Daryl Bichel, MM
Artistic Director, Night Song

Daryl Bichel received his BA degree in music from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and holds Master of Music degrees from the New England Conservatory in performance of early music and in organ performance. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Boston Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and has also been a member of the Board of Trustees for the Old West Organ Society. His sacred music posts have included Lutheran churches, Episcopal parish churches, an Episcopal cathedral, and an Episcopal monastic community. A vocal student of Jason McStoots, he is currently a member of the choir of men and boys at The Parish of All Saints - Ashmont in Dorchester. He also sings in the Seraphim Singers and works as a substitute organist.

Jay Lane
Director, Beneficia lucis

Jay Lane is a professional choral conductor and organist. He has released two recordings of 16th century polyphony with his Renaissance choir, Vox Lucens, and he has recently edited Gombert's Missa Quam pulchra es from original sources for performance as part of the 2011 Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Series. He has directed numerous musical organizations, including the Wakefield Choral Society, the Yale Bach Society, the Branford Chamber Orchestra, and the Gilbert and Sullivan Societies of Yale and MIT. An accomplished church musician, Jay has served as organist and choir director at First Baptist Church in New Haven CT, the Episcopal Church at Yale, and Church of the Good Shepherd in Acton MA. Presently he is the music director and organist at First Religious Society UU in Newburyport MA. Jay also teaches voice privately, and is a Certified McClosky Voice Technician.

Ben Schwendener
Director, Night Song Instrumental Component

Pianist Ben Schwendener sustains a unique voice in contemporary creative music and natural pedagogy, and is a leading authority on George Russell's Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization. A lifelong student of music, Ben has learned and played with jazz legends George Russell, Ran Blake, Jimmy Guiffre, Miroslav Vitous, and Joe Maneri. As a critically acclaimed pianist/composer, he has created music for dance companies, film, commercials, and art installations. He has also written volumes of children's piano music, and toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan with his ensembles and as a piano soloist. His music can be heard on Gravity Records (an independent label he co-founded in 1992), Label Bleu, and Alabaster. His latest releases, both in 2011 - 'Apfelschaun-New Episode' (with Uwe Steinmetz) and his first solo release since 2005, the two CD 'Industrial Folk Music' - are receiving wide recognition. Schwendener was (from1986 on) an Editorial Assistant to the late George Russell. He is a certified teacher (and while George was alive, of teachers) of the Lydian Chromatic Concept. He is often invited to speak at national and international seminars. Schwendener lives and creates in Boston, and teaches at the New England Conservatory, the Longy School of Music, and the Rivers School Conservatory in Weston, MA. He also teaches classes in Creative and Critical Thinking through the Graduate College of Education at UMass Boston. He is the founder and director of Gravity Arts, Inc., a nonprofit organization providing customized educational services and products for individuals, groups, and corporations.