DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
Shanti Michael is the founder and Musical Director of Chorus Ecclesiae Australia, and is an experienced choral conductor specialising in Music and Liturgy. She holds a Master of Sacred Music from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA, specialising in Choral Conducting.
Shanti has worked with the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur’s Liturgical Commission to provide workshops and liturgical music resources for the parishes in the Archdiocese. She then moved to Oregon where she was Music Director and Coordinator for Catholic and Episcopalian parishes. She was also a chorister with Cantores in Ecclesia.
Prior to her Masters, Shanti studied and worked in Melbourne. She completed her Bachelor of Music at the Australian Catholic University, was a chorister and committee member of St. Francis’ Choir and was the re-founder of the St. Francis Youth Choir. She is also an experienced Arts Administrator who sat on the Board of Directors for the highly acclaimed ensemble Cappella Romana based in Portland, Oregon. She was also the Project coordinator for Pusaka, a cultural organisation that works intimately with the leading custodians of ritual and traditional performing arts in Malaysia and the region.
Shanti currently is a freelance conductor, private voice teacher, and arts administrator. She is also undertaking her second Master of Music in Performance Teaching at the University of Melbourne. Her choral portfolio can be found here.
ARTISTS
SOPRANO - JESIKA CLARK
Jesika began her studies in piano with Yamaha Music Education at the age of 4. Under the tutelage of Peter Hurley, Jesika was awarded her Associate of Music Diploma (AmusA) in 2017 while concurrently completing an Honours degree in Music Performance (Classical Voice) and Diploma of Languages (German) at the University of Melbourne. She has been guided in her vocal studies by renowned mezzo soprano Suzanne Johnston.
Jesika relishes any opportunity she has to perform, as a vocalist or instrumentalist. While studying she performed in Rossini’s William Tell (Victorian Opera) and Dialogues des Carmélites (MCM). Jesika also appeared in Paris: A Rock Odyssey (Music Theatre Melbourne).
Jesika has performed at many prestigious events with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir under the baton of celebrated conductor Andrew Wailes including: with Andrea Bocelli at Rod Laver Arena, the Melbourne Cup, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Olivia Newton-John Charity Gala, the Prime Minister’s Olympic Gala and the Melbourne ANZAC Day Dawn Service. Jesika is a regular cantor for St Michael’s Uniting Church Melbourne and has recorded many hymns for online services.
In 2022 Jesika has returned to the Conservatorium of Music at Melbourne University to undertake a Master of Music (Performance Teaching) degree specialising in Classical Voice and piano pedagogy. She is excited to keep advancing her own knowledge and develop an understanding of varying teaching strategies and resources to better engage with her students.
Jesika is fortunate to have had such fantastic teachers and mentors who instilled in her a love of music, and she wishes to inspire the same love in her own students. Jesika’s vocal and piano students range from 5 years old to adult and they regularly participate in Australian Music Education Board (AMEB) exams, school musicals and performances. She has accompanied many school choirs and accompanies for AMEB and music scholarship exams. Jesika also offers coaching to prepare for auditions.
ALTO - KATIE RICHARDSON
Katie is a passionate lover of early music, and enjoys singing whenever she’s not busy with her day job as an environmental scientist (assessing the health and ecological risks from contamination). She started singing back in the UK, including as choral scholar with the chapel choir of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Since moving to Australia more than 15 years ago, she has sung regularly with many Melbourne choirs including Gloriana, Astra, Ensemble Gombert, and St. Peter’s Eastern Hill.
TENOR - TIMOTHY DALY
Timothy has a double degree in Music (honours) and Education as well as an Associate degree in classical singing (AMusA). He was a part of the Opera Scholars Australia program for five years and was a top three finalist for Opera Scholar of the Year in 2014/15.
For Lyric Opera he played multiple characters in Malcolm Williamson’s Our Man in Havana, Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias and Elena Kats-Chernin’s Iphis in 2022. He has also sung a leading role for Shoestring Opera in Offenbach’s Le 66 for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the role of Count Almaviva in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville with Cordelia’s Potted Opera. His most recent roles are Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Pluto in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld and Frederic in Pirates of Penzance for Savoy Opera Company.
Timothy has been a soloist for various oratorios including Bach’s Magnificat, Handel’s Messiah, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio and Schubert’s 2nd Mass in G. He has also been a chorus member for Melbourne Opera since 2012 and has loved being a part of their many acclaimed productions.
He currently teaches piano privately and enjoys singing with many choirs around Melbourne including Concordis Chamber Choir.
BASS - ALEX OWENS
An emerging bass-baritone with a love of art song, Owens is a passionate recitalist and performer. They studied with Dr. Stephen Grant and hold a Bachelor of Music (Hons) from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music in Vocal Performance, finding a love for curating and performing art song in recital settings. Working with collaborator and pianist Elyane Laussade, Owens has presented recital programs for the Austral Salon and as part of Laussade’s Rising Stars series in 2022.
Owens has recently debuted as a concert soloist with the Australian Chamber Choir in their 2022 Faure Requiem, and with the combined St John’s Camberwell and Christ Church South Yarra’s 2023 St. John Passion, directed by Michael Fulcher and led by Rachael Beesley. They have appeared in minor feature roles with Victorian Opera youth productions, the University of Melbourne, and Cordelia’s Potted Operas.
As an ensemble musician with a love of the shared harmony between musicians, Owens sings with choral groups and consorts across Melbourne. They are a founding singer with Divisi Chamber Singers, has toured internationally with the Australian Chamber Choir, and have featured with The Consort of Melbourne, Astra Chamber Music Society, Polyphonic Voices, and church consorts around Melbourne.
Through 2021-22, Owens was a choral scholar at Christ Church South Yarra and a Young Songmaker with Songmakers Australia. In 2018 they were a scholar with Opera Scholars Australia, and have also featured in masterclasses in the inaugural 2018 Melbourne International Festival of Lieder and Art Song, facilitated by Graham Johnson.