Jordan Van Biert is a choral conductor and organization-builder based in Edmonton, AB, Canada where he directs several choirs and works within the community to build opportunities for engagement with choral music for all ages.
Jordan works with singers of various degrees of training and experience; with a passion for excellence, he identifies and creates opportunities to grow artistic capacity and provide rich experiences for performers and audiences.
He holds music degrees in piano and choral conducting, and has participated in masterclasses and symposia with master conductors throughout Canada and beyond.
An accomplished ensemble singer, he has appeared regularly with Alberta’s professional choirs. He is in demand as a workshop leader, adjudicator, juror and organizational consultant.
Choral conductor Jordan Van Biert is based in Edmonton, AB, Canada where he is Artistic Director of the chamber choir Chronos Vocal Ensemble, the community chorus Vocal Alchemy, and the daytime choir called Ante Meridiem. He is in demand as a clinician, workshop leader, diction coach, and adjudicator. He was nominated as an Emerging Artist in Edmonton’s Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts, and is a recipient of Choir’s Alberta’s Con Spirito award for “spirit, dedication, and commitment to choral music in the Province of Alberta.”
Founded by Jordan in in 2013, Chronos Vocal Ensemble has performed throughout Alberta and has toured in four Canadian provinces and the northwest USA. The ensemble has released three well-received recordings, won the Healey Willan Grand Prize in the 2015 National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs, and has performed by invitation at distinguished events including the 2016 and 2018 Podium conferences. Chronos has been recognized by the City of Edmonton’s Salute to Excellence for bringing recognition to the city.
Jordan approaches choral leadership from a singer’s perspective. He has been a part of select ensembles including the National Youth Choir and Canadian Chamber Choir, and has performed extensively with the major professional choirs in Alberta, namely Pro Coro Canada (Edmonton) and Luminous Voices (Calgary).
Through competitions, masterclasses and fellowships, Jordan has been fortunate to conduct notable ensembles including the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Elora Festival Singers (2016), Voces Boreales (2013), the Canadian Chamber Choir (2011), Vancouver Chamber Choir (2009), and the Norfolk Festival Chamber Choir (2008 Yale Summer School of Music program).
A native of Edmonton and a graduate of the University of Alberta (MMus, Choral Conducting) and The King’s University (BMus, Piano), his primary conducting teachers were Timothy Shantz and Debra Cairns; he has also had opportunities to study with Simon Carrington, Julia Davids, Noel Edison, Robert Sund, Ivars Taurins, Jon Washburn and Michael Zaugg. In 2016 he was selected to conduct the Stuttgart Chamber Choir in performances of Bruckner and Rheinberger as part of a competitive masterclass under the direction of Frieder Bernius.
As an educator, he taught piano and music theory privately for 15 years. Until recently, he was Music Director for 15 years at Trinity Lutheran Church in Edmonton. He instructed in aural skills in the University of Alberta Department of Music as a graduate student, later taught choir for two years at Concordia High School, subsequently served as interim conductor for the Concert Choir at Concordia University of Edmonton for the 2018-19 academic year. He spent the 2011-12 Season as interim conductor of Edmonton Youth Choir and directed the Singspiration summer program at Concordia University of Edmonton from 2012-2017.