“More competitions are being organized, and it has become a way for these conductors and choirs to work on their skills. By joining these competitions, the rate of their progress accelerated. People join choirs for different reasons. For most of us, we started only because we loved singing, because we found a place where we can share our voice with friends with the same interest. This desire to join competitions would just be a product of years of singing with a choir.”

Mark Anthony Carpio is recognized as one of the most respected figures in choral music today. He is a faculty member of the Conducting and Choral Ensemble Department of the University of the Philippines College of Music, where he earned his Master’s degree in Choral Conducting and his Bachelor’s degree in Piano.

In 2001, Prof. Andrea O. Veneracion, National Artist for Music, chose Mark to succeed her as choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, also known as the “Madz.” Since then, he has continuously led the already much-awarded choir to even greater heights, including placing first in several prestigious choral competitions in Europe. Under his leadership, the group has been invited as guest choir in several international choral conferences in the USA and South America, among others.

In 2007, under the baton of Mark, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won, for the second time, the grand prize in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Arezzo, Italy. This victory makes them the first of the only four choirs in the world to win the grand prize twice.

In 2009, UNESCO designated the group as a UNESCO Artist for Peace. This title is given to celebrity advocates charged with the mission of embodying and raising awareness of the UNESCO ideals, which include peace, security, fundamental human rights, and freedom.

In the Philippines, he regularly collaborates with the Philippine Choral Directors Association, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, for music and choral education programs. He heads the Andrea O. Veneracion Sing Philippines Foundation, which spearheads choral music development initiatives including the Sing Philippines Youth Choir, whose singers come from all over the country.

Mark has adjudicated in different choral festivals and competitions and presented around the world, including Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Italy, Latvia and the US. Locally, he has been the chairman of the board of jurors of the biennial Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival and the 1st Asia Choral Grand Prix (2019).

He also directs the Consortium of Voices, a choral society of young choristers, consisting of the Kilyawan Boys Choir, Kilyawan Male Choir and the Voces Auroræ Girls Choir.

​To get in touch with Mark, you can find him on Facebook (@markanthonycarpio) or visit the Philippine Madrigal Singers website.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

“We had 10 sopranos, 4 altos, 2 tenors, and 1 bass, and they were all volunteers. We were spending hours trying to learn this music that we didn’t have the numbers for, so I ended up writing almost 100 church arrangements, and I made the voice leading very stepwise. Being that close to the music made me a better writer because I’m not just writing for ensembles I don’t hear regularly. I’m there in the rehearsal process, and I know what’s hard and what might be easier to grab onto.”

MaryAnne Muglia (she/her) is a composer, vocalist, and educator based in Arizona. She arranges and writes contemporary choral music, vocal jazz, and indie-influenced original songs. Her music has been performed by ensembles across the country, including Lyyra, Chanticleer, The King’s Return, Säje Voices, and more. Recent commissions include works for community choirs, professional vocal groups, and student ensembles of all levels.

​MaryAnne’s arrangements and compositions have been published by Alfred Music, Graphite Publishing, Anchor Music, Hal Leonard, and Shawnee Press, and she has self-published over 25,000 copies of her work to date. She is the founder of Red Letter Daze, a professional vocal group with over 200,000 followers online and multiple Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) recognitions. With Red Letter Daze, she has headlined major events including the NAU Jazz Madrigal Festival and the BOSS Festival (Boston Sings), sharing her original work and signature vocal arrangements with audiences nationwide.

Her viral videos—including harmony breakdowns and arrangements of “The Parting Glass,” “The Sound of Silence,” “Carol of the Bells,” —have garnered millions of views across platforms. She also directs the Vocal Jazz and A Cappella programs at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and teaches at A Cappella Academy, a premier summer intensive for young vocalists founded by Avi Kaplan, Ben Bram, and Rob Dietz.

​To get in touch with MaryAnne, you can visit her website (maryannemuglia.com) or find her on Instagram (@maryanne.muglia).

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

“We ended up forming a new string orchestra at the high school, and I led every rehearsal and conducted every concert. I remember the very first day. I looked at my teacher and said, ‘how do you start them? Do I breathe?’ I tried something, and it didn’t work. Then I did the sniff, and everyone came in. Now I teach conducting, and what I want to give the students is a sandbox where they can make mistakes and figure out what works for them.”

Conductor Albert Pinsonneault is the Associate Director of Choral Studies at the University of Wisconsin, where he teaches choir, conducting, and the graduate choral literature seminar. He is also founder and artistic director of the Madison Choral Project, a 24-voice professional chamber choir based in Madison, Wisconsin. A fierce advocate for new music, he has commissioned and premiered dozens of new works for choir. He received second place in the American Prize for Professional Choirs in 2020, performed at Midwestern ACDA Regional conferences (2018, 2020), presented at ACDA National in 2017, and headlined the Iowa Choral Directors Association state conference in 2024. His booklet Choral Intonation is published through Graphite and in active use at over 150 high schools, universities, churches, and community choruses.

Dr. Pinsonneault was Director of Choral Activities at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota where he oversaw a large undergraduate choral program involving 200 student musicians, a nationally televised Christmas program, and a history of international travel. From 2015-2019 he was Associate Director of Choral Organizations at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where he helped administer a distinguished doctoral program in choral conducting, led two choirs, taught the graduate choral literature sequence, and served on dissertation committees.

A native of Minnesota, Dr. Pinsonneault attended St. Olaf College (BM Piano Performance) and the University of Minnesota (MM Choral Conducting) before completing his studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (DMA Choral Conducting, minor in Music Theory).

To get in touch with Bert, you can e-mail him at bert.pinsonneault@wisc.edu.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson