Gondwana National Choirs

Dr. Michael Joseph Barrett is an internationally acclaimed conductor, educator, composer, and choral clinician. He was the conductor of the University of Pretoria (TUKS) Camerata and a full-time faculty member in choral conducting at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Music from 2013-2025. Since April 2025, he has been appointed as a Research Associate at the University of Pretoria. Dr. Barrett earned his Doctor of Music (DMus) in Choral Performance from the University of Pretoria in 2017. His choirs have received numerous national and international awards, and he is frequently sought after as a guest conductor, lecturer, adjudicator, and choral clinician. His work spans across the globe, with recent engagements including conducting the Texas All-State Choir (TMEA 2024), the Missouri All-State Choir (MMEA 2022), and the Florida ACDA High School Honor Choir (2019). He has held university residencies at institutions such as Missouri State University, Texas State University, San Jose State University, and the University of Washington, among others. Dr. Barrett is also a passionate advocate for collaboration and regularly works with high school festivals and university programmes in the United States, Europe and Asia. 

Internationally, Dr. Barrett has conducted and presented workshops in countries including the United Kingdom, USA, New Zealand, Singapore, China, Russia, and South Korea. He will debut at Carnegie Hall in April 2026, marking a significant milestone in his career. As the conductor of the TUKS Camerata, an 80-voice choir consisting of full-time students from diverse academic fields, Dr. Barrett had led the group to great success, including winning the prestigious Grand Prix of Nations for Best Mixed Youth Choir in Riga, Latvia, in both 2014 and 2017. The Camerata has also performed at the World Symposium of Choral Music in Barcelona, Spain (2017), and recorded six critically acclaimed albums. Their most recent projects include Light The Whole Sky (2025) and uJehova (2024), while their 2022 tour of the United Kingdom included a performance with the renowned vocal ensemble Voces8. In March 2025, the Camerata performed as a Headline Choir at the American Choral Directors Association National Conference in Dallas, Texas. 

As a composer and arranger, Dr. Barrett has over 40 works published by Santa Barbara Music Publishers and Walton Music (USA). He has earned a Y2 rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa for his contributions to South African Choral Music Research. Dr. Barrett also serves as the Executive Director and Co-Producer of Capital Singers, South Africa’s largest community choir project, further solidifying his commitment to choral music both locally and internationally. 

Elizabeth Scott is a Lecturer in Conducting and Choral Director at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and the Associate Music Director of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. She is a graduate of Symphony Australia’s Conductor Development Program and was awarded the Sydney Choral Symposium Foundation Choral Conducting Scholarship in 2008. As an undergraduate at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Elizabeth earned the prestigious Student of the Year Award and the Reuben F. Scarf Scholarship for academic and musical excellence. As the holder of scholarships from the Hungarian Ministry of Education, she then undertook post-graduate studies in choral conducting, vocal performance and aural training in Hungary and Germany before returning to Australia in 2004. Elizabeth completed a Doctorate in Choral Conducting in 2021.

Elizabeth has been the Musical Director of Vox, Sydney Philharmonia’s youth choir since 2008 and has built this ensemble into one of Australia’s leading youth choirs. She regularly works as a chorus master for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and has prepared choirs for international conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Simone Young and Stephen Layton. Elizabeth has been a guest conductor for the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, the National Youth Choir of Australia, Festival of Voices, Gondwana Choirs and Cantillation and has performed and recorded with Pinchgut Opera and The Song Company.

Sam Allchurch is Associate Artistic Director at Gondwana Choirs, where his work with young people is widely recognised. Sam has a longstanding relationship with Gondwana, having started his musical life as a chorister in Gondwana Voices and the Sydney Children’s Choir. He has worked with many of Gondwana Choirs’ ensembles, in concerts, collaborations with orchestras and on tour across Australia and around the world. In addition to his conducting work, he plays a key role in artistic planning for the organisation, including working on the 2019 Gondwana World Choral Festival. 

Sam is Artistic Director of the Sydney Chamber Choir where his repertoire spans the works of Bach and Handel to the music of contemporary Australian composers such as Paul Stanhope, Meta Cohen, Luke Byrne, Nardi Simpson and Anne Cawrse. Sam is also Director of Music of Christ Church St Laurence, where he conducts the choir which dates back to 1845. In addition to weekly choral services, he has conducted the choir in performances of Bach’s St John Passion with the Muffat Collective and in residencies at Westminster Abbey and the Thomaskirche, Leipzig. 

Sam holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Melbourne and a Master in Music (Choral Studies) from the University of Cambridge where he was a Gates Scholar.  

Basilio Astulez teaches Choral Singing at the Leioa Municipal Music Conservatory, where he founded the Leioa Kantika Korala children´s choir in 2000 and the SJB   mixed youth choir in 2008. This recently-founded choir school has over 250 singers and has already won many Spanish and European awards. He also conducts Vocalia Taldea choir, a multi-awarded and renowned female ensemble.

As the conductor of these choirs, he has recorded 12 albums and toured in Europe, America and Asia. He currently teaches Choral Conducting for educational institutions, universities and choral federations, is a frequent clinician for choral competitions and leads choral singing courses and masterclasses all over the world.  

Since 2018 has taugh Choral Conducting at the Musikene Higher Conservatory of the Basque Country and he leads the Basque Youth Choir (EHGA), awarded with three first prizes in the International Choral Contest of Tolosa. 

Mat was awarded a full music scholarship to attend Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield and was a member of Wakefield Cathedral Choir for 7 years, including 2 years as Head Chorister. He was also a first study violinist and graduated from Leeds University with a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Music after also studying at Colchester Institute. He gained a PGCE with Commendation from Bretton Hall College before embarking on a teaching career. Mat has worked in education for 25 years, working as a Head of Music and Performing Arts, Advanced Skills Teacher, Vice Principal, Head of School, Advisory Teacher and, most recently, as a Regional Director of a Multi-Academy Trust that oversees around 27 Primary and Secondary schools across England. He has been a guest lecturer at colleges and universities and has delivered at national conferences as well as taking part in International Research visits for the UK Government.  

Mat is Artistic Director and founder of Barnsley Youth Choir, an organisation founded in 2009 that is a charity and has around 700 members aged 0 – 24 years old from an area of significant deprivation. The choir has been successful in the 9 major International Competitions it has competed in such as the World Choir Games and the European Choir Games; winning 8 first prizes and 3 Grand Prix. The choir was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2017. He also established an adult community choir, Barnsley Singers, that now has around 160 members. Mat has represented Great Britain on the international jury in a number of competitions including the World Choir Games in 2016 (Sochi) and 2018 (Pretoria) and 2024 (Auckland) as well as other international events including Canta Al Mar (Barcelona, Spain), Johannes Brahms Competition (Wernigerode, Germany), 5th World Youth Choral Competition (Jeju, South Korea), European Festival for Young People (Neerpelt, Belgium) and the International Choir Festival (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). 

He has worked internationally as a course leader, clinician, workshop leader and guest conductor in Spain, France, Russia, South Africa, Belgium, South Korea, Norway, Sweden, Malaysia, Germany and Ireland as well as engagements throughout the UK. He has also worked virtually, adjudicating and delivering workshops and training in Sri Lanka, Ireland, Indonesia, The Philippines and Finland as well as work in England for organisations such as ABCD, and the National Youth Choir. He is the Artistic Director for the Hull International Choir Competition and has been selected as a lecturer and tutor at the 7th International Conductor’s Seminar in Wernigerode, Germany. 

Mat is a representative for Great Britain on the World Choir Council and was appointed as an Honorary Member of the World Choir Council in 2024 for his service. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by the Queen in 2020 for his services to young people and music. In 2022 Mat also became an Honorary Freeman of Barnsley in recognition of his work within the local community. He is spearheading the development of the Northern Academy of Vocal Excellence (the NAVE) which is a £4m development that will provide a centre of excellence for choral singing in the North of England, due to open in early 2026. Mat has experience of working with many different types of choirs and is passionate about supporting choirs of all ages and abilities. Whilst he is comfortable working in many genres of music, he has a reputation for arranging and performing high quality popular, gospel and spiritual music and is in demand as a composer and arranger. He is passionate about the use of singing as a mechanism to engage, connect and transform communities. 

Lachlan Massey is a young Australian conductor and composer. 

Lachlan is Artistic Associate at Gondwana Choirs, working under Lyn Williams AM. In his time with the choirs he has prepared them for performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Theatre Company and for six Prime Ministers of Australia. He is privileged to conduct the Sydney Children’s Choir’s Junior Performing Choir, a selective extension ensemble for young people ages 9-14 who show especially strong musical aptitude.

As a composer and director of opera, and especially those for young audiences, Lachlan’s productions with Musgrove Opera have been called “ingenious…petite productions for hungry young minds” (Time Out). The company has performed children’s operas such to packed houses at The Concourse and the Sydney Opera House, as well as regional venues. Its schools concerts have been well received by teachers and students alike, bringing energetic productions to classrooms and school halls of all shapes and sizes. His stage works as a composer include Pinocchio! (2018), Mulga Bill’s Bicycle (The Concourse, 2024), Hansel and Gretel (The Concourse, 2021), and as music director; Aija Draguns’ Max and Moritz (Sydney Opera House, 2022), and Malcolm Fox’s Sid the Serpent who Wanted to Sing (Sydney Opera House, 2022/23).

​Lachlan is a primary music teacher at SCEGGS Darlinghurst, and Director of Choirs at Shore School. He has presented workshops for ACO Foundations and was a guest conductor for the RSCM Junior Schools Choral Festival in 2022 and 2023. Lachlan is a former Young Ambassador for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. 

Jenny Moon is a highly regarded choral conductor specialising in children’s and youth choirs. 

A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Jenny is a passionate educator and advocate for choral music. She is in high demand as a conductor, choral workshop presenter, and professional learning facilitator. 

She worked as a classroom music specialist for more than 30 years in various schools across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and she currently teaches at the Griffith University Young Conservatorium. 

Jenny is the Associate Artistic Director of Voices of Birralee, where she conducts their signature treble choir, Brisbane Birralee Voices, and co-conducts both the Birralee Kids and Birralee Singers. 

She has led international choral tours and received recognition at global choral competitions, alongside numerous national awards. Jenny has served as guest conductor for the Queensland Conservatorium State Honours Program, Gondwana National Choral School, the Festival of Voices in Hobart, and a range of other choral festivals across Australia. She also presents regularly at workshops and professional development events. 

Deeply committed to promoting Australian music, Jenny inspires choristers through a wide variety of musical styles, helping them explore the world through the powerful combination of text and music. 

Ronan Apcar is a pianist and composer with a reputation of versatility, edge, and tenacity. Unafraid to experiment and challenge norms, his experience and fluency across all kinds of music – jazz to the avant-garde, classical to house music – translates into his exciting work as a musician. Described as “a talent far beyond his age” (Limelight Magazine), Ronan’s musicmaking spans a diverse set of practice including performing, composing, arranging, improvising, curating, and collaborating. He is best known for thoughtful and unconventional programming featuring contemporary and new music and has performed in concerts, festivals, and both intimate and large-scale venues across Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, and regional NSW and Victoria. 

Luke Byrne is a Sydney-based composer, musical director and pianist. Recent commissions include Earthrise, Capricorn and Desert Sea for Sydney Philharmonia, Storm Bird, Buruwan Elegy and Birinyi for Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Where Sails Once Flewfor Adelaide Chamber Singers. Luke arranged the national anthems for the 2015 Netball World Cup and in 2012 was composer-in-residence for Sydney Children’s Choir.

In 2018, Luke’s musical Between the Sea and Sky was selected for the New York Musical Festival where it won awards including Best Musical and Outstanding Music.

Luke is also a musical director in theatre, his credits include The Harp in the South, Muriel’s Wedding and Chimerica (Sydney Theatre Company), The Events for Sydney Festival/Belvoir/Malthouse, Hamlet (Belvoir), The Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie (Belvoir/Sydney Festival), Big Fish (Hayes Theatre), and The World’s Wife (Melbourne Theatre Company).

Catherine McKay was awarded an Associated Board Scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music in London with Irina Zaritskaya and then completed the Diplôme d’Études Supérieures Spécialisées under Marc Durand at the Université de Montréal.   

Her musical background is mainly in chamber music, collaborating with ensembles and as pianist of the Turnovsky Trio during its 4-year residency at the University of Waikato.She has also performed as concerto soloist, recitalist & accompanist, a highlight living for several months in Venice playing the Parekowhai piano for the NZ Pavillion at the Venice Biennale. Currently she also works at SCEGGS, Darlinghurst & Kambala, Rose Bay as accompanist & piano tutor.  

Jem studied piano at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and has worked as an accompanist, repetiteur and music/choral director with a number of Australian music ensembles and institutions. As an accompanist, he was awarded the pianist prize at the Mietta National Art Song Award, twice; in 2008 and in the following competition in 2010.

Jem has been involved with productions at Sydney Chamber Opera, Opera Australia, WAAPA, South Australian State Opera, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, the University of NSW, Sydney Chamber Choir and Sydney Children’s Choir. He is a frequent guest artist at Gondwana National Choral School and is also a recording artist with Eminence Artists (Australia) and CIA Artists (Japan).