Michael Joseph Barrett is the conductor of the University of Pretoria (Tuks) Camerata and a senior lecturer in Choral Conducting in the Department of Music. He was a member of the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir from 1992 to 1997. He obtained the degrees BMus in Performing Arts (cum laude) in 2005 and MMus (Performing Arts), specialising in choral conducting, in 2008, both from the University of Pretoria. He holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCE) and a Performance Licentiate in Singing, both received in 2008, from Unisa. In 2017, Michael was awarded a Doctorate of Music degree (Performing Arts) in Choral Performance by the University of Pretoria.

Michael’s choirs have won numerous national and international awards, as well as choral competitions all over the world, including the Grand Prix of Nations (Latvia, 2017) and the 8th World Choir Games (Latvia, 2014). In 2017, Tuks Camerata was invited to perform at the World Choral Symposium in Barcelona, Spain, and in March 2025 they will perform as the Headline Choir at the National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) in Dallas (USA). The choir has released five albums, three of which were nominated for South African Music Awards. Michael is an active composer and arranger whose music is published internationally by Santa Barbara Music Publishers and Walton Music. He holds a Y2 Rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF), is on the Editorial Board of the World Journal for Choral Research, Practice and Leadership, and serves as an Advisory Board member of the World Choir Council (Interkultur – Germany). He is regularly invited to conduct Honour Choirs, present workshops and lectures, and adjudicate choral competitions both locally and abroad. He is the co-producer of Capital Singers, South Africa’s largest community choir project.