Hailed by The Oregonian for providing ‘the finest choral concerts in Portland in recent memory’, Ethan Sperry is in his tenth year as director of choral activities at Portland State University, where he conducts the world-renowned Chamber Choir and leads undergraduate and graduate programmes in conducting. He is also the artistic director and conductor of the Oregon Repertory Singers, one of America’s most distinguished adult choruses.

A prolific arranger of world music for choirs, Sperry is the editor of the Global Rhythms series for Earthsongs Music, one of the best-selling choral series in the world, and is also published by Hal Leonard. Sperry is also a frequent collaborator with film composer A.R. Rahman and has appeared as a guest conductor for him numerous times including at Bollywood Night at the Hollywood Bowl and the 2008 Filmfare Awards. He also serves as a consultant for the KM Music Conservatory in Chennai, the first classical music school in India, which opened in 2009.

Born in New York City in 1971, Sperry began studying conducting at the age of eight, cello at the age of twelve, and singing at the age of eighteen. He has earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Harvard College and master’s and doctoral degrees in choral conducting from the University of Southern California.

Choirs under his direction have performed at over a dozen American Choral Directors Association and the National Association for Music Education conferences, toured over 20 foreign countries and sung at the Hollywood Bowl, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the United Nations. Prior to moving to Oregon, Sperry served for ten years on the faculty of Miami University in Ohio where he conducted the Men’s Glee Club, Collegiate Chorale, and Global Rhythms Ensemble. He has also served as artistic administrator of the Arad Philharmonic Chorus in Romania and conductor of the Coeur Regional de Guadeloupe, the only symphonic chorus in the French West Indies.