Staff

Chris Shepard, Conductor

Now in his fourth year as Music Director of The Masterwork Chorus, Chris Shepard also serves as Music Director of the Worcester Chorus in Worcester, Massachusetts, and CONCORA, Connecticut's oldest professional choir. His choirs have collaborated with a number of orchestras, such as the Julliard Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, in venues that include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Radio City Music Hall in New York, as well as the Royal Festival Hall in London and the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Chris has prepared choirs for major international conductors, including Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Simone Young, Carlos Miguel Prieto and William Boughton, as well as for Broadway legend Patti Lupone and Ray Davies of the Kinks. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2015, and made his conducting debut with the New Haven Symphony in 2016.
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Martin Sedek, Associate Conductor

Composer and conductor Martin A. Sedek (b. 1985) was born in Germany and raised in Poland and the United States. He is an award-winning voice in the world of choral and orchestral music, educated at Berklee College of Music in Boston (B.M, Composition) where he founded and conducted the 80-voice Berklee Concert Choir and Montclair State University (M.M.) where he studied composition and choral conducting. Martin has studied composition with Robert Livingston Aldridge, Matthew Harris and Tarik O’Regan with additional studies with Steven Stucky, Chen Yi, and Steven Sametz; conducting with David Callahan and Julius Williams, with additional studies with William Weinert, Craig Hella Johnson, and Heather J. Buchanan. Martin is Composer-in-Residence at Harmonium Choral Society & the Baldwin Festival Chorus of NYC, and is currently the Music Director and Conductor of the Choral Art Society of NJ in Westfield. In addition, he is the associate director for The Masterwork Chorus where he leads Camerata, Masterwork's chamber ensemble. Martin earned his PhD from Rutgers University, where he studied with Tarik O'Regan and Robert Aldridge.READ MORE...

Carol Walker, Accompanist

Carol Walker, Masterwork’s regular accompanist since November of 2007, was a high school choral teacher for 32 years before retiring in 2008. She continues her active association with various high schools and related organizations in northern NJ, serving as accompanist, musical director and choral director, and as a member of the adjunct faculty of William Paterson University. She has also been in demand as musical director for dozens of amateur and professional theater groups, including summer stock and dinner theaters in NJ, PA, NY, and CT. For many years she was choir director and organist in churches in NJ and NY.

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Elizabeth Milliken, Business Operations Manager

In partnership with the Board of Trustees, Liz’s primary focus for the organization is the development, coordination, and execution of a comprehensive fundraising plan. She is also responsible for achieving established concert revenue and audience cultivation goals by directing the day to day marketing and promotional campaigns as well as front of house logistics for each concert. Liz brings over 12 years of management experience to the organization and is a Certified Level lll grant writer. Liz holds a B.A. in Behavioral and Social Sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park, and is currently enrolled in the Executive Philanthropy and Resource Development Certificate program at Fairleigh Dickinson University.