Ralf Eisenbeiß was born in 1952 in Zeulenroda. After his secondary school examination he studied pedagogy, German philology and musical education. He received his PhD in 1979 at the Pedagogical University of Zwickau. From 1978 to 1981, he studied choir and orchestra conducting at the Franz Liszt Conservatory in Weimar.

Ralf Eisenbeiß was working as the director of the choral department at the Pedagogical University in Zwickau and appointed professor for choir conducting and choral singing in 1987. He was conductor of the renowned Pedagogical University Zwickau Choir. With his choir he performed a wide repertoire of compositions for a cappella choirs and with orchestra, too. Under his direction the choir won numerous prizes at national and international choir competitions.

Ralf Eisenbeiß was lecturer at the central seminar for choral conductors in Berlin and organized numerous workshops himself. He often appears as guest conductor at home and abroad. Since almost 30 years he works as artistic director of INTERKULTUR. Ralf Eisenbeiß is founder of the Int. Robert Schumann Choir Competition in Zwickau and one of the founders of the World Choir Games. Since 1992 he was responsible for more than 150 international competitions of INTERKULTUR in Germany, Italy, Korea, Indonesia, China, Austria, Spain, USA and other countries. Ralf Eisenbeiß is very often invited as a juror in national and other international choir competitions all over the world.

- in memoriam -

Christian Ljunggren was born in 1942. He studied music at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm as well as musicology and theology at the University of Uppsala. For many years he worked at the Music Department of the Swedish National Broadcasting Company, and was responsible for the presentation and programming regarding music.

He was the conductor of the Adolf Fredrik Madrigal Choir since their foundation (1965 and 1974). He was the first President of the Swedish Choral Directors Association (1986 – 1998) and President of KÖRSAM, the joint committee of the Swedish choral organisations (1997 – 2004). From 1997-1999  he worked for the of IFCM, the International Federation for Choral Music, as the Secretary General from 1997-1999 and as a liaison officer (until 2005).

He was one of the Artistic Directors of INTERKULTUR and the Artistic Director of the World Choir Games. Due to his engagement as a clinician for seminars and workshops around the world and having built up the INTERKULTUR series of seminars in China the Swede gained growing recognition since 2003.

Christian Ljunggren has written numerous articles in Swedish and international magazines and was also a keen arranger of choral music.

Romāns Vanags is a graduate of Emils Darzins' specialized music college and of the Department of Choir and Orchestra Conducting of Jazeps Vitols' Latvian State Conservatory in Riga. He has received a diploma in choir conducting and in music pedagogy and additionally studied orchestra conducting.

In 2003, Vanags received the master's degree in music. His professional work is focused on conducting and pedagogy. He served as the Chief Conductor of the teachers' choir "Vanema" for a long time and since 1990 as the principal Conductor of the Latvian University female choir "Minjona". Furthermore he was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of Jāzeps Mediņš Music School boys` choir and worked with the Jazeps Medins Music College Symphonic Orchestra. From 1987 thru 1994, Vanags was employed at the Latvian Music Academy in Riga as professor of choir conducting and as the conductor of the academy choir. From 2005 to 2012 Vanags was the head of the Conducting Department.

Vanags has been appointed as one of the chief conductors of the All Latvian Song Celebration and the Youth Song Festival. Since 2004, Vanags is the chairman of the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO on the Latvian Song and Dance Festival, and since 2008, he is also a member of the World Choir Council. In 2008 Romāns Vanags received the highest civil decoration in Latvia – the Three Star Order. Romāns Vanags was a member of the artistic committee of the 8th World Choir Games in Riga and belongs since 2014 to the Artistic Board of INTERKULTUR.

The music of Morten Lauridsen, recipient of the National Medal of Arts, occupies a permanent place in the standard vocal repertoire of the Twenty-First Century. His seven vocal cycles, instrumental works and his series of a cappella sacred motets (including O Magnum Mysterium) are regularly performed throughout the world by distinguished artists and ensembles and have been recorded on over two hundred CDs. His five Grammy nominations include two recordings named "Lux Aeterna" performed by top-class ensembles.

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Lauridsen first worked as a fire-fighter and staff member of the Forest Service near Mount St. Helens before coming to Los Angeles in order to study composition with Ingolf Dahl, Halsey Stevens, Robert Linn and Harold Owen. He chaired the Department of Composition at the USC Thornton School of Music from 1990-2002 and founded the School's Advanced Studies Program in Film Scoring. His choral works "O Magnum Mysterium", "Dirait-on", "O Nata Lux" and "Sure On This Shining Night" are the all-time bestsellers.

