Eric Nelson has been Director of Choral Studies at Emory University since 1997 and became the director of Atlanta Sacred Chorale in 1999. In addition, he serves as Minister of Music at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Buckhead. At Emory, he teaches choral literature, graduate choral conducting, and directs both the 40-voice Concert Choir and the 200-voice University Chorus. Under his leadership, the Concert Choir has risen to national prominence, with performances at regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). He has conducted choirs at major venues across Europe and the United States, including Krakow, Berlin, Leipzig, Prague, Moscow, Washington, D.C., and Carnegie Hall. Dr. Nelson's excellence in teaching has been recognized on the Emory campus, where he is a recipient of the distinguished Arts and Humanities Crystal Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Dr. Nelson has an undergraduate degree from Houghton College, a master's degree from Westminster Choir College, and a doctorate in choral conducting from Indiana University. He is very active as a clinician and guest conductor in academic and church settings. In addition to leading all-state choruses throughout the nation, he is in demand as a clinician and choral director at denominational conventions. He has directed choirs for the Montreat Music and Worship Conference, the Lutheran Conference, and the Baptist Music Convention. He has also presented workshops for the American Choral Directors Association, Music Educators National Conference, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, the Choristers Guild, the American Guild of Organists, as well as at many universities and schools across the nation. Dr. Nelson is President-Elect of the Georgia chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. His secular and sacred compositions are available from Colla Voce and Augsburg Fortress publishers, and are performed by university and church choirs across the nation.

Deborah Thoreson, Accompanist joined the Emory College faculty in 1978. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Georgia and a Master of Music in piano performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music. As Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Music at Emory, Ms. Thoreson advises music majors and coordinates course offerings. She teaches introductory courses in music theory and composition and music appreciation, as well as private piano, accompanying, and chamber music.

Ms. Thoreson is an active performer in a variety of musical settings including chamber music performances, choral presentations, instrumental and vocal recitals. Her performances with flutist Carl Hall have been broadcast on National Public Radio and she has recorded Messiaen's Poems pour mi, Book I with soprano Teresa Hopkin on the ACA Digital label. Ms. Thoreson has performed in England and throughout the United States with the Emory University Concert Choir and toured as pianist with The Atlanta Boy Choir to England, Wales, and Russia. In 1999, Ms. Thoreson collaborated with Emory University faculty member, soprano Bonnie Pomfret, for performances in Pecs, Hungary, and St. Petersburg, Russia. They performed American art song repertoire from the 20th century, including St. Petersburg premieres of George Crumb's Apparition for soprano and amplified piano and John Harbison's Mirabai Songs for soprano and piano.