The Global Leaders Institute

• Doctoral student at McGill University's Schulich School of Music

• Ten years' experience in arts marketing, development, digital content, and music production

• Professional Flutist/Piccoloist

• Cohort member of the 2018 Global Leaders Program

• Music educator at L'École FACE, Montreal

Alberto Acquilino is a researcher in Music Education at Western University in Canada, where he investigates how technology can support the development of sensorimotor skills in musicians. After earning a degree in Trumpet Performance from the Paganini Music Conservatory in Italy, he pursued a path that combines artistic practice with technical and scientific expertise, completing two master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering in Italy and France and conducting research at ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

He later obtained a PhD in Music Technology at McGill University in Montréal, where he developed open-source digital tools for real-time feedback and adaptive learning in music pedagogy. Currently, as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Don Wright Faculty of Music, he focuses on the use of generative artificial intelligence and inclusive design to foster accessibility and equity in music learning.

Alongside his academic work, Acquilino serves on the Academic Board of the Global Leaders Institute and as Lead Mentor for the Google Summer of Code program, coordinating international open-source innovation projects. Across all his activities, he integrates artistic practice, technological innovation and social engagement to promote a more accessible and inclusive approach to music education.

Toufic Maatouk, is one of the most compelling conductors of his generation. In the 2012 season, Maatouk began his tenure as Artistic Director of the Beirut Chants Festival in Lebanon. He is currently Deputy Executive Director and Executive manager of Programming at the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation and the Abu Dhabi Festival and also Guest Conductor of the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013 and a Guest Conductor of the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra Orchestra since 2017. Maatouk was appointed Artistic Director and Choir Master of the Antonine University Choir, in August 2005 and Head of the vocal department in the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music since October 2015. He holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from the Istituto Pontificio di Musica Sacra (Pims) in Rome where he conducted and published different studies on the Syro-Maronite chants. He is knighted by the President of the Italian Republic as “Cavaliere dell’Ordine Della Stella d’Italia” and Chevalier des Arts et des lettres by the French ministry of Culture. He been nominated by the Peace and Prosperity Trust (UK) as Artistic adviser to the Trust. As a chief conductor, Toufic Maatouk has led the Antonine University choir for more than 14 years. He collaborated with several orchestras and festivals including Orchestra di San Carlo (Napoli), Orchestra Giovanile Mediterranea (Palermo), Orchestra Roma sinfonietta (Rome), New England symphonic ensemble (New York), Orchestra Los Angeles sinfonietta (Los Angeles), Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra (Russia), Kyiv symphony orchestra (Ukraine)… Al-Bustan International Festival, Baalbeck International Festival, Byblos International Festival (Lebanon), Festival d’île de France (Paris), Carnegie Hall (New York), Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (Roma), Teatro di San Carlo (Napoli), Académie de l’Opéra de Paris, Festival d’Aix en Provence (France), Romanian Radio (Bucharest), Al-Ain International music festival (UEA), Bahrain International Music Festival (Bahrain). He has been invited as a jury member to several prestigious competition as the Ottavio Ziino competition, Voce Verdiane international competition, and the Biennale des Cordes.

While he pursued his studies, Maatouk worked as a vocal coach and at the National Conservatory of Beirut (Lebanon), he was musical assistant conductor at Teatro di San Carlo (Napoli) for different productions. As Founder of the Opera Studio of the Antonine University and the Lebanese National Conservatory, he conducted different productions such as Donizetti’s Elisir d’amore, Rossini’s Barbiere di Siviglia, Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte. He collaborates with different Orchestras such as the: Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra (Lebanon), Orchestra di San Carlo (Napoli), Orchestra Giovanile Mediterranea (Palermo), Orchestra Roma sinfonietta (Rome), New England symphonic ensemble (New York), Orchestra Los Angeles sinfonietta (Los Angeles), Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra (Russia), Kyiv symphony orchestra (Ukraine), Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra (Bucharest)… He collaborated with different world-renowned artists such: Maria Agresta, Jessica Pratt, Joyce El Khoury, Daniela Barcellona, Carmen Giannatasio, Laura Giordano, Maria Grazia Schiavo, Paolo Fanale, Giorgio Berrugi, Krzysztof Baczyk, Mirco Palazzi, Seong-Jin Cho, Dmitry Masleev, Eric Le Sage, Xavier De Maistres, Faycal Karaoui, Gabriele Ferro, Francesca Dego, Modigliani Quartet, Kodaly Quartet, Boris Andrianov, Alexander Ghindin, Caterina Di Tonno, Rosa Bove, Leonardo Cortellazzi, and others. On the academic level, Maatouk published different articles and books in international musicology journals. On his list, are more than 13 recordings with the Antonine University chorus.

