Artistic Director: Dr. David A. McConnell
Dr. David A. McConnell founded Vox Philia in 2012 as an intergenerational chamber choir comprised of professional and gifted amateur singers. The choir’s performances have garnered considerable acclaim for thematic programming and musical excellence. In the summer of 2014, Dr. McConnell co-founded Berks Sinfonietta, a chamber orchestra that also utilizes an intergenerational approach, bringing professional Reading, PA players together with gifted students in both high school and college.
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Dr. McConnell teaches music courses at Pennsylvania State University, Berks Campus and Alvernia University in Reading. As Minister of Music at Immanuel UCC, he plays for weekly liturgies, conducts the Senior Choir and Bell Choir, oversees the training and rehearsing of four other choirs and manages an active concert series at the church.
Dr. McConnell received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in December 2002. |
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A native of Philadelphia, Dr. McConnell also holds degrees from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey and Temple University in Philadelphia. He has attended the prestigious Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestral Musicians in Hancock, Maine, the South Carolina Conductor's Institute in Columbia, South Carolina, and The Conductors Institute at Bard College.
Dr. McConnell has presented papers at the national American Choral Directors Association in San Antonio, Texas and the College Music Society Northeast Chapter Conference in Lewiston, Maine. Articles by Dr. McConnell have appeared in journals of the International Federation of Choral Music, the American Choral Director’s Association, the Conductors’ Guild and the American Beethoven Society. He has written a chapter on Beethoven’s early Piano Concerto in E-flat for inclusion in a book being published about Beethoven’s time in Bonn.
In recent years, Dr. McConnell has conducted choirs in Portugal, The Netherlands, and Latvia, as well as throughout the northeastern United States.
Dr. McConnell has presented papers at the national American Choral Directors Association in San Antonio, Texas and the College Music Society Northeast Chapter Conference in Lewiston, Maine. Articles by Dr. McConnell have appeared in journals of the International Federation of Choral Music, the American Choral Director’s Association, the Conductors’ Guild and the American Beethoven Society. He has written a chapter on Beethoven’s early Piano Concerto in E-flat for inclusion in a book being published about Beethoven’s time in Bonn.
In recent years, Dr. McConnell has conducted choirs in Portugal, The Netherlands, and Latvia, as well as throughout the northeastern United States.
Assistant Conductor: Michael Thaddius Banks
In Fall 2021 and Spring 2022, we are pleased to welcome Michael into our Assistant Conductor role!
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Baritone Michael Thaddius Banks has sung in amateur and professional ensembles and productions around the Tristate area. He was a member of the Westminster Choir where he sang under the direction of Dr. Joe MIller for their tour of the Eastern US as well as the Westminster Chapel Choir and Schola Cantorum under the batons of Dr. Amanda Quist and Dr. James Jordan, respectively. He has performed with The Princeton Festival under the direction of Richard Tang Yuk and will be seen later this year in Boheme Opera New Jersey's 30th anniversary production of Aida, directed by Maestro Joseph Pucciatti. He has also been heard in several Churches as a section leader and soloist in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
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Accompanist: Dr. Akiko Hosaki
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Dr. Akiko Hosaki, collaborative pianist, serves as accompanist with Voices Chorale NJ. She has worked with several opera companies in the U.S. and Japan, and is an active chamber musician. Dr. Hosaki currently serves as the head of vocal staff accompanists and the pianist coordinator at Westminster Choir College, and Senior Choir Director/organist at Hillsborough Reformed Church at Millstone, where she runs the concert series. She holds degrees from Musashino Academia Musicae in Japan, Westminster Choir College, and University of Minnesota.
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Voices Chorale NJ Board of Trustees:
President: Jane Read
Vice President: Rob Long
Treasurer: Bob Wiedemann
Secretary: Carole Moore
Member: Carey Nash
Member: Linda Silber
Member: John Wagner
Artistic Director: David A. McConnell
President: Jane Read
Vice President: Rob Long
Treasurer: Bob Wiedemann
Secretary: Carole Moore
Member: Carey Nash
Member: Linda Silber
Member: John Wagner
Artistic Director: David A. McConnell
