Samuel Gordon is Director of Choral Studies and Professor of Music at the University of Akron where he leads the program in choral conducting at all levels.  For three years he served as Director of The School of Music at that institution. He is currently developing the graduate program in choral conducting. He is actively engaged in both singing and conducting careers. A graduate of The Indiana University School of Music with highest honors, he received his master's degree in conducting and his doctorate in voice performance from that institution where his principal mentors were the late Julius Herford, Marko Rothmuller, Ralph Apelman, Tibor Kozma, and Wolfgang Vacano.

Dr. Gordon is a member of the Vocal Arts Quartet, a four-voice chamber ensemble in residence at The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. With that ensemble, he has won the coveted Studio Lauda Award at the International Early Music Competition in Zadar, Yugoslavia, and has performed at The Scandinavian Music Festival, The Rheingau Music Festival, The Salzburg Festival, and the Bregenz Festival, to name a few. He has performed for the BBC Wales, England and Scotland, the national radio and television in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Luxembourg, Austria, Yugoslavia and Switzerland as well as Eurovision. The Vocal Arts Quartet recently released it's second CD entitled Gentle Annie which features the works of Stephen Foster and Charles Ives, most of which were adapted for the vocal ensemble by Dr. Gordon. He has soloed with major orchestras including The National Symphony, The Baltimore Symphony, The Kansas City Philharmonic, The El Paso Symphony, and The National Gallery Orchestra.

As a conductor, Dr. Gordon is the recipient of the Fiat Conducting Prize. He has won first prizes at the Concorso Polifonico Internazionale "Guido d'Arezzo," in Italy, The Royal National Eisteddfed in Wales (the first American to win this competition), and The International Eisteddfad (Llangollen, Wales). In 1985, the city of Cadiz, Spain presented him with the Trimillenial Medal for his contributions to Spanish-American cultural relations when he conducted a concert honoring Manuel da Falla who was born in Cadiz. That same year the city of Oviedo gave him the Bronze Medal in recognition of his heralded performance in the Cathedral of San Francisco. Recently he conducted the Taiwan Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of Mozart's Coronation Mass. He has also been guest conductor for the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra (Vaughan Williams' Hodie), The Maryland Festival Orchestra (multiple concerts), The Mid-America Singers, (Persichetti's Flower Songs and other works) and The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia (multiple concerts). He has led workshops, clinics and festival choirs in thirty-eight states. A member of international adjudication panels, he has judged choral events for the Festival of the Americas in Nassau, Bahamas and the Angelo International Festival in Coventry, England.  He is the new Artistic Director of Corofest Umbria, a choral festival that takes place in June and July, 2001 in six Umbrian cities in Italy.

He is a recording artist for Koch International Classics and his professional choral ensemble known as Singers Companye was recently featured on the Telarc CD, The Big Sound with Eric Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. He has prepared world premiers for the St. Louis Symphony with Leonard Slatkin and Walter Susskind (Vladimir Somers' Symphony with Voices), the Kansas City Philharmonic with Hans Schwieger (Meyer Kupferman's Comicus Americanus) and with the same orchestra under Jorge Nestor (Beethoven's Choral Fantasy), The Maryland Orchestra with Robert Gerle, the Pittsburgh Symphony with Sergiu Commissiona (Beethoven Symphony No. 9 at the Ambler Festival), the Baltimore Symphony with Sergiu Commissiona, the Bridgeport Symphony with Gustav Meier (Puccini's Madama Butterfly) and with Hartford Opera under the baton of Saul Lilienstein for two summer seasons of opera.

Highlights of recent tours of Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the United States include performances at the Louvre in Paris, for the Belles Artes Festivals in Panama and Costa Rica, and several new venues of the Rheingau Music Festival. Dr. Gordon has his own choral series, The Samuel Gordon Choral Series, published by National Music Publishers.

Jon Simsic - Director of the Canton Children's Chorus

Jon Simsic has recently assumed the position of Music Director for the Canton Children’s Chorus. Jon is also Artistic Director of Youth Theatre Activities for the Salem Community Theater, Salem, OH. He is implementing a program designed to educate and give practical music theater experience to youth of all ages. Additionally, Jon serves as conductor for Valley Lyric Opera in Greenville, PA where he has conducted productions of La Boheme, Il Trovatore, Cavelleria Rusticana, Rigoletto and Faust. Jon was music director of the Ohio Boyschoir from 2004-2006. From 2000-2005 Jon served as founding Music Director and Conductor of Seraphim, a chamber orchestra and chorus based in Youngstown, OH. He was formerly Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor of the Youngstown Symphony, 1990-1999. He has served on the faculties of the Youngstown State University, Dana School of Music and Slippery Rock University Music Department. From 1989-2001, Jon was conductor for the Youngstown State University Theater Department and conducted over fifteen different productions, including West Side Story, Evita and Into the Woods. Jon received his Bachelor of Music from Cleveland State University and his Master of Music from Youngstown State University, serving as assistant to both the music theory and opera departments. Jon has participated in master classes and seminars with Robert Shaw, Robert Page, Robert Levin, Gregg Smith, Dennis Keene and Frederick Fennell, et al.

Christine Allison - Director of Bel' VOCI   

Christine Allison, director of Bel’ VOCI, grew up in Alliance, Ohio where she graduated from Alliance High School.  She then went on to Mount Union College where she graduated with Bachelor of Music (vocal performance) and Bachelor of Music Education degrees and did post-graduate work at University of Akron.  She is in her 28^th year as Director of Sanctuary Music at Church of the Lakes in Jackson Twp. where she directs vocal choirs of all ages, children’s chimes, youth bells, adult bells and directs and plays in a small bell ensemble.  Among her busy schedule you will also find her teaching/directing handbells at Mount Union College.  Christine has been a bell workshop clinician for the regional events of the Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts (FUMMWA) as well as choral clinician for the same and other Ohio organizations.

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