Marina Alexander, Joseph Arndt

Highly regarded for her innovative approach to programming, Marina Alexander founded The Arcadian Chorale in 1993, and has since guided its musical & organizational development. Under her leadership, the Chorale has established a reputation for excellence.

In the Spring of 1995, Ms. Alexander was also named Musical Director of the Richmond Choral Society in New York City, and serves as conductor of that 80-voice ensemble. Leading both choruses, she made her Carnegie Hall debut in November 2002, conducting Dvorak's Te Deum. At that same performance, she led the choruses and orchestra in the World Premiere of her orchestration of Bainton's And I Saw A New Heaven. Her ensembles joined forces again in May 2004, making their debut performance at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) singing Mahler's Resurrection Symphony. In January 2010, her ensembles also participated in the "Concert for Peace" at Avery Fisher Hall.

In 2004, Ms. Alexander was named Musical Director of the Metropolitan Greek Chorale in Manhattan, and has performed works from both the Eastern and Western traditions with that ensemble, including premieres of works in the Byzantine style, and several of her own compositions: Strange Mystery, based on the 12^th c. Byzantine chant, and Sancte, Sancte, Nicolas from a medieval hymn blending modern sensibilities with techniques from the Medieval period. Most recent have been a celebration of her namesake saint, O Glorious Marina, and the Megalynarion Megalinon Pishi Mou (My Soul Magnifies the Lord.)

Joseph Arndt is the Director of Music at Grace Church in Newark NJ. At Grace Church he directs the professional parish choir oversees a Chorister program, plays the Casavant organ for High Masses, and coordinates Concerts at Grace Church. Mr. Arndt received a Master of Music degree from The Julliard School and a Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College. He has studied Organ with Paul Jacobs, Ken Cowan, and Diane Meredith Belcher. He has performed organ recitals at a range of venues including St. Mary the Virgin, St Bartholomew's Church (New York City), Princeton University Chapel, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival (Charleston, SC), and Clare College Chapel (Cambridge, UK). A champion of new music, he has premiered organ works by Jonathan Dawe, Conrad Cummings, and Christian Carey. He has recently recorded Jonathan Dawe's new organ piece Zipoli Automata for an upcoming CD release.

Mr Arndt has won first place prizes at the West Chester University Organ Competition and the Joan Lippincott Organ Competition at Westminster Choir College. He performs regularly for Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City. He is also the concert accompanist for the Rutgers-Newark Chorus. He is an active member of the American Guild of Organists and currently serves on the Executive Board of the Metropolitan New Jersey Chapter. He was the Secretary of the Guild's Region I & II Convention in 2011.

Known as a scholar and translator, Ms. Alexander produces many new editions of choral music, including the premiere of a new English singing version of a lost Ode to Joy by Tchaikovsky, the 2nd performance ever of that piece in the United States. For a May 2002 presentation of Mozart's Requiem, she composed a new completion of the "Lacrymosa" in the style of Mozart.

Ms. Alexander holds a Masters Degree in Conducting from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Dr. Daniel Moe, and was subsequently invited to teach there as Interim Director of the Department of Choral Music. From that same institution, she earned a BFA in Stage Directing for Opera and then worked with opera companies and festivals both here and abroad. These include the Santa Fe Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Lake George Opera, and the Corfu International Music Festival.

Ms. Alexander is also Adjunct Assistant Professor of Choral Music at College of Staten Island-CUNY, where she teaches Music History and Conducting. She leads open sings for her own ensembles, as well as the New York Choral Society, West Village Chorale, North Jersey Choral Society, and the city of Freehold. She has also appeared at Lincoln Center for the National Choral Council's annual Messiah sing.

An advocate for music education, Ms. Alexander has served as an adjudicator for the New Jersey Teen Opera Festival, the Monmouth County Arts Council's Teen Arts Festival, and the Sights & Sounds Arts Festival of the Greek Orthodox Churches of NJ. She teaches conducting privately, and often appears as a clinician and guest speaker at choral workshops and music festivals. She has been nominated by Fleet Bank for its Small Business Leadership Awards, and was honored by the Business and Professional Women of Staten Island as a "Woman of Achievement."

Joseph Arndt
Rehearsal Assistant & Accompanist