Dean of Cohort Affairs at The Global Leaders Institute I Directora at Somos CaPAZes I Acumen Fellow 2021.

Creative, energetic and analytical Nonprofit Management Professional with a focus on education, peace building, social justice through arts and innovation. Graduate from New York University with a degree of Arts Administration with a well-grounded experience working in dynamic multicultural environments. Experience in program management, strategic planning and global programs. Quick learner, strategic thinker, culture lover, positive “can do” attitude and problem solver with a collaborative and entrepreneurial mindset.

CEO Live Music Now; HBF Global Humanitarian Entrepreneur; Founder Proper Arts; Int Business Specialist, Opera Singer & Conscious Capitalist.

Academic Director at The Global Leaders Institute.

José Pedro Zenteno (MA) is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and NYU with music and arts leadership degrees. Based in New York, he sits on the board of two regional nonprofits and has completed advanced entrepreneurship and leadership coursework at Harvard and Oxford Universities.

I am a speaker, writer and management educator. As a reflective practitioner, I have a unique niche in the field. I spent twenty-five years working in corporations in several countries in a series of organizational “train wrecks” as the Western World began its radical transition from the industrial era to the age of knowledge and information. I extracted from my experience some highly innovative ideas about leadership, the management of change and the dynamics of organizations that promote creativity and learning. I have spent another two decades honing my thinking as a consultant and teacher. I communicate these ideas to audiences around the world in the form of creative presentations, in-depth seminars and management development programs. My articles have been published in leading business publications such as the Financial Times, Globe and Mail, Harvard Business Review, Strategy+Business, and several academic journals.

My first book, Crisis & Renewal: Meeting the Challenge of Organizational Change, was published by the Harvard Business School Press in 1995 and was reprinted in paperback in 2002. The second book, Learning from the Links: Mastering Management Using Lessons From Golf (The Free Press 2002) broke new ground in understanding what it takes to create excellence through practice. My third book, The New Ecology of Leadership: Business Mastery in a Chaotic World (Columbia University Press 2012), is an extraordinary integration of management thought and practice from a systems perspective. Its objective is to help readers make meaning from their own management experience and education and thus to improve their practical judgment and wisdom – to ask better questions of reality and tell more compelling stories about it. The result is an inspirational synthesis of management thought and practice that will resonate with every reader’s experience.

Specialties: Strategy, Leadership, Change...

Strategy: I am interested in the evolutionary, ecological and cognitive processes that lead to the emergence of viable strategies. Leadership is all about creating contexts for creativity - places in space and time where people and artifacts can interact easily and in a variety of ways.

Understanding Change requires a dynamic, ecological framework in contrast to the static, economic perspectives that have dominated management thought for too long.

Diego has twenty years’ experience in leadership, adult learning, and international development. He specializes in teaching adaptive leadership, adult development, and immunity to change courses and is an associate consultant with Adapsys Consulting where he consults to public, private, and non-profit organizations in Latin America and the Pacific. Diego has directed and facilitated programs for senior teams at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Chilean Ministries of Education and Housing and Urban Development, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). He has also worked as a senior facilitator for the Pacific Leadership Program and the Pacific Fisheries Leadership Program. Prior to working in Latin America and the Pacific, Diego worked extensively with Outward Bound Canada and Outward Bound Mexico directing leadership programs for marginalized groups and executive teams. He also worked on numerous community development projects in Argentina and Canada. Diego is currently a Professor in the Department of Leadership at Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Chile, where he teaches courses in adaptive leadership and organizational change. He holds a master’s in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University and was a Teaching Fellow with professors Ronald Heifetz and Robert Kegan. He also holds a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Victoria, Canada, and is a certified Executive Coach with Royal Roads University and the International Coach Federation.

I am a speaker, writer and management educator. As a reflective practitioner, I have a unique niche in the field. I spent twenty-five years working in corporations in several countries in a series of organizational “train wrecks” as the Western World began its radical transition from the industrial era to the age of knowledge and information. I extracted from my experience some highly innovative ideas about leadership, the management of change and the dynamics of organizations that promote creativity and learning. I have spent another two decades honing my thinking as a consultant and teacher. I communicate these ideas to audiences around the world in the form of creative presentations, in-depth seminars and management development programs. My articles have been published in leading business publications such as the Financial Times, Globe and Mail, Harvard Business Review, Strategy+Business, and several academic journals.

My first book, Crisis & Renewal: Meeting the Challenge of Organizational Change, was published by the Harvard Business School Press in 1995 and was reprinted in paperback in 2002. The second book, Learning from the Links: Mastering Management Using Lessons From Golf (The Free Press 2002) broke new ground in understanding what it takes to create excellence through practice. My third book, The New Ecology of Leadership: Business Mastery in a Chaotic World (Columbia University Press 2012), is an extraordinary integration of management thought and practice from a systems perspective. Its objective is to help readers make meaning from their own management experience and education and thus to improve their practical judgment and wisdom – to ask better questions of reality and tell more compelling stories about it. The result is an inspirational synthesis of management thought and practice that will resonate with every reader’s experience.

Specialties: Strategy, Leadership, Change...

Strategy: I am interested in the evolutionary, ecological and cognitive processes that lead to the emergence of viable strategies.

Leadership is all about creating contexts for creativity - places in space and time where people and artifacts can interact easily and in a variety of ways.

Understanding Change requires a dynamic, ecological framework in contrast to the static, economic perspectives that have dominated management thought for too long.

Stanford Thompson is a musician and educator who serves as the Founder and Executive Director of Play On Philly and Founding Board Chairman of El Sistema USA and the National Instrumentalist Mentoring and Advancement Network. Recognized as a TED Fellow, Stanford believes that music education is a powerful tool for positive personal and community change. Mr. Thompson serves on the faculty of the Global Leaders Program and regularly presents at major universities and music conservatories about leadership, entrepreneurship and social justice. As a consultant, he has guided the development of dozens of music programs across the United States and collaborated with major orchestras, higher education institutions, and arts organizations to develop new strategies and initiatives that help provide equitable access to the arts. As a professional trumpeter, Stanford has performed as a soloist and member with major orchestras around the world and continues to perform throughout the Philadelphia region. Stanford is a native of Atlanta, GA, a graduate of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program and holds degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory’s Sistema Fellows Program.

Bartek Stawski’s professional motto is:

„get to know HOW to think in order to get to know WHAT to think”:

Bartek is a specialist in Thinking Tools and their application in the area of managing organizations. He is an expert in innovative product development and innovative problem solving based on behavioural economics, he is also a specialist in application of Theory of Constraints in the area of strategy and marketing (Mafia Offer development). He is a lead faculty at numerous MBA programs across the world, a module director at Global Leaders Institute for Arts Innovation (MBA in cultural innovation in cooperation with Harvard University), and a module director at Global Competitiveness Leadership Program at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. He delivered projects in Poland, USA, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Czechia, Germany, Russia and Chile.

Bartosz graduated from Linguistics Faculty of the University of Poznan (specialized in rhetoric and communication) and later attended numerous courses in UK, Sweden, Israel and Czechia.

Cristina Vollmer Burelli, a Venezuelan-American social entrepreneur, is the founder and executive director of V5Initiative, a non-profit that leads and supports broad initiatives that promote better and more informed policy making and governance at the national and international level. V5 Initiative promotes and empowers the involvement of individuals, NGO’s and the private sector in matters of public policy through the dissemination of information that will raise awareness and invite action. She matriculated at Queens’ College, Cambridge in 1981 and read for an MA in Social Anthropology.

Previously, as executive director of Alliance for the Family between 2002 and 2014, she successfully took a visionary idea – a K-12 story-based universal values curriculum “Aprendiendo a Querer” – and transformed it into a sustainable, robust curriculum in 3 languages (Spanish, English and Portuguese) as well as an English version for Africa, that has touched an estimated 500,000 children and teenagers in 16 countries, including Cuba where she managed a large scale, complex project involving tens of thousands of Cuban students and families in various provinces including Havana.

Before moving to the US in 2000, Cristina was living in her native country, Venezuela, where she was a trustee of the Alberto Vollmer Foundation, The British School and El Museo de los Niños, one of the largest and most admired children’s museums in Latin America. For the last 25 years, Cristina has been deeply involved in various non-profits in the US that are mainly focused on education and youth, serving on the board of directors of Cambridge in America, The Orchestra of the Americas, founding co-chair of the Global Leaders Program, Families of Character, National Fatherhood Initiative and the Washington Studies Group. The common thread in her work in all these organizations has been her passion for education and the promotion of universal values through different means including classical music.

Since 2018, Cristina has been focused on the humanitarian and environmental crisis in Venezuela. She is the founder and general manager for advocacy group www.SOSOrinoco.org

She has spoken and written on topics close to her heart such as the challenges and urgent needs for educating in democratic values and empowering the young by inspiring noble purpose through character and entrepreneurship, as well as the environmental devastation in Venezuela.

Jessica Sperling, PhD, serves as the Director of Applied Research, Evaluation, & Engagement in Duke University’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) as well as the Office of Evaluation and Applied Research Partnership, a partnership between CTSI and SSRI. She is a mixed-methods evaluator and applied researcher dedicated to informing and improving initiatives through responsive and collaborative research, evaluation, and research/practice partnership. Sperling's work has focused on education, healthcare delivery, diversity/inequality, and innovation/pilot programming. This has included partnerships with entities based in Duke University, Duke Health, as well as community and non-profit organizations. In addition to serving as a practitioner of applied research and evaluation, she is active in teaching and capacity-building in these areas. She has taught research and evaluation methods courses at the undergraduate and graduate level and has developed and led numerous trainings serving non-profit, education, and healthcare sectors. Prior to joining SSRI, Sperling worked in research and evaluation in higher education, public, and non-profit sectors in New York City.

José Luis Falconi is the President of Cultural Agents, Inc. an NGO which promotes civic engagement and creativity through artistic education and an Assistant Professor of Art and Human Rights at the University of Connecticut. Prof. Falconi received his doctorate from Harvard University in 2010.

His latest academic publications include Portraits of an Invisible Country: The Photographs of Jorge Mario Múnera (2010), A Singular Plurality: The Works of Darío Escobar (2013), The Great Swindle: A project by Santiago Montoya (2014) and Ad Usum / To be used: The works of Pedro Reyes (2017) and Pre-texts International (2022).

Besides UCONN he has taught at Boston University and Bradeis University in the United States, and has been appointed Visiting Professor in the Department of Art History and Architecture of the University of Boston in the spring of 2016. In Latin America he has been “Bicentennial” Visiting Professor of Aesthetics at the University of Chile ( Santiago de Chile, 2012 and 2019), "International Professor" at the National University of Colombia (Bogotá, 2013) and Visiting Professor at the Universidad de Costa Rica (2018) and Universidad San Carlos in Guatemala.

CEO Live Music Now; HBF Global Humanitarian Entrepreneur; Founder Proper Arts; Int Business Specialist, Opera Singer & Conscious Capitalist.

Chosen among Chile's 100-Young Leaders of 2012 (El Mercurio), Raul Vergara Montoya is an experienced program incubator and manager of cultural organizations. He is the Founder of arts & culture consulting firm Uniquepiece SpA, Co-founder of The Global Leaders Institute (USA), Huilo Huilo Music Festival, Festival de Fagot & Musica de Cámara of La Serena, and Advisor to the Deutsche Schule La Serena and Fundacion Educacional Arauco, Chile. Prior to his interests in cultural management, Raul developed a career in orchestral music serving as the Associate Principal Percussionist of the Seoul Philharmonic in Korea, the Associate Principal Timpanist with the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in China, member of The Spoleto Festival Orchestra USA and Substitute Percussionist with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Other engagements included performances with professional orchestras in the USA, Germany, Hong Kong, Macau, Mexico, and Chile, performing at the world's most distinguished concert halls with renowned artists. With studies at the Curtis Institute of Music (BM) and Temple University (MMus) in Philadelphia, and postgraduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University, Raul is particularly interested in developing a sustainable and collaborative business model that allows arts organizations and cultural agents to deliver projects that bring greater value and social impact resolving issues of social engagement, equity, accessibility and sustainability.

