribor, 2018) and Batavia Madrigal Singers (BMS Tours, 2022). He studied conducting at University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. Currently, Avip is running music communities and directs them with high artistic standards. Besides TRCC and BMS, there are also The Resonanz Music Studio and Jakarta Concert Orchestra. He has been invited as judge for several choral competitions, collaborated with Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan), and released an album with them under the label of Warner Classic Japan. In 2015, Avip received the Cultural Appreciation from the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture in Creator, Pioneer and Reformer category. In 2020, he was chosen as one of the honorary members of The National Association of Italian Choral Directors (ANDCI). In July 2021, he received a gold medal for the ‘Decoration of Honor,’ one of the highest national awards given by the Republic of Austria. |
Ronnie Kay Yen Cheng (Hong Kong SAR)
Educated in Hong Kong and the United States, Mr. Ronnie Kay Yen Cheng is a seasoned conductor of both the Choral and Orchestra Arts. Under his direction, his ensembles have won International accolades and Championships in renowned competitions such as the World Choir Games in the United States, Germany, Wales, Austria, Korea, Indonesia and China. Through the years, Mr. Cheng's contributions to the Choral arts were recognized as he was awarded the Outstanding Artistic Award as well as The Outstanding Conductor Award in various International Competitions. His ensemble, Diocesan Choral Society, has recently emerged as the Grand Prix Winner at the 1st Tokyo International Choir Competition, and Mr. Cheng received the Best Conductor Award. Mr. Cheng currently serves as the Headmaster of the Diocesan Boys’ School, Hong Kong. |
Susanna Saw (Malaysia)
Susanna Saw is a graduate of the Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music, Australia. She was the choir teacher for The Australian Boys Choir Institute 1996-1998, and obtained her Australian Kodaly Certificate in Music Education in 2001. Since her return to Malaysia, she has founded The Young Kuala Lumpur Singers and The Kuala Lumpur Children's Choir. Currently a lecturer and choir director at the Faculty of Music at the University of Malaya and Malaysian Institute of Art (MIA), she conducts the MIA Ladies Chorus, which has won Champion of the Female Chamber Category at the 6th World Choir Games in Shaoxing, 2010, and the 2nd Vietnam International Choir Competition, 2012. Susanna is founder of the Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod (formerly known as Young Singers Choral Festival), an annual young musicians' event in Malaysia dedicated to the increase of choral knowledge through various invited choir tutors from overseas. In 2007, Susanna established the Young Choral Academy in Kuala Lumpur. She helped to bring in the Kodaly Training Course to Malaysia to improve the local standards of classroom music teaching. Susanna has been invited as jury in Indonesia 2007 & 2013, Austria 2008, Korea 2009, China 2010, Vietnam 2011, USA 2012, Japan 2012 and Latvia 2014. She has been appointed Choir Olympic Council Member of the Foundation, and has presented workshops on Malaysian Music in Vietnam 2008 and 2010, Austria 2009, Croatia 2010, and Australia 2011 and 2014. Susanna is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Choral Summit, International Federation of Choral Music (IFCM) and the International Kodaly Society. |
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