Meet the Conductor

CONDUCTOR AND MUSICAL DIRECTOR

Dr Michael Joseph Barrett is the conductor of the University of Pretoria (Tuks) Camerata and a senior lecturer in Choral Conducting in the Department of Music. He was a member of the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir from 1992 to 1997. He obtained the degrees BMus in Performing Arts (cum laude) in 2005 and MMus (Performing Arts), specialising in choral conducting, in 2008, both from the University of Pretoria. He holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCE) and a Performance Licentiate in Singing, both received in 2008, from Unisa. In 2017, Michael was awarded a Doctorate of Music degree (Performing Arts) in Choral Performance by the University of Pretoria.

Michael’s choirs have won numerous national and international awards, as well as choral competitions all over the world, including the Grand Prix of Nations (Latvia, 2017); the 8th World Choir Games (Latvia, 2014); the St Petersburg Choral Competition (Russia, 2013); the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod (Wales, 2012); the Krakow International Advent Choral Competition (Poland, 2012); Europe and its Songs (Spain, 2010); and the International Youth Music Festival (Slovakia, 2010). In 2017, Tuks Camerata was invited to perform at the World Choral Symposium in Barcelona, Spain. The choir has released three CDs, which were all nominated for South African Music Awards. 

Michael is an active composer and arranger whose music is published internationally by Santa Barbara Music Publishers and Walton Music. He is regularly invited to present workshops and adjudicate choral competitions both locally and abroad. He is also the executive director and co-producer of Capital Singers, South Africa’s largest community choir project. 

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