Eilir Owen Griffiths
Eilir Owen Griffiths is one of Wales’ most dynamic choral conductors, an established music director and award winning composer. With over 20 years’ experience in the music industry he has conducted choirs such as CF1, Côr Godre’r Garth, Côr y Drindod and Côr y Gleision, with whom he has attained considerable success in competitions and concerts around the World. He was Music Director at The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod between 2011 and 2017 and currently the Artistic Director of the Cardiff International Choral Festival.
He is associate conductor of the British Sinfonietta and is a regular contributor to concert platforms and musical events in the UK. His work as a conductor has seen him travel to Canada, Ireland, Germany, Poland, France, India and the United States.
As composer he as composed music for a number of prominent artists and ensembles including Bryn Terfel, Wynne Evans, Noah Stuart, Claire Jones, Dave Danford, Robyn Lyn, Rhodri Prys Jones, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, British Sinfonietta and The Warsaw University of Technology Choir. He as also been commissioned to write music for notable events at The Llangollen International Eisteddfod, The Holocaust Memorial Event, creation of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
As an educator he has worked for the University of Wales Trinity Saint David since 2005 and been responsible for developing new and innovative degree programmes to train the next generation of actors, singers, dancers and directors. Eilir established The Wales Academy of Voice and Dramatic Arts (WAVDA) in 2021.
Bernie Sherlock
Bernie Sherlock is a Lecturer in Music at Dublin’s DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama, having previously lectured for many years in the School of Music at Trinity College Dublin. She has been Artistic Director of the Association of Irish Choirs’ International Conducting Summer School since 2008 and she is the representative for Ireland on the World Choir Council. Since 2007 Bernie has been musical director of the Culwick Choral Society with whom she has prepared and conducted many of the great works from the repertoire for large choir. Her award-winning chamber choir New Dublin Voices is a consistent prize-winner at major competitions around Europe. Bernie’s extensive conducting experience spans a wide range of choirs, and she has an international profile as an adjudicator, workshop leader, teacher of conducting and of aural training.
Dariusz Zimnicki
Dariusz Zimnicki is a professor at the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, since 2020 he has been the Head of the Department of Choral Conducting. He is a graduate of the Vilnius Conservatory and the then Academy of Music in Warsaw (choral conducting). Since 2004, he has led the Warsaw University of Technology Choir and the Warsaw Cathedral Choir. With both ensembles, he conducts a wide variety of a cappella programmes, as well as great vocal-instrumental works (L. van Beethoven, W. A. Mozart, G. F. Händel, J. S. Bach, J. Haydn, F. Schubert and works by contemporary composers). He is also co-founder and conductor of the Tibi Domine Choir.
He is distinguished by numerous initiatives in performing the latest and newly discovered works in the choral literature. So far he has prepared and conducted over 40 premieres of vocal and vocal- instrumental music. He successfully performs at national and international festivals and competitions and takes pride in over 50 awards. Together with the Warsaw University of Technology Choir, he is the winner of, among others, the most prestigious national choral competition: Grand Prix of Polish Choral Music, and a three-time winner of the Legnica Cantat Choir Tournament.
Dariusz Zimnicki is active as an animator of choral music life. He is the author of numerous arrangements and several dozen original vocal works, where sacred themes prevail. He participates as a speaker, an expert, and a juror in national and international undertakings. He has given countless presentations, lectures, and workshops in Europe, North America, and Asia. He is an annual juror for the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales.