The finalists are Tom Hall, music director of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society; Betsy Burleigh, assistant director of the Cleveland Orchestra choruses; Marika Kuzma, the director of choruses at the University of California at Berkeley; and Melinda O'Neal, the artistic director of the Handel Choir of Baltimore and the director of choruses at Dartmouth College.
Founded in 1908, the Mendelssohn Choir performs frequently with the Pittsburgh Symphony.