Profiles
Music Director
Steven Morgan has served as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the British Embassy Choir Tokyo since 1998. Before coming to Japan in 1995, he conducted choral ensembles at colleges and universities in Illinois, Minnesota and British Columbia. Steven has also had an extensive career in the field of liturgical music both in North America and Japan, serving as Director of Music at St. Alban's Anglican Church, Tokyo since 2001.
He is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Rikkyo Institute of Church Music, and taught as Visiting Lecturer in Choral Music at Tohoku Gakuin University in Sendai during the 2007-2008 academic year. From April 2009 he joined the faculty of Rikkyo University's Graduate School of Christian Studies as Associate Professor of Church Music History and Practice.
In recent years Steven has begun to delve more into composing, and in December 2007 he conducted the world premieres of his Magnificat in Bb for chorus and wind quintet and the secular cantata Sounds of the Winter with the BEC and the BEC Festival Orchestra. He is currently working on a sacred oratorio set to Japanese texts for the Chapel Choir of Rikkyo University, scheduled for performance in October 2011.
Assistant Director
Scott Ponzani graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a bachelor of music degree in vocal performance and earned a master of arts degree in choral music from Eastern Michigan University. He moved to Tokyo after ten years of teaching music in Michigan. Active in playing and conducting handbells, Scott is the founder and director of the Christian Academy in Japan Handbell Ensemble. He has also conducted, accompanied, and composed for the vocal choirs at the academy and accompanied the Kanto Plain International Honor Choir. He has done additional studies with The VoiceCare Network.
Accompanist
Mariko Sano was born in Tokyo and started playing the piano at the age of three. She studied under Sayoko Fukami and Asako Tamura. She took part in the summer course at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien and studied the piano and chamber music under Georg Ebert. She graduated from Ferris University with a BA in Instrumental Music (piano major), having studied under Noriko Uno.
Since then, Mariko has been active in chamber groups and as an accompanist, joining the British Embassy Choir in 1995.