RICHARD DAVIES is an economist and author. He is a Professor in Practice at the LSE’s School of Public Policy and holds the UK’s first Chair in the Public Understanding of Economics at Bristol University. He is the director of the UK’s Economics Observatory and the Harvard-LSE Growth Co-Lab.

Richard’s book, Extreme Economies, won the Lonely Planet/Stanford’s prize for debut travel writing in 2020, and has been published in the UK, US, Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan. He wrote and edited The Economist’s guide to economics, which is available in Chinese and Arabic translation. His articles have featured in The New York Times, The Economist, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Times, Wired and 1843 Magazine.

In previous roles Richard has been Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers at HM Treasury, an economist and speechwriter at the Bank of England, and economics editor of The Economist.

Richard is has held leadership roles in several projects that aim to improve and broaden public understanding and access to economics. At the University of Chicago he was Executive Director of the department’s new Economics for Everyone initiative. He is director of the Festival of Economics, held in Bristol each year. He was a founding director and trustee of CORE, a charity which provides open-access resources for economics teachers and students in universities across the world.

Richard’s research uses large scale micro data to answer questions about aggregate puzzles, including inflation, productivity, and wages. He studied economics at Oxford (PPE), the London School of Economics (MSc) and New York University (PhD). He has taught economics at Oxford, Bristol the LSE and Chicago.

Angharad is a Paris-based consultant and coach working with clients across experimental music, sound art and music policy developing new projects to increase impact and facilitate change. She is Director of Operations at the global NGO the Center for Music Ecosystems, and a proud board member of the European Music Council and the Daphne Oram Trust.

Leah D. Barto is a researcher and data journalist focused on social impact and entrepreneurship. In her role as Senior Director of Research with Endeavor Global, she leads a team of economists, data scientists, and policy analysts to develop applied research. Leah holds an M.B.A. and M.A. in Arts Administration from the University of Cincinnati where her capstone was new venture creation and she completed a study on cultural entrepreneurship. Her previous professional experience includes teaching nonprofit financial management at Columbia University and grantmaking with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Originally from California, she earned her B.A. from the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies at the University of Redlands where her major combined music composition and German.

Professor Brydie-Leigh Bartleet is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the Creative Arts Research Institute, Griffith University (Australia). She is a dynamic research leader, award-winning educator, and arts sector advocate. Over the past 20 years, her work has advanced our understanding of the cultural, social, economic, and educational benefits of music and the arts in First Nations’ Communities, prisons, war affected cities, educational and industry contexts. Her research is known for its innovation, interdisciplinarity, and commitment to cross-sector partnerships, and has connected music research and practice with areas as diverse as social inequality, regional development, criminology and corrections, health equity, and human rights. She has worked on seven nationally competitive grants, seven research consultancies with leading arts and social sector organisations, and five prestigious fellowships (from the Australian Research Council, Fulbright Commission, Singapore International Foundation, University of Cambridge and Australian Academy of the Humanities) totalling well over $3 million. Professor Bartleet actively contributes to many sector initiatives and organisations in Australia and overseas. She is currently the President of the Social Impact of Music Making (SIMM) international research platform, a Belgium-based NGO (2021-2024), Associate Editor of the International Journal of Community Music, a Senior Research Fellow with the Laurier Centre for Music in the Community (LCMC) in Canada (2021-2024), and External Examiner for the MA Community Music at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick (2021-2025). In 2014 she was awarded the Australian University Teacher of the Year, and in 2022 she was a Fulbright Scholar at New York University Steinhardt (awarded 2020).

Simon has been a Research Associate with the Diversity Institute for several years working on the organization’s seminal DiversityLeads project, the Diversity Assessment of the Superclusters (for ISED) as well as a range of projects for the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub and Future Skills. He has presented his work in prestigious international conferences, such as the Academy of Management Annual Meeting and the European Group on Organization Studies Annual International Colloquium. Simon is a lecturer in management in the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. He is the coauthor of several recent studies on women and work as well as training gaps and skills gaps in SMEs, and also has previous experience as a consultant. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University and Master of Science in Management (specialized in Strategy) from HEC Montreal, where his thesis focused on creative ideation, innovation, and sociolinguistics.

