Jess Wade is Assistant Coordinator of Choral Activities at Texas A&M University, where he conducts the Century Singers and Women’s Chorus. He marked his twentieth year as Artistic Director/Conductor of the Brazos Valley Chorale with the 2007-2008 season. In addition to these responsibilities, he is often called upon to participate in area choral events as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator. Mr. Wade has also worked with and prepared choirs for Sir David Willcocks, Roger Wagner, and John Rutter. Besides his skills as a conductor, he has served as a choral and vocal accompanist on both collegiate and professional levels, notably with Robert Shaw in presentations of Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

There have been several collaborative efforts between Mr. Wade and the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra. His conducting debut with the Orchestra was a performance of Handel’s complete Messiah. He also conducted the Chorale, Century Singers, and Orchestra in performances of Brahms’ Ein Deutches Requiem, Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony, Debussy’s Sirenes, Haydn’s Creation, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Vaughan William’s Dona Nobis Pacem and, most recently, Honegger’s King David and Rutter’s Psalmfest. Other major choral works he has prepared for performance in the Brazos Valley have included the Requiems of Mozart, Durufle and Lloyd Webber, Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Magnificat, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Poulenc’s Gloria, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Honegger’s King David, Holst’s work, The Planets, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky and Vivaldi’s Gloria.

Mr. Wade has traveled extensively with his choirs throughout Texas and beyond our state borders. His choirs have performed in important venues in China, Italy, Spain, France, Canada, Germany, Austria, Ireland and the Czech Republic. The Century Singers have performed for the Southwestern Division of the American Choral Directors Association. His Women’s Chorus is the founding organization of the Texas Women’s Chorus Festival and continues to participate annually.

Mr. Wade is very involved in the American Choral Directors Association, Texas Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, Music Educators National Conference, and the Texas Music Educators Association. He holds degrees from Southwest Baptist University and Kansas State University, and has completed course work for a Ph.D. at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Chris Hoffman is originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Voice from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and received his Master’s Degree with Honors in Vocal Performance from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. He currently resides in College Station where he teaches voice and piano. He also teaches Music Appreciation at Blinn College (Bryan campus) and is the Director of the college's new Choral Department.

As a tenor, Mr. Hoffman has performed several operatic roles in Iowa, Florida and Texas, including: Ruggero (La Rondine - Puccini), Faust (Faust - Gounod), Alfredo (La Traviata - Verdi), Count Almaviva (Il Barbiere di Siviglia - Rossini), Don Basilio (Le Nozze do Figaro - Mozart), Mr. Splinters (The Tender Land – Copand), Panatellas and First Notary (La Périchole - Offenbach), and Dr. Blind (Die Fledermaus - Strauss). Additionally, he was accepted in the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre's Young Artist Program, singing in the chorus of Verdi's Otello (with Metropolitan singer Allan Glassman in the title role) and performed in a Scenes and Arias Recital (Young Artists only). Hoffman’s oratorio experience extends to solo performances Orff's Carmina Burana, Honegger's King David, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ and Rutter's Psalmfest. He has also been a finalist in the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition.

His musical travels have taken him overseas, where he has performed in England, France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Highlights include performances of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor in London and Vienna.

Also a pianist, Mr. Hoffman has served as the accompanist for the Women’s Chorus and Chamber Winds ensembles at SFA, and is currently the accompanist for the Brazos Valley Chorale. He has also served as the accompanist for the Century Singers and Women's Chorus ensembles at Texas A&M University. He has lent his expertise as a vocal coach for numerous Scenes and Arias Recitals and as a rehearsal accompanist for other staged productions.

In addition to his skills as a vocalist and pianist, Mr. Hoffman is active as a choral conductor, where he currently is the Director of Music Ministries at Friends Congregational Church in College Station. He has been a member of the American Choral Directors Association and is currently a member of the honorary music fraternity Pi Kappa Lambda.