Hollywood Music Directors

We are pleased to announce Dr. Sheridan Ball will be our guest conductor this year. Choirs under Dr. Ball’s direction have toured Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Israel, England, Scotland, Ireland, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Russia. They have performed in New York's famed Carnegie Hall on three separate occasions and appeared at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the Hollywood Bowl, sang a Mass at the Vatican in Rome (twice), and performed on Radio Vienna . In the Summer of 2008, their tour agenda will include the cities of Oslo, Norway; Stocholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland and St. Petersburg, Russia concluding with a tour extension to Berlin, in the German republic.

Dr. Ball currently conducts the Southern California Master Chorale, the Meritage singers, and has directed choral ensembles at Cypress College for over 25 years, where he built the choral department to a strength of five choirs. In addition to teaching in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas and California public schools, Sheridan directed church choirs for ten years and, as a choral musician, he has performed with the Kansas City Philharmonic Chorus, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, William Hall Chorale, Pacific Chorale and the John Alexander Singers. Professor Ball has served on the Board of Directors for the Music Association of California Community Colleges, the American Choral Directors Association, and the California Choral Conductors Guild, where he also served as the Orange County Chapter President. Sheridan also taught music courses in Salzburg, Austria and Florence, Italy in conjunction with the Cypress College Semester in Europe program.
A native of Nebraska, Dr. Ball completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Voice with a minor in German followed by a Master of Music degree in Choral Literature and Conducting at the University of Northern Colorado. He received a fellowship to study and perform at the Aspen Music Festival in 1984 and studied conducting with Don Neuen at the Eastman School of Music in 1987. Sheridan received his doctorate in Conducting from the University of Southern California in 1995 and, that summer, studied with the renowned scholar/conductor, Helmut Rilling. We are very excited he has chosen to join us for this event!

Festival Directors

Swami Atmavidyananda (a.k.a. William A. Scott III) is a swami of the Ramakrishna Order of India. Currently he is organist, choir director, composer and treasurer of the Vedanta Society of Southern California. He also serves as occasional lecturer, campus minister for Hinduism at UCLA, USC, and CSULB. He has composed an operetta and an opera with interfaith themes, and one oratorio in addition to numerous choral numbers. He has a major in mathematics and a minor in chemistry from Occidental College (Magna Cum Laude) and also received his MA and secondary teaching credential from Stanford University.

Kenny Callaghan is Music Director of St. Matthews Lutheran Church. Mr. Callaghan has directed choirs over 20 years ranging from large to small community and church groups. As an undergraduate, Kenny studied choral music under Dr. William Hall at Chapman College in Orange, CA where he also served as the choir accompanist for three years. Kenny has also studies under Dr. Jane Hardester, Roger Wagner and John Koshack. After leaving college Kenny taught elementary school music for fifteen years before completing an MDiv. at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. Besides serving at St. Matthew’s, Kenny is the Events Coordinator at Many Paths Bookstore in North Hollywood.

Jose Antonio Espinal moved to Los Angeles by invitation to work with Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as his Apprentice in 2000. Jose Antonio Espinal has received many international recognitions, awards and artistic grants including the Conductor's Award by the Mexico's National Endowment for the Arts and Culture with an Annual Grant in 1996-1997 and again in 2000-2001. During his position as Dean of the St. Thomas School Of Sacred Music (2002-2005), he founded an all-girls choir: Harmonies of St. Thomas. After leaving his position in that church, the choir became an independent choral group (Mr. Espinal's own choir) changing the name to Harmonies Girls Choir. In November 2004, Mr. Espinal was appointed Music Director of the Spanish Choir at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Maestro Espinal has just founded an International Children's Choir Festival in Aguascalientes, Mexico, in collaboration with their government.
Prior to his work in USA, Mr. Espinal was a member of the Piano Faculty at the Mexico 's National Conservatory of Music from 1989 to 1996. Maestro Espinal worked for 12 years at the National Opera Company of Mexico, as vocal coach, opera accompanist, stage manager and band and choir conductor at the Palacio Nacional de las Bellas Artes from 1991 to 2002. Mr. Espinal has conducted the most important major orchestras in Mexico, including the Symphony Orchestra of Veracruz, Symphony of Querétaro, the Classical Orchestra of Orizaba and the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. In the USA he has conducted the Carnegie Mellon Orchestra (in Pittsburgh, as assistant conductor), the Contemporary Ensemble of Mexico (performing works by Esa-Pekka Salonen in Mexico City ) and the members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic ensemble (with Harmonies). Mr Espinal founded the Opera Company of Atizapan, fully sponsored by the Government, on January 2001.
Antonio Espinal holds a Bachelors degree in Piano with Honors from the National University Of Mexico (Unam), and a Bachelor degree in Orchestral Conducting from the National Conservatory of Mexico . He received his Master Degree (MFA) in Orchestral and Choral conducting in year 2000 from Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied under Juan Pablo Izquierdo (Orchestral) and the legendary Dr. Robert Page (Choral Conducting).

