Lachlan McDonald is a Melbourne-based baritone, composer, and conductor. Under the tutelage of Stephen Grant, Lachlan completed his Bachelor of Music at the University of Melbourne in 2017, majoring in classical voice. An experienced ensemble singer, Lachlan is a frequent performer in many of Australia’s finest vocal ensembles, including The Consort of Melbourne, Fiore Chamber, and Polyphonic Voices. Lachlan is in high demand as a freelance singer and soloist, with solo highlights including Haydn’s ‘Dixit Dominus’, and Bach’s ‘Mass in A major’. As a conductor, Lachlan trained under Michael Fulcher, and was the founding director of Fiore Chamber, and The Trinity Singers. Since 2018, he has held the post of Director of Music at St John’s Anglican Church, East Malvern. Lachlan was the conductor of the Monash University Choral Society from 2021-23, with Antonín Dvořák’s ‘Stabat Mater’ amongst the works Lachlan conducted. Lachlan was the guest conductor for the National Youth Choir of Australia’s 2021 Melbourne season. After coming through the Australian Boys Choir as a boy chorister, Lachlan was on the music staff at the choir from 2015-2021, holding many posts, including Teacher-in-charge of the Cambiata training group. As a composer, Lachlan specialises in vocal music (both art song and choral). Lachlan was awarded first place in the 2020 Voyces Aspire Choral Composition Competition award for his piece ‘Dormi, Jesu!’, and was awarded second place in the 2019 Archbishop’s Prize for New Composers, from St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, for his piece ‘Animal Nativity’. His setting of ‘Gabriel’s Message’ was on The Choir of Trinity College’s 2018 release Beneath the Incense Tree. His works have been performed by groups including The Schola of St Stephen’s Cathedral, Brisbane; The St Louis Chamber Chorus; Fiore Chamber; Polyphonic Voices; The Choir of St John’s, East Malvern; The Scholars of St John’s, Camberwell; and the Australian Boys Choir.