Teachers

Vocalmente Academy & VocalMentor

Morten Vinther

Growing up musically in a blooming Danish choral environment, Morten started to dig into contemporary a cappella singing at The Academy of Music in Aalborg. As one of the first graduates from the unique masters programme in Aalborg, he was involved with various Danish groups – VOX11, Postyr, VoxNorth & Songs of the Moment – before joining The Real Group in 2010.

Combing the constantly evolving methods and curiosity from The Real Group with concepts like “the intelligent choir”, circle singing and physical rhythm training, Morten has a broad palette of pedagogical tools and topics that he includes in his teaching.

Katarina Henryson

As one of the founding members of the Stockholm based a cappella group The Real Group, Katarina is known for her flexible alto voice and distinctive stage presence since 1984.
After leaving The Real Group in 2016 she continues as a singer, artist and pedagogue. Since 2017 she has been exploring and developing an area of expression that can be described as sonic performance art.
Together with cellist Svante Henryson she tours frequently in Sweden and Europe. Katarina is often working in constellations that if needed could be labeled as genre crossing chamber music.

Katarina is the artistic director of Eric Ericson International Choral centre and for the concert performance series called 360° at Eric Ericson hall, Stockholm. Within The Real Group Academy Katarina is active as a workshop-leader with models for choirs and vocal groups.
Since 2021 she is the conductor of the male chorus Sångsällskapet NS in Visby, Gotland.

Kevin Fox

Baritone/mouth drummer/coach/arranger/adjudicator and Toronto native Kevin Fox is a recognized voice in the world of contemporary a cappella.

For the last eleven years he has toured the globe with the Grammy-winning supergroup The Swingles, following on the heels of his nine-year stint with Toronto’s Juno-nominated vocal band Cadence.

He serves as Artistic Director of the Israeli choral project Vocalocity, and in 2017 he served as Music Director on the British television programme Sing: Ultimate A Cappella.

Most recently Kevin was an instructor at Europa Cantat in Tallinn, and he has been an adjudicator for various vocal festivals worldwide. His improvisation workshops including “Sing Without a Safety Net” and “Beatbox and Beyond” have received rave reviews across North America and Europe.

Jussi Chydenius

“I was born in Helsinki in 1972. Because of my parents’ professions (a composer and a theatre director) I was very much involved in music and theatre from an early age. My interest in music evolved from constant listening into playing the drums at the age of fourteen. By chance and with lots of luck it became also my occupation after finishing high school in 1991. I was a founding member in a Finnish rock band ‘Don Huonot’ from 1989 until 2001. At times I also played the drums in the tour bands of many Finnish singers.

I got to know choral singing in the Sibelius High School in Helsinki, where I sang in the chamber choir together with Essi and Virpi. I was swept away with the beauty of choral music. Later, I sang 2nd bass in the chamber choir ‘Grex Musicus’, where I also got to know Soila and Ahti.

I wrote my first a cappella songs in 1995. In the fall of 1997 I was very fortunate to get five of my talented and ambitious friends to join me in singing those songs – Rajaton was born. I am very proud for what we have accomplished since then.

I compose and arrange music for other groups and choirs as well. The Finnish publisher Sulasol and Oxford University Press have published some of my work.

My primary hobby thesedays is politics. I was elected to the City Council of Helsinki in 2001. Whenever I have the time, I am up for a game of soccer, basketball or badminton.”

Clare Wheeler

Musically, Clare grew up in the Classical and Jazz traditions, and in 2007 joined 5-time Grammy Award winning vocal group The Swingles and toured with them for 11 years. Whilst in the group she sang with artists such as Rumer, Jamie Cullum and Labrinth, and performed at prestigious venues such as La Scala and The Royal Albert Hall, as well as with such leading conductors such as Marin Alsop, Michael Tilson Thomas and many others.

Clare’s composition and arranging skills are wide-ranging, including a cappella, big band and orchestral writing. She specializes in vocal music and writes for vocal groups all over the world who seek out her individual style and harmonic approach.

In September 2019 she joined the staff of the Jazz Department of Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she is the Faculty Chair of jazz voice, teaches improvisation, aural and transcription, jazz singing and directs the Vocal Jazz Ensemble.