Gelo Francisco is the Choir Master of the Philippine Chamber Singers. Gelo is highly sought-after as a vocalist for his fluid baritone to soprano vocal range. As a conductor, he has handled numerous choirs from small amateur ensembles and college choirs to the 100-voice Grand Festival Choir of the Cultural Center of the Philippines' during commemorative events. Originally pursuing a nursing degree, Gelo shifted to the University of the Philippines College of Music in 1991 where he majored in voice. That same year, he was invited to join the world-renowned U.P. Madrigal Singers whom he toured with extensively on international concert tours, festivals and competitions. In 1995 he formed the pop vocal group 3 of a Kind which stylishly and successfully merged mass appeal and formal vocal training, thus winning critics' praises at the A Cappella Harmony Sweepstakes and becoming the Bay Area Champions of 2002.

Laurie Franks is a director, soprano soloist, organist, teacher, broadway performer, television and movie actress, recording artist and author. Giving service to the church since age 11, she has received bachelor and masters of music degrees at College of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she was raised. While in Cincinnati, she was organist/director at Bond Hill Methodist, soprano soloist at Walnut Hills Methodist, taught voice and organ at Wilmington College and taught voice at Hendrix College. She received an honorary Doctorate from Emmanuel United Methodist Church, Ohio. While in New York she pursued theatre and became soprano soloist at Park Avenue Methodist as well as becoming involved in over 250 Actors Equity Shows including Broadway. Her career continued in Los Angeles as church director, film actress and author of the book "Lucasville Lore"

Joseph Lawrence, born in Long Beach and raised in a suburb of Seattle, has been performing and teaching in Los Angeles since 1985. He is on call as a solo pianist, rehearsal pianist for operas, musicals and voice classes, accompanist, arranger and teacher. Graduating from California State University, Northridge, he studied piano under Dr. Charles Fierro and Ms. Francois Regnat. He studied composition under Dr. Daniel Kessner. Currently, he is on staff at Los Angeles Pierce College as dance class accompanist. Also, Mr. Lawrence is music director at Mt. Hollywood Congregational Church in Los Feliz where he is the organist, pianist and choir director.

Eldon M. Turner III began his work as an organist/choirmaster when he was 14 at St. Rose Church in Hampton, Virginia. His posts continued with Trinity Church, Norfolk (the proposed Cathedral of the Diocese of Southern Virginia), for the historic Newport Parish, St. Luke’s Shrine - Isle of Wight, Virginia, at St. Matthew’s Church, Glendale and now at Hollywood Lutheran Church. He studied music at Christopher Newport College, the Royal College of William and Mary, Williamsburg and later taught music at the College’s Norfolk, Virginia branch, Old Dominion University at the Governor’s School of The Arts. He studied operatic and cantorial singing with Metropolitan Opera soloist Howard Bender. He was soloist with the Virginia Pro Musica, comprimario singer and chorus conductor of The Virginia Opera as well as baritone soloist and ensemble leader of the Virginia Symphony.

Richard Warne is Music Director for Hollywood United Methodist Church. A native of California, Mr. Warne was born in Glendale, and at age 12 became the organist at the First Lutheran Church of Northridge. He obtained his Master's Degree in Music Education, Baccalaureate Degrees in Psychology and in Church Music from the University of Southern California. He has performed with various musical groups including chamber, choral, and orchestral. He is also the organist at the White Memorial Seventh-Day Adventist Church and at Kingsley Manor. Besides being a voice and keyboard instructor, he is also an experienced pipe organ builder and a campanological technician.