Dr. Rachel Rensink-Hoff is Associate Professor and Chair of Music at Brock University and Artistic Director of the Avanti Chamber Singers. 2014 winner of the Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting of the Ontario Arts Council, Rachel and choirs under her direction have been the recipients of numerous honours and awards. Her women’s choir earned first prize in their category of the 2015 National Choral Competition for Amateur Choirs and in 2019 the Avanti Chamber Singers was named “Most Promising New Adult Ensemble.” She was recipient of the 2022 Arts in Education Award by the City of St. Catharines and in 2024 was awarded the Faculty of Humanities Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Rachel is Past Vice-President of Programming for Choral Canada and Past-President of Choirs Ontario, maintaining an active career as adjudicator, clinician, workshop presenter and juror both locally and across Canada. She has served as conductor of the Nova Scotia Youth Choir (2017), the Alberta Youth Choir (2022) and the Ontario Youth Choir (2023) and presents regularly at conferences nationally and internationally. Recipient of the 2010 Choral Canada National Choral Award for Outstanding Dissertation, her ongoing research focuses on conductor training and mentorship, approaches to choral programming, and the intersections of creativity and mental health.

Rachel holds Master of Music and Doctoral degrees in choral conducting and music education from Western University. She has completed additional choral studies at the Chorus America Conducting Academy, the Eastman School of Music Summer Conducting Institute, and the Voice Care Network of St. John’s University, Minnesota.