Tim Kraft’s research examines environmental and social responsibility issues in supply chains. Research topics he has studied include investigating how supply chain transparency can influence consumers’ and companies’ decisions in social responsibility contexts, examining collaborative methods to motivate suppliers to improve their sustainability practices, and studying companies’ and non-governmental organizations’ decisions regarding environmental investment decisions.

Tim’s research has appeared in leading operations management journals such as Manufacturing and Service Operations Management and Production and Operations Management. In 2020, he was named co-winner of the POMS Paul Kleindorfer Award in Sustainability. For his teaching and case writing, Tim was named the 2018 Outstanding Faculty Member at the University of Virginia (Darden) and is a two-time winner of the INFORMS Case Competition.

Tim previously taught at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and was a visiting faculty at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He received his doctorate degree from Stanford University.

Louis Songster is the co-founder of the Social Rocket Factory, and the CEO of the climate tech startup Climate.IQ. Louis holds an MS in Fundraising and Grantmaking from New York University.

Co Founder Social Rocket Factory

Associate Professor of Management (Early Tenure) at the MVS School of Business & Economics - California State University, Channel Islands (CSUCI) in Camarillo, CA (USA). I received my DBA from IE Business School (July 2017), my MBA from the Graduate School of Management at Boston University, and my Law Degree from Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICADE in Madrid (Spain). I am a proud Spanish Fulbright Scholar (1998-2000), Paul R. Lawrence Fellow (2016), and B Academics Founding Board Member (2019).

During the AY 2020-2021, I served as the Academic Director for CSUCI Online Business Program, and since January 2022, I am also a Faculty Lead at CI Solutions, our student-run agency.

During the AY 2023-2024, I am enjoying my sabbatical and working on different research projects.

Before moving to the United States, my career was in financial services and management consulting on both sides of the Atlantic, helping banks and other organizations to use technology to achieve their business objectives. At CSUCI, I am actively researching social entrepreneurship, social enterprises, hybrid organizations, B Corps, as well as non-profit organizations engaging in Earned Income Strategies (EIS). I am also a strong advocate for the use of service learning, study abroad, and technology in higher education.

International Programs & Operations Manager at The Global Leaders Institute.

Santiago Hernandez (MA) is a co-founder of MusicMuv. Hernandez earned a Master’s in Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Management from University College London and graduated from Georgetown University Business School’s Global Competitiveness Leadership Program.

Communications and Coaching for Social Impact | Deep listener. Passionate coach and connector. Expert on social innovation with perspective that bridges the nonprofit, public and private sectors. I take on mission-driven projects in the following categories: 1) leadership coaching for early stage social entrepreneurs, 2) program design and development, 3) program oversight and management; 4) strategic communication and speaker coaching, 5) visual notetaking and facilitation

Toufic Maatouk, is one of the most compelling conductors of his generation. In the 2012 season, Maatouk began his tenure as Artistic Director of the Beirut Chants Festival in Lebanon. He is currently Deputy Executive Director and Executive manager of Programming at the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation and the Abu Dhabi Festival and also Guest Conductor of the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013 and a Guest Conductor of the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra Orchestra since 2017. Maatouk was appointed Artistic Director and Choir Master of the Antonine University Choir, in August 2005 and Head of the vocal department in the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music since October 2015. He holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from the Istituto Pontificio di Musica Sacra (Pims) in Rome where he conducted and published different studies on the Syro-Maronite chants. He is knighted by the President of the Italian Republic as “Cavaliere dell’Ordine Della Stella d’Italia” and Chevalier des Arts et des lettres by the French ministry of Culture. He been nominated by the Peace and Prosperity Trust (UK) as Artistic adviser to the Trust. As a chief conductor, Toufic Maatouk has led the Antonine University choir for more than 14 years. He collaborated with several orchestras and festivals including Orchestra di San Carlo (Napoli), Orchestra Giovanile Mediterranea (Palermo), Orchestra Roma sinfonietta (Rome), New England symphonic ensemble (New York), Orchestra Los Angeles sinfonietta (Los Angeles), Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra (Russia), Kyiv symphony orchestra (Ukraine)… Al-Bustan International Festival, Baalbeck International Festival, Byblos International Festival (Lebanon), Festival d’île de France (Paris), Carnegie Hall (New York), Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (Roma), Teatro di San Carlo (Napoli), Académie de l’Opéra de Paris, Festival d’Aix en Provence (France), Romanian Radio (Bucharest), Al-Ain International music festival (UEA), Bahrain International Music Festival (Bahrain). He has been invited as a jury member to several prestigious competition as the Ottavio Ziino competition, Voce Verdiane international competition, and the Biennale des Cordes.