His life as a composer was documented in an award-winning film by Michael Stillwater, "Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen," released in 2012. In 2006, Morten Lauridsen was named an "American Choral Master" by the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2007 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the highest artistic award in the United States, by the President in a White House ceremony "for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power, and spiritual depth." He now divides his time between Los Angeles and his summer cabin on a remote island off the northwest coast of Washington State.

Aida Swenson is one of Indonesia‘s strongest forces of choral music development. A founder and conductor of the Indonesian Children‘s & Youth Choirs- Cordana, who have gathered international recognitions and awards, and have been invited to perform in major cities worldwide.

As a graduate of the Westminster Choir College, Princeton, USA and as a sought after clinician, Aida Swenson conducts numerous workshops and adjudicates national and international events. Her activities as a juror includes in: USA, England, Germany, Vietnam and Singapore.

Aida Swenson has spent many years traveling throughout Indonesia creating and leading choirs, giving masters classes, and training choral conductors. However, her professional endeavors are largely but not limited to her choral clinician activities. Her professional activities include: Council Member of the World Choir Games for Indonesia; Member of the Advisory to INTERKULTUR‘s World Choir Games; Chairman of the Foundation for the Development of Choral Music in Indonesia; Member of Advisory of the Foundation of Church Music; Member of Artistic team of Polyfollia World Showcase; Member of the committee APCS-IFCM; Artistic Director of National Christian Universities Choir Competition in Indonesia.

Aida Swenson is featured in the “World Who is Who in Choral Music”. Her personal commitment to her musical endeavors in Indonesia is not only centered on her vision in furthering the quality of children‘s choral development. Aida is a pillar of change, of progression, and of energy to achieve unassailable quality in choral music in Indonesia and internationally.

Gabriel Crouch is Director of Choral Activities and Senior Lecturer in Music at Princeton University. He began his musical career as an eight-year-old in the choir of Westminster Abbey, where he performed a solo at the wedding of HRH Prince Andrew and Miss Sarah Ferguson. After completing a choral scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was offered a place in the renowned a cappella group The King's Singers in 1996. In the next eight years he made a dozen recordings on the BMG label (including a grammy nomination), and gave more than 900 performances in almost every major concert venue in the world.

Since moving to the USA in 2005, first to run the choral program at DePauw University in Indiana, and now at Princeton University, he has built an international profile as a conductor and director, with recent engagements in Indonesia, Hawaii and Australia as well as Europe and the continental United States. In 2008 he was appointed musical director of the British early music ensemble 'Gallicantus', with whom he has released four recordings under the Signum label to rapturous reviews. When the academic calendar allows, Gabriel maintains parallel careers in singing and record production, crossing the Atlantic frequently to appear with such ensembles as Tenebrae and The Gabrieli Choir, and in the US, performing recitals of lutesong with such acclaimed lutenists as Daniel Swenberg and Nigel North. As a producer his latest credits have included Winchester Cathedral Choir, The Gabrieli Consort and Tenebrae.

His achievements in the choral world have led to many invitations to adjudicate choral competitions, notably the mixed choir final of 'Sainsbury's Choir of the Year' (televised by the BBC). His work as a singer, coach and musical director has led to his name appearing in the London Times' list of 'Great British Hopes'.

T. J. Harper is the Chair of the Providence College Department of Music, Associate Professor of Music, and Director of Choral Activities at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. He is the 2015 Professor of the Year and recipient of the Joseph R. Accinno Teaching Award. He conducts the college’s three choral ensembles: I Cantori, Concert Chorale and the Oriana Women's Choir. Harper teaches courses in Conducting, Secondary Choral Methods, Applied Conducting and Applied Voice.

Choirs under the direction of Dr. Harper have performed amongst others at the 2017 National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Eastern Division Conference in Atlantic City, NJ, the 2014 NAfME National Conference in Nashville, TN and the 2013 American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) New England Collegiate Choral Conference in Keene, NH. International performances by invitation include Austria (2015), Czech Republic (2015), Spain (2013) and Italy (2011).

Harper maintains an active schedule in the US and abroad as a guest conductor, clinician and jury member and further contributes publications and research results. Recent engagements include headlining clinician for the Costa Rica National Choral Seminar in February 2017 and for the China National Choral Conference and conducting the Beijing Harmonia Choir, October 2016; Master classes for El Sistema and conducting the Venezuela National Choir, July 2016. Additional engagements include residencies, guest conducting, lectures and master classes in Argentina, Sweden, Germany, South Korea, Thailand and Venezuela.

Dr. Harper is the Chair of the ACDA Standing Committee on International Activities and the Director of the ACDA International Conductors Exchange Program (ICEP). He is the Past-President of the Rhode Island Music Educators Association (RIMEA) and the immediate President of the Rhode Island chapter of the ACDA.