Tim Ribchester, Director of the Eakins Vocal Consort, founded the choir in late 2006 and has directed all of its performances throughout Philadelphia. Active for many years in the area as conductor and pianist, he has commissioned and premiered many new works by Philadelphia composers and has directed ensembles at the American Composers Forum, Arden Theatre, Atlantic Coast Opera Festival, Curtis Institute of Music and Penn Composers Guild. He took summa cum laude degrees in Music (MA) and Musicology (M.St.) at Oxford University, where he was elected conductor of the University Philharmonia and Artistic Director of the Merle Ensemble chamber music series. Mr. Ribchester trained concurrently as a pianist at the Royal College of Music, London, and finished his studies at the European American Musical Alliance, La Schola Cantorum, Paris, obtaining a High Distinction in piano and counterpoint from former students of Nadia Boulanger; he also studied choral musicianship daily there under the direction of Mark Shapiro. He served as staff pianist at the specialist music department of Wells Cathedral School, UK, and was acclamed in the Edinburgh Festival Guide for "formidable technique, intense musicality and a wonderful rapport". From 2003-2007 he was Music Director of the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia.

Mr. Ribchester was appointed recently as Manager of Adult Education at the Philadelphia Orchestra, overseeing all live and electronic outreach initiatives aimed specifically at adults and college students. He is also a PhD candidate in Musicology at the University of Pennsylvania and has served as Adjunct Lecturer in Music History at Temple University's Boyer College of Music. His dissertation on the music of Astor Piazzolla led him to participate in the inaugural international seminar for tango music performance practice at the Academia Nacional del Tango in Buenos Aires in summer 2007. Following the seminar, he founded the Arrastre Tango Ensemble with accordionist Lidia Kaminska, and has received international recognition for his piano/violin arrangement of Piazzolla's Histoire du Tango, which was recently taped for PBS's From the Top: Live from Carnegie Hall by Caeli Smith (violin) and Christopher O'Riley (piano). He coaches and appears frequently in duo with Ms Smith, and they are currently preparing an all-Piazzolla recital with several original arrangements for Bryn Mawr College.

Andrew Morgan, Assistant Director of the Eakins Vocal Consort, is a native of Madison, Wisconsin. He is happy to be collaborating with Eakins Vocal Consort for the first time. He is in his second year of studies at Temple University, working towards a master's degree in choral conducting and music history. Prior to living in Philadelphia, Andrew was active as a choral conductor and singer in Chicago, where he served as Associate Conductor of the Romanian Madrigal Consort, and sang with Chicago's oldest oratorio choir, the Apollo Chorus. Long interested in music of the Baroque and Renaissance periods, he has participated extensively in the Madison Early Music Festival, studying with numerous early music specialists, including Philadelphia's Piffaro and conductor Paul Flight. Last summer he participated in the Varna International Conductors Workshop in Varna, Bulgaria, where he conducted portions of Mendelssohn's Elijah in the country's premiere performance of the work. In July he will study with Maestro Harold Farberman at the Conductors Institute of Bard College. Andrew graduated in 2003 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in music education. His primary teachers there included conductors Beverly Taylor and Bruce Gladstone, as well as baritone Paul Rowe. He has participated in masterclasses with conductors Donald McCullough and David Hayes.