Michael barrett, MUSIC DIRECTOR

Michael Barrett is a Boston-based conductor, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and teacher who has served as music director of The Boston Cecilia since 2020. He also served as Music Director of Convivium Musicum, a chamber choir specializing in Renaissance music, from 2007 until 2022. Michael is an Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music, where he teaches courses in conducting and European music history, and until recently served as Interim Director of the Five College Early Music Program in Western Massachusetts.

Michael has performed with many professional early music ensembles, including Blue Heron, the Boston Camerata, the Huelgas Ensemble, Vox Luminis, the Handel & Haydn Society, Nederlandse Bachvereniging (Netherlands Bach Society), Seven Times Salt, Schola Cantorum of Boston, and Nota Bene, and can be heard on the harmonia mundi, Blue Heron, Coro, and Toccata Classics record labels.

He holds degrees in music (AB, Harvard University), voice (First Phase Diploma, Royal Conservatory in The Hague, The Netherlands), and choral conducting (MM, Indiana University; DMA, Boston University).

LEONA CHEUNG, ACCOMPANIST

Praised for her “artistically mature, well thought-out presentations,” Leona Cheung has performed as a collaborative pianist across the United States, Canada, Europe, China, and Hong Kong. An expert in vocal repertoire, she has worked with over 100 conductors and collaborated with artists from the Handel and Haydn Society, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Seraphic Fire, Boston Children’s Chorus. Recipient of the Graham Johnson Art Song XXI Prize, Leona’s honors include recognition from The American Prize in Chamber Music Performance and an Official Citation from the City of Boston for her cross-cultural art song curation. She has premiered works at Sparks & Wiry Cries’ SongSLAM NYC and performed at the Oxford International Song Festival, Toronto Summer Music, and SongFest. Based in Boston, Leona earned her Master of Music and Graduate Diploma in Collaborative Piano from New England Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Hong Kong Baptist University.