While he pursued his studies, Maatouk worked as a vocal coach and at the National Conservatory of Beirut (Lebanon), he was musical assistant conductor at Teatro di San Carlo (Napoli) for different productions. As Founder of the Opera Studio of the Antonine University and the Lebanese National Conservatory, he conducted different productions such as Donizetti’s Elisir d’amore, Rossini’s Barbiere di Siviglia, Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte. He collaborates with different Orchestras such as the: Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra (Lebanon), Orchestra di San Carlo (Napoli), Orchestra Giovanile Mediterranea (Palermo), Orchestra Roma sinfonietta (Rome), New England symphonic ensemble (New York), Orchestra Los Angeles sinfonietta (Los Angeles), Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra (Russia), Kyiv symphony orchestra (Ukraine), Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra (Bucharest)… He collaborated with different world-renowned artists such: Maria Agresta, Jessica Pratt, Joyce El Khoury, Daniela Barcellona, Carmen Giannatasio, Laura Giordano, Maria Grazia Schiavo, Paolo Fanale, Giorgio Berrugi, Krzysztof Baczyk, Mirco Palazzi, Seong-Jin Cho, Dmitry Masleev, Eric Le Sage, Xavier De Maistres, Faycal Karaoui, Gabriele Ferro, Francesca Dego, Modigliani Quartet, Kodaly Quartet, Boris Andrianov, Alexander Ghindin, Caterina Di Tonno, Rosa Bove, Leonardo Cortellazzi, and others. On the academic level, Maatouk published different articles and books in international musicology journals. On his list, are more than 13 recordings with the Antonine University chorus.

Tiffany Tieu is a violinist, pedagogue, and teaching artist who enjoys a career that has taken her throughout the Americas as a performer. Her dedication to teaching and her work using music as a tool for cultural exchange and community building has been recognized by international media and organizations. As a violinist, she has been invited to present recitals and master classes in countries such as Cuba, Bolivia, Haiti, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, and Ecuador. She earned her Suzuki pedagogy certification at the Sato Center for Suzuki Studies with Kimberly Meier-Sims. She has also taught at Interlochen Arts Camp, Cuyahoga Community College, and El Sistema Cleveland, and is regularly invited to judge national competitions for youth orchestras and professional competitions. She has participated in international festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, the Lexington Bach Festival, and the Bolivian Chamber Music Society. As an orchestral musician, he has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Severance Hall in Cleveland, OH.

Debbi D. Brock is an internationally recognized expert on social entrepreneurship and professional trainer and consultant for various organizations focusing on social entrepreneurship, scaling social impact and entrepreneurship education.  In 2018 she launched the Social Change Innovators online resource platform that shares innovative teaching and experiential activities with faculty from around the world that won the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Excellence in Innovative Pedagogical award.  Brock has consulted for various organizations including the International Labour Organization, the Sullivan Foundation Service and Social Entrepreneurship program, Ashoka, and the Institute for International Education (Fulbright).  Debbi lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Senior executive with 25 years of experience in General Management, Business Development, Strategy and Project Management in the public and private sector in the Foreign Direct Investment, mining and energy, Creative Industries, BPO and IT sectors.

I am a curious and creative leader who loves to learn and enjoys being a part of interdisciplinary teams where different perspectives come together to work on challenging goals. I am a change agent with the ability to influence teams, partners and stakeholders, who thrives in complex environments where I can generate and implement disruptive ideas and projects. I view leadership as the challenge of bringing people together to do something new in a way that creates positive outcomes and delivers results.

Speaker and spokesperson, expert in constructing and articulating narratives for diverse audiences and building relationships that generate connection, credibility, and trust in order to achieve impact. I am passionate about making ideas come to life and finding ways to tackle an organization’s most pressing challenges.