Deborah Mello
Founding and Artistic Director of the Children’s Chorus of Sussex County, Deborah Mello is the recipient of the Master Teacher Award from the New Jersey Music Educators Association, the New Jersey Governor’s Award for Arts in Education, and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Master Teacher Collaborative Award, sponsored by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. A former National Chair of the American Choral Directors Association National Committee for Children’s Choirs, Debbie currently serves ACDA as Eastern Division Children’s and Youth Choir Chair for Repertoire and Standards. Debbie has conducted regional and honor choruses in several states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Louisiana, Maine, Kentucky, Virginia, and New Mexico. She has taught numerous workshops on elementary music education and choral singing with children in the United States and as an Artist/Teacher for Doreen Rao’s Choral Music Education courses in England, Sweden, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. In May 2007, Debbie and her husband, Joseph, each received the Inaugural Distinguished Music Educator Award from Yale University. Debbie, in conjunction with composer, Jill Gallina, has published 2 music collections, All-American Sing Along Songs, and Songs Boys Like To Sing that can be used in school, church and community programs. This past summer, she served as vocal coach for the girl choir camp at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York City. Recently retired as Director of Choral Activities at Randolph High School, Debbie is currently teaching at Montclair State University and is also the director of the Junior Choir at Christ Episcopal Church in Newton, New Jersey.

Daniel Bara
Daniel Bara is the Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia, having served as Associate Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities at East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina.  While at ECU, his university choirs were invited to perform for state, regional, and national conventions of ACDA and MENC, and the ECU Chamber Singers completed two professional recordings for the Gothic Records label (Greater Love, 2007; Eternal Light, 2010).  His conducting students have consistently advanced into the live rounds of the ACDA National Conducting Competition, and several of his former MM conducting students now hold collegiate conducting appointments at New England Conservatory, Miami University of Ohio, University of Idaho, and William Jewell College. 
 
At ECU, Dr. Bara was the recipient of the UNC Board of Governors Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award and the Robert L. Jones Award for Outstanding Teaching.   Prior accolades include the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize given at the Eastman School of Music, and the ACDA National Student Conducting Competition (Graduate Division) awarded at the National Convention in San Antonio, TX in 2001. Dr. Bara is Past-President of NC-ACDA, has held the Artistic Directorship of the New York State Summer School of the Arts – School of Choral Studies (2007-2009), and has served as conductor of the World Youth Honor Choir at Interlochen Arts Camp (2004-2006).  He is in increasing demand as a guest conductor and clinician, with recent or upcoming engagements with all-state, regional honor choirs, and conference appearances in California, Texas, New York, Tennessee, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida.  
 
Dr. Bara holds the DMA degree in conducting from the Eastman School of Music, organ and conducting degrees from the University of Michigan, and is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy.  He is the Youth and Student Activities Chairman for the Southern Division Chapter of ACDA. At UGA he oversees the graduate choral conducting program, and conducts the UGA Hodgson Singers and the UGA Men's Glee Club.